A Language Arts Curriculum for the Seventh Grade at Morgan Junior High School

The goal of this project is to develop a meaningful program for Seventh Grade Language Arts. The factors to consider are the following: (1) handling large numbers of students, (2) meeting varied interests and abilities, (3) using available materials profitably and efficiently, (4) selecting specific skills and determining the amount of emphasis given the skills, (5) utilizing the physical setting

Linking research and policy in water and sanitation: findings from the SPLASH ERA-Net

The overall goal of the SPLASH ERA-Net is to improve the coordination of European water research aimed at reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Within this, one of the focus areas of SPLASH is to foster participatory transfer of research into policy. This paper documents the results of an investigation into how to improve the application of research throughout the whole process of designing, conducting and communicating research, to those engaged in policy making and practice. The findings of this consultation have been revealing about the inadequacy of the present design and implementation of research programmes and their uptake into development and policy. However, it also generated ideas, some based on good practice, of how this can be improved and made to work effectively. These are important lessons which can be taken forward into the design and implementation of future research programmes to ensure better uptake of EU Member State research

Charge Fractionalization on Quantum Hall Edges

We discuss the propagation and fractionalization of localized charges on the edges of quantum Hall bars of variable widths, where interactions between the edges give rise to Luttinger liquid behavior with a non-trivial interaction parameter g. We focus in particular on the separation of an initial charge pulse into a sharply defined front charge and a broader tail. The front pulse describes an adiabatically dressed electron which carries a non-integer charge, which is \sqrt{g} times the electron charge. We discuss how the presence of this fractional charge can, in principle, be detected through measurements of the noise in the current created by tunneling of electrons into the system. The results are illustrated by numerical simulations of a simplified model of the Hall bar.Comment: 15 page

Nobility in middle English romance

Medieval nobility was a compound and fluid concept, the complexity of which is clearly reflected in the Middle English romances. This dissertation examines fourteen short verse romances, grouped by story-type into three categories. They are: type 1: romance and lost heirs (Degaré Chevelere Assigne, Sir Perceval of Galles, Lybeaus Desconus, and Octvian); type 2: romances about winning a bride (Floris and Blancheflour, The Erle of Tolous, Sir Eglamour of Artois, Sir Degrevant, and the Amis-Belisaunt plot from Amis and Amiloun); type 3: romances of improversihed knights (Amiloun's story from Amis and Amiloun, Sir Isumbras, Sir Amadace, Sir Cleges, and Sir Launfal). The analysis is based on contextualized close reading, drawing on the theories of Pierre Bourdieu. The results show that Middle English romance has no standard criteria for defining nobillity, but draws on the full range of contemporary opinion; understandings of nobility conflict both between and within texts. Ideological consistence is seldom a priority, and the genre apparently serves neither a single socio-political agenda, nor a single socio-political group. The dominant conception of nobility in each romance is determined by the story-type. Romance type 1 presents nobility as inherent in the blood, type 2 emphasizes prowess and force of will, and type 3 concentrates on virtue. However, no romance text offers just one definition; implicitly or explicitly, there are always alternatives. This internal variety indicates tha the romances imagine nobility scene-by-scene; even a text seemingly committed to one perspective is liable to abandon it temporarily if there is another better suited to the narrative moment. Ideological expression always comes second to effective story-telling. This means the texts are frequently inconsistent and sometimes illogical, but that multiplicity is of their very essence

Accelerating the transfer of water for development research evidence into policy

A study by the SPLASH European Research Area Network (ERA-Net) on the design, management and communication of water research relating to low-income countries identified gaps between research evidence and policy at each of these stages. This effectively limits the use and impact of research. Improving interaction between researchers and policy makers allows more informed decision making based on research evidence, and greater impact on development. It also facilitates more demand-led research. Based on extensive global consultation with both researchers and policy makers in the water for development sector, recommendations are made for improving the use of research evidence in policy making

Digital Youth Research Network: Defining The Field, Building Connections, and Exploring Collaborations

Digital youth is a critical area of research and practice within the iSchools movement. The goal of the Digital Youth Workshop at the iConference 2015 is to continue the efforts of two highly successful workshops in Fort Worth and Berlin through panels, breakouts, and brainstorming sessions focused on two thematic clusters. We anticipate this gathering will further cement the place of youth-related research and practice.ye

The National Clinical Assessment Tool for Medical Students in the Emergency Department (NCAT-EM)

Introduction: Clinical assessment of medical students in emergency medicine (EM) clerkships is a highly variable process that presents unique challenges and opportunities. Currently, clerkship directors use institution-specific tools with unproven validity and reliability that may or may not address competencies valued most highly in the EM setting. Standardization of assessment practices and development of a common, valid, specialty-specific tool would benefit EM educators and students. Methods: A two-day national consensus conference was held in March 2016 in the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine (CDEM) track at the Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine (CORD) Academic Assembly in Nashville, TN. The goal of this conference was to standardize assessment practices and to create a national clinical assessment tool for use in EM clerkships across the country. Conference leaders synthesized the literature, articulated major themes and questions pertinent to clinical assessment of students in EM, clarified the issues, and outlined the consensus- building process prior to consensus-building activities. Results: The first day of the conference was dedicated to developing consensus on these key themes in clinical assessment. The second day of the conference was dedicated to discussing and voting on proposed domains to be included in the national clinical assessment tool. A modified Delphi process was initiated after the conference to reconcile questions and items that did not reach an a priori level of consensus. Conclusion: The final tool, the National Clinical Assessment Tool for Medical Students in Emergency Medicine (NCAT-EM) is presented here. [West J Emerg Med. 2018;19(1)66-74.

An interdisciplinary examination of stress and injury occurrence in athletes

This paper adopts a novel, interdisciplinary approach to explore the relationship between psychosocial factors, physiological stress-related markers and occurrence of injury in athletes using a repeated measures design across a 2-year data collection period. At three data collection time-points, athletes completed measures of major life events, the reinforcement sensitivity theory personality questionnaire, muscle stiffness, heart rate variability and postural stability, and reported any injuries they had sustained since the last data collection. Two Bayesian networks were used to examine the relationships between variables and model the changes between data collection points in the study. Findings revealed muscle stiffness to have the strongest relationship with injury occurrence, with high levels of stiffness increasing the probability of sustaining an injury. Negative life events did not increase the probability of injury occurrence at any single time-point; however, when examining changes between time points, increases in negative life events did increase the probability of injury. In addition, the combination of increases in negative life events and muscle stiffness resulted in the greatest probability of sustaining an injury. Findings demonstrated the importance of both an interdisciplinary approach and a repeated measures design to furthering our understanding of the relationship between stress-related markers and injury occurrence