691 research outputs found
Teaching Advocacy in Early Years Initial Teacher Education Programmes
No full textTeacher education programmes in the United States and in England with early childhood certification usually include courses with topics such as early childhood theory and curriculum, child development, model programs, and history of early childhood education but less often include courses with content focused specifically on advocacy. This article interrogates the possibility of developing courses on advocacy for pre-service teachers to build a knowledge base on advocacy for parents, families and children and to develop competency in inter-personal, cross-cultural communication. Drawing on data from Liebovich's study on beliefs about advocacy of early childhood education students in the United States, the authors share pre-service teachers' narratives about advocacy, discuss the process of moving from advocacy awareness to empowerment, and propose content for a university level course on advocacy in England and the United States. Using a feminist theoretical perspective, this study critiques teacher education programs and how student identity as advocates is rarely nurtured. The authors demonstrate how pre-service teachers reflect about the role teacher's play working with, informing, and empowering families to truly become collaborative partners in the education of their children
An autocode programme to determine the flatness of a surface table using the least square mean plane criteria
No full textIntroduction
The calculations involved in determining the flatness of a surface
table from measurements made with instruments such as a block level or
auto collimator can be lengthy, particularly where a large number of
ordinates are taken. A solution to this problem is presented in this
note in the form of an Autocode programme which will cater for up to 100
ordinates.
The datum from which the variations in the flatness of the surface
table are determined is the least squares mean plane. This may be defined
as being that plane which makes the sum of the squares of the errors
relative to it a minimum … [cont.]
Large scale metrology
No full textINTRODUCTION
It has been recognised in industry that the measurement of large
components to high orders of accuracy presents a particularly difficult
problem. This fact has been emphasised by a survey carried out by the
N.P.L. (Ref. 1) in which a number of engineering firms in Great Britain
were asked to declare the size of several prepared test pieces ranging in
diameter from 15 inches to 80 inches.
In general terms the result of this investigation showed that, under
industrial conditions using conventional equipment, it was not possible
V declare the size of large components to an accuracy of better than
- 30 parts in a million under workshop conditions and - 15 parts in a
million under inspection conditions. The survey also showed that above
20 inches the accuracy of determination of internal diameters was somewhat
higher than for external diameters.
The purpose of this paper is to indicate the main problems associated
with measuring large sizes and to describe the experimental work undertaken
at the College of Aeronautics in the design and testing of a new type of
stick micrometer for internal diameters and micrometer frame for external
diameters
An autocode programme to determine the flatness of a surface table using the least square mean plane criteria
No full textIntroduction
The calculations involved in determining the flatness of a surface
table from measurements made with instruments such as a block level or
auto collimator can be lengthy, particularly where a large number of
ordinates are taken. A solution to this problem is presented in this
note in the form of an Autocode programme which will cater for up to 100
ordinates.
The datum from which the variations in the flatness of the surface
table are determined is the least squares mean plane. This may be defined
as being that plane which makes the sum of the squares of the errors
relative to it a minimum … [cont.]
Phospholipase C-[beta]1 knockout mice exhibit endophenotypes modeling schizophrenia which are rescued by environmental enrichment and clozapine administration
No full textPhospholipase C-beta 1 (PLC-beta 1) is a rate-limiting enzyme implicated in postnatal-cortical development and neuronal plasticity. PLC-beta 1 transduces intracellular signals from specific muscarinic, glutamate and serotonin receptors, all of which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Here, we present data to show that PLC-beta 1 knockout mice display locomotor hyperactivity, sensorimotor gating deficits as well as cognitive impairment. These changes in behavior are regarded as endophenotypes homologous to schizophrenia-like symptoms in rodents. Importantly, the locomotor hyperactivity and sensorimotor gating deficits in PLC-beta 1 knockout mice are subject to beneficial modulation by environmental enrichment. Furthermore, clozapine but not haloperidol (atypical and typical antipsychotics, respectively) rescues the sensorimotor gating deficit in these animals, suggesting selective predictive validity. We also demonstrate a relationship between the beneficial effects of environmental enrichment and levels of M1/M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor binding in the neocortex and hippocampus. Thus we have demonstrated a novel mouse model, displaying disruption of multiple postsynaptic signals implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, a relevant behavioral phenotype and associated gene-environment interactions.We thank L Gray, J Nithianantharajah and C Hannan
