Trinity College, Dublin

About: Trinity College, Dublin is a education organization based out in Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 20576 authors who have published 48296 publications receiving 1780313 citations.

Testing the Second-Order Election Model after Four European Elections

Abstract: Reif and Schmitt argued that elections to the European Parliament should be understood as second-order national elections, and advanced several predictions about the results of such elections. Those concerning the impact of government status, party size, party character and the national election cycle on electoral performance are examined here using data on four sets of European Parliament elections. In addition, the consequences of European Parliament elections for the next national election are explored. The analysis demonstrates the validity of most of Reif and Schmitt's original propositions, and further refines their analysis of the relationship between European and subsequent national elections. However, all propositions hold much more effectively in countries where alternation in government is the norm, suggesting that the distinction between first-order and second-order elections may not be so clear cut as Reif and Schmitt imagined.

A counter-example to Kelvin's conjecture on minimal surfaces

Abstract: Kelvin's conjecture, that a b.c.c. arrangement of his minimal tetrakaidecahedron divides space into equal cells of minimum surface area, has stood for over one hundred years. We have found a counter-example, in the form of a structure analogous to that of some clathrate compounds and also related to the β-tungsten structure. Its surface area is approximately 0.3% less than that of Kelvin's structure.

Language Learner Autonomy: Some Fundamental Considerations Revisited

Abstract: The concept of learner autonomy is often applied to the process and content of language learning but not specifically to its intended outcome, the development of proficiency in a second or foreign language. Against this tendency, the present paper argues for an understanding of language learner autonomy in which the development of learner autonomy and the growth of target language proficiency are mutually supporting and fully integrated with each other. It further argues that only on the basis of such an understanding can learner autonomy move to the centre of language teaching theory and practice. The paper begins by considering the origins of the universally accepted definition of learner autonomy, ‘the ability to take charge of one's own learning’. It then briefly reviews social-psychological and cognitive evidence in favour of promoting learner autonomy before discussing constructivist theories of pedagogy and their implications for a theory of language learner autonomy. From this it derives three fun...

Widespread white matter microstructural differences in schizophrenia across 4322 individuals : results from the ENIGMA Schizophrenia DTI Working Group

Abstract: The regional distribution of white matter (WM) abnormalities in schizophrenia remains poorly understood, and reported disease effects on the brain vary widely between studies. In an effort to identify commonalities across studies, we perform what we believe is the first ever large-scale coordinated study of WM microstructural differences in schizophrenia. Our analysis consisted of 2359 healthy controls and 1963 schizophrenia patients from 29 independent international studies; we harmonized the processing and statistical analyses of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data across sites and meta-analyzed effects across studies. Significant reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA) in schizophrenia patients were widespread, and detected in 20 of 25 regions of interest within a WM skeleton representing all major WM fasciculi. Effect sizes varied by region, peaking at (d=0.42) for the entire WM skeleton, driven more by peripheral areas as opposed to the core WM where regions of interest were defined. The anterior corona radiata (d=0.40) and corpus callosum (d=0.39), specifically its body (d=0.39) and genu (d=0.37), showed greatest effects. Significant decreases, to lesser degrees, were observed in almost all regions analyzed. Larger effect sizes were observed for FA than diffusivity measures; significantly higher mean and radial diffusivity was observed for schizophrenia patients compared with controls. No significant effects of age at onset of schizophrenia or medication dosage were detected. As the largest coordinated analysis of WM differences in a psychiatric disorder to date, the present study provides a robust profile of widespread WM abnormalities in schizophrenia patients worldwide. Interactive three-dimensional visualization of the results is available at www.enigma-viewer.org.

Optical Properties and Growth Aspects of Silver Nanoprisms Produced by a Highly Reproducible and Rapid Synthesis at Room Temperature

Abstract: A rapid and readily reproducible seed-based method for the production of high quality silver nanoprisms in high yield is presented. The edge-length and the position of the main plasmon resonance of the nanoprisms can be readily controlled through adjustment of reaction conditions. From UV-vis spectra of solutions of the nanoprisms, the inhomogeneously broadened line width of the in-plane dipole plasmon resonance is measured and trends in the extent of plasmon damping as a function of plasmon resonance energy and nanoprism size have been elucidated. In addition, an in-depth analysis of the lamellar defect structure of silver nanoprisms is provided that confirms that the defects can lead to a transformation of the crystal structure in the vicinity of the defects. These defects can combine give rise to lamellar regions, thicker than 1 nm, that extend across the crystal, where the silver atoms are arranged in a continuous hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) structure. This hcp structure has a periodicity of 2.50 A, thus explaining the 2.50 A lattice fringes that are commonly observed in 〈111〉 oriented flat-lying nanoprisms. A new understanding of the mechanisms behind anisotropic growth in silver nanoprisms is presented.