Adolescent Literacy Programs: Costs of Implementation

Reviews the literature on implementation of educational reforms and compares implementation processes and costs at schools that have adopted one of three literacy reforms. Includes recommendations for detailed resource planning and cost accounting

Perfect zero knowledge for quantum multiprover interactive proofs

In this work we consider the interplay between multiprover interactive proofs, quantum entanglement, and zero knowledge proofs - notions that are central pillars of complexity theory, quantum information and cryptography. In particular, we study the relationship between the complexity class MIP$^*$, the set of languages decidable by multiprover interactive proofs with quantumly entangled provers, and the class PZKMIP$^*$, which is the set of languages decidable by MIP$^*$ protocols that furthermore possess the perfect zero knowledge property. Our main result is that the two classes are equal, i.e., MIP$^* =$ PZKMIP$^*$. This result provides a quantum analogue of the celebrated result of Ben-Or, Goldwasser, Kilian, and Wigderson (STOC 1988) who show that MIP $=$ PZKMIP (in other words, all classical multiprover interactive protocols can be made zero knowledge). We prove our result by showing that every MIP$^*$ protocol can be efficiently transformed into an equivalent zero knowledge MIP$^*$ protocol in a manner that preserves the completeness-soundness gap. Combining our transformation with previous results by Slofstra (Forum of Mathematics, Pi 2019) and Fitzsimons, Ji, Vidick and Yuen (STOC 2019), we obtain the corollary that all co-recursively enumerable languages (which include undecidable problems as well as all decidable problems) have zero knowledge MIP$^*$ protocols with vanishing promise gap

Anomaly Cancelations in Orientifolds with Quantized B Flux

We consider anomaly cancelations in Type IIB orientifolds on T^4/Z_N with quantized NS-NS sector background B-flux. For a rank b B-flux on T^4 (b is always even) and when N is even, the cancelation requires a 2^{b/2} multiplicity of states in the 59-open string sector. We identify the twisted sector R-R scalars and tensor multiplets which are involved in the Green-Schwarz mechanism. We give more details of the construction of these models and argue that consistency with the 2^{b/2} multiplicity of 59-sector states requires a modification of the relation between the open string 1-loop channel modulus and the closed string tree channel modulus in the 59-cylinder amplitudes.Comment: Revtex 3.0, 34 pages, 2 figures, references adde

History in our hands - exploring elders life stories with digital storytelling and ceramics

Between 2013 and 2015, Curiosity Creative has worked in partnership with the Grange Centre, Newcastle and ceramicist Annette Poulson to record life stories and experiences through digital storytelling and ceramics. The Grange Centre is a charity providing day opportunities for elders who require day care support to prevent social isolation, family breakdown, relapse of functional illness, or to offer support and respite for families/carers. This enables people to retain their independence and remain in their own homes for as long as possible. By offering the opportunity to engage with and tell stories using two very different techniques, our project has helped reduce barriers for elders to express themselves in different ways. Our project also aimed to challenge participant’s perceptions of their own abilities and looks to continue to challenge the perceptions of elders' worth and abilities within the wider community, helping to dispel negative stereotyping. It has also increased self-worth and confidence and invigorates morale of participants. It has proved to be a brilliant opportunity for participants to share fun times of their lives with others. The joy in their faces when reliving parts of their youth was a delight to behold and at times family and friends viewed them in a new light. For others it gave a safe environment to express themselves emotionally and to voice fears for the first time. Raised self-esteem and therapeutic value of the project was clear to see and helped participants bond and create friendships that would not have been possible without it.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experience of Creator-Practitioners of Open Educational Resources and Practices in the United States

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of creator-practitioners of open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) in United States (U.S.) higher education institutions. The theory guiding this study is Vygotsky and Bruner’s constructivist theories, as they describe both the cognitive and social aspects of content creation. Eleven current instructors from colleges and universities across the U.S. participated in this study. These participants had used OER for at least one academic term, were current instructors at their institution, created their own OER, and engaged in OEP in at least one of their courses. This study followed a hermeneutical phenomenological research design, collecting qualitative data through journal entries, artifact analysis, and semi-structured interviews. The journal entries and semi-structured interviews were analyzed through van Manen’s (2014) data analysis framework and the artifacts were analyzed through Cox and Trotter’s (2017) OER Adoption Pyramid. The three themes that were revealed were the participants’ desires for (a) improvement of the student experience, (b) improvement of the creator-practitioner’s craft, and (c) community and contributions. The findings of this study include the alignment and emphasis of the learner-centered approach that creator-practitioners implement, the paradigm shift of power and control pertaining to the roles of instructors and learners, and the importance of cooperation between creator-practitioners and other stakeholders

Revisiting Multi-Step Nonlinearity Compensation with Machine Learning

For the efficient compensation of fiber nonlinearity, one of the guiding principles appears to be: fewer steps are better and more efficient. We challenge this assumption and show that carefully designed multi-step approaches can lead to better performance-complexity trade-offs than their few-step counterparts.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, This is a preprint of a paper submitted to the 2019 European Conference on Optical Communicatio

In vitro plant regeneration and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of Datura stramonium (Solanaceae).

Premise of the Study:Datura stramonium is a pharmacologically and evolutionarily important plant species in the family Solanaceae. Stable transformation methodology of this species would be advantageous for future genetic studies. Methods:In vitro plant regeneration and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation techniques were developed for D. stramonium based on methods reported for tomato. A binary vector containing pAtUBQ10::erGFP was used for transformation. Results:We recovered primary transformants harboring the green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene that resulted in expression of fluorescence in all tissues analyzed. Transformants were allowed to self-pollinate, and two of five progeny contained the GFP transgene and displayed fluorescence identical to the primary transformants. Discussion:We have demonstrated the first stable transformation in the genus Datura. This is a key first step to study the genetic basis of traits in this evolutionarily interesting species

CRAFTI: A Canadian Asteroid Mission

Historically, planetary exploration has been performed using large, complex, and costly spacecraft that have attempted to bring a laboratory of instruments with them. Only in the early days of the American and Russian space programs were the missions less complex and more focused. The Canadian Robotic Asteroid Flyby and Tentatively Impact (CRAFTI) mission proposes to return to some of the philosophies of that era, and to bring modern microsatellite design philosophies into planetary exploration. The CRAFTI mission is a concept study being undertaken by the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies Space Flight Laboratory (UTIAS-SFL) and the Canadian Space Society, with funding from the Canadian Space Agency and technical support from Dynacon Enterprises Limited. The study is aimed at proving that microsatellite technology can, and should, be applied to planetary exploration. The principal investigator is Dr. Kimmo Innanen of York University, and the lead engineer is Henry Spencer of UTIAS-SFL. The target of this project is a Near Earth Asteroid suitable for a relatively slow flyby, tentatively chosen to be Toutatis during its 2008 closest approach with the Earth. Asteroids present the best target for such a mission, as they offer the greatest possible science return for relatively simple instruments and relatively low mission cost. In addition, a flyby during closest approach turns out to be a surprisingly easy mission. The CRAFTI mission presents an opportunity to prove that microsatellite technology has come of age, not only in Earth orbiting spacecraft, but also in the realm of planetary exploration. The key to success is a careful tradeoff between available spacecraft resources and mission design, and having on board only what is absolutely necessary for the mission to succeed. This paper will highlight the tradeoffs, and examine the proposed spacecraft design and overall mission plan