An organization overview of pedagogical practice in work-integrated education

Tertiary curriculum design has increasingly emphasized work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities. This qualitative study provides an overview of a variety of WIL activities at Massey University, New Zealand. Descriptive comments, provided through interviews with fifteen academic supervisors from disciplines ranging from the applied sciences through social sciences to business, education and creative arts, highlight the following six factors to be considered in the resourcing of WIL programs. Themes related to set-up include placement requirements, support, selection, location, and risk management issues. Student preparation involves pre-requisite theoretical knowledge, general career preparation (CV & interview skills) and readiness for practice. With respect to supervision, an on-campus academic mentor and a work-place supervisor are both important to the student. Competencies linked to team work and professional standards include self-confidence, communication and people skills. The teaching pedagogies used include lectures and labs, oral presentations, scenario-based-learning and project work. Assessment involved a learning contract, reflective journal, oral presentation, and final report

Mixed mode oscillations in a conceptual climate model

Much work has been done on relaxation oscillations and other simple oscillators in conceptual climate models. However, the oscillatory patterns in climate data are often more complicated than what can be described by such mechanisms. This paper examines complex oscillatory behavior in climate data through the lens of mixed-mode oscillations. As a case study, a conceptual climate model with governing equations for global mean temperature, atmospheric carbon, and oceanic carbon is analyzed. The nondimensionalized model is a fast/slow system with one fast variable (corresponding to ice volume) and two slow variables (corresponding to the two carbon stores). Geometric singular perturbation theory is used to demonstrate the existence of a folded node singularity. A parameter regime is found in which (singular) trajectories that pass through the folded node are returned to the singular funnel in the limiting case where $\epsilon = 0$. In this parameter regime, the model has a stable periodic orbit of type $1^s$ for some $s>0$. To our knowledge, it is the first conceptual climate model demonstrated to have the capability to produce an MMO pattern.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure

Single molecule imaging with longer x-ray laser pulses

During the last five years, serial femtosecond crystallography using x-ray laser pulses has developed into a powerful technique for determining the atomic structures of protein molecules from micrometer and sub-micrometer sized crystals. One of the key reasons for this success is the "self-gating" pulse effect, whereby the x-ray laser pulses do not need to outrun all radiation damage processes. Instead, x-ray induced damage terminates the Bragg diffraction prior to the pulse completing its passage through the sample, as if the Bragg diffraction was generated by a shorter pulse of equal intensity. As a result, serial femtosecond crystallography does not need to be performed with pulses as short as 5--10 fs, as once thought, but can succeed for pulses 50--100 fs in duration. We show here that a similar gating effect applies to single molecule diffraction with respect to spatially uncorrelated damage processes like ionization and ion diffusion. The effect is clearly seen in calculations of the diffraction contrast, by calculating the diffraction of average structure separately to the diffraction from statistical fluctuations of the structure due to damage ("damage noise"). Our results suggest that sub-nanometer single molecule imaging with 30--50 fs pulses, like those produced at currently operating facilities, should not yet be ruled out. The theory we present opens up new experimental avenues to measure the impact of damage on single particle diffraction, which is needed to test damage models and to identify optimal imaging conditions.Comment: 23 pages; 5 figure

Supersolid phases of light in extended Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard systems

Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard lattices provide unique properties for the study of correlated phases as they exhibit convenient state preparation and measurement, as well as "in situ" tuning of parameters. We show how to realize charge density and supersolid phases in Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard lattices in the presence of long-range interactions. The long-range interactions are realized by the consideration of Rydberg states in coupled atom-cavity systems and the introduction of additional capacitive couplings in quantum-electrodynamics circuits. We demonstrate the emergence of supersolid and checkerboard solid phases, for calculations which take into account nearest neighbour couplings, through a mean-field decoupling.Comment: 9 pages with 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Conductance fingerprint of Majorana fermions in the topological Kondo effect

We consider an interacting nanowire/superconductor heterostructure attached to metallic leads. The device is described by an unusual low-energy model involving spin-1 conduction electrons coupled to a nonlocal spin-1/2 Kondo impurity built from Majorana fermions. The topological origin of the resulting Kondo effect is manifest in distinctive non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior, and the existence of Majorana fermions in the device is demonstrated unambiguously by distinctive conductance lineshapes. We study the physics of the model in detail, using the numerical renormalization group, perturbative scaling and abelian bosonization. In particular, we calculate the full scaling curves for the differential conductance in AC and DC fields, onto which experimental data should collapse. Scattering t-matrices and thermodynamic quantities are also calculated, recovering asymptotes from conformal field theory. We show that the NFL physics is robust to asymmetric Majorana-lead couplings, and here we uncover a duality between strong and weak coupling. The NFL behavior is understood physically in terms of competing Kondo effects. The resulting frustration is relieved by inter-Majorana coupling which generates a second crossover to a regular Fermi liquid.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure

Dissociation of Action and Object Naming: Evidence From Cortical Stimulation Mapping

This cortical stimulation mapping study investigates the neural representation of action and object naming. Data from 13 neurosurgical subjects undergoing awake cortical mapping is presented. Our findings indicate clear evidence of differential disruption of noun and verb naming in the context of this naming task. At the individual level, evidence was found for punctuate regions of perisylvian cortex subserving noun and verb function. Across subjects, however, the location of these sites varied. This finding may help explain discrepancies between lesion and functional imaging studies of noun and verb naming. In addition, an alternative coding of these data served to highlight the grammatical class vulnerability of the target response. The use of this coding scheme implicates a role for the supramarginal gyrus in verb-naming behavior. These data are discussed with respect to a functional-anatomical pathway underlying verb naming

Sex Mediates the Effects of High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on “Mind-Reading”

Sex differences in social cognitive ability are well established, including measures of Theory of Mind (ToM). The aim of this study was to investigate if sex mediates the effects of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) administered to a key hub of the social brain (i.e., the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, dmPFC) on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). Forty healthy young adults (18–35 years) were randomly allocated to receive either anodal or cathodal HD-tDCS in sham HD-tDCS controlled, double blind designs. In each of the two sessions, subjects completed the RMET. Anodal stimulation to the dmPFC increased accuracy on the RMET in females only. To assure regional specificity we performed a follow-up study stimulating the right temporoparietal junction and found no effect in either sex. The current study is the first to show improved performance on the RMET after tDCS to the dmPFC in females only. The polarity-specific effects and use of focal HD-tDCS provide evidence for sex-dependent differences in dmPFC function in relation to the RMET. Future studies using tDCS to study or improve ToM, need to consider sex