Developing Internet E-Commerce Applications with Database Access using Active Server Pages

Connecting web sites to databases is foundational to electronic commerce on the Internet. Microsoft’s Active Server Pages is one tool which allows web sites to dynamically interact with database management systems. This tutorial shows how to create an electronic commerce application using this technology

WebSQL: An Interactive Web Tool for Teaching Structured Query Language

WebSQL is an interactive Internet tool for teaching Structured Query Language (SQL). It can be accessed from a Web Server running at the University of Minnesota or downloaded and installed on a Web Server at any accredited educational institution. It facilitates the learning of SQL by providing an interface to major database management systems for query execution on the web. It allows students to learn with large, rich databases, without the usual problems associated with installing client/server database systems in a lab on a traditional campus. The accompanying interactive SQL tutorial makes use of the these advantages in by allowing students to invoke the WebSQL query interface and dynamically modify and execute any example query

WebSQL: A Demonstration of an Interactive Web Tool for Teaching SQL

WebSQL is an interactive Internet tool for teaching Structured Query Language (SQL). It can be accessed from a Web Server running at the University of Minnesota or downloaded and installed on a Web Server at any accredited educational institution. It facilitates the learning of SQL by providing an interface to major database management systems for query execution on the web. The accompanying interactive SQL tutorial allows students to invoke the WebSQL query interface and dynamically modify and execute any example query

The role of the Connexions service in supporting the transition from school to post-16 education, employment training and work for young people with a history of specific speech and language difficulties or learning difficulties

The transition from school to the world of post-compulsory education is a major landmark in the lives of young people with special educational needs (SEN). In England the Connexions service set up to support young people during transition was planned to provide both a universal service and one that provided special support to vulnerable young people, particularly those at risk of not being in education, employment or training (NEET). The present paper reports the findings of a study of 46 Connexions personal advisers (PAs) who were supporting young people with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) or general learning difficulties, as part of a longitudinal study of these young people's development. Interviews were held with the PAs to identify patterns of organisation, the nature of services delivered to these young people and the factors that influenced successful support. The findings highlight the diversity among Connexions services, the limited expertise with young people with SEN and the structural barriers that may limit effectiveness. In addition, the Assessment, Planning, Implementation and Review Framework was not consistently used. The Connexions service has the potential to provide important support to young people with SEN at this key transition point but our study indicates the need for modifications to its operation

Neoliberalisation and 'lad cultures' in higher education

This paper links HE neoliberalisation and ‘lad cultures’, drawing on interviews and focus groups with women students. We argue that retro-sexist ‘laddish’ forms of masculine competitiveness and misogyny have been reshaped by neoliberal rationalities to become modes of consumerist sexualised audit. We also suggest that neoliberal frameworks scaffold an individualistic and adversarial culture among young people that interacts with perceived threats to men’s privilege and intensifies attempts to put women in their place through misogyny and sexual harassment. Furthermore, ‘lad cultures’, sexism and sexual harassment in higher education may be invisibilised by institutions to preserve marketability in a neoliberal context. In response, we ask if we might foster dialogue and partnership between feminist and anti-marketisation politics

PSR J1838-0537: Discovery of a young, energetic gamma-ray pulsar

We report the discovery of PSR J1838-0537, a gamma-ray pulsar found through a blind search of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The pulsar has a spin frequency of 6.9 Hz and a frequency derivative of -2.2e-11 Hz/s, implying a young characteristic age of 4970 years and a large spin-down power of 5.9e36 erg/s. Follow-up observations with radio telescopes detected no pulsations, thus PSR J1838-0537 appears radio-quiet as viewed from Earth. In September 2009 the pulsar suffered the largest glitch so far seen in any gamma-ray-only pulsar, causing a relative increase in spin frequency of about 5.5e-6. After the glitch, during a putative recovery period, the timing analysis is complicated by the sparsity of the LAT photon data, the weakness of the pulsations, and the reduction in average exposure from a coincidental, contemporaneous change in the LAT's sky-survey observing pattern. The pulsar's sky position is coincident with the spatially extended TeV source HESS J1841-055 detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). The inferred energetics suggest that HESS J1841-055 contains a pulsar wind nebula powered by the pulsar.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letter

Mauritius on fire: Tracking historical human impacts on biodiversity loss

Fire was rare on Mauritius prior to human arrival (AD 1598); subsequently three phases of elevated fire activity occurred: ca 1630–1747, 1787–1833, and 1950–modern. Elevated fire frequency coincided with periods of high human impact evidenced from the historical record, and is linked to the extinction of island endemics

A virtual graphic log for clastic sediments

Drawing a graphic log is a standard method to describe sedimentary rocks at outcrops or from borehole cores. Graphic logs give a visual impression of the rocks, their lithology, particle size, bedding contacts, sedimentary structures, palaeocurrents and fossil content as well as trends such as coarsening or fining upwards. The format of graphic logs and their styles vary. This paper includes outcrop photographs that were collected as part of a distance learning module in Sedimentology and provides an opportunity for students to practice drawing a graphic log without having to venture into the field, effectively bringing the field into the classroom. Instructions for drawing a graphic log are included. There is potential for virtual logs to provide a more open science approach to outcrop interpretation, enabling researchers to visit outcrops virtually and make their own descriptions and interpretations