Dielectrophoretic manipulation of biological and non-biological analytes in a microfluidic channel

Micro-total-analytical systems (μTASs) for analyzing chemical/biological substances are now used across a wide variety of applications ranging from biological warfare agent detection to the healthcare industry. The first step in the operation of a μTAS consists of concentrating and separating the analytes of interest from the background matrix and positioning them into selected locations for subsequent analysis. The use of ac electric fields was demonstrated to have promising potential for a μTAS because the application of an ac field suppresses undesirable electrolytic effects in the liquid. The main purpose of this work is to study micro-scale phenomena in a flowing suspension subject to shear and high-gradient strong ac electric field. A microfluidic device equipped with dielectrophoretic gates arranged perpendicular to the flow was designed and fabricated at Sandia National Laboratories. Experiments were conducted on flowing suspensions over a broad range of flow and electric field parameters to investigate how these characteristics affect the concentration and separation of particles. It was found that dipolar interactions between suspended particles subject to a high-gradient ac field and shear lead to a new many-body phenomenon of dielectrophoresis accompanied by the field-induced phase separation in a flowing suspension. As a result, shear and electric stresses strongly compress a layer enriched with particles. The predictions of the proposed electro-hydrodynamic model for the coupled shear, dielectrophoresis, and phase separation in a flowing suspension are shown to be consistent with experimental data even though the model contains no fitting parameters. Both the model and the experiments showed that the concentration volume could be increased up to about 50%. It was demonstrated that the field-induced dielectrophoresis accompanied by the phase separation provides a new method for concentrating particles in focused regions and for separating biological and non-biological materials, a critical step in the development of miniaturizing biological assays. Specifically, experiments were performed using I um diameter polystyrene latex beads and heat-killed (Staphylococcus aureus; Molecular probes) dispersed in deionized water

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This publication may contain explicit sexual literary descriptions and/or artistic depictions.February 200

Technology, identity and the creative artist

Most tertiary students dream about their futures at some time during their studies, and the creation of a portfolio can play an important role in the formation of future identity. In today’s culture, technology is rapidly expanding and changing and our society is becoming progressively more networked, digitilised and globalised. Teaching and learning processes are affected by technological developments. and the portfolio has been modified to utilise this technology (Penny & Kinslow, 2006). The process of developing electronic portfolios promoted a technology-enriched environment for creative arts students to cultivate their learning and knowledge. This paper reports from an OLT (formerly ALTC) funded project at its mid-way point. The project is introducing ePortfolios to students through existing curriculum in the creative and performing arts at four universities in Australia. The project forms part of continuing work to research practices in technology supported teaching and learning

Choosing the unstable: Dancing through the mid-career

Whilst professional instability is a lifelong challenge for dance artists, it is in mid career that instability becomes particularly problematic and the issue of sustainability comes to the fore. Mid-career artists build increasingly diverse protean careers in a bid to generate stability whilst dealing with unpredictable work patterns, aging bodies, and increased financial, family and future responsibilities. In addition to this is the sense of physical and emotional loss experienced when the fundamental need to dance is not being fully met. In this study we underscore these big picture issues with a more personal dialogue with three Australian mid-career dance artists. Through these case studies we examine the constant negotiation, reassessment and instability inherent in dance careers. Our research reveals that 'putting the body down' often entails putting down work, status and identity

Rationalities that underpin employability provision in higher education across eight countries

This article explores the rationalities advanced by 18 higher education institutions, located across eight countries, for developing and delivering employability provision. The article uses Sultana’s Habermasian-derived framework to categorise rationalities as either technocratic, humanistic or emancipatory. Based on a series of semi-structured dialogic interviews, the article explores how key strategic and operational personnel within higher education institutions articulate their rationality for engaging with employability. It finds that the rationalities advanced to support employability within different institutions vary through a conversation between institutional culture and priorities and the demands of different stakeholders who the institution seeks to engage. The technocratic and humanistic rationalities dominate, with the emancipatory rationality weakly represented in the data. However, in many cases, the different rationalities are woven together, often for tactical reasons, to create bespoke institutional rationalities

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This publication may contain explicit sexual literary descriptions and/or artistic depictions.February 200

