Teacher Biography: SOLO Analysis of Preservice Teachers’ Reflections of their Experiences in Physical Education

Teacher biography, as a reflective practice, was implemented in the context of Physical Education in a primary teacher education course at a regional Australian university. Second year students were asked to provide descriptions of a critical incident they experienced at the primary or secondary level in a Physical Education or sporting context (N=214). Their responses comprised the data for this study and the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) Model was used to determine the levels of complexity of the responses to ‘alternatives for action’ associated with these incidents. More responses were multistructural (48%), than relational (24%), and unistructural (23%), with extended abstract (3%) and the least, were prestructural (2%). The responses varied for gender and mode of enrolment (on or off campus). The findings that one third of students developed higher order (relational or extended abstract) responses challenge teacher educators to consider strategies to extend critical reflections

Preservice Generalist Teachers Enlightened Approach to Teaching Physical Education through Teacher Biography.

This paper describes a new learning experience, which was introduced following an examination of the literature regarding preservice primary school teachers’ (PPST) notions of their past experience in Physical Education (PE) (Elliott 2013). PPSTs were given the opportunity to recognise, reflect, interrogate and reframe a critical incident from their schooling in PE or Sport. This exercise was designed to enlighten students about their own schooling and the potential impact this event may have on pre-conceived ideas and opinions about teaching PE. Students (N=214) enrolled in off and on campus mode, of a preservice teacher education program in a university located in regional NSW, were asked to provide information about, and to analyse, an incident, either positive or negative that occurred in PE or Sport during their primary or secondary school years. In addition, students were encouraged to reframe the incident and to seek out alternative actions that could have influenced the outcome. The aim was to encourage reflection about how preconceived notions pertaining to PE might be dealt within their present position as a preservice teacher. The PPSTs scripts were analysed using the Leximancer text mining software (Smith, 2000). Findings from the analysis provided themes and concepts, which suggest a similarity for both, off and on campus, males and females. However, there are some subtle differences between the cohorts that may be due to an age or experience

Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) Flight Evaluation

NASA's Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) is a cockpit decision support tool that has the potential to achieve significant fuel and time savings when it is embedded in the data-rich Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) airspace. To address a key step towards the operational deployment of TAP and the NASA concept of Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR), a system evaluation was conducted in a representative flight environment in November, 2013. Numerous challenges were overcome to achieve this goal, including the porting of the foundational Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP) software from its original simulation-based, avionics-embedded environment to an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) platform. A flight-test aircraft was modified to host the EFB, the TAP application, an Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) processor, and a satellite broadband datalink. Nine Evaluation Pilots conducted 26 hours of TAP assessments using four route profiles in the complex eastern and north-eastern United States airspace. Extensive avionics and video data were collected, supplemented by comprehensive inflight and post-flight questionnaires. TAP was verified to function properly in the live avionics and ADS-B environment, characterized by recorded data dropouts, latency, and ADS-B message fluctuations. Twelve TAP-generated optimization requests were submitted to ATC, of which nine were approved, and all of which resulted in fuel and/or time savings. Analysis of subjective workload data indicated that pilot interaction with TAP during flight operations did not induce additional cognitive loading. Additionally, analyses of post-flight questionnaire data showed that the pilots perceived TAP to be useful, understandable, intuitive, and easy to use. All program objectives were met, and the next phase of TAP development and evaluations with partner airlines is in planning for 2015

The Tully-Fisher Relation and H_not

The use of the Tully-Fisher (TF) relation for the determination of the Hubble Constant relies on the availability of an adequate template TF relation and of reliable primary distances. Here we use a TF template relation with the best available kinematical zero-point, obtained from a sample of 24 clusters of galaxies extending to cz ~ 9,000 km/s, and the most recent set of Cepheid distances for galaxies fit for TF use. The combination of these two ingredients yields H_not = 69+/-5 km/(s Mpc). The approach is significantly more accurate than the more common application with single cluster (e.g. Virgo, Coma) samples.Comment: 10 pages, including 2 figures and 1 table; uses AAS LaTex. Submitted to ApJ Letter

The dual endothelin converting enzyme/neutral endopeptidase inhibitor SLV-306 (daglutril), inhibits systemic conversion of big endothelin-1 in humans

