Showing papers by "San Jose State University published in 2001"

Toward a Postmethod Pedagogy

Abstract: As a consequence of repeatedly articulated dissatisfaction with the limitations of the concept of method and the transmission model of teacher education, the L2 profession is faced with an imperative need to construct a postmethod pedagogy. In this article, I conceptualize the parameters of a postmethod pedagogy, offer suggestions for implementing it, and then raise questions and concerns that might come up in implementing it. Visualizing a three-dimensional system consisting of the parameters of particularity, practicality, and possibility, I argue that a postmethod pedagogy must (a) facilitate the advancement of a context-sensitive language education based on a true understanding of local linguistic, sociocultural, and political particularities; (b) rupture the reified role relationship between theorists and practitioners by enabling teachers to construct their own theory of practice; and (c) tap the sociopolitical consciousness that participants bring with them in order to aid their quest for identity formation and social transformation. Treating learners, teachers, and teacher educators as coexplorers, I discuss their roles and functions in a postmethod pedagogy. I conclude by raising the prospect of replacing the limited concept of method with the three pedagogic parameters of particularity, practicality, and possibility as organizing principles for L2 teaching and teacher education.

Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of Normal Galaxies: Physical Conditions in the Interstellar Medium

Abstract: The most important cooling lines of the neutral interstellar medium (ISM) lie in the far-infrared (FIR). We present measurements by the Infrared Space Observatory Long Wavelength Spectrometer of seven lines from neutral and ionized ISM of 60 normal, star-forming galaxies. The galaxy sample spans a range in properties such as morphology, FIR colors (indicating dust temperature), and FIR/blue ratios (indicating star formation activity and optical depth). In two-thirds of the galaxies in this sample, the [C II] line flux is proportional to FIR dust continuum. The other one-third show a smooth decline in L[C II]/LFIR with increasing Fν(60 μm)/Fν(100 μm) and LFIR/LB, spanning a range of a factor of more than 50. Two galaxies at the warm and active extreme of the range have L[C II]/LFIR < 2 × 10-4 (3 σ upper limit). This is due to increased positive grain charge in the warmer and more active galaxies, which leads to less efficient heating by photoelectrons from dust grains. The ratio of the two principal photodissociation region (PDR) cooling lines L[O I]/L[C II] shows a tight correlation with Fν(60 μm)/Fν(100 μm), indicating that both gas and dust temperatures increase together. We derive a theoretical scaling between [N II] (122 μm) and [C II] from ionized gas and use it to separate [C II] emission from neutral PDRs and ionized gas. Comparison of PDR models of Kaufman et al. with observed ratios of (1) L[O I]/L[C II] and (L[C II] + L[O I])/LFIR and (2) L[O I]/LFIR and Fν(60 μm)/Fν(100 μm) yields far-UV flux G0 and gas density n. The G0 and n values estimated from the two methods agree to better than a factor of 2 and 1.5, respectively, in more than half the sources. The derived G0 and n correlate with each other, and G0 increases with n as G0 ∝ nα, where α ≈ 1.4 . We interpret this correlation as arising from Stromgren sphere scalings if much of the line and continuum luminosity arises near star-forming regions. The high values of PDR surface temperature (270-900 K) and pressure (6 × 104-1.5 × 107 K cm-3) derived also support the view that a significant part of grain and gas heating in the galaxies occurs very close to star-forming regions. The differences in G0 and n from galaxy to galaxy may be due to differences in the physical properties of the star-forming clouds. Galaxies with higher G0 and n have larger and/or denser star-forming clouds.

Relational Influences in Career Development A Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract: This investigation examined the role of relationships with parents, siblings, and significant others in the career development process. Individual interviews were conducted to clarify the nature of these relationships and their association with career exploration and decision making. The narrative data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods as described by Hill, Thompson, and Williams. One of the most prominent factors in relational influence—particularly across the mother, father, and most important sibling domains—was the relationship as a multidimensional source of support. The results are discussed within the context of the core set of social support functions identified by Cutrona and Russell. Implications for theory and practice and directions for future research are offered.

