Functional language & literacy in practice: a higher education music context

Currently most Higher Education (HE) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses do not specifically address functional literacy skills. A student could potentially pass the course, yet still be functionally illiterate. This paper is an attempt to consider what language and literacy issues might mean in practice in the context of Australian music higher education through investigating the role of reflective practice in music performance. A graduating music performance class at the Australian Institute of Music is employed as a case study to unpack the role of functional literacy in this context. Here, aligning cognitive processes with course development may avail opportunities for literacy skills to develop, but it still remains a question as to where such opportunities could exist within the broader education field. Regardless, the aim is to support content understanding by focusing on the nature and practices of academic reading and writing in all education environments

Mean-Field Spin Glass models from the Cavity--ROSt Perspective

The Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass model has been studied as a source of insight into the statistical mechanics of systems with highly diversified collections of competing low energy states. The goal of this summary is to present some of the ideas which have emerged in the mathematical study of its free energy. In particular, we highlight the perspective of the cavity dynamics, and the related variational principle. These are expressed in terms of Random Overlap Structures (ROSt), which are used to describe the possible states of the reservoir in the cavity step. The Parisi solution is presented as reflecting the ansatz that it suffices to restrict the variation to hierarchal structures which are discussed here in some detail. While the Parisi solution was proven to be correct, through recent works of F. Guerra and M. Talagrand, the reasons for the effectiveness of the Parisi ansatz still remain to be elucidated. We question whether this could be related to the quasi-stationarity of the special subclass of ROSts given by Ruelle's hierarchal `random probability cascades' (also known as GREM).Comment: Based on talks given at `Young Res. Symp.', Lisbon 2003, and `Math. Phys. of Spin Glasses', Cortona 200

What Quine (and Carnap) might say about contemporary metaphysics of time

This chapter explores some of the relations between Quine’s and Carnap’s metaontological stances on the one hand, and contemporary work in the metaphysics of time, on the other. Contemporary metaphysics of time, like analytic metaphysics in general, grew out of the revival of the discipline that Quine’s critique of the logical empiricists (such as Carnap) made possible. At the same time, the metaphysics of time has, in some respects, strayed far from its Quinean roots. This chapter examines some likely Quinean and Carnapian reactions to elements of the contemporary scene

A multi-phase study of contemporary policy and practice in determining nursing skill mix in acute hospitals in Ireland.

The profession of nursing has undergone significant changes in Ireland in the last decade, within the wider health service reform context. Determining the optimal nursing skill mix for acute hospitals is perceived as important to ensure the efficient use of the nursing workforce in the provision of safe and high quality care. However, the term nursing skill mix, though widely used, is contested, and practices to determine skill mix in acute hospitals in Ireland are poorly understood. The aim of the study was to examine contemporary policy and practice in determining optimal nursing skill mix in acute hospitals in Ireland. The objectives were to analyse current policy approaches used to determine skill mix nationally and internationally, to examine how the term nursing skill mix is understood and used by managers and policy makers in Ireland and to explore nursing roles in contemporary practice. A review of national and international policy was undertaken highlighting that despite increasing interest nationally and internationally in various approaches to determining optimal nursing skill mix that there is little evidence base for or standardisation of approaches. Following this, semi-structured interviews with 54 nursing managers and policy makers were conducted to explore different perspectives on how nursing skill mix is understood and determined in acute hospitals in Ireland. Themes identified in this study relate to the diversity of influences on skill mix; nursing role ambiguities and inconsistencies in nursing skill mix practices. Results from the quantitative analysis of closed-ended questions confirmed a lack of clarity of who is involved in determining nursing skill mix, the various influential factors and the main principles associated with determining nursing skill mix. The key conclusions of this study relate to the subjective-objective paradox between the complexity of everyday clinical practice settings and the objective methods proposed to determine skill mix and the macro-micro disconnect of methods and approaches across policy makers and nurse managers. There is a need to integrate the macro-micro and subjective-objective tensions in the development of skill mix policy and practice for nursing in Ireland. Adopting effective skill mix practices will facilitate the effective implementation of key healthcare reforms that optimally utilise the nursing workforce

Dendrite Morphology of Pb-5.8 Sb Alloy: Gradient Freeze DS with Cross-Section Area Change

