Alternative Pathways to High School Graduation: An International Comparison

Evaluates alternative pathways to high school graduation -- such as school- or employment-based technical or vocational training programs -- in different countries, in terms of content, graduation requirements, inclusiveness, and outcomes

'It Depends on the Students Themselves': Independent Language Learning at an Indonesian State School

There is continuing interest in the notion of learner autonomy, both as an effective means and valid goal of a language learning curriculum. However, the concept is recognised as emanating from Western tertiary educational contexts and as open to question in different sociocultural settings. This paper reports on a study of language learning attitudes and activity among adolescents in provincial Indonesia, during their first year in junior high school. Combining questionnaire, interview and classroom observation data, the study found that even younger learners are already learning English independently of their teacher's prescriptions, both inside the classroom and outside formal school. Their openness to the increasing learning opportunities in the local environment is often not recognised in local curricula, however, which instead impose a rigid diet of language items transmitted by teachers and their textbooks and assessed in national exams. In this local context, it seems that the promotion of appropriate forms of learner autonomy is essential if the majority of school pupils are not to be frustrated in their struggle to learn English

The Study and Expression of Bharatanatyam Classical India Dance

Bharatanatyam is a classical Southern style of Indian dance originating from Tamil Nadu, and is now practiced all over the world. During my stay in India, I learned from Dr. Joshi, Nupur Bharatnattyam Nrityalaya. According to my teacher, this specific dance style is designed to accompany songs that honor and/or describe a God’s story. The dance can vary according to the song and its specific meaning or intent. In my Honors Capstone Project, I composed a fusion choreography using original Bharatnatyam movements performed to Eastern European Slavic Music (artist: Kitka). Every hand, eye, foot, and body movement has a meaning and was incorporated into this choreography. The choreography was then taught to the local dance troupe, Cold Fusion, and performed at Tundra Caravan’s showcase, featuring Suzanne DelVecchio. The performance of this choreography was well received and performed at many other local events. My Capstone Project helped lead the way for more Indian dance to be taught in Fairbanks, AK, as well as further expand my own knowledge

Book review: The books that inspired Will Lamb: “NancyDorian’s Language Death prompted me topursue lingusitics”

Will Lamb is lecturer in Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Will talks about the books on languages, particularly Gaelic and Celtic, that tempted him away from a degree in psychology and about the folklore that has carried these languages through the centuries

Grafting culture:On the development and diffusion of the strathspey in Scottish music

The strathspey is typically understood to be an eighteenth-century variety of fiddle music instigated by two well-known musical families native to the Spey valley region

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