Strength and deformation characteristics of steel fibrous concrete beams

INTRODUCTION Finite Element (FE) procedures are at present widely used in engineering modelling and analysis and employed extensively in the analysis of solids and structures and heat transfer and fluids (Bathe, 1996). The essence of FE solution of an engineering problem is that a set of governing algebraic equations is es-tablished which are then solved with the help of a digital computer. The first practical FE procedures were employed in linear analysis of solids and struc-tures (B…     

South-Asian Adolescents in British Schools: A review

This paper reviews published research on the education of South Asian young people in the UK. Young people of South Asian ancestry face extra problems of social adjustment at school because of the clash of values between the Asian home and the school and the racism of British society. The review covers important areas of concern, i.e. scholastic achievement, vocational aspirations, entry to higher education, inter-ethnic relations in schools, attitudes of teachers and mother tongue teaching. It is quite clear that South Asian young people in the UK (with the exception of Bangladeshis) are achieving as well as their white counterparts. Indeed, their rate of entry to universities is higher than that of whites. There also appear to be 'good' race relations in British schools as reported by most researchers. However, what emerges from the analysis is that there remain two main areas for concern; namely, the teaching of the mother tongue within the school curriculum and the entrenched negative attitudes (prejudice) of some teachers against South Asians. It is argued that there are wider ramifications of this paper for other ethnic minority adolescents in Europe and elsewhere. The paper concludes by offering some suggestions which might prove useful in this context.     

Techniques in X-ray astronomy

The excellent X-ray images produced by X-ray telescopes require the use of detectors with imaging capability at the focal plane of the telescopes. In this concluding part of the article on experimental techniques in X-ray astronomy, I describe many X-ray detectors that have been used over the years. These can broadly be classified into two physical types: non-dispersive and dispersive. Traditionally the simple non-dispersive types have been used extensively in X-ray astronomy. The advancement of solid state technologies, cryogenics, and the quality of X-ray imaging has led to many new detectors of both types. Both the traditional and the new types of detectors are described briefly here with emphasis on principles and some technical details. Kulinder Pal Singh is in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. His primary fields of research are X-ray studies of hot plasmas in stars, supernova remnants, galaxies, intergalactic medium in clusters of galaxies, active galactic nuclei, cataclysmic variables and X-ray binaries. He is leading the development of a soft X-ray imaging telescope for the ASTROSAT mission to be launched by India in 2007–2008. Part 1. Imaging Telescopes,Resonance, Vol. 10, No. 5, pp. 15–23, 2005.     

How is nature asymmetric?

This two-part article considers certain fundamental symmetries of nature, namely the discrete symmetries of parity (P), charge conjugation (C) and time reversal (T), and their possible violation. Recent experimental results are discussed in some depth. In this second part, we discussCP andT violation and arrive at a synthesis.     

Learning theories and environments: A student-initiated intelligent computer-assisted environment

Intelligent computer-assisted instructional systems have been constructed and applied within a wide range of fields. Very few of these systems make explicit a central or set of core learning theories or learning environments upon which a system is based. However, many of these systems have implicitly employed learning theories and environments. This paper looks at a variety of intelligent computer-assisted systems with a view towards uncovering the latent learning theories they employ. The interplay of the various learning theories needed to realise a student-initiated learning environment are discussed. The central features required for such an environment to function and the limitations of realising such a learning environment due to the state of the art of present day systems are also discussed. Specializations: physics education; computer education; intelligent computer-assisted instructional systems; physics problem solving. Specializations: chemical education, technology education, history and philosophy of science, learning theories.     

Simple models for the 100 meter dash

In this section of Resonance, we invite readers to pose questions likely to be raised in a classroom situation. We may suggest strategies for dealing with them, or invite responses, or both. ??Classroom?? is equally a forum for raising broader issues and sharing personal experiences and viewpoints on matters related to teaching and learning science.     

Exploring copyright knowledge in relation to experience and education level among academic librarians in Kenya

The Website is the trademark of the modern distance education (DE) system as DE is vastly dependent on the World Wide Web in delivering academic programs and student support services. DE authorities and administrators should make every effort to ensure that their Web interfaces are intuitive and easy to use for supplying “any time, any place” service. Unfortunately, we distance educators in Asia are far behind our Western counterparts in this aspect. This article explores the level of accessibility of Websites of members of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) in order to provide the results to the Asian DE authorities. The author's primary objectives in writing this article are to highlight the importance of Web accessibility for distance education institutions and their libraries in catering to a wide range of user groups and to point out how easily barrier-free Websites can be created if the basic rules of Web accessibility are followed.     

Document delivery and resource sharing: A collaborative consortium approach by Indian agricultural libraries

Indian Agricultural Libraries are exploring new ways and collaborations to fullfil the information need of their patrons through resource sharing and delivering documents using online platform accessible 24X7. The article discusses Inter Lendig and Document Delivery Services (DDR) facilitated through a collaborative consortium Journal Gateway called CeRA under Indian National Agricultural Research System. CeRA the (Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture) provides a platform for online acess to e-journals and inter lending. DDR Services has been established to share resources subscribed by individual libraries as well as consortium journals using the web portal. The article also discusses of the use of DDR services by patrons of the first Indian Agricultural University in the country. Reports that the student community were most active in using the platform for inter library loan and document request in comparison to the faculty researchers who were less dependent on document from other libraries.