How Do You Become a Reflective Professional?

The standards reflect a model of professional accountability but also of professional excellence. Teachers often face tensions between the ‘professional artistry’ of their role and the more technical aspects associated with exam results as a key indicator of school performance. Reflective practice as you begin teaching will enhance your ability to deepen and broaden your knowledge and understanding of the core strands of the professional standards throughout your teaching career. Choosing what to reflect on is important; the purpose should always be linked to improving teaching and learning

Land fraud and inappropriate dealings in an electronic environment : An Australian and New Zealand perspective

The thesis presented in this paper is that the land fraud committed by Matthew Perrin in Queensland and inflicted upon Roger Mildenhall in Western Australia demonstrates the need for urgent procedural reform to the conveyancing process. Should this not occur, then calls to reform the substantive principles of the Torrens system will be heard throughout the jurisdictions that adopt title by registration, particularly in those places where immediate indefeasibility is still the norm. This paper closely examines the factual matrix behind both of these frauds, and asks what steps should have been taken to prevent them occurring. With 2012 bringing us Australian legislation embedding a national e-conveyancing system and a new Land Transfer Act for New Zealand we ask what legislative measures should be introduced to minimise the potential for such fraud. In undertaking this study, we reflect on whether the activities of Perrin and the criminals responsible for stealing Mildenhall's land would have succeeded under the present system for automated registration utilised in New Zealand

Minimum Weight Flat Antichains of Subsets

Building on classical theorems of Sperner and Kruskal-Katona, we investigate antichains $\mathcal F$ in the Boolean lattice $B_n$ of all subsets of $[n]:=\{1,2,\dots,n\}$, where $\mathcal F$ is flat, meaning that it contains sets of at most two consecutive sizes, say $\mathcal F=\mathcal{A}\cup\mathcal{B}$, where $\mathcal{A}$ contains only $k$-subsets, while $\mathcal{B}$ contains only $(k-1)$-subsets. Moreover, we assume $\mathcal{A}$ consists of the first $m$ $k$-subsets in squashed (colexicographic) order, while $\mathcal{B}$ consists of all $(k-1)$-subsets not contained in the subsets in $\mathcal{A}$. Given reals $\alpha,\beta>0$, we say the weight of $\mathcal F$ is $\alpha\cdot|\mathcal{A}|+\beta\cdot|\mathcal{B}|$. We characterize the minimum weight antichains $\mathcal F$ for any given $n,k,\alpha,\beta$, and we do the same when in addition $\mathcal F$ is a maximal antichain. We can then derive asymptotic results on both the minimum size and the minimum Lubell function

The Media’s Impact on Congressional Elections

This research analyzes the impact of the media on congressional elections. It began by analyzing the initial relationship between newspapers and political parties and concluded with an examination of the relationship of between the modern media, television and internet-based news coverage, and political parties. Through the analysis of the various ways newspapers, television, and more recently, the internet, play a role in electoral strategy and outcome, one can gain a stronger understanding of the relationship between political parties and elections. Our research indicates that the media impacts elections by agenda-setting, providing a platform for candidates to mobilize the electorate and solicit donations, and affecting voter attitudes through increased access to partisan coverage. Although the media positively impacts elections by facilitating grassroots organization and acting as an intermediary for the electorate and political information, the media’s influence includes negative impacts. Our research explored these negative impacts by examining how the media’s influence has evolved. Although both print and modern media are no strangers to partisanship, television and the internet facilitate Americans’ ability to choose what kind of coverage they want to hear. Often, this coverage is not informative and caters to the biases of the viewer. Although catering to one’s biases is an essential part to the successful sales pitch a candidate’s campaign staff, it has negative impacts for voters. Since the modern media encourages selective exposure and facilitates confirmation bias, it can be characterized by a lack of substantive political information, increased polarization, and oppositional hostility

Political Participation Among UNG Students

Political participation is the cement that strengthens and stabilizes democracy. However, political participation is not equal across demographics. Our research examines how demographics influence political participation among University of North Georgia (UNG) students. Past research on this topic indicates that ideology, race, wealth, geography have strong impacts on how an individual participates in politics. Democrats and Republicans view political actions and rhetoric differently, and individuals who believe their political actions define them are far more likely to participate in politics than any other group. The turbulent relationship between African-Americans and the Republican party and cultural differences, such as the sense of linkage that is a cornerstone of Latino and African-American culture, greatly influence how minorities participate in and perceive politics. Individuals of high socio-economic class are more likely to participate in politics, and wealth influences how they participate. Lastly, where an individual lives influences their political ideology; individuals living in rural areas typically align with the political right while those living in urban areas typically align with the political left. By asking 77 UNG students 14 questions regarding their demographics and political participation level, we examined how ideology, race, wealth, and geography influence an individual\u27s political participation level. Although we did not find any statistically significant results, our research design leaves a solid framework for examining the influences of political participation level at UNG in the future

