The Use of Project-Based Learning in a Technology Course for Math and Science Teachers

In this project, pre- and in-service math and science teachers used project-based learning to learn the complex skills involved in integrating technology into math and science teaching. The teachers in the course E36.1002: Microcomputer Applications in Math and Science Instruction in the Department of Teaching & Learning at New York University developed a four-week curriculum that integrates math, science, and technology using a common theme chosen by the teachers. The program has received very positive feedback from all participants and may be expanded in the future. Some recommendations are provided on how field experience in teaching with technology can be integrated into math and science teacher education programs

A Case Study of an Online Science Fair- The International Cyberscience Expo 2000 (ICE2000)

The International CyberScience Expo 2000 is a project that promotes project-based, science learning by secondary students. The event was organized and held entirely online in a collaborative virtual learning environment called ScienceMOO. It was found that ScienceMOO had great advantages and disadvantages as a tool for organizing and staging synchronous online events involving large numbers of people. Scheduling of online, synchronous meetings between the students and judges was very challenging. However, when judges did manage to meet with students, many beneficial interactions resulted

Children\u27s gender relations in the preschoool setting : parents\u27 and children\u27s [sic] perspectives as indicators for change

This study investigates how 4/5 year old children, from one preschool centre, and their parents perceive gender relations in our gendered society. By observing children\u27s interactions in a preschool setting, and discussing these interactions with the children involved, the discourses and discursive practices operating in the gender regime of this setting are uncovered. The characteristics of children\u27s gender relations in this setting are that asymmetrical relationships are prevalent; masculine and feminine storylines are common along with shared storylines; masculinise hegemonic discourses are dominant although many girls and boys cross the gender divide; some children see the other sex/gender as ‘foreign’ and children\u27s subjectivities fluctuate in interactions. Using a feminist poststructuralist analysis of the discourses dominant in this setting, indicators for change in this preschool setting are uncovered. Although male/female dualism is dominant and obvious, many opportunities for change are available through deconstruction of these discourses with and by the children. Through the use of a questionnaire and follow up interviews, parents\u27 perspectives on the gender relations in the gender regime of the home setting are established. Parents\u27 perspectives on gender relations in this setting are predominantly associated with subordinate ungendered discourses and discursive practices of our society. However, parents\u27 perspectives on their children\u27s beliefs and attitudes imply that the children themselves have gendered ideas about their relationships with their peers. Through the use of a feminist poststructuralist analysis of the discourses dominant in this setting, indicators for change in the home setting are established. Parental concern with regard to their children\u27s gendered ideas indicates that opportunities for change are available through parent/teacher partnerships. By combining the findings of both these investigations, a further step toward gender justice for this group of 4/5 year old children may be taken

Late Gadolinium Enhancement Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Assessment of Substrate for Ventricular Tachycardia With Hemodynamic Compromise.

Background: The majority of data regarding tissue substrate for post myocardial infarction (MI) VT has been collected during hemodynamically tolerated VT, which may be distinct from the substrate responsible for VT with hemodynamic compromise (VT-HC). This study aimed to characterize tissue at diastolic locations of VT-HC in a porcine model. Methods: Late Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was performed in eight pigs with healed antero-septal infarcts. Seven pigs underwent electrophysiology study with venous arterial-extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) support. Tissue thickness, scar and heterogeneous tissue (HT) transmurality were calculated at the location of the diastolic electrograms of mapped VT-HC. Results: Diastolic locations had median scar transmurality of 33.1% and a median HT transmurality 7.6%. Diastolic activation was found within areas of non-transmural scar in 80.1% of cases. Tissue activated during the diastolic component of VT circuits was thinner than healthy tissue (median thickness: 5.5 mm vs. 8.2 mm healthy tissue, p < 0.0001) and closer to HT (median distance diastolic tissue: 2.8 mm vs. 11.4 mm healthy tissue, p < 0.0001). Non-scarred regions with diastolic activation were closer to steep gradients in thickness than non-scarred locations with normal EGMs (diastolic locations distance = 1.19 mm vs. 9.67 mm for non-diastolic locations, p < 0.0001). Sites activated late in diastole were closest to steep gradients in tissue thickness. Conclusions: Non-transmural scar, mildly decreased tissue thickness, and steep gradients in tissue thickness represent the structural characteristics of the diastolic component of reentrant circuits in VT-HC in this porcine model and could form the basis for imaging criteria to define ablation targets in future trials

Site restoration: Estimation of attributable costs from plutonium-dispersal accidents

A nuclear weapons accident is an extremely unlikely event due to the extensive care taken in operations. However, under some hypothetical accident conditions, plutonium might be dispersed to the environment. This would result in costs being incurred by the government to remediate the site and compensate for losses. This study is a multi-disciplinary evaluation of the potential scope of the post-accident response that includes technical factors, current and proposed legal requirements and constraints, as well as social/political factors that could influence decision making. The study provides parameters that can be used to assess economic costs for accidents postulated to occur in urban areas, Midwest farmland, Western rangeland, and forest. Per-area remediation costs have been estimated, using industry-standard methods, for both expedited and extended remediation. Expedited remediation costs have been evaluated for highways, airports, and urban areas. Extended remediation costs have been evaluated for all land uses except highways and airports. The inclusion of cost estimates in risk assessments, together with the conventional estimation of doses and health effects, allows a fuller understanding of the post-accident environment. The insights obtained can be used to minimize economic risks by evaluation of operational and design alternatives, and through development of improved capabilities for accident response

Inconsistency of HAC standard errors in event studies with i.i.d. errors

Careless users of software with HAC adjustment should beware. In particular, in event study models with pulse dummies included as explanatory variables, the study shows that, in the presence of i.i.d. errors, HAC-adjusted t -statistics on the event dummies have divergent distributions and can, to the point of probability one, lead to spuriously identified significant events. Thus, point and click users of software with HAC adjustment would best be served by pre-testing the nature of the error term in regression models that contain pulse dummies before applying the adjustment.

XSOR codes users manual

This report describes the source term estimation codes, XSORs. The codes are written for three pressurized water reactors (Surry, Sequoyah, and Zion) and two boiling water reactors (Peach Bottom and Grand Gulf). The ensemble of codes has been named ``XSOR``. The purpose of XSOR codes is to estimate the source terms which would be released to the atmosphere in severe accidents. A source term includes the release fractions of several radionuclide groups, the timing and duration of releases, the rates of energy release, and the elevation of releases. The codes have been developed by Sandia National Laboratories for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in support of the NUREG-1150 program. The XSOR codes are fast running parametric codes and are used as surrogates for detailed mechanistic codes. The XSOR codes also provide the capability to explore the phenomena and their uncertainty which are not currently modeled by the mechanistic codes. The uncertainty distributions of input parameters may be used by an. XSOR code to estimate the uncertainty of source terms