Michelman, Brennan, and Democratic Theory. Book Review: Brennan and Democracy. by Frank I. Michelman

Book review: Brennan and Democracy. By Frank I. Michelman. Princeton University Press. 1999. Pp. 176. Reviewed by: David Lay William

Michelman, Brennan, and Democratic Theory. Book Review: Brennan and Democracy. by Frank I. Michelman

Book review: Brennan and Democracy. By Frank I. Michelman. Princeton University Press. 1999. Pp. 176. Reviewed by: David Lay William

Ranking workplace competencies: Student and graduate perceptions

Students and graduates from a variety of business studies programs at a New Zealand tertiary institution completed a questionnaire in which they ranked the relative importance of a list of 24 competencies for graduates entering the workforce using a 7-point Likert scale. These competencies were identified from literature reports of the characteristics of superior performers in the workplace. The results show a close similarity between students and graduates’ ranking of competencies with computer literacy, customer service orientation, teamwork and co-operation, self-confidence, and willingness to learn ranked most important. There was little difference between the two groups in their rankings of cognitive or ‘hard’ skills and behavioral or ‘soft’ skills. However, the graduates placed greater importance on most of the competencies, resulting in a statistically significant difference between the graduates and students’ ranking of both hard and soft skills. The findings from this study suggest that cooperative education programs may help develop business students’ awareness of the importance of graduate competencies in the workplace

A direct optimization method for low group delay FIR filter design

This paper studies the design of FIR filter with low group delay, where the desired phase response is not being approximated. It is formulated as a constrained optimization problem, which is then solved globally. Numerical experiments show that our design method can produce a filter with smaller group delay than that obtained by the existing convex optimization method used in conjunction with a minimum phase spectral factorization method under the same design criteria. Furthermore, our formulation offers us the flexibility for the trade-off between the group delay and the magnitude response directly. It also allows the feasibility of imposing constraints on the group delay

Source models and yield-scaling relations for underground nuclear explosions at Amchitka Island

Source models are determined for the three underground nuclear explosions at the Amchitka test site using seismic observations in the period range 0.5 to 20.0 sec. Empirical yield-scaling relations are inferred from the source models and compared with the predictions of the Haskell, Mueller-Murphy, and finite difference numerical models. Several recent studies of high-frequency, near-field signals and teleseismic short-period P waves for LONGSHOT, MILROW, and CANNIKIN constrain the source functions at periods of 0.5 to 2.0 sec. Teleseismic pS and Rayleigh wave observations are used to constrain the source functions at longer periods. Using a modified Haskell source time function representation given by ψ(t) = ψ_∞ {1-e^(-kt)[1 + Kt + (Kt)^2/2-B(Kt)^3]}, the data are best-fit if the corner frequency parameter, K, scales as predicted by the Mueller-Murphy model, and if the amount of overshoot in the reduced displacement potential, which is proportional to B, decreases with increasing yield (depth of burial). The latter behavior is opposite to that predicted by the Mueller-Murphy model and follows from the observation that the long-period level of the explosion potential, ψ_∝, increases with yield, W, by ψ_∝ ∝ W^(0.90), or with yield and depth by ψ_∝ ∝ W/h^(1/3). This long-period and overshoot scaling is consistent with that found for some numerical models, and allowing for the depth dependence of the Rayleigh wave excitation, results in the observed M_S versus log(W) slope of ∼1. The decrease in overshoot with increasing depth of burial may be the result of the increase in shear strength with increasing overburden pressure. If yield or depth dependence of the source potential overshoot proves to be a general phenomenon, a possibility supported by a preliminary investigation of Pahute Mesa observations, accurate yield estimation will require broadband seismic data. The source function representation adopted is shown to provide an excellent fit to the rise time of very near-in velocity recordings to the rise time with frequencies of 10 Hz and higher

Protected, rare and threatened plant species in France, assessment for the Pyrenean range

Dans le cadre de sa mission de connaissance, d’inventaire permanent et de suivi de la flore rare et menacée, le Conservatoire botanique pyrénéen s’est donné pour objectif de dresser un bilan précis sur les taxons présents ou signalés sur son territoire d’action, concernés par des textes internationaux, cités par le Livre Rouge de la flore menacée de France, ou protégés au niveau national ou régional. A partir de tableaux synthétiques et de cartes de répartition, nous présentons, pour le massif pyrénéen français, un premier état des lieux qui nous permet d’orienter nos travaux de terrain et de définir les urgences pour la conservation de ces taxons à statut. La liste de ces taxons est également donnée.The centre “Conservatoire botanique pyrénéen” is in charge of the permanent survey of the rare and endangered species over its area of duty, the Midi-Pyrénées area and the Pyrenean range. It gathers information about species concerned with the international, national or regional legislation and/or listed on the French Red list. The whole information collected is managed through a cartographic database. We present here the first results for the Pyrenean range. This work makes possible to define priorities of preservation and field investigations for these species. The list of 140 species concerned with the legislation and/or the Red list is given

THE FEMALE TENNIS SERVE: AN ANALAGOUS VERSION OF THE MALE SERVE?

