But I’d rather have raisins! Exploring a hybridized approach to multimodal interaction in the case of a minimally verbal child with autism

This article explores a 'hybridized approach' to multimodal research drawing on video data of classroom communication involving children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The focus is a short video of 'Luke', aged six, who at snack time declines to request an available food item (carrot, tomato or apple) with the available Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS); instead deploying embodied, idiosyncratic communication including gaze, vocalisation and object manipulation to request raisins. The article explores the potential of a hybridized approach for understanding Luke's communicative competencies which draws upon the theoretical perspectives of Ethnography of Communication, Conversation Analysis and Multimodal (Inter)Action Analysis; and uses two forms of multimodal transcription (the multimodal matrix and annotated video stills). It is argued that each tradition brings distinct affordances to our understanding of this short interaction and that together they can permit inferences which would not have been possible working with one approach alone

Simulator test to study hot-flow problems related to a gas cooled reactor

An advance study of materials, fuel injection, and hot flow problems related to the gas core nuclear rocket is reported. The first task was to test a previously constructed induction heated plasma GCNR simulator above 300 kW. A number of tests are reported operating in the range of 300 kW at 10,000 cps. A second simulator was designed but not constructed for cold-hot visualization studies using louvered walls. A third task was a paper investigation of practical uranium feed systems, including a detailed discussion of related problems. The last assignment resulted in two designs for plasma nozzle test devices that could be operated at 200 atm on hydrogen

Do all children have the right to express views? Listening to ‘differently voiced’ communicators

It is now internationally accepted that children have the ‘right to express views’, but detailed discussion is needed of how this right can be realised in practice for children with complex communication needs. This chapter explores some of the issues that arise when attempting to discern the views of children who do not communicate primarily through verbal speech. It explores ontological, epistemological, and ethical issues which arise when working with ‘differently voiced’ views and considers practical strategies and technologies which may enable us to attend more effectively to children who communicate differently

Temperature dependent surface relaxations of Ag(111)

The temperature dependent surface relaxation of Ag(111) is calculated by density-functional theory. At a given temperature, the equilibrium geometry is determined by minimizing the Helmholtz free energy within the quasiharmonic approximation. To this end, phonon dispersions all over the Brillouin zone are determined from density-functional perturbation theory. We find that the top-layer relaxation of Ag(111) changes from an inward contraction (-0.8 %) to an outward expansion (+6.3%) as the temperature increases from T=0 K to 1150 K, in agreement with experimental findings. Also the calculated surface phonon dispersion curves at room temperature are in good agreement with helium scattering measurements. The mechanism driving this surface expansion is analyzed.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B (May 1998). Other related publications can be found at http://www.rz-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm

Optics with an Atom Laser Beam

We report on the atom optical manipulation of an atom laser beam. Reflection, focusing and its storage in a resonator are demonstrated. Precise and versatile mechanical control over an atom laser beam propagating in an inhomogeneous magnetic field is achieved by optically inducing spin-flips between atomic ground states with different magnetic moment. The magnetic force acting on the atoms can thereby be effectively switched on and off. The surface of the atom optical element is determined by the resonance condition for the spin-flip in the inhomogeneous magnetic field. A mirror reflectivity of more than 98% is measured

Pressure cooker ownership and food security in Aurangabad, India

Objective: To explore associations between household food security and home gardening, use of soya and pressure cooker ownership in low-income households affected by HIV/AIDS in Aurangabad, India. Design: Cross-sectional pilot study which assessed household food security using the validated US Department of Agriculture’s food security core-module questionnaire. Questions were added to explore household environment, education, occupation, home gardening, use of soya and pressure cooker ownership. Households with very low v. low food security were compared using logistic regression analysis, controlling for confounding by socio-economic status. Setting: Aurangabad is an urban setting situated in a primarily agricultural dependent area. The study was carried out in 2008, at the peak of the global food crisis. Subjects: Adult caregivers of children affiliated with the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Aurangabad. Results: All except for one of 133 households were identified as food insecure (99?2 %). Of these households, 35?6% had to cut size or skip a meal in the past 30 d. Households that cut meal size due to cooking fuel shortages were more likely to have very low food security (OR54?67; 95% CI 1?62, 13?44) compared with households having no cooking fuel shortages. Owning a pressure cooker was shown to be protective against very low food security after controlling for confounding by socio-economic status (OR50?27; 95% CI 0?11, 0?64). Conclusions: Only pressure cooker ownership showed a protective association with low household food security. Pressure cookers save household fuel costs. Therefore, future interventions should explore pressure cookers as a sustainable means of improving household food securit

Accounting for convective effects in zero-Mach-number thermoacoustic models

This paper presents a methodology to account for some mean-flow effects on thermo-acoustic instabilities when using the zero-Mach-number assumption. It is shown that when a computational domain is represented under the M=0 assumption, a nonzero-Mach-number element can simply be taken into account by imposing a proper acoustic impedance at the boundaries so as to mimic the mean flow effects in the outer, not computed flow domain. A model that accounts for the coupling between acoustic and entropy waves is presented. It relies on a “delayed entropy coupled boundary condition” (DECBC) for the Helmholtz equation satisfied by the acoustic pressure. The model proves able to capture low-frequency entropic modes even without mean-flow terms in the fluctuating pressure equation