Administrative support staff in schools : ways forward

The aims of the research were to establish: • the impact of administrative support in school; • how teachers employ any time released by the presence of extra administrative support; • how the effective use of administrative support, including teacher time released, can best be used to support pupil attainment

Extreme Conditions Crystallography of Polymorphic Co-crystals

This work has two principal sections. The first section is a study of the hydrogen bonding in a series of urea inclusion compounds, utilising neutron diffraction methods and a novel technique for growing neutron diffraction-suitable single crystals. The second section focusses on high pressure crystallography as a technique for exploring polymorphic landscapes, of a series of acid-base co-crystals, and the well-known active pharmaceutical ingredient 5-methyl-2-[(2-nitrophenyl)amino]-3-thiophenecarbonitrile (ROY). Single crystal neutron structures at several temperatures have been determined for -phase urea inclusion compounds containing hexadecane, 1,6-dibromohexane and 2,7-octanedione guests. The neutron structure of the ‘partial channel’ co-crystal of urea and DMF is also reported. This includes an in-depth discussion and analysis of the structure and bonding of this urea series, in particular, how the guest compound affects the symmetry and hydrogen bonding of the host urea network. Additionally, the challenge of obtaining crystals suitable for neutron diffraction is addressed and a new heating/cooling device to aid crystallisation is presented. Pyridine and formic acid have been crystallised at differing ratios by both cryo-crystallisation and compression in a diamond anvil cell. Mixtures of the liquids in 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 ratios all crystallise at high pressure, while only the 1:1 and 1:4 compositions were crystallised by in situ low temperature capillary crystallisation. The 1:2 structure crystallised by high pressure is a previously unknown co-crystal of pyridine - formic acid. For the 1:4 mixture, a new polymorph has been identified at a pressure of 14.2 kbar with a distinctly different structure and bonding pattern to that of the previously reported low temperature form. Five new co-crystals of 2,6-dimethylpyridine (DMP) with formic acid (FA) were crystallised by application of pressure in a diamond anvil cell and by in situ cryo-crystallisation. Mixtures in ratios 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 of DMP: FA have been crystallised via both methods. Both the 1:2 and 1:3 co-crystals exhibit high pressure/low temperature polymorphism. ROY has been crystallised from acetone solution using a diamond anvil cell. The needle-like form obtained, named ONP shows similarities with the ORP, ON and Y forms, determined by Raman spectroscopy. The ONP crystals were recovered from the pressure cell by freezing with liquid nitrogen. Synchrotron X-ray data were collected on the sample, although no structure solution and refinement was possible. The unit cell of the ONP shows a crystallographic relationship to the ORP form

Effects of Sterilization on Shape Memory Polyurethane Embolic Foam Devices

Shape memory polymer (SMP) foams have been developed for various embolic applications. These polyurethane materials can be deformed and stored in a secondary shape, from which they can recover their primary shape after exposure to an external stimulus, such as heat and moisture. Tailored actuation temperatures of SMPs provide benefits for minimally invasive biomedical applications, but incur significant challenges for SMP-based medical device sterilization. Most sterilization methods require high temperature and/or humidity to effectively reduce the bioburden of the device, but the environment must be tightly controlled after device fabrication. Here, three probable sterilization methods: non-traditional ethylene oxide (ntEtO) gas sterilization gamma irradiation, and electron beam (ebeam) irradiation were investigated for SMP-based embolic medical devices. SMP foam was tested for changes in thermal properties using differential scanning calorimetry. Mechanical testing was used to analyze sterilization-induced material changes. Unconstrained expansion profiles were obtained to see if sterilization affected the shape memory properties of the foam. Finally, spectroscopy was done to analyze potential molecular changes in the foams. Thermal characterization of the sterilized foams indicated that ntEtO gas sterilization decreased the glass transition temperature. Gamma irradiation was hypothesized to generate oxidative radicals that threaten the biostability of the embolic medical device. Further material characterization was undertaken on the ebeam sterilized samples, which indicated minimal changes to foam integrity and device functionality

Effects of Sterilization on Shape Memory Polyurethane Embolic Foam Devices

Shape memory polymer (SMP) foams have been developed for various embolic applications. These polyurethane materials can be deformed and stored in a secondary shape, from which they can recover their primary shape after exposure to an external stimulus, such as heat and moisture. Tailored actuation temperatures of SMPs provide benefits for minimally invasive biomedical applications, but incur significant challenges for SMP-based medical device sterilization. Most sterilization methods require high temperature and/or humidity to effectively reduce the bioburden of the device, but the environment must be tightly controlled after device fabrication. Here, three probable sterilization methods: non-traditional ethylene oxide (ntEtO) gas sterilization gamma irradiation, and electron beam (ebeam) irradiation were investigated for SMP-based embolic medical devices. SMP foam was tested for changes in thermal properties using differential scanning calorimetry. Mechanical testing was used to analyze sterilization-induced material changes. Unconstrained expansion profiles were obtained to see if sterilization affected the shape memory properties of the foam. Finally, spectroscopy was done to analyze potential molecular changes in the foams. Thermal characterization of the sterilized foams indicated that ntEtO gas sterilization decreased the glass transition temperature. Gamma irradiation was hypothesized to generate oxidative radicals that threaten the biostability of the embolic medical device. Further material characterization was undertaken on the ebeam sterilized samples, which indicated minimal changes to foam integrity and device functionality

