A preliminary evaluation of the use of graphic novels in teaching information systems

As a result of declining student numbers, and poor satisfaction ratings, an introductory information systems unit was completely redeveloped. A number of innovative initiatives were designed and implemented and the unit has seen a significant improvement in student satisfaction rates. This paper describes the development of a series of graphic novels as a strategy to both increase student engagement with the unit content and enhance the attainment of learning outcomes. It also discusses how the graphic novels were used in lectures, workshops, and competitions to increase student engagement (with varying degrees of success). Students have generally found the graphic novels to be a valuable learning resource. There is a paucity of studies on the impact of graphic novels as a teaching tool, particularly within the context of higher education, and this research is a contribution to this evident gap in the literature.<br /

Creating value in an introductory business IS and IT unit

Given the downturn in student enrolments in Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) units, and the poor performance of a first-year IS and IT common-core unit in a business school, a new unit was developed. Action and design science research methods were employed. The new unit has a unique focus on two key skills and on modern IT and information literacy. The first skill involves describing information systems, and the second, determining how to create business value with IT in specific business contexts. Modern IT tools like a Web-based productivity suite and professional networking services are introduced, together with advanced search techniques and services and an information quality evaluation framework. The evaluation of the utility and efficacy of the unit is based on the institutional standard student feedback survey and unsolicited feedback. The unit has achieved a significant improvement in evaluation results and feedback from students, as well as converting students who were previously averse to IS and IT to study further in these areas.<br /

Students taking notes and creating summaries together (or not)

Two collaborative elearning projects using cloud-based productivity tools were undertaken in a large first-year common-core business information systems and technology unit at an Australian university. The first project involved collaborative synchronous and asynchronous note taking and the second project involved collaborative synchronous and asynchronous summarising of unit materials. Enrolment was optional and very low (less than 3 per cent of approximately 600 students) and active participation even lower (even with considerable support provided). Results seem to indicate students need strong motivation to actively participate (especially when lurking can provide seemingly similar results). Students who did actively participate suggest active participation is probably more useful than the collaboration and somewhat resented students lurking. Collaborative elearning offers many rewards for students, teachers, and organisations, and the technology is available to facilitate this, even in very large classes, but it seems significantly harder to achieve than anticipated

Sen cycles and externalities

It has long been understood that externalities of some kind are responsible for Sen’s (1970) theorem on the impossibility of a Paretian liberal. However, Saari and Petron (2006) show that for any social preference cycle generated by combining the weak Pareto principle and individual decisiveness, every decisive individual must suffer at least one strong negative externality. We show that this fundamental result only holds when individual preferences are strict. Building on their contribution, we prove a general theorem for the case of weak preferences

Movement Matters: Results of an Introductory Dance Project at the Village of Humber Heights - Report Series # 16

Recent surveys suggest that, although they seem to understand its value and importance (Ory et al., 2003), less than a quarter of all older adults get the recommended amount of exercise (Statistics Canada, 2005). It is possible that the majority of exercise programs currently available are traditional and gym-based, offering limited ways of encouraging active engagement that may not be appealing to many older adults. In recent years, the benefits of dance programs that incorporate flexibility and balance training have been explored. The current pilot project examined the potential for dance training to be considered an innovative health promotion strategy, one that encourages healthy aging and helps to maintain functional autonomy. Older adults from the Village of Humber Heights participated in 12 weeks of ballet and contemporary dance training. Pre- and post-dance training physical (flexibility, agility, muscular endurance and balance) measures were gathered. In addition, participants were invited to write in a journal for the duration of the dance training; this allowed the researchers to identify potential internal and external barriers to inclusion in physical activity (e.g., self limiting beliefs, stereotypes and/or lack of opportunity)

