Reconceiving curriculum: an historical approach

This dissertation reconceives curriculum through an historical approach that employs Ludwig Wittgenstein’s later philosophy. Curriculum is more than the knowledge taught in school. Curriculum, as I a theorist conceives it, is concerned with the broader intellectual and ideological ways a society thinks about education. Hence, the current school curriculum’s focus on specific learning outcomes offers a limited view of the knowledge fashioned by a society, thereby offering an intellectual and social history that is highly selective. Wittgenstein’s concept of “language-games” offers curricularists a way to re-include some of these stories. The concept of curriculum emerges at the end of the Renaissance from Peter Ramus’s refinement of the art of dialectic into a pedagogical method of logic. The modern curriculum field arose at the end of the nineteenth century as educators sought to further refine the remnants of scholasticism’s pedagogical practices by employing “social efficiency” and scientific management to more effectively organize American education. Social efficiency and scientific management became the underlying premises of Ralph Tyler’s (1949) rationalization of the school curriculum. During the nineteen seventies, curriculum theorists began disrupting Tyler’s rational foundations by reconceptualizing curriculum using philosophies and theories developed outside of education to alter the language used to describe education. I use Wittgenstein’s later philosophy to further disrupt the school curriculum’s rational underpinnings. Wittgenstein maintains that knowing does not require some internal or external authority, thereby rejecting the empirical and logical foundations of knowledge that underlie Western education. Using a Wittgenstein approach suggests that education is an indirect activity of teaching students the use of words. Wittgenstein suggests that educating students indirectly more closely resemble the kinds of playful activities in which children engage in their ordinary lives. He suggests that learning is a synoptic presentation that connects concepts that emerge from our everyday use of language in new and interesting ways. By asking students to see the resemblances among concepts synoptically, rather than logically, education cannot be reduced to the acquisition of a set of facts, ordered in a sequence of steps. As such, a Wittgensteinian approach reconceives curriculum as an act of language-play

Chemical Beam Epitaxy of Compound Semiconductors

Contains reports on three research projects.3M Company Faculty Development GrantAT&T Research Foundation Special Purpose GrantJoint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001National Science Foundation Grant ECS 88-46919National Science Foundation Grant ECS 89-05909Purdue University Subcontract No. 530-0716-07U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-88-K-056

Chemical Beam Epitaxy of Compound Semiconductors

Contains reports on three research projects and a list of publications.3M Company Faculty Development GrantAT&T Research Foundation Special Purpose GrantDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency Subcontract 216-25013Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Subcontract 542383Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001National Science Foundation Grant ECS 88-46919National Science Foundation Grant ECS 89-05909U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-88-K-0564Charles Stark Draper Laboratories Contract DL-H-418484Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Subcontract 530-0716-0

Humans:the missing link in manufacturing simulation?

Computer based discrete event simulation (DES) is one of the most commonly used aids for the design of automotive manufacturing systems. However, DES tools represent machines in extensive detail, while only representing workers as simple resources. This presents a problem when modelling systems with a highly manual work content, such as an assembly line. This paper describes research at Cranfield University, in collaboration with the Ford Motor Company, founded on the assumption that human variation is the cause of a large percentage of the disparity between simulation predictions and real world performance. The research aims to improve the accuracy and reliability of simulation prediction by including models of human factors

Investigation of Systematic Bias in Radiometric Diameter Determination of Near-Earth Asteroids: the Night Emission Simulated Thermal Model (NESTM)

The Near-Earth Asteroid Thermal Model (NEATM, Harris, 1998) has proven to be a reliable simple thermal model for radiometric diameter determination. However NEATM assumes zero thermal emission on the night side of an asteroid. We investigate how this assumption affects the best-fit beaming parameter, overestimates the effective diameter and underestimates the albedo at large phase angles, by testing NEATM on thermal IR fluxes generated from simulated asteroid surfaces with different thermal inertia. We compare NEATM to radar diameters and find that NEATM overestimates the diameter when the beaming parameter is fitted to multi-wavelength observations and underestimates the diameter when the default beaming parameter is used. The Night Emission Simulated Thermal Model (NESTM) is introduced. NESTM models the night side temperature as an iso-latitudinal fraction (f) of the maximum day side temperature (Maximum temperature calculated for NEATM with beaming parameter = 1). A range of f is found for different thermal parameters, which depend on the thermal inertia. NESTM diameters are compared with NEATM and radar diameters, and it is shown that NESTM may reduce the systematic bias in overestimating diameters. It is suggested that a version of the NESTM which assumes the thermal inertia = 200 S.I. units is adopted as a default model when the solar phase angle is greater than 45 degrees.Comment: 48 pages, 10 Figures, 5 Table