A Seasonal Analysis of Extreme Precipitation Trends in the Contiguous United States

The purpose of this paper is to examine extreme precipitation trends in the United States. The National Climate Assessment estimated that average precipitation in the United States has increased in the last 100 years, with variation occurring regionally. Some regions have experienced larger increases in average precipitation, while others have experienced decreases. However, this aggregate increase in average precipitation does not necessarily indicate an analogous trend in extreme precipitation. Statistically, average and extreme values are nearly independent. In this paper, a changepoint technique and extreme value statistical models will be used for estimation of trend and its uncertainty. A changepoint occurs when a station makes a change in location, equipment, etc., and can cause data to appear as if there has been a sudden, inexplicable shift in extreme precipitation. These shifts are attributed to changepoints. However, good records of when and where these changepoints occur are not always kept. Consequently, this paper will use changepoint estimation techniques in order to produce more accurate trend estimation for extreme precipitation

Journey to Praxis: Supporting Youth Activism

Drawing on the work of critical scholars, this study is guided by the idea that systems and structures are malleable, and young people can challenge the conditions and policies which inform their lives. Utilizing qualitative methods, I investigated how nine adult youth workers from three different non-profit organizations supported youth of color as they engaged in social justice activism. I found that participants shared fundamental strengths-based beliefs about youth and their communities; however, their processes of engagement in social justice activism were different at each organization. This paper outlines processes participants engaged to support youth of color on their journeys to develop critical consciousness and to engage in social action

Geographic Variation of Cirques on Iceland: Factors Influencing Cirque Morphology

Cirques are one of the most common glacial landforms in alpine settings. They also provide important paleoclimate information (e.g. Meierding 1984; Evans 2006). The purpose of this study is to fill in gaps in the climate record of Iceland by conducting a quantitative analysis of cirques in three regions in Iceland: Tröllaskagi, the East Fjords, and Vestfirðir. Iceland, located in the center of the North Atlantic Ocean, contains many small glaciers, in addition to large ice caps. The glaciers on Iceland are particularly sensitive to variations in oceanic and atmospheric circulation (Andresen et al. 2005; Geirsdóttir et al., 2009; Ólafsdóttir et al. 2010). Iceland thus provides an excellent case study to examine factors influencing glacial landforms such as cirques. (excerpt

The Carnegie-Chicago Hubble Program: Discovery of the Most Distant Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxy in the Local Universe

Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs) are the faintest known galaxies and due to their incredibly low surface brightness, it is difficult to find them beyond the Local Group. We report a serendipitous discovery of an UFD, Fornax UFD1, in the outskirts of NGC 1316, a giant galaxy in the Fornax cluster. The new galaxy is located at a projected radius of 55 kpc in the south-east of NGC 1316. This UFD is found as a small group of resolved stars in the Hubble Space Telescope images of a halo field of NGC 1316, obtained as part of the Carnegie-Chicago Hubble Program. Resolved stars in this galaxy are consistent with being mostly metal-poor red giant branch (RGB) stars. Applying the tip of the RGB method to the mean magnitude of the two brightest RGB stars, we estimate the distance to this galaxy, 19.0 +- 1.3 Mpc. Fornax UFD1 is probably a member of the Fornax cluster. The color-magnitude diagram of these stars is matched by a 12 Gyr isochrone with low metallicity ([Fe/H] ~ -2.4). Total magnitude and effective radius of Fornax UFD1 are Mv ~ -7.6 +- 0.2 mag and r_eff = 146 +- 9 pc, which are similar to those of Virgo UFD1 that was discovered recently in the intracluster field of Virgo by Jang & Lee (2014).Fornax UFD1 is the most distant known UFD that is confirmed by resolved stars. This indicates that UFDs are ubiquitous and that more UFDs remain to be discovered in the Fornax cluster.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Mrs. Agentic: Perceptions of Women who Sustain Their Birth Surname After Marriage

As more women earn higher education degrees every year, it is clear gender roles are becoming more egalitarian within Western society. More common than ever before, women are earning more degrees than men and are taking on different roles then what was once expected of them. With this new freedom, women have shifted from playing a supportive role within society to branching out and creating their own established identity. Not only are women maintaining a separate identity in the professional world, but they are also maintaining a separate identity in their marriages. Correlating with the increased number of women in the professional world, there has been a popular trend of women sustaining their birth surname. Although women who sustain their surname are creating a separate identity for themselves, they are likely to be perceived as violating a traditional gender-role norm. In order to further investigate these perceptions, the current study examined perceptions of women who keep their surname upon marriage. Specifically, I focused on the attributes that are ascribed to women who retain their own surname after marriage