Fundamentals of biometric authentication technologies

Abstract: Biometric authentication technologies are used for the machine identification of individuals. The human-generated patterns used may be primarily physiological or behavioral, but usually contain elements of both components. Examples include voice, handwriting, face, eye and fingerprint identification. In this paper, we look at these technologies and their applications in general, developing a systematic approach to classifying, analyzing and evaluating them. A general system model is shown and test results for a number of technologies are considered.

Lysing Bacterial Spores by Sonication through a Flexible Interface in a Microfluidic System

Abstract: Cell disruptions using ultrasonic energy transmitted through a flexible interface into a liquid region has limitations because the motion of the vibrating tip is not completely transferred into the liquid. To ensure that some degree of contact will be maintained between the ultrasonic horn tip and the flexible interface, the liquid must be pressurized. The pressure conditions that yield consistent coupling between the ultrasonic horn tip and the liquid region were explored in this study by using an analytical model of the system and test fixture experiments. The nature of the interaction between the horn tip and the flexible interface creates pulses of positive pressure rises, increase in temperature, streaming flow, and almost no cavitation in the liquid. There was sufficient energy to create a cloud of microspheres, or beads, that maintain a consistent pattern of ballistic motion in the liquid. The sonication was found to be repeatable by studying video recordings of bead motion and was shown to be statistically consistent using measurements of temperature rise. Sonication of bacterial spores to obtain measurements of released nucleic acid and SEM images of damaged spores were used to verify the effects of liquid pressure on the horn-interface-liquid coupling.

The black–white “achievement gap” as a perennial challenge of urban science education: A sociocultural and historical overview with implications for research and practice*

Abstract: A perennial challenge for urban education in the United States is finding effective ways to address the academic achievement gap between African American and White students. There is widespread and justified concern about the persistence of this achievement gap. In fact, historical evidence suggests that this achievement gap has existed at various times for groups other than African Americans. What conditions prevailed when this achievement gap existed for these other groups? Conversely, under what conditions did the gap diminish and eventually disappear for these groups? This article explores how sociocultural factors involved in the manifestation and eventual disappearance of the gap for these groups may shed some light on how to address the achievement gap for African American students in urban science classrooms. Our conclusion is that the sociocultural position of groups is crucial to understanding and interpreting the scholastic performance of students from various backgrounds. We argue for a research framework and the exploration of research questions incorporating insights from Ogbu's cultural, ecological theory, as well as goal theory, and identity theory. We present these as theories that essentially focus on student responses to societal disparities. Our ultimate goal is to define the problem more clearly and contribute to the development of research-based classroom practices that will be effective in reducing and eventually eliminating the achievement gap. We identify the many gaps in society and the schools that need to be addressed in order to find effective solutions to the problem of the achievement gap. Finally, we propose that by understanding the genesis of the gap and developing strategies to harness the students' responses to societal disparities, learning can be maximized and the achievement gap can be significantly reduced, if not eliminated entirely, in urban science classrooms. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 1101–1114, 2001

The Influence of Varied Rest Interval Lengths on Depth Jump Performance

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of varied rest interval lengths on the vertical jump heights and ground reaction forces during the execution of a depth jump from a predetermined optimal height. The subjects were 12 men with a mean (SD) age of 25.08 +/- 2.43 years. Each subject's optimal depth jump height was determined by executing depth jumps from 10-80 cm. After determining their optimal depth jump height, the subjects performed 3 sets of 10 depth jumps, each set with a different rest interval duration. The 3 rest intervals between depth jumps were 15, 30, and 60 seconds and were counterbalanced for each subject. Maximal vertical jump height and vertical ground reaction forces were calculated for each depth jump trial. The Peak Performance Motion Measurement System was used to measure vertical jump height and the Kistler force platform was used to measure ground reaction forces. Two-way analyses of variance revealed that rest interval length did not affect (p > 0.05) vertical jump height or vertical ground reaction forces. Therefore, this study demonstrated a 15-second rest interval was sufficient for recovery during the performance of depth jumps.

