cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Gravitational self-localization in quantum measurement
Creators: name: Geszti, Tamas
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Within Newton-Schrödinger quantum mechanics which allows gravitational self-interaction, it is shown that a no-split no-collapse measurement scenario is possible. A macroscopic pointer moves at low acceleration, controlled by the Ehrenfest-averaged force acting on it. That makes classicality self-sustaining, resolves Everett's paradox, and outlines a way to spontaneous emergence of quantum randomness. Numerical estimates indicate that enhanced short-range gravitational forces are needed for the scenario to work. The scheme fails to explain quantum nonlocality, including two-detector anticorrelations, which points towards the need of a nonlocal modification of the Newton-Schrödinger coupling scheme.
description: Accepted for publication in Physical Review A; extends and replaces quant-ph/0204036
Higher education and rural development in Africa: Building a new institutional framework
Creators: name: Malcolm, Blackie
name: Malcolm, Blackie
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: International Development
subject: Africa
subject: Agriculture
subject: CAADP
subject: Higher agricultural education
subject: reforms

description: To achieve the much needed transformation in higher agricultural education in Africa, Universities have central roles in building an enabling environment. One of such roles that always requires limited attention is that of advocacy for favourable policies. In a contrast where resource attention are short and skills are scarce to service a key sector of the economy (the agricultural sector), the careful shepherding through effective policy decisions that are supportive is Africa’s top talent efforts to contribute to socio-economic transformation. Universities in Africa and their stakeholders are increasingly making significant progres with reference to advocacy and engagement with policy-decision makers. This article is premised on messages shared in a Resolution issued at a convening in Kampala, Uganda that addressed the theme “Strengthening Human and Institutional Capacity for Agricultural Development”. The convening event was organized in November 2010 by the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) as part of activities in the realm of advocacy for higher agricultural education (HAE) in Africa. This event marked a process of engaging policy and decision-makers in efforts to initiate reforms that would revitalize higher education and in particular HAE in Africa and the resolution constituted a key output endorsed by the Ministerial Conference on Higher Education, Finance and Agriculture. The Ministers resolved to address priority issues related to higher education and agricultural development and recognized that human and institutional capacity remains a fundamental and essential component of agricultural development. They agreed that Agricultural development, strategy should give particular attention to the role of higher education, and to facilitating needed changes in higher education policy to address Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) priority issues. The Ministers committed to respond to these challenges and recognized the need for multistakeholder engagements. They thus, made the following requests 1. We ask for the full support and cooperation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme; 2. We call upon Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Governing Boards and Senates of our higher education institutions to facilitate and support the calls for action set out in this resolution; 3. We ask Africa’s development partners, foundations and private firms and investors to support these efforts and the process of carrying out the actions set out in this resolution.”
Reflections on the incentive structures at African universities and their impact on the direction and performance of the continent’s development
Creators: name: Larsen, Carl Erik Schou
name: Larsen, Carl Erik Schou
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Institutional and Behavioral Economics
subject: Africa
subject: behavioural change
subject: Higher Education
subject: incentives

description: Research has proven that there is a clear positive correlation between the level of education in a country and its economic development. The Asian tiger economies invested heavily in higher education as one of the precursor for their rapid economic development. Africa is trying to do the same: in the past 20 years African universities have gone from elite to mass education institutions. However, while societies develop rapidly, especially in urban areas, the African graduates are to a large degree getting the same kind of education as their grandfathers. While the universities as institutions had to adapt to changing conditions there has been little change in the learning paradigm, making African graduates ill equipped to address 21st century challenges. The current skills gap is diminishing the ability both at aggregate (continental) as well as national level to use the full potential of their educated elite to boost societal and economic development. In past decades there have been many initiatives and projects trying to update the academic learning paradigm within African Universities but with limited impact. Based on extensive recent visits to universities in Africa hypotheses are proposed that this might partly be related to the fact that many of the existing incentive structures governing higher education are poorly aligned to the quality and local relevance of training and research programs; and by implication the graduates being chunned out. Furthermore, relevant policies and existing structures for securing quality higher education are often also poorly enforced so they do not have the intended effect on the behaviour of faculty and management behaviour.
Review of the higher education system in Benin: Status, challenges, opportunities and strategies for improvement
Creators: name: Assogbadjo, Achille
name: Idohou, R.
name: Sinsin, B.
name: Assogbadjo, Achille
name: Idohou, R.
name: Sinsin, B.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Institutional and Behavioral Economics
subject: Benin
subject: funding
subject: Higher education
subject: LMD
subject: West Africa

