Spotlight on Using Mentor Texts in Writing Instruction: Turning to Books for Ideas

Researchers have found a connection between reading and writing instruction and the benefits the instruction has on students’ reading comprehension and writing expression. The purpose of this action research study was to explore the effectiveness of the use of mentor texts on the writing of 22 students in grade 3. Curricular methodology consisted of selected trade books used as mentor texts to represent the various genres and natural language structures inherent within children’s books so that students had consistent models of good writing as they attempted to emulate various authors’ styles of writing. Data collection consisted of a teacher-made questionnaire and teacher-created pre and post writing assessments for sentence construction and paragraph writing. Additionally, rubrics evaluated the quality of student writing. The study indicated that the use of mentor texts for writing instruction, taken together with a writers’ workshop approach, was an effective means for supporting student writing in genres inclusive of opinion, informational, and narrative writing. As students acquired the tools for becoming proficient writers, they wrote with excitement, confidence, and independence. The findings confirmed the theory that the use of mentor texts increased the quality of student writing; subsequently, students made the transition from genre writing to apply the skills across the curriculum

Theory and Simulation of the Brushless DC 120° Inverter System

The brushless dc motor- inverter system is becoming increasingly popular in servo and variable speed applications. One type of inverter, the 120° inverter, does not require rotor position sensing hardware. In this thesis, a theory of the brushless dc motor with a 120° inverter is set forth and used to create a fast simulation procedure for steady state operation. This simulation is well suited for evaluation of torque speed curves since the effects of changes of system parameters can be rapidly assessed. Furthermore, it was found that the system operation may be classified into a finite number of distinct operating modes. The properties of these modes and physical reason for their existence is discussed. Classifying the operation into modes provides a powerful tool for understanding system behavior. The theory presented and classification scheme are then used to formulate an approximate analytical method for the steady-state torque, which is quite accurate for normal operating conditions. The approximations presented are suitable for control system design

Effects of cognitive processing and cell phone use while driving

With 233 million cell phone subscribers in the United States at the end of the year 2006, and 73% of those subscribers talking on their cell phones while driving, the issue of safety on the roads has become a major one. While there has been widespread research on the causes of driver distraction, and comparisons among those causes, there has not been research conducted in order to evaluate the effects of visual imagery on driver performance. This research employed two types of programs to examine the response time to the presented stimuli, as well as missed targets among 16 subjects. For each program, subjects completed six tasks (Baseline, Mental Arithmetic, Directions, Synonyms, In Person Conversation, Cell Phone Conversation). In the stimulus-response program, subjects were asked to press certain keys on a keyboard, corresponding to the stimuli presented on the screen (The six trials in this program included simple response of space bar upon stimulus; selecting a, s, d, or f; selecting a, s, d, f, j, or k; selecting a, s, d, f, j, k, l, or ; ; selecting a, s, d, or f with a 75% more likely; selecting a, d, j, or k incompatible). In the driving video program, subjects were asked to press r or w when a red or white/silver car as soon as they perceived a car of that color to be approaching in the opposite lane. Upon analysis of the stimulus-response program, it was found that Task and Trial Type were significant, with three of the tasks (cell phone conversation, in-person conversation, and synonyms) were highly significantly different from the directions and mental arithmetic tasks. Upon analysis of the driving video program, it was found that Task was a significant factor for missed targets. In conclusion, it was found that tasks involving mental imagery were significantly different than tasks requiring simple communication

A Hybrid Observer for High Performance Brushless DC Motor Drives

Brushless DC motor drive systems are used in a wide variety of applications. These drives may be classified as being one of two types: sinusoidal drives in which there are no low-frequency harmonics in the current waveforms and no low-frequency torque ripple; and nonsinusoidal drives in which there is considerable low-frequency harmonic content, both in the current and torque waveforms. Although sinusoidal drives feature superior performance, they are generally more expensive since rotor position must be sensed on a continuous basis, thus requiring an optical encoder or a resolver, whereas relatively inexpensive Hall-effect sensors may be used for nonsinusoidal drives. In this paper, a straightforward hybrid observer is set forth which enables rotor position to be estimated on a continuous basis using information available from the Hall-effect sensors. The proposed observer is experimentally shown to perform just as well as an optical encoder for steady-state conditions and nearly as well as the optical encoder during transient conditions. The proposed scheme provides designers with a new option for rotor position sensing, one which offers an excellent compromise between accuracy and expense

Telemedicine strategic planning and implementation issues in the Navy Medical Department

Telemedicine is a system of health care delivery which combines image, video, sounds and text, enabling health care providers to consult one another and to examine patients at a distance through the use of telecommunications technology. There are currently a number of telemedicine initiatives within the Department of Defense (DoD) designed to improve the delivery of health care within the military health services system. Telemedicine demonstration projects and consultation sites have been deployed at Army, Navy, and Air Force medical treatment facilities. These initiatives have been driven by recent advances in telecommunications technology, digital imaging technology and video teleconferencing (VTC) technology, coupled with pressures to reduce health care costs and improve access to scarce medical specialist resources. This thesis provides a contextual framework for the analysis of the potential effects of telemedicine on the Navy health care delivery system. The analysis is developed through the review of current telemedicine and telecommunications technology, examination of strategic planning and implementation issues facing Navy telemedicine efforts, and an assessment of the merits and problems associated with implementing a telemedicine pilot project in a Navy medical treatment facility.http://archive.org/details/telemedicinestra1094535124NANAU.S. Navy (U.S.N.) author