72 research outputs found
Getting Down to Business: Women's Economic and Social Empowerment in Burundi
This document presents the International Rescue Committee seeking to determine what is the most effective way to support women's empowerment in conflict-affected settings. Drawing on extensive field experience, the IRC designed a program in Burundi that actively involved both women and men in an economic program and a discussion series around household finances. IRC's EA$E (Economic And Social Empowerment for women) program ultimately aims to increase women's decision-making in the home and decrease intimate partner violence (IPV). The IRC partnered with Professor Radha Iyengar from the London School of Economics to rigorously examine if adding a discussion series for couples was more effective in increasing decision-making and reducing violence, rather than just an economic program on its own
The symbolic consumption of music
Accompanying material available with hardcopy.Although it is a widely accepted notion that music can be used as a tool to communicate symbolic meaning, very little is known about how and why people symbolically consume music. This thesis sought to provide a detailed insight into this phenomenon by building a model of the symbolic consumption of music. The objective of the model was to depict the relationship between the consumer's self-concept, the symbolic properties of music and the consumption context. Through the development of this model, the secondary objective of this thesis was also addressed. That is, to further our understanding of symbolic consumption as grounded in the theory of self-concept.
A two phase, case study methodology was employed in order to fulfil the research objectives. Phase one of the research used an inductive case study research design to develop an initial model of the symbolic consumption of music. In this phase, three main data collection methods were used - in-depth interviews with consumers, personal interviews with experts in the field and subjective personal introspection. The initial model was based on both the existing literature and the primary research from phase one. Phase two utilised a replication case study methodology for the purpose of testing and refining the initial model. Two sources of evidence were used to develop twenty-two case summaries. These were personal in-depth interviews and participant diaries. The data analysis technique of 'pattern matching' was then used to test the initial model.
The Model of the Symbolic Consumption of Music presented proposes that individuals will symbolically consume music when the image (meaning) of that music is congruent with the image of themselves that they wish to present. Situational factors are related to the processes involved, in particular the choice of self to present, the selection of music that is made from the individual's overall music tastes and the perceived level of congruency between the self and musical images. The symbolic self-presentation is communicated through consumption rituals enacted by the individual and feedback is retained for future decisions regarding musical preferences. The model is based on the self/brand image congruency model (Grubb and Grathwhol 1967), which has been extended in order to account for situational factors, a judgement of acceptability of the level of congruency and consumption rituals.
Implications of the findings are presented for consumer behaviour with specific reference to the development of a general theory of symbolic consumption, methodology and marketing practitioners
Algorithmic personalization and brand loyalty: An experiential perspective
This article explores the relationship between algorithmic personalization and brand loyalty by examining how personalization experiences are articulated within the context of music streaming consumption. Despite previous acknowledgement of the link between personalization and brand loyalty, an experientially grounded understanding of how this works has yet to be articulated. Building upon the concept of âexperiential brand loyaltyâ, the Algorithmic Personalization/Depersonalization Loop highlights the development of brand loyalty through consumersâ interactions with algorithm-backed brands. Being seen and understood by the algorithm sets off an iterative, two-way learning relationship that ultimately heightens the consumersâ experience, activates positive emotions, and deepens the relational bond with the brand, leading to brand loyalty. If, however, the algorithm is unsuccessful in personalizing the service experience, a âdepersonalizationâ process can occur that erodes brand loyalty and can lead to brand switching or even consumer activism
On the Formation of Galaxy Halos: Comparing NGC 5128 and the Local Group Members
The metallicity distribution function (MDF) for the old red-giant stars in
the halo of NGC 5128, the nearest giant elliptical galaxy, is virtually
identical with the MDF for the old-disk stars in the LMC and also strongly
resembles the halo MDF in M31. These galaxies all have high mean halo
metallicities ( ~ -0.4$) with very small proportions of low-metallicity
stars. These observations reinforce the view that metal-rich halos are quite
normal for large galaxies of all types. Such systems are unlikely to have built
up by accretion of pre-existing, gas-free small satellite galaxies, unless
