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The purpose of this study was to evaluate a Theatre For Young Audiences (TYA) paper and multimedia study guide and to investigate teachers' perceptions of study guides created for TYA. It used current literature surrounding TYA performances, supplemental materials for the elementary classroom, and multimedia in performance and education, to glean critical elements for creating a useful TYA study guide. These elements provided the framework for creating a rubric to evaluate a TYA study guide's potential success in the classroom. The mixed methods study then used the created rubric to evaluate etc . . .'s (Educational Theatre Company) 2005 Hey Diddle Diddle! The Rhymes and Rhythms of Mother Goose study guide. This data was combined with surveys administered to elementary teachers. The study guide rated high on the rubric and teachers' perceptions were generally positive. Overall the analysis yielded information useful for the creation of future guides and research.

Numerical analysis of the electromagnetic fields in large, complex structures is very challenging due to the high computational overhead. Recently, it has been shown that a new method called Trefftz-FLAME ( Flexible Local Approximation MEthod) is suitable for problems where there exist a large number of similar structures. / This thesis develops Trefftz-FLAME in two areas. First, a novel 2D Trefftz-FLAME method incorporates the modal analysis and port boundary condition that are essential to an accurate calculation of reflection and transmission coefficients for photonic crystal devices. The new technique outperforms existing methods in both accuracy and computational cost. / The second area pertains to the 3D, vector problem of electromagnetic wave scattering by aggregates of identical dielectric particles. A methodology for the development of local basis functions is introduced, applicable to particles of any shape and composition. Boundary conditions on the surface of the finite FLAME domain are described, capable of representing the incident wave and absorbing the outgoing radiation. A series of problems involving dielectric spheres is solved to validate the new method. Comparison with exact solutions is possible in some cases and shows that the method is able to produce accurate near-field results even when the computational grid spacing is equal to the radius of the spheres.

The Girl Guides of Canada is a youth service organization, serving almost 10% of the Canadian female population aged 5-17, that aims to teach girls and young women to become responsible citizens. In this thesis, I review the curriculum of the Pathfinder branch (for girls and young women aged 12-15) of the Girl Guides of Canada. Using feminist, anti-racist, and queer perspectives, I treat "responsible citizenship" as a discursive concept and conduct a discourse analysis of the Pathfinder programme to discover how it attempts to gain the consent of girls and young women to particular definitions of responsible citizenship. Drawing on feminist citizenship theory developed by Yuval-Davis, Anthias, Alexander, and Ross, I argue that the state implicates select female citizens in nation building practices as biological reproducers and transmitters of culture. I also draw on theories of moral regulation extended by Sangster, Strange, and Loo to illustrate ways in which the state and voluntary organizations attempt to gain the consent of citizens to particular ways of being. I argue that, because its texts authorize particular definitions of responsible citizenship, the Pathfinder curriculum implicates girls and young women in capitalist nation building in Canada. Specifically, I argue that the Pathfinder programme normalizes heterosexuality, whiteness, and ability, and privileges middle-class values. I also demonstrate that a responsible citizen, according to the Pathfinder curriculum, performs caregiving and environmental stewardship as volunteer service, prepares to join the labour force, and is healthy, hygienic, cheerful and obedient. I raise questions about the nature of the organization's efforts to teach about sexism, racism, classism, ableism, homophobia and heterosexism, and suggest some ways in which the curriculum can attend to these social relations to develop a more inclusive image of the ideal responsible citizen. I also suggest a number of directions for future research.

