Toward a genre writing curriculum: Schooling genres in the Common Core State Standards

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), published in 2010 and adopted by the majority of U.S. states, established a set of expectations for student writing in K-12 education. In describing these expectations, the CCSS used three general “text type” classifications: Narrative, Informative/Explanatory, and Argumentative. While the CCSS outlines the general expectations for students writing in these text types, the linguistic and genre expectations were not fully expressed. This study examines 34 student exemplar texts provided in an appendix to the CCSS in order to determine the genre and linguistic expectations for student writing in K-12 education. Using a genre typology and linguistic framework from the Sydney-based Systemic Functional Linguistics (Martin & Rose, 2008; Rose & Martin, 2012), this analysis provides detailed functional explanations of the kinds of genres students are expected to write in and the kinds of language students might use in those genres in order to fulfill the CCSS. The results of the anal y sis shows a series of attested genres organized around six genre families, with a clear developmental trajectory in the Story family , but less clear developmental trajectories in t he Chronicles, Reports, Explanations, Procedural, Response, and Argument families. One notable finding is the presence of a genre unique to U.S. K -12 education: Tex t Comparison, which is in the Response family. The implications of this study for curriculum and instruction include addressing the genre gaps in the attested developmental trajectory for, mainly, content area writing, such as History and Science. A model of genre-based instruction for K-12 writing education is proposed

Genome sequence of Acetomicrobium hydrogeniformans OS1

Acetomicrobium hydrogeniformans, an obligate anaerobe of the phylum Synergistetes, was isolated from oil production water. It has the unusual ability to produce almost 4 molecules H2/molecule glucose. The draft genome of A. hydrogeniformans OS1 (DSM 22491T) is 2,123,925 bp, with 2,068 coding sequences and 60 RNA genes

Electrically tuned photonic crystal/liquid crystal laser

The emission wavelength of ultra-small photonic crystal laser is electrically controlled with an applied gate voltage. High quality factor porous-cavity laser design enables strong interaction between strong optical fields and infiltrated liquid crystals

Optically triggered Q-switched photonic crystal laser

An optically triggered liquid crystal infiltrated Q-switched photonic crystal laser is demonstrated. A photonic crystal laser cavity was designed and fabricated to support two orthogonally polarized high-Q cavity modes after liquid crystal infiltration. By controlling the liquid crystal orientation via a layer of photoaddressable polymer and a writing laser, the photonic crystal lasing mode can be reversibly switched between the two modes which also switches the laser’s emission polarization and wavelength. The creation of the Q-switched laser demonstrates the benefits of customizing photonic crystal cavities to maximally synergize with an infiltrated material and illustrates the potential of integrating semiconductor nanophotonics with optical materials

Electrically tuned photonic crystal/liquid crystal laser

The emission wavelength of ultra-small photonic crystal laser is electrically controlled with an applied gate voltage. High quality factor porous-cavity laser design enables strong interaction between strong optical fields and infiltrated liquid crystals

Exploring the sensitivity of coastal inundation modelling to DEM vertical error

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. As sea level is projected to rise throughout the twenty-first century due to climate change, there is a need to ensure that sea level rise (SLR) models accurately and defensibly represent future flood inundation levels to allow for effective coastal zone management. Digital elevation models (DEMs) are integral to SLR modelling, but are subject to error, including in their vertical resolution. Error in DEMs leads to uncertainty in the output of SLR inundation models, which if not considered, may result in poor coastal management decisions. However, DEM error is not usually described in detail by DEM suppliers; commonly only the RMSE is reported. This research explores the impact of stated vertical error in delineating zones of inundation in two locations along the Devon, United Kingdom, coastline (Exe and Otter Estuaries). We explore the consequences of needing to make assumptions about the distribution of error in the absence of detailed error data using a 1 m, publically available composite DEM with a maximum RMSE of 0.15 m, typical of recent LiDAR-derived DEMs. We compare uncertainty using two methods (i) the NOAA inundation uncertainty mapping method which assumes a normal distribution of error and (ii) a hydrologically correct bathtub method where the DEM is uniformly perturbed between the upper and lower bounds of a 95% linear error in 500 Monte Carlo Simulations (HBM+MCS). The NOAA method produced a broader zone of uncertainty (an increase of 134.9% on the HBM+MCS method), which is particularly evident in the flatter topography of the upper estuaries. The HBM+MCS method generates a narrower band of uncertainty for these flatter areas, but very similar extents where shorelines are steeper. The differences in inundation extents produced by the methods relate to a number of underpinning assumptions, and particularly, how the stated RMSE is interpreted and used to represent error in a practical sense. Unlike the NOAA method, the HBM+MCS model is computationally intensive, depending on the areas under consideration and the number of iterations. We therefore used the HBM+ MCS method to derive a regression relationship between elevation and inundation probability for the Exe Estuary. We then apply this to the adjacent Otter Estuary and show that it can defensibly reproduce zones of inundation uncertainty, avoiding the computationally intensive step of the HBM+MCS. The equation-derived zone of uncertainty was 112.1% larger than the HBM+MCS method, compared to the NOAA method which produced an uncertain area 423.9% larger. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages and requires value judgements to be made. Their use underscores the need for transparency in assumptions and communications of outputs. We urge DEM publishers to move beyond provision of a generalised RMSE and provide more detailed estimates of spatial error and complete metadata, including locations of ground control points and associated land cover

