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SimSnap responds to the need for a technology-based tool that supports learning at three social planes—individual, small group, and whole-class—while being easy to deploy with minimal technology overhead costs during their uptake. While much research has examined the efficacy of large-scale collaborative systems and individual-oriented learning systems, the intersection of and the movement between the three social planes is under explored. SimSnap is a cross-device, tablet-based platform that facilitates learning science concepts for middle school students through interactive simulations. Students in physical proximity can ‘snap’ their devices together to collaborate on learning activities. SimSnap enables real-time transition between individual and group activities in a classroom by offering reconfigurable simulations. SimSnap also provides an environment where open-ended and task-specific learning trajectories can be explored to maximize students’ learning potential. In this iteration of SimSnap, we have designed and implemented our first curriculum on SimSnap, focusing on plant biology, ecosystems, and genetics. 

SimSnap responds to the need for a technology-based tool that supports learning at three social planes—individual, small group, and whole-class—while being easy to deploy with minimal technology overhead costs during their uptake. While much research has examined the efficacy of large-scale collaborative systems and individual-oriented learning systems, the intersection of and the movement between the three social planes is under explored. SimSnap is a cross-device, tablet-based platform that facilitates learning science concepts for middle school students through interactive simulations. Students in physical proximity can ‘snap’ their devices together to collaborate on learning activities. SimSnap enables real-time transition between individual and group activities in a classroom by offering reconfigurable simulations. SimSnap also provides an environment where open-ended and task-specific learning trajectories can be explored to maximize students’ learning potential. In this iteration of SimSnap, we have designed and implemented our first curriculum on SimSnap, focusing on plant biology, ecosystems, and genetics. 

There has been much debate over the decades amongst Cuban archaeologists about what group or groups may have created the rock art in the karst caves of Cuba. The complexities of Cuba's history made dating rock paintings an attractive method for determining their origins. Samples were collected from three caves in Mayabeque province, collectively referred to as Las Charcas. Chemical analyses were carried out along with plasma–chemical oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometric radiocarbon dating. The paintings in two caves contained bitumen, resulting in anomalously old dates, whilst the other cave's amorphous carbon‐based paintings fit within a pre‐Columbian context.

 

ABSTRACT In this project we have involved four high-achieving pre-university summer placement students in the development of undergraduate teaching materials, namely tutorial videos for first year undergraduate Electrical and Electronic Engineering lab, and computer simulations of didactic semiconductor structures for an Electrical Science first year compulsory taught module. Here we describe our approach and preliminary results. 

Gaia16aye was a binary microlensing event discovered in the direction towards the northern Galactic disc and was one of the first microlensing events detected and alerted to by the Gaia space mission. Its light curve exhibited five distinct brightening episodes, reaching up to I  = 12 mag, and it was covered in great detail with almost 25 000 data points gathered by a network of telescopes. We present the photometric and spectroscopic follow-up covering 500 days of the event evolution. We employed a full Keplerian binary orbit microlensing model combined with the motion of Earth and Gaia around the Sun to reproduce the complex light curve. The photometric data allowed us to solve the microlensing event entirely and to derive the complete and unique set of orbital parameters of the binary lensing system. We also report on the detection of the first-ever microlensing space-parallax between the Earth and Gaia located at L2. The properties of the binary system were derived from microlensing parameters, and we found that the system is composed of two main-sequence stars with masses 0.57 ± 0.05 M ⊙ and 0.36 ± 0.03 M ⊙ at 780 pc, with an orbital period of 2.88 years and an eccentricity of 0.30. We also predict the astrometric microlensing signal for this binary lens as it will be seen by Gaia as well as the radial velocity curve for the binary system. Events such as Gaia16aye indicate the potential for the microlensing method of probing the mass function of dark objects, including black holes, in directions other than that of the Galactic bulge. This case also emphasises the importance of long-term time-domain coordinated observations that can be made with a network of heterogeneous telescopes. 

Volcanoes are hazardous to local and global populations, but only a fraction are continuously monitored by ground‐based sensors. For example, in Latin America, more than 60% of Holocene volcanoes are unmonitored, meaning long‐term multiparameter data sets of volcanic activity are rare and sparse. We use satellite observations of degassing, thermal anomalies, and surface deformation spanning 17 years at 47 of the most active volcanoes in Latin America and compare these data sets to ground‐based observations archived by the Global Volcanism Program. This first comparison of multisatellite time series on a regional scale provides information regarding volcanic behavior during, noneruptive, pre‐eruptive, syneruptive, and posteruptive periods. For example, at Copahue volcano, deviations from background activity in all three types of satellite measurements were manifested months to years in advance of renewed eruptive activity in 2012. By quantifying the amount of degassing, thermal output, and deformation measured at each of these volcanoes, we test the classification of these volcanoes as open or closed volcanic systems. We find that ~28% of the volcanoes do not fall into either classification, and the rest show elements of both, demonstrating a dynamic range of behavior that can change over time. Finally, we recommend how volcano monitoring could be improved through better coordination of available satellite‐based capabilities and new instruments.

 

Abstract A flavour-tagged time-dependent angular analysis of $${{B} ^0_{s}} \!\rightarrow {{J /\psi }} \phi $$ B s 0 → J / ψ ϕ decays is presented where the $${J /\psi }$$ J / ψ meson is reconstructed through its decay to an $$e ^+e ^-$$ e + e - pair. The analysis uses a sample of pp collision data recorded with the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and $$8\text {\,Te V} $$ 8 \,Te V , corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $$3 \text {\,fb} ^{-1} $$ 3 \,fb - 1 . The $$C\!P$$ C P -violating phase and lifetime parameters of the $${B} ^0_{s} $$ B s 0 system are measured to be $${\phi _{{s}}} =0.00\pm 0.28\pm 0.07\text {\,rad}$$ ϕ s = 0.00 ± 0.28 ± 0.07 \,rad , $${\Delta \Gamma _{{s}}} =0.115\pm 0.045\pm 0.011\text {\,ps} ^{-1} $$ Δ Γ s = 0.115 ± 0.045 ± 0.011 \,ps - 1 and $${\Gamma _{{s}}} =0.608\pm 0.018\pm 0.012\text {\,ps} ^{-1} $$ Γ s = 0.608 ± 0.018 ± 0.012 \,ps - 1 where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. This is the first time that $$C\!P$$ C P -violating parameters are measured in the $${{B} ^0_{s}} \!\rightarrow {{J /\psi }} \phi $$ B s 0 → J / ψ ϕ decay with an $$e ^+e ^-$$ e + e - pair in the final state. The results are consistent with previous measurements in other channels and with the Standard Model predictions.