these satellites had an extremely shallow mass distribution (d log N / d log M
> -1). We suggest that the halo of NGC 5128 is more likely to have assembled
from hierarchical merging of gas-rich lumps in which the bulk of star formation
took place during or after the merger stage.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, plus 3 figures in separate postscript files;
Astronomical Journal, in press for December 200
Reliability Based Factors of Safety for VIV Fatigue Using NDP Riser High Mode VIV Tests
Understanding the level of conservatism in a riser system design for vortex-induced vibration (VIV) fatigue is an important issue for operators. This study represents a demonstration of the calibration methodology to derive consistent values for the Factor of Safety (FoS). The exercise is performed here based on medium scale VIV data and utilizing the most commonly used VIV prediction software by industry. The results emphasize the need for (i) a coherent approach to estimate the FoS to be used and (ii) monitoring/measurement of software improvements as this may increase risk of failure if the influence of such improvements on the FoS is not quantified.DeepStar (Consortium) (DeepStar Phase IX
The Ages, Metallicities and Alpha Element Enhancements of Globular Clusters in the Elliptical NGC 5128: A Homogeneous Spectroscopic Study with Gemini/GMOS
We present new integrated light spectroscopy of globular clusters (GCs) in
NGC 5128 in order to measure radial velocities and derive ages, metallicities,
and alpha-element abundance ratios. Using Gemini-S 8-m/GMOS, we obtained
spectroscopy in the range of ~3400-5700 AA for 72 GCs with S/N > 30 /AA and we
have also discovered 35 new GCs within NGC 5128 from our radial velocity
measurements. We measured and compared the Lick indices from HdeltaA through
Fe5406 with the single stellar population (SSP) models of Thomas et
al.(2003,2004). We also measure Lick indices for 41 Milky Way GCs from Puzia et
al. (2002) and Schiavon et al. (2005) with the same methodology for direct
comparison. Our results show that 68% of the NGC 5128 GCs have old ages (> 8
Gyr), 14% have intermediate ages (5-8 Gyr), and 18% have young ages (< 5 Gyr).
However, when we look at the metallicity of the GCs as a function of age, we
find 92% of metal-poor GCs and 56% of metal-rich GCs in NGC 5128 have ages > 8
Gyr, indicating that the majority of both metallicity subpopulations of GCs
formed early, with a significant population of young and metal-rich GCs forming
later. Our metallicity distribution function generated directly from
spectroscopic Lick indices is clearly bimodal, as is the color distribution of
the same set of GCs. Thus the metallicity bimodality is real and not an
artifact of the color to metallicity conversion. The [alpha/Fe] values are
supersolar with a mean value of 0.14pm0.04, indicating a fast formation
timescale. However, the GCs in NGC 5128 are not as [alpha/Fe] enhanced as the
Milky Way GCs also examined in this study. Our results support a rapid, early
formation of the GC system in NGC 5128, with subsequent major accretion and/or
GC and star forming events in more recent times (abridged).Comment: Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal, 36 pages, 14 figures, 7 table
Structural parameters for globular clusters in NGC 5128. III. ACS surface-brightness profiles and model fits
We present internal surface-brightness profiles, based on HST/ACS imaging in
the F606W bandpass, for 131 globular cluster (GC) candidates with luminosities
10^4 - 3 x 10^6 solar, in the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 5128. Several
structural models are fit to the profile of each cluster and combined with
mass-to-light ratios from population-synthesis models, to derive a catalogue of
fundamental structural and dynamical parameters parallel in form to the
catalogues recently produced by McLaughlin & van der Marel and Barmby et al.
for GCs and massive young star clusters in Local Group galaxies. As part of
this, we provide corrected and extended parameter estimates for another 18
clusters in NGC 5128, which we observed previously. We show that, like GCs in
the Milky Way and some of its satellites, the majority of globulars in NGC 5128
are well fit by isotropic Wilson models, which have intrinsically more
distended envelope structures than the standard King lowered isothermal
spheres. We use our models to predict internal velocity dispersions for every
cluster in our sample. These predictions agree well in general with the
observed dispersions in a small number of clusters for which spectroscopic data
are available. In a subsequent paper, we use these results to investigate
scaling relations for GCs in NGC 5128.Comment: MNRAS, in press. 28 pages. Full data tables available at
http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~dem/clusters.htm
The Globular Cluster/Central Black Hole Connection in Galaxies
We explore the relation between the total globular cluster population in a
galaxy (N_GC) and the the mass of its central black hole (M_BH). Using a sample
of 33 galaxies, twice as large as the original sample discussed by Burkert &
Tremaine (2010), we find that N_GC for elliptical and spiral galaxies increases
in almost precisely direct proportion to M_BH. The S0-type galaxies by contrast
do not follow a clear trend, showing large scatter in M_BH at a given N_GC.