Emotion Recognition by Children With Down Syndrome

Abstract: In three studies, children with Down syndrome were presented with emotion recognition tasks designed to tap their knowledge of simple emotions, their ability to label emotions, and their understanding of emotions from simple, story-based contexts. Results indicate that young children with Down syndrome perform similarly to typical controls matched on MAs of approximately 3 years. However, by developmental age of 4 years, children with Down syndrome performed worse than both MA-matched typical children and children with non-Down syndrome types of mental retardation. Although the MAs of children with Down syndrome increased over 2-years, their emotion recognition abilities did not. Taken together, findings suggest both etiological and developmental differences in the emotion recognition abilities of children with Down syndrome.

On the Distinction between Model-Theoretic and Generative-Enumerative Syntactic Frameworks

Abstract: Two kinds of framework for stating grammars of natural languages emerged during the 20th century. Here we call them generative-enumerative syntax (GES) and model-theoretic syntax (MTS). They are based on very different mathematics. GES developed in the 1950s out of Post's work on the syntactic side of logic. MTS arose somewhat later out of the semantic side of logic. We identify some distinguishing theoretical features of these frameworks, relating to cardinality of the set of expressions, size of individual expressions, and 'transderivational constraints'. We then turn to three kinds of linguistic phenomena: partial grammaticality, the syntactic properties of expression fragments, and the fact that the lexicon of any natural language is in constant flux, and conclude that MTS has some major advantages for linguistic description that have been overlooked. We briefly consider the issue of what natural languages in MTS terms, and touch on implications for parsing and acquisition.

Construction of a pluton: Evidence from an exposed cross section of the Searchlight pluton, Eldorado Mountains, Nevada

Abstract: A top-to-bottom cross section of the Searchlight pluton is exposed in a large tilt block in the Colorado River extensional corridor of southern Nevada Hornblende barometry and geologic relations indicate that the pluton was about 10 km thick, extending from approximately 3 to 13 km depth The pluton is stratified with about 2 km of fine-grained quartz monzonite below the roof, 2 km of granite in the center, and 6 km of coarser, more mafic quartz monzonite at the bottom The lower unit has a pronounced magmatic foliation that was subhorizontal prior to tilting Contacts between the units are gradational over a few centimeters to about 20 m Geometry, field relations, and elemental and isotopic data suggest that the three units mark the terminal stages of evolution of magma that filled a very thick magma chamber The upper unit formed as a solidification front that migrated downward from the roof, and the middle unit granite and the lower unit represent complementary segregated melt and crystal-rich cumulate Thus, the dominant part of the pluton appears to have solidified in monotonic fashion from more or less uniform magma that was compositionally similar to the upper unit The basal quartz monzonite and the lower part of the granite enclose widely scattered, synplutonic hornblende gabbro and diorite pods that range from centimeter to kilometer scale These rocks are commonly fine grained and formed as quenched mafic melts They are isotopically distinct from the main sequence and represent discrete injections into the magma chamber The mafic magmas were contaminated by, but did not strongly affect, the main-sequence magma The Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of the main-sequence magma are intermediate between those of regional crust and enriched mantle-derived basalts like those represented by the mafic pods This suggests that the principal magma was a hybrid with about 60% mantle component, and thus the pluton represents both addition to and internal reorganization of the crust

Deadweight Loss and the American Civil War: The Political Economy of Slavery, Secession, and Emancipation