description: The present study was executed to assess the current status of the higher education sector in Benin. Documentary review method was used to collect data and were complemented by surveys. Data obtained were synthesized in form of graphs and tables. Results showed that political decision sustains education systems of Benin. Benin has seven public universities and the University of Abomey-Calavi remains the most populous university with high annual students’ recruitment. Some innovations have been proposed to improve the higher education system in Benin which remain insignificant compared to the current challenge that the system is facing. Apart from national subvention, several other partners contribute to funding the higher education system in Benin. However, the vision and mission of the donors remain very divergent. Yet it is necessary to rethink the current system and implement some strategic actions towards contribution of the system to higher productivity and meet development goals.
The dark side of user experience design.pdf
Creators: name: Timkanova, Karina
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: 120304 Digital and Interaction Design
subject: FOS: Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music)
subject: Design
subject: 120399 Design Practice and Management not elsewhere classified

description: The need for UX designers was increasing with the developing of the internet. As the market became more competitive, the platforms, apps and websites required a better interface. Recently scientists started to notice that the time spent on social media doubled. Can it be related to the way platforms are designed? The answer is yes. The main indicator which investors require is the engagement rate, that is, how much time people spend inside the platform. In order to attract the investment, UX/UI designers shifted their focus from the user-focused design to company-focused one. It has led to increasing mental illnesses, internet addiction, suicides and self-deprecation.
First-principles study of lattice instabilities in the ferromagnetic martensite Ni$_2$MnGa
Creators: name: Bungaro, Claudia
name: Rabe, K. M.
name: Corso, A. Dal
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2003
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The phonon dispersion relations and elastic constants for ferromagnetic Ni$_2$MnGa in the cubic and tetragonally distorted Heusler structures are computed using density-functional and density-functional perturbation theory within the spin-polarized generalized-gradient approximation. For $0.9
description: submitted to Phys. Rev. B
Higher Agricultural Education in Ethiopia: Current status and future prospects
Creators: name: Keraga Shibru, Admasu
name: Osiru, Moses
name: Aklilu, H.M.
name: Keraga Shibru, Admasu
name: Osiru, Moses
name: Aklilu, H.M.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Labor and Human Capital
subject: Agricultural development
subject: Agricultural education
subject: Ethiopia
subject: Higher education

