Student performance in field education placements: The findings of a 6-year Australian study of admissions data

This article reports on a 6-year study that examined the association between pre-admission variables and field placement performance in an Australian bachelor of social work program (N=463). Very few of the pre-admission variables were found to be significantly associated with performance. These findings and the role of the admissions process are discussed. In addition to the usual academic criteria, the authors urge schools to include a focus on nonacademic criteria during the admissions process and the ongoing educational program.

Innovative field options

"A practical guide for educators and managers involved in supervising field education. Drawing on the experience of academics, clinicians and educators from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK, the collection explores how to make the most of fieldwork experience."--Libraries Australia

Conformal Field Theory Methods for Variants of Schramm-Loewner Evolutions

This thesis consists of an introduction, four research articles and an appendix. The thesis studies relations between two different approaches to continuum limit of models of two dimensional statistical mechanics at criticality. The approach of conformal field theory (CFT) could be thought of as the algebraic classification of some basic objects in these models. It has been succesfully used by physicists since 1980's. The other approach, Schramm-Loewner evolutions (SLEs), is a recently introduced set of mathematical methods to study random curves or interfaces occurring in the continuum limit of the models. The first and second included articles argue on basis of statistical mechanics what would be a plausible relation between SLEs and conformal field theory. The first article studies multiple SLEs, several random curves simultaneously in a domain. The proposed definition is compatible with a natural commutation requirement suggested by Dubédat. The curves of multiple SLE may form different topological configurations, ``pure geometries''. We conjecture a relation between the topological configurations and CFT concepts of conformal blocks and operator product expansions. Example applications of multiple SLEs include crossing probabilities for percolation and Ising model. The second article studies SLE variants that represent models with boundary conditions implemented by primary fields. The most well known of these, SLE(kappa, rho), is shown to be simple in terms of the Coulomb gas formalism of CFT. In the third article the space of local martingales for variants of SLE is shown to carry a representation of Virasoro algebra. Finding this structure is guided by the relation of SLEs and CFTs in general, but the result is established in a straightforward fashion. This article, too, emphasizes multiple SLEs and proposes a possible way of treating pure geometries in terms of Coulomb gas. The fourth article states results of applications of the Virasoro structure to the open questions of SLE reversibility and duality. Proofs of the stated results are provided in the appendix. The objective is an indirect computation of certain polynomial expected values. Provided that these expected values exist, in generic cases they are shown to possess the desired properties, thus giving support for both reversibility and duality.

Field placement and the impact of financial stress on social work and human services students

While significant research has been undertaken exploring the pedagogical benefits of undertaking lengthy social work and human services field placements, there has been very little consideration regarding the potential financial stress involved for students. This study has addressed this knowledge gap. Research was conducted in 2014 using quantitative and qualitative methods with students, academic and professional staff from six Queensland Universities. The findings show a significant relationship between unpaid placements and financial hardship creating considerable stress for students and at times a compromised learning experience whilst on placement. The limited flexibility in the requirements of professional bodies and universities for how placements are undertaken has been identified as a key contributor to financial hardship. Addressing the complexities inherent in this issue requires a collaborative effort from multiple stakeholders and should not be regarded as a problem for students to endure and manage.

Student satisfaction with models of field placement supervision

Field placements provide social work students with the opportunity to integrate their classroom learning with the knowledge and skills used in various human service programs. The supervision structure that has most commonly been used is the intensive one-to-one, clinical teaching model. However, this model is being challenged by significant changes in educational and industry sectors, which have led to an increased use of alternative fieldwork structures and supervision arrangements, including task supervision, group supervision, external supervision, and shared supervisory arrangements. This study focuses on identifying models of supervision and student satisfaction with their learning experiences and the supervision received on placement. The study analysed responses to a questionnaire administered to 263 undergraduate social work students enrolled in three different campuses in Australia after they had completed their first or final field placement. The study identified that just over half of the placements used the traditional one student to one social work supervisor model. A number of “emerging” models were also identified, where two or more social workers were involved in the professional supervision of the student. High levels of dissatisfaction were reported by those students who received external social work supervision. Results suggest that students are more satisfied across all aspects of the placement where there is a strong on-site social work presence.

Student satisfaction with models of field placement supervision

Field placements provide social work students with the opportunity to integrate their classroom learning with the knowledge and skills used in various human service programs. The supervision structure that has most commonly been used is the intensive one-to-one, clinical teaching model. However, this model is being challenged by significant changes in educational and industry sectors, which have led to an increased use of alternative fieldwork structures and supervision arrangements, including task supervision, group supervision, external supervision, and shared supervisory arrangements. This study focuses on identifying models of supervision and student satisfaction with their learning experiences and the supervision received on placement. The study analysed responses to a questionnaire administered to 263 undergraduate social work students enrolled in three different campuses in Australia after they had completed their first or final field placement. The study identified that just over half of the placements used the traditional one student to one social work supervisor model. A number of “emerging” models were also identified, where two or more social workers were involved in the professional supervision of the student. High levels of dissatisfaction were reported by those students who received external social work supervision. Results suggest that students are more satisfied across all aspects of the placement where there is a strong on-site social work presence.