Abstract: Two broad positions have dominated the history of economic thought with respect to chattel slavery. The view of the classical economists, dating back as far as Adam Smith and including a good many abolitionists, was that slavery was inefficient and therefore unprofitable. The contrasting position of the new economic historians, most closely identified with Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman, is that slavery was profitable and therefore efficient. Both positions are partly wrong (as well as partly right). Southern slavery was indeed profitable but nevertheless inefficient; it operated like other obvious practices — from piracy through monopoly to government subsidies — where individual gains do not translate into social benefits. In the terminology of economics, it was a system that imposed significant “deadweight loss” on the Southern economy, despite being lucrative for slaveholders. The paper presents both theoretical arguments and empirical evidence for the peculiar institution’s inefficiency. In the process it throws into fresh perspective many historical controversies about the antebellum South. A recognition of slavery’s deadweight loss has major implications for the origins of the Civil War. Slavery’s survival required extensive subsidies from government at all levels. A federal Fugitive Slave Law was among the most crucial ways that the national government socialized the system’s enforcement. That is why runaway slaves were such an important ingredient in sectional strife. A comparative investigation of slavery not just within the United States but elsewhere demonstrates that, wherever slaves could easily run away, the entire system was compromised.

The Impact of the Internet: Increasing the Reference Librarian's Role as Teacher.

Abstract: Summary The Internet has brought great changes to reference services in academic libraries. One significant impact has been the growth and evolution of the reference librarian's role as teacher. This article reviews the literature on the librarian's increased teaching role with the emergence of the Internet, discusses the changing student populations who require a librarian's instruction and the skills that students need to achieve information literacy, and reviews how the Internet has affected current teaching strategies including classroom instruction, Web-based instruction, and efforts to integrate information literacy instruction into the curriculum. In addition, it also introduces emerging Internet technologies with their potential impact on teaching and instruction. The authors conclude that the reference librarian's teaching role will further increase with the development of information technologies.

An Empirical Investigation of Firm Longevity: A Model of the Ex Ante Predictors of Financial Distress

Abstract: Empirical models of a potential failure process that incorporate distress states between the extremes of corporate health and bankruptcy are uncommon. We depict financial distress as a series of financial events that reflect varied stages of corporate adversity. Our intent is to provide information regarding the influence of certain risk dimensions and firm-specific attributes on distressed firm survival over time. Within a theorized distress framework, we utilize the techniques of survival analysis to longitudinally track firms, grouped a priori according to an initial decline in operating cash flows. We find that the event of default has a significant positive association with business failure. Further, we document that the significant accounting covariates tend to change conditional on a firm having progressed through the diverse stages of distress. These findings accentuate the heterogeneous nature of financial distress and potential business failure.

Construction of mid-crustal sheeted plutons: Examples from the North Cascades, Washington

Abstract: Large parts of many orogenic belts consist of highly elongate plutons constructed by the injection of multiple sheets of magma. We describe in detail two such intrusions, the deep (∼20–25 km), mid-crustal Cardinal Peak and Entiat plutons, and emphasize the dynamic nature of these magma chambers. These ca. 72–73 Ma plutons consist of heterogeneous mafic complexes in their margins and tips that give way inward to thicker, but still abundant, sheets of tonalite. Intrusive and petrologic relationships provide evidence for injection of early mafic (mantle?) and crustal melts, development of heated pathways utilized by larger batches of more felsic magma, and potentially a filtering mechanism in which conduits represented by the plutons fed larger, more homogenized magma bodies at shallower crustal levels. Well-developed, gently to moderately dipping magmatic and subsolidus foliations in these plutons are commonly discordant to sheet contacts, internal layering, and pluton contacts, but are continuous with host- rock foliation. They define small to map- scale magmatic folds, which have orientations and geometries similar to those of regional host-rock folds. These magmatic structures thus primarily record regional contractional tectonism during chamber construction. Host rocks also record complex processes during chamber evolution with narrow structural aureoles displaying remarkable lateral variability. Deflection of gently to moderately dipping host-rock markers toward parallelism with steep pluton contacts indicates vertical and largely downward ductile material transfer along sheet margins during emplacement. Several sharply discordant segments of pluton contacts imply late stoping. Regional ductile flow and folding also played a role, but regional faulting did not. Further evidence for chamber construction is provided by host- rock rafts, which are abundant along sheet contacts in the Cardinal Peak pluton and particularly between marginal sheets of the Entiat pluton, but are sparse elsewhere in the latter pluton. We interpret these relationships to indicate a temporal sequence in which magmatic sheets initially intruded host rock, then wedged aside this rock and coalesced, preserving pieces of the host along margins, and eventually formed large, relatively inclusion-free chambers as host rock was detached and transported vertically downward through the chamber.

