High-resolution Spectra of Very Low-Mass Stars

We present the results of high-resolution (1-0.4A) optical spectroscopy of a sample of very low-mass stars. These data are used to examine the kinematics of the stars at the bottom of the hydrogen-burning main sequence. No evidence is found for a significant difference between the kinematics of the stars in our sample with I-K > 3.5 (MBol > 12.8) and those of more massive M-dwarfs (MBol = 7-10). A spectral atlas at high (0.4A) resolution for M8-M9+ stars is provided, and the equivalent widths of CsI, RbI and Halpha lines present in our spectra are examined. We analyse our data to search for the presence of rapid rotation, and find that the brown dwarf LP 944-20 is a member of the class of ``inactive, rapid rotators''. Such objects seem to be common at and below the hydrogen burning main sequence. It seems that in low-mass/low-temperature dwarf objects either the mechanism which heats the chromosphere, or the mechanism which generates magnetic fields, is greatly suppressed.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figure files. MNRAS style file. Accepted for publication in MNRAS, August 199

Final proposal for encoding the Phoenician script in the UCS

This is a proposal to encode the Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform script in the international character encoding standard Unicode. This script was published in Unicode Standard version 5.0 in July 2006. Cuneiform was used to write Sumerian, Akkadian, Elamite, Hittite, and Hurrian. This proposal covers set of signs used from the Ur III period onwards. Signs specific to Early Dynastic period are separately encoded in a different block of Unicode. Since some changes have been made in Unicode since this proposal was approved, users should check the latest code charts, accessible at:

Bilinguals in Late Mesopotamian Scholarship

The project aims to significantly enrich the resources for the study of the political and religious practice and the intellectual history of ancient Mesopotamia in the first millennium BCE. We will focus on the corpus of cuneiform tablets inscribed with bilingual myths, incantations and liturgies written in the two main languages of the civilization: Sumerian and Akkadian. These texts constitute a crucial part of the learning common to the scribal elite of the time and provide important comparisons and contrasts to intellectual and religious innovations occurring elsewhere across contemporary Eurasia, such as Greek philosophy, Biblical prophecy, Buddhism and Confucianism. We will enhance access to this primary documentation by creating an online core corpus of these texts together with an introductory portal, search aids and translations which will open the material up to both specialists and non-specialists

Who makes better use of technology for learning in D&T? Schools or university?

University teacher training departments have many functions in their role as Schools for Initial Teacher Education (ITE), these include accrediting qualified teacher status, teaching subject knowledge and pedagogy, and influencing change in a school subject's content and pedagogy. This paper discusses this latter area. It can be easy for teacher training in universities to become ivory towers, modelling new ideas for curriculum delivery and content in a 'bubble' away from the real world of the school classroom. A centre of design and technology (D&T) education at an English university has undertaken research-led developments in the use of web 2.0 technologies and technology enhanced learning (TEL), modelling how they can be used in the classroom. The research examined in this paper is the next stage of the centre's curriculum development to ensure the relevance of the university curriculum content and practices. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the use of TEL in secondary schools is inconsistent and sporadic with D&T teachers using TEL, with minimal awareness of research available, which could inform their practice. This impacts on the centre's trainee teachers as they begin teaching in schools during their final year of the course, with a possible unrealistic expectation of how TEL is used in schools, based on their university experiences

Individuals Who Experienced Early Reading Difficulty: How Teacher Connections and Educational Practices Shape Motivation

Reading instruction is consistently controversial in education, whether it be the Reading Wars, a debate over the Science of Reading, or issues surrounding standardized reading testing. An often overlooked component in reading instruction is motivation. Why do some students struggle to learn to read while others sail seemingly effortlessly through reading benchmarks? How do some students overcome early reading difficulty while others struggle throughout their education? Students who have a difficult time reading in elementary school often lack motivation to read and continue to have low achievement on reading tests throughout schooling (Becker et al., 2010; Mcgeown et al., 2012). This study aimed to fill a gap in the research evaluating classroom routines and teacher behaviors that contribute to reading motivation and, ultimately, the success of students who experience reading difficulty early in their education. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design (quan → QUAL), 28 individuals who overcame early reading difficulty completed a researcher-created, Likert-type online questionnaire. This questionnaire focused on people’s perceptions of classroom routines and teacher behaviors that impacted them while they were experiencing reading difficulty in elementary school. Seven of the questionnaire participants then completed a semi-structured interview. The researcher analyzed the responses and coded responses into themes showing motivation-enhancing and motivation-impeding factors through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. Implications from this study could help examine classroom practices and teacher behaviors that influence struggling readers’ motivation

Periodic photometric variability of the brown dwarf Kelu-1

We have detected a strong periodicity of 1.80+/-0.05 hours in photometric observations of the brown dwarf Kelu-1. The peak-to-peak amplitude of the variation is ~1.1% (11.9+/-0.8 mmag) in a 41nm wide filter centred on 857nm and including the dust/temperature sensitive TiO & CrH bands. We have identified two plausible causes of variability: surface features rotating into- and out-of-view and so modulating the light curve at the rotation period; or, elliposidal variability caused by an orbiting companion. In the first scenario, we combine the observed vsin(i) of Kelu-1 and standard model radius to determine that the axis of rotation is inclined at 65+/-12 degrees to the line of sight.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA