Spin-polarization and ferromagnetism of graphitic carbon nitride materials

Polymeric graphitic carbon nitride materials have attracted increasing attention in recent years owning to their potential applications in energy conversion, environment protection, and so on. Here, from first-principles calculations, we report the electronic structure modification of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) in response to carbon doping. We showed that each dopant atom can induce a local magnetic moment of 1.0 μB in non-magnetic g-C3N4. At the doping concentration of 1/14, the local magnetic moments of the most stable doping configuration which has the dopant atom at the center of heptazine unit prefer to align in a parallel way leading to long-range ferromagnetic (FM) ordering. When the joint N atom is replaced by C atom, the system favors an antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering at unstrained state, but can be tuned to ferromagnetism (FM) by applying biaxial tensile strain. More interestingly, the FM state of the strained system is half-metallic with abundant states at the Fermi level in one spin channel and a band gap of 1.82 eV in another spin channel. The Curie temperature (Tc) was also evaluated using a mean-field theory and Monte Carlo simulations within the Ising model. Such tunable electron spin-polarization and ferromagnetism are quite promising for the applications of graphitic carbon nitride in spintronics.

Factors influencing research engagement : research interest, confidence and experience in an Australian speech-language pathology workforce

Background Recent initiatives within an Australia public healthcare service have seen a focus on increasing the research capacity of their workforce. One of the key initiatives involves encouraging clinicians to be research generators rather than solely research consumers. As a result, baseline data of current research capacity are essential to determine whether initiatives encouraging clinicians to undertake research have been effective. Speech pathologists have previously been shown to be interested in conducting research within their clinical role; therefore they are well positioned to benefit from such initiatives. The present study examined the current research interest, confidence and experience of speech language pathologists (SLPs) in a public healthcare workforce, as well as factors that predicted clinician research engagement. Methods Data were collected via an online survey emailed to an estimated 330 SLPs working within Queensland, Australia. The survey consisted of 30 questions relating to current levels of interest, confidence and experience performing specific research tasks, as well as how frequently SLPs had performed these tasks in the last 5 years. Results Although 158 SLPs responded to the survey, complete data were available for only 137. Respondents were more confident and experienced with basic research tasks (e.g., finding literature) and less confident and experienced with complex research tasks (e.g., analysing and interpreting results, publishing results). For most tasks, SLPs displayed higher levels of interest in the task than confidence and experience. Research engagement was predicted by highest qualification obtained, current job classification level and overall interest in research. Conclusions Respondents generally reported levels of interest in research higher than their confidence and experience, with many respondents reporting limited experience in most research tasks. Therefore SLPs have potential to benefit from research capacity building activities to increase their research skills in order to meet organisational research engagement objectives. However, these findings must be interpreted with the caveats that a relatively low response rate occurred and participants were recruited from a single state-wide health service, and therefore may not be representative of the wider SLP workforce.

Review : "English language education across Greater China" by A. Feng

I have formally learned English from Year Four till the completion of my undergraduate study in China. Because of this personal history, I was keen to review this book and revisit English education in China. The list of contributors to the book includes Anwei Feng (editor) and his colleagues, who play an insider role in English language practice, research, and policy-making in ‘Greater China’. ‘Greater China’ according to Feng, can be defined as geographically close, demographically Chinese-dominated, and culturally, economically, and socio-politically interrelated countries and territories where Chinese is either the mother tongue or used as an official language.

Heritage language for Chinese Australians : negotiating 'Chineseness' and, capitalising on resources in the lived world

