Impact of online professional development in the work environment

Online distance education programs are populated by adult learners who try to continue or complete their education without having to leave their jobs or places of residence. Their work environment becomes not just their working place, but also the labs where they apply new knowledge. The general expectation is that after graduation they will make an impact in their work environment through their job and through interacting with peers and supervisors. This study explored the influence that K-12 teachers had in their work environment as they pursued and graduated from an online Masters program in Education. The study showed the impact that the participants have and how they become agents of change in their immediate workplace.publishedpeer reviewe

Thermodynamic and chemical parameters of the exhaust effluents from the HARPOON booster motor

The exhaust products from the Harpoon booster motors were analyzed using both thermodynamic analysis and finite-rate chemistry. The resulting constituents are presented together with a discussion of the techniques employed

Preparation, analysis and release of simulated interplanetary grains into low Earth orbit

Astronomical observations which reflect the optical and dynamical properties of interstellar and interplanetary grains are the primary means of identifying the shape, size, and the chemistry of extraterrestrial grain materials. Except for recent samplings of extraterrestrial particles in near-Earth orbit and in the stratosphere observations were the only method of deducing the properties of extraterrestrial particles. In order to elucidate the detailed characteristics of observed dust, the observations must be compared with theoretical studies, some of which are discussed in this volume, or compared with terrestrial laboratory experiments. The formation and optical characterization of simulated interstellar and interplanetary dust with particular emphasis on studying the properties on irregularly shaped particles were discussed. Efforts to develop the techniques to allow dust experiments to be carried out in low-Earth orbit were discussed, thus extending the conditions under which dust experiments may be performed

Does dissemination mode for research make a difference to reaching in-service primary teachers?

Aim:- How can relevant education research reach in-service primary teachers? This paper evaluates the effectiveness of online and face-to-face dissemination modes for a key resource developed during the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science project, using King’s (2003) three levels of dissemination for education research. Content:- King (2003) suggests there are three levels of dissemination for the outputs of educational research. The first, dissemination for awareness, is considered least likely to result in long-term changes to practice, but yields the greatest potential audience. Online dissemination is an example of this. The second level, dissemination for understanding, results in more changes to practice but requires time and human resources to implement. The third level, dissemination for action, involves practitioners using the resource to change their practice in some way and requires the greatest investment of time and energy. The TAPS pyramid is a resource for primary teachers and school leaders to evaluate and improve their assessment practice (Earle et al., 2016). It was disseminated via an online downloadand face-to-face dissemination events. Dissemination for awareness is analysed through total downloads data for the resource, and also at country, county and local level. Dissemination for understanding is analysed by plotting known dissemination eventsagainst location download data. A strong relationship is demonstrated at a national level and county level. An online survey for teachers attempting to use the resource closes in March 2017. Inferential statistics generated from non-parametric analyses of this data will demonstrate the relationship between dissemination mode and subsequent use in more detail. Contextual factors enabling or obstructing a teacher’s intention to use the resource are also presented in the context of dissemination for action, King’s third level of dissemination. The implications of the analysis for colleagues’ research dissemination strategies are summarised at the end. Thinking deeply about teacher education:- What dissemination strategies should be considered when disseminating education research on a limited budget to in-service teachers? What contextual factors might obstruct or enable in-service teachers to act upon research outputs, and to what extent can these be mitigated? The country/ies to which the presentation relates:- The data for this paper come from a mixed methods study of primary schools mainly based in England. However, the internet is an internationally available resource, and effective dissemination of research findings is a perennial issue faced by researchers from all countries

