EDUCATION OVER THE INTERNET

The global network of computers, called the Internet, offers special challenges and opportunities to educators for delivering educational programs. The opportunity of education over the Internet has been recognized almost since an interconnected network of computers was conceived. However, access to the Internet by the general public has been low; in 1995 only 4-6% of the people in the U.S. have access. Nevertheless, access has been expanding rapidly, and with the advent of the $500 network computer, is expected to increase substantially over the next few years. Information available over the Internet is also expanding rapidly. In March 1996, the Megellan search engine returned just over 13,000 hits for the keyword wildlife. Just 3 months later, in June 1996, the same search returned almost 19,000 hits—a 46% increase. The same search engine returned approximately 32,000 hits for the keywords endangered species. Thus, there is lots of information already available on the Internet concerning fisheries and wildlife. The Internet may be particularly relevant to extension education because people searching for information or educational programs over the Internet fit the model of helping people help themselves. The purpose of this paper is to examine (1) some of the forms of Internet education, and (2) some of the issues related to educating over the Internet. I would like to acknowledge Ken Kingsley for several of the ideas presented in this paper. I would also like to point out that I am far from an expert on this topic; I would characterize myself as a user who could not find anyone appropriate to put these thoughts together

Principles of wildlife conservation-testing distance delivery methodologies

In conjunction with faculty at Oregon State University, we developed a distance education course in two phases. During Phase I, conducted Spring of 1996, we used Oregon ED-NET (a simulcast satellite education system) to reach 143 students at 14 sites in Oregon. In the second phase, we offered the course nation-wide in a video format Spring term 1997 and enrolled 92 students at 13 sites. We will offer the video course again during Winter term 1998 following an expanded marketing plan. Our objectives in this paper are to present (1) course design and production information; (2) our experiences with satellite and video teaching; and (3) present information regarding student perceptions and satisfaction with the two distance delivery methods. In Phase I we used notebooks, computer discussion groups, two-way audio, and toll-free phone access to assist students in comprehending the materials. Lectures used computer-graphic screen shows, slides, and locally produced video segments. Based on regular evaluations assessing student learning and satisfaction, we redesigned and professionally produced the course for video distribution in Phase II. Evaluations indicate a high level of satisfaction with the course, but student interaction was minimal. We discuss pros and cons for offering similar courses using these technologies, and present future plans for course enhancement

Proceedings of a Symposium on Sustaining Rangeland Ecosystems : Eastern Oregon State College, La Grande, Oregon, 29-31 August 1994

Published February 1996. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

Quartic Curves and Their Bitangents

A smooth quartic curve in the complex projective plane has 36 inequivalent representations as a symmetric determinant of linear forms and 63 representations as a sum of three squares. These correspond to Cayley octads and Steiner complexes respectively. We present exact algorithms for computing these objects from the 28 bitangents. This expresses Vinnikov quartics as spectrahedra and positive quartics as Gram matrices. We explore the geometry of Gram spectrahedra and we find equations for the variety of Cayley octads. Interwoven is an exposition of much of the 19th century theory of plane quartics.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, added references, fixed theorems 4.3 and 7.8, other minor change

The Velocity Dispersion of MS1054-03: A Massive Galaxy Cluster at High Redshift

We present results from a dynamical study of the high redshift, massive, X-ray luminous galaxy cluster MS1054--03. We significantly increase the number of confirmed cluster members by adding 20 to an existing set of twelve; using the confirmed members, we estimate MS1054--03's redshift, velocity dispersion, and mass. We find that z=0.8329 +/- 0.0017, sigma = 1170 +/- 150 km/s, and the central mass is approximately 1.9 +/- 0.5 x 10^{15} h^{-1} M_{odot} (within R=1 h^{-1} Mpc; H_0 =100h km s^{-1} Mpc^{-1}, q_0=0.5). MS1054--03 is one of a handful of high redshift (z>0.5) clusters known that also has X-ray and weak-lensing observations (Donahue et al. 1998; Luppino & Kaiser 1997); we find our dynamical mass agrees with mass estimates from both studies. The confirmation of MS1054--03 as a massive cluster at z~0.8 is consistent with an open (Omega_M~0.3) or flat, Lambda-dominated (Omega_M+Omega_{Lambda}=1) universe. In addition, we compare MS1054--03's velocity dispersion and X-ray temperature to a sample of low and intermediate redshift galaxy clusters to test for evolution in the sigma - T_x relation; we find no evidence for evolution in this relation to z~0.8.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, LaTex; Accepted for Publication in the Astrophysical Journa

SHELS: Testing Weak Lensing Maps with Redshift Surveys

Weak lensing surveys are emerging as an important tool for the construction of "mass selected" clusters of galaxies. We evaluate both the efficiency and completeness of a weak lensing selection by combining a dense, complete redshift survey, the Smithsonian Hectospec Lensing Survey (SHELS), with a weak lensing map from the Deep Lens Survey (DLS). SHELS includes 11,692 redshifts for galaxies with R < 20.6 in the four square degree DLS field; the survey is a solid basis for identifying massive clusters of galaxies with redshift z < 0.55. The range of sensitivity of the redshift survey is similar to the range for the DLS convergence map. Only four the twelve convergence peaks with signal-to-noise > 3.5 correspond to clusters of galaxies with M > 1.7 x 10^14 solar masses. Four of the eight massive clusters in SHELS are detected in the weak lensing map yielding a completeness of roughly 50%. We examine the seven known extended cluster x-ray sources in the DLS field: three can be detected in the weak lensing map, three should not be detected without boosting from superposed large-scale structure, and one is mysteriously undetected even though its optical properties suggest that it should produce a detectable lensing signal. Taken together, these results underscore the need for more extensive comparisons among different methods of massive cluster identification.Comment: 34 pages, 16 figures, ApJ accepte

Managing wildlife habitats in forested ecosystems

Explains terms and concepts used to discuss ecosystem management (biodiversity, habitat fragmentation, edge effects, interior species, corridors, population dynamics), including a glossary. Describes the importance of private forest lands in the stewardship of forest ecosystems. Provides suggestions for managing private property for wildlife.Published March 1996. Reprinted August 2006. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo