Graduate teaching assistants use different criteria when grading introductory physics vs. quantum mechanics problems

Physics graduate teaching assistants (TAs) are often responsible for grading. Physics education research suggests that grading practices that place the burden of proof for explicating the problem solving process on students can help them develop problem solving skills and learn physics. However, TAs may not have developed effective grading practices and may grade student solutions in introductory and advanced courses differently. In the context of a TA professional development course, we asked TAs to grade student solutions to introductory physics and quantum mechanics problems and explain why their grading approaches were different or similar in the two contexts. TAs expected and rewarded reasoning more frequently in the QM context. Our findings suggest that these differences may at least partly be due to the TAs not realizing that grading can serve as a formative assessment tool and also not thinking about the difficulty of an introductory physics problem from an introductory physics student's perspective

An inquiry into the origin, literary character, historical and religious significance, of the pastoral epistles

With scores of volumes having been written on various aspects of the Pastoral Epistles, it may appear somewhat presumptuous to present this study with the claim that there is anything new to contribute. This work is presented, however, in the belief that there is a need to evaluate extensively the decisions of scholarship regarding the origin, literary character, historical and religious significance of the Pastoral Epistles. The present work is not a commentary nor an introduction. It does not seek to prove or disprove the authenticity of the Epistles. The investigation is limited to the reappraisal of once settled issues and attempts to cast new light upon persistent problems surrounding the Epistles. This writer is aware of certain considerations which have been handled far too briefly; while still others were regrettably omitted altogether (e.g. a discussion of worship). Because of the limitations of space an attempt has been made to confine the discussion to those issues which have been most under dispute.The following general conclusions have been made:1. Literary Relationships. Because of their acknowledged use by Polycarp, universal acceptance by A.D. 180, and Version status by mid-second century, any date within the second century for their composition would appear to be out of question. The extensive use of these Epistles by the early Church writers seemingly carries the authorship back into the first century, a time when any mistake as to authorship is unlikely. The author, moreover, was found to be steeped in the canonical and non-canonical writings of Judaism; while any Hellenistic affinities may be explained through other associations. 2. Literary Character. A re-examination of the vocabulary and style of the Epistles reveals that it is extremely hazardous to attempt to determine mathematically what the Apostle could or could not have said and how he would have said it in every year of his life. Arithmetic cannot allow for the component influences exerting their own proportion of impact upon an author's literary habits. If the Epistles were written late, under unknown conditions which prohibit exposition along the traditional lines, peculiarities would naturally arise which would provide critical problems. 3. Origin. Each theory of origin is seen to have its own particular set of problems. It would appear to be far more difficult to frame a rational historical picture of the Pastorals' origin in terms of the unparalleled literary procedure demanded by the pseudepigraphical and fragmentary theories, than it is to grant the plausibility of a release and second imprisonment of the Apostle. 4. Ecclesiastical Organization. The frequently alleged advanced ecclesiastical organization actually requires no ministry of women, and only the distinct possibility of a threefold differentiation of an undifferentiated ministry of men as paralleled in the NT. The revealed Church-order fails to conform to that which is known to exist in the second century. If it can be granted that the withholding of the parousia and the impending death of the Apostles would have hastened the transition from a relative spontaneity of action to the consolidation disclosed within the Pastorals, then these Epistles must be placed within the framework of the Apostolic Church-order. 5. Religious Significance. Both the formalized and the false religious expression disclosed in the Pastorals are found to be in keeping with an early rather than a late date. Formalizations are found to be prevalent within the primitive Church, and are evidenced within the writings of the Apostle. The error involved is probably a form of the Jewish-Gnostic-Christian syncretism revealed in the first century. It is freely admitted that there are some remarkable peculiarities in these Epistles; yet the main objective arguments against their authenticity can "be fairly met. Whether it is possible to take the further step and assert unqualifiedly that they are the work of Paul will inevitably depend not upon objective criticism but subjective acumen. If the situation has been shown to be conceivable, and if the Apostle may have spoken as indicated in the Letters, then it is the 'ring' of the Epistles alone which will be the determining factor. Although there are difficulties regarding the Pastorals' apostolic authorship, their apostolic authority is vindicated by the potent dynamics of the content. The Epistles' true significance is to be determined not by the erection of tests - but by their use. Down through the centuries they have exercised a more practical influence on Church-life than have the genuine Letters of Paul. The religious realities contained provided a spiritual treasure for men; a vade mecum for the 'good soldier' of every age; the missionary's manual. It is urged, therefore, that the contents be practised - not proved. They are, and will remain, within the authentic canon of the Church. To this author, in spite of all that can be said to the contrary, the more deeply he delves into the spirit of their contents, the more the Epistles' own account of authorship appears to be vindicated

