Focusing Elements Research Articles

Social Capital, Religious Social Capital and the Missing Element of Religious Ritual

This article was written to contribute towards developing a suitable conceptual framework for meeting the overarching research aim of developing a more profound empirically informed interpretation of the manner and extent to which religious ritual could be valued as a source of social capital formation in the South African context. With this in mind, the article first explores the concept of social capital in the light of the threefold distinction between bonding, bridging and linking forms of social capital. Secondly, from the vantage point of such exploration the connection with religion is made more pointedly. By tapping into the more recently invented notion of religious social capital, the article shows how this concept is today used meaningfully to advance a twofold perspective: on religion as a special repository of social capital, but also on the limitations of religion and its institutions in meeting the social capital needs of communities and the wider society. Finally, from the viewpoint of eliciting important conceptual value from the notion of religious social capital, the case of religious ritual as a very necessary yet untapped element in the contemporary research focus on religion and social capital formation is presented. In particular, an argument about religious ritual as the consistently missing element in this research focus is put forward and given greater substance through the identification of two pointers from the literature that can be deemed useful in starting to address this lacuna.

The concentration of energy from Edge Lasers by Diffractive Optical Component

The aim of this paper is to design a diffractive optical element based on the laser junction numerical model. We assumed a ?long? laser junction emitting quasi-monochromatic, spatially incoherent light that corresponds to the high power laser. Diffractive optics approach can be used due to the narrowband illumination. The especially designed numerical junction model was experimentally verified. Then a numerically designed diffractive focusing element was manufactured and tested in the experimental setup. This paper includes theoretical investigations, numerical modeling as well as experimental data. Full Text: PDF ReferencesE. Wolf, "New theory of partial coherence in the space?frequency domain. Part I: spectra and cross spectra of steady-state sources", J. Opt. Soc. Am. 72, 343 (1982). CrossRef E. Wolf, "Coherence theory of laser resonator modes", J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 1, 541 (1984). CrossRef A. Naqwi and F. Durst, "Focusing of diode laser beams: a simple mathematical model", Appl. Opt. 29, 1780 (1990) CrossRef J. Yang, T. Chen, G. Ding and X. Yuan, "Focusing of diode laser beams: a partially coherent Lorentz model", Proc. SPIE 6824, 68240A (2007); CrossRef X. Zeng and A. Naqwi, "Far-field distribution of double-heterostructure diode laser beams", Appl. Opt. 32, 4491 (1993). CrossRef Y. Li and J. Katz, "Nonparaxial analysis of the far-field radiation patterns of double-heterostructure lasers", Appl. Opt. 35, 1442 (1996). CrossRef X. Zeng, Z. Feng, and Y. An, "Far-field expression of a high-power laser diode", Appl. Opt. 43, 5168 (2004) CrossRef J. Tervo, J. Turunen, P. Vahimaa, and F. Wyrowski, "Shifted-elementary-mode representation for partially coherent vectorial fields", J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 27, 2004 (2010). CrossRef J. Turunen, "Elementary-field representations in partially coherent optics", J. Mod. Opt. 58, 509 (2011). CrossRef H. Partanen, J. Tervo, and J. Turunen, "Spatial coherence of broad-area laser diodes", Appl. Opt. 52, 3221 (2013) CrossRef M. Sypek, "Light propagation in the Fresnel region. New numerical approach", Opt. Commun., 116, 43 (1995) CrossRef Z. Jaroszewicz, A. Kolodziejczyk, M. Sypek, C. Gomez-Reino, "Non-paraxial analytical solution for the generation of focal curves", J. Mod. Opt., 43, 617 (1996) CrossRef M. Sypek, C. Prokopowicz, M. Gorecki, "Image multiplying and high-frequency oscillations effects in the Fresnel region light propagation simulation", Opt. Eng., 42, 3158 (2003) CrossRef C. Prokopowicz, "Numerical calculation of light propagation in off-axis region", Proc. SPIE, 5484, 482 (2004). CrossRef A. Sobczyk, Z. Jaroszewicz, A. Kolodziejczyk, A. Kowalik, Cz. Prokopowicz, M. Sypek, "Nonparaxial anamorphic diffractive lenses", J. Opt., 15, 025702 (1-5) (2013) CrossRef

Design and property study of micro-slot optics

LIGA (Lithographie Galvanoformung Abformung) as a very useful technique for fabricating devices with micro-scale structures has been reported to make the micro-pore optics (MPO) for years. Light weight is one of the advantages of MPO, making it an alternative for X-ray focusing lenses used on space telescopes. However, researchers seldom considered using the MPO in visible light region. In this article, we designed a micro-slot optics (MSO) similar to MPO and fabricated it by X-ray LIGA technique. The MSO consists of 159 concentric hollow cylinders of nickel with the slot spacings ranging from 59 to 113µm and the focusing property of MSO is studied by simulations and experiments. Both the simulation and experiment results indicate that MSO is a useful focusing element. The MSO has one focal point when the point source is on the principal optical axis with the size of the focal point equaling to the size of the point source.