1.3 mm Polarized emission in the circumstellar disk of a massive protostar

We present the first resolved observations of the 1.3 mm polarized emission from the disk-like structure surrounding the high-mass protostar Cepheus A HW2. These CARMA data partially resolve the dust polarization, suggesting a uniform morphology of polarization vectors with an average position angle of 57° ± 6° and an average polarization fraction of 2.0% ± 0.4%. The distribution of the polarization vectors can be attributed to (1) the direct emission of magnetically aligned grains of dust by a uniform magnetic field, or (2) the pattern produced by the scattering of an inclined disk. We show that both models can explain the observations, and perhaps a combination of the two mechanisms produces the polarized emission. A third model including a toroidal magnetic field does not match the observations. Assuming scattering is the polarization mechanism, these observations suggest that during the first few 104 years of high-mass star formation, grain sizes can grow from1 mm to several 10s μm.Fil: Fernandez Lopez, Manuel. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia; ArgentinaFil: Stephens, I. W.. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Estados Unidos. Boston University; Estados Unidos. University of Illinois; Estados UnidosFil: Girart, J. M.. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Estados Unidos. Institut de Ciències de l’Espai; EspañaFil: Looney, L.. University of Illinois; Estados UnidosFil: Curiel, S.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Segura Cox, D.. University of Illinois; Estados UnidosFil: Eswaraiah, C.. National Tsing Hua University; República de ChinaFil: Lai, S. P.. National Tsing Hua University; República de Chin

Effective Critical Exponents for Dimensional Ccrossover and Quantum Systems from an Environmentally Friendly Renormalization Group

Series for the Wilson functions of an ``environmentally friendly'' renormalization group are computed to two loops, for an $O(N)$ vector model, in terms of the ``floating coupling'', and resummed by the Pad\'e method to yield crossover exponents for finite size and quantum systems. The resulting effective exponents obey all scaling laws, including hyperscaling in terms of an effective dimensionality, {d\ef}=4-\gl, which represents the crossover in the leading irrelevant operator, and are in excellent agreement with known results.Comment: 10 pages of Plain Tex, Postscript figures available upon request from [email protected], preprint numbers THU-93/18, DIAS-STP-93-1

CPT- and B-Violation: The p-pbar Sector

The CPT symmetry of relativistic quantum field theory requires the total lifetimes of particles and antiparticles be equal. Detection of pbar lifetime shorter than tau_p > O(10^32) yr would signal breakdown of CPT invariance, in combination with B-violation. The best current limit on tau_pbar, inferred from cosmic ray measurements, is about one Myr, placing lower limits on CPT-violating scales that depend on the exact mechanism. Paths to CPT breakdown within and outside ordinary quantum mechanics are sketched. Many of the limiting CPT-violating scales in pbar decay lie within the weak-to-Planck range.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, .sty file included; based on contribution to CPT98 Conference; minor changes, accepted by Mod. Phys. Lett.

Interventions after screening for hearing difficulties: a retrospective investigation of interventions other than hearing aids

There have been a number of studies on screening of hearing in adult populations. Despite the high importance of interventions following screening for hearing (Wilson and Jungner, 1968) there is a dearth of information on the nature of interventions following such screening, other than hearing aid fitting (HA) or referral to audiology/ENT departments (Pronk et al., 2011). In the late 1980s and early 1990s four studies were performed in Wales, which offered such other interventions to those individuals indicating hearing disabilities in screening questionnaires (eg Stephens et al., 1990; Davis et al., 1992). The majority of the patient notes from these studies were still accessible and have been examined to extract the following information: - what interventions were used other than hearing aids? - who received these interventions? - would they have been more appropriate than HAs for some of those fitted? The aim of this paper is to list the interventions provided in these studies and relate them to the initial complaints of those indicating hearing problems

An Analytic Equation of State for Ising-like Models

Using an Environmentally Friendly Renormalization we derive, from an underlying field theory representation, a formal expression for the equation of state, $y=f(x)$, that exhibits all desired asymptotic and analyticity properties in the three limits $x\to 0$, $x\to \infty$ and $x\to -1$. The only necessary inputs are the Wilson functions $\gamma_\lambda$, $\gamma_\phi$ and $\gamma_{\phi^2}$, associated with a renormalization of the transverse vertex functions. These Wilson functions exhibit a crossover between the Wilson-Fisher fixed point and the fixed point that controls the coexistence curve. Restricting to the case N=1, we derive a one-loop equation of state for $2< d<4$ naturally parameterized by a ratio of non-linear scaling fields. For $d=3$ we show that a non-parameterized analytic form can be deduced. Various asymptotic amplitudes are calculated directly from the equation of state in all three asymptotic limits of interest and comparison made with known results. By positing a scaling form for the equation of state inspired by the one-loop result, but adjusted to fit the known values of the critical exponents, we obtain better agreement with known asymptotic amplitudes.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure