Schooling for violence and peace : how does peace education differ from ‘normal’ schooling?

This article reviews literature on the roles of schooling in both reproducing and actively perpetrating violence, and sets out an historical explanation of why schools are socially constructed in such a way as to make these roles possible. It then discusses notions of peace education in relation to one particular project in England before using empirical data from research on the project to examine contrasts between peace education approaches and ‘normal’ schooling from the viewpoints of project workers, pupils and teachers. It concludes that such contrasts and tensions do indeed exist and that this raises serious questions about the compatibility of peace education and formal schooling

Theory of the Ramsey spectroscopy and anomalous segregation in ultra-cold rubidium

The recent anomalous segregation experiment of Lewandowski et al. (PRL, 88, 070403, 2002) shows dramatic, rapid internal state segregation for two hyperfine levels of rubidium. We simulate an effective one dimensional model of the system for experimental parameters and find reasonable agreement with the data. The Ramsey frequency is found to be insensitive to the decoherence of the superposition, and is only equivalent to the interaction energy shift for a pure superposition. A Quantum Boltzmann equation describing collisions is derived using Quantum Kinetic Theory, taking into account the different scattering lengths of the internal states. As spin-wave experiments are likely to be attempted at lower temperatures we examine the effect of degeneracy on decoherence by considering the recent experiment of Lewandowski et al. where degeneracy is around 10%. We also find that the segregation effect is only possible when transport terms are included in the equations of motion, and that the interactions only directly alter the momentum distributions of the states. The segregation or spin wave effect is thus entirely due to coherent atomic motion as foreseen in the experimental reportComment: 26 pages, 4 figures, to be published in J. Phys.

Democratic citizenship education: Towards a model for establishing democratic mathematics teacher education

This article provides an explication of the concepts of democracy and democratic citizenship from a political dimension, it also offers insight into the nature of democracy and democratic citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa. The article further outlines the relationship between mathematics and democracy, as well as a number of pedagogical approaches which are capable of fostering democratic principles in mathematics education classrooms. Finally, the article proposes a model which encompasses a trilogy of democratic principles; humanising pedagogy; and social, cultural, economic and political issues which can be employed in preparing mathematics student teachers to become fully democratic citizens. &nbsp

High resolution nighttime cloud-cover radiometer Quarterly report XVII, 1 Oct. 1965 - 1 Jan. 1966

Electronic, optical, mechanical, and electron packaging component and system design reviews for high resolution cloud cover infrared radiomete

Studies of Photoprotection Against Porphyrin Photosensitization Using Dithiothreitol and Glycerol

Although protection against ionizing radiation by compounds containing sulfhydryl (SN) groups, such as cysteine, has been reported, these agents have been unsuccessful to date in protecting mammals against non-ionizing radiation (>200nm). This study describes successful photoprotection by dithiothreitol (DTT) and glycerol against porphyrin photosensitization having an action spectrum of 400nm. Test models used were red blood cells (RBC) obtained from patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and mice photo-sensitized by hematoporphyrin (HP). A mortality rate approaching a lethal dose in 50% of the animals in 1 day (LD50/24 hrs) was established in 100 white mice that had received an intraperitoneal injection of 100mg HP/kg body wt., and were then irradiated with 5 × 106 ergs/cm2 from a fluorescent light source emitting 320-450nm radiation. Another 100 mice were treated in an identical manner except that they received, in addition to HP, 80mg DTT/kg body weight in a 5.5% glycerol solution. This group showed 75% reduction in mortality (p < 0.03). No lethal effects were observed in animals treated with DTT and glycerol or HP in the above concentrations without 400nm irradiation. RBC obtained from patients with EPP and exposed to 107 ergs/mm2 of 400nm radiation showed 100% hemolysis after 180min. These cells, when irradiated under identical conditions except for the addition of DTT, manifested only 19% hemolysis during this period of time. Measurements of SH groups of RBC from patients with EPP showed a progressive decrease during photohemolysis. Comparison of the rate of photohemolysis of normal and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient RBC irradiated in the presence of protoporphyrin IX revealed that G6PD deficient RBC, which have an impaired ability to produce reduced glutathione (GSH), were more susceptible to porphyrin-induced photohemolysis. These studies demonstrate that DTT and glycerol offer photoprotection in an in vivo mammalian system against porphyrin photosensitization. It is suggested that the mechanism of the photoprotective action against 320-450nm radiation has many features similar to that of radioprotection by thiols and glycerol against ionizing radiation

Magnetostatic field noise near metallic surfaces

We develop an effective low-frequency theory of the electromagnetic field in equilibrium with thermal objects. The aim is to compute thermal magnetic noise spectra close to metallic microstructures. We focus on the limit where the material response is characterized by the electric conductivity. At the boundary between empty space and metallic microstructures, a large jump occurs in the dielectric function which leads to a partial screening of low-frequency magnetic fields generated by thermal current fluctuations. We resolve a discrepancy between two approaches used in the past to compute magnetic field noise spectra close to microstructured materials.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, EPJ D style, accepted in Topical Issue on "Atom Chips

STUDIES IN PORPHYRIA

Porphyrin biosynthesis in mammalian skin and in skin obtained from patients with selected types of porphyria has been studied. Cutaneous porphyrinogenesis required the precursor δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) which, when added to murine, rat, and human skin in vitro, was rapidly converted to porphyrins. Total porphyrin content was quantitated by fluorescence assay, and spectral studies indicated that more than 80% of the porphyrin produced was protoporphyrin. The majority of skin porphyrinogenesis occurred in epidermis or in epidermal derivatives such as hair roots. Known inducers of hepatic δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase (ALAS), the rate-limiting enzyme for heme biosynthesis, were not inducers when added to skin in vitro.Skin from patients with acute intermittent porphyria demonstrated a 43% decrease in cutaneous porphyrin production as compared to unaffected normals. This is consistent with the known deficiency of uroporphyrinogen synthetase that has been previously demonstrated in the liver and red blood cells of these patients. Porphyrinogenesis in skin of patients with porphyria cutanea tarda was not different from controls.These studies demonstrate that skin has the enzymatic capacity to synthesize porphyrins from added ALA and that cutaneous porphyrinogenesis from ALA is deficient in patients with acute intermittent porphyria