Preparing pre-service teachers for online teaching

This dissertation combines studies and research from two educational fields as a partial requirement for a major in Curriculum and Instruction and a minor in Applied Linguistics and Technology. It is presented in a non-traditional dissertation format that includes three publishable articles with the introduction and conclusion chapters. The first article represents the literature review portion that includes a critique of an existing skills framework for online language teaching followed by a proposed framework for online language teaching skills. This article also uses a systems view to look at the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in an online learning system. Four major recommendations are provided to help language teacher training programs prepare future language teachers for online language teaching. The second article starts with a review of research and literature on conceptual change in education. It is followed by a proposed conceptual change framework to help pre-service teachers increase their awareness of online education, commonly known in the US as virtual schooling (VS). This study used a grounded approach to identify common preconceptions, misconceptions, and concerns of VS based on secondary data that included pre-service teachers\u27 personal journals and responses to a set of materials related to VS in part of a curriculum intervention in a pre-existing introductory field experience course at a large Midwestern university. Findings were complemented by insights from an interview with the course instructor and the researcher\u27s journal. The article shows the importance of identifying pre-service teachers\u27 preconceptions, misconceptions, and concerns about VS to facilitate the selection of relevant resources and the design of curricular activities. The third article takes a case study approach to the study of a pilot virtual field experience. This article proposes that a field experience on VS should be offered virtually because traditional field experiences cannot fully capture the reality of VS since VS includes changes in roles, such as the complementary roles of a VS teacher and a VS site-facilitator. An in-depth analysis was conducted on the data that included personal journals and reflections from three teacher candidates at a large Midwestern university. Findings were complemented with insights from interviews with the VS teacher and the university field placement director, and the researcher\u27s journal. The article sheds light on the importance of virtual field experiences to facilitate the understanding of VS

Deep Well Injection of Liquid Radioactive Waste at Krasnoyarsk-26

Early methods of radioactive waste (RW) management in the former Soviet Union (FSU) were plagued with serious problems, which eventually prompted investigations into RW disposal methods that could provide a more reliable isolation of wastes from humans and the accessible environment. Deep well injection was chosen as a potential method of RW disposal, and, after extensive testing of the concept and numerous calculations of the likely consequences, discharges into deep geological formations at Krasnoyarsk-26 began between 1967 and 1969. This study was initiated because there were no published, independent assessments of the deep well injection systems at Krasnoyarsk-26 that used site-specific geology and data. The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), in cooperation with Russian experts, undertook independent analyses of waste migration at the site, using data gathered by official Russian organizations over a 40-year period of exploration and exploitation of the repositories. The results of the modeling efforts carried out by IIASA and the Russian organizations -- VNIPIPT and IGEM -- indicate that the existing system of deep well injection at Krasnoyarsk is functioning as designed. Under the current best understanding of site conditions, there is very little likelihood that the injected wastes would reach the earth's surface prior to the time that the radioactive materials had been absorbed, decayed, or dispersed to concentrations far below standards set for drinking water

Deep Well Injection of Liquid Radioactive Waste at Krasnoyarsk-26: Analysis of Hypothetical Scenarios. Volume II

The Mining and Chemical Combine (MCC), located approximately 60 km north of the city of Krasnoyarsk,is one of two major sites in the Russian Federation where liquid radioactive wastes (LRW) are disposed of by deep well injection. Disposal of LRW at the MCC through the use of deep well injectio started in 1967. The Severny ("Northern") site, approximately 15 km north of the MCC, was launched after the completion of special geological surveys and explorations performed by istitutions of the Ministry of Geology and Russian Academy of Sciences. The site was designed by Mintom institutions. As of 1995, 5 million cubic meters (m3) of LRW had been injected into two deep aquifers at the site. The waste includes both radioactive fission products and nonradioactive chemicas used in reprocessing of spent fuel. The total activity, decay corrected to 1995, is approximately 250 million Curies (Ci). Detailed information about radioactive waste disposal at the Severny site is presented in Volume I of this report (Compton et al., 2000), which includes an evaluation of the safety of the site under normal post-operational conditions. For further information on the background data contained in Chapter 2 of that report, see Appendix I. The subject of the current report is the likelihood and consequence of hypothetical accidents and extreme natural events after site decommissioning, including a brief overview of the factors involved in the development of decommissioning plans at the site

