11,735 research outputs found
Fragile identities: Exploring learner identity, learner autonomy and motivation through young learnersâ voices
Recent research in the fields of motivation and learner autonomy in language learning has begun to explore their relationships to the construct of identity. This article builds on this through the voices of a group of six learners of French or German in a secondary school in England, over a two-year period. These young learners initially reveal a clear identity as learners responsible for and able to take control of their own learning. However, this identity is seen as fragile when teacher control is increased in response to the external pressure of examinations, and there are indications of loss of motivation. Secondary school teachers, therefore, need to ensure that the learning environment they create engages, nurtures, and protects their learnersâ identity as learners through sustained opportunities for autonomy. Further research is proposed into aspects of learner identity, as well as ways in which changing pedagogy involves changes in teacher identity.
Des Ă©tudes rĂ©centes dans les domaines de la motivation et de lâautonomie de lâapprenant des langues explorent les relations entre ces deux domaines et lâidentitĂ© de lâapprenant. Cet article contribue Ă ces recherches, en examinant pendant une pĂ©riode de deux ans la voix d'un groupe de six jeunes qui apprennent le français ou lâallemand dans une Ă©cole secondaire en Angleterre. Ces jeunes apprenants rĂ©vĂšlent au dĂ©but une identitĂ© claire en tant quâapprenants responsables pour et capables de contrĂŽler leur propre apprentissage. Cependant on voit que cette identitĂ© est fragile quand le contrĂŽle de lâenseignant est augmentĂ© face Ă la pression externe des examens, menant potentiellement a une perte de motivation. Les professeurs du secondaire devraient donc crĂ©er un milieu d'apprentissage capable dâengager, de dĂ©velopper et de protĂ©ger lâidentitĂ© des apprenants en tant qu'apprenants, en assurant quâils peuvent continuer Ă jouir des opportunitĂ©s pour lâautonomie. Des recherches futures sont proposĂ©es sur des aspects de lâidentitĂ© des apprenants, et aussi sur les implications des changements de pĂ©dagogie pour lâidentitĂ© des professeurs
Language associations and collaborative support: language teacher associations as empowering spaces for professional networks
The LACS project (Language Associations and Collaborative Support) marked the first major cooperation between the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) and the Fe Ìde Ìration Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes/ International Federation of Language Teacher Associations (FIPLV). This article focuses on one aspect of the project, namely an exploration of issues affecting language teacher associations worldwide. It describes the research carried out into the associationsâ perceptions of their functions, the challenges they face and the strategies they are employing to address these challenges. Following an explora- tion of related literature, which provided a framework for analysis, the article describes the research methodology employed and then presents and discusses the data. In response to the challenges of sustaining membership and influencing policy, language teacher associations are seen to be developing new spaces, in which multidimensional networks can develop, and which can be of continuing relevance both internally to members and to external bodies. The article concludes by drawing on theories of space, arguing that it is through the shift from normative structures to more dynamic and flexible networks and spaces that associations are learning to cope with changes in the nature of professionalism associated with postmodernity
Supplementary schools as spaces of hope for a more inclusive world: Challenging exclusion and social injustice in multilingual London
Following a contextualisation of multilingual London, I will explore the ways in which many of Londonâs â and indeed the UKâs â language communities and the languages they speak suffer marginalisation and exclusion. Based on an exploration of language education policy, the article employs the construct of âmonolingual habitusâ (Gogolin 2002), which, whilst tending to monolingualise multilingualism, also offers insights into how the habitus might be shifted. Despite the structural forces at play, I argue that, through their supplementary schools, the language communities themselves can be conceived of as âspaces of hopeâ, able to challenge the constraints they encounter in order to ensure that their languages continue to be spoken and learnt. I support this argument by first considering their creative educational and cultural practices, and then the ways in which they act as spaces of resistance to the challenges they face. However, I also maintain that they have the potential to play a role in shifting the monolingual habitus beyond their communities, co-creating a more linguistically inclusive society. Further research is needed, however, to understand the processes that may be conducive to this shift and lead to a more inclusive and socially just world
Logistics hardware and services control system
Software system permits onsite direct control of logistics operations, which include spare parts, initial installation, tool control, and repairable parts status and control, through all facets of operations. System integrates logistics actions and controls receipts, issues, loans, repairs, fabrications, and modifications and assets in predicting and allocating logistics parts and services effectively
Origin of intermittent accretion-powered X-ray oscillations in neutron stars with millisecond spin periods
We have shown previously that many of the properties of persistent
accretion-powered millisecond pulsars can be understood if their X-ray emitting
areas are near their spin axes and move as the accretion rate and structure of
the inner disk vary. Here we show that this "nearly aligned moving spot model"
may also explain the intermittent accretion-powered pulsations that have been
detected in three weakly magnetic accreting neutron stars. We show that
movement of the emitting area from very close to the spin axis to about 10
degrees away can increase the fractional rms amplitude from less than about 0.5
percent, which is usually undetectable with current instruments, to a few
percent, which is easily detectable. The second harmonic of the spin frequency
usually would not be detected, in agreement with observations. The model
produces intermittently detectable oscillations for a range of emitting area
sizes and beaming patterns, stellar masses and radii, and viewing directions.