The ethnic identity and commitment of Heritage Language Learners play salient roles in Heritage Language learning process. The mutually constitutive effect amongst Heritage Language Learner's ethnic identity, commitment, and Heritage Language proficiency has been well documented in social psychological and poststructuralist literatures. Both social psychological and poststructural schools offer meaningful insights into particular contexts but receive critiques from other contexts. In addition, the two schools largely oppose each other. This study uses Bourdieu's sociological triad of habitus, capital, and field to reconcile the two schools through the examination of Chinese Heritage Language Learners in Australia, an idiosyncratic social, cultural, and historical context for these learners. Specifically, this study investigates how young Chinese Australian adults (18-35 in age) negotiate their 'Chineseness' and capitalise on resources through Chinese Heritage Language learning in the lived world. The study adopts an explanatory mixed methods design to combine the quantitative approach with the qualitative approach. The initial quantitative phase addresses the first research question: Is Chinese Heritage Language proficiency of young Chinese Australian adults influenced by their investment of capital, the strength of their habitus of 'Chineseness', or both? The subsequent qualitative phase addresses the second research question: How do young Chinese Australian adults understand their Chinese Heritage Language learning in relation to (potential) profits produced by this linguistic capital in given fields? The initial quantitative phase applies Structural Equation Modelling to analyse the data from an online survey with 230 respondents. Findings indicate the statistically significant positive contribution made by the habitus of 'Chineseness' and by investment of capital to Chinese Heritage Language proficiency (r = .71 and r = .86 respectively). Subsequent multiple regression analysis demonstrates that 62% of the variance of Chinese Heritage Language proficiency can be accounted for by the joint contribution of 'Chineseness' and 'capital'. The qualitative phase of the study uses multiple interviews with five participants. It reveals that Chinese Heritage Language offers meaningful benefits for participants in the forms of capital production and habitus capture or recapture. Findings from the two phases talk to each other in terms of the inherent entanglement amongst habitus of 'Chineseness', investment of capital, and Chinese Heritage Language proficiency. The study offers important contributions. Theoretically, by virtue of Bourdieu's signature concepts of habitus, capital, and field, the study provides answers to questions that both social psychological and poststructuralist theories have long been struggling to answer. Methodologically, the position of 'pluralism' talks back to Bourdieu's theory and forwards to the mixed methods design. Particularly, the study makes a methodological breakthrough: A set of instruments was developed and validated to quantify Bourdieu's key concepts of capital and habitus within certain social fields. Practically, understanding Chinese Australians' heterogeneity and the potential drivers behind Chinese Heritage Language learning contributes to the growing interest in Chinese Australians' contemporary life experiences and helps to better accommodate linguistically diverse Chinese Heritage Language Learners in Chinese language courses. In addition, this study is very timely. It resonates with the recently released Australia in the Asian Century White Paper: Chinese Australians, with sound knowledge of Chinese culture and language obtained through negotiating their 'Chineseness' and capitalising on diverse resources for learning, will help to serve Australia's economic, social, and political needs in unique ways.

The adventure of the refrain : composing with improvised music

This practice-based inquiry investigates the process of composing notated scores using improvised solos by saxophonists John Butcher and Anthony Braxton. To compose with these improvised sources, I developed a new method of analysis and through this method I developed new compositional techniques in applying these materials into a score. This method of analysis and composition utilizes the conceptual language of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari found in A Thousand Plateaus. The conceptual language of Deleuze and Guattari, in particular the terms assemblage, refrain and deterritorialization are discussed in depth to give a context for the philosophical origins and also to explain how the language is used in reference to improvised music and the compositional process. The project seeks to elucidate the conceptual language through the creative practice and in turn for the creative practice to clarify the use of the conceptual terminology. The outcomes of the research resulted in four notated works being composed. Firstly, Gravity, for soloist and ensemble based on the improvisational language of John Butcher and secondly a series of 3 studies titled Transbraxton Studies for solo instruments based on the improvisational-compositional language of Anthony Braxton. The implications of this research include the application of the analysis method to a number of musical contexts including: to be used in the process of composing with improvised music; in the study of style and authorship in solo improvisation; as a way of analyzing group improvisation; in the analysis of textural music including electronic music; and in the analysis of music from different cultures—particularly cultures where improvisation and per formative aspects to the music are significant to the overall meaning of the work. The compositional technique that was developed has further applications in terms of an expressive method of composing with non-metered improvised materials and one that merges well with the transcription method developed of notating pitch and sounds to a timeline. It is hoped that this research can open further lines of enquiry into the application of the conceptual ideas of Deleuze and Guattari to the analysis of more forms of music.

