Dynamic assessment of children with language impairments: A pilot study

This article describes the construction of a procedure for dynamic assessment of the expressive grammar of children already identified with language impairments. Few instruments exist for the dynamic assessment of language, and those that have been developed have been largely used to successfully differentiate language impaired from culturally different or typically developing populations. The emphasis in this study was on eliciting clinically useful information that may be used to inform intervention for children with specific language impairment (SLI). The method was piloted on three children with specific language impairments.The test—train—retest format made use of standardized administration of the CELF-3 (UK) before and after a designated training protocol. The training procedure required the children to formulate sentences from randomly presented words, assisted by mediation from the assessor. Results showed that the task used was valuable and appropriate for use as a dynamic measure, and elicited differentiated amounts of change in the children in response to the mediated training phase. Pre-test—post-test results were inconclusive, however, and the frameworks for summarizing information could benefit from revision

Molecular gold strings: aurophilicity, luminescence and structure–property correlations

This review covers the compound class of one-dimensional gold strings. These compounds feature a formally infinite repetition of gold complexes as monomers/repeating units that are held together by aurophilic interactions, i.e. direct gold–gold contacts. Their molecular structures are primarily determined in the solid state using single crystal X-ray diffraction. The chemical composition of the employed gold complexes is diverse and furthermore plays a key role in terms of structure characteristics and the resulting properties. One of the most common features of gold strings is their photoluminescence upon UV excitation. The emission energy is often dependent on the distance of adjacent gold ions and the electronic structure of the whole string. In terms of gold strings, these parameters can be fine-tuned by external stimuli such as solvent, pH value, pressure or mechanical stress. This leads to direct structure–property correlations, not only with regard to the photophysical properties, but also electric conductivity for potential application in nanoelectronics. Concerning these correlations, gold strings, consisting of self-assembled individual complexes as building blocks, are the ideal compound class to look at, as perturbations by an inhomogeneity in the ligand sphere (such as the end of a molecule) can be neglected. Therefore, the aim of this review is to shed light on the past achievements and current developments in this area

State-resolved measurements of single-electron capture in slow Ne7+- and Ne8+-helium collisions

Single-electron capture in collisions of 9 keV x q Ne8+ and Ne7+ ions with He has been studied using cold-target recoil-ion momentum spectroscopy. With an improved apparatus a longitudinal momentum resolution of 0.07 au has been achieved. This momentum component is directly proportional to the difference in the binding energy of the active electron between the final and the initial state. For the first time state- resolved differential cross sections have been determined with respect to the main quantum number, subshell level and spin state of the captured electron. A comparison with recent theoretical results for energy levels in Be-like Ne is given

Attosecond electron thermalization by laser-driven electron recollision in atoms

Nonsequential multiple ionization of atoms in intense laser fields is initiated by a recollision between an electron, freed by tunneling, and its parent ion. Following recollision, the initial electron shares its energy with several bound electrons. We use a classical model based on rapid electron thermalization to interpret recent experiments. For neon, good agreement with the available data is obtained with an upper bound of 460 attoseconds for the thermalization time.Comment: 5 pages revtex and 4 figures (eps files

Planning intervention using dynamic assessments: A case study

Dynamic assessments (DA) of language have been shown to be a useful addition to the battery of tests used to diagnose language impairments in children, and to evaluate their skills. The current article explores the value of the information gained from a DA in planning intervention for a child with language impairment. A single case study was used to demonstrate the detailed qualitative information that can be derived from a DA procedure, and how that information may be used to elicit greater gains from intervention. The participant was a boy, aged 9, with a previously diagnosed language impairment. He was receiving language therapy regularly in a language resource base attached to his school. The CELF-3(UK) was used to monitor changes in his language, before and after two periods of intervention. The initial baseline phase consisted of regular ongoing language therapy. The second phase of therapy was modified by the speech and language therapist after receiving a report of the child’s performance on the Dynamic Assessment of Sentence Structure (DASS; Hasson et al., 2012), and observations of the child’s metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness. Greater gains observed in the second phase of therapy reflected the good modifiability shown by the child’s performance on the DASS

Single ionization of atoms in intense laser pulses: Evolution from multiphoton to tunnel ionization

We present results of high resolution fully differential measurements on single ionization of He, Ne, and Ar by 7-25 fs linearly polarized 800nm laser pulses at intensities of up to 2.1015 W/cm2. Using a 'Reaction-Microscope' we were able to trace signatures of multiphoton ionization deep into the tunnelling regime. Surprisingly, in the low-energy electron spectra we observed several features (absence of the ponderomotive shifts, splitting of the peaks, their degeneration for few-cycle laser pulses) typical for resonantly-enhanced ionization. Other remarkable features, as the sharp cusp-like momentum distributions in the direction perpendicular to the laser field or the observed minima at zero longitudinal momentum for He and Ne, can be reproduced by semiclassical models, where the electron motion in the combined laser and Coulomb field is treated classically after the tunnelling

The Metaphor of Circle: Stanislavski, Phenomenology of Roundness and High Yoga

Stanislavski’s Eastern influence and his persistent fascination with Yoga is an established area of research. Stanislavski has two major yogic influences in the System: Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga. The first is about training the body through postures, movements, stances and breathing exercises to make it active, relaxed and energetic. The second includes a range of exclusive practices on concentration and visualization that are an integral part of the actor’s creativity. However, in the current research, there is a clear lack of a comprehensive practical method that informs Stanislavski’s use of yogic practice in the System: what specific yogic exercises were used and what synergies were developed in the training? Scholars have, so far, only explored Stanislavski’s literary legacy of his encounter with yoga, identifying the Sanskrit terms appeared in his writings such as prana for breathing and the Indian anecdotes he used when answering the questions of his students. Focusing on the metaphor of the circle, the phenomenology of roundness and the Deleuzian notions of ‘the invisible forces of sensations’ and ‘the body becomes an event itself’, the present study, for the first time, offers useful insights into the fundamental principles of yoga and their methods of practice as a way of developing a new training to understand the significance of Stanislavski in the 21st century

Experiences of learning through collaborative evaluation from a masters programme in professional education

This paper presents findings from a collaborative evaluation project within a masters programme in professional education. The project aimed to increase knowledge of research methodologies and methods through authentic learning where participants worked in partnership with the tutor to evaluate the module which they were studying. The project processes, areas of the course evaluated and the data collection methods are outlined. The findings focus on key themes from evaluating the effectiveness of using a collaborative evaluation approach, including: enhanced student engagement; creativity of the collaborative evaluation approach; equality between the tutor and students; and enhanced research skills. Discussion focuses on the outcomes and effectiveness of the project and tutor reflections on adopting a collaborative approach. This paper highlights lessons from the project relevant to those interested in staff-student partnership approaches and those facilitating postgraduate learning and teaching programmes and educational research courses

Non-sequential triple ionization in strong fields

We consider the final stage of triple ionization of atoms in a strong linearly polarized laser field. We propose that for intensities below the saturation value for triple ionization the process is dominated by the simultaneous escape of three electrons from a highly excited intermediate complex. We identify within a classical model two pathways to triple ionization, one with a triangular configuration of electrons and one with a more linear one. Both are saddles in phase space. A stability analysis indicates that the triangular configuration has the larger cross sections and should be the dominant one. Trajectory simulations within the dominant symmetry subspace reproduce the experimentally observed distribution of ion momenta parallel to the polarization axis.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.