description: Higher Education quality and relevance is an increasingly important issue in Ethiopia. Previous reforms have significantly increased financing, access and enrollment as well as transformed governance of the higher education system. This study assessed the status of higher agricultural education in Ethiopia and identified key issues for improving its relevance, quality and contribution to national development objectives. The study involved a desk review of literature, key informant discussions, focused group discussions and analysis. The findings revealed that although access to higher education in Ethiopia has improved significantly in the last two decades, important gaps, including those of quality and relevance, equity, leadership and governance remain. There are currently 176 undergraduate and more than 300 postgraduate academic programs in Ethiopia, with 35% female, and 15% private students enrolment. Of these, 50 undergraduate, 74 Masters, and 22 Doctoral programs are related to agriculture in public universities. Discussions with key informants revealed that there was a low perception of agriculture as a program of study. University programs need to be aligned to employment opportunities and relevant staff employed to support program delivery. Facilities for teaching, particularly the science subjects require improvement. The Ethiopian government should consider mechanisms to support the improved transition of graduates to employment, job creation and other opportunities.
Adding a Brane to the Brane-Anti-Brane Action in BSFT
Creators: name: Jones, Nicholas T.
name: Leblond, Louis
name: Tye, S. -H. Henry
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2003
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We attempt to generalize the effective action for the D-brane-anti-D-brane system obtained from boundary superstring field theory (BSFT) by adding an extra D-brane to it to obtain a covariantized action for 2 D-branes and 1 anti-D-brane. We discuss the approximations made to obtain the effective action in closed form. Among other properties, this effective action admits solitonic solutions of codimension 2 (vortices) when one of the D-brane is far separated from the brane-anti-brane pair.
description: 23 pages, 2 figures, minor revisions
Optimized Robotic Path Planning with Obstacles.pdf
Creators: name: Young, Clayton
name: Freeman, Seth
name: Vaterlaus, Austin
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 90602 Control Systems, Robotics and Automation
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
subject: 80101 Adaptive Agents and Intelligent Robotics
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: 10303 Optimisation
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: This research focuses on optimizing the trajectory of a seven degree-of-freedom robot while avoiding obstacles. Current path planning methods focus on maximizing computational speed, while sacrificing final pose accuracy and optimal solutions (travel distance, power consumption, etc.). To solve this, a new method is described which provides valid trajectory solutions that minimize total robot joint movement, while avoiding obstacles and maintaining final pose accuracy. To accomplish this, a gradient-based optimization algorithm was developed and coupled with multi-starting on a supercomputer. Five increasingly complex trajectory and obstacle scenarios were implemented to show the algorithm’s robustness and capabilities. The method presented, combined with increasing cloud computing capabilities, shows to be a viable option for a more optimal and accurate path planning algorithm.
Chronobiological traits predict the restrained, uncontrolled, and emotional eating behaviors of female university students
Creators: name: Budkevich, Roman O.
name: Arcady A. Putilov
name: Tinkova, Elena L.
name: Budkevich, Elena V.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Science Policy
subject: 111714 Mental Health
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Although significant associations between diurnal preference and restrained eating behaviors were previously reported, such reports are scarce and, in some respects, inconclusive. In this cross-sectional survey of 567 female university students aged between 17 and 23 years, we tried to clarify and extend the previous findings on chronobiological correlates of these behaviors. We administered the three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire Revised and three questionnaires designed to assess trait-, ability-, and state-like differences in the domain of chronobiology, the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), the Sleep-Wake Pattern Assessment Questionnaire, and the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire, respectively. Statistical analyses included factor, correlation, and regression analyses. We found that any of three aspects of unhealthy eating behaviors (i.e., lack of cognitive eating restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating) was linked to one or more dimensions of individual chronobiological differences. We explained the previously reported inconclusive results by the differential relationship of two subconstructs of diurnal preferences to eating behaviors. For instance, such relationship was found for two (morning and evening) subscales of the MEQ. Cognitive eating restraint and uncontrolled eating were related to the morning subscale, while emotional eating was related to the evening subscale. These associations were supported by the associations revealed for morning vs. evening components of earliness-lateness assessed with two other questionnaires, (e.g., morning lateness and sleep offset vs. evening lateness and sleep onset, respectively). We conclude that unhealthy eating behaviors seem to be linked to unhealthy sleep-wake habits and behaviors and to inabilities to wake or sleep on demand at certain times of the day.
Status and challenges of the higher agricultural education sector in Ghana
Creators: name: Livingstone, Sam-Amoah
name: Yawson, D.O.
name: Frimpong, K. Agyei
name: Abole, E.
name: Livingstone, Sam-Amoah
name: Yawson, D.O.
name: Frimpong, K. Agyei
name: Abole, E.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Labor and Human Capital
subject: Challenges
subject: Ghana
subject: Higher Agricultural Education
subject: Science
subject: Technology and Innovation
subject: Ranking

description: African universities have to play a central role in Africa’s development through the provision of quality training, knowledge and innovations. This is particularly crucial in ensuring a food secure Africa through a knowledge-based transformation of agriculture and related activities. Information on the state and challenges of higher agricultural education can inform actions aimed at positioning institutions to play the roles expected of them. The overall objective of this study was to assess the current status of the higher education sector in Ghana to identify current challenges and gaps and develop specific recommendations towards enhancing its performance and contribution to science, technology and innovation. Focusing on the five main public universities in Ghana, the study comprised a desk research and interviews with key officials of selected institutions. The findings suggest low quality of service to students due to large gaps in funding, teaching staff, and academic facilities.The demand for higher education in general far exceeds the supply. The total number of applicants to agricultural programmes increased sluggishly between 2004 and 2014, with female applicants hovering around 20%. Funding gaps, low technical or infrastructural capacity and declining number of applicants to science, technology, engineering and mathematics programmes are key issues that require urgent attention.
Precision measurement of the fundamental vibrational frequencies of tritium-bearing hydrogen molecules: T$_2$, DT, HT
Creators: name: Lai, K. -F.
name: Hermann, V.
name: Trivikram, T. M.
name: Diouf, M.
name: Schlösser, M.
name: Ubachs, W.
name: Salumbides, E. J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: High-resolution coherent Raman spectroscopic measurements of all three tritium-containing molecular hydrogen isotopologues T$_2$, DT and HT were performed to determine the ground electronic state fundamental Q-branch ($v=0 \rightarrow 1, ΔJ = 0$) transition frequencies at accuracies of $0.0005$ cm$^{-1}$. An over hundred-fold improvement in accuracy over previous experiments allows the comparison with the latest ab initio calculations in the framework of Non-Adiabatic Perturbation Theory including nonrelativisitic, relativisitic and QED contributions. Excellent agreement is found between experiment and theory, thus providing a verification of the validity of the NAPT-framework for these tritiated species. While the transition frequencies were corrected for ac-Stark shifts, the contributions of non-resonant background as well as quantum interference effects between resonant features in the nonlinear spectroscopy were quantitatively investigated, also leading to corrections to the transition frequencies. Methods of saturated CARS with the observation of Lamb dips, as well as the use of continuous-wave radiation for the Stokes frequency were explored, that might pave the way for future higher-accuracy CARS measurements.
description: 15 pages, 13 figures
The residues of quantum field theory - numbers we should know
Creators: name: Kreimer, Dirk
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: Quantum Algebra (math.QA)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: We discuss in an introductory manner structural similarities between the polylogarithm and Green functions in quantum field theory.
description: 15p, contributed to the proceedings of the {\em Workshop on Noncommutative Geometry and Number Theory}, August 18-22 2003, Max Planck Institut f\"ur Mathematik, Bonn. References updated, typos corrected
title: Action Learning as a Tool for Strategic Leadership in Higher Education: An Empirical Study
Creators: name: Gentle, Paul Nicholas
Publisher: name: The Open University
Year: 2008

