Need For Realignment Research Articles

East Asian Heritage Language Education for a Plurilingual Reality in the United States: Practices, Potholes, and Possibilities

Drawing on research about East Asian (mainly Chinese, Korean, and Japanese) heritage language (HL) teaching and learning in three contexts—the home, community heritage language schools, and programs in U.S. K–12 schools—this article discusses the challenges that East Asian subethnic groups face in improving HL education in each context. Specifically, the review finds that in the home context, parents’ practices in HL maintenance are complicated by factors such as parents’ attitudes and beliefs about language maintenance and literacy resources. While community language schools have been recognized as the strongest efforts for teaching HLs, these schools often face various challenges in getting the human and physical resources they need. Finally, the review reveals the lack of a supportive environment for HL maintenance in K–12 schools. The findings suggest an urgent need for realignment among federal policies, mainstream school curricular, and community practices in order to maximize the full potential of the United States becoming multilingual in a globalized society.

Integrated design of a compact magneto-optical trap for space applications

In this Letter, we describe an optical assembly that is designed for the engineering application of the atomic laser cooling techniques. Using a folded optical path scheme, we have built a miniaturized, compact magneto-optical trap (CMOT) for an Rb87 atomic fountain clock. Compared with the conventional magneto-optical traps used in other clocks, our system is more robust, more compact, more stable, and saves about 60% laser power. This optical setup has operated for about a year in our fountain system, passed the thermal cycle tests and the mechanical vibration and shock tests, and maintained a high performance without a need for realignment.

Realignment in the NHL, MLB, NFL, and NBA

AbstractSports leagues consist of conferences subdivided into divisions. Teams play a number of games within their divisions and fewer games against teams in different divisions and conferences. Usually, a league structure remains stable from one season to the next. However, structures change when growth or contraction occurs, and realignment of the four major professional sports leagues in North America has occurred more than 25 times since 1967. In this paper, we describe a method for realigning sports leagues that is flexible, adaptive, and that enables construction of schedules that minimize travel while satisfying other criteria. We do not build schedules; we develop league structures which support the subsequent construction of efficient schedules. Our initial focus is the NHL, which had a need for realignment following the recent move of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, but our methods can be adapted to virtually any situation. We examine a variety of scenarios for the NHL, and apply our methods to the NBA, MLB, and NFL. We find the biggest improvements for MLB and the NFL, where adopting the best solutions would reduce league travel by about 20%.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopic ellipsometry: instrumentation and calibration

We present a new instrumentation and calibration procedure for terahertz time-domain spectroscopic ellipsometry (THz-TDSE) that is a newly established characterization technique. The experimental setup is capable of providing arbitrary angle of incidence in the range of 15°-85° in the reflection geometry, and with no need for realignment. The setup is also configurable easily into transmission geometry. For this setup, we successfully used hollow core photonic band gap fiber with no pre-chirping in order to deliver a femtosecond laser into a THz photoconductive antenna detector, which is the first demonstration of this kind. The proposed calibration scheme can compensate for the non-ideality of the polarization response of the THz photoconductive antenna detector as well as that of wire grid polarizers used in the setup. In the calibration scheme, the ellipsometric parameters are obtained through a regression algorithm which we have adapted from the conventional regression calibration method developed for rotating element optical ellipsometers, and used here for the first time for THz-TDSE. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, results are presented for a high resistivity silicon substrate as well as an opaque Si substrate with a high phosphorus concentration. We also demonstrate the capacity to measure a few micron thick grown thermal oxide on top of Si. Each sample was characterized by THz-TDSE in reflection geometry with different angle of incidence.

