Correspondence - 1940, June 4 - Helen Armstrong

Correspondence from Helen Armstrong to Fay Webb Gardner.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/fay-webb-gardner-brittain-presbyterian-church/1003/thumbnail.jp

Variable-temperature photoluminescence emission instrumentation and measurements on low yield metals

Measurements of the photoluminescence emission spectra of 99.999 % purity gold, 99.9999 % purity copper, polycrystalline PbMo6S8 and single crystal YBCO were made for λex = 488 nm as a function of temperature (72 K < T < 300 K), time (t < 12 hours), excitation power (P < 120 mW) and position on the sample using a high sensitivity instrument which was designed, commissioned and calibrated for this study. We present the first measurements of the photoluminescence emission spectra of gold and copper as a function of temperature which show peak photoluminescence emission intensity increasing by approximately a factor of two for gold and a factor of five for copper between 300 K and 79 K. Full width half maximum (FWHM) and peak photoluminescence emission wavelength showed no dependence upon temperature. The spectra compare well to published data and data modelled using theories presented in the literature. Variable temperature measurements on the superconductors PbMo6S8 and YBCO in their normal state show peak photoluminescence intensity increasing by a factor of 1.5 between 300 K and 80 K for PbMo6S8 and a factor of 2 between 300 K and 131 K for YBCO. A decrease in FWHM of 20 - 30 nm is observed with no change in peak photoluminescence wavelength. Measurements for 99.99 % purity single crystal niobium, polycrystalline SnMo6S8 and single crystal DyBCO superconductors are also presented, however, these samples exhibited problems with oxidation, impurities or damage to the sample surface. Two interesting features which remain unexplained from this work include a variation in photoluminescence emission intensity over < 12 hours with a period of ~400 minutes for gold and copper and a continuous decrease in intensity for niobium, SnMo6S8 and YBCO and an increase in photoluminescence emission intensity by a factor of 4 at low temperatures in PbMo6S8, SnMo6S8 and YBCO

Writing in and on the margins

How does one communicate creative research across a diverse intellectual landscape? Does such work lodge itself uncomfortably in the margins – part scholarship, part creative practice? This paper describes creative research on marginal areas in the city called Disturbing Landscapes. It seeks to integrate scholarly interpretations of the significance of marginal landscapes with personal engagements with such places through creative writing

Correspondence - 1940, April 27 - Helen Armstrong

Correspondence from Helen Armstrong to Fay Webb Gardner.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/fay-webb-gardner-brittain-presbyterian-church/1002/thumbnail.jp

Advanced IT education for the vision impaired via e-learning

Lack of accessibility in the design of e-learning courses continues to hinder students with vision impairment. E-learning materials are predominantly vision-centric, incorporating images, animation, and interactive media, and as a result students with acute vision impairment do not have equal opportunity to gain tertiary qualifications or skills relevant to the marketplace and their disability. Due to its logical, rather than physical, nature IT help desk and network administration roles are ideal for people who are blind. This paper describes the development of a fully accessible e-learning environment to deliver advanced IT network curriculum to adults with acute vision disabilities. The components include a virtual classroom, accessible learning materials, a remote computer laboratory, and delivery of the learning materials by vision impaired instructors. Industry standard courses in advanced IT were redeveloped, and the accessible on-line learning environment was developed to deliver the courses. Vision impaired students who excelled in the pilot project were trained as instructors, gaining industry-standard instructor certifications. These instructors were used to assist with the design of accessible methods and delivered the materials to the vision impaired students.The project has been operational for four years with a pilot project being conducted over a two year period, followed by the delivery of the courses both local and remote vision impaired students across the globe using this accessible e-learning environment for the past two years. Evaluation results indicate that vision impaired students situated both locally and remotely gained equivalent grades to their sighted counterparts given additional time to comprehend and experiment via the virtual classroom and remote computer laboratory. In addition, the use of vision impaired instructors has resulted in more innovative approaches to accessible teaching methods and delivery of the curriculum

Good Guys, Bad Guys, Fantasy and Reality

This paper begins by considering the nature of some of the stylised “evil” and “good” character types employed by J.R.R. Tolkien in his Middle-earth works, and their relationship both with folklore and with related character types appearing in the contemporary world (in Tolkien’s time and in our own). The paper then goes on to consider the role of women in Tolkien’s fictional world, with particular reference to their status as mothers (particularly as absent mothers), and as heroic figures, and looks at the victimisation of the woman/wife/mother in the Biblical tradition of the Book of Genesis, and its possible relation to Tolkien’s own situation. The paper then relates these areas, particularly the latter, to the underlying stress in all the Middle-earth writings between a longing for certainty and permanence, and the recognition that there is no certain path to these desirable states