Random access actuation of nanowire grid metamaterial

While metamaterials offer engineered static optical properties, future artificial media with dynamic random-access control over shape and position of meta-molecules will provide arbitrary control of light propagation. The simplest example of such a reconfigurable metamaterial is a nanowire grid metasurface with subwavelength wire spacing. Recently we demonstrated computationally that such a metadevice with individually controlled wire positions could be used as dynamic diffraction grating, beam steering module and tunable focusing element. Here we report on the nanomembrane realization of such a nanowire grid metasurface constructed from individually addressable plasmonic chevron nanowires with a 230 nm × 100 nm cross-section, which consist of gold and silicon nitride. The active structure of the metadevice consists of 15 nanowires each 18 μm long and is fabricated by a combination of electron beam lithography and ion beam milling. It is packaged as a microchip device where the nanowires can be individually actuated by control currents via differential thermal expansion.

Integration of International Service Learning in Developing Countries within Occupational Therapy Education: Process and Implications

ABSTRACTInternational service learning (ISL) is included in an increasing number of courses at post-secondary levels of education, including programs which educate future occupational therapy practitioners. There is a limited amount of literature and research concerning best practices for course-based occupational therapy education featuring ISL experiences, in particular within developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to (a) to review key literature on ISL, (b) explicate key elements which can help design course-based ISL experiences; and (c) suggest areas for further research and development of course-based ISL. The seven elements of focus that provide a base to guide occupational therapy educators who create ISL courses with an immersion component in a country with a developing economy are discussed, as well as future challenges and possibilities when providing occupational therapy services to a global society.

Influences of astigmatic focusing geometry on femtosecond filamentation and supercontinuum generation in fused silica

The influences of focal lens tilting on the filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses in fused silica were studied experimentally. The length of filamentation, output beam profile and supercontinuum generation were found to be close related with the tilt angle of the focusing element. When the focusing lens is rotated, the filament breaks into two parts along the propagation axis. The distance between the two parts was calculated and well matched with the predicted results. It is also found that the supercontinuum spectrum becomes narrower and its conversion efficiency becomes lower by rotating the focal lens.

Focused thermal emission from a nanostructured SiC surface

Incandescent sources that produce light from electrically heated filaments or films tend to feature low efficiencies and offer poor spectral and angular control. We demonstrate that a judicious nanostructuring of a SiC surface can focus thermal emission of a preselected spectral range to a well-defined height above the surface. SiC is known to support electromagnetic surface waves that afford the required thermal emission control. Here, we provide general design rules for this type of focusing element that can be extended to other material systems, such as metals supporting surface plasmon-polariton waves. These rules are verified using full-wave calculations of the spatial variation of thermal emission. The obtained results establish a foundation for developing more complex algorithms for the design of complex thermal lenses.

Resolution- and throughput-enhanced spectroscopy using a high-throughput computational slit.

There exists a fundamental trade-off between the spectral resolution and the efficiency or throughput for all optical spectrometers. The primary factors affecting the spectral resolution and throughput of an optical spectrometer are the size of the entrance aperture and the optical power of the focusing element. So far, the collective optimization of the above mentioned has proven difficult. Here, we introduce the concept of high-throughput computational slits (HTCS), a numerical technique for improving both the effective spectral resolution and efficiency of a spectrometer. The proposed HTCS approach was experimentally validated using an optical spectrometer configured with a 200 μm entrance aperture, test, and a 50 μm entrance aperture control, demonstrating improvements in the spectral resolution of the spectrum by ∼50% over the control spectral resolution and improvements in efficiency of >2 times over the efficiency of the largest entrance aperture used in this Letter, while producing highly accurate spectra.

Nuclear fission technology in Spain: History and social concerns

This research examines the evolution of nuclear technology in Spain from the early years of the Franco dictatorship to the global financial crisis and technology's influence on Spanish culture. To this end, we take a sociological perspective, with science culture and social perceptions of risk in knowledge societies serving as the two elements of focus in this work. In this sense, this article analyses the transformation of social relationships in light of technological changes. We propose technology as a strategic place to observe the institutional and organisational dynamics of technologic-scientific risks, the expert role and Spain's science culture. In addition, more specifically, within the language of co-production, we 'follow the actor' and favour new forms of citizen participation that promote ethics to discuss technological issues.