The mechanics of the high-performance male tennis serve have received considerable research attention; however, the relevance of this knowledge to the female serve is largely unknown. To address this research void, 3D body, racquet and ball kinematics were recorded from eight professional female players hitting a ‘first-power’ serve, using a 22-camera VICON MX system operating at 500 Hz. The kinematic data were then compared with the corresponding male data in the literature that have been garnered from high-performance players. The female mean resultant racquet velocity was 0.86 of the value reported for male players, which mirrored the ratio of the highest velocity serve recorded on the respective professional circuits. While the majority of kinematic variables were similar between these two groups, the lesser shoulder internal rotation by the females (0.83) compared with the males helps to define the above velocity difference

Retaining Quality Adjunct Faculty thru Faculty-led Mentoring

poster abstractSocial work programs are challenged to provide students with access to foundation and practice level courses and to an array of electives. Full-time, tenure track faculty cannot meet this challenge alone while fulfilling all the obligations of a university citizen associated with scholarship, service, and teaching. Therefore adjunct faculty are selected to bring valuable skills and expertise, from their social work practice, to the classroom and in so doing fill the gaps left by fulltime faculty. The Challenge As higher education budgets dwindle and enrollments rise, there has been an increasing need for adjuncts (Fagan-Wilen, Springer, Ambrosion, & White, 2006; Puzziferro-Schnitzer & Kissinger, 2005; Richardson, Alfano, Gerda, & Moos, 2007; Winn & Armstrong, 2005). This increasing use of adjuncts poses questions of cost and quality (Bettinger & Long, 2006). Adjuncts are generally considered to be 80% less expensive than full-time tenured faculty; with some programs saving over $300,000 on average by using adjuncts in one academic year (Spalter-Roth & Erskine, 2004). Even though adjuncts provide a valuable service to the institution and to students, there are challenges when they are in the classroom. Often adjuncts do not see the school’s mission, curricular mandates, and institutional concerns as relevant to their role (Petersen, 2005; Garii & Pertersen, 2005). They prefer “to maintain their pristine role solely in the classroom” (Petersen, 2005, p. 12) thus they are separated from the accountability to curriculum mandates associated with competencies and outcomes. They may “lack the teaching skills and teaching experience required in the classroom” (Banachowski, 1996, p.7). Likewise, adjuncts may not incorporate new teaching pedagogies and as such rely on outdated methods. Sometimes they are viewed by students as not having an understanding of the school’s program, as being unavailable (Atkinson, 1996), and as easy graders (Fagan-Wilen, et al., 2006; Petersen, 2005; Umbach, 2007). They lack the understanding of the integrity of curriculum design and are less interested in theory application and knowledge integration than they are about specific practice applications (Petersen, 2005; Garii & Petersen, 2005). The Solution “If good teaching that produces evidence of the student learning is to be anything other than random, institutional policies must deliberately support the development of the teacher” (Peterson, 2007, p.49). “Adjuncting” is the future and adjuncts continue to be needed (Atkinson, 1996). As such, various models have been developed to respond to the needs and concerns of adjuncts. Including mentoring programs of various kinds (i.e. peer mentoring, feminist co-mentoring, virtual mentoring, minority mentoring) training programs, in-service trainings, adjunct faculty handbooks, newsletters, video tapes of instructional issues orientation programs, brown-bag luncheons, and social programs, adjunct faculty liaisons, facilitator development programs, consortiums, blended learning programs, team-led mentoring, one-to-one partnerships, and many others (Lyons & Kysilka, 2000; Richardson, et al., 2007; West, 2004; Winn & Armstrong, 2005; Yee, 2007). Some of these programs offer additional incentives for adjunct faculty members to participate (Winn & Armstrong, 2005). Success and effective use of adjuncts rests on mentoring and valuing adjuncts (Lyons, 2007). Administrators must help adjuncts 1) familiarize themselves with the university and program, 2) learn about aspects of effective teaching, and 3) explore scholarship and career opportunities (Peters & Boylston, 2006). The benefits will vary but ultimately it will create a connection to the program and the adjunct will feel valued. The Program Faculty at a large mid-western university with an enrollment of over 850 MSW students embarked on a mentoring initiative in early January of 2007. The initiative paired 11 full-time faculty with adjuncts to aid in course preparation, program and curricular familiarization, and support as they taught the same courses as full-time faculty. Some features of the program were: Mentors met regularly with adjuncts, Provided syllabi, Trained in web-based class management software and classroom management, Developed and graded assignments, and Developed grading rubrics for assignment assessment. The Results To date the program has been successful in creating course consistencies by recruiting and retaining a cadre of 30 adjuncts per year, in practice, theory, and various course electives. Adjuncts not suited for teaching are more quickly identified. Initial qualitative findings indicate that adjuncts think the school is providing more support in regards to their teaching role; they have a greater identification with the program; and have a better understanding of how to grade assignments and where their courses fit into the curriculum. Although not all full-time faculty are comfortable with the role of mentor, many have embraced adjuncts as members of the faculty. As a result students are more satisfied with their adjuncts

Measured spacecraft dynamic effects on atmospheric science instruments

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77045/1/AIAA-1997-419-842.pd

Assessing Secondary School Students' Understanding of the Relevance of Energy in their Daily Lives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of energy literacy among 276 Form 2 (Grade 8) Malaysian students as no similar study has been previously conducted in the country, as well as the contribution of students’ energy-related knowledge and attitudes on their energy-related behaviors. This was a non-experimental quantitative research using the sample survey method to collect data by using the ‘Energy Literacy Questionnaire’ (ELQ). Independent samples t-test, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple linear regressions were used to analyse the data. The study found that levels of energy literacy were relatively low suggesting that the implemented curriculum had failed to meet the specifications of the intended curriculum that emphasises the relevance of energy-related issues to students’ everyday life experiences. The authors suggest that there is a need to emphasise the importance of a context-based curriculum specifying criteria that embrace broad energy literacy with benchmarks related not just to science-related energy content but also recognizing the importance of practical energy-related knowledge, decision making skills, value judgments, ethical and moral dimensions, and issues of personal responsibility related to energy resource development and consumption in Malaysia