2,577 research outputs found
Cognitive and Social Help Giving in Online Teaching: An Exploratory Study
While literature suggests that college students may be less reluctant to seek help in online rather than traditional courses, little is known about how online instructors give help in ways that lead to increased student help seeking and academic success. In this study, we used theories and research on learning assistance and scaffolding, teacher immediacy, social presence, and academic help seeking to explore through a cross-case study design how three online instructors differed in their use of cognitive and social supports and how those differences related to student perceptions of support, help seeking, and performance. Primary data sources included all course postings by the instructors, interviews with the instructors, observational field notes on course discussions, student interviews, and final student grades. Archived course documents and student discussion postings were secondary data sources. Data analysis revealed that while all instructors provided cognitive and social support, they varied in their level of questioning, use of direct instruction, support for task structuring, and attention to group dynamics. This variation in teaching presence related to differences across the courses in student perceptions of support, student help seeking in course discussions, and final course grades. Implications for online teaching and suggestions for further research are offered
Deterministic Walks in Quenched Random Environments of Chaotic Maps
This paper concerns the propagation of particles through a quenched random
medium. In the one- and two-dimensional models considered, the local dynamics
is given by expanding circle maps and hyperbolic toral automorphisms,
respectively. The particle motion in both models is chaotic and found to
fluctuate about a linear drift. In the proper scaling limit, the cumulative
distribution function of the fluctuations converges to a Gaussian one with
system dependent variance while the density function shows no convergence to
any function. We have verified our analytical results using extreme precision
numerical computations.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure
Barn and Pole paradox: revisited
We present two different paradoxes related to the length contraction in
special relativity and explain their resolution.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. To appear in Physics Education, IOP Scienc
Transport properties in chaotic and non-chaotic many particles systems
Two deterministic models for Brownian motion are investigated by means of
numerical simulations and kinetic theory arguments. The first model consists of
a heavy hard disk immersed in a rarefied gas of smaller and lighter hard disks
acting as a thermal bath. The second is the same except for the shape of the
particles, which is now square. The basic difference of these two systems lies
in the interaction: hard core elastic collisions make the dynamics of the disks
chaotic whereas that of squares is not. Remarkably, this difference is not
reflected in the transport properties of the two systems: simulations show that
the diffusion coefficients, velocity correlations and response functions of the
heavy impurity are in agreement with kinetic theory for both the chaotic and
the non-chaotic model. The relaxation to equilibrium, however, is very
sensitive to the kind of interaction. These observations are used to reconsider
and discuss some issues connected to chaos, statistical mechanics and
diffusion.Comment: 23 pgs with 8 Figure
Persistent random walk on a one-dimensional lattice with random asymmetric transmittances
We study the persistent random walk of photons on a one-dimensional lattice
of random asymmetric transmittances. Each site is characterized by its
intensity transmittance t (t') for photons moving to the right (left)
direction. Transmittances at different sites are assumed independent,
distributed according to a given probability density Distribution. We use the
effective medium approximation and identify two classes of probability density
distribution of transmittances which lead to the normal diffusion of photons.
Monte Carlo simulations confirm our predictions.Comment: 7 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Classical light dispersion theory in a regular lattice
We study the dynamics of an infinite regular lattice of classical charged
oscillators. Each individual oscillator is described as a point particle
subject to a harmonic restoring potential, to the retarded electromagnetic
field generated by all the other particles, and to the radiation reaction
expressed according to the Lorentz--Dirac equation. Exact normal mode
solutions, describing the propagation of plane electromagnetic waves through
the lattice, are obtained for the complete linearized system of infinitely many
oscillators. At variance with all the available results, our method is valid
for any values of the frequency, or of the ratio between wavelength and lattice
parameter. A remarkable feature is that the proper inclusion of radiation
reaction in the dynamics of the individual oscillators does not give rise to
any extinction coefficient for the global normal modes of the lattice. The
dispersion relations resulting from our solution are numerically studied for
the case of a simple cubic lattice. New predictions are obtained in this way
about the behavior of the crystal at frequencies near the proper oscillation
frequency of the dipoles.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure; typos correcte
Signatures of Radiation Reaction in Ultra-Intense Laser Fields
We discuss radiation reaction effects on charges propagating in ultra-intense
laser fields. Our analysis is based on an analytic solution of the
Landau-Lifshitz equation. We suggest to measure radiation reaction in terms of
a symmetry breaking parameter associated with the violation of null translation
invariance in the direction opposite to the laser beam. As the Landau-Lifshitz
equation is nonlinear the energy transfer within the pulse is rather sensitive
to initial conditions. This is elucidated by comparing colliding and fixed
target modes in electron laser collisions.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Brownian motion and diffusion: from stochastic processes to chaos and beyond
One century after Einstein's work, Brownian Motion still remains both a
fundamental open issue and a continous source of inspiration for many areas of
natural sciences. We first present a discussion about stochastic and
deterministic approaches proposed in the literature to model the Brownian
Motion and more general diffusive behaviours. Then, we focus on the problems
concerning the determination of the microscopic nature of diffusion by means of
data analysis. Finally, we discuss the general conditions required for the
onset of large scale diffusive motion.Comment: RevTeX-4, 11 pages, 5 ps-figures. Chaos special issue "100 Years of
Brownian Motion
Quantum corrections to the Larmor radiation formula in scalar electrodynamics
We use the semi-classical approximation in perturbative scalar quantum
electrodynamics to calculate the quantum correction to the Larmor radiation
formula to first order in Planck's constant in the non-relativistic
approximation, choosing the initial state of the charged particle to be a
momentum eigenstate. We calculate this correction in two cases: in the first
case the charged particle is accelerated by a time-dependent but
space-independent vector potential whereas in the second case it is accelerated
by a time-independent vector potential which is a function of one spatial
coordinate. We find that the corrections in these two cases are different even
for a charged particle with the same classical motion. The correction in each
case turns out to be non-local in time in contrast to the classical
approximation.Comment: 19 page
Doctrina, Fides, Gubernatio: Messmer High School from 1926-2001
In 1926, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee dissertationed its first Diocesan high school, hoping thereby to provide Milwaukee\u27s north side with its own Catholic school. By 1984 the Archdiocese claimed that the combination of declining enrollment and rising operating costs left it no option other than permanently closing Messmer. In response, a small group of parents and community members aided by private philanthropy managed to redissertation the school shortly thereafter as an independent Catholic school. This reemergence suggested a compelling portrait of the meaning given to a school, even as ethnic, religious, and racial boundaries shifted.
Modern studies tend to regard Catholic schools as academically outstanding and socially just institutions. In particular, Bryk, Holland and Lee\u27s Catholic Schools and the Common Good celebrates community and a belief in the importance of a Catholic education. They present extensive statistical evidence demonstrating the overall effectiveness of these schools and identify the three most significant features of Catholic schools - the emphasis on a rigorous academic curriculum for all students, an environment filled with caring, committed school personnel and parental support, and a strong identification with principles of social justice. Seemingly consistent with this view over time were Messmer\u27s college-preparatory curriculum despite limited budgets, religious and lay instructors who felt strongly about both Catholic education and Christian values, and an expressed commitment to social justice that shifted with Vatican II directives from global politics to local concerns, especially in relation to neighborhood integration and community diversity. While Bryk, Holland, and Lee\u27s assertions may be correct, it is important to examine these beliefs, and Messmer provides ample opportunity to study the widely held assumptions about a Catholic school. Therefore, this dissertation examines a seventy-five year period at Messmer High School to explore the extent to which it was able to meet these modern ideals
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