Rapid and cost-effective fabrication of selectively permeable calcium-alginate microfluidic device using ��modified�� embedded template method

In this paper, we have presented a non-lithographic embedded template method for rapid and cost-effective fabrication of a selectively permeable calcium-alginate (Ca-alginate) based microfluidic device with long serpentine delay channel. To demonstrate the versatility of the presented method, we have demonstrated two different strategies to fabricate serpentine long delay channels without using any sophisticated microfabrication techniques, in formal lab atmosphere. The procedure presented here, also, enables the preparation of a multilayered microfluidic device with channels of varying dimensions, in a single device without using any sophisticated micromachining instrumentation. In addition, we have also qualitatively studied the diffusion of small and large molecules from a Ca-alginate based microfluidic device and proposed a method to effectively control the out-flow of macro biomolecules from the crosslinked Ca-alginate matrix to create a selectively permeable matrix required for various biological and biomimetic applications, as mentioned in the Introduction section of this work.     

Nonquadratic stabilization conditions for nonhomogeneous Markovian jump fuzzy systems with higher-level operation modes

This paper is concerned with the problem of designing a dissipative control for generalized nonhomogeneous Markovian jump fuzzy systems (MJFSs) that can cover both piecewise-homogeneous MJFSs and nonhomogeneous MJFSs through the use of dual modes, i.e., plant and higher-level modes. Based on a dual-mode-dependent fuzzy control law within a nonparallel distributed compensation (non-PDC) scheme, the nonquadratic stabilization conditions are first formulated in terms of multi-parameterized linear matrix inequalities (M-PLMIs), and then be transformed into a finite set of solvable LMIs without reducing M-PLMIs to PLMIs. Further, since the proposed relaxation technique can address the transition probabilities of plant and higher-level modes at once, the characteristics on mutual dependence between dual modes are fully incorporated into the nonquadratic stabilization conditions. Two illustrative examples are given to show the validity of the proposed approach.     

Promoting instructional improvement or resistance? A comparative study of teachers’ perceptions of teacher evaluation policy in Korea and the USA

This study draws on institutional theory to examine teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of new teacher evaluation policies, factors that influence such perceptions and how such perceptions shape the implementation of the policies in Seoul (Korea) and Michigan (USA). The study featured in-depth interviews of 11 elementary school teachers and 4 principals and analysis of policy documents in both countries. While Korean teachers strongly disagreed with the new teacher evaluation policy in Seoul and implemented it in ways that were not intended by policy makers, the Michigan teachers varied in their perceptions and implementation of the policies. The teachers’ perceptions of the new policies seemed to be influenced by the designs of the policies, their backgrounds and definitions of ‘effective teachers’ and principal leadership. The association between teachers’ perceptions and their implementation of the new policies was quite strong.     

Gait Transitions of Persons With and Without Intellectual Disability

This study examined whether the walk-to-run transition speed (W-RTS) and the run-to-walk transition speed (R-WTS) were different or more variable between participants with and without intellectual disability (ID). Nine adults with ID and 10 adults without ID completed in a series of walk-to-run and run-to-walk trials on a treadmill. W-RTS and R-WTS were identified using force-sensitive resistors. When transition speeds were expressed as Froude numbers to account for differences in leg length, W-RTS was slower, and intraindividual variability of W-RTS and R-WTS was greater in participants with ID. These findings support the idea that the unique constraints of individuals with ID result in altered attractor dynamics for walking and a weaker coupling between locomotor speed and order parameters governing gait transitions.     

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory in the context of globalization

The article reviews the social-educational theorization of the early Soviet psychologist L. S. Vygotsky (1896–1934) in the light of the impact of communicative globalization in educational practice. Vygotsky proposed four “genetic domains” for investigating higher cognitive processes: the phylogenetic (humans undergoing natural evolution), the cultural-historical (social activity of humans), the ontogenetic (individual lifespan), and the microgenetic (immediate events). Vygotskian sociocultural theory is widely used in educational research, especially Vygotsky’s notion of mediated development via tools and signs. Since Vygotsky, communicative globalization has transformed educational potentials. Nevertheless, provided adjustments are made to Vygotsky’s genetic method to incorporate time-space compression, the mutual presence of the genetic domains, and the glonacal heuristic, Vygotskian theory continues to be useful in socially-situated investigations of educational development and transformation, and opens another way into the global, for example investigation of the role of global mediation in learning.     

London 2012 – Site for Political Animosities: South Korea and Japan in Confrontational Rational ‘Irrationality’ (Part Two: Long Gestations)

Sport and politics have a close relationship. Political conflicts are re-enacted, reflected and reinforced on international sports stages. In East Asia, the past casts a long shadow! It darkened the London 2012 stage. Controversy followed a South Korean football player's celebration at the London Olympics semi-final match between South Korea and Japan. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned the player Park Jong-woo from participating in the bronze medal ceremony. He was accused by the IOC of a political act that violated IOC and FIFA regulations. Park's celebration included holding up and carrying around a sign, which was interpreted by the IOC as a political message about a South Korean territorial dispute with Japan. The incident became a lead story in the South Korean media. The IOC's decision caused intense nationwide indignation and an outpouring of anti-Japanese sentiment. It was not a unique incident. This essay examines media representations of the incident and how political controversies between South Korea and Japan are reproduced, intensified and exacerbated by media reporting of international sports events. In South Korea, insult was added to injury by the fact that IOC's disapproval of Park's behaviour was contrasted in the South Korean media and by the public with the IOC's silence regarding the Japanese gymnastics team's uniform emblazoned with the ‘Rising Sun’ flag. The evidence from the incident is clear. Mega-sports events can be inflammatory occasions for the expression of hostile and heated political expression. Nowhere is this more the case than in East Asia with its long history of fierce national animosities and memories of national hostilities and humiliations. Throughout East Asia, international sport has become a potent medium for perpetuating painful memories!