Teaching and learning reflection in MPA programs: towards a strategy

__Abstract__ Reflection is an essential ingredient of academic education in PublicAdministration, both for an academic and a professional career. Making a distinction between reflectivity and reflexivity we identify 30 foci of reflection. The main question of the article is how these forms of reflection can be taught and learned in PA programs, especially in post-experience PAprograms. To answer this question,westudied de programand interviewed the teaching staff op the post-experienceMPA program at Erasmus University in Rotterdamto describe what is actually done in the to teach students reflection competences and to identify success and limitations of these efforts. We present our findings and describe how we, in consultation with the teaching staff, developed a number of feasible options for improvement. We discuss these options and present a strategy to actually get these implemented

Laser cooling of a diatomic molecule

It has been roughly three decades since laser cooling techniques produced ultracold atoms, leading to rapid advances in a vast array of fields. Unfortunately laser cooling has not yet been extended to molecules because of their complex internal structure. However, this complexity makes molecules potentially useful for many applications. For example, heteronuclear molecules possess permanent electric dipole moments which lead to long-range, tunable, anisotropic dipole-dipole interactions. The combination of the dipole-dipole interaction and the precise control over molecular degrees of freedom possible at ultracold temperatures make ultracold molecules attractive candidates for use in quantum simulation of condensed matter systems and quantum computation. Also ultracold molecules may provide unique opportunities for studying chemical dynamics and for tests of fundamental symmetries. Here we experimentally demonstrate laser cooling of the molecule strontium monofluoride (SrF). Using an optical cycling scheme requiring only three lasers, we have observed both Sisyphus and Doppler cooling forces which have substantially reduced the transverse temperature of a SrF molecular beam. Currently the only technique for producing ultracold molecules is by binding together ultracold alkali atoms through Feshbach resonance or photoassociation. By contrast, different proposed applications for ultracold molecules require a variety of molecular energy-level structures. Our method provides a new route to ultracold temperatures for molecules. In particular it bridges the gap between ultracold temperatures and the ~1 K temperatures attainable with directly cooled molecules (e.g. cryogenic buffer gas cooling or decelerated supersonic beams). Ultimately our technique should enable the production of large samples of molecules at ultracold temperatures for species that are chemically distinct from bialkalis.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Stability of Spatial Optical Solitons

We present a brief overview of the basic concepts of the soliton stability theory and discuss some characteristic examples of the instability-induced soliton dynamics, in application to spatial optical solitons described by the NLS-type nonlinear models and their generalizations. In particular, we demonstrate that the soliton internal modes are responsible for the appearance of the soliton instability, and outline an analytical approach based on a multi-scale asymptotic technique that allows to analyze the soliton dynamics near the marginal stability point. We also discuss some results of the rigorous linear stability analysis of fundamental solitary waves and nonlinear impurity modes. Finally, we demonstrate that multi-hump vector solitary waves may become stable in some nonlinear models, and discuss the examples of stable (1+1)-dimensional composite solitons and (2+1)-dimensional dipole-mode solitons in a model of two incoherently interacting optical beams.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures; to be published in: "Spatial Optical Solitons", Eds. W. Torruellas and S. Trillo (Springer, New York

"Meaning" as a sociological concept: A review of the modeling, mapping, and simulation of the communication of knowledge and meaning

The development of discursive knowledge presumes the communication of meaning as analytically different from the communication of information. Knowledge can then be considered as a meaning which makes a difference. Whereas the communication of information is studied in the information sciences and scientometrics, the communication of meaning has been central to Luhmann's attempts to make the theory of autopoiesis relevant for sociology. Analytical techniques such as semantic maps and the simulation of anticipatory systems enable us to operationalize the distinctions which Luhmann proposed as relevant to the elaboration of Husserl's "horizons of meaning" in empirical research: interactions among communications, the organization of meaning in instantiations, and the self-organization of interhuman communication in terms of symbolically generalized media such as truth, love, and power. Horizons of meaning, however, remain uncertain orders of expectations, and one should caution against reification from the meta-biological perspective of systems theory

Understanding the links between hearing impairment and dementia : development and validation of the social and emotional impact of hearing impairment (SEI-HI) questionnaire