Letter from C[harles] Hanford Henderson to John Muir, 1908 Apr 2.

[letterhead]2 April 1908Dear Mr. Muir:Shall you be at home about the 12th and 13th of this month, and may I bring an interesting young Phildelphia mountain climber to see you, - Mr. Charles A. Gilchrist? He sails for the Philipp[ines?] on the 14th, and if possible we want to stop off and see you. I shall be en route to the Jordans.Very cordially yours,C. Hanford Henderson

The Four-Day Workweek as a Policy Option for Australia

This thesis examines the Four-Day Workweek (4DW) as a policy option for Australia. Like most advanced capitalist countries, Australia has experienced little reduction in average working hours in the postwar era despite decades of cumulative productivity gains and social surveys that report a significant number of Australians would like to work fewer hours. This thesis highlights some of the reasons for this apparent anomaly as part of its focus on the nature, purpose and extent of work. The thesis draws on the diverse traditions of political economy, including Marxian, feminist, Keynesian and institutional perspectives, as well as labour history and organisation studies. In particular, the contributions of Gorz (1999) and Weeks (2011) to the literature on work futures inform the arguments developed in this thesis. The body of the thesis is divided into three parts that focus, respectively, on the theoretical, historical and institutional levels of analysis. Part I canvasses the ‘utopian’ and ‘pragmatic’ nodes of argument in relation to change in the nature and extent of work. It highlights the obstacles to change within capitalism and also the centrality of politics in attempts to circumvent these barriers. The 4DW as a policy option for Australia is situated within this general framework. Part II focuses on the empirical evidence regarding the 4DW in the US in the 1970s and during the Great Recession. Part III centres on a case study of one Australian organisation that gives the option of a 4DW to its staff. On the basis of the evidence presented in this thesis, it is argued that the 4DW could form part of a new politics of shorter hours and chosen time in Australia. It is further argued that this reform has a greater chance of lasting success if the 4DW is adopted as a goal of the trade union movement as part of an offensive agenda

On The evolution of phase separation in polymer blends

An investigation is undertaken into the dynamics of phase separation in polymer blends in order to try to understand the morphologies produced via spinodal decomposition and to identify ways to target beneficial morphologies. Cahn-Hilliard theory is used with the Flory-Huggins free energy to model phase separating systems undergoing spinodal decomposition for a number of different systems. Initially a simple two component blend is studied undergoing spinodal decomposition via a temperature quench from the one phase to the two-phase region. The model is then used to study the process of secondary phase separation via a two-step quench process. A temperature quench from the one phase to the two phase region is undertaken and then the system is left to equilibrate for two different time periods before a quench further into the two phase region is carried out. The model is then extended to focus on the technologically useful process of reaction induced phase separation. In this case a two component polydisperse blend is quenched from the one phase to the two phase region via polymerisation of one component of the blend. The phase separation process is followed for selected reaction rates and the consequences of changing the final degree of polymerisation are studied both with and without the formation of a network in the reacting component of the blend. Finally a study of the effect of adding a surface into the blend is undertaken to show the development of a phase separated morphology at and near to the surface, we also present a method to overcome inconsistencies found in the Cahn-Hilliard model. The model is then used to target specific phase separated morphologies on a chemically patterned surface and to try and understand the processes involved in the phase separation of a three component, A B C, blend at a surface