On the Estimation of Systematic Uncertainties of Star Formation Histories

In most star formation history (SFH) measurements, the reported uncertainties are those due to effects whose sizes can be readily measured: Poisson noise, adopted distance and extinction, and binning choices in the solution itself. However, the largest source of error, systematics in the adopted isochrones, is usually ignored and very rarely explicitly incorporated into the uncertainties. I propose a process by which estimates of the uncertainties due to evolutionary models can be incorporated into the SFH uncertainties. This process relies on application of shifts in temperature and luminosity, the sizes of which must be calibrated for the data being analyzed. While there are inherent limitations, the ability to estimate the effect of systematic errors and include them in the overall uncertainty is significant. Effects of this are most notable in the case of shallow photometry, with which SFH measurements rely on evolved stars.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, ApJ in pres

Perceptions of Transactional and Transformational Leaders According to Gender

The lack of females occupying leadership positions in the modern workplace has prompted the research of this study. In order to better understand the perceptions that exist regarding successful leadership, this study was conducted with the intention of understanding individual leadership style through the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, which measures transactional and transformational leadership styles (Bass and Avolio, 1993). 64 male and female participants, made up of 36 students and 28 individuals in the workforce ages 18-61 with an average age of 31 answered 21 questions to assess their leadership style and 1 to measure who they perceived as a successful leader, with responses coded by gender of responder and response. This study aimed to assess whether males identified more with transactional leadership and females with transformational leadership style, which would confirm current research conducted in the field. The Chi Squared statistical analysis test results showed that 72.4% of males displayed transformational leadership styles, along with 82.9% of females displaying this same style, which showed a lack of significance between gender and difference in leadership style. However, in response to the question asking to identify a successful leader, results showed that most individuals of both gender wrote down a male leader

What can AI do for you?

Simply put, most organizations do not know how to approach the incorporation of AI into their businesses, and few are knowledgeable enough to understand which concepts are applicable to their business models. Doing nothing and waiting is not an option: Mahidar and Davenport (2018) argue that companies that try to play catch-up will ultimately lose to those who invested and began learning early. But how do we bridge the gap between skepticism and adoption? We propose a toolkit, inclusive of people, processes, and technologies, to help companies with discovery and readiness to start their AI journey. Our toolkit will deliver specific and actionable answers to the operative question: What can AI do for you

Prototyping scalable digital signal processing systems for radio astronomy using dataflow models

There is a growing trend toward using high-level tools for design and implementation of radio astronomy digital signal processing (DSP) systems. Such tools, for example, those from the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER), are usually platform-specific, and lack high-level, platform-independent, portable, scalable application specifications. This limits the designer's ability to experiment with designs at a high-level of abstraction and early in the development cycle. We address some of these issues using a model-based design approach employing dataflow models. We demonstrate this approach by applying it to the design of a tunable digital downconverter (TDD) used for narrow-bandwidth spectroscopy. Our design is targeted toward an FPGA platform, called the Interconnect Break-out Board (IBOB), that is available from the CASPER. We use the term TDD to refer to a digital downconverter for which the decmation factor and center frequency can be reconfigured without the need for regenerating the hardware code. Such a design is currently not available in the CASPER DSP library. The work presented in this paper focuses on two aspects. Firstly, we introduce and demonstrate a dataflow-based design approach using the dataflow interchange format (DIF) tool for high-level application specification, and we integrate this approach with the CASPER tool flow. Secondly, we explore the trade-off between the flexibility of TDD designs and the low hardware cost of fixed-configuration digital downconverter (FDD) designs that use the available CASPER DSP library. We further explore this trade-off in the context of a two-stage downconversion scheme employing a combination of TDD or FDD designs.Comment: Accepted for publication in Radio Scienc

Using self-categorization theory to uncover the framing of the 2015 Rugby World Cup: a cross-cultural comparison of three nations’ newspapers

Research into the framing of sporting events has been extensively studied to uncover newspaper bias in the coverage of global sporting events. Through discourse, the media attempt to capture, build, and maintain audiences for the duration of sporting events through the use of multiple narratives and/or storylines. Little research has looked at the ways in which the same event is reported across different nations, and media representations of the Rugby World Cup have rarely featured in discussions of the framing of sport events. The present study highlights the different ways in which rugby union is portrayed across the three leading Southern Hemisphere nations in the sport. It also shows the prominence of nationalistic discourse across those nations and importance of self-categorizations in newspaper narratives.</jats:p

Design and Construction of a Programmable Electroporation system for Biological Applications

Studies into electroporation have grown rapidly in biotechnology and medicine in recent years. This paper presents the design and construction of a low cost programmable electroporation system for biological applications. The system consists of a control module, a pulse generation circuit and a high voltage switch using a power MOSFET. The programmable electroporation has been designed, developed and tested. Using a standard commercial electroporation cuvette, it is possible to generate electric fields of 100 to 1000V/cm with programmed pulse lengths of 10?sec to 20msec. The system was evaluated with Hela cells and propidium dye to evaluate transfection rates under a variety of electroporation conditions. Initial results showed that the electroporation system achieved a peak cell transfection efficiency of 48.74% at 600V/cm with pulse lengths of 10 ms

Ash plume properties retrieved from infrared images: a forward and inverse modeling approach

We present a coupled fluid-dynamic and electromagnetic model for volcanic ash plumes. In a forward approach, the model is able to simulate the plume dynamics from prescribed input flow conditions and generate the corresponding synthetic thermal infrared (TIR) image, allowing a comparison with field-based observations. An inversion procedure is then developed to retrieve ash plume properties from TIR images. The adopted fluid-dynamic model is based on a one-dimensional, stationary description of a self-similar (top-hat) turbulent plume, for which an asymptotic analytical solution is obtained. The electromagnetic emission/absorption model is based on the Schwarzschild's equation and on Mie's theory for disperse particles, assuming that particles are coarser than the radiation wavelength and neglecting scattering. [...] Application of the inversion procedure to an ash plume at Santiaguito volcano (Guatemala) has allowed us to retrieve the main plume input parameters, namely the initial radius $b_0$, velocity $U_0$, temperature $T_0$, gas mass ratio $n_0$, entrainment coefficient $k$ and their related uncertainty. Moreover, coupling with the electromagnetic model, we have been able to obtain a reliable estimate of the equivalent Sauter diameter $d_s$ of the total particle size distribution. The presented method is general and, in principle, can be applied to the spatial distribution of particle concentration and temperature obtained by any fluid-dynamic model, either integral or multidimensional, stationary or time-dependent, single or multiphase. The method discussed here is fast and robust, thus indicating potential for applications to real-time estimation of ash mass flux and particle size distribution, which is crucial for model-based forecasts of the volcanic ash dispersal process.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figures, submitted pape

Organic amendment increases arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity in primary coastal dunes

Plastic pots were inserted beneath seedlings of a shallow-rooted C4 grass species, Ischaemum indicum, with&nbsp;and without a root-impenetrable nylon sachet filled with organic matter (OM) amendment, at seven stations&nbsp;along an interrupted belt transect in which plant community and soil chemistry had been previously surveyed.&nbsp;The transect was perpendicular to mean high-water mark (MH-WM) across a primary coastal dune system in&nbsp;Goa, India, where summer monsoon is the predominant weather feature. The Quadrat survey of plant frequency&nbsp;was made in stations when the above-ground biomass was estimated to be highest. Arbuscular mycorrhiza&nbsp;fungal (AMF) spore density and diversity were determined morphologically in amended and control pots&nbsp;soils, and in OM sachet residues, after host-plant desiccation when monsoon rains had ceased. Twenty-seven&nbsp;AM fungal spore morphotypes were isolated from the pots containing OM amended rhizosphere soils, 19 from&nbsp;controls and 14 from OM residues in the sachets. Gigaspora margarita proved to be the dominant spore in all&nbsp;treatments. Eight morphotypes recovered from amended pots were not recovered from the controls. There&nbsp;was an increasing trend in species diversity in amended pots away from MH-WM. Spore recovery from the&nbsp;three regimes showed variable distribution that indicated differing AMF species strategies

"We are GREAT Britain": British newspaper narratives during the London 2012 Olympic Games

British newspaper narratives were examined during the 2012 London Olympic Games to discern how the British press promoted specific “narratives of the nation.” For the London-based British press, the home Olympics became the ideal medium not only to sell newspapers and electronic format subscriptions, but also to (re)present their views on Britain and what it stood for. Using a qualitative textual analysis methodology, this study drew on Anderson’s theory of the “imagined community” and Edmunds and Turner’s concepts of benign and malign nationalism to provide insights about how Britishness was framed. For a country struggling to shake off the economic recession, early narratives about the Games were imbued with concerns about the escalating costs of hosting the Games and fears of terrorism. However, the critical early tone of British newspaper narratives was supplanted with uplifting, inspirational stories about the unprecedented success of Team GB athletes. This provided British journalists with an opportunity to reengineer Britishness to reinforce some traditional values and inject some new inclusive ones. Although at times, complex, contested and contradictory, the narratives generally linked the internationalism of the Olympics with a progressive, benign version of Britishness that emphasized inclusion, tolerance, and creativity and, at least temporarily, redefined how Britain regarded itself and was viewed.</jats:p