1,839 research outputs found
Teachers\u27 Attitudes Toward the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in the General Education Classroom in a Rural School District
According to the research, inclusion in the general education setting is valuable to the academic and social development of students with disabilities. Teachers play a significant role in the success of students with disabilities in this setting (Coombs-Richardson & Mead, 2001; Fuchs, 2010; Test et al., 2009). Research shows that teachers display positive and negative attitudes toward inclusion based on the severity of the disability category (Cook, 2001; Ernest & Rogers, 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom in a rural school district. An ANOVA was run to analyze teachers’ attitudes based on disability category and to determine if grade level taught by teachers acts as a moderator to their attitudes. Results revealed that students’ disability categories had a significant impact on teachers’ attitudes and that grade level taught acts as a moderator to teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion. Limitations were discussed, and recommendations for practice, policy, and research were provided
Kinematic frames and "active longitudes": does the Sun have a face?
It has recently been claimed that analysis of Greenwich sunspot data over 120
years reveals that sunspot activity clusters around two longitudes separated by
180 degrees (``active longitudes'') with clearly defined differential rotation
during activity cycles.In the present work we extend this critical examination
of methodology to the actual Greenwich sunspot data and also consider newly
proposed methods of analysis claiming to confirm the original identification of
active longitudes. Our analysis revealed that values obtained for the
parameters of differential rotation are not stable across different methods of
analysis proposed to track persistent active longitudes. Also, despite a very
thorough search in parameter space, we were unable to reproduce results
claiming to reveal the century-persistent active longitudes. We can therefore
say that strong and well substantiated evidence for an essential and
century-scale persistent nonaxisymmetry in the sunspot distribution does not
exist.Comment: 14 pages, 1 table, 21 figures, accepted in A&
Time Dilation and Quasar Variability
The timescale of quasar variability is widely expected to show the effects of
time dilation. In this paper we analyse the Fourier power spectra of a large
sample of quasar light curves to look for such an effect. We find that the
timescale of quasar variation does not increase with redshift as required by
time dilation. Possible explanations of this result all conflict with widely
held consensus in the scientific community.Comment: 6 pages including 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Galaxy filaments as pearl necklaces
Context. Galaxies in the Universe form chains (filaments) that connect groups
and clusters of galaxies. The filamentary network includes nearly half of the
galaxies and is visually the most striking feature in cosmological maps.
Aims. We study the distribution of galaxies along the filamentary network,
trying to find specific patterns and regularities.
Methods. Galaxy filaments are defined by the Bisous model, a marked point
process with interactions. We use the two-point correlation function and the
Rayleigh Z-squared statistic to study how galaxies and galaxy groups are
distributed along the filaments.
Results. We show that galaxies and groups are not uniformly distributed along
filaments, but tend to form a regular pattern. The characteristic length of the
pattern is around 7 Mpc/h. A slightly smaller characteristic length 4 Mpc/h can
also be found, using the Z-squared statistic.
Conclusions. We find that galaxy filaments in the Universe are like pearl
necklaces, where the pearls are galaxy groups distributed more or less
regularly along the filaments. We propose that this well defined characteristic
scale could be used to test various cosmological models and to probe
environmental effects on the formation and evolution of galaxies.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in A&
Alignment of galaxies relative to their local environment in SDSS-DR8
We study the alignment of galaxies relative to their local environment in
SDSS-DR8 and, using these data, we discuss evolution scenarios for different
types of galaxies. We defined a vector field of the direction of anisotropy of
the local environment of galaxies. We summed the unit direction vectors of all
close neighbours of a given galaxy in a particular way to estimate this field.
We found the alignment angles between the spin axes of disc galaxies, or the
minor axes of elliptical galaxies, and the direction of anisotropy. The
distributions of cosines of these angles are compared to the random
distributions to analyse the alignment of galaxies. Sab galaxies show
perpendicular alignment relative to the direction of anisotropy in a sparse
environment, for single galaxies and galaxies of low luminosity. Most of the
parallel alignment of Scd galaxies comes from dense regions, from 2...3 member
groups and from galaxies with low luminosity. The perpendicular alignment of S0
galaxies does not depend strongly on environmental density nor luminosity; it
is detected for single and 2...3 member group galaxies, and for main galaxies
of 4...10 member groups. The perpendicular alignment of elliptical galaxies is
clearly detected for single galaxies and for members of < 11 member groups; the
alignment increases with environmental density and luminosity. We confirm the
existence of fossil tidally induced alignment of Sab galaxies at low z. The
alignment of Scd galaxies can be explained via the infall of matter to
filaments. S0 galaxies may have encountered relatively massive mergers along
the direction of anisotropy. Major mergers along this direction can explain the
alignment of elliptical galaxies. Less massive, but repeated mergers are
possibly responsible for the formation of elliptical galaxies in sparser areas
and for less luminous elliptical galaxies.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Characterizing neuromorphologic alterations with additive shape functionals
The complexity of a neuronal cell shape is known to be related to its
function. Specifically, among other indicators, a decreased complexity in the
dendritic trees of cortical pyramidal neurons has been associated with mental
retardation. In this paper we develop a procedure to address the
characterization of morphological changes induced in cultured neurons by
over-expressing a gene involved in mental retardation. Measures associated with
the multiscale connectivity, an additive image functional, are found to give a
reasonable separation criterion between two categories of cells. One category
consists of a control group and two transfected groups of neurons, and the
other, a class of cat ganglionary cells. The reported framework also identified
a trend towards lower complexity in one of the transfected groups. Such results
establish the suggested measures as an effective descriptors of cell shape
Hotspot Zuidplaspolder: Climate adaptation in the Zuidplaspolder
Building at the lowest point in the Netherlands, in the Zuidplaspolder, is viewed as a challenge and not something that is impossible. The Xplorelab approach in the Hotspot Zuidplaspolder project is a combination of research, implementation of ideas into inspiring examples and evaluation
The Variability of Sagittarius A* at Centimeter Wavelengths
We present the results of a 3.3-year project to monitor the flux density of
Sagittarius A* at 2.0, 1.3, and 0.7 cm with the VLA. The fully calibrated light
curves for Sgr A* at all three wavelengths are presented. Typical errors in the
flux density are 6.1%, 6.2%, and 9.2% at 2.0, 1.3, and 0.7 cm, respectively.
There is preliminary evidence for a bimodal distribution of flux densities,
which may indicate the existence of two distinct states of accretion onto the
supermassive black hole. At 1.3 and 0.7 cm, there is a tail in the distribution
towards high flux densities. Significant variability is detected at all three
wavelengths, with the largest amplitude variations occurring at 0.7 cm. The rms
deviation of the flux density of Sgr A* is 0.13, 0.16, and 0.21 Jy at 2.0, 1.3,
and 0.7 cm, respectively. During much of this monitoring campaign, Sgr A*
appeared to be relatively quiescent compared to results from previous
campaigns. At no point during the monitoring campaign did the flux density of
Sgr A* more than double its mean value. The mean spectral index of Sgr A* is
alpha=0.20+/-0.01, with a standard deviation of 0.14. The spectral index
appears to depend linearly on the observed flux density at 0.7 cm with a
steeper index observed during outbursts. This correlation is consistent with
the expectation for outbursts that are self-absorbed at wavelengths of 0.7 cm
or longer and inconsistent with the effects of simple models for interstellar
scintillation. Much of the variability of Sgr A*, including possible time lags
between flux density changes at the different wavelengths, appears to occur on
time scales less than the time resolution of our observations (8 days). Future
observations should focus on the evolution of the flux density on these time
scales.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A
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