163 research outputs found
The Organization, Operation, and Benefits of A Regional Industrial Council: A Model in Western Kentucky
Get PDFDr. Galloway is Chairman and Professor, Department of Management, College of Business and Public Affairs, Murray State University
An investigation of Japanese university students' attitudes towards English
No full textAs a global language, English has spread to the extent that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers. In the last few decades, a body of research literature has emerged demonstrating the decreasing global relevance of native English speakers, and calling for a re-evaluation of English Language Teaching (ELT) practices, in order to better prepare students for using English as a global lingua franca. However, students’ needs and attitudes towards English and ELT must be fully investigated before curriculum changes can be suggested. Many attitude studies conclude that students favour native varieties of English. However, such research often uses single research methods and very few relate attitude studies to ELT. Further research is required regarding students’ attitudes towards English, the factors influencing these attitudes and how they relate to ELT. Moreover, few studies have investigated these proposals in any depth or explored the impact of course instruction in the global uses of English on students’ attitudes.This thesis is an investigation of Japanese university students’ attitudes towards English and English teachers in relation to the use of English as a lingua franca (ELF). In order to widen the scope of understanding, this research employed a mixture of quantitative and qualitative measures to obtain data about the participants and their attitudes. Thus, questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were used. Following the introduction, chapter two and three provide a literature review. Chapter four outlines the methodology, and the results are presented in chapters five, six and seven. Chapter eight presents a discussion of the results and the implications of this study for teaching English are discussed in chapter nine. The findings suggest that English is seen as a language belonging to native English speakers and those students want to learn native English. However, the results highlighted that a number of factors influence students’ attitudes. The findings also demonstrated that the study of Global Englishes influenced students in a number of ways, including their motivation for learning English, attitudes towards varieties of English and attitudes towards English teachers. It encouraged them to question notions of ‘standard English’, was helpful for future ELF communication and raised their confidence as English speakers. In sum, the findings of this study provide an empirical basis for a re-evaluation of ELT and suggest that Global Englishes Language Teaching is something that should be further investigated
Detection of the irradiated donor in the LMXBs 4U 1636-536 (=V801 Ara) and 4U 1735-444 (=V926 Sco)
Get PDFPhase-resolved VLT spectroscopy of the bursting low-mass X-ray binaries 4U 1636-536/V801 Ara and 4U 1735-444/V926 Sco is presented. Doppler images of the N iiiλ4640 Bowen transition reveal compact spots which we attribute to fluorescent emission from the donor star and enable us to define a new set of spectroscopic ephemerides. We measure Kem= 277 ± 22 and 226 ± 22 km s−1 from the N iii spots in V801 Ara and V926 Sco, respectively, which represent strict lower limits to the radial velocity semi-amplitude of the donor stars. Our new ephemerides provide confirmation that light-curve maxima in V801 Ara and likely V926 Sco occur at superior conjunction of the donor star and hence photometric modulation is caused by the visibility of the X-ray heated donor. The velocities of He iiλ4686 and the broad Bowen blend are strongly modulated with the orbital period, with phasing supporting emission dominated by the disc bulge. In addition, a reanalysis of burst oscillations in V801 Ara, using our spectroscopic T0, leads to K1= 90–113 km s−1. We also estimate the K-corrections for all possible disc flaring angles and present the first dynamical constraints on the masses of these X-ray bursters. These are K2= 360 ± 74 km s−1, f(M) = 0.76 ± 0.47 M⊙ and q= 0.21–0.34 for V801 Ara and K2= 298 ± 83 km s−1, f(M) = 0.53 ± 0.44 M⊙ and q= 0.05–0.41 for V926 Sco. Disc flaring angles α≥ 12° and q≃ 0.26–0.34 are favoured for V801 Ara whereas the lack of K1 constraint for V926 Sco prevents tight constraints on this system. Although both binaries seem to have intermediate inclinations, the larger equivalent width of the narrow N iii line in V801 Ara at phase 0.5 relative to phase 0 suggests that it has the higher inclination of the two
Need for monitoring and maintaining sustainable marine ecosystem services
