Turning an undergraduate class into a professional research community

I describe here an ongoing pilot project aimed at a full integration of teaching and research at the undergraduate level. Our chief innovation is the mechanism of inheritance: each year students receive a body of work produced by the previous group of students and make improvements and additions to it; this process can be repeated until publishable materials are produced. This is part of a system of learning that enables students to function as a real and evolving community of researchers.     

Turning sunlight into electricity

The intensity of solar radiation in the Earth’s direction from the Sun is approximately 1353 kW/m², a number also called the ‘solar constant’. Accordingly, it is estimated that Earth receives about 96 billion kilowatts from the Sun each second. If this colossal and unlimited energy could be more fully utilized, our dependence on fast dwindling fossil cache will be drastically reduced. Solar energy is available in various forms such as direct solar radiation, wind, wave power, rain (in the form of hydropower), photosynthesis and ocean thermal gradients. Among these, the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity is clean and attractive. This article highlights various routes to directly harness electricity from sunlight. An erratum to this article is available at .     

迎接挑战化危为机

席卷全球的金融危机,给全世界经济蒙上一层浓厚的阴影,我们也不能独善其身.人们去思考和应对金融危机的利弊,特别是对教育产生的利弊,于危机中寻找契机,化危为机,的确是摆在面前的一个十分重大的课题.     

ASQ and ISPI: Mutual Opportunities for Influencing Global Performance

To help organizations get closer to their value objectives, a number of approaches and fields of practice have been developed. Two fields common in today's business environment are human performance technology (HPT) and quality. The recent publication of the Global State of Quality Research: Discoveries 2013 by the American Society for Quality provides customer‐ and practitioner‐related data and offers an opportunity to link the purposes, philosophies, research, and practices of quality and HPT.     

论苏轼骈文的散化现象

苏轼破体为文,把古文的笔法渗入到各种文种之中,诸如以文为赋,以文为四六等,形成内涵丰富的诗文改革运动,完善了"古文"理论。他兼取骈散之长,在骈文因定体制中,或穿插单行句式,或加长骈句,或运以散体之法,不求切对工整,不用故事陈言,打破浮靡堆砌,风格追求疏散,语言力求平易,形成了独具特色的散体骈文,树立了散化骈文的典范。苏轼以自身的实践,改良着骈文,推动骈文的散化,影响了北宋文人的骈文创作。