The Relationship of Nocturnal Melatonin to Estradiol and Progesterone in Depressed and Healthy Pregnant Women

To assess the relationship between nocturnal plasma melatonin and serum estradiol (E(2)) and progesterone (P(4)) levels in depressed pregnant women (DW) and matched healthy women (HW). We used analysis of variance (ANOVA) and linear regression analyses on data obtained from pregnant HW and DW. Log E(2) and log P(4) were positively correlated with measures of melatonin quantity in HW (p<0.05) but not DW, controlling for age. Log E(2) and log P(4) were positively correlated with melatonin offset and duration in DW (p<0.01) but not HW. Pregnant DW may be less sensitive than HW to modulation of melatonin secretion by E(2) and P(4). That melatonin timing measures are more sensitive to E(2) and P(4) variation in DW may reflect a circadian system more attuned to the need for realignment in DW than in HW. These altered sensitivities to reproductive hormones may reflect a biologic vulnerability that predisposes some pregnant women to depression.

Social Solidarity and the Welfare State : The Need for Realignment of Personal Solidarity

Social Solidarity and the Welfare State : The Need for Realignment of Personal Solidarity

An improved low-power-consumption heating stage for X-ray powder diffraction

An improved low-power-consumption easy-to-operate simple heating stage for use in connection with an X-ray powder diffractometer is described and discussed. No modification is required to the conventional specimen chamber, which can be used safely up to a specimen temperature of at least 1200 K with a temperature accuracy of a few degrees. The stage is interchangeable with conventional specimen holders, without the need for realignment of the diffractometer. To prevent specimen oxidation, provisions are made for heating in an inert gaseous environment. Also, care has been taken to prevent scattered radiation escaping from the specimen chamber. The stage allows the study of structural transformations with temperature and so far it has been used successfully for the characterization of very different materials, such as hyaloclastite, smectites, montmorillonites and chlorocadmates with perovskite-like structures. Although the device has been designed for the Philips PW1820 X-ray diffractometer, it can be applied to other types of X-ray diffractometer.

External-cavity semiconductor-laser array insensitive to paraxial misalignment

We report a tilted-mirror external-cavity gain-guided laser array whose output power is insensitive to small misalignments of the cavity elements. This novel configuration delivers a near-diffraction-limited (1.5 times diffraction-limited) single-lobed beam in the entire current range without the need for realignment of the cavity. The light-current characteristic is linear and kink free, with a higher efficiency compared with the free-running array. A compact graded-index lens design that can emit a collimated beam with a circular cross section is also described.

Channeling Alignment for Epitaxial Light-Mass Film on Heavy-Mass Substrate

A simple procedure for obtaining a background-free backscattering spectrum of a light-mass film on a heavy-mass substrate by a normal incidence/grazing exit geometry has been described. Using this method such films can be aligned rapidly and accurately, and the impurity or defect information on the films can be obtained without need for realignment. Example is given from MeV3Li+ analysis of a deposited film of Si on a single crystal substrate of yttria-stabilized, cubic zirconia.

Rutherford backscattering and channeling analysis of epitaxial, low-mass films on high-mass substrates

The power of a variable detection angle in Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectrometry is demonstrated for obtaining depth profiles of crystalline perfection in low-mass films, grown on substrates containing higher-mass, bulk elements. By using first a grazing-exit geometry, the film can be aligned rapidly and accurately, and a background-free spectrum is obtained for the top half of the film. The standard, large scattering-angle geometry then provides information on the interface between the film and the substrate, without the need for realignment. The choice of the analyzing particle and its energy are discussed. Examples are given from MeV 4He + analysis of the novel hetero-epitaxial system of Si on yttria-stabilized, cubic zirconia.

Faculty public service. Concepts and issues

University faculty commitment to, and involvement in, public services activities are significantly affected by the institutional context in which these activities are imbedded. If public service is endorsed by the University and if the support for such participation is manifestly reflected in the faculty reward system, then faculty members will perceive service as a professionally worthwhile endeavor. This paper addresses the need for realignment of the traditional triad of academic functions—teaching, research, and service; and proposes a renewed emphasis on the notion of “service” in higher education, specifically in schools of public health. Faculty incentives and motivation for public service involvement are discussed, and forces shaping the service programs are examined. If the status of service performance in institutions of higher education is ever to achieve parity with that of research and teaching duties, the entire academic enterprise must be redefined in terms of the service mission.