Benchtop Centrifuge for Materials Science

The Benchtop Centrifuge was designed to serve for research purposes within theMechanical Engineering Department at Santa Clara University. The prototype has been completely assembled and is functioning to the desired specifications of applying up to 1000 g’s of force for over 4 hours. The current uses are anticipated for separation of particles within materials for material processing and testing. The overall systemdesign has been adapted froma legacy project within the University. Various tests were conducted in order to ensure safety and usability of the system. Through Abaqus analysis and drop-test experiments, it was found enclosure itself can withstand an impact from a bucket at max-speed. The a SolidWorks analysis, the natural frequency of the enclosure was found to be 104.46 Hz, which translates to a rotational speed of 6267.6 RPM; this is well above what the system will be operating at. The team hopes that future students and faculty will be able to expand their current research through the use of this system

Changes in backward masking thresholds, reading, phoneme awareness, and language skills following an auditory training program

Deficits in auditory temporal processing, or the ability to process the rapid sequence of auditory stimuli within speech, have been linked to reading and language disorders. It has been suggested that a temporal processing deficit interferes with the development of phonological awareness, a prerequisite to early reading skills. This investigation examined the effects of an intense auditory training program, Fast ForWord (FFW; Scientific Learning Corporation, 1998) designed to increase auditory temporal processing on a group of children with poor reading skills. Two primary research questions were posed. Will children increase temporal processing abilities, as measured through backward masking, immediately following FFW and will temporal processing abilities be sustained six months following FFW? Secondly, will children increase reading, phoneme awareness, and language skills immediately following FFW, and will increases continue six months after FFW? Twenty-six children participated in experimental testing and the FFW program. Thresholds for simultaneous masking and three conditions of backward masking were obtained pre and post FFW, and six months following FFW. Behavioral testing included reading (word attack, word identification, and passage comprehension), phoneme awareness, and expressive and receptive language. A group of children who did not receive FFW training were administered the same tests immediately after FFW and six V months after FFW in order to determine if children with FFW training demonstrated greater developments in reading and language skills. Thirteen children in the experimental group had more than a year delay on the word attack and word identification subtests and 13 children had reading measures that ranged within six months of age-equivalency. The two subgroups in the experimental group differed significantly on all tests of reading, phoneme awareness and language measures with the exception of the Nonword Repetition Task. Backward masking thresholds were not significantly different between the two groups. Immediately following FFW, backward masking thresholds for all conditions improved. Even though masking thresholds improved, there were no increases in reading and only a modest increase on phoneme awareness as measured by the Nonword Repetition Task (R= .05). Both groups demonstrated increases in expressive language skills. Further assessment six months after FFW did not reveal a significant increase in 0-ms gap backing masking thresholds. In addition a control group that did not have the auditory training had significantly similar backward masking thresholds. Previous increases in language skills were not sustained at the end of the school year and there were no significant increases in reading skills. All three groups increased in phoneme awareness based on the NWT, however, only the children in the low average reading group significantly improved scores on the Lindamood Auditory Conceptualization test. This study calls into question the efficacy of an intensive auditory training program to improve reading skills. Although, phonological awareness abilities improved over the course of the school year, there were no improvements in reading abilities. The FFW program is designed to target an increase in auditory temporal processing skills, however, this investigation revealed that immediate improvements in backward masking thresholds do not necessarily precipitate increases in reading abilities

The Deep Structure of Situated Thinking in Professionals

This study explicates Critical Thinking (CT) in the respiratory care profession. An exploratory factor analysis was performed and seven measured CT behaviors were narrowed to two factors. A cluster analysis followed and three groups of practitioners were found. This empirical typology considerably expands the conception of CT in the professions

Investigating Adult Education for Immigrants in South Korea

This session (a) describes current practices in adult education for immigrants in South Korea and (b) seeks to collaboratively develop a research agenda for those interested in investigating the role of adult education research in supporting the individual and societal adaptations necessary for supporting multiculturalism in a society once characterized by homogeneity of cultural and strong social cohesion

Adult Education for China‟s “Floating Population”:A Conceptual Framework to Guide Policy, Practice and Research

Since the 1980s, the demand for workers in the China‘s industrial cities, coupled with the extreme poverty of rural villages, has resulted in a massive migrant population comprised of adult workers from the countryside who move to industrial cities seeking work while maintaining strong ties to the villages in which they have permanent residence permits. Approximately 200 million Nong-ming-gong (rural migrant workers) now constitute the largest mass migration in human history. These migrant workers have provided China with an indispensable resource for city construction and economic prosperity. However, the cost to the migrant workers themselves has been extreme, as geographic relocation results in widespread psychological and social dislocation

'If I cannot access services then there is no reason for me to test': the impact of health service charges on HIV testing and treatment amongst migrants in England

Policy governing entitlement to access government health care for foreign nationals in England is a subject of debate, controversy and confusion. Of particular concern to health providers has been the impact of National Health Service charges on delaying HIV testing and anti-retroviral treatment uptake and adherence amongst certain migrant groups. Data obtained through focus groups with 70 migrants from southern Africa, suggest that confusion over health care entitlements exists amongst those seeking health care and is reported amongst health service providers. This confusion, as well as financial difficulties and fears over deportation facing some migrants, can in turn be a factor influencing their decisions to avoid formal health services, resort to alternative and often ineffective or potentially adverse forms of therapy, and delay HIV testing and treatment uptake

Persistent Challenges in Cross Cultural Quantitative Research: Measuring Classroom Dynamics in Adult Learning in Ireland and the USA

This research roundtable will explore some of the conceptual and methodological considerations that underpin high-quality cross-cultural quantitative research. The core problem to be addressed can be best exemplified by real-world vignettes drawn from our own experiences