Effects of High-Stakes Accountability Testing on Teacher Motivation

There is always a driving force behind our actions in any given situation. In 2000, NCLB instituted accountability testing with strict requirements for all schools in the U.S., hoping to motivate teachers to reach higher levels of instruction by using sanctions or rewards against teachers when standards were not met. However, Deci and Ryan¿s (2000) SDT explains that fostering intrinsic motivation and providing autonomy support for an individual results in more effective outcomes and increased satisfaction. Private and public school teachers in PA were surveyed using the Work Climate Questionnaire and the Work Task Motivation Scale for Teachers to examine differences in self-reported motivation and perceived autonomy support in order to investigate if the use of high-stakes accountability testing (HST) is related to decreased teacher motivation. The results from ANOVAs and correlations indicate differences in self-reported motivation levels of teachers in public and private schools, as well as aid ratio, grade taught, number of years in teaching, and the time the participant responded (before or after the PSSA), as well as perceived autonomy support, suggesting that the presence of HST may influence motivation in teachers

Dynamic Analysis of a Tumor-Immune System under Allee Effect

In this paper, we develop a definite tumor-immune model considering Allee effect. The deterministic model is studied qualitatively by mathematical analysis method, including the positivity, boundness, and local stability of the solution. In addition, we explore the effect of random factors on the transition of the tumor-immune system from a stable coexistence equilibrium point to a stable tumor-free equilibrium point. Based on the method of stochastic averaging, we obtain the expressions of the steady-state probability density and the mean first-passage time. And we find that the Allee effect has the greatest impact on the number of cells in the system when the Allee threshold value is within a certain range; the intensity of random factors could affect the likelihood of the system crossing from the coexistence equilibrium to the tumor-free equilibrium

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

Engineers often demand generalized models without sophisticated and long-time computations. To date, such models are still lacking for the density prediction of ionic liquid (IL) mixtures. In this paper, corresponding states principle combining with new mixing rules is employed to develop two new generalized models for density prediction of IL mixtures, including an extended Riedel (ER) model and an artificial neural network (ANN) model. A total of 1985 data points of binary and ternary mixtures of IL with molecular solvents, such as water, alcohols, ketones, ethers, hydrocarbons, esters, and acetonitrile, are used to verify the models. Average absolute relative deviations of the ER model and the ANN model are 0.92% and 0.37%, respectively, which indicates both the developed models can achieve a universal and accurate density prediction of IL mixtures. Moreover, the ER model does not contain any fitted parameters and thus provides a real predictive method.Engineers often demand generalized models without sophisticated and long-time computations. To date, such models are still lacking for the density prediction of ionic liquid (IL) mixtures. In this paper, corresponding states principle combining with new mixing rules is employed to develop two new generalized models for density prediction of IL mixtures, including an extended Riedel (ER) model and an artificial neural network (ANN) model. A total of 1985 data points of binary and ternary mixtures of IL with molecular solvents, such as water, alcohols, ketones, ethers, hydrocarbons, esters, and acetonitrile, are used to verify the models. Average absolute relative deviations of the ER model and the ANN model are 0.92% and 0.37%, respectively, which indicates both the developed models can achieve a universal and accurate density prediction of IL mixtures. Moreover, the ER model does not contain any fitted parameters and thus provides a real predictive method

CO2 Electroreduction in Ionic Liquids: A Review

The increasing emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by the unrestrained consumption of fossil fuels in recent hundreds of years, has caused global environmental and social problems. Meanwhile, CO2 is a cheap, abundant and renewable C1-feedstock, which can be converted into alcohols, ethers, acids and other value-added chemicals. Compared with the thermal reactions, electrochemical reduction of CO2 is more attractive because of its advantages by using the seasonal, geographical and intermittent energy (tide, wind and solar) under mild conditions. In recent years, taking ionic liquids (ILs) as electrolytes in the CO2 electrochemical reduction reaction has been paid much more attention due to the advantages of lowering the overpotential of CO2 electroreduction and improving the Faradaic efficiency. In this paper, we summarized the recent progresses of electrochemical reduction of CO2 in ILs electrolytes, and analyzed the reaction mechanism of CO2 reaction in the electrode-electrolyte interface region by experimental and simulation methods. Finally, the research which needs to be highlighted in this area was proposed

Research Progress for the Role of Electrolytes in the CO2 Electrochemical Reduction

