Contemplating Criteria for Science Education Reform: The Case of the Olympia School District

Proposals for current reform in science education elaborate national standards and a plethora of state-level interpretations commonly labeled as curriculum or learning frameworks. The purpose of this case study was to examine the dynamics of the science curriculum reform process in one of the first school districts to use the Georgia Framework for Learning Mathematics and Science as a basis for their reform initiative. The paper describes the ways in which members of the Olympia School District's Science Curriculum Committee participated in the science curriculum reform process, as well as their personal beliefs about the criteria needed for reform to take place. The results highlight the nature of metaphors guiding reform efforts; the influence of social, historical, economic, and political forces on the reform process; the use of local and professional languages as discourses for communicating about reform; and the complex power relations that influence the micropolitics of reform in the Olympia School District. This study has important implications for other teachers and school districts engaged in standards-based science curriculum reform. It points to the need for reform to include reflection and analysis of the role of teachers in the reform process and consideration of the purpose of science education reform in society.     

Level statistics inside the core of a superconductive vortex

A microscopic theory of the Efetov supermatrix sigma-model type is constructed for the low-lying electron states in a mixed superconductive-normal system with disorder. This technique is used for the study of the localized states in the core of a vortex in a moderately clean superconductor with τ ⁻¹≫ω ₀∼Δ²/E _F . At low energies ε≪ω _Th∼ (ω ₀/τ)^1/2, the energy level statistics is described by the “zero-dimensional” limit of this supermatrix theory, and the result for the density of states is equivalent to that obtained within Altland-Zirnbauer random matrix model. Nonzero modes of the sigma model increase the mean interlevel distance by the relative amount [2 ln (1/ω ₀ τ)]⁻¹. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 1, 78–83 (10 July 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Nonhomogeneous waring equations

It is proved that for an arbitrary positive integer k the equation n=x²+y²+z³+u³+v⁴+w¹⁴+t^4k+1 has a positive integer solution for all sufficiently large n. Bibliography: 6 titles. Translated fromZapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 226, 1996, pp. 65–68.     

High performance liquid chromatographic determination of Picumast and two active metabolites in plasma using on-line sample preparation.

A method for determining Picumast, an antiallergic drug, in plasma by HPLC and column switching has been developed. The system consisted of two precolumns, an analytical column, three pumps, an autosampler and a fluorescence detector. The precolumns (17 x 4.6 mm i.d.) were packed with LiChroprep RPR (a moderately polar reversed phase) and the analytical column with Nucleosil ODS (RP 18, 5 microns). The columns were connected according to the alternating precolumn technique. The mobile phase consisted of 30% CH3CN/70% 0.05 M KH2PO4, pH 2.5, with a flow gradient. Detection wavelengths were 333 nm for excitation and 383 nm for emission. The retention times of Picumast, M1 and M2 were 12, 3.6 and 4.0 min, respectively. Total run time was 15 min. The limit of detection was 3 ng/mL for M1 and 1 ng/mL for M2 and Picumast using an injection volume of 150 microL. The recoveries vary between 89% and 97% with standard deviations between 2.4 and 3.3%.     

Wave attenuation in an elastic medium

This article examines the propagation of viscoelastic (elastic) waves in a medium consisting of two layers of finite thickness. It is found that there is a mechanical effect manifest in the monotonic dependence of the damping factor on the parameters of the system. These dependences have distinct maxima and minima, thus making it possible to optimize the damping properties of systems by varying their geometric parameters.Translated from Dinamicheskie, Sistemy, No. 4, pp. 57–62, 1985.     

COSMIC(90): An improved molecular mechanics treatment of hydrocarbons and conjugated systems

Summary Four modifications to the COSMIC molecular mechanics force field are described, which greatly increase both its versatility and the accuracy of calculated conformational energies. The Hill non-bonded van der Waals potential function has been replaced by a two-parameter Morse curve and a new H-H potential, similar to that in MM3, incorporated. Hydrocarbon energies in particular are much improved.A simple iterative Hückel pi-electron molecular orbital calculation allows modelling of conjugated systems. Calculated bond lengths and rotational barriers for a series of conjugated hydrocarbons and nitrogen heterocycles are shown to be as accurate as those determined by the MM2 SCF method.Explicit hydrogen-bonding potentials for H-bond acceptor-donor atom pairs have been included to give better hydrogen bond energies and lengths. The van der Waals radii of protonic hydrogens are reduced to 0.5 Å and the energy well depth is increased to 1.0 kcal mol^-1.Two new general atom types, N⁺ _sp ² and O^- _sp ³ , have been introduced which allow a wide variety of charged conjugated systems to be studied. A minimum of parameterisation is required, as the new types are easily included in the Hückel scheme which automatically adjusts bond and torsional parameters according to the defined bond-order relationships.     

Use of dynamic trees in a network simplex algorithm for the maximum flow problem

Goldfarb and Hao (1990) have proposed a pivot rule for the primal network simplex algorithm that will solve a maximum flow problem on ann-vertex,m-arc network in at mostnm pivots and O(n ² m) time. In this paper we describe how to extend the dynamic tree data structure of Sleator and Tarjan (1983, 1985) to reduce the running time of this algorithm to O(nm logn). This bound is less than a logarithmic factor larger than those of the fastest known algorithms for the problem. Our extension of dynamic trees is interesting in its own right and may well have additional applications.Research partially supported by a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, Grant No. CCR-8858097, an IBM Faculty Development Award, and AT&T Bell Laboratories.Research partially supported by the Office of Naval Research, Contract No. N00014-87-K-0467.Research partially supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. DCR-8605961, and the Office of Naval Research, Contract No. N00014-87-K-0467.     

On the strong monotonicity of power indices

The problem of choosing a power index which better describes a control situation could be solved by the property of strong monotonicity. We prove this property for some of the best known power indices.sponsored by Committee 10 of C.N.R.     

Mössbauer spectra and magnetic properties of Sm2 (Co,Fe)17 alloys

Hyperfine Interactions - Sm2(Co1?x Fe x )17 alloys form the basis of a new class of permanent magnets. We have investigated these materials with57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Alloys...