Types of Homework and Their Effect on Student Achievement

The purpose of the study was to understand the different types of homework and to see if and how homework really influences students’ academic and emotional achievement. This study also investigates how and why students do not complete homework and how to improve homework completion. Does the amount of homework impact students’ academic achievement in school? What type of homework has the best impact on students’ academic achievement in school? The literature review in Chapter 2 describes homework trends over the years, different types of homework, what constitutes worthy homework, reasons for homework incompletion, homework completion strategies, parent involvement, positive and negative effects of homework, and recommended time spent on homework for students today in high school, middle school, and elementary students

Reference 360: A Holistic Approach to Reference Instruction

Knowledge of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of the Reference and Information Service Providers and an awareness of the books, databases, and other resources generally available in library reference collections are excellent pathways to train confident practitioners in reference service. Procedural knowledge of RUSA guidelines and intellectual ability are the basic skills required to answer a reference question. Yet at times, the reference interview is a labyrinthine process laden with confusion and emotion. Tacit knowledge – unwritten, unspoken knowledge based on experience, insights, and intuition – is a skill that allows librarians to navigate the reference transaction labyrinth and leave the patron feeling validated and confident in their research experience. Library patrons today are typically not looking for a finite piece of information, but rather are trying to sift through and interpret the massive amount of unmediated information available to them. This means patrons are operating under a high cognitive load before they begin their library research, often leaving them anxious and unmoored before they venture to the reference desk for advice. Because of this, it is essential that library students view the reference transaction holistically, as they interact with the patron. In order to create an environment conducive to the holistic reference transaction, empathy, communication, and critical thinking should be at the forefront of a new librarian’s skillset. Emotional intelligence should be studied and practiced to ensure library students leave a reference course with the ability to not only meet their patrons’ information needs, but also to help their patrons feel comfortable navigating the library and its resources. The practice of mindfulness ensures self-awareness and openness to new information and promotes calm, clear interactions with patrons. Finally, critical reflection upon one’s reference training and practice while in the classroom and beyond is key to incorporating the ideals of emotional intelligence and mindfulness into a comprehensive reference librarian’s skillset

Simultaneous spectra and radio properties of BL Lac's

We present the results of nine years of the blazar observing programme at the RATAN-600 radio telescope (2005-2014). The data were obtained at six frequency bands (1.1, 2.3, 4.8, 7.7, 11.2, 21.7 GHz) for 290 blazars, mostly BL Lacs. In addition, we used data at 37 GHz obtained quasi-simultaneously with the Metsahovi radio observatory for some sources. The sample includes blazars of three types: high-synchrotron peaked (HSP), low-synchrotron peaked (LSP), and intermediate-synchrotron peaked (ISP). We present several epochs of flux density measurements, simultaneous radio spectra, spectral indices and properties of their variability. The analysis of the radio properties of different classes of blazars showed that LSP and HSP BL Lac blazars are quite different objects on average. LSPs have higher flux densities, flatter spectra and their variability increases as higher frequencies are considered. On the other hand, HSPs are very faint in radio domain, tend to have steep low frequency spectra, and they are less variable than LSPs at all frequencies. Another result is spectral flattening above 7.7 GHz detected in HSPs, while an average LSP spectrum typically remains flat at both the low and high frequency ranges we considered.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichte

The effects of airborne emissions from the Pechenganickel smelters on water quality and littoral fish communities of small watercourses in the joint Finnish, Norwegian and Russian border area

Appendix 11/15 of the publication "State of the environment in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian border area 2007" (The Finnish Environment 6/2007)

The dynamic metabolism of hyaluronan regulates the cytosolic concentration of UDP-GlcNAc

Hyaluronan, a macromolecular glycosaminoglycan, is normally synthesized by hyaluronan synthases at the plasma membrane using cytosolic UDP-GlcUA and UDP-GlcNAc substrates and extruding the elongating chain into the extracellular space. The cellular metabolism (synthesis and catabolism) of hyaluronan is dynamic. UDP-GlcNAc is also the substrate for O-GlcNAc transferase, which is central to the control of many cytosolic pathways. This Perspective outlines recent data for regulation of hyaluronan synthesis and catabolism that support a model that hyaluronan metabolism can be a rheostat for controlling an acceptable normal range of cytosolic UDP-GlcNAc concentrations in order to maintain normal cell functions