description: The thesis aims to provide an empirical study of an attempt to introduce an Action Learning Set at departmental level within the organizational context of a College of Higher Education. The starting-point for the study is the notion that an academic leader introducing action learning to a department for which he or she is responsible might reduce the dissonance often experienced in educational organizations when institutional management paradigms conflict with the educational values and pedagogical principles underpinning the institution. A range of literature is examined, from that on leadership, organizational culture and change management, to a number of specific texts on higher education management. The use of action learning is considered within and beyond higher education, particularly in its use as a means of strategic leadership. A discussion on methodological issues focuses on specific research questions which were revised over the course of the study, and considers ethical and practical issues which underline the study. The thesis presents a case study narrative based on the experience of the Action Learning Set over a sequence of six set meetings, and the resultant analysis of data gathered. The data is supplemented by post experience interviews. The period of the study coincided with a time of considerable turbulence in the higher education sector in the wake of the 2003 White Paper, including the introduction of top-up fees in September 2006. This made a significant impact on the specific institution and the department in which the research was based, and this is evident in the data gathered and analysed. The research concludes that the success of action learning, particularly in a setting where professional education is practised, depends not only on the interplay of professional knowledge, questioning and reflection, identified originally by Revans (1980) as P, Q and R, but also on appropriate tension between affective factors and those concerning the organizational politics of the institution where action learning is situated. A number of points are identified for potential action by future researchers, including the need to investigate the transferability from the team learning in an action learning set to the development of collective capacity for leadership development across an institution of higher education. It is also suggested that it would be valuable to conduct empirical research on the use of action learning in other settings in higher education, including those of senior management teams.
Theoretical Aspects of Higgs Physics at the LHC
Creators: name: Moretti, Mauro
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The strategies recently developed to study Higgs boson properties at the LHC are reviewed. It is shown how to obtain model-independent determinations of couplings to fermions and gauge bosons by exploiting different production and decay channels. We consider the case of Weak Boson Fusion Higgs production with H decaying into b anti-b
description: 4 pages, 1 figure. EPSHEP Conference Proceedings, Aachen 2003
Status of the Higher Agricultural Education Sector in Kenya: A sector at crossroads
Creators: name: Onyango Ochuodho, Julius
name: Onyango Ochuodho, Julius
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Labor and Human Capital
subject: Higher Education
subject: Kenya
subject: labour market requirement
subject: quality assurance

description: Higher Education in Kenya is bedeviled with many problems due to its fast growth both in number of universities and population of students. Additionally there have been concerns that graduates from these institutions are of poor quality. The Government has tried a number of recommendations but it has not solved the problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of HE in Kenya with special reference to Agriculture and recommend further action to rectify the situation. An inception meeting was organized and questionnaires administered to institutions who did not attend. It was observed that most public and private universities have agricultural programs ailing from similar challenges. These challenges range from inadequate capital funding, limited student scholarships, inadequate trained staff to curricula that do not satisfy the labour market requirements. Most of the curricula are similar, delivered in ill-equipped laboratories and lecture halls, and due to large student numbers theoretical aspects dominate. The Universities Act 2012 brought all these universities under one Act and created institutions to proper regulate university education and improves the quality of the products thereof. However, the Commission for University Education (CUE) and Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) function below expectations due to inadequate funding; and so is Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). The Universities Fund and Universities Funding Board are yet to be formed or operationalized to source for funds. In order to encourage timely degree completion and improve the quality of graduates the universities and allied institutions like CUE should be better funded. Quality Assurance aspects should be enforced and more collaboration with other regional Universities and industry encouraged in order to produce labour market - fit graduates.
Task Based Optimization of Robotic Manipulators
Creators: name: Johnson, Curtis
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 90602 Control Systems, Robotics and Automation
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering

