Supporting Teaching Excellence and Scholarship

Funding Proposal for the IUPUI Mentoring AcademyOne main focus of the School of Engineering and Technology’s current strategic plan is to “excel in the delivery of instruction, the scholarship of teaching and learning . . . to support extraordinary student success.” And while the School of Engineering and Technology has a long history of teaching excellence most mentorship activities focus on supporting faculty seeking excellence in research/discovery. According to the 2015 campus faculty professional development satisfaction survey over a third (34.5%) of tenured and tenure-track E & T faculty, a quarter (25%) of full-time non-tenure track faculty, and two-thirds (67%) of part-time and adjunct faculty rated their satisfaction with professional development opportunities related to teaching as either only “somewhat satisfied” or “not satisfied”. Furthermore, approximately 40% of E & T non-tenure track and tenure track faculty are not satisfied or only somewhat satisfied with available mentoring opportunities. Thus, it is apparent there is a need to develop an intentional, sustainable program focused on developing faculty capacity for scholarship in teaching while providing mentoring and leadership opportunities for mid-career faculty. This proposal describes the structure and programming to provide a robust climate for the testing, integration, and dissemination of pedagogical practices in engineering and technology. The proposed programming leverages available campus resources and expertise, as well as a strengthening of current programming. Six Engineering and Technology faculty have agreed to be paired with faculty interested in focusing their scholarship in teaching and learning. Individual mentoring sessions, tailored to the mentees’ needs, will occur throughout the academic year. Monthly workshops (currently called “Lunch & Learn”) will cover discipline-specific topics related to pedagogy and learning. The program will be assessed on three different levels: participant satisfaction, assessment of teaching scholarship, and adoption of best practices. Our goal is to create a culture within the School that explicitly values innovative student-centered teaching and related dissemination

Examining decentralization and managerial decision making for child immunization program performance in India

Despite widespread adoption of decentralization reforms, the impact of decentralization on health system attributes, such as access to health services, responsiveness to population health needs, and effectiveness in affecting health outcomes, remains unclear. This study examines how decision space, institutional capacities, and accountability mechanisms of the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) in India relate to measurable performance of the immunization program. Data on decision space and its related dimensions of institutional capacity and accountability were collected by conducting structured interviews with managers based in 24 districts, 61 blocks, and 279 subcenters. Two measures by which to assess performance were selected: (1) proportion reduction in the DTP3 coverage gap (i.e., effectiveness), and (2) total IMI doses delivered per incremental USD spent on program implementation (i.e., efficiency). Descriptive statistics on decision space, institutional capacity, and accountability for IMI managers were generated. Structural equation models (SEM) were specified to detect any potential associations between decision space dimensions and performance measures. The majority of districts and blocks indicated low levels of decision space. Institutional capacity and accountability were similar across areas. Increases in decision space were associated with less progress towards closing the immunization coverage gap in the IMI context. Initiatives to support health workers and managers based on their specific contextual challenges could further improve outcomes of the program. Similar to previous studies, results revealed strong associations between each of the three decentralization dimensions. Health systems should consider the impact that management structures have on the efficiency and effectiveness of health services delivery. Future research could provide greater evidence for directionality of direct and indirect effects, interaction effects, and/or mediators of relationships

Characterising a Si(Li) detector element for the SIXA X-ray spectrometer

The detection efficiency and response function of a Si(Li) detector element for the SIXA spectrometer have been determined in the 500 eV to 5 keV energy range using synchrotron radiation emitted at a bending magnet of the electron storage ring BESSY, which is a primary radiation standard. The agreement between the measured spectrum and the model calculation is better than 2%. PACS: 95.55.Ka; 07.85.Nc; 29.40.Wk; 85.30.De Keywords: Si(Li) detectors, X-ray spectrometers, detector calibration, X-ray response, spectral lineshapeComment: 11 pages, 11 PostScript figures, uses elsart.sty, submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Meth.