Unsteady mixed convection on the stagnation-point flow adjacent to a vertical plate with a magnetic field

An analysis is performed to study the unsteady combined forced and free convection flow (mixed convection flow) of a viscous incompressible electrically conducting fluid in the vicinity of an axisymmetric stagnation point adjacent to a heated vertical surface. The unsteadiness in the flow and temperature fields is due to the free stream velocity, which varies arbitrarily with time. Both constant wall temperature and constant heat flux conditions are considered in this analysis. By using suitable transformations, the Navier-Stokes and energy equations with four independent variables (x, y, z, t) are reduced to a system of partial differential equations with two independent variables (eta, tau). These transformations also uncouple the momentum and energy equations resulting in a primary axisymmetric flow, in an energy equation dependent on the primary flow and in a buoyancy-induced secondary flow dependent on both primary flow and energy. The resulting system of partial differential equations has been solved numerically by using both implicit finite-difference scheme and differential-difference method. An interesting result is that for a decelerating free stream velocity, flow reversal occurs in the primary flow after certain instant of time and the magnetic field delays or prevents the flow reversal. The surface heat transfer and the surface shear stress in the primary flow increase with the magnetic field, but the surface shear stress in the buoyancy-induced secondary flow decreases. Further the heat transfer increases with the Prandtl number, but the surface shear stress in the secondary flow decreases.

Characteristics of field-effect transistors based on undoped and B-and N-doped few-layer graphenes

Field-effect transistor characteristics of few-layer graphenes prepared by several methods have been investigated in comparison with those of single-layer graphene prepared by the in situ reduction of single-layer graphene oxide. Ambipolar features have been observed with single-layer graphene and n-type behaviour with all the few-layer graphenes, the best characteristics being found with the graphene possessing 2-3 layers prepared by arc-discharge of graphite in hydrogen. FETs based on boron and nitrogen doped graphene show n-type and p-type behaviour respectively. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optical, Field-Emission, and Antimicrobial Properties of ZnO Nanostructured Films Deposited at Room Temperature by Activated Reactive Evaporation

ZnO nanostructures were deposited on flexible polymer sheet and cotton fabrics at room temperature by activated reactive evaporation. Room-temperature photoluminescence spectrum of ZnO nanostructured film exhibited a week intrinsic UV emission and a strong broad yellow-orange visible emission. TEM and HRTEM studies show that the grown nanostructures are crystalline in nature and their growth direction was indentified to be along [002]. ZnO nanostructures grown on the copper-coated flexible polymer sheets exhibited stable field-emissio characteristics with a threshold voltage of 2.74 V/mu m (250 mu A) and a very large field enhancement factor (beta) of 23,213. Cotton fabric coated with ZnO nanostructures show an excellent antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (Gram positive), and similar to 73% reduction in the bacterial population is achieved compared to uncoated fabrics after 4 h in viability. Using a shadow mask technique, we also selectively deposited the nanostructures at room temperature on polymer substrates.

Search for Maximal Flavor Violating Scalars in Same-Charge Lepton Pairs in pp̅ Collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

Models of Maximal Flavor Violation (MxFV) in elementary particle physics may contain at least one new scalar SU$(2)$ doublet field $\Phi_{FV} = (\eta^0,\eta^+)$ that couples the first and third generation quarks ($q_1,q_3$) via a Lagrangian term $\mathcal{L}_{FV} = \xi_{13} \Phi_{FV} q_1 q_3$. These models have a distinctive signature of same-charge top-quark pairs and evade flavor-changing limits from meson mixing measurements. Data corresponding to 2 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the CDF II detector in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 1.96$ TeV are analyzed for evidence of the MxFV signature. For a neutral scalar $\eta^0$ with $m_{\eta^0} = 200$ GeV/$c^2$ and coupling $\xi_{13}=1$, $\sim$ 11 signal events are expected over a background of $2.1 \pm 1.8$ events. Three events are observed in the data, consistent with background expectations, and limits are set on the coupling $\xi_{13}$ for $m_{\eta^0} = 180-300$ GeV/$c^2$.

Thermal stresses in a finite hollow cylinder due to an axisymmetric temperature field at the end surface

A three-dimensional exact solution for determining the thermal stresses in a finite hollow cylinder subject to a steady state axisymmetric temperature field over one of its end surfaces has been given. Numerical results for a hollow cylinder, having lenght to outer diameter ratio equal to one and inner to outer diameter ratio equal to 0.75, subjected to a symmetric temperature variation over the end surfaces of the cylinder have been given.

Search for the Production of Scalar Bottom Quarks in pp̅ Collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

We report on a search for direct scalar bottom quark (sbottom) pair production in $p \bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96$~TeV, in events with large missing transverse energy and two jets of hadrons in the final state, where at least one of the jets is required to be identified as originating from a $b$ quark. The study uses a CDF Run~II data sample corresponding to 2.65~fb${}^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. The data are in agreement with the standard model. In an R-parity conserving minimal supersymmetric scenario, and assuming that the sbottom decays exclusively into a bottom quark and a neutralino, 95$\%$ confidence-level upper limits on the sbottom pair production cross section of 0.1~pb are obtained. For neutralino masses below 70~GeV/$c^2$, sbottom masses up to 230~GeV/$c^2$ are excluded at 95$\%$ confidence level.

Thermal stresses in a finite solid cylinder due to an axisymmetric temperature field at the end surface.

A three-dimensional rigorous solution for determining thermal stresses in a finite solid cylinder due to a steady state axisymmetric temperature field over one of its end surfaces is given. Numerical results for a solid cylinder having a length to diameter ratio equal to one and subjected to a symmetric temperature variation over half the radius of the cylinder at the end surfaces are included. These results have been compared with the results of the approximate solution given by W. Nowacki.