Soundage : a practice-led approach to Gertrude Stein, sound, and generative language

In this practice-led research project I work to show how a re-reading and a particular form of listening to the sound-riddled nature of Gertrude Stein's work, Two: Gertrude Stein and her Brother, presents us with a contemporary theory of sound in language. This theory, though in its infancy, is a particular enjambment of sounded language that presents itself as an event, engaged with meaning, with its own inherent voice. It displays a propensity through engagement with the 'other' to erupt into love. In this thesis these qualities are reverberated further through the work of Seth Kim-Cohen's notion of the non-cochlear, Simon Jarvis's notion of musical thinking, Jean-Jacques Lecercle's notion of délire or nonsense, Luce Irigaray's notion of jouissant love and the Bracha Ettinger's notion of the generative matrixial border space. This reading then is simultaneously paired with my own work of scoring and creating a digital opera from Stein's work, thereby testing and performing Stein's theory. In this I show how a re-reading and relistening to Stein's work can be significant to feminist ethical language frames, contemporary philosophy, sonic art theory and digital language frames. Further significance of this study is that when the reverberation of Stein's engagements with language through sound can be listened to, a pattern emerges, one that encouragingly problematizes subjectivity and interweaves genres/methods and means, creating a new frame for sound in language, one with its own voice that I call soundage.

Professional development and technology in second language learning : do best practices work?

This study was undertaken to examine the influence that a set of Professional Development (PD) initiatives had on faculty use of Moodle, a well known Course Management System. The context of the study was a private language university just outside Tokyo, Japan. Specifically, it aimed to identify the way in which the PD initiatives adhered to professional development best practice criteria; how faculty members perceived the PD initiatives; what impact the PD initiatives had on faculty use of Moodle; and other variables that may have influenced faculty in their use of Moodle. The study utilised a mixed methods approach. Participants in the study were 42 teachers who worked at the university in the academic year 2008/9. The online survey consisted of 115 items, factored into 10 constructs. Data was collected through an online survey, semi-structured face-to-face interviews, post-workshop surveys, and a collection of textual artefacts. The quantitative data were analysed in SPSS, using descriptive statistics, Spearman's Rank Order correlation tests and a Kruskal-Wallis means test. The qualitative data was used to develop and expand findings and ideas. The results indicated that the PD initiatives adhered closely to criteria posited in technology-related professional development best practice criteria. Further, results from the online survey, post workshop surveys, and follow up face-to-face interviews indicated that while the PD initiatives that were implemented were positively perceived by faculty, they did not have the anticipated impact on Moodle use among faculty. Further results indicated that other variables, such as perceptions of Moodle, and institutional issues, had a considerable influence on Moodle use. The findings of the study further strengthened the idea that the five variables Everett Rogers lists in his Diffusion of Innovations model, including perceived attributes of an innovation; type of innovation decision; communication channels; nature of the social system; extent of change agents' promotion efforts, most influence the adoption of an innovation. However, the results also indicated that some of the variables in Rogers' DOI seem to have more of an influence than others, particularly the perceived attributes of an innovation variable. In addition, the findings of the study could serve to inform universities that have Course Management Systems (CMS), such as Moodle, about how to utilise them most efficiently and effectively. The findings could also help to inform universities about how to help faculty members acquire the skills necessary to incorporate CMSs into curricula and teaching practice. A limitation of this study was the use of a non-randomised sample, which could appear to have limited the generalisations of the findings to this particular Japanese context.

Learner strategy instruction and student uptake of strategies in a Japanese as a foreign language context