Directional solidification (DS) is the process of solidifying a metal alloy from one end to another resulting in aligned primary dendrites which are branched tree like features. Alignment of primary dendrites along [100] direction and their uniformity and distribution along the DS length determines the mechanical properties. These properties are especially important for single crystal turbine blade applications in modern gas turbine engines. Convection during solidification plays an important role in formation of detrimental defects, such as, misaligned grains, non-uniformity of dendrites and composition inhomogeneity. In this study the microstructural evolution during “Gradient Freeze DS process”, involving an abrupt cross-section decrease has been examined on cylindrical Pb- 5.8% Sb alloy samples. Pb-5.8Sb was selected for this study because of its ease of processing and availability of its well-characterized physical property data. Two furnace cooling rates, 0.5 and 4 oC/min, have been examined during gradient-freeze DS. Morphology of primary dendrites has been observed to change from being branch-less (cellular), to onset of side-branching, to being well-branched having tertiary and higher level branching as a function of increasing solidification distance. “Freckles” caused by “severe plume-type” convection are seen in the slower cooling rate sample, but not in the faster cooling rate sample. Positive macrosegregation of Sb occurs along the DS length at both cooling rates, but is more severe at the slower cooling rate. A solute buildup, just before the section decrease, and solute depletion, just after the area decrease is seen, especially at the higher cooling rate. Trunk diameter of primary dendrites decreases, and their spacing (mean minimum spanning tree branch length) increases as the liquid-solid interface advances from the cold end of the sample to its hot end. This ground based research is in support of a future microgravity experiment in the convection free environment of Space Station. The research was supported by grants from NASA and from the Undergraduate Summer Research Program at Cleveland State University.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2018/1068/thumbnail.jp

How Reasoning Aims at Truth

Many hold that theoretical reasoning aims at truth. In this paper, I ask what it is for reasoning to be thus aim-directed. Standard answers to this question explain reasoning’s aim-directedness in terms of intentions, dispositions, or rule-following. I argue that, while these views contain important insights, they are not satisfactory. As an alternative, I introduce and defend a novel account: reasoning aims at truth in virtue of being the exercise of a distinctive kind of cognitive power, one that, unlike ordinary dispositions, is capable of fully explaining its own exercises. I argue that this account is able to avoid the difficulties plaguing standard accounts of the relevant sort of mental teleology

The Monogamy Gene Could Also Act in Humans

Research has revealed that genetic variations in the human gene AVPR1A affect the disposition and aptitude of individuals to live in a relationship. Thus the activity of this gene could influence the quality of marital relationships and very likely our emotional inclinations

Dendrite Morphology of Pb-5.8 Sb Alloy: Gradient Freeze DS with Cross-Section Area Change

Directional solidification (DS) is the process of solidifying a metal alloy from one end to another resulting in aligned primary dendrites which are branched tree like features. Alignment of primary dendrites along [100] direction and their uniformity and distribution along the DS length determines the mechanical properties. These properties are especially important for single crystal turbine blade applications in modern gas turbine engines. Convection during solidification plays an important role in formation of detrimental defects, such as, misaligned grains, non-uniformity of dendrites and composition inhomogeneity. In this study the microstructural evolution during “Gradient Freeze DS process”, involving an abrupt cross-section decrease has been examined on cylindrical Pb- 5.8% Sb alloy samples. Pb-5.8Sb was selected for this study because of its ease of processing and availability of its well-characterized physical property data. Two furnace cooling rates, 0.5 and 4 oC/min, have been examined during gradient-freeze DS. Morphology of primary dendrites has been observed to change from being branch-less (cellular), to onset of side-branching, to being well-branched having tertiary and higher level branching as a function of increasing solidification distance. “Freckles” caused by “severe plume-type” convection are seen in the slower cooling rate sample, but not in the faster cooling rate sample. Positive macrosegregation of Sb occurs along the DS length at both cooling rates, but is more severe at the slower cooling rate. A solute buildup, just before the section decrease, and solute depletion, just after the area decrease is seen, especially at the higher cooling rate. Trunk diameter of primary dendrites decreases, and their spacing (mean minimum spanning tree branch length) increases as the liquid-solid interface advances from the cold end of the sample to its hot end. This ground based research is in support of a future microgravity experiment in the convection free environment of Space Station. The research was supported by grants from NASA and from the Undergraduate Summer Research Program at Cleveland State University.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2018/1068/thumbnail.jp