3D printing of piezoelectric element for energy focusing and ultrasonic sensing

Piezoelectric ceramics are currently of considerable interest for their capabilities of converting compressive/tensile stresses to an electric charge, or vice versa. Because ceramics cannot be cast and machined easily, additive manufacturing (AM) processes (3D printing technology) open an effective pathway in geometrical flexibility. However, the piezoelectric properties limit the application of printed ceramics. This work demonstrates that a piezoelectric-composite slurry with BaTiO3 nanoparticles (100nm) can be 3D printed using Mask-Image-Projection-based Stereolithography (MIP-SL) technology. After a post-process, the density of 5.64g/cm3 was obtained, which corresponds to 93.7% of the density of bulk BaTiO3 (6.02g/cm3). The printed ceramic exhibits a piezoelectric constant and relative permittivity of 160pCN−1 and 1350 respectively. An ultrasonic transducer with printing focused piezoelectric element was fabricated to realize the energy focusing and ultrasonic sensing. A 6.28MHz ultrasonic scan was achieved by the transducer and successfully visualized the structure of a porcine eyeball.

JLAB's Super High Momentum Spectrometer's Superconducting Q1 Magnet

The commissioning and test results of a superferric superconducting quadrupole magnet constructed by Scientific Magnetics, Inc., for Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF also known as JLAB) will be presented. The quadrupole magnet, named Q1, is the first focusing element in the Super High Momentum Spectrometer (SHMS). The SHMS, which is located within JLAB's experimental Hall C, consists of all superconducting magnets in a dQQQD configuration and is part of the JLAB's 12-GeV upgrade. Here, “d” refers to the small horizontal bend dipole, “Q” stands for focusing quadrupole magnets, and “D” is the vertical-bending momentum-selecting dipole magnet. Characterization of the magnet's cryogenic heat loads and magnetic field quality will be presented along with descriptions of the magnet's control system, power supply, and quench detection system.

’CLOCK SPEED’ THEORY OF STRATEGY MAKING ALONG THE LIFE CYCLE

Regardless of sector, the long term viability of a firm is strongly tied to the quality and timeliness of its strategies. In hi-tech, events unfold much faster than in other value-creating business activities and hence the strategy changes its scope, its focus and implementation challenges often. This article will present a model that can be relied upon to gauge the need for different strategic engagements at four critical points of the market development: start-up, growth, leveling off/shakeout and maturity. The article also surfaces the importance of the elements of speed, horizon and focus to strategy making in hi-tech and comments on the evolution of market complexity.

All-optical beam deflection method for simultaneous thermal conductivity and thermo-optic coefficient (dn/dT) measurements

This work describes an all-optical beam deflection method to simultaneously measure the thermal conductivity (Λ) and thermo-optic coefficient (dn/dT) of materials that are absorbing at λ= 10.6 μm and are transparent to semi-transparent at λ= 632.8 nm. The technique is based on the principle of measuring the beam deflection of a probe beam (632.8 nm) in the frequency-domain due to a spatially and temporally varying index gradient that is thermally induced by 50:50 split pump beam from a CO2 laser (10.6 μm). The technique and analysis methods are validated with measurements of 10 different optical materials having Λ and dn/dT properties ranging between 0.7 W/m K ≲Λ≲ 33.5 W/m K and −12 × 10−6 K−1 ≲dn/dT≲ 14 × 10−6 K−1, respectively. The described beam deflection technique is highly related to other well-established, all-optical materials characterization methods, namely, thermal lensing and photothermal deflection spectroscopy. Likewise, due to its all-optical, pump-probe nature, it is applicable to materials characterization in extreme environments with minimal errors due to black-body radiation. In addition, the measurement principle can be extended over a broad range of electromagnetic wavelengths (e.g., ultraviolet to THz) provided the required sources, detectors, and focusing elements are available.

65-4: Visual Effect Analysis for an Auto-stereoscopic Display Illuminated with Directional Backlight

The visual effect in a directional backlight auto-stereoscopic display is analyzed with Monte Carlo ray-tracing technique. The effect of microstructures on the luminescence uniformity on a liquid crystal screen is simulated and experimentally investigated. Linear Fresnel focusing lens deviating from the ideal case is studied specifically as an image focusing element.