Releases of Radionuclides to Surface Waters at Krasnoyarsk-26 and Tomsk-7

During the Cold War, production and testing of nuclear weapons in the United States and the Soviet Union led to major releases of radioactive materials into the environment. Although large studies have begun to clarify the magnitude and impact of releases in the United States, only since Perestroika has information become available to begin an evaluation of the significance of releases into the environment in the former Soviet Union (FSU). The Radiation Safety of the Biosphere (RAD) Project at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), begun in 1995, is currently evaluating the radiation legacy of the nuclear weapons complex in the FSU. Because the three sites of Chelyabinsk-65 (Mayak Production Association - MPA), Tomsk-7 (Siberian Chemical Combine - SCC), and Krasnoyarsk-26 (Mining and Chemical Combine - MCC) account for the vast majority of the radioactive materials released into the environment in the FSU, these sites are the focus of RAD's studies. Contamination of such sites has resulted from normal and emergency atmospheric releases (such as the 1993 tank explosion at Tomsk-7), discharge of radioactively contaminated waste and cooling waters into rivers, spills and leaks, and deep-well injection disposal of liquid radioactive waste. This study is limited to the impact of past discharges of radioactive materials to the Yanisei River at the MCC and the Tom River at the SCC. Future studies are planned to assess the significance of deep-well injection of wastes at the MCC

Analysis of the Dose Commitments Resulting from Atmospheric Transport and Deposition from Nuclear Risk Sites in the Russian Far East

