A Tool for Change: Young Adult Literature in the Lives of Young Adult African-Americans

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Strategies for automatic planning: A collection of ideas

The main goal of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is to obtain science return from interplanetary probes. The uplink process is concerned with communicating commands to a spacecraft in order to achieve science objectives. There are two main parts to the development of the command file which is sent to a spacecraft. First, the activity planning process integrates the science requests for utilization of spacecraft time into a feasible sequence. Then the command generation process converts the sequence into a set of commands. The development of a feasible sequence plan is an expensive and labor intensive process requiring many months of effort. In order to save time and manpower in the uplink process, automation of parts of this process is desired. There is an ongoing effort to develop automatic planning systems. This has met with some success, but has also been informative about the nature of this effort. It is now clear that innovative techniques and state-of-the-art technology will be required in order to produce a system which can provide automatic sequence planning. As part of this effort to develop automatic planning systems, a survey of the literature, looking for known techniques which may be applicable to our work was conducted. Descriptions of and references for these methods are given, together with ideas for applying the techniques to automatic planning

Performance-based item analysis for profiling skills and competencies for progress files

The University of Luton has successfully implemented Personal Development Planning (PDP) modules for students on HND 1 and level 1degree programmes and is in the process of introducing PDP at degree level 2. Computer-based assessment (CBA) at the University contributes to assessment practices and forms a part of the teaching, learning and assessment strategy. CBA is used to deliver approximately 7,000 tests per annum, across a range of disciplines, subjects and levels. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory item analysis into student performance on two PDP modules and a Scheme1 module assessed by CBA. The purpose is to investigate if CBA holds the potential to fulfil a diagnostic function over and above its role in summative assessments. Tracking progress, monitoring performance and measuring improvement over time forms a critical part of a personal development plan. The reporting functionality of most CBA software generates data that can inform on the performance of candidates and the educational validity of test items. The focus of this study is on the performance of stronger and weaker candidates on test items across differing question types. The underlying notion being that different question types might measure or signal a particular cognitive skill or competency level. With this in mind one might reasonably expect weaker candidates to perform at the lower cognitive levels and that maybe this is reflected in their performance on certain question types, as compared to the performance of stronger candidates on the same test items

Teacher Recruitment

This study investigates the historical and contemporary factors contributing to a teacher shortage. The researcher surveyed 150 administrators from city, village, and supervisory district schools in New York State. Despite many inconsistent/incomplete responses, the researcher was able to determine that high teacher turnover was related, in part, to gender and location factors. Female teachers left the profession in higher numbers than male teachers for family reasons, while teachers of both genders left to find better paying employment in industry. The researcher reports administrators’ proposed solutions for dealing with the teacher shortage, including: higher salaries, recruiting young people to the profession, improved community attitudes towards teachers and teaching, and promoting teaching as a prestigious profession by raising certification standards. The researcher also proposes improving teacher efficacy by employing the use of technology and teacher aides

Extreme Elements in Semigroups (Quasiorders, Green\u27s).

We study the elements of a semigroup which are minimal or maximal with respect to Green\u27s quasiorders. Part 1 begins with a preliminary review. The sets of minimal elements are characterized in terms of minimal ideals. We discuss the relationship between the min set of a semigroup and the min set of a subsemigroup. The sets of maximal elements are characterized, and it is shown that these sets do not necessarily satisfy any inclusion relationships to each other. We discuss the max sets of subsemigroups and product semigroups. Conditions are given under which the max sets and min sets can intersect. We define the concept of a paved semigroup and present conditions under which homomorphisms preserve sets of maximal elements. The translational hull is discussed in Part 2. We compare the condition that a semigroup S is H paved with the condition that S = ESE, where E is the set of idempotents of S. We prove that if S is a subsemilattice of a finite semilattice T and if their max sets are equal, then the degree of S is at most the degree of T. Topological results appear in Part 3. Extreme sets of compact semigroups are discussed. An example is given in which the set of nonmaximal elements can be extended in more than one way. We compare the max set with various topological notions of boundary. Part 4 contains results on divisibility and on the Nambooripad partial order. Conditions are given under which the minimal sets inherit divisibility properties of the semigroup. We prove that divisibility of a semigroup very strongly implies divisibility of its max sets. Finally, we show that any element of a regular semigroup which is maximal with respect to the H, R, or L quasiorder is maximal with respect to the Nambooripad partial order

