Teaching assistants and support for literacy and language development

Through an examination of writing done by teaching assistants for an Open University course, this paper examines assistants’ perceptions of their role in children’s learning within the context of the Literacy Hour. There is an analysis of three themes arising from the data i.e. assistants’ practice aimed at increasing children’s participation; assistants’ pedagogic and subject knowledge; and the nature of assistants’ team working with teachers. The data suggests that teaching assistants are very involved in working with the most vulnerable and ‘difficult to teach’ children and that they use a range of intermediary techniques and pedagogic strategies to enable these children to participate in the Literacy Hour. The data lends support to the official view of the role of teaching assistants i.e. that, guided by teachers, they ‘enable the teacher to teach’ and ‘support children’s learning’. However, the data also suggests that teaching assistants teach too, sometimes with a degree of independence. Indeed, the variety (and in some cases sophistication) of ways in which teaching points are developed by them with children appears to signify a clear pedagogic role in terms of extending children’s knowledge of literacy

Controlling pulse propagation in optical fibers through nonlinearity and dispersion management

In case of the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with designed group velocity dispersion, variable nonlinearity and gain/loss; we analytically demonstrate the phenomenon of chirp reversal crucial for pulse reproduction. Two different scenarios are exhibited, where the pulses experience identical dispersion profiles, but show entirely different propagation behavior. Exact expressions for dynamical quasi-solitons and soliton bound-states relevant for fiber communication are also exhibited.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figure

Na2IrO3 as a spin-orbit-assisted antiferromagnetic insulator with a 340 meV gap

We study Na2IrO3 by ARPES, optics, and band structure calculations in the local-density approximation (LDA). The weak dispersion of the Ir 5d-t2g manifold highlights the importance of structural distortions and spin-orbit coupling (SO) in driving the system closer to a Mott transition. We detect an insulating gap {\Delta}_gap = 340 meV which, at variance with a Slater-type description, is already open at 300 K and does not show significant temperature dependence even across T_N ~ 15 K. An LDA analysis with the inclusion of SO and Coulomb repulsion U reveals that, while the prodromes of an underlying insulating state are already found in LDA+SO, the correct gap magnitude can only be reproduced by LDA+SO+U, with U = 3 eV. This establishes Na2IrO3 as a novel type of Mott-like correlated insulator in which Coulomb and relativistic effects have to be treated on an equal footing.Comment: Accepted in Physical Review Letters. Auxiliary and related material can be found at: http://www.phas.ubc.ca/~quantmat/ARPES/PUBLICATIONS/articles.htm

Calculation of Band Edge Eigenfunctions and Eigenvalues of Periodic Potentials through the Quantum Hamilton - Jacobi Formalism

We obtain the band edge eigenfunctions and the eigenvalues of solvable periodic potentials using the quantum Hamilton - Jacobi formalism. The potentials studied here are the Lam{\'e} and the associated Lam{\'e} which belong to the class of elliptic potentials. The formalism requires an assumption about the singularity structure of the quantum momentum function $p$, which satisfies the Riccati type quantum Hamilton - Jacobi equation, $p^{2} -i \hbar \frac{d}{dx}p = 2m(E- V(x))$ in the complex $x$ plane. Essential use is made of suitable conformal transformations, which leads to the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions corresponding to the band edges in a simple and straightforward manner. Our study reveals interesting features about the singularity structure of $p$, responsible in yielding the band edge eigenfunctions and eigenvalues.Comment: 21 pages, 5 table

Social comparisons and organizational support : implications for commitment and retention

Organizational support theory (OST) suggests that employees develop a general perception of the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support – POS), and respond to that support through attitudes and behaviors that are beneficial toward the organization. Although OST emphasizes both social exchange and self-enhancement processes, most accounts of POS’s effects are rooted in social exchange. For example, POS’s linkages with commitment and retention have been explained as an exchange of support for positive attitudes and continued employment. This research sheds light on self-enhancement’s less-understood role in fostering these reactions by demonstrating the influence of social comparison effects. Drawing on a sample of 342 employees nested in 82 work-units of a US hospitality company, our analysis demonstrates that favorable POS comparisons with peers in one’s work-unit are positively associated with commitment and retention, whereas unfavorable comparisons are negatively related. Results also show that comparisons taking place in less-supported work-units have stronger impact than comparisons made in those with better support. Our findings extend OST by revealing the importance of social comparisons in engendering responses to organizational support, and in so doing potentially explicate the differential ways social exchange and self-enhancement operate with regard to POS

The effect of novel carbohydrate sources on nursery pig growth performance

Two growth assays were conducted to determine the effects of novel carbohydrate sources in Phase I and II starter diets on growth performance. In Exp. 1, 90 weanling pigs (avg initial body wt of 12.4 lb and 18 d of age) were used in a 38-d trial evaluating three carbohydrate sources: corn, tapioca, and rice flour. The carbohydrate sources were substituted for corn in diets formulated to 1.55 and 1.3% lysine for Phase I (d 0 to 10) and Phase II (d 10 to 24), respectively. All pigs were fed the same sorghum-soybean meal-based diet from d 24 to 38 post-weaning. For the overall experiment, pigs fed rice flour had greater average daily gain (ADG) compared with those fed tapioca, with those fed the diet containing corn having intermediate ADG. Pigs fed rice flour had improved feed to gain ratio (F/G) compared with those fed either corn or tapioca. In Exp. 2, 60 weanling pigs (avg initial body wt of 8.6 lb and 17 d of age) were used in a similar study to evaluate corn, ground sorghum, and roasted sorghum as the primary carbohydrate sources in Phase I and II diets. During d 0 to 10 post-weaning, pigs fed the corn diet had greater average daily feed intake (ADFI) than those fed the sorghum-based diets; however, no other differences in growth performance were observed during the experiment. These results suggest similar growth performance of starter pigs fed tapioca, sorghum, and roasted sorghum compared with those fed corn-based diets. However, pigs fed rice flour had improved F/G compared with those fed either corn or tapioca. Therefore, decisions on the use of novel carbohydrate sources in Phase I and II starter diets should be based on their price and availability relative to corn.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 17, 199