Raising students' awareness of cross-cultural contrastive rhetoric in English writing via an e-learning course

This study investigated the potential impact of e-learning on raising overseas students' cultural awareness and explored the possibility of creating an interactive learning environment for them to improve their English academic writing. The study was based on a comparison of Chinese and English rhetoric in academic writing, including a comparison of Chinese students' writings in Chinese with native English speakers' writings in English and Chinese students' writings in English with the help of an e-course and Chinese students' writings in English without the help of an e-course. Five features of contrastive rhetoric were used as criteria for the comparison. The experimental results show that the group using the e-course was successful in learning about defined aspects of English rhetoric in academic writing, reaching a level of performance that equalled that of native English speakers. Data analysis also revealed that e-learning resources helped students to compare rhetorical styles across cultures and that the interactive learning environment was effective in improving overseas students' English academic writing

Book Reviews

Scott A. and Freeman-Moir J. (Eds), (2000). Tomorrow\u27s Teachers : International and Critical Perspectives on Teacher Education, Christchurch, Canterbury University Press. Peter Benton & Tim O’Brien (Eds.), (2000). Special Needs and the Beginning Teacher London: Continuum (ISBN 0 8264 4889 5) Bailey,R. & Macfadyen,T. (Eds.) (2000) Teaching Physical Education 5-11. London: Continuum. (ISBN 0 8264 4842

The Ultraviolet Follow-On Observatory (UFO)

Prime Solutions Group, Inc. (PSG) in partnerships with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Illinois, and the Astronomy Association of Arizona (AAA) are proposing the development, launch and operation of a 12U CubeSat mission for stellar astronomy. The stellar observatory mission will consist of a space-based UV/optical telescope system designated as the Ultraviolet Follow-on Observatory (UFO). This proposed CubeSat will be a 12U system housing a 250mm telescope and designed for a four-year plus mission timeline in high Earth orbit. A camera capturing simultaneous UV/optical observations will first be developed and tested on a ground-based telescope before being designed and integrated into the CubeSat. UFO will follow in the footsteps of the successful launch and operation of the Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) and the planned launch of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) which are paving the way for this new era in CubeSat space-based astronomy. The operation of UFO (240nm to 390nm (UVC, UVB, UVA)) will expand on these missions. This will demonstrate that small telescope observations in the ultraviolet frequency can provide valuable data to the astronomical science community and will help fill a critical need in the observational ultraviolet astronomy gap until NASA’s Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LUVOIR) mission launches in the early 2040s timeframe

Education Deans: Challenges and Stress

Abstract: This study explored issues facing deans within higher education, specifically deans of doctoral granting schools/colleges of education. The study explored key challenges/issues and related stress education deans experience at research universities

Correlated double-electron additions at the edge of a two-dimensional electronic system

We create laterally large and low disorder quantum well based quantum dots to study single electron additions to two dimensional electron systems (2DES). Electrons tunnel into these dots across an AlGaAs tunnel barrier from a single $n+$ electrode. Using single-electron capacitance spectroscopy in a dilution refrigerator, we identify capacitance peaks for the addition of the first electron to a dot and record subsequent peaks in the addition spectrum up to occupancies of thousands of electrons. Here, we report two remarkable phenomena that occur in the filling factor range $\nu=2$ to $\nu=5$ while selectively probing electron additions to the edge states of the dot: (1) Coulomb blockade peaks arise from the entrance of two electrons rather than one; (2) at and near filling factor 5/2 and at fixed gate voltage, these double-height peaks appear uniformly with a periodicity of $h/2e$. At other filling factors in the range $\nu=2$ to $\nu=5$, the mean periodicity for the twice-height electron peaks remains $h/2e$, but the twice-height peaks are instead further bunched into pairs of double-height peaks, with pairs spaced $h/e$ apart. The unusual two-electron Coulomb blockade peaks suggest a novel pair tunneling effect that involves electron correlations that arise in the quantum dot, with spectra at $\nu=5/2$ identical to those previously only seen in superconducting dots.Comment: Added discussion to "bunching phenomena" section in supplemen

Preliminary Validity and Acceptability of Motion Tape for Measuring Low Back Movement: Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is a significant public health problem that can result in physical disability and financial burden for the individual and society. Physical therapy is effective for managing LBP and includes evaluation of posture and movement, interventions directed at modifying posture and movement, and prescription of exercises. However, physical therapists have limited tools for objective evaluation of low back posture and movement and monitoring of exercises, and this evaluation is limited to the time frame of a clinical encounter. There is a need for a valid tool that can be used to evaluate low back posture and movement and monitor exercises outside the clinic. To address this need, a fabric-based, wearable sensor, Motion Tape (MT), was developed and adapted for a low back use case. MT is a low-profile, disposable, self-adhesive, skin-strain sensor developed by spray coating piezoresistive graphene nanocomposites directly onto commercial kinesiology tape. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to (1) validate MT for measuring low back posture and movement and (2) assess the acceptability of MT for users. METHODS: A total of 10 participants without LBP were tested. A 3D optical motion capture system was used as a reference standard to measure low back kinematics. Retroreflective markers and a matrix of MTs were placed on the low back to measure kinematics (motion capture) and strain (MT) simultaneously during low back movements in the sagittal, frontal, and axial planes. Cross-correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the concurrent validity of MT strain in reference motion capture kinematics during each movement. The acceptability of MT was assessed using semistructured interviews conducted with each participant after laboratory testing. Interview data were analyzed using rapid qualitative analysis to identify themes and subthemes of user acceptability. RESULTS: Visual inspection of concurrent MT strain and kinematics of the low back indicated that MT can distinguish between different movement directions. Cross-correlation coefficients between MT strain and motion capture kinematics ranged from -0.915 to 0.983, and the strength of the correlations varied across MT placements and low back movement directions. Regarding user acceptability, participants expressed enthusiasm toward MT and believed that it would be helpful for remote interventions for LBP but provided suggestions for improvement. CONCLUSIONS: MT was able to distinguish between different low back movements, and most MTs demonstrated moderate to high correlation with motion capture kinematics. This preliminary laboratory validation of MT provides a basis for future device improvements, which will also involve testing in a free-living environment. Overall, users found MT acceptable for use in physical therapy for managing LBP