Chapter 4- Human Dimensions of Water for Food Production

Feeding 9 Billion and Maintaining the Planet: Meeting the Challenge of 2050 Environmental concerns, which fall outside normal market powers, require special incentives and consideration in water resource decisions, Marty Matlock said. Given that the world’s population now consumes past the point of sustainability, should sustainability be a market choice for consumers? “This should be pre-competitive,” Matlock said. “The consumers should have confidence that everything they buy complies with a certain threshold of humanity, of behavior, of ethics and sustainability.” The market has the power to move materials, goods and services from areas of plenty to those of scarcity. The problem is that the market is not responding to water scarcity, in part because crops are grown where there is no water. For example, in Brazil, areas that once were rainforest now grow 2.4 crops annually for export to China. “They’re exporting de facto water to China,” Matlock said. Another example stems from the 1 billion people who lack access to water and the 2.4 billion who don’t have basic sanitation. Every day, waterborne diseases kill 5,400 children. “That’s the cost of this failure of technology – failure of civilizations,” Matlock said. “It’s a pretty dramatic cost.” Global climate change will increase water scarcity in already water-stressed areas. Although agriculture no longer accounts for 90 percent of global water use, as it did in 1900, agricultural water use has increased fivefold since then. Competing with other sectors for limited water affects the many other uses that are not monetized, such as biodiversity. The Colorado and Ganges rivers offer examples of dramatic decreases in water discharge due to overallocation. Peak flows have not changed, but critical base flows have dropped considerably over time. “It’s hard to have a functional, viable aquatic ecosystem without the aquatic,” Matlock said. Rice, which accounts for 15 percent of human water use, presents another problem. But improvement is possible, Matlock said. Human Dimensions of Water for Food Production Anheuser-Busch InBev, for example, achieved 4.7 percent per-unit reductions in rice culture, saving 3.5 billion liters of water in five years. Water intake is only one issue; equally important is water effluent. From an ecological standpoint, given grossly limited incentive funding, Matlock believes profitable production practices should not be incentivized. “If you already have an incentive for conserving water − reducing soil erosion − then we don’t need to give you more money to do that which you ought to be doing anyway, because the marketplace will weed you out if you don’t perform,” he said. “It’s the things that we don’t incentivize, like preservation of riparian zones, that we should perhaps be incentivizing with our limited resources.” The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System offers an example of the interconnectedness of agriculture effluent and environmental harm. Pollutants, particularly sediment and nutrients carried downstream from plantations to the Caribbean Sea, have the equivalent effect of a 10-degree temperature change, bleaching the coral reefs. Impacts that are acceptable with 6.7 billion people will not be with 9 billion, Matlock concluded. If management happens only to things that are measured, and not everything can be measured, which metrics are important and how can they be incentivized? “We have to shift our thinking from maximizing any one variable or metric to optimizing several key ones.

