No problem! Avoidance of cultural diversity in teacher training

Research all over the world indicates that initial teacher training, as far as multicultural education is concerned, is grossly inadequate or, in many instances, non-existent. In many cases it is still regarded as a luxury which cannot be afforded in a time of scarcity of resources, or as a contentious politically sensitive area best avoided. Avoidance or so-called ";no problem!"; strategies are often the outcome of teacher training that fails or falls short of addressing issues of diversity in schools. There is much talk worldwide of permeating a multicultural perspective in teacher training programmes. Most educational stakeholders agree on the feasibility of training prospective teachers to teach in a multicultural society. In practice, however, very little, if anything (in some cases), is being done to impregnate existing initial teacher training courses with a pluralistic vision or perspective. Teachers cannot be expected to be effective in teaching multicultural content and working effectively with ethnically diverse student groups without being professionally prepared for this task. (South African Journal of Education: 2003 22(3): 184-187

The Multiphase Intracluster Medium in Galaxy Groups Probed by the Lyman Alpha Forest

The case is made that the intracluster medium (ICM) in spiral-rich galaxy groups today probably has undergone much slower evolution than that in elliptical-rich groups and clusters. The environments of proto-clusters and proto-groups at z > 2 are likely similar to spiral-rich group environments at lower redshift. Therefore, like the ICM in spiral-rich groups today, the ICM in proto-groups and proto-clusters at z > 2 is predicted to be significantly multiphased. The QSO Lyman alpha forest in the vicinity of galaxies is an effective probe of the ICM at a wide range of redshift. Two recent observations of Lyman alpha absorption around galaxies by Adelberger et al. and by Pascarelle et al are reconciled, and it is shown that observations support the multiphase ICM scenario. Galaxy redshifts must be very accurate for such studies to succeed. This scenario can also explain the lower metallicity and lower hot gas fraction in groups.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, replaced with the version after proo

Zircon dissolution in a ductile shear zone, Monte Rosa granite gneiss, northern Italy

The sizes, distributions and shapes of zircon grains within variably deformed granite gneiss from the western Alps have been studied. Zircon shows numerous indicators of a metamorphic response in both the host gneiss and a 5 cm wide continuous ductile shear zone, within which the zircon grain sizes range from <1 µm to >50 µm. However, the very fine grain sizes are virtually absent from grain boundaries. Within this zone, zircons consistently have more rounded and embayed margins, which are interpreted as evidence of dissolution in response to fluid influx during shearing. Zircons are preferentially located near metamorphic muscovite in both the host gneiss and the shear zone and tend to show the poorest crystal shape, indicating that fluids linked to the formation and presence of muscovite may enhance both the crystallization of zircon and its subsequent dissolution. Larger zircon crystals typically show a brittle response to deformation when adjacent to phyllosilicates, with fractures consistently perpendicular to the (001) mica cleavage. The variety of metamorphic behaviour observed for zircon indicates that it may be highly reactive in sub-solidus mid-crustal metamorphic environments

The Properties of Field Elliptical Galaxies at Intermediate Redshift. I: Empirical Scaling Laws

We present measurements of the Fundamental Plane (FP) parameters (the effective radius, the mean effective surface brightness, and the central velocity dispersion) of six field elliptical galaxies at intermediate redshift. The imaging is taken from the Medium Deep Survey of the Hubble Space Telescope, while the kinematical data are obtained from long-slit spectroscopy using the 3.6-m ESO telescope. The Fundamental Plane appears well defined in the field even at redshift $\approx$ 0.3. The data show a shift in the FP zero point with respect to the local relation, possibly indicating modest evolution, consistent with the result found for intermediate redshift cluster samples. The FP slopes derived for our field data, plus other cluster ellipticals at intermediate redshift taken from the literature, differ from the local ones, but are still consistent with the interpretation of the FP as a result of homology, of the virial theorem and of the existence of a relation between luminosity and mass, $L \propto M^{\eta}$. We also derive the surface brightness vs. effective radius relation for nine galaxies with redshift up to $z \approx0.6$, and data from the literature; the evolution that can be inferred is consistent with what is found using the FP.Comment: 17 pages, including 9 figures, MNRAS, accepte

