Logo in mainstream schools: the struggle over the soul of an educational innovation

Technologies do not follow some predetermined and inevitable course from their context of production to their context of use, and technologies used in schools are no exception. Rather, technologies and their use in the classroom are socially contextualised. They are often appropriated in ways unanticipated by their developers, locking into institutional arrangements and reflecting elements of the prevailing social relations in and around the particular context(s) of application. Through the discussion of a particular technology (the Logo programming language) as a case study in educational innovation, this article demonstrates how the use of technologies in schools is socially shaped. The paper looks into the place that Logo occupied within the institutional and organisational cultures of US and UK mainstream schools after its introduction in the early 1980s. It discusses the ways in which Logo was received in the educational arena and was implicated in the politics of educational innovation at a time of conservative restoration

Impulse-Regime CRLH Resonator for Tunable Pulse Rate Multiplication

A novel tunable microwave broadband resonator, inspired from optical laser systems, is presented. In contrast to usual harmonic resonators, the proposed device is based on broadband composite right/left handed metamaterial lines. This line, configured as a resonator, provides nonuniform spectral resonances due to the nonlinear nature of its dispersion curve. This is exploited in the impulse regime, where the input pulse spectrum is discretized inside the resonator, with different spectral separation as a function of the carrier frequency. This discretization leads to a pulse periodicity in time, with a tunable output time period. On the basis of the new broadband resonator features, a pulse rate multiplication device is proposed. This device provides an increase in the repetition rate of a periodic input pulse, with the additional advantage of repetition rate tunability.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science under grant FPU-AP2006-015, and national research project with reference TEC2007-67630-C03-02

Quantum-classical crossover in electrodynamics

A classical field theory is proposed for the electric current and the electromagnetic field interpolating between microscopic and macroscopic domains. It represents a generalization of the density functional for the dynamics of the current and the electromagnetic field in the quantum side of the crossover and reproduces standard classical electrodynamics on the other side. The effective action derived in the closed time path formalism and the equations of motion follow from the variational principle. The polarization of the Dirac-see can be taken into account in the quadratic approximation of the action by the introduction of the deplacement field strengths as in conventional classical electrodynamics. Decoherence appears naturally as a simple one-loop effect in this formalism. It is argued that the radiation time arrow is generated from the quantum boundary conditions in time by decoherence at the quantum-classical crossover and the Abraham-Lorentz force arises from the accelerating charge or from other charges in the macroscopic or the microscopic side, respectively. The functional form of quantum renormalization group, the generalization of the renormalization group method for the density matrix, is proposed to follow the scale dependence through the quantum-classical crossover in a systematical manner.Comment: new references added, few sign errors fixed, to appear in Physical Review

New insights into the condensed nature and stratigraphic significance of the Late Neogene Ariki Formation, Taranaki Basin

The Ariki Formation is a distinctive Late Miocene – Early Pliocene marl facies rich in planktic foraminifera, reaching thicknesses in the range 70 - 109 m in most exploration holes drilled into the Western Platform northwest of Taranaki Peninsula. In Awatea-1 and Mangaa-1 in the Northern Graben, however, there are two marl units separated by the Mangaa “B” Sands. The lower unit has the same upper Tongaporutuan and Kapitean age as the lower part of the marl on the Western Platform, and the upper marl has an Upper Opoitian - Waipipian age, similar to the upper part of the Ariki Formation on the platform. In other holes located on the margins of the graben there can be one thin marly horizon, which usually correlates with the upper marl unit in Awatea-1 and Mangaa-1. The presence of two marly units in the Northern Graben, which are probably amalgamated on the western Platform, suggests two periods of late Neogene condensed sedimentation in northern Taranaki Basin arising from siliciclastic sediment starvation, separated by a period of submarine fan accumulation (Mangaa ‘B’ sands) following subsidence of the Northern Graben. We attribute the initial interval of marl accumulation mainly to a marked landward shift in the position of coastal onlap in central and southern Taranaki and in the region east of the Taranaki Fault Zone (southern King Country and northern Wanganui regions), which effectively shut-off the supply of siliciclastic sediment to northern Taranaki Basin, thereby enabling marl to accumulate. The start of accumulation of the upper part of the Ariki Formation and its marly correlatives in and around the Northern Graben, is attributed to a younger (upper Opoitian) landward shift in the position of coastal onlap, this time involving the formation of the Wanganui Basin depocentre and Toru Trough, which trapped the contemporary siliciclastic sediment being supplied from the south. A lower Opoitian phase of progradation between these two phases of retrogradation led to accumulation of the lower part of the Mangaa Formation (Mangaa ’B’ sands), which was limited in its extent to the Northern Graben because bounding normal faults had by then developed sea floor relief precluding mass-emplaced siliciclastic sediment from being deposited on the higher standing Western Platform. The accumulation of Ariki Formation marl in northern Taranaki Basin ended during the mid-Pliocene due to progradation of a thick continental margin wedge (Giant Foresets Formation) across the Northern Graben and Western Platform

