How do teachers manage topic and repair?

A case study is presented of a ten-year-old child described as having comprehension difficulties, in conversation with a specialist teacher, a mainstream teacher and a peer. Tape recordings of social talk between the child and the adults and peer were made in the school setting. The data are subjected to detailed sequential analysis, drawing on some of the insights gained into the management of topic and repair by researchers working in the tradition of conversation analysis. We find that both our subject’s specialist teacher and the mainstream peer use some helpful devices to extend the topical material produced by the child and to repair ‘troubles’ in the conversation. We consider the language learning potential of these turns and the implications for classroom teachers working with children with language needs

Analisi comparativa dei rischi dei processi chimici basata sulla metodologia LOPA

Questo testo è il risultato dell’attività di tirocinio, della durata di sei mesi, che è stata svolta presso lo stabilimento Styron Italia di Livorno. Lo scopo del lavoro è stato quello di confrontare gli scenari derivanti dall’analisi di sicurezza, condotta secondo le direttive della legge Seveso, con gli scenari derivanti dall’utilizzo della tecnica LOPA, che rappresenta una metodologia innovativa di analisi quantitativa del rischio, utilizzata dalle grandi multinazionali della chimica. Durante la fase di organizzazione del lavoro è stato deciso di intraprendere un’analisi di rischio completamente nuova e di confrontare i risultati ottenuti, con quelli derivanti sia dagli ultimi rapporti di sicurezza che dalla più recente analisi LOPA. Durante la prima fase è stata presa visione dell’impianto di produzione in tutte le sue parti, sono state svolte diverse visite sul campo e sono state raccolte un gran numero di informazioni, attraverso il confronto sia con gli operatori di impianto che con i responsabili di produzione e manutenzione. In seguito è stata condotta un’analisi preliminare, basata sul metodo ad indici, per determinare le aree più pericolose dello stabilimento. Una volta individuate tali aree, il lavoro è proseguito con l’analisi di operabilità (HazOp), per la determinazione dei Top Event, e con l’analisi delle conseguenze per la definizione delle aree di danno, derivanti da ogni scenario incidentale. Durante la seconda parte del lavoro ciascun scenario è stato analizzato, con l’utilizzo della tecnica LOPA, per la determinazione del rischio. Per la realizzazione di questo lavoro è stato creato un team all’interno dello stabilimento, sono state svolte diverse riunioni, in cui i membri hanno potuto confrontarsi sia durante la stesura dell’HazOp che, successivamente, dell’analisi LOPA. Sono state effettuate numerose visite in impianto per verificare la correttezza dei dati e delle specifiche utilizzate per la conduzione delle diverse analisi. Inoltre, alle riunioni di revisione, è intervenuto un esperto di “Process Safety” della Dow Chemical Europe. Questo testo si compone di due parti: nella prima, teorica, vengono brevemente illustrate le già consolidate tecniche utilizzate per la stesura del rapporto di sicurezza e, in specifico, viene descritta la teoria che sta alla base della tecnica LOPA. Nella seconda parte vengono illustrati e discussi i risultati ottenuti dall’analisi di sicurezza

Programmable low-voltage continuous-time filter for audio applications

The implementation of a continuous-time filter (CTF) useful for audio frequency applications is presented in this paper. The filter functions can be programmed and tuned with two independent control variables. The filter here proposed has been designed to work at 1.5 V of power supply and at a maximum of 0.5 /spl mu/A/OTA for the worst case current consumption. Electrical simulations of a Tow-Thomas biquad (TTB) show the possibility of obtaining low-pass and band-pass filter functions over the 10 Hz-40 kHz frequency range by changing a control current over four decades.Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC-97-064

The different dimensions of livelihood impacts of Payments for Environmentals Services (PES) schemes: A systematic review