The purpose of this study was to estimate the worst-case case dose commitments and potential consequences of accidental releases at nuclear risk sites in the Russian Far East. The nuclear risk sites of concern are near Petropavlovsk (52055'N & 158030'E) and Vladivostok (42055'N & 132025'E). The region of interest includes the territories of the Russian Far East, China, Japan, North and South Korea, State of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, Mongolia, Burma, Hong Kong, Laos, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The transboundary region (i.e., that outside of Russia) is of primary interest because the largest doses resulting from hypothetical releases from these sites would reside in Russia and would be examined using site specific information and detailed models that were unavailable for this study. However, the transboundary region can be examined, in general, using existing information and models. The The methodology from the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) 1993 Report was used in this study to estimate effective dose commitments. It is recognized that this methodology is not the only acceptable manner to estimate such doses; the methodology was selected because it is independent, defensible, and, because it is based upon a multiplicative model, lends itself to a facile examination of parameter variation. The research tool used to generate the deposition data used as the basis of this study was a long-range transport model - the Danish Emergency Response Model of the Atmosphere (DERMA) which was used to simulate the 5-d atmospheric transport, dispersion and deposition of Cs-137 for a one-day release at a rate of 10Bq s-1 for a total "unit hypothetical release" of 8.64x10 14 Bq. The meteorological data from the European Center for Medium- Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF, Reading, UK) based on the ECMWF global model forecast and analysis were used as input data for the model simulation. Using the DERMA model, the total Cs-137 depositions (i.e., sums of pertinent dry and wet deposition values) were computed for over 90% of the days in calendar year 2000. The necessary meteorological data was missing for the remaining days. In this report, Sr-90 and I-131 were radionuclides that might also have been of concern depending upon the conditions of the study. However, because of a lack of time and resources, the deposition values were not computed for these radionuclides for all calendar year 2000 days. There were Sr-90 and I-131 concentration and deposition data provided for selected days that were considered representative of the variation of the climactic condtions for the region for the year 2000. These data were used to generate simple, linear linear relationships between the unavailable Sr-90 and I-131 concentration and deposition data and the corresponding Cs-137 data. These relationships were found to be sufficiently accurate for the general examination undertaken in this report and were used to generate the necessary, unavailable data. From an examination of the appropriate source term information and deposition to dose transfer factors from both the UNSCEAR 1993 Report and the worst-case scenario, Cs-137 was determined to be the radionuclide of primary concern for this study. The Cs-137 deposition- to-dose transfer factor was dominated by the external exposure (to ground deposition) pathway. For the Petropavlovsk nuclear risk site, the maximum Cs-137 total deposition (locates in Russia) translated into a worst-case maximum effective dose commitment of 108 mSv per person for the maximum exposed individual (i.e., teen). For the transboundary region (i.e., that area outside of Russia), the maximum effective dose commitment was 5.0 mSv per teen. This maximum value was located in the State of Alaska; the maximum effective dose commitment for the Aleutian Islands was 3.3 mSv per teen. The maximum effective dose commitments in the effected U.S. territories were generally three to four times higher than those in Japan, the transboundary country with the next highest maximum dose commitments resulting from accidental releases from the Petropavlovsk risk site. For the Vladivostok nuclear risk site, the maximum Cs-137 137 total deposition (located again in Russia) translated into a worst-case maximum effective dose commitment of 102 mSv per teen. For the transboundary region, the maximum effective dose commitment for Cs-137 was 27 mSv per teen. These maximum values were located in China, which is proximate to the Vladivostok site. The maximum effective dose commitments for Japan and N. Korea are approximately the same (i.e., within a factor of two) as that for China. Note that the maximum effective dose commitments in the U.S. territories are generally more than a factor of 60 lower than those in China, the transboundary country with the highest maximum dose commitments resulting from accidental releases from the Vladivostok risk site. The maximum worst-case dose commitments corresponding to the potential Petropavlovsk and Vladivostok releases for both the regional and transboundary conditions were also compared to various annual reference levels (i.e., 0.15, 1.0, 10, and 100 mSv per person) discussed in the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 82 Report pertaining to practices and interventions and the annual background radiation dose (i.e., 2.4 mSv per person) provided in the UNSCEAR 1993 Report. These comparisons were conservative because the effective dose commitments computed in this report are being compared to annual reference values and background doses. The worst-case maximum dose commitments from the Petropavlovsk site for the transboundary region on over 99% of all year 2000 days studied are less than the average annual background radiation dose. For the Vladivostok releases, the worst-case maximum dose commitments are less than the average annual background radiation dose for more than 44% of all year 2000 days studied. Furthermore, the maximum dose commitments corresponding to the Vladivostok releases for more than 90% of the year 2000 days studied are less than the annual 10 mSv per person level in which interventions are rarely justified and are all less than the annual 100 mSv per person level in which interventions are almost always justifiable according to ICRP 82. Therefore, the impacts from the adjusted Vladivostok releases would be, in general, more significant than those from Petropavlovsk (even though the Petropavlovsk releases translate into the maximum, worst-case dose commitment). The more significant impacts of the potential Vladivostok releases were compounded by the fact that many more people were impacted than from the corresponding hypothetical Petropavlovsk releases. However, the dose commitments from the potential Vladivostok releases could be considered negligible when compared to the 10 mSv per person level in which interventions are rarely justified. The maximum collective dose commitments corresponding to the worst-case dose commitments were also computed. The results indicate that even though the maximum effective dose commitments from the Petropavlovsk and Vladivostok releases were similar, the larger populations impacted by the Vladivostok releases generally resulted in significantly larger collective dose commitments and thus potential mortalities than those for the Petropavlovsk releases. For example, the maximum number of additional mortalities on a regional basis resulting from the worst-case Petropavlovsk scenario would be 355 with as many as 329 in Japan, 83 in China, 18 in the State of Alaska, and 10 in S. Korea. However, for the Vladivostok releases, there could be as many as 9771 additional mortalities on a regional basis, and the additional mortalities for Japan, China, N. Korea, S. Korea, Russia, and Taiwan would be 9501, 8575, 2485, 2436, 1614, and 318, respectively. The U.S. territories and Hong Kong might have an additional two mortalities each. However, even though these mortality numbers may appear large, it should be noted that none of the transboundary values exceed 9 mortalities per 100 000 persons, which is found in N. Korea resulting from the worst-case Vladivostok scenario. Because the aggregation of doses over large areas is contrary to the recommendation of the ICRP, a series of threshold values were imposed on the worst-case results to determine whether the conclusions would change dramatically. The impact on the maximum worst-case collective dose commitments for the Petropavlovsk releases would be significan. For example, if a threshold of 1 mSv per person is imposed on the collective dose computation, then the collective dose commitment for all transboundary areas except for the U.S. territories falls to zero (and this includes Japan, which had the largest collective dose commitment). However, the impact of imposing such thresholds on the collective dose commitments from the Vladivostok releases was much less profound than that for the corresponding Petropavlovsk dose commitments; in fact, the imposition of thresholds up to 1 mSv per person had little impact on the collective dose commitments for most countries in the region of interest. Even though the impact on the collective doses related to the Vladivostok releases was small, it remains true that the worst-case impacts of the effective dose commitments for the releases from both the Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk sites were negligible when compared to metrics such as the average annual background dose and other causes of death in the affected countries

Development of a Catastrophe Model for Managing the Risks of Urban Flash Flooding in Vienna