Knowledge Sharing: Exploring Institutional Policy and Educator Practice Through Eportfolios In Music And Writing

Many higher education institutions have embraced e-Learning and urge, or make compulsory, engagement by academics. Despite this, it is often the educators themselves who take the initiative to engage with innovative e-learning approaches. These approaches, in turn, can influence both peer- and institution-wide thinking about e-Learning. This paper focuses on the introduction or extension of ePortfolios within the creative arts at four Australian universities. Each educator adopted the ePortfolio for a different purpose, and in doing so has influenced, or is at least being monitored by, their university. All four studies have resulted in the growth, development and enrichment of teaching and learning because of the ePortfolio's facility to engage students in such activities as reflection, ongoing student-teacher dialogue, collaborative essay writing, peer evaluation, identity formation, and the documentation of skills, competencies and graduate attributes for career awareness and employability. In sharing this knowledge the studies have also influenced curriculum design and e-learning policy. The academic literature notes institutional interest in ePortfolios in relation to career preparation, demonstrating and assessing student learning, academic advising, and addressing public accountability concerns by facilitating internal and external departmental review and accreditation. Within this paper we discuss the bi-directional impact and sharing of knowledge about ePortfolio use as it occurs between institution and educator. The study findings inform future development of curriculum, policy and practice for creative arts students and academics in a variety of higher education settings. Further, the findings suggest that ePortfolios provide an efficient and transparent means to archive and access student work, and that they facilitate internal and external departmental review and broader institutional assessment. © ACPI

EUCLID : Dark Universe Probe and Microlensing planet Hunter

There is a remarkable synergy between requirements for Dark Energy probes by cosmic shear measurements and planet hunting by microlensing. Employing weak and strong gravitational lensing to trace and detect the distribution of matter on cosmic and Galactic scales, but as well as to the very small scales of exoplanets is a unique meeting point from cosmology to exoplanets. It will use gravity as the tool to explore the full range of masses not accessible by any other means. EUCLID is a 1.2m telescope with optical and IR wide field imagers and slitless spectroscopy, proposed to ESA Cosmic Vision to probe for Dark Energy, Baryonic acoustic oscillation, galaxy evolution, and an exoplanet hunt via microlensing. A 3 months microlensing program will already efficiently probe for planets down to the mass of Mars at the snow line, for free floating terrestrial or gaseous planets and habitable super Earth. A 12+ months survey would give a census on habitable Earth planets around solar like stars. This is the perfect complement to the statistics that will be provided by the KEPLER satellite, and these missions combined will provide a full census of extrasolar planets from hot, warm, habitable, frozen to free floating.Comment: 6 pages 3 figures, invited talk in Pathways towards habitable planets, Barcelona, Sept 200

The use of learner-generated drawings in the development of music students’ teacher identities

Identity development is a continuous process framed within changing social contexts, and is particularly problematic for musicians and other artists whose work contradicts the mythologized image of the artist. The purpose of this article is to examine the professional growth of music students in relation to developing teacher identities. The article reports on the use of learner-generated drawings and journal reflections produced by music performance and education majors; in particular, the article probes students’ perceptions of teaching within a traditional career hierarchy that favours performance and artistic creation above all else. Whilst initial student drawings illustrated traditional images of the teacher as knowledge giver, these gave way to student-centred images in which students appeared to identify with teaching in new ways. The combination of textual and non-textual data provided insights that would not otherwise have been evident, and the consideration of ‘possible selves’ became a useful tool in the explorations of identity and career

Developing employability in higher education music

The development of employability in higher music education concerns students, musicians, educators, administrators and funding bodies, and yet employability is both impossible to measure and poorly defined. This paper sets the context for a set of short papers that explore employability from the perspective of music. Because many of the issues they raise have relevance across the creative industries, this paper discusses research that positions them within this broader context. The paper highlights the need for both the functional (how-to) aspects of employability and those that are cognitive: development of students' cognitive dispositions and their capacity to engage as professionals. As such, the paper argues that employability requires collaborative action on three fronts: enhancement of the ways in which employment outcomes are defined and measured; initiatives that engage students in career- and life-relevant activities; and advocacy work that re-aligns stakeholder perceptions of graduate work and employability itself