Chapter 6- A View from Agricultural Producers

Rainfed and Irrigated Production in Argentina Martin Pasman, an Argentine agronomist with a master’s degree in business administration, began his career as a consultant to farmers and has experience in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil, where he was instrumental in helping to develop 80,000 hectares in the western part of the Cerrado area. His farming experience stems from his family’s farms, located in five areas of Argentina. Most are rainfed, but one area receives less than 500 millimeters of rain annually. Pasman also runs an irrigation business serving 80 percent of the Argentine market, giving him vast experience in developing irrigated land. Argentina is the second-largest South American country after Brazil and is one-third the size of the U.S. One-third of Argentina receives more than 800 millimeters of rain and depends upon rainfed agriculture, while the majority receives less than 800 millimeters. Argentina cultivates 30 million hectares per year, of which 2.2 million are irrigated. Total production output is 90 million metric tons, and about 70 percent of farmers in Argentina practice no-till agriculture. Pasman’s family came to Argentina from the U.S. around 1825, when it was primarily cattle country. His family brought the first Aberdeen Angus bull to Argentina and also helped develop agriculture. In the 1970s, the family farmed 6,000 hectares, of which only 500 were used for crops, yielding 3.5 tons of corn per hectare and 1.5 tons of wheat per hectare. They plowed the land and used few herbicides and no fertilizers. The majority of the land was used to raise 3,000 head of cattle, which were finished in natural pastures. Today, the family’s farm operation has expanded to 20,000 hectares, 15,000 of them used for agriculture. In the low-productivity land, they also manage 9,000 head of cattle in cow-calf operations, finishing the animals in American style feedlots. In rainfed fields, the Pasmans produce 8 tons of corn per hectare and 3 tons of wheat; under irrigation, they get 12 tons of corn and 6 tons of wheat. The most important crop, however, is soybeans. They also grow potatoes, corn and sunflower seeds for Monsanto Company. The farm uses 42 pivots to irrigate 4,000 hectares, and about 80 percent of the farm is double-cropped: wheat plus soybeans, seed corn plus soybeans, potato plus corn. Argentina uses a huge amount of herbicides and genetically modified crops, Pasman said, adding that his farm was one of the first to produce Roundup Ready® soybean seeds in 1994. A View from Agricultural Producers “The cornerstone of our production technology is no-till,” Pasman said, a technique used on the entire farm except the potato fields, which follow a rotation of one year of potatoes followed by three years of no-till. A corn crop follows the potato harvest in the same year. No-till improves water infiltration and water retention and reduces evaporation because the previous crops’ residue minimizes runoff and allows the soil to retain more water. No-till also reduces erosion risk and increases organic matter, improving oxidation and carbon circulation in the soil. It improves soil fertility, increases productivity and sustainability, and allows farming in difficult soils, particularly shallow soils of 3 inches. No-till uses less than half the water and less labor compared to conventional tillage, reducing production costs by 30 percent, Pasman concluded. “It is very important, the mix of no tillage with center pivot (irrigation) against traditional management.

Appendix- Water for Food conference proceedings

Poster Competition, Conference Participants, and Photos Technologies and Advances in Water Management Human Dimensions of Water for Food Production Genetics and Physiology of Crop Water Other Conference Participants (148-153) Photos (154-160

Chapter 6- A View from Agricultural Producers

Rainfed and Irrigated Production in Argentina Martin Pasman, an Argentine agronomist with a master’s degree in business administration, began his career as a consultant to farmers and has experience in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil, where he was instrumental in helping to develop 80,000 hectares in the western part of the Cerrado area. His farming experience stems from his family’s farms, located in five areas of Argentina. Most are rainfed, but one area receives less than 500 millimeters of rain annually. Pasman also runs an irrigation business serving 80 percent of the Argentine market, giving him vast experience in developing irrigated land. Argentina is the second-largest South American country after Brazil and is one-third the size of the U.S. One-third of Argentina receives more than 800 millimeters of rain and depends upon rainfed agriculture, while the majority receives less than 800 millimeters. Argentina cultivates 30 million hectares per year, of which 2.2 million are irrigated. Total production output is 90 million metric tons, and about 70 percent of farmers in Argentina practice no-till agriculture. Pasman’s family came to Argentina from the U.S. around 1825, when it was primarily cattle country. His family brought the first Aberdeen Angus bull to Argentina and also helped develop agriculture. In the 1970s, the family farmed 6,000 hectares, of which only 500 were used for crops, yielding 3.5 tons of corn per hectare and 1.5 tons of wheat per hectare. They plowed the land and used few herbicides and no fertilizers. The majority of the land was used to raise 3,000 head of cattle, which were finished in natural pastures. Today, the family’s farm operation has expanded to 20,000 hectares, 15,000 of them used for agriculture. In the low-productivity land, they also manage 9,000 head of cattle in cow-calf operations, finishing the animals in American style feedlots. In rainfed fields, the Pasmans produce 8 tons of corn per hectare and 3 tons of wheat; under irrigation, they get 12 tons of corn and 6 tons of wheat. The most important crop, however, is soybeans. They also grow potatoes, corn and sunflower seeds for Monsanto Company. The farm uses 42 pivots to irrigate 4,000 hectares, and about 80 percent of the farm is double-cropped: wheat plus soybeans, seed corn plus soybeans, potato plus corn. Argentina uses a huge amount of herbicides and genetically modified crops, Pasman said, adding that his farm was one of the first to produce Roundup Ready® soybean seeds in 1994. A View from Agricultural Producers “The cornerstone of our production technology is no-till,” Pasman said, a technique used on the entire farm except the potato fields, which follow a rotation of one year of potatoes followed by three years of no-till. A corn crop follows the potato harvest in the same year. No-till improves water infiltration and water retention and reduces evaporation because the previous crops’ residue minimizes runoff and allows the soil to retain more water. No-till also reduces erosion risk and increases organic matter, improving oxidation and carbon circulation in the soil. It improves soil fertility, increases productivity and sustainability, and allows farming in difficult soils, particularly shallow soils of 3 inches. No-till uses less than half the water and less labor compared to conventional tillage, reducing production costs by 30 percent, Pasman concluded. “It is very important, the mix of no tillage with center pivot (irrigation) against traditional management.

