1,949 research outputs found

    How to change the world: tales of Marx and Marxism

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    James Moran takes a closer look at Eric Hobsbawm’s work on the relevance of Marxism for the 21st century. This is a serious, detailed and lucidly written collection, which gives the reader a rigorous account of Marxism. Though not, perhaps, a text for someone approaching Marxism for the first time, Hobsbawm’s experience certainly impresses one already familiar with Marxism’s central ideas. How to Change the World: Tales of Marx and Marxism. Eric Hobsbawm. January 2011. Little, Brown

    Gamma-Ray Burst Dust Echoes Revisited: Expectations at Early Times

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    Gamma-ray burst (GRB) dust echoes were first proposed as an alternative explanation for the supernova-like (SN-like) components to the afterglows of GRB 980326 and GRB 970228. However, the spectroscopic identification of Type Ic SN 2003dh associated with GRB 030329, as well as the identification of SN-like components to the afterglows of other GRBs, appears to have confirmed the GRB/SN paradigm. However, the likely progenitors of Type Ic SNe are Wolf-Rayet WC stars, and late-type WC stars have been observed to be surrounded by dust, at a distance of 10^14 -- 10^15 cm from the star. Consequently, we revisit the possibility of GRB dust echoes, not on a timescale of weeks after the burst but on a timescale of minutes to hours. We find that if the optical flash is sufficiently bright and the jet sufficiently wide, GRB afterglows may be accompanied by chromatic variations on this timescale. From these signatures, such model parameters as the inner radius of the dust distribution, the initial opening angle of the jet, etc., may be deduced. With rapid and regular localizations of GRBs by HETE-2, Integral, and now Swift, and new and improved robotic telescope systems, these early-time GRB dust echoes may soon be detected. We describe one such robotic telescope system, called PROMPT, that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is building at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in greater detail.Comment: Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal, 15 pages, 5 figures, LaTe

    An Accelerated Middle School Mathematics Curriculum: Combined EngageNY Math 6 and Math 7 Curriculum

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    This thesis discusses the importance and benefits of subject acceleration for mathematically gifted students. The objective was to create an accelerated mathematics curriculum for mathematically gifted students by combining the Math 6 and Math 7 EngageNY curricula and adapting these curricula to meet the needs of my gifted students. This curriculum is to be implemented in a gifted classroom, which allows students to be on an accelerated path in mathematics. This thesis focuses on the Accelerated Mathematics 6 program implemented for 15 sixth grade gifted and scholastic academy students at Woodlawn Middle School, a school located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Appendix A of this thesis provides the adapted EngageNY curriculum called Accelerated Mathematics 6 that I created as part of this thesis project. The Accelerated Mathematics 6 curriculum is comprised of six modules that incorporate sixth and seventh grade CCSS. This curriculum includes teacher and student materials. The teacher materials provide opening exercises, discussions, examples, exercises, extensions, closings, exit tickets, and problem sets. All answers are provided. Therefore, the teacher materials are designed to provide an outline of the course for the entire year. The student materials include guided notes to be given to students. These notes include blank copies of opening exercises (if applicable), examples, exercises, exit tickets, and problem sets for each lesson. In addition, a suggested pacing guide for the year is provided as well as module overviews, table of contents, and mid-module and end-of-module assessments

    The Influence of Specific Physical Features on Leisure Time Patterns

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    Modern societies have commonly been defined by their technological advancements. These advancements have been blamed for the vice as well as the virtues that are exhibited in society. Indeed these advancements have changed life styles, modes of interaction, and patterns of behavior. As a corollary to this development, leisure patterns have also changed; not only in time allotted, but in terms of financial resources available, behavior exhibited, and values defined. Individuals perceive leisure as part of the day’s events rather than as time left over

    Reconceptualizing early childhood preservice teacher education: A pedagogy of collaborative inquiry