This report provides a case study examining flood risks in the city of Vienna. The purpose is to illustrate an interdisciplinary approach to flood risk analysis, combining hydrological flood risk assessment and simulation modeling with the finances of flood risk management. Three scenarios were preliminarily identified for analysis: catastrophic flooding on a major European river (the Danube) that flows through Vienna; storm flooding due to failure of storm drainage systems; and flash flooding of a small tributary (the Vienna River) that flows into the Danube. Our initial efforts revealed that the Vienna River flash flooding scenario was a credible, significant, and tractable problem for analysis. The wealth of data available also made this scenario a useful test case for developing and illustrating interdisciplinary work, which is a significant aspect of the project activity. The focus of this report is, therefore, on the flash-flooding scenario. This report does not include discussion of the other scenarios, as they were not completed in an interdisciplinary fashion either because of lack of adequate data and models for all aspects of an interdisciplinary study, or because there were judged to be non-credible and therefore of limited use as an illustrative example. In the course of developing an interdisciplinary approach to examining catastrophic flood risks, we found that the concept of risk used in flood management varied subtly but significantly between the disciplines contributing to the study. An important result of this study is the integration of these different disciplinary concepts of risk within a single interdisciplinary analysis. A fuller accounting for uncertainty in a way that is consistent between the component disciplines, and the appropriate distinction between various different types of uncertainty, form a second major aspect of the study. Our primary finding is that an approach that integrates perspectives on risk characteristic of the different technical disciplines contributing to this study is feasible and that it provides a useful framework for comparing the characteristics of different mitigation strategies. The results of simulations suggest alternatives for combining different mitigation measures such that the characteristics of different components of an overall strategy complement each other to lower total costs and to reduce both the likelihood and the uncertainties of catastrophic financial losses

Uncertainty and Disaster Risk Management: Modeling the Flash Flood Risk to Vienna and Its Subway System

This report describes an interdisciplinary approach to flood risk analysis and management that was developed by investigating flood risks in the city of Vienna, Austria. The purpose of the research was to analyze different policy paths (including both flood-prevention measures and risk-sharing financial provisions) in the presence of major uncertainties. A preliminary analysis resulted in the identification of two major methodological issues that needed to be resolved, namely: -- The concept of risk used in flood management varied subtly but significantly across the disciplines contributing to the assessment. -- Current assessment procedures did not give a full account of uncertainties and their different types. For those reasons an approach was developed that allows the analyst: (1) to integrate the different diciplinary concepts of risk within a single interdisciplinary analysis; and (2) to take into account uncertainties in a way that not only allows their many characteristics to be distinguished but is also consistent across the component disciplines. The focus of this report is the phenomenon of flash flooing of the Vienna River. Our analysis demonstrated that, in this case, the greatest damage from flash flooding was to be expected in the Vienna city subway system. The report thus describes a detailed assessment of the flood risk to the subway and of related management measures, on which research to date has been scarce. The results show that an approach based on catastrophe modeling and Monte Carlo simulation can not ony integrate the risk perspectives of the different technical disciplines contributing to this study but also provide a useful framework for comparing the characteristics of different mitigation strategies. The results of the simulations suggest alternatives for combining different mitigation measures to ensure complementarity among the characteristics of different components of an overall strategy, and thereby decrease total costs and reduce the likelihood and the uncertainties of catastrophic financial losses

Terrestrial habitat requirements of nesting freshwater turtles

Because particular life history traits affect species vulnerability to development pressures, cross-species summaries of life history traits are useful for generating management guidelines. Conservation of aquatic turtles, many members of which are regionally or globally imperiled, requires knowing the extent of upland habitat used for nesting. Therefore, we compiled distances that nests and gravid females had been observed from wetlands. Based on records of \u3e 8000 nests and gravid female records compiled for 31 species in the United States and Canada, the distances that encompass 95% of nests vary dramatically among genera and populations, from just 8 m for Malaclemys to nearly 1400 m for Trachemys. Widths of core areas to encompass varying fractions of nesting populations (based on mean maxima across all genera) were estimated as: 50% coverage = 93 m, 75% = 154 m, 90% = 198 m, 95% = 232 m, 100% = 942 m. Approximately 6–98 m is required to encompass each consecutive 10% segment of a nesting population up to 90% coverage; thereafter, ca. 424 m is required to encompass the remaining 10%. Many genera require modest terrestrial areas (\u3c200 m zones) for 95% nest coverage (Actinemys, Apalone, Chelydra, Chrysemys, Clemmys, Glyptemys, Graptemys, Macrochelys, Malaclemys, Pseudemys, Sternotherus), whereas other genera require larger zones (Deirochelys, Emydoidea, Kinosternon, Trachemys). Our results represent planning targets for conserving sufficient areas of uplands around wetlands to ensure protection of turtle nesting sites, migrating adult female turtles, and dispersing turtle hatchlings