for comments on manuscript drafts. This work was
supported by NHMRC project grants and an RD
Wright award (AJH). AJH currently holds a Pfizer
Australia Senior Research Fellowship. BD is an
NHMRC Senior Research Fellow. ES is the Ronald
Griffith Schizophrenia Research Fellow. Funding was
also provided by Trust Company Australia (CEM)
Real time data streaming in sensor networks: integrating SAL with the RBNB Data Turbine
No full textDeveloping a large sensor-based observation system faces two serious challenges: 1) incompatible sensor technologies from different manufacturers; and 2) complexity of the data streaming process. Sensor Abstraction Layer (SAL) is a middleware integration platform which enables a single interface to view and control heterogeneous sensors regardless of the technologies involved. Although SAL addresses the software compatibility issue of sensors from different manufacturers, it provides limited support for real-time visualisation of the sensed data. Real-time data streaming is extremely useful for scientific modelling and presenting study results for which the sensor network has been designed to investigate. This limitation of SAL can be improved through using existing purpose-built technologies such as the Ring Buffer Network Bus Data Turbine. The Data Turbine is an open-source data management system which provides services for data stream management, routing, monitoring and visualisation. This paper introduces SAL-T (Transmission) which integrates SAL with the Data Turbine. SAL-T is an extra software layer that facilitates the management of the sensed data from SAL into the Data Turbine. Performance tests have been conducted using SAL-T in a simulated data streaming environment indicative of a wireless sensor network. The tests showed that SAL-T dramatically reduced network traffic and improved transmission times
Large scale metrology
No full textINTRODUCTION
It has been recognised in industry that the measurement of large
components to high orders of accuracy presents a particularly difficult
problem. This fact has been emphasised by a survey carried out by the
N.P.L. (Ref. 1) in which a number of engineering firms in Great Britain
were asked to declare the size of several prepared test pieces ranging in
diameter from 15 inches to 80 inches.
In general terms the result of this investigation showed that, under
industrial conditions using conventional equipment, it was not possible
V declare the size of large components to an accuracy of better than
- 30 parts in a million under workshop conditions and - 15 parts in a
million under inspection conditions. The survey also showed that above
20 inches the accuracy of determination of internal diameters was somewhat
higher than for external diameters.
The purpose of this paper is to indicate the main problems associated
with measuring large sizes and to describe the experimental work undertaken
at the College of Aeronautics in the design and testing of a new type of
stick micrometer for internal diameters and micrometer frame for external
diameters
Developing low-cost intelligent wireless sensor networks for aquatic environments
No full textAquatic environments are extremely difficult for developing, deploying, and maintaining wireless sensor networks. Networks deployed in aquatic settings face multiple challenges, such as marine fowling of equipment, limited power supply, communications difficulties, and
restricted accessibility for maintaining and updating sensor nodes. The SEMAT project is an initiative to create "smart", low-cost, heterogeneous wireless sensor networks, tailored to alleviating the aforementioned constraints. Networks can be instantly deployable with minimal setup overheads and can utilise equipment from multiple vendors. This paper presents our experiences with developing the initial technologies to establish SEMAT for field tests. We present the design methodology and challenges faced for creating a marine-based heterogeneous wireless sensor network platform. The result is a low cost solution, with sufficient accuracy for undertaking a study into the factors contributing to Lyngbya algae blooms in Deception Bay, Queensland. The platform builds a case for the merits of the final SEMAT system, as ultimately many of the software and basic hardware challenges for future aquatic deployments have been overcome. This is significant as it allows researchers to focus on the area under study, rather than the specifics of setting up and managing the network
Biomarkers for Psychiatry: The Journey from Fantasy to Fact, a Report of the 2013 CINP Think Tank
No full textA think tank sponsored by the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologium (CINP) debated the status and prospects of biological markers for psychiatric disorders, focusing on schizophrenia and major depressive disorder
Measurements of mean lifetime and branching fractions of b hadrons decaying to J / psi
No full textFrom a data sample of 450 000 hadronic events recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP, 92±10 events are observed containing a J/ψ meson decaying to μ+μ− or e+e−. From these data the measured inclusive branching fraction for a b flavoured hadron to decay to a J/ψ is BR(b→ J/ψX) = (1.21±0.13 (stat.)±0.08 (syst.))%, and the average b hadron lifetime in the events tagged with a J/ψ is τb = 1.35+0.19−0.17±0.05 ps. Five events are observed consistent with the exclusive decay B± → J/ψK± and from these events the exclusive branching fraction is measured to be BR(B± → J/ψK±) = (0.22±0.10±0.02)%. Upper limits for other exclusive branching ratios are given
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