Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research

The report summarizes recent workforce and employment related research, to identify current gaps in employment and training research and makes recommendations for future research processes and priorities that could better inform policy makers, practitioners, job seekers and employers. The report reviews workforce and related research funded by several federal agencies, including the US Departments of Labor, Education, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, the National Science Foundation and other federal entities, as well as research undertaken by regional, state and local workforce agencies and philanthrophic organizations

Subsurface processes generated by bore-driven swash on coarse-grained beaches

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Observation of Three-dimensional Long-range Order in Smaller Ion Coulomb Crystals in an rf Trap

Three-dimensional long-range ordered structures in smaller and near-spherically symmetric Coulomb crystals of ^{40}Ca^+ ions confined in a linear rf Paul trap have been observed when the number of ions exceeds ~1000 ions. This result is unexpected from ground state molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, but found to be in agreement with MD simulations of metastable ion configurations. Previously, three-dimensional long-range ordered structures have only been reported in Penning traps in systems of ~50,000 ions or more.Comment: 5 pages; 4 figures; to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett.; changed content

Does Clean Energy Make or Break a Country?

With the world running low on fossil fuels and energy sources, it is as vital as ever to educate ourselves on the newest forms of alternative energy sources. Countries as of now are extremely reliant on energy and this reliance affects all aspects of life including school life, home life, and social life as well. By statistically comparing traits of successful countries to the cleanness of their energy, we can discover the benefits of implementing a clean, efficient energy system to replace the fossil fuels in our country. Whether it be a higher GDP, a thriving economy, or quality education, there are components of a successful country that correlate to having clean, efficient energy. The most viable solution we see is to research and statistically determine the most efficient type of energy that correlates to the overall success of a country, especially since the economic need of energies are so high, with a huge financial burden being placed on each country to advance the knowledge of these alternative energy sources. After research and statistical comparisons, we can now utilize an effective energy source and propose a sound plan to energy-savvy countries in order to eradicate the use of fossil fuels and other harmful energy sources

Selecting a single orientation for millimeter sized graphene sheets

We have used Low Energy Electron Microscopy (LEEM) and Photo Emission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) to study and improve the quality of graphene films grown on Ir(111) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). CVD at elevated temperature already yields graphene sheets that are uniform and of monatomic thickness. Besides domains that are aligned with respect to the substrate, other rotational variants grow. Cyclic growth exploiting the faster growth and etch rates of the rotational variants, yields films that are 99 % composed of aligned domains. Precovering the substrate with a high density of graphene nuclei prior to CVD yields pure films of aligned domains extending over millimeters. Such films can be used to prepare cluster-graphene hybrid materials for catalysis or nanomagnetism and can potentially be combined with lift-off techniques to yield high-quality, graphene based electronic devices

Collective fluctuations in networks of noisy components

Collective dynamics result from interactions among noisy dynamical components. Examples include heartbeats, circadian rhythms, and various pattern formations. Because of noise in each component, collective dynamics inevitably involve fluctuations, which may crucially affect functioning of the system. However, the relation between the fluctuations in isolated individual components and those in collective dynamics is unclear. Here we study a linear dynamical system of networked components subjected to independent Gaussian noise and analytically show that the connectivity of networks determines the intensity of fluctuations in the collective dynamics. Remarkably, in general directed networks including scale-free networks, the fluctuations decrease more slowly with the system size than the standard law stated by the central limit theorem. They even remain finite for a large system size when global directionality of the network exists. Moreover, such nontrivial behavior appears even in undirected networks when nonlinear dynamical systems are considered. We demonstrate it with a coupled oscillator system.Comment: 5 figure

In situ observation of stress relaxation in epitaxial graphene

Upon cooling, branched line defects develop in epitaxial graphene grown at high temperature on Pt(111) and Ir(111). Using atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy we demonstrate that these defects are wrinkles in the graphene layer, i.e. stripes of partially delaminated graphene. With low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) we investigate the wrinkling phenomenon in situ. Upon temperature cycling we observe hysteresis in the appearance and disappearance of the wrinkles. Simultaneously with wrinkle formation a change in bright field imaging intensity of adjacent areas and a shift in the moire spot positions for micro diffraction of such areas takes place. The stress relieved by wrinkle formation results from the mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients of graphene and the substrate. A simple one-dimensional model taking into account the energies related to strain, delamination and bending of graphene is in qualitative agreement with our observations.Comment: Supplementary information: S1: Photo electron emission microscopy and LEEM measurements of rotational domains, STM data of a delaminated bulge around a dislocation. S2: Movie with increasing brightness upon wrinkle formation as in figure 4. v2: Major revision including new experimental dat

‘Deliberate Preparation’ as an evidence-based focus for primary physical education

There is substantial scientific research suggesting the physical and psychological health benefits of a physically active lifestyle. Consequently, governments worldwide prioritize policies, finances, and resources in healthcare, education, and sports sectors to increase mass participation in physical activity. However, practices in physical activity promotion are often not underpinned by evidence-based standardization that is requisite in other domains of epidemiology. The aim of this article is to examine critically the available scientific research on promoting life-long physical activity participation and to propose an evidence-based model for implementation in school physical education. Reasons are discussed as to why programs that integrate physical, psychological, and behavioral skills have been long acknowledged in physical education and physical activity domains but remain lacking in empirical validation. Finally, future directions are suggested that are required to examine the application of this approach to practice in primary-level physical education

Ultracold Neutral Plasmas

Ultracold neutral plasmas are formed by photoionizing laser-cooled atoms near the ionization threshold. Through the application of atomic physics techniques and diagnostics, these experiments stretch the boundaries of traditional neutral plasma physics. The electron temperature in these plasmas ranges from 1-1000 K and the ion temperature is around 1 K. The density can approach $10^{11}$ cm$^{-3}$. Fundamental interest stems from the possibility of creating strongly-coupled plasmas, but recombination, collective modes, and thermalization in these systems have also been studied. Optical absorption images of a strontium plasma, using the Sr$^+$ ${^2S\_{1/2}} -> {^2P\_{1/2}}$ transition at 422 nm, depict the density profile of the plasma, and probe kinetics on a 50 ns time-scale. The Doppler-broadened ion absorption spectrum measures the ion velocity distribution, which gives an accurate measure of the ion dynamics in the first microsecond after photoionization.Comment: 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004, Nice (France