Brave Forms of Mentoring Supported by Technology in Teacher Education

Indexación: Web of ScienceQuality education is undoubtedly a global concern, tied closely to preoccupations with economic and social development. Increasingly, the adoption and effective use of current technology tools are being recognized as visible signs of that quality. Scholars are providing increasing evidence of the kinds of empowered teacher identities that will adopt the effective use of technology tools in teaching. Less is being discussed about how technology can support the processes needed to mediate such identities. The context of Teacher Education is a strategic place to begin to initiate such processes. Our aim in this article is twofold: 1) to describe two recent examples of innovative, technology - supported mentoring processes that were conducted in the context of an EFL Teacher Education program in Chile; 2) to revisit the findings of these studies in light of new evidence from participants who have moved on in their careers. This evidence is viewed in the framework of recent scholarship on the responsibilities that Teacher Education plays in their development. The first 16-month study examined the influences of a guided reading program involving e-readers on the identities and literacy skills of pre-service teachers. The second was a student-conceived study. That inquiry sought to determine the influence of upper year students' peer mentoring, made available partly through a social media site (SMS), on the identities and investment in learning of 12 firs-year students in the pedagogy program. The initial evidence from ethnographic tools used in both studies indicated that the participants were struggling with confidence and doubting themselves as knowledgeable, effective future teachers - not predictive of a potential for quality teaching. Positive signs at the end of both studies and more recent reports from participants suggest that the mentoring had longitudinal benefits for some, although not uniformly. The potential of apprenticeship and mentoring in a technology-supported environment requires rethinking Teacher Education mandates if we are to empower emerging teachers to be quality teachers.http://www.ejel.org/issue/download.html?idArticle=48

Reconstruction of Quark Mass Matrices with Weak Basis Texture Zeroes from Experimental Input

All quark mass matrices with texture zeroes obtained through weak basis transformations are confronted with the experimental data. The reconstruction of the quark mass matrices M_u and M_d at the electroweak scale is performed in a weak basis where the matrices are Hermitian and have a maximum of three vanishing elements. The same procedure is also accomplished for the Yukawa coupling matrices at the grand unification scale in the context of the Standard Model and its minimal supersymmetric extension as well as of the two Higgs doublet model. The analysis of all viable power structures on the quark Yukawa coupling matrices that could naturally appear from a Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism is also presented.Comment: RevTeX4, 3 tables, 21 pages; misprints corrected and one reference adde

SO(10) SUSY GUT for Fermion Masses : Lepton Flavor and CP Violation

We discuss the results of a global $\chi^2$ analysis of a simple SO(10) SUSY GUT with $D_3$ family symmetry and low energy R parity. The model describes fermion mass matrices with 14 parameters and gives excellent fits to 20 observable masses and mixing angles in both quark and lepton sectors, giving 6 predictions. Bi-large neutrino mixing is obtained with hierarchical quark and lepton Yukawa matrices; thus avoiding the possibility of large lepton flavor violation. The model naturally predicts small 1-3 neutrino mixing, with $\sin \theta_{13} \simeq 0.05 - 0.06$. In this paper we evaluate the predictions for the lepton flavor violating processes, $\mu \to e \gamma$, $\tau \to \mu \gamma$ and $\tau \to e \gamma$ and also the electric dipole moment of the electron, $d_e$, muon and tau, assuming universal squark and slepton masses, $m_{16}$, and a universal soft SUSY breaking A parameter, $A_0$, at the GUT scale. We find $Br(\mu \to e \gamma)$ is naturally below present bounds, but may be observable by MEG. Similarly, $d_e$ is below present bounds; but is within the range of future experiments. We also give predictions for the light Higgs mass (using FeynHiggs). We find an upper bound given by $m_h \leq 127$ GeV, with an estimated $\pm 3$ GeV theoretical uncertainty. Finally we present predictions for SUSY particle masses in the favored region of parameter space.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures, several typos in captions of tables 2 and 3 corrected, acknowledgments adde

Investigating non-Fritzsch like texture specific quark mass matrices

A detailed investigation of all possible textures of Fritzsch-like and non-Fritzsch like, 144 for texture 6 zero and 432 for texture 5 zero mass matrices, have been carried out to ascertain their compatibility with the existing quark mixing data. It seems that all the texture 6 zero possibilities are completely ruled out whereas in the case of texture 5 zero mass matrices the only viable possibility looks to be that of Fritzsch-like.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in IJMP