The Japanese language is recognised as being more difficult than European languages, needing three times more tuition time to reach comparable levels of proficiency. Encouraging Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) students to become aware of, and effectively use, learner strategies is one way to assist them become more controlled, effective learners leading to enhanced language learning. This thesis investigates the development and implementation of a JFL curriculum implemented in a university course for students learning JFL. The curriculum was developed specifically to assist beginner university students with the development of learner strategies appropriate for a JFL reading context. The theoretical underpinning of the study was informed by Educational Criticism (Eisner, 1998), which aims to describe, interpret and evaluate the processes of interaction between the teacher, the learner and the curriculum and the students' learning processes in a tertiary JFL classroom. The study investigated the effect on student learning processes of a JFL reading program that incorporated explicit learner strategy instruction and identified factors that enhanced or impeded the development of learner strategy knowledge. The participants in the study were 29 students enrolled in the course, 10 of whom volunteered to undertake additional tasks, and the two teachers who implemented the curriculum. Data collection involved a number of different strategies to observe the students' participation in the classroom and learning experiences. Learning processes were investigated through TOL protocols, classroom observations, course evaluations, interviews, and learner strategy use measurement instruments (SILL, SILK and SORS) to document student uptake of learner strategies. The design of the study and its applied focus recognised my expertise as a JFL teacher, curriculum writer and researcher, an approach that aligns with the purpose of a Professional Doctorate. Four general thematics, or principles, were identified in this study: „h Explicit learner strategy instruction provides the context for students to develop awareness of learner strategies and take control of their learning; „h Collaborative learning and interaction with teachers offers students the opportunity for shared knowledge construction; „h Reflection offers teachers and students the opportunity to reflect on their own learning style and strategy knowledge, and raises awareness of other available strategies; and „h Diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds have an impact on curriculum implementation and student uptake of learner strategies. The study¡¦s methodological contribution is that it is one of the first in Australia to use Educational Criticism (Eisner, 1998) as a research methodology. The findings contribute to theoretical knowledge in the fields of Applied Linguistics, Second Language Teaching and Learning, Second Language Acquisition and JFL Teaching and Learning by offering new knowledge on the importance of learner strategies in the beginner JFL classroom, the potential of explicit strategy instruction, the value of reflection for both teachers and students, and the important role of the teacher in the process of curriculum implementation. The general principles identified and the findings of this in-depth study of a JFL classroom can be drawn upon to inform other teaching practice situations, and invite practitioners from not just Japanese, but from other language areas and other disciplines, to examine and improve their own practices, and suggest further research questions to pursue this line of enquiry.

Let's eat the captain! Thinking, feeling, doing : intercultural language learning through process drama

This research investigated the sustained use of process drama in a middle school foreign language classroom. The experience led to widespread learner engagement, a deeper contextualisation of the language as a socio-cultural practice, and a willingness to use the spoken and written language, regardless of limited proficiency. The drama required that language use be context and culture specific, contingent and multi-modal, which encouraged the beginner students to "mushfake" or improvise spoken and written text. Particularly important was the way the body was used through drama to express emotion, remember language and to illustrate the sociocultural context of its use.

Comments on the phase diagrams and crystallisation paths of Y-Ba-Cu-O materials

Our micro structural characterisation of Y-Ba-Cu-O quenched partial melts shows that the BaCuO2 (BC1) phase is crystalline at temperatures as high as 1100°C, and that the partial melt self-establishes a micro structural gradient from the surface towards the interior of the samples, which can be associated with a gradient in an equivalent partial pressure of O2 (pO2). The extension of the Y2BaCuO5-YBa2Cu3O7-x (Y211-Y123) tie-line intersects the primary crystallisation field of BC1 first. The actual peritectic reaction that takes place is Y2BaCuO5(s) + BaCuO2(s) + 2BaCu2O2(L) + 1/2O2 → 2YBa2Cu3O6(s). Two schematic representations which allow an analysis of the pO2 dependence are given. The gradient in micro structure self-established by the sample acts as a driving force for texturing. With this new perspective gained about the actual peritectic reaction and mechanisms of melt-texturing of Y123, it is possible to explain most of the aspects about partial melt-texturing. In addition, it seems possible to devise heat treatments that may allow for the production of well-oriented single domains with very large diameters. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.

Observation of exsolution textures within Ba-Cu-O-rich solidified melts of Y-Ba-Cu-O materials and their relationship to Y123 nucleation and texturing

Layers (about 60-100 μm thick) of almost pure BaCuO2 (BC1), as determined using X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coat the surfaces of YBa2Cu3O7-x (Y123) samples partial melt processed using a single-zone vertical furnace. The actual Cu/Ba ratio of the BC1 phase is 1.2-1.3 as determined using energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The nominally BC1 phase displays an exsolution of BC1.5 or BC2 in the form of thin plates (about 50-100 nm thick) along {100}-type cleavage planes or facets. The exsolved phase also fills cracks within the BC1 layer that require it to be in a molten state at some stage of processing. The samples were influenced by Pt contamination from the supporting wire, which may have stabilised the BC1.5 phase. Many of the Y123 grains have the same morphology as the exsolution domains, and run nearly parallel to the thin plates of the exsolved phases, strongly indicating that Y123 nucleation took place at the interface between the BC1 and the BC1.5 or BC2 exsolved phases. The network of nearly parallel exsolved 'channels' provides a matrix and a mechanism through which a high degree of local texture can be initiated in the material.

Studies of the phase evolution of YBCO materials with different additives

Y123 samples with varying amounts of added Y211, PtO 2 and CeO 2 have been melt processed and quenched from temperatures between 960°C and 1100°C. The microstructures of the quenched samples have been characterized using a combination of x-ray diffractometry, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, microprobe analysis, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and wavelength-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The Ba-Cu-O-rich melt undergoes complex changes as a function of temperature and time. A region of stability of BaCuO 2 (BC1) and BaCu 2O 2 (BC2) exists below 1040°C in samples of Y123 + 20 mol% Y211. Ba 2Cu 3O 5 is stabilized by rapid quenching but appears to separate into BC1 and BC2 at lower quenching rates. PtO 2 and CeO 2 additions affect the distribution and volume fractions of the two Ba-Cu-oxide phases.

Effects of PtO2 and CeO2 additives on the microstructures of the quenched melts of Y-Ba-Cu-O materials

The microstructures of the quenched melts of samples of Y123 and Y123+15-20 mol% Y211 with PtO2 and CeO2 additives have been examined with optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray Diffractometry (XRD). Significantly higher temperatures are required for the formation of dendritic or lamellar eutectic patterns throughout the samples with PtO2 and CeO2 additives as compared to samples without additives. The BaCuO2 (BCl) phase appears first in solid form and, instead of rapidly melting, is slowly dissolving or decomposing in the oxygen depleted melt. PtO2 and CeO2 additives slow down or shift to higher temperatures the dissolution or decomposition process of BCl. A larger fraction of BCl in solid form explains why samples with additives have higher viscosities and hence lower diffusivities than samples without additives. There is also a reduction in the Y solubility to about half the value in samples without additives. The mechanism that limits the Ostwald ripening of the Y211 particles is correlated to the morphology of the quenched partial melt. It is diffusion controlled for a finely mixed morphology and interface-controlled when the melt quenches into dendritic or lamellar eutectic patterns. The change in the morphology of the Y211 particles from blocky to acicular is related to an equivalent undercooling of the Y-Ba-Cu-O partial melt, particularly through the crystallization of BCl.

Morphology changes and mechanistic aspects of the electrochemically-induced reversible solid-solid transformation of microcrystalline TCNQ into Co TCNQ 2-based materials (TCNQ= 7, 7, 8, 8-Tetracyanoquinodimethane)

The chemically reversible solid−solid phase transformation of a TCNQ-modified glassy carbon, indium tin oxide, or metal electrode into Co\[TCNQ]2(H2O)2 material in the presence of Co2+(aq) containing electrolytes has been induced and monitored electrochemically. Voltammetric data reveal that the TCNQ/Co\[TCNQ]2(H2O)2 interconversion process is independent of electrode material and identity of cobalt electrolyte anion. However, a marked dependence on electrolyte concentration, scan rate, and method of electrode modification (drop casting or mechanical attachment) is found. Cyclic voltammetric and double potential step chronoamperometric measurements confirm that formation of Co\[TCNQ]2(H2O)2 occurs through a rate-determining nucleation and growth process that initially involves incorporation of Co2+(aq) ions into the reduced TCNQ crystal lattice at the TCNQ|electrode|electrolyte interface. Similarly, the reverse (oxidation) process, which involves transformation of solid Co\[TCNQ]2(H2O)2 back to parent TCNQ crystals, also is controlled by nucleation−growth kinetics. The overall chemically reversible process that represents this transformation is described by the reaction:  2TCNQ0(s) + 2e- + Co2+(aq) + 2H2O \[Co(TCNQ)2(H2O)2](s). Ex situ SEM images illustrated that this reversible TCNQ/Co\[TCNQ]2(H2O)2 conversion process is accompanied by drastic size and morphology changes in the parent solid TCNQ. In addition, different sizes of needle-shaped nanorod/nanowire crystals of Co\[TCNQ]2(H2O)2 are formed depending on the method of surface immobilization.