description: This paper explores the use of finite difference and particle swarm optimization methods to develop a generalized form for the design of robotic manipulators. The algorithms are evaluated on their ability to specialize a given robot configuration for a specific task. Their benefits and drawbacks are discussed, as well as how to combine both methodologies to be able to exploit the strengths of both approaches.
Status of Higher Education, Science and Technology in Malawi: A focus on Agricultural Higher Education
Creators: name: Valeta, Joshua
name: Sefasi, A.
name: Kalizang'oma, R.
name: Valeta, Joshua
name: Sefasi, A.
name: Kalizang'oma, R.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Labor and Human Capital
subject: Agriculture
subject: demographic dividend
subject: investment
subject: University ranking

description: Malawi’s demographic dividend remains low with a population that is young, comprising 46% below the age of 15. The majority of the population is involved in agriculture, which is the backbone of the economy; however, there has been limited investment, especially in agriculture higher education. There remains a big gap between higher education and development. A study was therefore undertaken to understand current status and identify challenges and opportunities in higher education, with special focus on agriculture. Literature was reviewed and the public, private sector and civil society were consulted using checklists. Findings show that Malawi has four public universities and sixteen private universities registered with the National Council for Higher Education. None of the universities is highly ranked in the global ranking systems for higher education instituons. This is as a result of limited research and publications, limited funding, poor infrastructure, non-industry oriented curriculum and compromised quality of education. Therefore, universities should intensify interaction with industry to improve research, curriculum design and delivery and graduate training and research quality. The National Council for Higher Education in Malawi and line ministry should develop a national qualifications framework, in reference to international standards, to guide and regulate quality of university programmes. Overall, the government and development partners should prioritize investing in the young generation to advance to higher education in order to reap a significant demographic dividend and foster development.
Noticeability Versus Impact in Traffic Signal Tampering
Creators: name: Thodi, Bilal Thonnam
name: Mulumba, Timothy
name: Jabari, Saif Eddin
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Systems and Control (eess.SY)
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering

description: This paper investigates the vulnerability of urban traffic networks to cyber-attacks on traffic lights. We model traffic signal tampering as a bi-objective optimization problem that simultaneously seeks to reduce vehicular throughput in the network over time (maximize impact) while introducing minimal changes to network signal timings (minimize noticeability). We represent the Spatio-temporal traffic dynamics as a static network flow problem on a time-expanded graph. This allows us to reduce the (non-convex) attack problem to a tractable form, which can be solved using traditional techniques used to solve linear network programming problems. We show that minor but objective adjustments in the signal timings over time can severely impact traffic conditions at the network level. We investigate network vulnerability by examining the concavity of the Pareto-optimal frontier obtained by solving the bi-objective attack problem. Numerical experiments are carried to illustrate the types of insights that can be extracted from the Pareto-optimal frontier. For instance, our experiments suggest that the vulnerability of a traffic network to signal tampering is independent of the demand levels.
What is the temperature structure in the giant HII region NGC 588?
Creators: name: Jamet, L.
name: Stasinska, G.
name: Perez, E.
name: Delgado, R. M. Gonzalez
name: Vilchez, J. M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present the results of an exhaustive study of the ionized gas in NGC 588, a giant H II region in the nearby spiral galaxy M33. This analysis uses a high number of diagnostics in the optical and infrared ranges. Four temperature diagnostics obtained with optical lines agree with a gas temperature of 11000K, while the [O III] 5007/88um ratio yields a much lower temperature of 8000K approximately. This discrepancy suggests the presence of large temperature inhomogeneities in the nebula. We investigated the cause of this discrepancy by constructing photoionization models of increasing complexity. In particular, we used the constraints from the Halpha and Hbeta surface brightness distributions and state-of-the-art models of the stellar ionizing spectrum. None of the successive attempts was able to reproduce the discrepancy between the temperature diagnostics, so the thermal balance of NGC 588 remains unexplained. We give an estimate of the effect of this failure on the O/H and Ne/O estimates and show that O/H is known to within +/-0.2 dex
description: 20 pages 18 figures
Duplex Mikaelian lenses and duplex Maxwell's fish eye lenses
Creators: name: Peng, Huiyan
name: Liu, Senlin
name: Wu, Yuze
name: Yan, Yi
name: Zhou, Zichun
name: Li, Xiaochao
name: Bao, Qiaoliang
name: Xu, Lin
name: Chen, Huanyang
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Optics (physics.optics)
subject: Classical Physics (physics.class-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In this paper, we report two new kinds of absolute optical instruments that can make stigmatically images for geometric optics in two dimensional space. One is called the duplex Mikaelian lens, which is made by splicing two half Mikaelian lenses with different periods. The other is exponential conformal transformer of duplex Mikaelian lens with the ratio of different periods of its two half Mikaelian lenses a rational number, which we call duplex Maxwell's fish eye lens. Duplex Mikaelian lenses have continuous translation symmetry with arbitrary real number, while duplex Maxwell's fish eye lenses have continuous rotational symmetry from 0 to 2*Pi. Hence each duplex Maxwell's fish eye lens corresponds to a duplex Mikaelian lens. We further demonstrate the caustic effect of geometric optics in duplex Mikaelian lenses and duplex Maxwell's fish eye lenses. In addition, we investigate the Talbot effect of wave optics in the duplex Mikaelian lens based on numeric calculations. Our findings based on splicing and exponential conformal mapping enlarge the family of absolute optical instruments.
description: 14 pages, 5 figures; This is an application of geometric optics when I was preparing the course of University Physics; Senlin Liu, Yuze Wu, Yi Yang, and Zichun Zhou are undergraduate students in Xiamen University Malaysia
Higher Education and development: Prospects for transforming agricultural education in Uganda
Creators: name: Nakayiwa, Florence
name: Nakayiwa, Florence
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Labor and Human Capital
subject: Agriculture
subject: higher education
subject: knowledge production
subject: science and technology