After accounting for observational measurement uncertainty, we find that the
mean relation defined by the E and S galaxies must also have an intrinsic or
"cosmic" scatter of +-0.2 in either logN_GC or logM_BH. The residuals from this
correlation show no trend with globular cluster specific frequency. We suggest
that these two types of galaxy subsystems (central black hole and globular
cluster system) may be closely correlated because they both originated at high
redshift during the main epoch of hierarchical merging, and both require
extremely high-density conditions for formation. Lastly, we note that roughly
10% of the galaxies in our sample (one E, one S, and two S0) deviate strongly
from the main trend, all in the sense that their M_BH is at least 10x smaller
than would be predicted by the mean relation.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in MNRA
The Kinematics of the Globular Cluster System of NGC 5128 with a New, Large Sample of Radial Velocity Measurements
New radial velocity measurements for previously known and newly confirmed
globular clusters (GCs) in the nearby massive galaxy NGC 5128 are presented. We
have obtained spectroscopy from LDSS-2/Magellan, VIMOS/VLT, and Hydra/CTIO from
which we have measured the radial velocities of 218 known, and identified 155
new, GCs. The current sample of confirmed GCs in NGC 5128 is now 605 with 564
of these having radial velocity measurements. We have performed a new kinematic
analysis of the GC system that extends out to 45 arcmin in galactocentric
radius. We have examined the systemic velocity, projected rotation amplitude
and axis, and the projected velocity dispersion of the GCs as functions of
galactocentric distance and metallicity. Our results indicate that the
metal-poor GCs have a very mild rotation signature of (26 pm 15) km/s. The
metal-rich GCs are rotating with a higher, though still small signature of (43
pm 15) km/s around the isophotal major axis of NGC 5128 within 15 arcmin. Their
velocity dispersions are consistent within the uncertainties and the profiles
appear flat or declining within 20 arcmin. We note the small sample of
metal-rich GCs with ages less than 5 Gyr in the literature appear to have
different kinematic properties than the old, metal-rich GC subpopulation. The
mass and mass-to-light ratios have also been estimated using the GCs as tracer
particles for NGC 5128. Out to a distance of 20 arcmin, we have obtained a mass
of (5.9 pm 2.0) x 10^(11) M_(sun) and a mass-to-light ratio in the B-band of 16
M_(sun)/L_(B,sun). Combined with previous work on the ages and metallicities of
its GCs, as well as properties of its stellar halo, our findings suggest NGC
5128 formed via hierarchical merging over other methods of formation, such as
major merging at late times.Comment: Accepted for The Astronomical Journal, 14 pages plus 12 figures and 7
table
The Halo Stars in NGC 5128. III: An Inner-Halo Field and the Metallicity Distribution
We present new HST/WFPC2 (V,I) photometry for the red-giant stars in NGC 5128
at a projected distance of 8 kpc from the galaxy center, which probe a mixture
of its inner halo and outer bulge. The color-magnitude diagram shows an old
red-giant branch which is even broader in color than our two previously studied
outer-halo fields (at 21 and 31 kpc), with significant numbers of stars
extending to Solar metallicity and higher. The peak frequency of the
metallicity distribution function (MDF) is at [m/H] ~ -0.4, with even fewer
metal-poor stars than in the outer-halo fields. We find that the main features
of the halo MDF can be reproduced by a simple chemical evolution model in which
early star formation goes on simultaneously with an initial stage of rapid
infall of very metal-poor gas, after which the infall dies away exponentially.
A comparison with the MDF for the NGC 5128 globular clusters indicates that
there is a clear decrease of specific frequency (number of clusters per
unit halo light) with increasing metallicity, from S_N ~ 4-8 at [Fe/H] < -1.6
down to S_N = 1.5 at [Fe/H] > -1. This trend may indicate that globular cluster
formation efficiency is a strong function of the metallicity of the
protocluster gas.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX, plus 20 figures as .jpg files; Astronomical Journal
vol.123, in press for May 2002. A complete postscript file with better
quality figures is at http://physun.mcmaster.ca/~harris/WEHarris.htm
- âŠ