Polarization Enhancement in Short Period Superlattices via Interfacial Intermixing

The effect of intermixing at the interface of short period PbTiO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ superlattices is studied using first-principles density functional theory. The results indicate that interfacial intermixing significantly enhances the polarization within the superlattice. This enhancement is directly related to the off-centering of Pb and Sr cations and can be explained through a discussion of interacting dipoles. This picture should be general for a wide range of multicomponent superlattices and may have important consequences for the design of ferroelectric devices.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Go With The Flow: Examining The Effects Of Engagement Using Flow Theory And It\u27s Relationship To Achievement And Performance

Virtual Worlds have become an attractive platform for work, play, and learning. Businesses, including the public sector and academia, are increasingly investing their time, money, and attention to understanding the value of virtual worlds as a productivity tool. For example, educators are leading the way with research in Second Life, one of the more popular virtual worlds, as a potentially powerful medium for creating and delivering instruction. Still, little is empirically known about the value of virtual worlds as viable learning platforms. This study examined the instructional potential of Second Life for creating engaging activities, and to investigate the relationship between Second Life and learning in educational settings. It was hypothesized that a positive relationship exists between a learner\u27s level of engagement and achievement. Achievement was assessed as a learner\u27s level of recognition and recall of factual content. It was also hypothesized that a positive relationship exists between a learner\u27s level of engagement and their performance. Performance was assessed as a learner\u27s level of participation, initiative and effort. Additionally, exploratory research was conducted to examine the factors that contributed to both performance and engagement. Lastly, the relationship between other demographic factors of age, Second Life skill level, and ethnicity, with engagement was explored. This research used an empirically tested unit of web-based instructional framework known as a WebQuest. A 3D version, named VWQuest, was created in Second Life. One hundred volunteers completed participation. Using role play, participants participated in a quest for information. While exploring, participants were asked to take photos as evidence of their experiences. Upon completion, they took a knowledge check multiple-choice quiz, and a survey which measured their perceived level of engagement during the activity. Regression analysis indicated no positive correlation between a participant\u27s level of engagement and his or her achievement. However, a positive correlation was found between participants\u27 level of engagement and their performance. Second Life skill level was significantly correlated to performance, and engagement was found to be a mediator between skill level and performance. Most significantly and unexpectedly, participants\u27 performance varied so greatly, the performance rubric was revised four times before it comprehensively captured the diverse range of performances. This evidence suggests that open-ended and creative opportunities to perform yield levels of creativity, engagement, and innovation within immersive platforms, unexpected and far beyond that of traditional instructional settings. Investigating flow dimensions, engagement elements of user control and loss of time were found to be the most significant contributors to performance, and accounted for the greatest amount of variance in explaining performance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the flow factors of defined goals and feedback loaded the highest, suggesting a strong relationship between the two factors. Demographic analysis revealed no significant mean difference between gender and engagement, or between age and engagement. The majority of participants were between 40 and 50 and was instructors or educators, not students. For those interested in understanding appropriate and effective instruction in complex, immersive environments, this study brings together new important implications for all of them. Instructional designers may benefit from these findings in their creation of instructional content; instructors may benefit in their curriculum design and teaching methods; and researchers may understand specific facets with instructional potential--engagement factors, technologies, and instructional frameworks--worthy of further investigation

A TIME OF PEACE: WHERE SHOULD THE X-MEN LIVE?

Grade Level(s): 5-8To introduce students to the use of GIS via census data.St. Andrew the Apostle School (St. Andrew & St. Rita Catholic Academy) Indianapolis, I

EAST TO WEST: AFRICA’S INFLUENCE ON MEXICO

Grade Level(s): 7-12In order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between peoples of ancient Africa and ancient MesoAmerica, students will participate in the following lesson to determine the impact on modern society.St. Andrew the Apostle School Indianapolis, I

East to West

Grade Level(s): 7-12Purpose: In order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between peoples of ancient Africa and ancient MesoAmerica, students will participate in the following lesson to determine the impact on modern society.St. Andrew the Apostle School Indianapoli

Book Review of \u3ci\u3eContesting Knowledge: Museums and Indigenous Perspectives \u3c/i\u3e edited by Susan Sleeper-Smith.

Seventeen scholars contributed to this group work. First exposed to compilation books in the eighties, I found the format exhilarating then. There were so many angles, so much information. Now, however, such books are, to me, rather like walking a cobblestone path. Maybe I just have inappropriate shoes, but the journey is seldom entirely smooth going. And having to adapt to different writing styles every 20 to 30 pages is an added hindrance. Still, the genre is here to stay, and Contesting Knowledge has much to recommend it. Analyzed in four out of twelve pieces, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is viewed from interesting perspectives, and those writings are among the most interesting chapters, along with pieces about particular Native community museums

Rug making: An exploration

The following pages were written out of the desire to know about the past, present, and future of rugs and the people who make them. In addition to studying written sources and questioning textile experts, searching of oneself became an integral part of the learning process. A journal was kept throughout the creative journey. Writing, questioning, and searching has become a large part of the creative process; therefore it was considered vital that some of these thoughts were shared. Technical proficiency with textiles has been viewed as having utmost importance. To master a skill, it should be learned, practiced and finally honed to the point of being nothing short of superior. It has been thought that mastery of a technique should include thorough knowledge of it, including its history. The historical aspects of rug hooking, felting, and needlepoint contain a vast amount of information; however, the limits of this project have afforded that they would only be touched on briefly in this paper

Long-term condition management in adults with intellectual disability in primary care: a systematic review

Background: Adults with intellectual disabilities have higher morbidity and earlier mortality than the general population. Access to primary health care is lower, despite a higher prevalence of many long-term conditions. Aim: To synthesise the evidence for the management of long-term conditions in adults with intellectual disabilities and identify barriers and facilitators to management in primary care. Design & setting: Mixed-methods systematic review. Method: Seven electronic databases were searched to identify both quantitative and qualitative studies concerning identification and management of long-term conditions in adults with intellectual disability in primary care. Both the screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts, and the quality assessment were carried out in duplicate. Findings were combined in a narrative synthesis. Results: Fifty-two studies were identified. Adults with intellectual disabilities are less likely than the general population to receive screening and health promotion interventions. Annual health checks may improve screening, identification of health needs, and management of long-term conditions. Health checks have been implemented in various primary care contexts, but the long-term impact on outcomes has not been investigated. Qualitative findings highlighted barriers and facilitators to primary care access, communication, and disease management. Accounts of experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities reveal a dilemma between promoting self-care and ensuring access to services, while avoiding paternalistic care. Conclusion: Adults with intellectual disabilities face numerous barriers to managing long-term conditions. Reasonable adjustments, based on the experience of adults with intellectual disability, in addition to intervention such as health checks, may improve access and management, but longer-term evaluation of their effectiveness is required