Structural diversity within transition metal–sulfimide complexes

S,S'-diphenylsulfimide, Ph2SNH, 1, is an excellent ligand that readily forms N-bound complexes with a range of transition metals. Its importance as a ligand is enhanced by two significant features of the resulting complexes: (1) the strong hydrogen bonding interactions between the NH unit and the counterions; and (2) the ligand's ability to stabilise unusual structural combinations. By varying the counterions, the hydrogen bonding pattern can be changed and this affects the geometry at the metal centre. The anion also plays an important role in determining the coordination number of the metal. The hydrogen bonding interactions have been utilised to prepare extended arrays by the inclusion of appropriate outer sphere, bridging ligands, such as terephthalate and fumarate into the system. The fixation of atmospheric CO2 has been observed in a number of systems leading to the formation of both a bicarbonate dimer and a metal-bound carbonate ligand. These act as hydrogen bonding acceptors to give extended 2-D networks. [Continues.

Preliminary Results of Radiohalos from Four Sites of Precambrian Minnesota Granite

Radiohalo research is a relatively new area of scientific investigation, the significance of which has been shown by authors such as Snelling and Gentry. This study examines the prevalence of the radiohalos of polonium isotopes and uranium isotopes within biotite flakes generated by radioactive zircon crystals. The radiohalos result from damage caused by the emanation of hundreds of millions of alpha particles from the zircon crystals during the decay process. The samples were obtained from drill cores granted to us by the Drill Core Library in Hibbing, Minnesota. The Precambrian granite core sections were crushed and small biotite flakes picked out. The “Scotch tape” method was used to separate the many layers of biotite flakes which were then placed on glass slides and analyzed under the microscope. Center radiohalos were marked, taken a picture of using the petrographic microscope, measured, and logged. We prepared forty slides per sample with biotite flakes scattered across each slide. We found thirty-eight radiohalos total in MN-1; roughly thirty-five radiohalos total in MN-2A; five radiohalos total in MN-2B; and seventeen radiohalos total MN-3A. All of the radiohalos contain either holes or zircons at their center and majority appear to be made from polonium. These are initial results and further analysis will continue to be conducted. This study contributes to a larger study of Precambrian granite with a focus on Minnesota core samples

Who does what now? How physics lab instruction impacts student behaviors

While laboratory instruction is a cornerstone of physics education, the impact of student behaviours in labs on retention, persistence in the field, and the formation of students' physics identity remains an open question. In this study, we performed in-lab observations of student actions over two semesters in two pedagogically different sections of the same introductory physics course. We used a cluster analysis to identify different categories of student behaviour and analyzed how they correlate with lab structure and gender. We find that, in lab structures which fostered collaborative group work and promoted decision making, there was a task division along gender lines with respect to laptop and equipment usage (and found no such divide among students in guided verification labs).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

Exploring Quality Teaching in the Online Environment Using an Evidence-Based Approach

Online learning is increasingly ubiquitous in higher education. However, research regarding online teaching often focuses on the affordances of the online environment rather than on the quality of pedagogy. In this paper we consider how online learning could be enhanced using rich pedagogical models that are consistent with a wealth of existing knowledge on pedagogy for face-to-face settings. To do so, we apply an established framework, the Quality Teaching model, to explore pedagogy in the online environment and illustrate its potential benefits using a case study of 60 students in a tertiary mathematics teacher education program. We conclude that the use of an evidence-based pedagogical model can help guide online instructors in the development of high quality online course

Fertility, Contraception, and Abortion and the Partnership of Henry Miller and AnaÏs Nin

During their creative and sexual relationship, Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller together shaped their identities as artists. When they met, both were married and had tried writing before, but their partnership pushed them into a new kind of life in which writing took precedence. During this process, they described their relationship as literarily fertile; a few years later, Nin actually became pregnant with Miller\u27s child and decided to have an abortion. In Nin\u27s diary, metaphor and reality overlap as she anxiously makes sense of her decision that is informed by her belief that an artist cannot be a mother. In his novels, Miller discusses abortion with a casualness undercut by a conflict between morality and necessity. By looking into passages produced during this time in Nin\u27s and Miller\u27s relationship that concern fertility, contraception, and abortion, this thesis aims to gain understanding of how Nin and Miller shaped their identities as artists, particularly in terms of how artistic creation and procreation interact in the life of an artist. Furthermore, this thesis explores the relationship between Nin\u27s and Miller\u27s fertility metaphors and the reality of Nin\u27s abortion and concludes that their bodily metaphors often serve to shift responsibility for difficult decisions onto cosmic forces, a mechanism that indicates a nervousness about the interaction between human choice and divine plan