2,149 research outputs found
Exploring the concept of 'ideal' university student
This paper contributes to our understanding of the âidealâ university student â a working concept that promotes a more transparent conversation about the explicit, implicit and idealistic expectations of students in higher education. Drawing on Weberâs theory of ideal types, we explore university staff and studentsâ conceptualisation of the âidealâ student. Informed by 20 focus groups with 75 university staff and students, we focus on how the concept of âidealâ student is perceived, challenged and negotiated. We argue that the âidealâ student has important conceptual and practical implications for higher education, especially the importance of explicitness and the dangers of presumptions. The concept has the potential to bridge differences and manage expectations between lecturers and students, which have been stretched due to consumerism, by offering a platform where expectations of university students are elaborated. We present a working definition of âidealâ university student, which, we argue, encompasses desirability, imperfection and realism
Knowledge protection in firms: A conceptual framework and evidence from HP Labs
This paper proposes a simple framework to examine organizational methods of knowledge protection. The framework highlights a basic tradeâoff between improving decisionâmaking and innovation through communication and mitigating security risks by imposing restrictions on communication flows. The tradeâoff is mediated by factors such as the sensitivity of information, the degree to which employees can be trusted to handle sensitive information appropriately, and firmsâ investments in legal protection mechanisms. Evidence from HP Labs supports the basic predictions of the model, in particular the importance of employee trustworthiness and internalized codes of behavior in promoting open communication. Our interviews also suggest a potential conflict between two of the most important appropriability mechanisms: secrecy and leadâtime advantage
POX 186: A Dwarf Galaxy in the Process of Formation?
We present deep U, V and I band images of the "ultracompact" blue dwarf
galaxy POX 186 obtained with the Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble Space
Telescope. We have also obtained a near-ultraviolet spectrum of the object with
the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, and combine this with a new
ground-based optical spectrum. The images confirm the galaxy to be extremely
small, with a maximum extent of only 300 pc, a luminosity ~ 10^-4 L*, and an
estimated mass ~ 10^7 M(sun). Its morphology is highly asymmetric, with a tail
of material on its western side that may be tidal in origin. The U-band image
shows this tail to be part of a stream of material in which stars have recently
formed. Most of the star formation in the galaxy is however concentrated in a
central, compact (d ~ 10 - 15 pc) star cluster. The outer regions of the galaxy
are significantly redder than the cluster, with V - I colors consistent with a
population dominated by K and M stars. While these results rule out earlier
speculation that POX 186 is a protogalaxy, its morphology, mass and active star
formation suggest that it represents a recent (within ~ 10^8 yr) collision
between two clumps of stars of sub-galactic size (~ 100 pc). POX 186 may thus
be a very small dwarf galaxy that, dynamically speaking, is still in the
process of formation. This interpretation is supported by the fact that it
resides in a void, so its morphology cannot be explained as the result of an
encounter with a more massive galaxy. Clumps of stars this small may represent
the building blocks required by hierarchical models of galaxy formation, and
these results also support the recent "downsizing" picture of galaxy formation
in which the least massive objects are the last to form.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ; 23 pages, 5 figure
Surface Brightness Profiles of Composite Images of Compact Galaxies at z~4-6 in the HUDF
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) contains a significant number of B, V and
i'-band dropout objects, many of which were recently confirmed to be young
star-forming galaxies at z~4-6. These galaxies are too faint individually to
accurately measure their radial surface brightness profiles. Their average
light profiles are potentially of great interest, since they may contain clues
to the time since the onset of significant galaxy assembly. We separately
co-add V, i' and z'-band HUDF images of sets of z~4,5 and 6 objects,
pre-selected to have nearly identical compact sizes and the roundest shapes.
From these stacked images, we are able to study the averaged radial structure
of these objects at much higher signal-to-noise ratio than possible for an
individual faint object. Here we explore the reliability and usefulness of a
stacking technique of compact objects at z~4-6 in the HUDF. Our results are:
(1) image stacking provides reliable and reproducible average surface
brightness profiles; (2) the shape of the average surface brightness profiles
show that even the faintest z~4-6 objects are resolved; and (3) if late-type
galaxies dominate the population of galaxies at z~4-6, as previous HST studies
have shown, then limits to dynamical age estimates for these galaxies from
their profile shapes are comparable with the SED ages obtained from the
broadband colors. We also present accurate measurements of the sky-background
in the HUDF and its associated 1-sigma uncertainties.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, emulateapj; Accepted for publication
in The Astronomical Journa
Ultracompact Blue Dwarf Galaxies: Hubble Space Telescope Imaging and Stellar Population Analysis
We present deep Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys / High
Resolution Channel U, narrow-V, and I images of nine "ultracompact" blue dwarf
galaxies (UCBDs) selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We define UCBDs as
local (z < 0.01) star-forming galaxies having angular diameters < 6" and
physical sizes < 1 kpc. They are also among the most metal-poor galaxies known,
and are found to reside within voids. Both the HST images and the objects'
optical spectra reveal that they are composites of young (~1 Myr) populations
that dominate their light, and older (~10 Gyr) populations that dominate their
stellar masses, which we estimate to be ~10^7 - 10^8 Msol. An intermediate-age
population is also indicated in most cases. The objects are not as dynamically
disturbed as the prototype UCBD, POX 186, but the structure of several of them
suggests that their current starbursts have been triggered by the
collisions/mergers of smaller clumps of stars. In one case, HS 0822+3542, the
ACS/HRC images resolve the object into two small (~100 pc) components which
appear to have recently collided, supporting this interpretation. In six of the
objects much of their star formation is concentrated in Young Massive Star
clusters. The evidence that the galaxies consist mainly of ~10 Gyr old stars
establishes that they are not protogalaxies; their low metallicities are more
likely to be the result of the escape of supernova ejecta, as opposed to youth.