Reference 360: A Holistic Approach to Reference Instruction

Reference 360: A Holistic Approach to Reference Instruction is a chapter in the book Teaching Reference Today : New Directions, Novel Approaches. The book is edited by L. A. Ellis, Editor, (pp.98-117), Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. Publisher\u27s description: Reference and Information Services, if it may still be referred to by this term, is an evolving outreach service in libraries. This is not only due to Google and the Internet, but also other technological advances afford users online access to a plethora of content, free and proprietary. This evolution has also caused a shift in the theories and practices (especially, core functions and values) of reference and information services as library schools seek greater alignment with practitioners and libraries on the forefront of these changes.As academics and practitioners work together to educate library students on the kinds of changes happening in reference and information services, they are rethinking their curriculum and assignments to incorporate real-world challenges adaptive to user needs. Likewise, libraries may work through their regional library consortia to plan professional development workshops or training sessions to teach new skills and methods of approach required for such changing services.Here’s a tool for library school instructors, library students, professional development instructors, and current librarians poised to change, which specifically addresses the pedagogy of reference and information services in flux.https://openriver.winona.edu/libraryfacultyworks/1001/thumbnail.jp

A Pixel Vertex Tracker for the TESLA Detector

In order to fully exploit the physics potential of a e+e- linear collider, such as TESLA, a Vertex Tracker providing high resolution track reconstruction is required. Hybrid Silicon pixel sensors are an attractive sensor technology option due to their read-out speed and radiation hardness, favoured in the high rate TESLA environment, but have been so far limited by the achievable single point space resolution. A novel layout of pixel detectors with interleaved cells to improve their spatial resolution is introduced and the results of the characterisation of a first set of test structures are discussed. In this note, a conceptual design of the TESLA Vertex Tracker, based on hybrid pixel sensors is presentedComment: 20 pages, 11 figure

Sharing Our Stories With the Future Healthcare Workforce: Perspectives of Low-Income Poverty Simulation Volunteers

Practitioner attitudes about low-income patients may impact clinical care and outcomes. Poverty simulation, employing low-income community volunteers, is an effective teaching tool in improving attitudes toward poverty among health professions students. This study explores the experiences of these essential simulation volunteers who share their stories with student participants. Focus groups were conducted with low-income community members who staff resource tables during poverty simulations. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a grounded theoretical approach. Participants spoke of the systemic nature of poverty and identified multiple barriers to healthcare access. Perceived lower quality of care, mistrust in health professionals, and a lack of continuity of care were discussed. In regards to the simulation, participants were empowered through sharing their stories with students, and offered suggestions for program improvement. Simulation provides a forum for community members to educate the future healthcare workforce on systemic barriers faced by low-income populations

Synchrotron flaring behaviour of CygnusX-3 during the February-March 1994 and September 2001 outbursts

Aims: In this paper we study whether the shock-in-jet model, widely used to explain the outbursting behaviour of quasars, can be used to explain the radio flaring behaviour of the microquasar Cygnus X-3. Method: We have used a method developed to model the synchrotron outbursts of quasar jets, which decomposes multifrequency lightcurves into a series of outbursts. The method is based on the Marscher & Gear (1985) shock model, but we have implemented the modifications to the model suggested by Bjornsson & Aslaksen (2000), which make the flux density increase in the initial phase less abrupt. We study the average outburst evolution as well as specific characteristics of individual outbursts and physical jet properties of Cyg X-3. Results: We find that the lightcurves of the February-March 1994 and September 2001 outbursts can be described with the modified shock model. The average evolution shows that instead of the expected synchrotron plateau, the flux density is still increasing during the synchrotron stage. We also find that high frequency peaking outbursts are shorter in duration than the ones peaking at lower frequencies. Finally, we show that the method can be used, complementary to radio interferometric jet imaging, for deriving the physical parameters such as the magnetic field strength and the energy density of relativistic electrons in the jet of Cyg X-3.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic