The Semiconductor Chemical Sensor

Several methods of detecting the presence of various chemical species are considered. A specific example of atomic hydrogen in lead selenide is examined and used to illustrate some important principles.     

“This is the Whiteman’s Law”: Aboriginal resistance,bureaucratic change and the Census of Canada, 1830–2006

Census information of some form has been collected in Canada since the 1611 census of New France. Aboriginal people, identified or not, have been included in these enumerations. The collection of this information has had a profound impact on Aboriginal people and has been an element that has shaped their relationship with the dominant society. In response, Canadian Aboriginal people have often resisted and refused to co-operate with census takers and their masters. This article is an examination of this phenomenon focused on the censuses conducted in the post-Confederation period to the present. A census is made to collect information on populations and individuals that can then be used to configure and shape social and political relations between those being enumerated and the creators of the census. However, the human objects of the census are not just passive integers and they have resisted its creation in a number of ways, including being “missing” when the census is taken, refusing to answer the questions posed by enumerators or even driving them off Aboriginal territory. A census identifies elements of the social order and attempts to set them in their “proper” place and those who do not wish to be part of that order may refuse to take part. Archivists and historians must understand that the knowledge gained in a census is bound with the conditions of own creation. This has been noted by contemporary Aboriginal researchers who often state that the archival record of their people often distorts history and reflects the ideas and superficial observations of their Euro-Canadian creators. Changes to the Census of Canada since 1981, have increased the participation rate and therefore changed the nature of the record.

Mobile learning in higher education: A comparative analysis of developed and developing country contexts

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast characteristics of use and adoption of mobile learning in higher education in developed and developing countries. A comparative case study based on a survey questionnaire was conducted with 189 students (undergraduate and postgraduate) from Makerere University in Uganda and the University of Adelaide in Australia. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was employed as the theoretical framework. The results indicated that higher education students in developed and developing countries use a range of technologies for learning, with major differences between Uganda and Australia. The study concludes that mobile learning in higher education in developed and developing country contexts is still at an experimental stage with students using mobile devices in pedagogically limited ways.     

The Earlier the Better? Pausing for Thought …

Is earlier intervention always superior? Using two complementary forms of meta-analysis, Gardner and colleagues find no support for the “earlier is better” hypothesis in outcomes of parenting programs for child behavior problems across the 2–11 year age range. This commentary explores possible methodological and substantive reasons for the pattern of their findings. We need additional careful analyses of this kind, assessing age variations in intervention effects across broader age ranges, and in other developmental domains, for strong tests of the “earlier is better” hypothesis. At this stage, however, Gardner et al.'s findings give us some pause for thought.     

Time for inclusion?

This article examines the constraints of modern temporality which are antithetical to the careful consideration that working with diverse learners requires for the development of inclusive, democratic education. We take up the conceptual construct of time to explore how it mediates systemic practices that impact policy positions of inclusion in initial teacher education and schooling. Our analysis demonstrates that temporality shapes the possibilities of inclusive practice within which a dominant agenda of compliance frames classroom complexities – both in schooling and higher education environments – into fragmented and preconceived responses to challenging situations. Education systems position educators in risk discourses concentrated on compliance and performance, in part through an emphasis that is placed on the diagnosis of learner differences and subsequent compartmentalised responses. Through schisms in modern time, we demonstrate the ways in which inclusion, like other educational demands, may be supported through a diffraction in time rather than subjugated to it.     

Expanding roles or evolving identity? Doctoral school psychologists in school vs. nonschool practice settings

The purpose of this study was to investigate variables related to the professional identity and career path of school-based vs. non-school-based doctoral-level school psychologists. Two hundred seventy-three psychologists trained as school psychologists completed a questionnaire developed to investigate their training, experience, and perceptions. Respondents differed little by employment setting (school-based vs. non-school-based) in reports of their training or experiences. However, significant differences were found among groups in two areas: ratings of relative importance of characteristics of employment setting, and perceived identity as a school psychologist.     

Understanding the track and field sprint start through a functional analysis of the external force features which contribute to higher levels of block phase performance

This study aimed to identify the continuous ground reaction force (GRF) features which contribute to higher levels of block phase performance. Twenty-three sprint-trained athletes completed starts from their preferred settings during which GRFs were recorded separately under each block. Continuous features of the magnitude and direction of the resultant GRF signals which explained 90% of the variation between the sprinters were identified. Each sprinter’s coefficient score for these continuous features was then input to a linear regression model to predict block phase performance (normalised external power). Four significant (p < 0.05) predictor features associated with GRF magnitude were identified; there were none associated with GRF direction. A feature associated with greater rear block GRF magnitudes from the onset of the push was the most important predictor (β = 1.185), followed by greater front block GRF magnitudes for the final three-quarters of the push (β = 0.791). Features which included a later rear block exit (β = 0.254) and greater front leg GRF magnitudes during the mid-push phase (β = 0.224) were also significant predictors. Sprint practitioners are encouraged, where possible, to consider the continuous magnitude of the GRFs produced throughout the block phase in addition to selected discrete values.     

The role of the teacher with substance-abusing adolescents in secondary schools

Before choosing to become involved with students who currently are abusing psychoactive substances, teachers must consider not only the potential consequences and payoffs to them professionally, but also what specifically they can do to help adolescents. This article presents some of the philosophical problems, and suggests potential solutions of how to relate to students who engage in potentially self-destructive, drug-related behavior. There is a need for teachers to become quasi-counselors and consultants, since they are the first line of defense against substance use and abuse.