La propagation de lumière dans un réseau de guides s'effectue par couplages successifs et diffère ainsi fortement de la propagation en milieu libre. De plus, il existe, entre le formalisme du couplage optique décrivant cette propagation, de grandes similarités avec l'équation de Schrödinger. Nous utilisons ces similarités pour réaliser, dans des structures optiques composées de guides d'ondes, des analogies à des phénomènes quantiques. Les guides d'ondes sont analogues à des niveaux discrets d'énergie tandis que les constantes de couplage entre les guides sont analogues aux fréquences de Rabi des pulses laser couplant ces niveaux d'énergie. Pour la démonstration de ces analogies riches d'enseignement et potentiellement attractives pour des applications, il est intéressant de pouvoir disposer de structures optiques polyvalentes pouvant être reconfigurées. Notre approche est basée sur la réalisation de ces structures par la technique d'illumination latérale développée au laboratoire. Contrairement à la majorité des techniques d'inscriptions classiques (CVD, échange d'ions, inscription par laser femtoseconde, etc.) qui conduisent à des structures fixes et très difficilement modifiables, cette technique donne des structures reconfigurables. Elle consiste en l'éclairement contrôlé d'un cristal photoréfractif soumis à un champ électrique, permettant d'inscrire des guides grâce à la photo-conductivité du matériau et à l'effet Pockels. Dès lors, nous montrons qu'il est possible de réaliser au sein du même cristal, différentes structures de réseaux de guides, de design, périodicités et contrastes d'indice différents. Nous mettons ensuite à profit ces différents résultats pour la démonstration d'analogies à des effets quantiques. En premier lieu nous démontrons un transfert adiabatique de lumière similaire au phénomène de STIRAP ("STImulated Raman Adiabatic Passage"). La lumière, couplée à l'entrée dans un guide, est transférée à un guide de sortie éloigné, à travers plusieurs guides intermédiaires (jusqu'à neuf ) si les constantes de couplage sont modulées longitudinalement dans un ordre dit "contre-intuitif". Nous utilisons ensuite ce transfert adiabatique de lumière pour la réalisation d'un diviseur de faisceau multi-ports, dont les ratios d'intensité dans les ports de sorties sont déterminés par le rapport des constantes de couplage de la structure. Nous démontrons également que ce diviseur de faisceau est très robuste et très largement achromatique sur plus de 200 nm. Puis, nous réalisons une analogie au phénomène d'EIT ("Electromagnetically Induced Transparency") dans une structure optique composée de trois guides. La présence d'un troisième guide très proche du deuxième empêche tout transfert de lumière depuis le premier guide qui devient alors "transparent". Enfin, en créant un désaccord dans les constantes de propagation longitudinale des trois guides, le transfert de lumière peut être réactivé pour deux valeurs particulières du désaccord, similairement à l'effet quantique Autler-Townes.

Planar optical waveguides fabricated by K$ sp+$-Na$ sp+$ ion-exchange in soda-lime glass substrates are investigated. / Experimental characterizations of planar waveguide with respect to a wide range of fabrication conditions have been carried out, including detailed measurements of the refractive index anisotropy resulting from the large induced surface stresses. / Parallel to this, the non-linear diffusion process of ion-exchange was simulated numerically to provide, along with the results of the characterizations, a complete description of the refractive index profile from any set of fabrication conditions. / The magnitude of the maximum surface index change observed was shown theoretically to be almost entirely due to the induced stress at the surface of the substrate, arising from the presence of the larger potassium ions. / Finally, a novel class of single-mode channel waveguides, made by a "two-step" ion-exchange was analyzed. A simple model for these waveguides was developed and used in the design of two directional coupler structures which were fabricated and measured. / The two-step process was conceived because it relaxes waveguides' dimensional control, yielding single-mode guides of larger size, better suited for low-loss connections to optical fibers. It also provides an additional degree of freedom to adjust device properties.

Reading skills are essential for all students for their successful advancement through school and on into adult life. With limited English, many Non English Speaking Background (NESB) students are under-achieving at school due to their lack of reading ability in English. This research investigates a skills-based program with an emphasis on decoding (often referred to as a bottom-up theoretical perspective) compared to a program emphasising the development of comprehension strategies, where higher level thinking is required (top-down perspective). Using a case study approach with one NESB student, it appeared that a skills-based approach was more successful and preferred by the student.

