Forensics and the Basic Communication Course: A New Path to Satisfying Learning Outcomes

Forensic scholars have long written about the educational benefits of forensics, but very few have attempted to tie the activity to learning objectives from the curriculum. This thesis seeks to determine if collegiate forensics can offer the same learning opportunities as one of the most common and fundamental communication classes in the discipline: the basic communication course. This research uses experiential learning as a pedagogical framework for forensics in attempting to answer if forensics can offer the same learning opportunities of the basic communication course, and if so, how the activity does this and what the students actually learn. Likert scale items are used to collect data, as well as open-ended survey prompts. Results are presented and then conclusions are drawn for both forensics and the basic communication course

First-Principles Calculation of Laser Crystal Multiplet Levels via Hybridized Density Functional Theory and Configuration Interaction within the OLCAO Method

Computation of highly-localized multiplet energy levels of transition metal dopants is essential to the design of materials such as laser host crystals. A purely first-principles density functional theory-configuration interaction (DFT-CI) hybrid computational method has been developed to accurately compute multiplet energy levels for single atoms of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sodium, aluminum, silicon, titanium, and chromium. The multiplet energy levels have been computed with close experimental agreement in terms of magnitude and degeneracy, and the method does not depend on empirical information (i.e. Racah parameters). The computed multiplet energy level results are distributed according to term symbols, which are then compared to experimentally-observed multiplet energy levels. The hybrid method consists of analytic computation of two-electron integrals via the DFT-based orthogonalized linear combination of atomic orbitals (OLCAO) method, which are subsequently used as input for the CI-based discrete variational multi-electron (DVME) method to obtain the multiplet energy values.Keywords: exchange-correlation; elecron repulsion integral; multiplet; DVME; OLCAO; density functional theory; configuration interactio

A Defining Moment for Personal Tutoring: Reflections on Personal Tutor Definitions and their Implications

Despite personal tutoring being a highly important area, it has a contested nature. One contention concerns its definition: in simple terms, what personal tutoring is and, by extension, what effective personal tutoring is. A book on personal tutoring (Stork and Walker, 2015) I co-authored entitled Becoming an Outstanding Personal Tutor - which aims to define the role of the personal tutor in further education as well as explain and demonstrate how to carry out the role effectively - raises a number of questions to be explored further. These have been brought into sharper focus by both my journey from further to higher education and as a result of my former ‘practical’ role as a manager of personal tutoring. The most urgent of these questions are centred on the theme of definition. What alternative definitions are out there? Are single definitions sufficient for the complexity of tutoring? When it comes to personal tutoring, what constitutes a definition anyway? The urgency stems from the increased importance placed on personal tutoring resulting from contextual developments and as shown from the findings of key research reports on the retention and success of students. Similarly, if there is a broad consensus that personal tutoring is vital, then further debate around what it stands for, and should stand for, in terms of good practice, needs to take place. Informed by critical pedagogy, this article will consider these questions of definition and the potential implications for organisations, those undertaking the role and students

Filament mechanics in a half-space via regularised Stokeslet segments

We present a generalisation of efficient numerical frameworks for modelling fluid-filament interactions via the discretisation of a recently-developed, non-local integral equation formulation to incorporate regularised Stokeslets with half-space boundary conditions, as motivated by the importance of confining geometries in many applications. We proceed to utilise this framework to examine the drag on slender inextensible filaments moving near a boundary, firstly with a relatively-simple example, evaluating the accuracy of resistive force theories near boundaries using regularised Stokeslet segments. This highlights that resistive force theories do not accurately quantify filament dynamics in a range of circumstances, even with analytical corrections for the boundary. However, there is the notable and important exception of movement in a plane parallel to the boundary, where accuracy is maintained. In particular, this justifies the judicious use of resistive force theories in examining the mechanics of filaments and monoflagellate microswimmers with planar flagellar patterns moving parallel to boundaries. We proceed to apply the numerical framework developed here to consider how filament elastohydrodynamics can impact drag near a boundary, analysing in detail the complex responses of a passive cantilevered filament to an oscillatory flow. In particular, we document the emergence of an asymmetric periodic beating in passive filaments in particular parameter regimes, which are remarkably similar to the power and reverse strokes exhibited by motile 9+2 cilia. Furthermore, these changes in the morphology of the filament beating, arising from the fluid-structure interactions, also induce a significant increase in the hydrodynamic drag of the filament.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures. Supplementary Material available upon reques

Fine aggregate resources in the greater Cape Town area

Includes bibliographical references.Fine aggregate resources in the Greater Cape Town area have historically been in abundant supply. This supply has been typically comprised of the extensive natural building sand deposits that are scattered throughout the region. However, over the past decade increasing concerns have been raised regarding their long-term availability. This concern has arisen from reports suggesting the diminishing reserves of naturally occurring fine aggregates, which have historically dominated the market, and are beginning to near the end of their reserve life. The research undertaken in this thesis was to assess the plausibility of this concern and ascertain an understanding as to the future supply of resources in the region. In order to address the issues raised, a comprehensive understanding of fine aggregates, their properties and their source are required. This was developed in a literature review, whereby this knowledge provided an understanding as to the type of material that is preferable for fine aggregate use. The findings highlights the importance of using a resource that possesses properties, which are most appropriate for its specific use. In terms of concrete, this is achieved through using materials which possess the following preferred properties: (1) round particle shape and smooth surface texture, (2) a wide range of particle sizes that are well distributed, and (3) a mineralogical composition that is relatively inert, thus is not deleterious in concrete. Additionally, a resource must be economically viable, and be exploited in a manner such that the development aims to safeguard the environment for the benefit of current and future generations. These concepts and principles were then applied to the subsequent study into the fine aggregate resources located within the greater Cape Town region

Religion in Global Health and Development

The COVID-19 pandemic has made evident that the field of global health – its practices, norms, and failures – has the power to shape the lives of billions. Global health perspectives on the role of religion, however, are strikingly limited. Uncovering the points where religion and global health have connected across the twentieth century, focusing on Ghana, provides an opportunity to challenge narrow approaches. In Religion in Global Health and Development Benjamin Walker shows that the religious features of colonial state architecture were still operating by the turn of the twenty-first century. Walker surveys the establishment of colonial development projects in the twentieth century, with a focus on the period between 1940 and 1990. Crossing the colonial-postcolonial divide, analyzing local contexts in conjunction with the many layers of international organizations, and identifying surprisingly neglected streams of personnel and funding (particularly from Dutch and West German Catholics), this in-depth history offers new ways of conceptualizing global health. Patchworks of international humanitarian intervention, fragmented government services, local communities, and the actions of many foreign powers combined to create health services and the state in Ghana. Religion in Global Health and Development shows that religion and religious actors were critical to this process – socially, culturally, and politically

The Thermal Dissociation of Lithium Hydride

In previous work at the Union College laboratory a method was finally developed which overcame the difficulties of the earlier studies of calcium-hydrogen equilibrium. The results obtained were in good agreement with the best work of other investigators. In the present work, an attempt was made to extend this method to a study of the lithium-hydrogen equilibrium