The interstellar medium of star-forming irregular galaxies: the view with iso

Abstract: We present mid-infrared imaging and far-infrared (FIR) spectroscopy of five IBm galaxies observed by ISO as part of our larger study of the interstellar medium of galaxies. Most of the irregulars in our sample are very actively forming stars, and one is a starburst system. Thus, most are not typical Im galaxies. The mid-infrared imaging was in a band centered at 6.75 μm that is dominated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and in a band centered at 15 μm that is dominated by small dust grains. The spectroscopy of three of the galaxies includes [C II] λ158 μm and [O I] λ63 μm, important coolants of photodissociation regions (PDRs), and [O III] λ88 μm and [N II] λ122 μm, which come from ionized gas. [O I] λ145 μm and [O III] λ52 μm were measured in one galaxy as well. These data are combined with PDR and H II region models to deduce properties of the interstellar medium of these galaxies. We find a decrease in PAH emission in our irregulars relative to small grain, FIR, and Hα emissions for increasing FIR color temperature, which we interpret as an increase in the radiation field due to star formation resulting in a decrease in PAH emission. The f15/fHα ratio is constant for our irregulars, and we suggest that the 15 μm emission in these irregulars is being generated by the transient heating of small dust grains by single-photon events, possibly Lyα photons trapped in H II regions. The low f15/fHα ratio, as well as the high f/f15 ratio, in our irregulars compared to spirals may be due to the lower overall dust content, resulting in fewer dust grains being, on average, near heating sources. We find that, as in spirals, a large fraction of the [C II] emission comes from PDRs. This is partly a consequence of the high average stellar effective temperatures in these irregulars. However, our irregulars have high [C II] emission relative to FIR, PAH, and small grain emission compared to spirals. If the PAHs that produce the 6.75 μm emission and the PAHs that heat the PDR are the same, then the much higher f/f6.75 ratio in irregulars would require that the PAHs in irregulars produce several times more heat than the PAHs in spirals. Alternatively, the carrier of the 6.75 μm feature tracks, but contributes only a part of, the PDR heating, that is due mostly to small grains or other PAHs. In that case, our irregulars would have a higher proportion of the PAHs that heat the PDRs compared to the PAHs that produce the 6.75 μm feature. The high f/f ratio may indicate a smaller solid angle of optically thick PDRs outside the H II regions compared to spirals. The very high L/LCO ratios among our sample of irregulars could be accounted for by a very thick [C II] shell around a tiny CO core in irregulars, and PDR models for one galaxy are consistent with this. The average densities of the PDRs and far-ultraviolet stellar radiation fields hitting the PDRs are much higher in two of our irregulars than in most normal spirals; the third irregular has properties like those in typical spirals. We deduce the presence of several molecular clouds in each galaxy with masses much larger than typical GMCs.

Striking changes in the sleep satisfaction of university students over the last two decades.

Abstract: Over two decades, our data document a substantial linear increase in the percentage of university students who self-reported dissatisfaction with their sleep, i.e., 24% in 1978, 53% in 1988, and 71% in 2000.