Developing computer-based assessment as a tool to support enquiry led learning

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (MSc) by ResearchThis research explores the possibility of developing Computer-based Assessment (CBA) as a tool to support enquiry-led learning. In this approach learners explore and unpack thoughts and ideas that help them to learn and solve problems. A critical feature of this is feedback and this research focussed on how to design and supply feedback in CBA. Two lines of research were sourced: Computer-assisted Assessment (CM) and Improving Formative Assessment (IFA). Specifically, performance data was collected, analysed and evaluated from the statistical results of 3 CSA tests (approximately 100 undergraduates per test) and from qualitative feedback, the dialogic question and answer responses of (approximately 30 learners x 100 responses) engaged on level 3 activity of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The outcome of the research is the development of Kilauea exemplar, a theoretical model of an enquiry led item type applied in a subject specific domain

Duality in the writing of Thomas Carlyle and Charles Kingsley

Commenting on the view that literary work may pose an easy alternative to running a monastery, Thomas Carlyle, in Past and Present, points out that 'literature too is a quarrel, an internecine duel with the whole World of Darkness that lies without and within one'. Crucial to the 'quarrel' within the work of Carlyle and Kingsley is the theme of the dualism of body and soul. For instance, Carlyle's Sartor Resartus has as its central character the dualistic Diogenes Teufelsdrockh (meaning 'god-born devil's-dung') and, in The Saint's Tragedy, Kingsley, aghast at the rise of asceticism exemplified in the Tractarian movement, deals with a German medieval martyr-'s conflict between earthly love and religious calling. Like many writers of his time, Kingsley was greatly influenced by Carlyle, and this thesis seeks to remedy the dearth of criticism on Kingsley's debt to Carlyle, and on the dualism within the writing of both, by examining how both men use a rhetoric designed to explore the relationship between the body and soul. As their writing is so deeply concerned with the condition of their society (Carlyle's treatment of social problems appealed to Kingsley who wished to reconnect the church with social concerns), I consider this theme within a cultural context. I maintain that, due to social changes within the nineteenth century, dualistic ideas had a particular resonance for Carlyle and Kingsley, and my reading of their work involves research into such areas as sexuality, religion, science, health, disease and politics. This study is arranged chronologically to show how Kingsley's work developed under the influence of Carlyle, whose career was well-established when Kingsley began to write. In chapter one I provide a contextual background by examining philosophical and religious views of the body and soul and consider dualistic notions within Victorian society. Chapter two examines Carlyle's dualism, providing a context within which to read Kingsley's work. In chapters three, four and five, 1 then explore the decade 1840-1850 when Carlyle's career was at its zenith and Kingsley began to write. Chapter three considers both writers attitudes to the body and soul in relation to sexuality and marriage. Chapter four looks at their attitudes towards the machine and mechanistic views of man. Chapter five extends this exploration of science to look at how real and figurative disease, and sanitary reform, have implications for the question of whether man is a creation of God or of his environment. Finally, in chapter six, I examine Kingsley's continuing interest in the relationship between body and soul in the 1850s and 1860s, when Carlyle had all but abandoned this concern. I conclude that, although there is an evident similarity in their desires to find a solution to the problem of man's dual nature, Kingsley's project is to produce a unified view of man, while Carlyle recognises the necessary dualism which is inherent in the human condition

Handwriting: Past to present

Is handwriting becoming a lost art? In this technological society where forms must be printed or typed clearly are we losing our ability to write our language? When the typewriter came into popular use, it was claimed handwriting would no longer be a needed skill. This has not been proven true. Templin (1960) concluded that while the typewriter gradually supplanted handwriting for making permanent records, there ls strong evidence to support the belief that all children now in school will need handwriting in their business and social lives for many years to come (p. 164)

2006: Cem anos das palavras cromatografia e cromatograma

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