CO2 emissions lead to serious greenhouse effect. However, as an important carbon resource, conversion of CO2 into useful chemicals by electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) have attracted much attention due to mild reaction conditions, adjustable reaction products, and effective utilization of distributed electric energy. In the electrochemical reaction systems, electrolyte as the reaction medium can provide protons and reaction microenvironment and affect the molecule/ion transportation. Therefore, the construction of new electrolyte systems plays an important role in improving product selectivity and current density for CO2RR. This paper mainly reviews recent research progress of the role of electrolytes for the CO2RR , and summarizes emphatically the effects of ions (alkali metal ions, halide ions, etc.) in aqueous solutions and ionic liquid elect rolyies on CO2 solubility, interfacial electric double layer structures (pH value, electric field effect) and intermediate stability. This paper reveals the influence mechanism of the electrolytes on the selectivity of reaction products and current density, which provide guidance for the design of new electrolyte systems for the CO2RR

co2electroreductioninionicliquidsareview

The increasing emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by the unrestrained consumption of fossil fuels in recent hundreds of years, has caused global environmental and social problems. Meanwhile, CO2 is a cheap, abundant and renewable C1-feedstock, which can be converted into alcohols, ethers, acids and other value-added chemicals. Compared with the thermal reactions, electrochemical reduction of CO2 is more attractive because of its advantages by using the seasonal, geographical and intermittent energy (tide, wind and solar) under mild conditions. In recent years, taking ionic liquids (ILs) as electrolytes in the CO2 electrochemical reduction reaction has been paid much more attention due to the advantages of lowering the overpotential of CO2 electroreduction and improving the Faradaic efficiency. In this paper, we summarized the recent progresses of electrochemical reduction of CO2 in ILs electrolytes, and analyzed the reaction mechanism of CO2 reaction in the electrode-electrolyte interface region by experimental and simulation methods. Finally, the research which needs to be highlighted in this area was proposed

Ionic Liquid Incorporated Metal Organic Framework for High Ionic Conductivity over Extended Temperature Range

The combination of ionic liquids (ILs) and metal organic frameworks (MOF) as a new type of hybrid ionic conductor has raised extensive concern. Novel solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivities and good cycle performance have been successfully synthesized by loading ILs into nanoarchitectures of MOF materials. In this work, two highly conductive ILs, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate ([Emim][SCN]) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium di-cyanamide ([Emim][DCA]), were embedded into the pores of MIL-101 via an effective soaking-volatilizing method. Using this method, a series of IL@MIL-101 composites with different IL contents were obtained. The effects of IL amount on pore volume, stability, morphology, and conductivity were investigated. The results showed that the conductivity of the composites improved with increasing the amount of ILs. When the pores of MIL-101 material are fully filled with [Emim][SCN], the ionic conductivity of the composites can reach up to 6.21 x 10(-3) S.cm(-1) at 150 degrees C under a N-2 atmosphere, which is higher than traditional solid electrolytes. And the activation energy of this sample is estimated to be 0.18 eV, which is as low as other IL@MOF conductive composites. It is noteworthy that the IL@MOF hybrid composites can be regarded as promising ionic-conductors due to the value of high conductivity and low activation energy

CO2 Electroreduction in Ionic Liquids: A Review

The increasing emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by the unrestrained consumption of fossil fuels in recent hundreds of years, has caused global environmental and social problems. Meanwhile, CO2 is a cheap, abundant and renewable C1-feedstock, which can be converted into alcohols, ethers, acids and other value-added chemicals. Compared with the thermal reactions, electrochemical reduction of CO2 is more attractive because of its advantages by using the seasonal, geographical and intermittent energy (tide, wind and solar) under mild conditions. In recent years, taking ionic liquids (ILs) as electrolytes in the CO2 electrochemical reduction reaction has been paid much more attention due to the advantages of lowering the overpotential of CO2 electroreduction and improving the Faradaic efficiency. In this paper, we summarized the recent progresses of electrochemical reduction of CO2 in ILs electrolytes, and analyzed the reaction mechanism of CO2 reaction in the electrode-electrolyte interface region by experimental and simulation methods. Finally, the research which needs to be highlighted in this area was proposed

Ionic liquid-based green processes for ammonia separation and recovery

The emergence of ionic liquids (ILs) has provided a highly effective and energy-saving way for separation and recovery of NH3 owing to their remarkable advantages, such as very low volatility and structure designability. This review presents a comprehensive summary on the latest progresses of pure ILs, IL hybrid solvents, and IL composite materials for NH3 separation from the perspective of material design to process simulation, involving the role of anions, cations, and functional sites of ILs in NH3 separation performance of IL-based systems, the interaction mechanisms between ILs and NH3, as well as the simulation of IL -based NH3 separation process. Finally, the research challenges and perspectives of IL-based NH3 separation and recovery in future are discussed