Enhancing IT Architect capabilities: Experiences within a university subject

The role of IT Architect is important in the development and successful implementation of Information Technology systems across the world. The people performing the role are critical to the success of the systems. This paper reports on the results of an experiment aimed at developing two key IT architect capabilities within the context of a post graduate Systems Architecture subject. One capability is related to problem solving and while surprisingly student problem solving confidence was impacted other aspects of problem solving important for IT Architects were unchanged. The other capability being researched, future time orientation was also unchanged through intervention. Therefore alternative approaches for improving these capabilities are preferable as factors such as external pressures on the students within the semester outweighed any short term capability improvement

Improved Vectors for Selecting Resistance to Hygromycin

Resistance to hygromycin B is an important dominant selectable marker in fungal transformation. Our goal was to improve vectors for hygromycin selection by making the gene more compact, by eliminating sites for commonly used restriction enzymes, and by subcloning the modified gene into convenient vectors. These improvements were made by modifying pCSN43 (Staben et al. 1989 Fungal Genetics Newsl. 36:79-81) through three rounds of megaprimer mutagenesis (Aiyar and Leis, 1993 Biotechniques 14:366-368 ), a technique based on polymerase chain reaction amplification. Plasmid pCSN43 has a 2.4 kb SalI fragment containing the bacterial hph gene (Gritz and Davies, 1983 Gene 25:179-188), encoding hygromycin B phosphotransferase, under control of the Aspergillus nidulans trpC promoter and terminator (Mullaney et al. 1985 MGG 199:37-45

A CSO Search for ll-C3_3H+^+: Detection in the Orion Bar PDR

The results of a Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) search for $l$-C$_3$H$^+$, first detected by Pety et al. (2012) in observations toward the Horsehead photodissociation region (PDR), are presented. A total of 39 sources were observed in the 1 mm window. Evidence of emission from $l$-C$_3$H$^+$ is found in only a single source - the Orion Bar PDR region, which shows a rotational temperature of 178(13) K and a column density of 7(2) x $10^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$. In the remaining sources, upper limits of ~10$^{11} - 10^{13}$ cm$^{-2}$ are found. These results are discussed in the context of guiding future observational searches for this species.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, 4 table

Cultural Resources Survey: Freeport, Harbor, Texas, (45-Foot) Navigation Improvement Project, Brazoria County, Texas

In October and November of 1980, the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, conducted an intensive resource survey and limited testing in an area on either side of the mouth of the Brazos River in Brazoria County, Texas. A history was composed of the project area in relation to that of the Republic and State of Texas. A structural history of the town of Velasco was compiled from archival and historical research. Intensive survey and assessment of the project area resulted in the conclusion that, aside from a few possible subsurface indications at or below the water level, Fort Velasco and the townsite of Velasco have been eliminated by the action of successive tropical storms. It is recommended, however, that further intensive testing be carried out if the area within Monument Square of old Velasco is to be seriously impacted by the Freeport Harbor Navigation Improvement Project

Northern Bobwhite Habitat Modeling on a Military Installation in Relation to Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Management

The Department of Defense (DoD) manages natural resources on ~ 8 million ha of land. A top priority for much of this land is to restore and maintain native ecosystems and associated wildlife species. However, given the typical location (i.e., threatened ecosystems) and size of DoD lands, management conflicts usually occur among endangered/threatened species and game species. Military installations in the southeastern United States are commonly managed to protect red-cockaded woodpecker (Piciodes borealis) (RCW) populations and longleaf-wiregrass ecosystems. Mandated RCW management is not entirely compatible with other declining species such as northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Land managers need to be equipped with spatially-explicit habitat models that can be used to make informed decisions on how to manage for particular species. Data collected on Fort Gordon Military Installation, Georgia from male bobwhite whistle counts during summer 2010 and 2011 will be used to construct competing models on the relationship between RCW management and other habitat structure metrics as it relates to bobwhite habitat suitability. These data were collected using a robust occupancy sampling design to allow open and closed population assumptions. Preliminary data suggests the RCW habitat ranking matrix is a poor predictor of bobwhite habitat suitability and, more alarmingly, RCW population performance. These models will assist natural resource managers on DoD land in making efficient decisions in the face of uncertainty

After Constantine\u27s Sword: The Past, Present, and Future of Jewish-Christian Relations

An Interfaith Conversation with award-winning author: James Carroll. With responses by: Dr. Ellen M. Umansky, Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies and Dr. Elizabeth A. Dreyer, Professor of Religious Studies. Also participating: Bill Huselman \u2798; M.T.S. Harvard Divinity School, \u2701.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/bennettcenter-posters/1216/thumbnail.jp

Impacts of Bermudagrass on Northern Bobwhite Chicks: Mobility and Heat Exposure

Conservation programs to benefit northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) and other agriculturally-related wildlife species often target crop-field margins for management. The Bobwhite Quail Initiative in Georgia is a program where 3- to 18-m strips are disked and left fallow for 3-year cycles. However, several exotic grasses, such as bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), encroach in field margins, reducing their usefulness for avian species. We hypothesized that dense mats of bermudagrass would be a physical barrier to bobwhite chicks and also serve as a heat trap reducing habitat quality. We conducted two experiments to assess these factors. First, we used human-imprinted bobwhite chicks, 5 and 10 days of age, to assess mobility through vegetation with 3 levels (none, moderate, and high) of bermudagrass invasion. There was a significant impact of bermudagrass density on mobility of 5-day old chicks (P 1⁄4 0.002), but no effect on 10-day old chicks (P 1⁄4 0.38). Second, we placed temperature recorders at ground level in plots in field margins that had .75% cover of bermudagrass and those with .75% coverage of forbs. The mean temperature of bermudagrass plots was greater than in forb plots (P 1⁄4 0.03). The percentage of time above the 40 8C critical threshold temperature for bobwhites was greatest in bermudagrass plots (P 1⁄4 0.03) and ranged over 33–38% of daytime hours, but only 6-26% for forb plots. Our data suggests that bermudagrass degrades the quality of field margins and control of exotic invasive grasses is warranted to improve their efficacy