Can Spatial Dependence Enhance Industry Sustainability? The Case of Pasture-Based Beef

Can sustainability be enhanced by maximizing the sum of private and social benefits from an industry? This might take place, for example, by identifying production options that increase profitability side-by-side with societal goals such as renewable energy production and carbon sequestration, healthier communities, environmental quality, and economic development. We explore this issue for pasture based beef (PBB), a nascent industry where industry profitability, community development, and quality of life can be enhanced by explicitly linking the PBB supply chain spatially and intertemporally, thereby increasing the sum of private and social benefits. We develop a framework based on optimal control theory that integrates a spatial component in which the production of PBB and alternative energy production as well as greenhouse gas emission reduction enhances private as well as social wealth. This model provides a basic foundation for developing agglomeration economies in a spatially dependent industry in which other locations are able to supply resources to given locations as a way of improving regional economic and environmental conditions. The framework is subsequently employed to identify possible industry conditions and configurations that demonstrate how profits, economic development, and environmental improvement can be created through increased pasture-beef production in a region where economic activities across locations play a crucial role across the spatial domain. Of course, the intensification of benefits derived from the agglomeration economies require coordination and cooperation among the key players within the impacted region

Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Rapid and Cost-Effective Determination of Elemental Composition of Ground Forage

The recent development of portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (PXRF) has created new avenues for rapid plant elemental concentration determination at reduced cost while avoiding hazardous chemicals. A few studies have indicated the potential use of PXRF for homogenous plant tissue analysis. However, there is a lack of information for analysis of heterogeneous plant samples like livestock forage, which consists of a mixture of several species and plant parts, each varying in elemental concentration. Our objective was to evaluate PXRF for forage analysis, specifically the effect of forage particle size and scan time on important elements including P, K, Ca, and Fe determination. Hay samples (n = 42) were oven dried (60◦C for 3 days) and ground into three particle sizes (≤0.5 mm, 0.25–0.5 mm and 1–2 mm). Prepared samples were scanned by PXRF using a vacuum (\u3c10 torr) without a filter. Samples were placed in cups over thin prolene X-ray film and scanned for 180 s. A subset (n = 29) were also scanned for 60 and 120 s. PXRF counts for P, K, Ca, and Fe were compared with laboratory Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP) determinations, using regression models. Results indicated that these elements could potentially be determined with PXRF (r 2 ≥ 0.70) in heterogeneous forage samples. Relationship strength increased with decreasing particle size, however, the relationship was still strong (r 2 ≥ 0.57) at the largest particle size. Scanning time did not affect the relationship with ICP concentration for any of the particle sizes evaluated. This work demonstrated that with the right sample preparation PXRF can obtain results comparable to acid digestion and ICP regardless of sample composition, and suggests the potential for in situ determination

Further biembeddings of twofold triple systems

We construct face two-colourable triangulations of the graph 2Kn in an orientable surface; equivalently biembeddings of two twofold triple systems of order n, for all n ξ 16 or 28 (mod 48). The biembeddings come from index 1 current graphs lifted under a group ℤn/4 × 4

Sizes of flat maximal antichains of subsets

This is the second of two papers investigating for which positive integers $m$ there exists a maximal antichain of size $m$ in the Boolean lattice $B_n$ (the power set of $[n]:=\{1,2,\dots,n\}$, ordered by inclusion). In the first part, the sizes of maximal antichains have been characterized. Here we provide an alternative construction with the benefit of showing that almost all sizes of maximal antichains can be obtained using antichains containing only $l$-sets and $(l+1)$-sets for some $l$

Irrigated Alfalfa Variety Performance, 2011-2014; North Logan, Utah

Alfalfa is the most important crop in Utah, both in terms of acreage and revenue. Although often overlooked, one of the most critical decisions made in alfalfa production is determining which variety to plant. This fact sheet summarizes dry matter (DM) yields of alfalfa varieties during 4 years at the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station Greenville Farm in North Logan (Cache Co.)