Defining Humanistic Philosophy, Pedagogy and Teaching Practices in Relation to English Language Teaching

The intentions of this study was to arrive at a better understanding of how teachers define humanistic education, and how this understanding informs and influences their approaches to language teaching. The first section of this paper overviews the thoughts of three prominent humanistic educators. This is meant to serve as a grounding for the second part of the paper which reports and analyses the results of a study of eleven practicing EFL and ESL teachers. The teachers responded to a questionnaire and submitted to an interview regarding how they viewed humanistic education and how those views translated into teaching practices

The 25 kWe solar thermal Stirling hydraulic engine system: Conceptual design

The conceptual design and analysis of a solar thermal free-piston Stirling hydraulic engine system designed to deliver 25 kWe when coupled to a 11 meter test bed concentrator is documented. A manufacturing cost assessment for 10,000 units per year was made. The design meets all program objectives including a 60,000 hr design life, dynamic balancing, fully automated control, more than 33.3 percent overall system efficiency, properly conditioned power, maximum utilization of annualized insolation, and projected production costs. The system incorporates a simple, rugged, reliable pool boiler reflux heat pipe to transfer heat from the solar receiver to the Stirling engine. The free-piston engine produces high pressure hydraulic flow which powers a commercial hydraulic motor that, in turn, drives a commercial rotary induction generator. The Stirling hydraulic engine uses hermetic bellows seals to separate helium working gas from hydraulic fluid which provides hydrodynamic lubrication to all moving parts. Maximum utilization of highly refined, field proven commercial components for electric power generation minimizes development cost and risk

Heat transfer head for a Stirling cycle machine

A common heat acceptor is provided between opposed displacers in a Stirling cycle machine. It includes two sets of open channels in separate fluid communications with the expansion spaces of the receptive cyclinders. The channels confine movement of working fluid in separate paths that extend between the expansion space of one cylinder and the compression space of the other. The method for operating the machine involves alternatively directing working fluid from the expansion space of each cylinder in a fluid path leading to the compression space of the other cylinder and from the compression space of each cylinder in a fluid path leading to the expansion space of the other cylinder

Transformational leadership and its influence in the high school choral setting

This study makes a unique contribution to the body of literature in choral-music education by equipping high school choral directors with a theory-based understanding regarding how their leadership behaviors influence the attitudes and perceptions of students. I employed Bass’s (1985) theory of transformational leadership as the framework for this investigation in order to understand the effects, if any, that leaders have on their followers, and to determine the net impact among the behaviors that they use to achieve these effects. The following research questions guided this investigation: (1) What specific leadership behaviors may be attributed to effective high school choral directors? (2) To what degree do the leadership behaviors of effective high school choral directors influence students’ self-reported levels of extra effort, satisfaction, and assessment of their directors’ overall effectiveness? I employed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (5X-Short), an online survey tool, to measure 223 choral students’ perceptions regarding the transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership behaviors of five high school choral directors. Multiple regression analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship among the transformational leadership behaviors of directors and all three outcome variables. The findings illuminated ways that transformational leadership behaviors can be used to foster positive personal relationships and improved pedagogical strategies that may lead to greater satisfaction within high school choral music education