Integration of design, structural, thermal and optical analysis: And user's guide for structural-to-optical translator (PATCOD)

Electronic integration of design and analysis processes was achieved and refined at Langley Research Center (LaRC) during the development of an optical bench for a laser-based aerospace experiment. Mechanical design has been integrated with thermal, structural and optical analyses. Electronic import of the model geometry eliminates the repetitive steps of geometry input to develop each analysis model, leading to faster and more accurate analyses. Guidelines for integrated model development are given. This integrated analysis process has been built around software that was already in use by designers and analysis at LaRC. The process as currently implemented used Pro/Engineer for design, Pro/Manufacturing for fabrication, PATRAN for solid modeling, NASTRAN for structural analysis, SINDA-85 and P/Thermal for thermal analysis, and Code V for optical analysis. Currently, the only analysis model to be built manually is the Code V model; all others can be imported for the Pro/E geometry. The translator from PATRAN results to Code V optical analysis (PATCOD) was developed and tested at LaRC. Directions for use of the translator or other models are given

Advances in Understanding Metal Electrolysis Process

Advancements in technologies related to the electrorefining and electrodeposition of metals—as important manufacturing process steps—continue to receive significant attention. Specifically, novel ideas that focus on the development of new approaches to the electrochemical synthesis of alloys and composites are important for advancing technologies that can promote increased supply sustainability in the future. This Special Issue, “Advances in understanding metal electrolysis process”, aims at the fundamental level of research with respect to novel approaches in areas of electrolysis and electrochemical mechanisms as well as their impact on the efficiency and quality of metal deposition. It consists of ten papers addressing various issues and their possible solutions around the electrolysis/-deposition of aluminum, copper, indium, rare earth metals, and their alloys, including Zn-Co coatings. One review paper provides an overview of the structure of metal powders produced by electrochemical methods

Circular job-related spatial mobility in Germany:Comparative analyses of two representative surveys on the forms, prevalence and relevance in the context of partnership and family development

Die Mobilitätsanforderungen in der Arbeitswelt nehmen zu und gleichzeitig sind vielfältigere und komplexere Formen berufsbezogener Mobilität zu beobachten. Der Zusammenhang zwischen berufsbezogenem Mobilitätsverhalten und familienbezogenen Prozessen erfährt in der Folge zunehmende Aufmerksamkeit im Bereich der Mobilitäts- und Familienforschung. Erfassung und Analyse berufsbezogener Mobilität erfolgten jedoch bisher selten einheitlich und systematisch. Mit dem europäisch-vergleichenden Survey „Job Mobilities and Family Lives in Europe“ (JobMob) und dem „Beziehungs- und Familienpanel“ (pairfam) liegen für Deutschland zwei repräsentative Datensätze vor, die weitgehend vergleichbare Operationalisierungen bereithalten. Dies erlaubt es, in systematischer Weise vergleichende Analysen durchzuführen. Damit bietet sich in diesem Forschungsfeld erstmalig die Möglichkeit, inhaltliche Befunde einer unmittelbaren wechselseitigen Validierung zu unterziehen und diese auf ihre Generalisierbarkeit zu überprüfen.Der vorliegende Beitrag verfolgt diesbezüglich drei zentrale Ziele. Zunächst wird für die beiden Surveys ein gemeinsamer Indikator für zirkuläres berufsbezogenes Mobilitätsverhalten vorgestellt. Auf der Grundlage dieses gemeinsamen Indikators wird die Verbreitung verschiedener Mobilitätsformen und deren Zusammensetzung nach zentralen soziodemografischen Merkmalen für beide Stichproben im Vergleich untersucht. Darüber hinaus wird anhand multivariater Analysen die Relevanz berufsbezogener Mobilität im Kontext der Partnerschafts- und  Familienentwicklung illustriert. Die Befunde verweisen dabei auf das Mobilitätsverhalten als wichtigen individuellen Kontextfaktor bei der Erklärung partnerschaftlicher und familialer Prozesse. Insbesondere beruflich mobile Frauen leben demnach seltener in hoch institutionalisierten Partnerschaften und sind seltener Mütter.Over the past few decades, employees have had to come to terms with increased demands of the labour market requiring greater flexibility and mobility. At the same time, increasingly versatile and complex forms of job-related spatial mobility are emerging. Consequently, the correlation between job mobility patterns and family-related processes is attracting more and more attention in the field of mobility and family research. However, to date there has rarely been a standard by which to systematically record and analyse job mobility. “Job Mobilities and Family Lives in Europe” (JobMob), a comparative European survey, and the “Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics” (pairfam) constitute two sets of representative data for Germany, which provide largely comparable operationalisations for several forms of circular job mobility, thus allowing us to systematically perform comparative analyses. For the first time ever in this field of research, it is now possible to subject findings to a direct reciprocal validation process and to check whether general rules and correlations can be derived from them.In this regard, the present article aims at achieving three essential objectives. First, we will introduce a common indicator for circular job mobility patterns found in the two surveys. On the basis of this common indicator, we will comparatively analyse the prevalence of different mobility forms and their composition according to key socio-demographic characteristics. In addition, we will use multivariate analyses to illustrate the relevance of job mobility for partnership and family development. Results suggest mobility patterns to be an important individual context factor when explaining processes relevant to partnerships and family. In particular, women who exhibit some degree of job mobility are less often married and rarely have children

