The Onset of Phase Transitions in Condensed Matter and Relativistic QFT

Kibble and Zurek have provided a unifying causal picture for the appearance of topological defects like cosmic strings or vortices at the onset of phase transitions in relativistic QFT and condensed matter systems respectively. There is no direct experimental evidence in QFT, but in condensed matter the predictions are largely, but not wholly, supported in superfluid experiments on liquid helium. We provide an alternative picture for the initial appearance of strings/vortices that is commensurate with all the experimental evidence from condensed matter and consider some of its implications for QFT.Comment: 37 pages, to be published in Condensed Matter Physics, 200

Unearthing learners’ conceptions of reflection to innovate business education for the 21st century

The development of learners’ capacities for critical reflection is an important learning outcome for 21st century business education. Theories suggest that a learner holds a particular orientation to reflection, and that this perspective will be influenced by his or her underlying beliefs. This, coupled with an increased focus on the student experience, personal development, and self-regulation in higher education, offers scope for considering instructional design from a second-order perspective, or in other words, from the student’s point of view. This study sought to understand: 1) the ways that business students orientate to reflection, 2) the different conceptions they hold of reflection, and 3) whether there is a relationship between the two. Reflective learning questionnaires were completed by 112 business students studying at the University of Northampton. Survey results showed that while the research instrument was a good fit for investigating orientations to and conceptions of reflection, there did not appear to be a correlation between the two. Learning analytics such as these will be useful for considering how the University can design more meaningful business curricula. However, the disconnect between conceptions of and orientations to reflection needs to be explored through further research

Promoting reflection in asynchronous virtual learning spaces: tertiary distance tutors' conceptions

Increasingly, universities are embedding reflective activities into the curriculum. With the growth in online tertiary education, how effectively is reflection being promoted or used in online learning spaces? Based on the notion that teachers’ beliefs will influence their approaches to teaching, this research sought to understand how a group of distance tutors at the UK Open University conceptualised reflection. It was hoped that these findings would illuminate their approaches to promoting reflection as part of their online pedagogies. Phenomenographic analysis indicated that these tutors conceptualised reflection in four qualitatively different ways. Furthermore, the data suggested that these educators held a combination of two conceptions: one that understood the origin of being reflective and one that understood the purpose of reflection. Analysis of structural aspects of these conceptions offered insight into tutors’ own perspectives for what is needed to make online learning environments fertile territory for reflective learning

Rivers E. Adams, Waldorf-Astoria, New York, To Mrs. Joel Randolph Adams, Claremont, Mississippi. January 15, 1947.

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/adams_lett/1230/thumbnail.jp

Rivers E. Adams, Camp Lee, Virginia, To Mrs. Joel Randolph Adams, Clarksdale, Mississippi. August 25, 1942.

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/adams_lett/1213/thumbnail.jp

Crushed Violets and Collapsed Daughters: Gutman and Boss Finley and Power in Tennessee Williams\u27 Camino Real and Sweet Bird of Youth

The paper, Crushed Violets and Collapsed Daughters: Gutman, Boss Finley, and Power in Tennessee Williams\u27 Camino Real and Sweet Bird of Youth, examines two largely overlooked Tennessee Williams\u27 characters and how they exercise their power. This paper argues that Gutman is ultimately the more sinister and powerful authority figure because Williams wrote him during the height of the anti-communist movement, which threatened Williams personally. While both characters share the similarities of suppressing deviants and maintaining their power through the division of those beneath them and the use of rhetoric, Gutman and Boss Finley have striking differences. Boss Finley depends on his image to sustain his authority, making his power fragile, but Gutman maintains his authority through brute force, making him a nearly omnipotent authority figure. This paper also examines the endings of both plays and the historical context during which Williams wrote them. The historical context of the two plays suggests why Gutman is more sinister than Boss Finley: while Williams did not have personal investment in the civil rights movement, anti-communism affected him directly

Rivers E. Adams, Clarksdale, Mississippi, To Mrs. Joel Randolph Adams, Baptist Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. October 14, 1943.

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/adams_lett/1217/thumbnail.jp

Rivers E. Adams, Villa Goodrich Hotel, Sarasota, Florida, To Mrs. Joel Randolph Adams, Claremont, Mississippi. February 18, 1949.

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/adams_lett/1234/thumbnail.jp