description: The higher education sector in Uganda has experienced tremendous improvements over the past two decades. It has also encountered numerous challenges that extend to the effects of massification on access, equity and quality. Through a review of existing literature and using international conventions and practices as benchmarks, this study gives an overview of the higher education sector in Uganda; it highlights productivity, production and utilisation of science, technology and innovations manifestations within the context of human capital development. With emphasis on agriculture education, the limitations discerned extend beyond scientific dependence and brain drain, to restrictions in scientific uptake and diffusion of new technologies across the value chain that have influenced the transition towards a knowledge based economy. The study concludes with prospects for an integrated system that will harness higher education as Africa engine for economic growth and development, whose relevance could apply across the sub- Saharan region.
title: Intersecting Sets: John Venn, Church and University, 1834-1923
Creators: name: Clewlow, Michelle
Publisher: name: The Open University
Year: 2007

description: This thesis is an examination of the religious and academic identities of John Venn (1834-1923), logician and biographer, explored by building up a picture of the series of family, religious and academic communities of which he was a part - from the institutional structures of the Church of England, Gonville and Caius College and the University of Cambridge, to more informal networks of friends and professions; and virtual communities of ideas and intellectual influence. Venn was heir to a clerical, Evangelical dynasty, but his religious doubts led him to resign orders. He established instead an academic reputation through published works on probability and logic; and in later life concentrated upon historical and biographical researches. Venn's departure from Evangelicalism and his development as an academic is explained in terms of the real and virtual communities he 'inherited', such as the Venn family connexion, Evangelical theology and Church party; and those to which he 'acquired' membership, namely the academic networks signified by interactions with colleagues and mediated through journals, learned societies and the institutional structures of the University. This biographical study of Venn is an entry point for examining broader historical themes in nineteenth century religion and academia; in particular, the development of mid-Victorian Evangelicalism, the course of University reform and the emergence of clerical and academic professional identities. It is also a case-study of religious doubt against which to compare the literature on crises of faith and the experiences of other sons of Evangelicalism, such as Leslie and Fitzjames Stephen and Henry Sidgwick.
Spin filtering in a hybrid ferromagnetic-semiconductor microstructure
Creators: name: Wróbel, J.
name: Dietl, T.
name: Lusakowski, A.
name: Grabecki, G.
name: Fronc, K.
name: Hey, R.
name: Ploog, K. H.
name: Shtrikman, H.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We fabricated a hybrid structure in which cobalt and permalloy micromagnets produce a local in-plane spin-dependent potential barrier for high-mobility electrons at the GaAs/AlGaAs interface. Spin effects are observed in ballistic transport in the tens' millitesla range of the external field, and are attributed to switching between Zeeman and Stern-Gerlach modes -- the former dominating at low electron densities.
Developing Higher Education systems in Africa - Selected country views
Creators: name: Nakayiwa, Florence
name: Osiru, Moses
name: Shibru, Admasu
name: Sam-Amoah, Livingstone
name: Ochuodho, Julius
name: Assogbadjo, Achille E.
name: Valeta, Joshua
name: Sefasi, A.
name: Kalizang'oma, R.
name: Nakayiwa, Florence
name: Osiru, Moses
name: Shibru, Admasu
name: Sam-Amoah, Livingstone
name: Ochuodho, Julius
name: Assogbadjo, Achille E.
name: Valeta, Joshua
name: Sefasi, A.
name: Kalizang'oma, R.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Labor and Human Capital
subject: Africa
subject: higher education
subject: knowledge economy
subject: science
subject: technology and innovations

