Findings from the Teaching, Learning, and Computing Survey

Cuban (1986; 2000) has argued that computers are largely incompatible with the requirements of teaching, and that, for the most part, teachers will continue to reject their use as instruments of student work during class. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 4th through 12th grade teachers, this paper demonstrates that although Cuban correctly characterizes frequent use of computers in academic subject classes as a teaching practice of a small and distinct minority, certain conditions make a big difference in the likelihood of a teacher having her students use computers frequently during class time. In particular, academic subject-matter teachers who have at least five computers present in their classroom, who have at least average levels of technical expertise in their use, and who are in the top quartile on a reliable and extensive measure of constructivist teaching philosophy are very likely to have students make regular use of computers during class. More than 3/4 of such teachers have students use word processing programs regularly during class and a majority are regular users of at least one other type of software besides skill-based games. In addition, other factors-such as an orientation towards depth rather than breadth in their teaching(perhaps caused by limited pressures to cover large amounts of content) and block scheduling structures that provide for long class periods-are also associated with greater use of computers by students during class. Finally, the paper provides evidence that certain approaches to using computers result in students taking greater initiative in using computers outside of class time-approaches consistent with a constructivist teaching philosophy, rather than a standards- based, accountability-oriented approach to teaching. Thus, despite their clear minority status as a primary resource in academic subject classroom teaching, computers are playing a major role in at least one major direction of current instructional reform efforts

Port stakeholder perceptions of Sandy impacts: a case study of Red Hook, New York

Understanding the impacts of coastal storm hazards on all maritime port system stakeholders (e.g. operators, tenants, clients, workers, communities, governments) is essential to comprehensive climate change resilience planning. While direct damages and indirect impacts are quantifiable through economic data and modeling, qualitative data on the intangible consequences of storms are necessary to explicate interdependencies between stakeholders as well as conditions that substantially affect response and recovery capacities. This case study explores Hurricane Sandy storm impacts using evidence solicited from stakeholder representatives and extracted from contemporaneous and technical accounts of storm impacts on the port system at Red Hook Container Terminal, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Results highlight the wide range of direct damages, indirect costs, and intangible consequences impacting stakeholders across institutional boundaries and requiring coordination for recovery, providing insight into stakeholder relationships and dependencies in the post-disaster response and recovery process that are often not fully accounted for in current vulnerability assessment and response planning methodologies

Board 87: Work in Progress WIP Comparing the most demanded skills for Electrical and Computer Engineers (ECE) Graduates in the United States from the Perspective of ECE Academic Department Heads and ECE Professional Engineers

When students graduate from an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) program, there is a discrepancy or imbalance between the job-related competencies that firms require and what academic institutions deliver. As a result, there are more graduates who lack the skills that the market dictates. Due to the skills gap, recently recruited engineers may still need more training to gain necessary competencies, costing companies both time and money. The primary purpose of this study is to compare the skills ECE graduates should have upon graduation from ECE industry perspective and ECE academic department heads’ perspectives. In this context, this paper presents the outcomes of two surveys, one distributed to ECE professional engineers and the other to ECE department heads in the U.S. Both surveys used in this study were obtained from The College and Career Readiness and Success Center at the U.S. Department of Education. The surveys focus on nine major categories: applied academic skills, critical thinking skills, interpersonal skills, personal skills, resource management skills, information use skills, communication skills, system thinking skills, and technology use skills. In addition, ECE professional engineers and ECE department heads were asked to rank several skills on a 1-5 Likert scale, where one is not important and five is vital. Forty-five ECE department heads and 45 ECE professionals completed the surveys regarding the required skills ECE graduates should possess upon graduation and how vital these skills are. The results of the surveys highlight the gap between academic outcomes and industry expectations for ECE graduates. System thinking, communication, and resource management skills are the most important skills for ECE graduates from an ECE professional engineer’s point of view. Furthermore, ECE department heads believed that applied academic skills, critical thinking skills, and technology use skills are the most important, highlighting the difference between academia and industry. Furthermore, independent samples t-test was utilized to compare the data from the two surveys to determine whether statistically significant differences existed between the department head\u27s and professional engineers\u27 assessments of the technical aptitude of Electrical and Computer Engineering graduates

Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Dicarboxymethylation of Chiral Allylic Alcohols: Chirality Transfer Affording Optically Active Diesters Containing Three Contiguous Chiral Centers

This manuscript describes the extension of Stille’s palladium-catalyzed olefin dicarbonylation reaction to chiral allylic alcohols with chirality transfer to afford the corresponding chiral alcohol functionalized with bis-carbomethoxy esters, containing three contiguous chiral centers, in good to excellent diastereoselectivities (78–98%)

Concordia String Trio

Kemp Recital Hall Februaiy 2, 2018 Saturday Evening 7:30p.m

Group velocity matching in high-order harmonic generation driven by mid-infrared lasers

We analyze the role of group-velocity matching (GVM) in the macroscopic build up of the high-harmonic signal generated in gas targets at high pressures. A definition of the walk-off length, associated with GVM, in the non-perturbative intensity regime of high-harmonic generation is given. Semiclassical predictions based on this definition are in excellent agreement with full quantum simulations. We demonstrate that group velocity matching is a relevant factor in high harmonic generation and the isolation of attosecond pulses driven by long wavelength lasers and preferentially selects contributions from the short quantum trajectories.CH-G acknowledges support from the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the EU Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2007-2013), under REA grant Agreement No. 328334. AJ-B was supported by grants from the US National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. PHY-1125844 and PHY-1068706). CH-G and LP acknowledge support from Junta de Castilla y León (Project SA116U13, SA046U16) and MINECO (FIS2013-44174-P). MM, HK and AB acknowledge support by a MURI grant from Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Award Number FA9550-16-1-0121. This work utilized the Janus supercomputer, which is supported by the US National Science Foundation (Grant No. CNS-0821794) and the University of Colorado Boulder

Work in Progress: Assessing Engineering Students\u27 Behavioral Engagement and Learning; Survey Development and Validation

Studies have shown that the more involved students are with their learning, the better their achieved desired educational outcome. However, little is known about the extent to which the existing engineering curriculum and pedagogical strategy implemented elicit engineering students’ engagement in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) of the world. The goal of this study is to examine to what extent the existing engineering curriculum elicits student engagement in self-learning and collaborative learning. This effort is part of the ongoing re-evaluation and redesign of the water engineering curriculum of one of the countries in the MENA region by a research team across five Universities in the United State. To achieve this, a survey was developed by a team of US experts to evaluate the extent to which the current water engineering curriculum elicited students’ engagement and learning from the faculty’s perspective. In this research paper, the formation and psychometrics of the developed survey are explored. Exploratory factor analysis is conducted to derive latent constructs and refinement of the item list. Factor correlation is also conducted to investigate the association that exists between these constructs. Scree plots, parallel analysis, and factor loading is used in evaluating the final solution. Descriptive analysis is conducted to measure students’ engagement and learning with the current curriculum for instruction. The outcome of this study will reveal the state of students’ engagement and learning in this region. This provides vital information the curriculum review committee will be working with in developing a state-of-the-art curriculum that will engender the engagement and development of graduates who can function effectively in the workforce in solving the water scarcity and pollution in the MENA region. This work contributes to one of the sustainable development goals which is access to clean water and sanitation

Cosmological Constraints from the SDSS maxBCG Cluster Catalog

We use the abundance and weak lensing mass measurements of the SDSS maxBCG cluster catalog to simultaneously constrain cosmology and the richness--mass relation of the clusters. Assuming a flat \LambdaCDM cosmology, we find \sigma_8(\Omega_m/0.25)^{0.41} = 0.832\pm 0.033 after marginalization over all systematics. In common with previous studies, our error budget is dominated by systematic uncertainties, the primary two being the absolute mass scale of the weak lensing masses of the maxBCG clusters, and uncertainty in the scatter of the richness--mass relation. Our constraints are fully consistent with the WMAP five-year data, and in a joint analysis we find \sigma_8=0.807\pm 0.020 and \Omega_m=0.265\pm 0.016, an improvement of nearly a factor of two relative to WMAP5 alone. Our results are also in excellent agreement with and comparable in precision to the latest cosmological constraints from X-ray cluster abundances. The remarkable consistency among these results demonstrates that cluster abundance constraints are not only tight but also robust, and highlight the power of optically-selected cluster samples to produce precision constraints on cosmological parameters.Comment: comments welcom