Aims - Inhibition of neutral endopeptidases (NEP) results in a beneficial increase in plasma concentrations of natriuretic peptides such as ANP. However NEP inhibitors were ineffective anti-hypertensives, probably because NEP also degrades vasoconstrictor peptides, including endothelin-1 (ET-1). Dual NEP and endothelin converting enzyme (ECE) inhibition may be more useful. The aim of the study was to determine whether SLV-306 (daglutril), a combined ECE/NEP inhibitor, reduced the systemic conversion of big ET-1 to the mature peptide. Secondly, to determine whether plasma ANP levels were increased. Main methods - Following oral administration of three increasing doses of SLV-306 (to reach an average target concentration of 75, 300, 1200 ng ml− 1 of the active metabolite KC-12615), in a randomised, double blinded regime, big ET-1 was infused into thirteen healthy male volunteers. Big ET-1 was administered at a rate of 8 and 12 pmol kg− 1 min− 1 (20 min each). Plasma samples were collected pre, during and post big ET-1 infusion. ET-1, C-terminal fragment (CTF), big ET-1, and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were measured. Key findings - At the two highest concentrations tested, SLV-306 dose dependently attenuated the rise in blood pressure after big ET-1 infusion. There was a significant increase in circulating big ET-1 levels, compared with placebo, indicating that SLV-306 was inhibiting an increasing proportion of endogenous ECE activity. Plasma ANP concentrations also significantly increased, consistent with systemic NEP inhibition. Significance - SLV-306 leads to inhibition of both NEP and ECE in humans. Simultaneous augmentation of ANP and inhibition of ET-1 production is of potential therapeutic benefit in cardiovascular disease

The Enigmatic (Almost) Dark Galaxy Coma P: Distance Measurement and Stellar Populations from HST Imaging

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the low surface brightness (SB) galaxy Coma P. This system was first discovered in the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA HI survey and was cataloged as an (almost) dark galaxy because it did not exhibit any obvious optical counterpart in the available survey data (e.g., Sloan Digital Sky Survey). Subsequent WIYN pODI imaging revealed an ultra-low SB stellar component located at the center of the HI detection. We use the HST images to produce a deep color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the resolved stellar population present in Coma P. We clearly detect a red stellar sequence that we interpret to be a red giant branch, and use it to infer a tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) distance of 5.50$^{+0.28}_{-0.53}$ Mpc. The new distance is substantially lower than earlier estimates and shows that Coma P is an extreme dwarf galaxy. Our derived stellar mass is only 4.3 $\times$ 10$^5$ $M_\odot$, meaning that Coma P has an extreme HI-to-stellar mass ratio of 81. We present a detailed analysis of the galaxy environment within which Coma P resides. We hypothesize that Coma P formed within a local void and has spent most of its lifetime in a low-density environment. Over time, the gravitational attraction of the galaxies located in the void wall has moved it to the edge, where it had a recent "fly-by" interaction with M64. We investigate the possibility that Coma P is at a farther distance and conclude that the available data are best fit by a distance of 5.5 Mpc.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Galaxy Properties at the Faint End of the H I Mass Function

The Survey of H I in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs (SHIELD) includes a volumetrically complete sample of 82 gas-rich dwarfs with ${M}_{{\rm{H}}\,{\rm\small{I}}}\lesssim {10}^{7.2}$ ${M}_{\odot }$ selected from the ALFALFA survey. We are obtaining extensive follow-up observations of the SHIELD galaxies to study their gas, stellar, and chemical content, and to better understand galaxy evolution at the faint end of the H I mass function. Here, we investigate the properties of 30 SHIELD galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope imaging of their resolved stars and Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope observations of their neutral hydrogen. We measure tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) distances, star formation activity, and gas properties. The TRGB distances are up to 4× greater than estimates from flow models, highlighting the importance of velocity-independent distance indicators in the nearby universe. The SHIELD galaxies are in underdense regions, with 23% located in voids; one galaxy appears paired with a more massive dwarf. We quantify galaxy properties at low masses including stellar and H I masses, star formation rate (SFRs), specific SFRs, star formation efficiencies, birth-rate parameters, and gas fractions. The lowest-mass systems lie below the mass thresholds where stellar mass assembly is predicted to be impacted by reionization. Even so, we find the star formation properties follow the same trends as higher-mass gas-rich systems, albeit with a different normalization. The H I disks are small ( $\langle r \rangle 0.7\,{\rm{kpc}}$ ), making it difficult to measure the H I rotation using standard techniques; we develop a new methodology and report the velocity extent, and its associated spatial extent, with robust uncertainties

Two Large HI Shells in the Outer Galaxy near l=279 degrees

As part of a survey of HI 21-cm emission in the Southern Milky Way, we have detected two large shells in the interstellar neutral hydrogen near l=279 deg. The center velocities are +36 and +59 km/s, which puts the shells at kinematic distances of 7 and 10 kpc. The larger shell is about 610 pc in diameter and very empty, with density contrast of at least 15 between the middle and the shell walls. It has expansion velocity of about 20 km/s and swept up mass of several million solar masses. The energy indicated by the expansion may be as high as 2.4 X 10^53 ergs. We estimate its age to be 15 to 20 million years. The smaller shell has diameter of about 400 pc, expansion velocity about 10 km/s and swept up mass of about 10^6 solar masses. Morphologically both regions appear to be shells, with high density regions mostly surrounding the voids, although the first appears to have channels of low density which connect with the halo above and below the HI layer. They lie on the edge of the Carina arm, which suggests that they may be expanding horizontally into the interarm region as well as vertically out of the disk. If this interpretation is correct, this is the first detection of an HI chimney which has blown out of both sides of the disk.Comment: 21 pages, 14 jpeg figures, accepted for publication in A