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    This study describes changes in thinking and practice among 24 early childhood preservice teachers as they move away from a reliance on traditional interpretations of child-centered curricula and developmentally appropriate practices toward one of collaborative inquiry. Participants enrolled in a 15 week undergraduate teaching methods course were assigned to teaching teams to implement collaborative projects with the same group of three to five year-old children. Traditionally, early childhood teacher education has been influenced by developmental theory which emphasizes processes of children\u27s learning. And yet, teachers typically learn to teach from a transmission orientation with perspectives provided by experts rather than from a position of inquiry. This study describes a reconceptualization of teacher education informed by key tenets of social constructivist theory, reflective practice and teacher research, and the implementation of collaborative projects as popularized by the preprimary schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. This study is the first to integrate these three components to create an environment in which there is congruency between the processes through which teachers construct knowledge and those which characterize children\u27s construction of knowledge. The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative measures to assess conceptual level, changes in reflectivity, and the use of advanced interpretations of developmentally appropriate practices associated with inquiry-oriented teaching. Results suggest that the emergence of collaborative inquiry among preservice teachers is a dynamic and diverse process not readily assessed by static measures or discreet skills. Findings from the qualitative analyses both challenged and explained some of the findings from the quantitative portions of the study. The metaphor of portraiture was utilized to describe team meetings and classroom practices as they constituted an environment for adult learners. In this study, experiences were shared and meanings socially constructed through the use of discourse and tools within recursive cycles of reflection and teaching, each of which drew upon and contributed to a complex web of relationships. This reconceptualization of preservice teacher education requires an expanded concept of professional competence and what is meant by good teaching to include an emphasis on proximal development within a community that promotes learning among adults as well as children

    Analysis of the joint kinematics of the 5 iron golf swing

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    The purpose of this study was to identify the performance determining factors of the 5-iron golf swing. Joint kinematics were obtained from thirty male golfers using a twelve camera motion analysis system. Participants were divided into two groups, based on their ball launch speed (high vs. low). Those in the high ball speed group were deemed to be the more skillful group. Statistical analysis was used to identify the variables which differed significantly between the two groups, and could therefore be classified as the performance determining factors. The following factors were important to performance success: (i) the ability of the golfer to maintain a large X Factor angle and generate large X Factor angular velocity throughout the downswing, (ii) maintain the left arm as straight as possible throughout the swing, (iii) utilise greater movement of the hips in the direction of the target and a greater extension of the right hip during the downswing and (iv) greater flexion of both shoulders and less left shoulder internal rotation during the backswing

    Fermented Liquid Feed: The potential for eliminating enteropathogens from feed

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    The aim of this study was to determine the effect of temperature on the survival of Salmonella and E. coli in fermented liquid pig feed (FLF). Liquid feed, fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum, was challenged with Salmonella or E. coli (six serovars of each) at 20, 30 or 37 C. Temperature significantly affected the survival of Salmonella and E. coli. In FLF containing ca 230 mmol L-1 lactic acid the mean decimal reduction time (D) for Salmonella was reduced from 157 (±10) min at 20 C to 12 (±1.5) min at 30 C and \u3c 5 min at 37 C. Likewise, the mean D for E. coli was significantly reduced from \u3e180 min at 20 C to 30 (±12.7) min at 30 oC and 21 (±6.2) min at 37 C. These studies suggest that successful elimination of potential pathogens from liquid feed can be achieved through fermentation with appropriate lactic acid bacteria and temperature control

    Investigating the circumstellar environments of young stars with the PROMPT polarimeter

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    We have designed and built a prototype imaging polarimeter for use on the PROMPT robotic telescopes located at the Cerro Tololo International Observatory. The polarimeter uses a Fresnel rhomb and wollaston prism to image two orthogonal polarization states onto a single CCD chip, with an image field of view of 10x4.5 arcmin. Using the polarimeter, we have investigated the circumstellar regions of 11 Herbig Ae/Be stars, and done extensive follow-up observations of 3 stars of interest: KK Oph, a well-studied star with previously limited polarimetric data; NX Pup, a star known to vary photometrically but with previously unknown polarimetric variability; and SS7344, a star with very limited previous photometric data and no prior polarimetric data. We have found polarimetric and photometric variations in KK Oph and NX Pup that are consistent with models of dust obscuration. Both KK Oph and NX Pup show an increase in polarization accompanied by a decrease in visual magnitude and a reddening. However, neither star shows the blueing at deep minima and maximum polarization characteristic of the UXor classification of stars. We have demonstrated that SS7344 has an intrinsic polarization, but does not display the photometric and polarimetric variations expected from a young star with an evolving circumstellar environment, indicating that this object either has a disk seen in an orientation that has little inclination, or one with no appreciable puffed-up inner rim
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