Optimization of neutrino fluxes for future long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments

One of the main goals of the Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillation experiment (LBNO) experiment is to study the L/E behaviour of the electron neutrino appearance probability in order to determine the unknown phase δCP. In the standard neutrino 3-flavour mixing paradigm, this parameter encapsulates a possibility of a CP violation in the lepton sector that in turn could help explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. In LBNO, the measurement of δCP would rely on the observation of the electron appearance probability in a broad energy range covering the 1st and 2nd maxima of the oscillation probability. An optimization of the energy spectrum of the neutrino beam is necessary to find the best coverage of the neutrino energies of interest. This in general is a complex task that requires exploring a large parameter space describing hadron target and beamline focusing elements. In this paper we will present a numerical approach of finding a solution to this difficult optimization problem often encountered in design of modern neutrino beamlines and we will show the improved LBNO sensitivity to the presence of the leptonic CP violation attained after the neutrino beam optimization.

SENSITIVITY MEASUREMENT OF FIBRE BRAGG GRATING SENSOR

A practical pass-through type fibre Bragg grating (FBG) temperature sensor system have been designed, developed, simulated, and experimentally investigated. The performance of FBG was evaluated in harsh environments exposed under direct sunlight, rain, and wind. The sensor system designed directly focused with convex and hand lens. The temperature of FBG’s sensor head been measured. The broadband laser source was launched into the system using tunable laser source (TLS) and both transmission and reflection spectra of FBG sensor were measured by optical spectrum analyzer (OSA). Results shows that the Bragg wavelength shift, increased proportionally with the temperature changes. The sensitivity of FBG were recorded at 0.0100 and 0.0132 nm °C-1 for the systems where convex and hand lens applied to the FBG’s sensor head respectively, while the sensitivity of 0.0118 nm °C-1 measured for the system without any focusing element applied.

FIBRE BRAGG GRATING SENSOR SYSTEM FOR TEMPERATURE APPLICATION

A practical pass-through type fibre Bragg grating (FBG) temperature sensor system have been designed and experimentally investigated. The performance of FBG was evaluated with the varying of focusing elements in harsh environments, under direct sunlight. The sensor head of FBG was designed to be focused with convex and hand lens. Results shows that the Bragg wavelength shift, increase proportionally with the temperature for both systems. The sensitivities of FBG were recorded to be 0.0107 and 0.0122 nm °C-1 for the system where convex and hand lens applied to the FBG’s sensor head respectively.

Sustainability, education and local government: insights from the Australian state of Victoria

ABSTRACTLocal government (LG) is increasingly playing a role in tackling environmental issues and promoting sustainability. An important element of this LG focus is sustainability education and engagement, yet only few details on the nature of these activities are evident. Similarly there is little understanding of the professional competencies required by LG staff to deliver the relevant sustainability education and engagement activities. A web-based survey of LG sustainability officers in the State of Victoria (Australia) provides insight into the focus of these officers’ work and the competencies they rely on. The findings seek to guide the training and employment of LG sustainability staff and the effective delivery of sustainability education and engagement activities. Broadly, the sustainability officers surveyed are closely involved with activities within their LG organisation, but are engaging less so with specific education institutions, organisational sectors and the community in general. In keeping with this, the major sustainability education and engagement focuses are collaboration with peers and stakeholders, rather than community-wide initiatives. For undertaking sustainability education and engagement activities, systems-thinking, anticipatory competence and normative competence were highlighted as important; however, strategic competence and interpersonal competence were considered most important.

Expletive and Referential Subject Pronouns in Medieval French by Michael Zimmermann