Background The links between hearing impairment (HI) and dementia have been well documented, but factors mediating this relationship remain unknown. Major consequences of HI are social and emotional dysfunction, and as the risk of dementia increases linearly with the severity of HI, it is plausible that socio-emotional difficulties may play a role in this association. Objective The aim of this study was to develop and validate a tool to analyse levels of hearing-related disability, to investigate ultimately whether subjective disability contributes to risk of cognitive impairment compared with hearing thresholds alone. Methods Development and validation of the questionnaire, the Social and Emotional Impact of Hearing Impairment (SEI-HI), was conducted in four phases: (1) content; (2) scoring and outcomes; (3) validation; (4) feasibility in a sample of people with cognitive impairment. Results Considerable evidence was found for the internal and external reliability of the tool with high construct validity, concurrent validity and test-retest values of the SEI-HI questionnaire. A feasibility check on 31 patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia showed the SEI-HI questionnaire was easy to administer and well-received. Conclusion The SEI-HI questionnaire is a relevant instrument to assess hearing-related disability which can be used in people with cognitive decline to assess further impact on risk of developing dementia

Sociological and Communication-Theoretical Perspectives on the Commercialization of the Sciences

Both self-organization and organization are important for the further development of the sciences: the two dynamics condition and enable each other. Commercial and public considerations can interact and "interpenetrate" in historical organization; different codes of communication are then "recombined." However, self-organization in the symbolically generalized codes of communication can be expected to operate at the global level. The Triple Helix model allows for both a neo-institutional appreciation in terms of historical networks of university-industry-government relations and a neo-evolutionary interpretation in terms of three functions: (i) novelty production, (i) wealth generation, and (iii) political control. Using this model, one can appreciate both subdynamics. The mutual information in three dimensions enables us to measure the trade-off between organization and self-organization as a possible synergy. The question of optimization between commercial and public interests in the different sciences can thus be made empirical.Comment: Science & Education (forthcoming

Experiences in the development of a data management system for genomics

GMQL is a high-level query language for genomics, which operates on datasets described through GDM, a unifying data model for processed data formats. They are ingredients for the integration of processed genomic datasets, i.e. of signals produced by the genome after sequencing and long data extraction pipelines. While most of the processing load of today’s genomic platforms is due to data extraction pipelines, we anticipate soon a shift of attention towards processed datasets, as such data are being collected by large consortia and are becoming increasingly available. In our view, biology and personalized medicine will increasingly rely on data extraction and analysis methods for inferring new knowledge from existing heterogeneous repositories of processed datasets, typically augmented with the results of experimental data targeting individuals or small populations. While today’s big data are raw reads of the sequencing machines, tomorrow’s big data will also include billions or trillions of genomic regions, each featuring specific values depending on the processing conditions. Coherently, GMQL is a high-level, declarative language inspired by big data management, and its execution engines include classic cloud-based systems, from Pig to Flink to SciDB to Spark. In this paper, we discuss how the GMQL execution environment has been developed, by going through a major version change that marked a complete system redesign; we also discuss our experiences in comparatively evaluating the four platforms

π+\pi^+ photoproduction on the proton for photon energies from 0.725 to 2.875 GeV

Differential cross sections for the reaction $\gamma p \to n \pi^+$ have been measured with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) and a tagged photon beam with energies from 0.725 to 2.875 GeV. Where available, the results obtained here compare well with previously published results for the reaction. Agreement with the SAID and MAID analyses is found below 1 GeV. The present set of cross sections has been incorporated into the SAID database, and exploratory fits have been made up to 2.7 GeV. Resonance couplings have been extracted and compared to previous determinations. With the addition of these cross sections to the world data set, significant changes have occurred in the high-energy behavior of the SAID cross-section predictions and amplitudes.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure

Bridgehead Modifications of Englerin A Reduce TRPC4 Activity and Intravenous Toxicity but not Cell Growth Inhibition

Modifications at the bridgehead position of englerin A were made to explore the effects of variation at this site on the molecule for biological activity, as judged by the NCI 60 screen, in which englerin A is highly potent and selective for renal cancer cells. Replacement of the isopropyl group by other, larger substituents yielded compounds which displayed excellent selectivity and potency comparable to the natural product. Selected compounds were also evaluated for their effect on the ion channel TRPC4 as well as for intravenous toxicity in mice, and these had lower potency in both assays compared to englerin A