Teaching mathematical modelling: a research based approach

A collaborative, research based laboratory experiment in mathematical modelling was included in a bioprocess engineering laboratory module, taught as part of an interdisciplinary program in biotechnology. The class was divided into six groups of three students and given the task of investigating a novel diafiltration process that is currently the focus of international research. Different aspects of the problem were assigned to each group and inter-group communication via email was required to ensure that there was a coherent set of objectives for each group and for the class as a whole. The software package, Berkeley Madonna, was used for all calculations. As well as giving the students an introduction to mathematical modelling and computer programming, this approach helped to illustrate the importance of research in bioprocess engineering. In general, the experiment was well received by the students and the fact that they were discovering new knowledge generated a degree of enthusiasm. However, many students were consumed by the technical demands of computer programming, especially the attention to detail required. Thus, they did not think too deeply about the physical aspects of the system they were modelling. In future years, therefore, consideration will be given to giving the student prior instruction in the use of the software

Using peer review to enhance the quality of engineering laboratory reports

Peer review of third year bioprocess engineering laboratory reports was introduced in an attempt to improve the standard of report writing in the BSc in Biotechnology degree programme at DCU. Preliminary results suggest that the review process leads to improved report writing skills. The student response to the initiative was very positive but it was strongly felt that the process should be anonymous. On average, marks awarded by students were higher than those awarded by the lecturer but there was a slight tendency to award more extreme marks

A study to determine the factors which influence primiparas to accept or reject breast feeding

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Third-Party and Independent Presidential Candidates: The Need for a Runoff Mechanism

Consider what 2016 might have looked like if this better electoral system had been in place. Bloomberg then could have entered the race without risking being a spoiler. In a three-way race—Bloomberg, Clinton, and Trump—Bloomberg might have fizzled out, leaving a two-way race between Clinton and Trump. Since that is essentially how the election ended up anyway, the country would have been no worse off for having had a chance to consider Bloomberg as an alternative. But suppose, however, with Trump’s candidacy spinning out of control in a series of unacceptable comments (as it appeared to do in early August),11 the American electorate might have preferred a head-to-head matchup between Bloomberg and Clinton, rather than one between Trump and Clinton. Maybe Clinton would have beaten Bloomberg in that head-to-head matchup. That is fine; that is a democratic choice reflecting the preference of the electorate. But maybe Bloomberg would have beaten Clinton. We will never know, because the actual system in place was not designed to enable the American electorate to have that choice. In this respect, the existing system is deficient. It deprives the American electorate of an option it should have. The purpose of this Article is to offer a repair for this deficiency

Recognizing nullhomotopic maps into the classifying space of a Kac-Moody group

This paper extends certain characterizations of nullhomotopic maps between p-compact groups to maps with target the p-completed classifying space of a connected Kac-Moody group and source the classifying space of either a p-compact group or a connected Kac-Moody group. A well known inductive principle for p-compact groups is applied to obtain general, mapping space level results. An arithmetic fiber square computation shows that a null map from the classifying space of a connected compact Lie group to the classifying space of a connected topological Kac-Moody group can be detected by restricting to the maximal torus. Null maps between the classifying spaces of connected topological Kac-Moody groups cannot, in general, be detected by restricting to the maximal torus due to the nonvanishing of an explicit abelian group of obstructions described here. Nevertheless, partial results are obtained via the application of algebraic discrete Morse theory to higher derived limit calculations which show that such detection is possible in many cases of interest.Comment: References added, minor corrections; 29 pages, 4 figures, one tabl