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Increases in human population and their resource use have drastically intensified pressures on marine ecosystem services. The oceans have partly managed to buffer these multiple pressures, but every single area of the oceans is now affected to some degree by human activities. Chemical properties, biogeochemical cycles and food-webs have been altered with consequences for all marine living organisms. Knowledge on these pressures and associated responses mainly originate from analyses of a few long-term monitoring time series as well as spatially scattered data from various sources. Although the interpretation of these data can be improved by models, there is still a fundamental lack of information and knowledge if scientists are to predict more accurately the effects of human activities. Scientists provide expert advices to society about marine system governance, but such advices should rest on a solid base of observations. Nevertheless, many monitoring programs around the world are currently facing financial reduction. Marine ecosystem services are already overexploited in some areas and sustainable use of these services can only be devised on a solid scientific basis, which requires more observations than presently available
Numerical simulations of rotating axisymmetric sunspots
No full textA numerical model of axisymmetric convection in the presence of a vertical magnetic flux bundle and rotation about the axis is presented. The model contains a compressible plasma described by the non-linear MHD equations, with density and temperature gradients simulating the upper layer of the Sun's convection zone. The solutions exhibit a central magnetic flux tube in a cylindrical numerical domain, with convection cells forming collar flows around the tube. When the numerical domain is rotated with a constant angular velocity, the plasma forms a Rankine vortex, with the plasma rotating as a rigid body where the magnetic field is strong, as in the flux tube, while experiencing sheared azimuthal flow in the surrounding convection cells, forming a free vortex. As a result, the azimuthal velocity component has its maximum value close to the outer edge of the flux tube. The azimuthal flow inside the magnetic flux tube and the vortex flow is prograde relative to the rotating cylindrical reference frame. A retrograde flow appears at the outer wall. The most significant convection cell outside the flux tube is the location for the maximum value of the azimuthal magnetic field component. The azimuthal flow and magnetic structure are not generated spontaneously, but decay exponentially in the absence of any imposed rotation of the cylindrical domain
Discovery of an optical counterpart to the hyperluminous X-ray source in ESO 243-49
No full textThe existence of black holes of masses similar to 10(2)-10(5)M(circle dot) has important implications for the formation and evolution of star clusters and supermassive black holes. One of the strongest candidates to date is the hyperluminous X-ray source (HLX1), possibly located in the S0- a galaxy ESO 243-49, but the lack of an identifiable optical counterpart had hampered its interpretation. Using the Magellan telescope, we have discovered an unresolved optical source with R = 23.80 +/- 0.25 mag and V = 24.5 +/- 0.3 mag within HLX1's positional error circle. This implies an average X-ray/optical flux ratio similar to 500. Taking the same distance as ESO 243-49, we obtain an intrinsic brightness M-R = -11.0 +/- 0.3 mag, comparable to that of a massive globular cluster. Alternatively, the optical source is consistent with a main-sequence M star in the Galactic halo (for example an M4.4 star at approximate to 2.5 kpc). We also examined the properties of ESO 243-49 by combining Swift/Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) observations with stellar population modelling. We found that the overall emission is dominated by a similar to 5-Gyr-old stellar population, but the UV emission at approximate to 2000 angstrom is mostly due to ongoing star formation at a rate of similar to 0.03M(circle dot) yr(-1). The UV emission is more intense (at least a 9 sigma enhancement above the mean) north-east of the nucleus, in the same quadrant as HLX1. With the combined optical and X-ray measurements, we put constraints on the nature of HLX1. We rule out a foreground star and a background AGN. Two alternative scenarios are still viable. HLX1 could be an accreting intermediate mass black hole in a star cluster, which may itself be the stripped nucleus of a dwarf galaxy that passed through ESO 243-49, an event which might have caused the current episode of star formation. Or, it could be a neutron star in the Galactic halo, accreting from an M4-M5 donor star
The Call of the West; Letters from British Columbia. By C. F. J. Galloway
No full text"Without preface or introduction, the author proceeds at once to describe the people and country of Western Canada as he met them during a recent visit.
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