Through a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature, this paper analyzes evidence of the livelihood impacts of Payments for Environmental Services (PES). Forty-six studies assessed PES livelihood impacts. The assessments presented more positive livelihood impacts than negative ones, focusing on financial benefits. Non-monetary and non-material impacts of PES were largely understudied. Most reviews focused on ES providers, hindering the understanding of broader societal impacts. The review yielded examples where participants lost from their participation or where improvements in one livelihood dimension paralleled deterioration in another. Consequently, we identified key research gaps in: i) understanding the social and cultural impacts of PES, ii) evaluating environmental and economic additionality from improving other ES at the expense of cultural ones, iii) and assessing PES impacts in terms of trade-offs between multiple livelihood dimensions. Moreover, increased knowledge is needed on the impact of PES on changes in household expenditure and choice, and on trade-offs between household income and inequality in ES provider communities. Finally, if PES schemes are implemented to sustainably improve livelihoods, targeting disaggregated populations, understanding equity and social power relations within and between ES providers and users, and better monitoring and evaluation systems that consider locally relevant livelihood dimensions are needed

Does Temporary Agency Work Provide a Stepping Stone to Regular Employment?

Based on administrative data from the federal employment office in Germany, we apply matching techniques to estimate the stepping-stone function of temporary agency work for the unemployed, i.e. its short-run and long-run effects on their future employment prospects. Our results show that unemployed workers who take up a job in the temporary work agency (TWA) industry are on average more likely than unemployed workers not joining TWA work to be in agency employment in the four year period these workers are tracked after entering TWA work. However, we find no discernable effects on the probabilities of being either in regular employment or registered unemployment. Our findings therefore do not lend support to the stepping-stone function of temporary agency work.Temporary work agencies, stepping stone, evaluation, matching

An Algorithmic Proof of the Lovasz Local Lemma via Resampling Oracles

The Lovasz Local Lemma is a seminal result in probabilistic combinatorics. It gives a sufficient condition on a probability space and a collection of events for the existence of an outcome that simultaneously avoids all of those events. Finding such an outcome by an efficient algorithm has been an active research topic for decades. Breakthrough work of Moser and Tardos (2009) presented an efficient algorithm for a general setting primarily characterized by a product structure on the probability space. In this work we present an efficient algorithm for a much more general setting. Our main assumption is that there exist certain functions, called resampling oracles, that can be invoked to address the undesired occurrence of the events. We show that, in all scenarios to which the original Lovasz Local Lemma applies, there exist resampling oracles, although they are not necessarily efficient. Nevertheless, for essentially all known applications of the Lovasz Local Lemma and its generalizations, we have designed efficient resampling oracles. As applications of these techniques, we present new results for packings of Latin transversals, rainbow matchings and rainbow spanning trees.Comment: 47 page

Robot design for a vacuum environment

The cleanliness requirements for many processing and manufacturing tasks are becoming ever stricter, resulting in a greater interest in the vacuum environment. Researchers discuss the importance of this special environment, and the development of robots which are physically and functionally suited to vacuum processing tasks. Work is in progress at the Center for robotic Systems in Microelectronics (CRSM) to provide a robot for the manufacture of a revolutionary new gyroscope in high vacuum. The need for vacuum in this and other processes is discussed as well as the requirements for a vacuum-compatible robot. Finally, researchers present details on work done at the CRSM to modify an existing clean-room compatible robot for use at high vacuum

HAZOP Study Based on ANFIS Layer of Protection Analysis in Unit Kiln PT. Semen Indonesia Factory Tuban

Process safety and risk assessment are vital demand for any industry to characteristic hazard and their for personnel, environment and loss of money. Unit Kiln are part of industrial cement, operated at high temperature and high pressure. Security so the process must be maintained so as not to pose a hazard with a high risk. Risk matrix is a very useful tool to estimate of process or equipment that helps decision making process. HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) study is one method to know risk assessment. Thus ANFIS logic method for risk assessment is selected as a new and efficient way to industry resource management. This study generally include quantitative review of possible accident, based on previous accident experiences that may occur in a typical process in unit kiln. For the HAZOP study the possible exist to limit failure in case definition and risk modeling to only accident that may include fire, exploitation and toxic effect risks. Consequence a ANFIS risk matrix is based on Layer Of Protection Analysis (LOPA) and HAZOP Study procedure for analyzing. The result from this research that have be done study HAZOP unit kiln PT. Semen Indonesia Factory Tuban and also know risk impact and get SIL rating for this plant