These results are consistent with recent galaxy formation simulations which
predict that cosmic re-ionization at z ~ 6 significantly limited the subsequent
star formation of dwarf galaxies in voids due to the photo-evaporation of
baryons from their cold dark matter halos (Abridged).Comment: 43 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ; figures
available at ftp://ftp.nofs.navy.mil/pub/outgoing/mcorbin
A Formalization of the Theorem of Existence of First-Order Most General Unifiers
This work presents a formalization of the theorem of existence of most
general unifiers in first-order signatures in the higher-order proof assistant
PVS. The distinguishing feature of this formalization is that it remains close
to the textbook proofs that are based on proving the correctness of the
well-known Robinson's first-order unification algorithm. The formalization was
applied inside a PVS development for term rewriting systems that provides a
complete formalization of the Knuth-Bendix Critical Pair theorem, among other
relevant theorems of the theory of rewriting. In addition, the formalization
methodology has been proved of practical use in order to verify the correctness
of unification algorithms in the style of the original Robinson's unification
algorithm.Comment: In Proceedings LSFA 2011, arXiv:1203.542
âI found out the hard wayâ: Micro-political workings in professional football
This paper examines the micro-political experiences of Adam (a pseudonym), a newly appointed fitness coach at a Football Association Premier League Club, in his search for acceptance by senior colleagues. Data were collected through a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, before being subject to a process of inductive analysis. Goffmanâs (1959, 1963) writings on impression management and stigma, Ballâs (1987) micro-political perspective, and Garfinkelâs (1967) notion of status degradation are primarily utilised to make sense of Adamâs perceptions and actions. The findings point to the value of developing coachesâ micro-political understandings, and of including their formal facilitation within given professional preparation programmes. Doing so, it is argued, would better equip coaches for the problematic realities of their practice
Organizational evolution and the Olympic Games: the case of sport climbing
This paper discusses the processes underpinning the evolutionary development of sport climbing in recent decades, with a particular focus on the impact of its inclusion in the Olympic Games. New institutionalism and resource-dependence theory provide an analytical and explanatory framework for this study. The research adopted a qualitative method strategy comprising a series of interviews and the analysis of documents, reports, press and social media. The recent inclusion of the sport in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic programme has created challenges, primarily because of strong values inherent within the sport. The research, however, shows that the values of a sport can expand and develop in order to fit the regulatory legitimacy required by inclusion in the Olympic Games. Nonetheless, the research also shows that involvement with the IOC raises questions about who âownsâ the sport
Designing a web-application to support home-based care of childhood CKD stages 3-5: Qualitative study of family and professional preferences
Background: There is a lack of online, evidence-based information and resources to support home-based care of childhood CKD stages 3-5. Methods. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with parents, patients and professionals to explore their views on content of the proposed online parent information and support (OPIS) web-application. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis, guided by the concept of Self-efficacy. Results: 32 parents, 26 patients and 12 professionals were interviewed. All groups wanted an application that explains, demonstrates, and enables parental clinical care-giving, with condition-specific, continously available, reliable, accessible material and a closed communication system to enable contact between families living with CKD. Professionals advocated a regularly updated application to empower parents to make informed health-care decisions. To address these requirements, key web-application components were defined as: (i) Clinical care-giving support (information on treatment regimens, video-learning tools, condition-specific cartoons/puzzles, and a question and answer area) and (ii) Psychosocial support for care-giving (social-networking, case studies, managing stress, and enhancing families' health-care experiences). Conclusions: Developing a web-application that meets parents' information and support needs will maximise its utility, thereby augmenting parents' self-efficacy for CKD caregiving, and optimising outcomes. Self-efficacy theory provides a schema for how parents' self-efficacy beliefs about management of their child's CKD could potentially be promoted by OPIS. © 2014 Swallow et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd
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