The Bridging Approach: Effective Strategies for Teaching Ethnically Diverse Nursing Students

Abstract: This article describes one of the five patterns of teaching, the bridging pattern, which was identified by the author in a previous qualitative study that investigated the processes by which nurse educators teach ethnically diverse nursing students. An overview of the original study is presented, followed by a discussion of the findings regarding the bridging pattern. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with 26 nurse educators and 17 nurses representing three population groups: Asian Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. In the bridging pattern, educators encourage students to maintain their ethnic identity, and teaching-learning strategies are modified to meet the cultural needs of students. The conditions, actions and consequences involved in the bridging approach to teaching are described and examples that emerged from the data are presented as illustrations. Examination of the actions of the bridging faculty may assist educators to analyze their own approach to teaching ethnically diverse students.

Social and Emotional Competencies: Contributions to Young African-American Children's Peer Acceptance

Abstract: This study explored the relation between measures of emotional competence, behavioral regulation, and general social competence and African-American preschoolers' peer acceptance and popularity. These children came from both lower and middle income families. Data were collected in a short-term longitudinal study following children over the course of a school year. Gender, emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and themes of violence in response to hypothetical situations of interpersonal conflict were strongly related to peer acceptance. The results are consistent with findings from middle-class Caucasian samples. The results also highlight the importance of potential influences of context and setting on children's peer status as well as the need for greater understanding of within- group variability with regard to these constructs. Given the growing evidence that peer relationships are related in important ways to children's school adjustment, understanding the development of positive peer relationships ...

High-performance architectures for elementary function generation

Abstract: High-speed elementary function generation is crucial to the performance of many DSP applications. This paper presents three new architectures for generating elementary functions with IEEE single precision using second-order interpolation. These designs have been developed through a combination of architectural innovations and algorithm developments. They represent a range of trade-off between the use of memory modules and computational circuits. Our most memory intensive architecture uses one third less memory than alternative schemes while incurring no time penalty and minimal additional circuitry.

Paleoepidemiolgical patterns of trauma in a prehistoric population from central California.

Abstract: Skeletal trauma was investigated in a large collection of human remains from central California (N = 162 aged and sexed adults). Lesions investigated included cranial and long bone fractures, projectile wounds, and dislocation. Long bone fractures were found in 10.5% of individuals; overall, incidence by element was 2.3%. In addition, cranial injuries were found in 4.4% of complete adult crania. Projectile wounds were seen unambiguously in four individuals (with embedded obsidian fragments) and strongly suggested in two other individuals with partially healed lesions. Finally, one case of traumatic hip dislocation was also observed. In both incidence and patterning of injuries, this population is similar to other archeological groups from California. This evidence further supports earlier reports indicating that interpersonal aggression was quite common in prehistoric California. Am J Phys Anthropol 115:13–23, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Novel Motility Mutants of Synechocystis Strain PCC 6803 Generated by In Vitro Transposon Mutagenesis

Abstract: We screened for transposon-generated mutants of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 that exhibited aberrant phototactic movement. Of the 300 mutants generated, about 50 have been partially characterized; several contained transposons in genes encoding chemotaxis-related proteins, while others mapped to novel genes. These novel genes and their possible roles in motility are discussed.

Resiliency and success in adults with Moebius syndrome.

Abstract: Objective: This study asked selected mature individuals with Moebius syndrome to discuss the sources of strength and resiliency that allowed them to achieve professional and personal success. Design: Adults with Moebius syndrome were selected in a nonrandom manner based primarily on their affiliation with the Moebius Syndrome Foundation. Following a letter from the author describing the objective, the subjects were interviewed by telephone and were encouraged to respond at length. Participants: Eighteen adults (aged 29 to 70 years) responded. All were or had been gainfully employed in a variety of professional or vocational positions. Results: The respondents reported the following as major sources of resiliency and success: family support, faith, humor, sense of self, special skills, determination, and networking. Conclusions: The recognition and reinforcement of strengths and resiliences in younger patients may help maximize their professional and personal success as adults.