Previous research worldwide has shown that curriculum materials maintain a strong presence and constitute an important tool, artefact, in mathematics classrooms. Yet, there is a vast lack of research on the design and the characteristics of teacher guides. The thesis aims to: 1) investigate the features of the Finnish teacher guides for mathematics at primary school and 2) map the cultural specificities and norms for classroom practices as construed in Finnish teacher guides. The data consist of nine Finnish teacher guides in mathematics (belonging to three textbook series) for Grades 1-6 and comprise almost 90 percent of the teacher guides utilized in Finnish schools for 2008. These teacher guides are examined through three studies. In the first study, we developed an analytical tool based on Davis and Krajcik’s ideas about educative curriculum materials when analysing the teacher guides’ content. In the second study, we analysed a larger sample of the Finnish teacher guides using the same analytical tool, but extending the study to also analyse their form, i.e. their look, structure and voice. This study shows that there is a wide consensus on both the content and the form of the guides. While several educative aspects are weakly presented in the guides, the analysis shows that they offer rich and varied resources for teachers in their everyday work in designing and enacting mathematics teaching and hence, learning in practice. The third study delves more deeply into the characteristics of the support the guides offer to design mathematics classrooms. We characterize the cultural script of the reflected classroom practice by analysing the form and the function of the activities promoted in most of the guides. We found a relatively homogeneous script that promotes differentiation while keeping students in the same mathematical area, opportunities to participate in whole-class interaction that comprises a variety of activities, like mental calculation, games, problem-solving, individual and group work, and small piece of homework after every single lesson. The thesis contributes to the international research discourse on curriculum materials and in particular on teacher guides as resources for design of mathematics classroom in a specific educational context. The study is also of interest for teachers, and for text-book authors in developing teacher guides in line with research. / Tidigare forskning visar att läromedel, så som elevernas lärobok och lärarhandledningar är den resurs som används i huvudsak som grund för matematikundervisning. Finsk forskning visar dessutom att finländska lärare (åk 1-6) i stor utsträckning använder lärarhandledningar i själva undervisningen och även för att planera och organisera sin undervisning. Studiens övergripande syfte är att se vilken typ av resurs de finländska lärarhandledningar utgör för läraren, men också att belysa vilken typ av klassrum som dessa lärarhandledningar verkar främja, då lärarna använder de uppgifter och aktiviteter som presenteras i lärarhandledningarna. Studien är genomförd som en dokumentanalys av tre läroboksserier i matematik för grundskolans årskurser 1, 3 och 6. Det är totalt nio lärarhandledningar som har analyserats. Dessa tre läroboksserier täcker nästan 90 procent av de lärarhandledningar som användes i och på finska skolor under år 2008. Avhandlingen består av tre studier. I den första studien som också betraktas som pilotstudie, utvecklade vi ett fungerande analytiskt verktyg som bygger på Davis och Krajciks idéer om ”lärande läromedel”. I den andra studien fördjupar vi resultaten från pilotstudien genom att analysera ett större urval med samma ramverk. Denna studie visar att det finns en bred enighet om både innehåll och form i lärarhandledningarna och vi identifierade sex återkommande aktiviteter som är närvarande på varje tilltänkt lektion. Vidare visar analysen att egenskaperna hos de finländska lärarhandledningarna erbjuder rika och varierande resurser för lärare i det dagliga arbetet vid både planering och genomförande av matematikundervisning. Den tredje studien är en fördjupning i analysverktygets femte kategori för att finna vilket stöd de erbjuder för att designa undervisning. Där kartlägger och karakteriserar vi det kulturella skript utifrån de finska lärarhandledningarna genom att analysera både form och funktion av de gemensamt föreslagna återkommande aktiviteterna. Vi identifierade en relativt homogen klassrumspraktik som lyfter fram helklassinteraktion, variation med hjälp av olika typer av aktiviteter, möjlighet för alla elever att delta och läxor som en förlängning av lärande av lektionens innehåll. Avhandlingen mynnar ut i en diskussion av resultatens slutsatser och dess praktiska implikationer, vilket kan vara av intresse för forskare, läromedelsförfattare men även för lärare, rektorer och kommuner som vill utveckla och förbättra undervisningen i matematik. Avhandlingen bidrar till den internationella forskningsdiskursen om läromedel i stort och om lärarhandledningar i synnerhet.

In 1991, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) created the Challenging Athletes' Minds for Personal Success (CHAMPS)/Life Skills Program to support the student development initiatives of participating universities and colleges and to enhance the quality of the collegiate student-athlete experience within the university setting (NCAA, 2005). The CHAMPS/Life Skills Program focuses on five areas: Academic Excellence, Athletic Excellence, Personal Development, Career Development, and Service. Very few modifications have been made to the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program Educational material. The material is out of date and does not meet the needs of instructors or collegiate student-athletes. Many university faculty members use various forms of technology to supplement their teaching methods. The current presentation of the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program content exists only in paper- and pencil- format.The purpose of this creative project was to update the existing CHAMPS/Life Skills Program material and transform the material into an electronic format. This project focused on updating the Personal Development chapter, including updates to topics such as: stress management and self-esteem. A Sport Psychology chapter was created to equip CHAMPS/Life Skills Program instructors with sport psychology knowledge applicable to a collegiate student-athlete population. Electronic and additional hard copy resources were created in this project. The updated chapters and an evaluation form were distributed to three academicians familiar with the Creative Project. The academicians were asked to provide feedback and evaluate the updated chapters. The provided feedback can be used during the final preparation of the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program Manual. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

This dissertation reports a metal-transfer-molding (MTM) technique for simultaneous implementation of air-lifted RF passive components, as well as coplanar waveguide (CPW) structures, in a high performance and potentially cost-effective fashion. A metal transfer mechanism is introduced into the conventional micro-molding process to realize polymer-core RF passive components and integration. A system-on-package (SOP) integration scheme of front-end RF components can be realized by this process. Several air-lifted RF components based on MTM technology have been presented with excellent performance. As an integration application of the MTM technology, a novel wireless passive airflow sensor based on the RF evanescent-mode cavity resonators has been also presented. The sensor makes use of RF technology to measure wind velocity through changes in the resonant frequency with applied airflow. Compared with reported wireless sensors based on conventional RF cavity resonator, this design has advantages such as compact size and greatly improved sensitivity. Wireless interrogating has also been demonstrated for the passive sensor. Overall, the RF components developed in this thesis illustrate the great potential of MTM technology in both wireless communication and sensor areas.