Low Energy Supersymmetry from the Heterotic Landscape

We study possible correlations between properties of the observable and hidden sectors in heterotic string theory. Specifically, we analyze the case of the Z6-II orbifold compactification which produces a significant number of models with the spectrum of the supersymmetric standard model. We find that requiring realistic features does affect the hidden sector such that hidden sector gauge group factors SU(4) and SO(8) are favoured. In the context of gaugino condensation, this implies low energy supersymmetry breaking.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Determining Heavy Mass Parameters in Supersymmetric SO(10) Models

Extrapolations of soft scalar mass parameters in supersymmetric theories can be used to explore elements of the physics scenario near the grand unification scale. We investigate the potential of this method in the lepton sector of SO(10) which incorporates right-handed neutrino superfields. The method is exemplified in two models by exploring limits on the precision that can be expected from coherent LHC and e+e- collider analyses in the reconstruction of the fundamental scalar mass parameters at the unification scale and of the D-terms related to the breaking of grand unification symmetries. In addition, the mass of the third-generation right-handed neutrino can be estimated in seesaw scenarios. Even though the models are simplified and not intended to account for all aspects of a final comprehensive SO(10) theory, they provide nevertheless a valid base for identifying essential elements that can be inferred on the fundamental high-scale theory from high-energy experiments.Comment: 26 pp LaTeX; version published in Phys. Rev.

Higgs Messengers

We explore the consequences of the Higgs fields acting as messengers of supersymmetry breaking. The hidden-sector paradigm in the gauge mediation framework is relaxed by allowing two types of gauge-invariant, renormalizable operators that are typically discarded: direct coupling between the Higgses and supersymmetry breaking singlets, and Higgs-messenger mixing terms. The most important phenomenological consequence is a flavor-dependent shift in sfermion masses. This is from a one-loop contribution, which we compute for a general set of weak doublet messengers. We also study a couple of explicit models in detail, finding that precision electroweak constraints can be satisfied with a spectrum significantly different from that of gauge mediation.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Increasing secondary resistance to fluoroquinolones amongst Helicobacter pylori in Western Australia

Background: The Australian Therapeutic Guidelines does not endorse culture and susceptibility testing prior to salvage therapy for Helicobacter pylorieradication. We wished to determine whether this remains appropriate. Aim: To determine the sensitivity (as minimum inhibitory concentrations, MIC) of H pylorito a range of antibiotics used in salvage therapy over time. Methods: From 2012 to 2017, gastric or duodenal biopsy samples were obtained from 154 patients receiving H pylorieradication therapy. MIC for amoxicillin, clarithromycin, tetracycline, metronidazole, rifampicin and levofloxacinwere measured using standard laboratory techniques. Results: A significant increase from zero to 28% in secondary resistance to levofloxacin amongst H. pyloriin Western Australia was noted over the study period. No corresponding trend was seen with the other antibiotics. Conclusions: These findings suggest that selective use of culture and susceptibility testing may be warranted prior to initiating salvage therapy with levofloxacin

The Genetics of Pneumothorax.

A genetic influence on spontaneous pneumothoraces-those occurring without a traumatic or iatrogenic cause-is supported by several lines of evidence: 1) pneumothorax can cluster in families (i.e., familial spontaneous pneumothorax), 2) mutations in the FLCN gene have been found in both familial and sporadic cases, and 3) pneumothorax is a known complication of several genetic syndromes. Herein, we review known genetic contributions to both sporadic and familial pneumothorax. We summarize the pneumothorax-associated genetic syndromes, including Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, Marfan syndrome, vascular (type IV) Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, tuberous sclerosis complex/lymphangioleiomyomatosis, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, cystic fibrosis, homocystinuria, and cutis laxa, among others. At times, pneumothorax is their herald manifestation. These syndromes have serious potential extrapulmonary complications (e.g., malignant renal tumors in Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome), and surveillance and/or treatment is available for most disorders; thus, establishing a diagnosis is critical. To facilitate this, we provide an algorithm to guide the clinician in discerning which cases of spontaneous pneumothorax may have a genetic or familial contribution, which cases warrant genetic testing, and which cases should prompt an evaluation by a geneticist

Quark Mass Textures and sin 2 beta

Recent precise measurements of sin 2 beta from the B-factories (BABAR and BELLE) and a better known strange quark mass from lattice QCD make precision tests of predictive texture models possible. The models tested include those hierarchical N-zero textures classified by Ramond, Roberts and Ross, as well as any other hierarchical matrix Ansatz with non-zero 12 = 21 and vanishing 11 and 13 elements. We calculate the maximally allowed value for sin 2 beta in these models and show that all the aforementioned models with vanishing 11 and 13 elements are ruled out at the 3 sigma level. While at present sin 2 beta and |Vub/Vcb| are equally good for testing N-zero texture models, in the near future the former will surpass the latter in constraining power.Comment: 1+20 pages, 2 figures, JHEP3 clas