Velocity-selective sublevel resonance of atoms with an array of current-carrying wires

Resonance transitions between the Zeeman sublevels of optically-polarized Rb atoms traveling through a spatially periodic magnetic field are investigated in a radio-frequency (rf) range of sub-MHz. The atomic motion induces the resonance when the Zeeman splitting is equal to the frequency at which the moving atoms feel the magnetic field oscillating. Additional temporal oscillation of the spatially periodic field splits a motion-induced resonance peak into two by an amount of this oscillation frequency. At higher oscillation frequencies, it is more suitable to consider that the resonance is mainly driven by the temporal field oscillation, with its velocity-dependence or Doppler shift caused by the atomic motion through the periodic field. A theoretical description of motion-induced resonance is also given, with emphasis on the translational energy change associated with the internal transition.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, final versio

Electrochemical co-deposition of neodymium and praseodymium from oxyfluoride molten salts

In the present study we aim to provide an understanding of the electrochemical behaviour of neodymium and praseodymium in the fluoride based melts composition containing different LiF concentration. Comparison of the experimental results obtained from chosen electrolyte systems, should enable to precisely incorporate adjustable parameters which could favor more deposited neodymium and praseodymium metal remaining on an inert working substrate.U ovom radu ispitivali smo elektrohemijsko ponašanje neodijuma i prazeodijuma u elektrolitima na bazi fluorida sa različitim koncentracijama LiF. Poređenje dobijenih eksperimentalnih rezultata iz izabranih elektrolita, trebalo bi da nam omogući optimizaciju parametara koji bi favorizovali veći prinos neodijuma i prazeodijuma na inertnoj radnoj elektrodi

Electrochemical deposition of neodymium and praseodymium on molybdenum from molten fluoride

Neodymium and praseodymium were electrochemically co-deposited onto Mo cathode applying constant potential, from fluoride-based molten salts containing the corresponding rare earth oxides. According to the recorded voltammograms, it appears that in the investigated system, the electrodeposition of neodymium proceeds as a two-step reduction process: Nd(III)→Nd(II) and Nd(II)→Nd(0), whilst the praseodymium deposition proceeds as an one-step reduction process: Pr(III)→Pr(0). However, it was also recognized that at the same time a substantial amount of NdF2 was formed as a result of the disproportionation reaction between the electrodeposited Nd metal and Nd(III) present in the electrolyte. The deposit on the working electrode surface was recorded by optical microscopy and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The analysis made upon the applying the potentiostatic deposition regimehas shown Nd/Pr metals present on the molybdenum cathode

Electrochemical study of Nd and Pr co-deposition onto Mo and W from molten oxyfluorides

Electrodeposition processes of neodymium and praseodymium in molten NdF3 + PrF3 + LiF + 1 wt.%Pr6O11 + 1 wt.%Nd2O3 and NdF3 + PrF3 + LiF + 2 wt.%Pr6O11 + 2 wt.%Nd2O3 electrolytes at 1323 K were investigated. Cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and open circuit potentiometry were applied to study the electrochemical reduction of Nd(III) and Pr(III) ions on Mo and W cathodes. It was established that a critical condition for Nd and Pr co-deposition in oxyfluoride electrolytes was a constant praseodymium deposition overpotential of ≈−0.100 V, which was shown to result in co-deposition current densities approaching 6 mAcm−2 . Analysis of the results obtained by applied electrochemical techniques showed that praseodymium deposition proceeds as a one-step process involving exchange of three electrons (Pr(III)→Pr(0)) and that neodymium deposition is a two-step process: the first involves one electron exchange (Nd(III)→Nd(II)), and the second involves an exchange of two electrons (Nd(II)→Nd(0)). X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed the formation of metallic Nd and Pr on the working substrate. Keeping the anodic potential to the glassy carbon working anode low results in very low levels of carbon oxides, fluorine and fluorocarbon gas emissions, which should qualify the studied system as an environmentally friendly option for rare earth metal deposition. The newly reported data for Nd and Pr metals co-deposition provide valuable information for the recycling of neodymium-iron-boron magnets