Design, Implementation, and Assessment of an Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Watershed Research Laboratory

This article discusses the establishment of Shippensburg University's Burd Run Interdisciplinary Watershed Research Laboratory and the advantages of linking disciplinary perspectives across courses in geology, geography, biology, and teacher education. The laboratory provides an easily adaptable conceptual model for improving environmental science education at teaching-oriented institutions nationwide. Its success is largely attributable to three factors: the project is student-centered and goal specific; the selected watershed is accessible, diverse, and at a manageable scale; and the Laboratory Advisory Board provides for continuous revision, adaptation, and improvement. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Team-oriented process programming

Team-oriented process programming promises to provide significant support for the planning, directing, and controlling of software engineering projects. In this paper we apply process programming to software engineering teams and show how this can provide powerful new capabilities for the management of software projects. We identify key issues which must be addressed to apply process programming to teams, and present our vision for team-oriented process programming

Free and open source software development of IT systems

IT system development, integration, deployment, and administration benefit significantly from free and open source software (FOSS) tools and services. Affordability has been a compelling reason for adopting FOSS in computing curricula and equipping computing labs with support infrastructure. Using FOSS systems and services, however, is just the first step in taking advantage of how FOSS development principles and practices can impact student learning in IT degree programs. Above all, FOSS development of IT systems requires changes to how students, instructors, and other contributors work collaboratively and openly and get involved and invested in project activities. In this paper I examine the challenges to engage students in FOSS development projects proposed by real clients. A six-week course project revealed problems with adopting FOSS development and collaboration across different activities and roles that student team members have assumed. Despite these problems, students have showed a genuine and strong interest in gaining more practice with FOSS development. FOSS development teaching was further refined in two other courses to learn about adequate teaching strategies and the competencies that students achieve when they participate in FOSS development of IT systems

Using Java for distributed computing in the Gaia satellite data processing

In recent years Java has matured to a stable easy-to-use language with the flexibility of an interpreter (for reflection etc.) but the performance and type checking of a compiled language. When we started using Java for astronomical applications around 1999 they were the first of their kind in astronomy. Now a great deal of astronomy software is written in Java as are many business applications. We discuss the current environment and trends concerning the language and present an actual example of scientific use of Java for high-performance distributed computing: ESA's mission Gaia. The Gaia scanning satellite will perform a galactic census of about 1000 million objects in our galaxy. The Gaia community has chosen to write its processing software in Java. We explore the manifold reasons for choosing Java for this large science collaboration. Gaia processing is numerically complex but highly distributable, some parts being embarrassingly parallel. We describe the Gaia processing architecture and its realisation in Java. We delve into the astrometric solution which is the most advanced and most complex part of the processing. The Gaia simulator is also written in Java and is the most mature code in the system. This has been successfully running since about 2005 on the supercomputer "Marenostrum" in Barcelona. We relate experiences of using Java on a large shared machine. Finally we discuss Java, including some of its problems, for scientific computing.Comment: Experimental Astronomy, August 201

Operational Plan for HMIS Rollout to be Read in Conjunction with the MoH&SW Document of October 2007

The MoH&SW, with a consortium of partners, in October 2007, developed a Proposal to Strengthen the HMIS in Tanzania. This document builds on that proposal to develop a budgeted 6‐month plan to kick‐start implementation of the Revised MTUHA in one region and at national level, to develop a replicable model that can be scaled up to other regions as additional funds become available. The overall HMIS revision process will ensure that, within a period of five years the HMIS will be functional in all 21 regions of the country, in a phased manner Six months intensive systems and database development in Mtwara region Eighteen months implementation in one region in each of the six zones Within 5 years, National rollout to every region The initial six months implementation process, described in depth in this document, will use action research and participatory development methodology that will integrate the six work packages in the HMIS document, in line with the HSSP III proposals for strengthening M&E. A number of dedicated teams will roll out the HMIS, develop a toolkit for implementation in other regions and produce a modern web based data warehouse. The project logframe aims to provide quality routine data for monitoring MDGs and the NHSSPIII by producing five outputs – HMIS revision, HMIS implementation, Capacity development, the DHIS software and action research. Terms of reference are developed for each of the HMIS teams, based on the activities in the logframe – Indicator and dataset revision, HMIS design, Database development and training team. An action‐based budget of US$15 million is provided for three years that envisages The model region will cost$1,25 million for the first year, including the rollout activities, the development of training material, adaptation of software etc. The other six regions will cost 1,05million for first year; all regions will reduce to $500,000 for the second year and$300,000 in the third year. National level costs will reduce from $700,000 to 500,000 a year as local consultants replace international technical assistance and Ministry takes over running expenses. Rollout for the other 14 regions will need a separate budgeting process after the six regions, but should be in the range of 1,8 million a year (or less if costs can be reduced). The activities in the model initiation region will cost$1,2 million for the first year, including the rollout activities, the development of training material, adaptation of software et

Cracking the Code on Stem: A People Strategy for Nevada\u27s Economy

Nevada has in place a plausible economic diversification strategy—and it’s beginning to work. Now, the state and its regions need to craft a people strategy. Specifically, the state needs to boost the number of Nevadans who possess at least some postsecondary training in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or math—the so-called “STEM” disciplines (to which some leaders add arts and design to make it “STEAM”). The moment is urgent—and only heightened by the projected worker needs of Tesla Motors’ planned “gigafactory” for lithium-ion batteries in Storey County. Even before the recent Tesla commitment, a number of the more high-tech industry sectors targeted by the state’s new economic diversification strategy had begun to deliver significant growth. Most notable in fast-growing sectors like Business IT Ecosystems (as defined by the Governor’s Office for Economic Development) and large sectors like Health and Medical Services, this growth has begun to increase the demand in Nevada for workers with at least a modicum of postsecondary training in one or more STE M discipline. However, there is a problem. Even though many available opportunities require no more than the right community college certificate, insufficient numbers of Nevadans have pursued even a little STEM training. As a result, too few Nevadans are ready to participate in the state’s emerging STEM economy. The upshot: Without concerted action to prepare more Nevadans for jobs in STEM-intensive fields, skills shortages could limit growth in the state’s most promising target industries and Nevadans could miss out on employment that offers superior paths to opportunity and advancement. Which is the challenge this report addresses: Aimed at focusing the state at a critical moment, this analysis speaks to Nevada’s STEM challenge by providing a new assessment of Nevada’s STEM economy and labor market as well as a review of actions that leaders throughout the state—whether in the public, private, civic, or philanthropic sectors—can take to develop a workforce capable of supporting continued growth through economic diversification

The KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel: Design and Research Potential

So far, there has been no data set which observes firm formations in Germany not only on a cross-sectional basis using one-time surveys, but continuously over a number of years. Therefore, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), KfW Bankengruppe and Creditreform set up a panel study of newly founded firms in Germany: the KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel. In each of the yearly panel waves computer-aided telephone interviews (CATI) are conducted with about 6,000 start-up firms from almost all industries. The KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel will for the first time enable profound analyses of the temporal development of newly founded firms, including studies of firm survival. This paper describes the design of the KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel. The survey’s research potential is illustrated using data from the first panel wave conducted in the year 2008. Data access for external researchers and data protection issues of the confidential micro data are discussed.firm foundation, micro data, firm data, panel data, Germany