Fluidic and Polymeric Integration and Functionalization of Optical Microresonators

Optical resonators are structures that spatially confine and temporally store light. The use of such resonators continues to permeate throughout society as improvements in their design and fabrication qualify them to fulfill an ever-increasing array of technological and scientific applications. Traditionally, resonators have primarily been used in lasers and as filters, and more recently have been utilized in other areas including chemical sensing, spontaneous emission modulation, and quantum electrodynamics experiments. In many of these applications, the functionalities of the resonators are solely derived from the geometry and material composition of the resonators themselves. The central theme of this thesis is the investigation of further increasing a resonator's functionality through its integration with fluidic and polymeric materials. The thesis begins with an investigation of integrating silicon ring resonators with electro-optic polymer and liquid crystal in an effort to tune the resonators' resonant wavelengths. Although the electro-optic polymer efforts are a failure, we are able to electrically tune the rings' resonances using electrodes and the reorientation of liquid crystal surrounding the resonators. We then take the knowledge and experience acquired from these experiments and pursue the functionalization of photonic crystal laser resonators, a relatively new class of microresonators constructed from a thin slab of InGaAsP quantum well material with a periodic array of holes etched through the slab. To this end, we first infiltrate the porous resonators with liquid crystal and construct liquid crystal cells around the devices. We are then able to tune the lasing wavelengths by reorienting the liquid crystal with a voltage applied across the cell. Next, we devise a new photonic crystal cavity designed to optimally interact with infiltrated birefringent materials, by supporting two orthogonally polarized high-Q modes. Again, we infiltrate the cavity with liquid crystal, but this time optically control the liquid crystal orientation with a photoaddressable polymer film. By doing so we are able to realize a fundamentally new laser tuning method by reversibly Q-switching a resonator's lasing mode between the two cavity modes and thereby control the laser's emission wavelength and polarization. The successful fluidic and polymeric integration with optical resonators presented in this thesis demonstrates some of the possible synergies that can be obtained with such integration and suggests that further enhancements in resonator functionality is possible.</p

Organizing the wastebasket: A semantic system for describing inter-clausal collocation

Halliday & Hasan’s 1976 theory of cohesion in English explains the way meaning continues from one clause to another, connecting sentences through cohesive ties. Responding to this theory, and specifically their system of lexical cohesion, this thesis proposes a semantic system that structures collocational ties under a single semantic paradigm of lexical relations, alongside current paradigms of established relations like hyponymy and synonymy. The semantic system incorporates models from Raskin & Nirenburg’s (2004) Ontological Semantics to investigate the seeming complexity of collocational ties and renders an organized set of choices, translated into SFL metalanguage, for describing lexical relations. This system can be used for a number of applications. I propose a few applications of the theory for writing classroom curriculum, in the tradition of Witte & Faigley (1981) and Stotsky (1983). One classroom application utilizes ontology-making as a pedagogical tool for invention, helping students build domainspecific vocabularies in order to create more possibilities for expansion in the drafting process. The use of these vocabularies would serve as a scaffold for more quality writing, which writing studies experts have argued, is marked by high percentage of collocation (Witte & Faigley 1981; Stotsky 1983)