Massive, Absorption-selected Galaxies at Intermediate Redshifts

The nature of absorption-selected galaxies and their connection to the general galaxy population have been open issues for more than three decades, with little information available on their gas properties. Here we show, using detections of carbon monoxide (CO) emission with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), that five of seven high-metallicity, absorption-selected galaxies at intermediate redshifts, $z \approx 0.5-0.8$, have large molecular gas masses, $M_{\rm Mol} \approx (0.6 - 8.2) \times 10^{10} \: {\rm M}_\odot$ and high molecular gas fractions ($f_{\rm Mol} \equiv \: M_{\rm Mol}/(M_\ast + M_{\rm Mol}) \approx 0.29-0.87)$. Their modest star formation rates (SFRs), $\approx (0.3-9.5) \: {\rm M}_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, then imply long gas depletion timescales, $\approx (3 - 120)$ Gyr. The high-metallicity absorption-selected galaxies at $z \approx 0.5-0.8$ appear distinct from populations of star-forming galaxies at both $z \approx 1.3-2.5$, during the peak of star formation activity in the Universe, and lower redshifts, $z \lesssim 0.05$. Their relatively low SFRs, despite the large molecular gas reservoirs, may indicate a transition in the nature of star formation at intermediate redshifts, $z \approx 0.7$.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters. Minor changes to match the version in press in ApJ

Reply To "comment On 'photoionization Of Helium Atoms Irradiated With Intense Vacuum Ultraviolet Free-electron Laser Light. Part I. Experimental Study Of Multiphoton And Single-photon Processes'"

We do not agree with the conclusion of the Comment by Charalambidis questioning our observation of two-photon ionization of helium by intense radiation with 13 eV photons from a vuv free-electron laser. Two-photon ionization is clearly established by the detection of low-energy photoelectrons at ∼1.7 eV, which agrees very well with the expected energy for a two-photon ionization process. © 2006 The American Physical Society.743Laarmann, T., De Castro, A.R.B., Schulz, J., Wabnitz, H., Möller, T., (2005) Phys. Rev. A, 72, p. 023409. , PLRAAN. 1050-2947. 10.1103/PhysRevA.72.023409Ayvazyan, V., Baboi, N., Bohnet, I., Brinkmann, R., Castellano, M., Castro, P., Catani, L., Zapfe, K., (2002) Phys. Rev. Lett., 88, p. 104802. , PRLTAO. 0031-9007. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.104802Ayvazyan, V., Baboi, N., Bähr, J., Balandin, V., Beutner, B., Brandt, A., Bohnet, I., Schreiber H, -J., (2006) Eur. Phys. J. D, 37, p. 297. , EPJDF6. 1434-6060. 10.1140/epjd/e2005-00308-1Wabnitz, H., Bittner, L., De Castro, A.R.B., Döhrmann, R., Gürtler, P., Laarmann, T., Laasch, W., Yurkov, M., (2002) Nature (London), 420, p. 482. , NATUAS. 0028-0836. 10.1038/nature01197Laarmann, T., De Castro, A.R.B., Gürtler, P., Laasch, W., Schulz, J., Wabnitz, H., Möller, T., (2004) Phys. Rev. Lett., 92, p. 143401. , PRLTAO. 0031-9007. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.143401Laarmann, T., Rusek, M., Wabnitz, H., Schulz, J., De Castro, A.R.B., Gürtler, P., Laasch, W., Möller, T., (2005) Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, p. 063402. , PRLTAO. 0031-9007. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.063402Wabnitz, H., De Castro, A.R.B., Gürtler, P., Laarmann, T., Laasch, W., Schulz, J., Möller, T., (2005) Phys. Rev. Lett., 94, p. 023001. , PRLTAO. 0031-9007. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.023001Santra, R., Greene, C.H., (2004) Phys. Rev. A, 70, p. 053401. , PLRAAN 1050-2947 10.1103/PhysRevA.70.053401Tzallas, P., Charalambidis, D., Papadogiannis, N.A., Witte, K., Tsakiris, G.D., (2003) Nature (London), 426, p. 267. , NATUAS 0028-0836 10.1038/nature02091Papadogiannis, N.A., Nikolopoulos, L.A.A., Charalambidis, D., Tsakiris, G.D., Tzallas, P., Witte, K., (2003) Appl. Phys. B, 76, p. 721. , APDOEM 0946-2171Papadogiannis, N.A., Nikolopoulos, L.A.A., Charalambidis, D., Tsakiris, G.D., Tzallas, P., Witte, K., (2003) Phys. Rev. Lett., 90, p. 133902. , PRLTAO 0031-9007 10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.133902De Castro, A.R.B., Laarmann, T., Schulz, J., Wabnitz, H., Möller, T., (2005) Phys. Rev. A, 72, p. 023410. , PLRAAN. 1050-2947. 10.1103/PhysRevA.72.02341