Training teachers for and through citizenship: learning from citizenship experiences

This article illustrates how one university-based initial teacher education (ITE) course sought to develop links with civil society organisations to develop meaningful active citizenship education. The purpose of the project was to enhance citizenship education for ITE students preparing to become secondary school teachers. The article discusses recent developments in theorising teacher education 3.0 to ensure teachers are empowered to engage with a wide range of social and political challenges affecting young people and their communities. It then describes a small project that involved university staff and students in a local community organising project, bringing together a range of local community groups to work together for social justice. The article explores how student teachers working within that community organising group developed an increasingly politicised view of their role—as public sector workers in a politicised policy landscape; as potential agents for the promotion of democracy; and as political actors in their own right. The article concludes that these insights into practice illustrate the potential for a broader conception of teacher education, involving civil society partners beyond schools and universities

Geotaxis baseline data for Drosophila

Geotaxis profiles for 20 Drosophila species and semispecies at different ages have been examined using a calibrated, adjustable slant board device. Measurements were taken at 5 deg intervals ranging from 0 deg to 85 deg. Clear strain and species differences are observed, with some groups tending to move upward (- geotaxis) with increasing angles, while others move downward (+ geotaxis). Geotactic responses change with age in some, but not all experimental groups. Sample geotaxis profiles are presented and their application to ecological and aging studies are discussed. Data provide a baseline for future evaluations of the biological effects of microgravity

Political Will Needed to Effectively and Efficiently Conserve and Manage Water in India

Dr. Mansee Bal Bhargava, a research entrepreneur at the Environment Design Consultants (EDC), Ahmedabad, and a former Fulbright scholar at Centre for Behaviour, Institutions, and Environment, School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe (2016-17) — has written an open letter on behalf of water allied researchers, educators, consultants, and enthusiasts*, titled “Water Matters: Appeal for Election 2019 Onward”

What is the probability that a random integral quadratic form in nn variables has an integral zero?

We show that the density of quadratic forms in $n$ variables over $\mathbb Z_p$ that are isotropic is a rational function of $p$, where the rational function is independent of $p$, and we determine this rational function explicitly. When real quadratic forms in $n$ variables are distributed according to the Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble (GOE) of random matrix theory, we determine explicitly the probability that a random such real quadratic form is isotropic (i.e., indefinite). As a consequence, for each $n$, we determine an exact expression for the probability that a random integral quadratic form in $n$ variables is isotropic (i.e., has a nontrivial zero over $\mathbb Z$), when these integral quadratic forms are chosen according to the GOE distribution. In particular, we find an exact expression for the probability that a random integral quaternary quadratic form has an integral zero; numerically, this probability is approximately $98.3\%$.Comment: 17 pages. This article supercedes arXiv:1311.554

Mechanisms of rolling contact spalling

The results of a study aimed at analyzing the mechanical material interactions responsible for rolling contact spalling of the 440 C steel, high pressure oxygen turbopump bearings are presented. A coupled temperature displacement finite element analysis of the effects of friction heating under the contact is presented. The contact is modelled as a stationary, heat generating, 2 dimensional indent in an elastic perfectly plastic half-space with heat fluxes up to 8.6 x 10000 KW/m sq comparable to those generated in the bearing. Local temperatures in excess of 1000 C are treated. The calculations reveal high levels of residual tension after the contact is unloaded and cools. Efforts to promote Mode 2/Mode 3 fatigue crack growth under cyclic torsion in hardened 440 C steel are described. Spalls produced on 440 C steel by a 3 ball/rod rolling contact testing machine were studied with scanning microscopy. The shapes of the cyclic, stress strain hysteresis loops displayed by hardened 440 C steel in cyclic torsion at room temperature are defined for the plastic strain amplitudes encountered in rolling/sliding contact. Results of these analyses are discussed in detail

Automated detection of naming conflicts in schema integration: Experiments with quiddities*

This paper discusses experiments involving a method for the automatic detection, prior to the integration of data base schemas, of conflicts in the naming of data elements within these schemas. The method relies on the representation of semantic information (called quiddity) about the data elements present in the various schemas. We develop several inference procedures which, utilizing this information, determine whether to distinctly named elements in fact represent the same object, or if elements with the same name actually represent different objects. The experiments are concerned with (a) examining the accuracy and consistency with which quiddities of data elements might be declared by different database designers, and (b) evaluating the accuracy and errors of these automated procedures. Our results indicate that the method has promise for use in detection of naming conflicts, and that certain inference procedures are superior to others in terms of their accuracy and error ratesNaval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CAhttp://archive.org/details/automateddetecti00bharO&MN Direct FundingNAApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

An investigation on the role of ytterbium in ytterbium promoted y-alumina-supported nickel catalysts for dry reforming of methane

Addition of low quantities of ytterbium to sol-gel prepared Ni/yAl2O3 catalysts has been shown to lead to significant increases in catalytic activity and long term stability in the catalytic conversion of CO2 and CH4 into syngas (H2 and CO). The role of ytterbium in these catalysts was investigated in this study through detailed investigations on the structure and composition of ytterbium promoted Ni/y-Al2O3 catalysts using the following techniques: synchrotron X-ray diffraction, X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis, Temperature Programmed Reduction techniques and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results obtained indicated that ytterbium, at small quantities (up to 2 wt%), interacted strongly with the support which in turn altered the interaction between nickel and the support (most notably it was found to completely inhibit the formation of NiAl2O4). This decreased interaction between Ni and the support also led to a higher quantity of Ni being present in the catalyst in the form of Ni

Arithmetical Congruence Preservation: from Finite to Infinite

Various problems on integers lead to the class of congruence preserving functions on rings, i.e. functions verifying $a-b$ divides $f(a)-f(b)$ for all $a,b$. We characterized these classes of functions in terms of sums of rational polynomials (taking only integral values) and the function giving the least common multiple of $1,2,\ldots,k$. The tool used to obtain these characterizations is "lifting": if $\pi\colon X\to Y$ is a surjective morphism, and $f$ a function on $Y$ a lifting of $f$ is a function $F$ on $X$ such that $\pi\circ F=f\circ\pi$. In this paper we relate the finite and infinite notions by proving that the finite case can be lifted to the infinite one. For $p$-adic and profinite integers we get similar characterizations via lifting. We also prove that lattices of recognizable subsets of $Z$ are stable under inverse image by congruence preserving functions