Reviews 287 majorité reveals a tendency among young French speakers (ages fourteen and fifteen) toward plural verbs. They used a plural verb in 66.67% of cases, as compared to 56.25% for adults over sixty (87). She also found that definite and indefinite articles influence agreement: older speakers use a singular verb with la foule 100% of the time, but only 64.29% with une foule (93). Tristram’s review of the historical use of collective nouns shows variation over time. Through the eighteenth century, for example, use of plural verbs rose from 12.5% of cases to 37.31% and then declined to 31.78% (99). Her examination of twentieth-century grammar textbooks found that they approached verbal agreement with collective nouns flexibly, with no apparent change over time. This book undertakes so much that the reader sometimes feels lost in its multifaceted methodology and lengthy endnotes.A more straightforward research design and more concise writing style, along with more examples and discussions focused specifically on the results, would have helped to put the grammar in context and done greater justice to Tristram’s tremendous effort and rich data. Nonetheless, her book is an interesting invitation to learn about morphosyntactic variation in French using a variety of methodologies and corpora. Manhattan College (NY) Samira Hassa Zimmermann, Michael. Expletive and Referential Subject Pronouns in Medieval French. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2014. ISBN 978-3-11-037337-0. Pp. 246. 100 a. This monograph is a meticulous, corpus-based examination of the expression and non-expression of expletive and referential subject pronouns in Old and Middle French, which are often considered pro-drop or null-subject languages. The corpus represents a selection of 1,500 root and embedded clauses from the Chanson de Roland and twelve prose texts ranging from the mid-twelfth to mid-seventeenth centuries and chosen at roughly fifty-year intervals. The results of this well-defined diachronic database of 19,500 manually analyzed clauses are displayed throughout the book in over forty coherent, easy-to-read graphs, showing that Medieval French is clearly not a symmetrical V2 language; that the expression of subject pronouns is more frequent in embedded than in root clauses; and that even though by the end of the seventeenth century subject pronouns are consistently expressed, their increase is neither constant nor linear over the five centuries analyzed. After demonstrating how all previous approaches to the non-expression of subject pronouns (for example, V2, borrowing, disambiguation, grammaticalization) are either “highly problematic” or “empirically inadequate” (44–109), Zimmermann presents a solid argument for analyzing Old French as a non-pro-drop or non-null-subject language, which nonetheless allows the non-expression of subject pronouns in specific structural conditions, for example, the context of left-peripheral focalization (110–205). Zimmermann attributes the sudden abandonment of the non-expression of subject pronouns in Classical French to extralinguistic reasons: influential works of seventeenth-century grammarians (Maupas, Vaugelas, Chiflet) insisting upon the consistent expression of subject pronouns, along with strict SVX word order. When writers and eventually native speakers of the time followed, movement of the verb to the left periphery in the contexts of focalization was no longer allowed. Among alternative focalization strategies, Zimmermann suggests “cleft and dislocation constructions which in fact show an increase in frequency in the 17th century”(216). Like the graphs, the numerous linguistic examples throughout are remarkably accessible: each French word is accurately glossed in English, followed by an overall translation, and in several cases by a detailed contextual analysis of the preverbal constituents considered“focus elements.” Furthermore, this monograph is highly accessible to the non-French reader: the author consistently distinguishes relevant features in his linguistic examples, using italics for verbs, boldface for subject pronouns, underscore for constituents preceding the verb or pronoun, and dotted lines for preceding elements not considered relevant (clitics and coordinating conjunctions). Zimmermann even provides translations of all citations (with the original French or German quotations in footnotes), and many examples and some graphs are conveniently repeated, avoiding the need to thumb back for previous examples to follow an occasional arduous argument. The style varies from somewhat engaging in the introductory chapters to fairly dry in the...

Numerical simulation analysis of high efficient SFG and color separation in far field in high power laser facility based on noncollinear phase matching by KDP crystal

Asymmetric property of wedge lens in 3 optical path which is used as frequency separation, and focusing element is considered to be an unfavourable factor for target alignment in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Furthermore, the thickness of wedge lens in 3 optical path will lead to laser induced damage inevitably. For the purpose of scheme improvement of final optical assembly, types I and II noncollinear sum frequency generation in KDP crystal at room temperature are discussed based on nonlinear coupled wave theory. As illustrated by simulated result, in addition to type II collinear SFG used in ICF recently, 351 nm (3) waves can be generated by type I or II noncollinear SFG process. This method can realize color separations of , 2, 3 in far field without asymmetric element such as wedge lens and posses adequate tolerance of matching angle corresponding to the high efficiency conversion. As calculated, for type I SFG, when the noncollinear angle is in the interval from 0 to 19.99, phase matching condition can be satisfied in KDP crystal. The noncritical phase matching angle 3 is 90 and the corresponding noncollinear angle is about 19.99. The tolerance of mismatching angle is about 20 mrad. For type II SFG, the noncollinear angle interval that can satisfy phase matching process is about 0-13.55. Like type I SFG, there is also an noncritical solution in type II process whose matching angle is about (3) = 86.53. Because of the smaller effective nonlinear coefficient in this case, high efficiency conversion needs about 5 cm thick SFG crystal under 1 GW/cm2. Correspondingly, tolerance of mismatching angle is about 20 mrad. Because of the harsh tolerance of noncollinear angle between and 2 and for the purpose of compactness of final optical assembly, another method of noncollinear SFG is proposed: a piece of silica wedge with 12 wedged angle is mounted behind the SHG crystal in order to produce a 3.5 mrad intersection angle between and 2, and after type II noncollinear SFG process, , 2, 3 will be frequency separated in far field automatically by using thin lens. The tolerance of incident angle corresponding to high efficient conversion is about 1.0 mrad. This scheme can improve the the final optical assembly used recently.