description: Knowledge, science, technology and innovations have emerged as predominant factors of production in the 21st century. As such, global economies have joined the race to produce knowledge through investments, regulatory frameworks and macro-economic policies that favour research and innovation. Higher education stands out as a key antecedent of knowledge. Within Africa, from issues of limitations and restrictions to access, higher education service provision has been diversified; the number of Universities increased and enrolments have soared amidst funding and quality challenges. This study of six countries shows how African higher education system are striving to cope with the new context of knowledge production, over and above the traditional role of producing skilled labour. National governments have come up with initiatives and policy documentation that will ensure that Africa can fit within the knowledge economy dispensation. The study affirms that beyond the policy documents, African governments have to fully engage in the business of knowledge production if they are to remain relevant in this competitive global space.
Lattice Boltzmann simulations capture the multiscale physics of soft flowing crystals
Creators: name: Montessori, Andrea
name: Tiribocchi, Adriano
name: Bonaccorso, Fabio
name: Lauricella, Marco
name: Succi, Sauro
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The study of the underlying physics of soft flowing materials depends heavily on numerical simulations, due to the complex structure of the governing equations reflecting the competition of concurrent mechanisms acting at widely disparate scales in space and time. A full-scale computational modelling remains a formidable challenge since it amounts to simultaneously handle six or more spatial decades in space and twice as many in time. Coarse-grained methods often provide a viable strategy to significantly mitigate this issue, through the implementation of mesoscale supramolecular forces designed to capture the essential physics at a fraction of the computational cost of a full-detail description. Here, we review some recent advances in the design of a lattice Boltzmann mesoscale approach for soft flowing materials, inclusive of near-contact interactions (NCI) between dynamic interfaces, as they occur in high packing-fraction soft flowing crystals. The method proves capable of capturing several aspects of the rheology of soft flowing crystals, namely, i) a 3/2 power-law dependence of the dispersed phase flow rate on the applied pressure gradient, ii) the structural transition between an ex-two and ex-one (bamboo) configurations with the associated drop of the flow rate, iii) the onset of interfacial waves once NCI is sufficiently intense.
description: 12 pages, 5 figures
Combined Analysis of Numerical Diagonalization and Renormalization Group methods for the One-Dimensional $U$-$V$ Model at Quarter filling
Creators: name: Sano, Kazuhiro
name: Ono, Yoshiaki
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The one-dimensional extended Hubbard model with both the on-site $U$ and the nearest neighbor $V$ interactions at quarter filling is studied by using a novel finite size scaling. We diagonalize finite size systems numerically and calculate the Luttinger-liquid parameter $K_ρ$ which is substituted into the renormalization group equation as an initial condition. It leads $K_ρ$ in the infinite size system and the result agrees very well with the available exact result with $U=\infty$. This approach also yields the charge gap in the insulating state near the metal-insulator transition where the characteristic energy becomes exponentially small and the usual finite size scaling is not applicable.
description: 7 pages, 8 figures,submitted to PRB
MERICS China Forecast 2024 - Survey Results
Creators: name: Mercator Institute for China Studies
name: Soong, Claus
name: Stec, Grzegorz
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: China
EU
DWARC
China Horizons
MERICS
Forecast
2024
Survey
Results
Risks
elections
US
Taiwan
Xi Jinping