Chapter 4- Human Dimensions of Water for Food Production

Feeding 9 Billion and Maintaining the Planet: Meeting the Challenge of 2050 Environmental concerns, which fall outside normal market powers, require special incentives and consideration in water resource decisions, Marty Matlock said. Given that the world’s population now consumes past the point of sustainability, should sustainability be a market choice for consumers? “This should be pre-competitive,” Matlock said. “The consumers should have confidence that everything they buy complies with a certain threshold of humanity, of behavior, of ethics and sustainability.” The market has the power to move materials, goods and services from areas of plenty to those of scarcity. The problem is that the market is not responding to water scarcity, in part because crops are grown where there is no water. For example, in Brazil, areas that once were rainforest now grow 2.4 crops annually for export to China. “They’re exporting de facto water to China,” Matlock said. Another example stems from the 1 billion people who lack access to water and the 2.4 billion who don’t have basic sanitation. Every day, waterborne diseases kill 5,400 children. “That’s the cost of this failure of technology – failure of civilizations,” Matlock said. “It’s a pretty dramatic cost.” Global climate change will increase water scarcity in already water-stressed areas. Although agriculture no longer accounts for 90 percent of global water use, as it did in 1900, agricultural water use has increased fivefold since then. Competing with other sectors for limited water affects the many other uses that are not monetized, such as biodiversity. The Colorado and Ganges rivers offer examples of dramatic decreases in water discharge due to overallocation. Peak flows have not changed, but critical base flows have dropped considerably over time. “It’s hard to have a functional, viable aquatic ecosystem without the aquatic,” Matlock said. Rice, which accounts for 15 percent of human water use, presents another problem. But improvement is possible, Matlock said. Human Dimensions of Water for Food Production Anheuser-Busch InBev, for example, achieved 4.7 percent per-unit reductions in rice culture, saving 3.5 billion liters of water in five years. Water intake is only one issue; equally important is water effluent. From an ecological standpoint, given grossly limited incentive funding, Matlock believes profitable production practices should not be incentivized. “If you already have an incentive for conserving water − reducing soil erosion − then we don’t need to give you more money to do that which you ought to be doing anyway, because the marketplace will weed you out if you don’t perform,” he said. “It’s the things that we don’t incentivize, like preservation of riparian zones, that we should perhaps be incentivizing with our limited resources.” The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System offers an example of the interconnectedness of agriculture effluent and environmental harm. Pollutants, particularly sediment and nutrients carried downstream from plantations to the Caribbean Sea, have the equivalent effect of a 10-degree temperature change, bleaching the coral reefs. Impacts that are acceptable with 6.7 billion people will not be with 9 billion, Matlock concluded. If management happens only to things that are measured, and not everything can be measured, which metrics are important and how can they be incentivized? “We have to shift our thinking from maximizing any one variable or metric to optimizing several key ones.