Envisioning the South End of Tomorrow: Live, Work and Recreate in a Transforming Neighborhood

ENVISIONING THE SOUTH END OF TOMORROW – Live, Work and Recreate in a Transforming Neighborhood Background and Challenges Downtown Springfield is currently undergoing a substantial change of the physical urban fabric. The most visible examples are the construction of the MGM Casino Resort and the renovated Union Station into a multimodal transportation hub. The MGM Casino Resort is the first one in the country that is integrated in a core downtown area. It is obvious that downtown and its adjacent districts will change substantially. How can different uses next to each other coexist productively or can negative influences be being mitigated? How can people that live in the South End benefit from urban development? Will their neighborhood become a healthier, more beautiful and more social place? How can the South End maintain its diversity while obtaining more space for expressing culture in a positive way? Method This design studio was a community service learning experience with goals and objectives that derived from informal interviews with people on the streets, stakeholder meetings, personal observations, sketching and case study research. The design solutions can be synthesized with these recommendations: Project Goals: • Create a multi-scalar greenway system for the whole neighborhood that creates a network of green squares and green streets. • Plant big street trees throughout the neighborhood to filter air and make the streets more walkable. • Create a system small places to sit and gather. • Redesign residential streets that prioritizes bicycle and foot traffic. • Create pedestrian crossings for Main Street and East Columbus Avenue to slow traffic down. • Design East and West Columbus Avenue as pedestrian-and bicycle-friendly corridors through a road diet and speed reduction. • Foster Connections underneath I-91 and across the Railroad to engage the Connecticut River and the Riverfront Park. • Create infill development on Main Street that supports local commerce and services. • Use vacant lots in the neighborhood for new housing that is green, innovative and attractive for diverse demographics. • Reduce the impact of stormwater runoff through swales along streets and underused land. • Address the diversity in the neighborhood and embrace the diversity of cultures through visual and performative art and ethnic food. Project Significance: This studio will advise the City of Springfield mitigating the impact of the casino through the media of Landscape Architecture

Vestibular Rehabilitation for Peripheral Vestibular Hypofunction: An Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline: From the American Physical Therapy Association Neurology Section

Background: Uncompensated vestibular hypofunction results in postural instability, visual blurring with head movement, and subjective complaints of dizziness and/or imbalance. We sought to answer the question, \ Is vestibular exercise effective at enhancing recovery of function in people with peripheral (unilateral or bilateral) vestibular hypofunction?\ Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed in 5 databases published after 1985 and 5 additional sources for relevant publications were searched. Article types included meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, case control series, and case series for human subjects, published in English. One hundred thirty-five articles were identified as relevant to this clinical practice guideline. Results/Discussion: Based on strong evidence and a preponderance of benefit over harm, clinicians should offer vestibular rehabilitation to persons with unilateral and bilateral vestibular hypofunction with impairments and functional limitations related to the vestibular deficit. Based on strong evidence and a preponderance of harm over benefit, clinicians should not include voluntary saccadic or smooth-pursuit eye movements in isolation (ie, without head movement) as specific exercises for gaze stability. Based on moderate evidence, clinicians may offer specific exercise techniques to target identified impairments or functional limitations. Based on moderate evidence and in consideration of patient preference, clinicians may provide supervised vestibular rehabilitation. Based on expert opinion extrapolated from the evidence, clinicians may prescribe a minimum of 3 times per day for the performance of gaze stability exercises as 1 component of a home exercise program. Based on expert opinion extrapolated from the evidence (range of supervised visits: 2-38 weeks, mean = 10 weeks), clinicians may consider providing adequate supervised vestibular rehabilitation sessions for the patient to understand the goals of the program and how to manage and progress themselves independently. As a general guide, persons without significant comorbidities that affect mobility and with acute or subacute unilateral vestibular hypofunction may need once a week supervised sessions for 2 to 3 weeks; persons with chronic unilateral vestibular hypofunction may need once a week sessions for 4 to 6 weeks; and persons with bilateral vestibular hypofunction may need once a week sessions for 8 to 12 weeks. In addition to supervised sessions, patients are provided a daily home exercise program. Disclaimer: These recommendations are intended as a guide for physical therapists and clinicians to optimize rehabilitation outcomes for persons with peripheral vestibular hypofunction undergoing vestibular rehabilitation