The Evolution of Ethnic Identity From Adolescence to Middle Adulthood: The Case of the Immigrant Second Generation

Through an analysis of qualitative interview and survey data, this study examines ethnic identity development from midadolescence to middle adulthood among a representative sample of immigrants’ children from Mexico, the Philippines, and other countries, who were followed for more than 20 years. Findings reveal that ethnic self-identity labels are more stable in adulthood than adolescence or the transition to adulthood, but the importance of ethnic identity diminishes, especially among those born abroad. Most prefer ethnic identity labels referencing their origin country, reflecting family ties and cultural attachments. However, some, mostly foreign-born, shift to ethnic self-identity labels exclusively related to their American experience, including panethnic labels in response to U.S. racialization. Only a few actively resist such labeling and claim nonhyphenated American identities. Overall, the findings reveal how diverse ethnic identity development patterns over the life course are shaped both by ancestral attachments and the imposition of existing U.S. racial structures

Evolution in Economic Geography: Institutions, Regional Adaptation and Political Economy

Economic geography has, over the last decade or so, drawn upon ideas from evolutionary economics in trying to understand processes of regional growth and change, with the concept of path dependence assuming particular prominence. Recently, some prominent researchers have sought to delimit and develop an evolutionary economic geography (EEG) as a distinct approach, aiming to create a more coherent and systematic theoretical framework for research. This paper contributes to debates on the nature and development of EEG. It has two main aims. First, we seek to restore a broader conception of social institutions and agency to EEG, informed by the recent writings of institutional economists like Geoffrey Hodgson. Second, we link evolutionary concepts to political economy approaches, arguing that the evolution of the economic landscape must be related to the broader dynamics of capital accumulation, centred upon the creation, realisation and geographical transfer of value. As such, we favour the utilisation of evolutionary and institutional concepts within a geographical political economy approach rather than the construction of a separate and theoretically ‘pure’ EEG; evolution in economic geography, not an evolutionary economic geography

Bridging the gap between critical theory and critique of power? Honneth’s approach to ‘social negativity’

In this paper, I will analyze Axel Honneth’s theory against the background of some of the criticisms that Amy Allen levelled against it. His endeavor seems to partially compromise his ability to identify the domineering forms of power that the subject does not acknowledge consciously and affectively. I will argue that, despite some significant limitations, Honneth’s theory has become increasingly able to analyze social negativity since The struggle for recognition. Also, in both defending Honneth’s methodology and delimiting its scope, I aim to contribute to the debate between two understandings of power: power as ‘domination’ and power as ‘constitution’

A Multiple Measures Model for Documenting Teacher and Program Effectiveness

One of the most difficult challenges facing teacher educators is evaluating the knowledge, skills, and attributes necessary for professional growth and responsibility for teaching. Currently two viewpoints for preparing highly qualified teachers seem to be influencing policy. One view represented by Darling-Hammond’s research (1999), suggests that regulation of teacher education, state licensing, professional accountability, and compensation are important factors for strengthening teacher quality. A second view, offered by Chester Finn from research completed by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation (cited in Berry, Hoke, and Hirsch, 2004), emphasizes less prescriptive paths such as alternative certification practices and aptitude testing to attract more qualified candidates to the profession. What seems to be established is that competent teachers are essential to the learning process. Sanders and Rivers (1998) found that effective teachers directly and positively impact the quality of teaching and, more importantly, student learning in classrooms. As a result, the stakes are high for students; their learning may be directly enhanced or damaged by the quality and effectiveness of their teachers’ practices. [excerpt

Qualitative Analysis of College Students' Ideas about the Earth: Interviews and Open-Ended Questionnaires

NOTE: This is a large file, 165.8 mb in size! This article describes a study in which students' conceptual understanding about the Earth was examined. In the study, students enrolled in introductory science courses at four institutions, completed open-ended questionnaires, and participated in interviews. The institutions consisted of a small private university, two large state schools, and one small public liberal arts college. Students were probed on a variety of topics related to the Earth's crust and interior, and to geologic time. Analysis of questionnaire and interview responses indicates that students hold a number of non-scientific ideas about the Earth. Additionally, students apply a range of ontological categories to geologic phenomena, with significant implications for teaching geosciences from a systems perspective. Educational levels: Graduate or professional, Graduate or professional