Qualifications, Employment and the Value of Human Capital, 1986-2001

This paper summarises the changing nature of qualifications across the working age population in New Zealand over the period from 1986 to 2001, and investigates the relationships between the changing qualification distribution and employment and income. First, the results confirm that there was a general upskilling of the population, as measured by formal educational qualifications. Second, we examine patterns of qualification change and employment growth measured in job groups, and find that the upskilling of the population occurred across a wide range of job-groups. Also, although the results show the employment growth was strongest in job-groups with high initial levels of skilled workers, employment growth is only weakly related to upskilling. Third, we decompose the change in the value of human capital into contributions due to changes in the qualification mix, changes in the (economic) returns to qualifications, and the interaction between these two factors. The value of human capital increased by 20% over the period: about 75% of this increase can be attributed to increasing incomes holding constant the mix of qualifications, 15-20% to an increasing skill mix, and the residual to interaction effects.Qualifications, Upskilling, Human Capital, Employment Growth, Incomes, New Zealand

In Vitro Regeneration Enhances the Propagation Potential of the Neotropical Giant Bamboo, Guadua Angustifolia, a Possible Perrenial Grass Biofuel Crop [abstract]

Only abstract of poster available.Track II: Transportation and BiofuelsGuadua angustifolia is a tropical American bamboo known for its rapid growth and abundant production of woody culms. This vigorous growing grass is considered the third largest bamboo in the world and has been observed to grow up to 21cm a day and produce multiple culms that can reach a maximum height of 30 meters. Previous studies conducted in the bamboos native habitat have estimated a mean number of standing culms per hectare of 6,940 with an oven-dry biomass of 311 ton/ha. This extensive amount of biomass has raised interest in the use of Guadua as a feedstock for the cellulosic biofuel industry. However, the establishment of successful bamboo plantations has been hampered by the lack of viable seed due to irregular flowering cycles and poor seed quality. This limitation poses a major problem for the development of Guadua as an energy crop by impeding the rapid multiplication of plant propagules, which are required for the establishment of breeding and research trials and ultimately for large-scale commercialization. Micropropagation constitutes a feasible alternative to traditional techniques utilized for the production of viable planting material. We report here the findings of method comparisons for the in vitro propagation of Guadua angustifolia through nodal explant proliferation, lateral culm cuttings, and the traditional chusquines method. Comparative results including multiplication rate, rooting, and acclimatization will be discussed

Symmetry breaking and friction in few layer phosphorene

National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowshi

A Process of Original Cataloging of Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to describe the reasoning, methodology, and impact behind a semi-automated cataloging process for electronic theses and dissertations, including explanations of the importance of retention and addition of cataloger created metadata. The authors explain an automated process that is generated by ProQuest and student entered data, and also the addition of metadata including the subject headings, classification number, etc. The study includes a survey of the public service librarians’ perceived usefulness of the cataloger and ProQuest generated metadata to describe theses and dissertations

Wavefront Sensing and Control Architecture for the Spherical Primary Optical Telescope (SPOT)

Testbed results are presented demonstrating high-speed image-based wavefront sensing and control for a spherical primary optical telescope (SPOT). The testbed incorporates a phase retrieval camera coupled to a 3-Mirror Vertex testbed (3MV) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Actuator calibration based on the Hough transform is discussed as well as several supercomputing archtectures for image-based wavefront sensing. Timing results are also presented based on various algorithm implementations using a cluster of 64 TigerShare TSlOl DSP's (digital-signal processors)

The Dependence of Growth-Model Results on Proficiency Cut Scores

States participating in the Growth Model Pilot Program reference individual student growth against “proficiency” cut scores that conform with the original No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Although achievement results from conventional NCLB models are also cut-score dependent, the functional relationships between cut-score location and growth results are more complex and are not currently well described. We apply cut-score scenarios to longitudinal data to demonstrate the dependence of state- and school-level growth results on cut-score choice. This dependence is examined along three dimensions: 1) rigor, as states set cut scores largely at their discretion, 2) across-grade articulation, as the rigor of proficiency standards may vary across grades, and 3) the time horizon chosen for growth to proficiency. Results show that the selection of plausible alternative cut scores within a growth model can change the percentage of students “on track to proficiency” by more than 20 percentage points and reverse accountability decisions for more than 40% of schools. We contribute a framework for predicting these dependencies, and we argue that the cut-score dependence of large-scale growth statistics must be made transparent, particularly for comparisons of growth results across states

Method and system for environmentally adaptive fault tolerant computing

A method and system for adapting fault tolerant computing. The method includes the steps of measuring an environmental condition representative of an environment. An on-board processing system's sensitivity to the measured environmental condition is measured. It is determined whether to reconfigure a fault tolerance of the on-board processing system based in part on the measured environmental condition. The fault tolerance of the on-board processing system may be reconfigured based in part on the measured environmental condition

Accelerator performance analysis of the Fermilab Muon Campus

Fermilab is dedicated to hosting world-class experiments in search of new physics that will operate in the coming years. The Muon g-2 Experiment is one such experiment that will determine with unprecedented precision the muon anomalous magnetic moment, which offers an important test of the Standard Model. We describe in this study the accelerator facility that will deliver a muon beam to this experiment. We first present the lattice design that allows for efficient capture, transport, and delivery of polarized muon beams. We then numerically examine its performance by simulating pion production in the target, muon collection by the downstream beam line optics, as well as transport of muon polarization. We finally establish the conditions required for the safe removal of unwanted secondary particles that minimizes contamination of the final beam.Comment: 10 p

A Beast with Two Backs....is back!

A research and public engagement event, recording community memories of the production, filming, and original broadcast of Dennis Potter’s Wednesday Play A Beast With Two Backs (1968) in Lydbrook where much of it was filmed using local extras. Providing the community focus and catalyst for the research was a screening of the play, and exhibition. This event runs in parallel with the British Film Institute own London Southbank two-summer season Messages for Posterity: The Complete Dennis Potter culminating in June-July 2015. The accompanying Lydbrook (Gloucestershire) exhibition also showcased to the Forest of Dean community the Potter research work to date of Jason Griffiths and Hannah Grist of the University of Gloucestershire, and Jo Garde-Hansen (now at University of Warwick including the HLF-supported Dennis Potter Archive Project, and the University of Gloucestershire funded Potter Matters website. The event also saw the launch of Remembering Dennis Potter Through Fans, Extras and Archives (2014) written by University of Gloucestershire research student Hannah Grist, and Dr Joanne Garde-Hansen associate professor in Culture, Media and Communications at the University of Warwick, both being members (internal and external respectively) of the Research Centre for Media, Memory and Community