description: This is the slide deck with the detailed survey results from the MERICS China Forecast 2024.
MICROLOCALIZACIÓN DE Phytelephas aequatorialis Spruce EN LOS PREDIOS DE LA GRANJA EXPERIMENTAL ANDÍL, ORIENTADA A SU COMERCIALIZACIÓNUntitled Item
Creators: name: Cedeño, John Ricardo Pin
name: González, Alfredo Jimenez
name: Rodríguez, Marcos Pedro Ramos
name: Jalca, Otto Francisco Mero
name: Verdesoto, Cesar Alberto Cabrera
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 70504 Forestry Management and Environment
subject: FOS: Agriculture, forestry and fisheries

description: Debido a vacíos en el conocimiento relacionado con inventarios y microlocalización de Phytelephas aequatorialis en Ecuador, se desconoce la cantidad de especies y/o individuos existentes, y ante la alta demanda del producto se hace prioritario inventariar la especie de manera global, para conocer sobre las potencialidades y usos sustentables de esta planta. Por lo antes mencionado, se realizó un estudio sobre los usos y potencialidades de este taxa, en los predios de la Granja Experimental de Andil. Mediante un muestreo aleatorio simple, se inventariaron 30 palmas al azar de la especie objeto de estudio, para lo cual se midieron, la morfología del tallo, apariencia general/forma de la copa y la inflorescencia. Así se tuvo en cuenta variables ambientales relacionadas con la intervención humana. Por medio de encuestas realizadas a tres grupos; agricultores, centros de acopio y talleres de manufactura y comercialización, se pudo determinar entre otras cosas, que los recursos de la tagua en el sector no son correctamente manejados, en los centros de acopios, la llegada de materia prima es intermitente, en tanto que en Sosote de Rocafuerte la demanda de materia prima de los comerciantes de artesanías es alta. La intervención de las autoridades y la academia juegan un papel indispensable para poder impulsar del desarrollo de las actividades que van desde talleres comunitarios, asociaciones, hasta capacitaciones del artesano que permitan desarrollar las potencialidades y el correcto manejo de la tagua en el sector desde la plantación hasta la manufactura.
Ramifications and Diminution of Image Noise in Iris Recognition System
Creators: name: Podder, Prajoy
name: Parvez, A. H. M Shahariar
name: Rahman, Md. Mizanur
name: Khan, Tanvir Zaman
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Image and Video Processing (eess.IV)
subject: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV)
subject: Signal Processing (eess.SP)
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Human Identity verification has always been an eye-catching goal in digital based security system. Authentication or identification systems developed using human characteristics such as face, finger print, hand geometry, iris, and voice are denoted as biometric systems. Among the various characteristics, Iris recognition trusts on the idiosyncratic human iris patterns to find out and corroborate the identity of a person. The image is normally contemplated as a gathering of information. Existence of noises in the input or processed image effects degradation in the image superiority. It should be paramount to restore original image from noises for attaining maximum amount of information from corrupted images. Noisy images in biometric identification system cannot give accurate identity. So Image related data or information tends to loss or damage. Images are affected by various sorts of noises. This paper mainly focuses on Salt and Pepper noise, Gaussian noise, Uniform noise, Speckle noise. Different filtering techniques can be adapted for noise diminution to develop the visual quality as well as understandability of images. In this paper, four types of noises have been undertaken and applied on some images. The filtering of these noises uses different types of filters like Mean, Median, Weiner, Gaussian filter etc. A relative interpretation is performed using four different categories of filter with finding the value of quality determined parameters like mean square error (MSE), peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), average difference value (AD) and maximum difference value (MD).
description: Proceeding of 2018 IEEE International Conference on Current Trends toward Converging Technologies, Coimbatore, India
The Law of Data Scraping: A review of UK law on text and data mining
Creators: name: Burrow, Sheona
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021

description: Data is perceived to be a key asset in the digital economy. Many governments have been keen to promote and exploit data driven economies. Data scraping is a widely used technique that automatically extracts information from different (often online) sources, whilst data mining is the machine reading of data to identify useful information not immediately obvious on human reading. In 2014, the UK implemented a limited exception to copyright law for text and data mining (TDM). However, copyright is only one layer of legal protection available to ‘data’ and the protection of data has been the subject of a long-running tension between property based rights and concurrent protection for data owners in liability rules arising through competition and contract law. Maintaining an appropriate balance between protecting rightholders and users has remained problematic. This paper summarises the legal protection available in the UK for different types of data, and the (limited) interpretation of that protection by the UK courts. The analysis is situated in a review of the academic literature. Ultimately this paper will conclude that the layered protection for data is confusing for end users, and that the case law on the protection and exceptions available to those seeking to engage in TDM limited and fact dependent.