Intermittent oscillations are more likely in stars that are more compact. In
addition to explaining the sudden appearance of accretion-powered millisecond
oscillations in some neutron stars with millisecond spin periods, the model
explains why accretion-powered millisecond oscillations are relatively rare and
predicts that the persistent accretion-powered millisecond oscillations of
other stars may become undetectable for brief intervals. It suggests why
millisecond oscillations are frequently detected during the X-ray bursts of
some neutron stars but not others and suggests mechanisms that could explain
the occasional temporal association of intermittent accretion-powered
oscillations with thermonuclear X-ray bursts.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; includes additional discussion and updated
references; accepted for publication in ApJ
Gamma-Ray Burst Jet Profiles And Their Signatures
HETE-II and BeppoSAX have produced a sample of GRBs and XRFs with known
redshifts and . This sample provides four important empirical
constraints on the nature of the source jets: Log is approximately
uniformly distributed over several orders of magnitude; the inferred prompt
energy Log is narrowly distributed; the Amati relation holds
between and ; and the Ghirlanda relation holds between
and .
We explore the implications of these constraints for GRB jet structure during
the prompt emission phase. We infer the underlying angular profiles from the
first two of the above constraints assuming all jets have the same profile and
total energy, and show that such ``universal jet'' models cannot satisfy both
constraints.
We introduce a general and efficient method for calculating relativistic
emission distributions and distributions from jets with arbitrary
(smooth) angular jet profiles. We also exhibit explicit analytical formulas for
emission from top-hat jets (which are not smooth). We use these methods to
exhibit and as a function of viewing angle, for several
interesting families of GRB jet profiles. We use the same methods to calculate
expected frequency distributions of and for the same
families of models.
We then proceed to explore the behavior of universal jet models under a range
of profile shapes and parameters, to map the extent to which these models can
conform to the above four empirical constraints.Comment: 71 page, 33 figures. Submitted to Ap
Development of microwave NDT inspection techniques for large solid propellant rocket motors Final report
Microwave nondestructive testing techniques for large solid propellant rocket engine
Jet Models of X-Ray Flashes
One third of all HETE-2--localized bursts are X-Ray Flashes (XRFs), a class
of events first identified by Heise in which the fluence in the 2-30 keV energy
band exceeds that in the 30-400 keV energy band. We summarize recent HETE-2 and
other results on the properties of XRFs. These results show that the properties
of XRFs, X-ray-rich gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and GRBs form a continuum, and
thus provide evidence that all three kinds of bursts are closely related
phenomena. As the most extreme burst population, XRFs provide severe
constraints on burst models and unique insights into the structure of GRB jets,
the GRB rate, and the nature of Type Ib/Ic supernovae. We briefly mention a
number of the physical models that have been proposed to explain XRFs. We then
consider two fundamentally different classes of phenomenological jet models:
universal jet models, in which it is posited that all GRBs jets are identical
and that differences in the observed properties of the bursts are due entirely
to differences in the viewing angle; and variable-opening angle jet models, in
which it is posited that GRB jets have a distribution of jet opening angles and
that differences in the observed properties of the bursts are due to
differences in the emissivity and spectra of jets having different opening
angles. We consider three shapes for the emissivity as a function of the
viewing angle theta_v from the axis of the jet: power-law, top hat (or
uniform), and Gaussian (or Fisher). We then discuss the effect of relativistic
beaming on each of these models. We show that observations can distinguish
between these various models.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 1 table. Invited review talk at the 4th Workshop
Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Afterglow Era, Rome,18-22 October 2004. Editors: L.
Piro, L. Amati, S. Covino, and B. Gendre. Il Nuovo Cimento, in pres
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