Active Learning in Distance Education

Although there are many strategies for incorporating active learning exercises into the traditional classroom, incorporating active learning exercises in a distance education delivery format is more challenging. Active learning has been shown to enhance student performance and attitudes when used in conjunction with a traditional lecture format.1 In order for students to be actively involved they must read, write, discuss, problem solve and engage higher-order thinking tasks such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.2 The implementation of active learning exercises in distance education classes may help establish student rapport and enhance the feeling of community among the students in a distance education environment. In distance education instruction, it is more difficult to establish student rapport and get student feedback from the remote students than from those in the traditional campus setting. Old Dominion University delivers junior and senior level engineering technology elective courses using one-way video and two-way audio. The limitations of this delivery system compound the problems of establishing student rapport due to the geographical disparity of the students and the instructor. Active learning techniques commonly used in large classroom environments require creative adaptation to fit the delivery medium used in distance learning. This paper will describe the implementation of active learning exercises in three senior elective courses in the distance education setting, how the implementation of these techniques effected the student evaluation of the distance class as compared to the on campus class, and the observations made by the faculty while implementing active learning techniques in a distant education environment. This paper will also explore additional active learning strategies that can be implemented in the future

Driver's field of view from large vehicles: phase 2 - report

The overall objective of this phase of the study has been to identify problems with drivers’ field of view from current large vehicles. A large survey of drivers, operators and manufacturers was conducted which identified a number of issues pertaining to drivers’ field of view, vehicle design and road environment. On the basis of this information, as well as a continuing review of accident data and analysis of vehicle swept path plots, it has been possible to develop a first stage field of view requirement. The field of view requirement defines areas around a vehicle which the driver should be able to see or otherwise detect objects. At this stage the field of view requirement does not stipulate whether this should be by direct or indirect means. It is an aim of the Phase 3 report to make recommendations for the most appropriate means of achieving the requirement. The development of the field of view requirement has provided the necessary criteria by which current vehicle designs and the adequacy of current Regulations and Directives are being assessed. The assessment of existing Regulations and Directives has already identified inadequacies in their application to large vehicles which points to specific areas for new or amended regulations. The short list of vehicles which will be used to quantify the effectiveness of current vehicle designs has been made. These vehicles have been precisely measured to produce the dimensional data necessary to carry out the Man-Model CAD assessment. The vehicles have been successfully modelled and the field of view assessment is in progress. The development of solutions and methods to improve drivers’ field of view from large vehicles will be undertaken in parallel with the field of view assessment and the findings will be reported separately

Anachronistic Grain Growth and Global Structure of the Protoplanetary Disk Associated with the Mature Classical T Tauri Star, PDS 66

We present ATCA interferometric observations of the old (13 Myr), nearby (86pc) classical T Tauri star, PDS 66. Unresolved 3 and 12 mm continuum emission is detected towards PDS 66, and upper limits are derived for the 3 and 6 cm flux densities. The mm-wave data show a spectral slope flatter than that expected for ISM-sized dust particles, which is evidence of grain growth. We also present HST/NICMOS 1.1 micron PSF-subtracted coronagraphic imaging of PDS 66. The HST observations reveal a bilaterally symmetric circumstellar region of dust scattering about 0.32% of the central starlight, declining radially in surface brightness. The light-scattering disk of material is inclined 32 degrees from face-on, and extends to a radius of 170 AU. These data are combined with published optical and longer wavelength observations to make qualitative comparisons between the median Taurus and PDS 66 spectral energy distributions (SEDs). By comparing the near-infrared emission to a simple model, we determine that the location of the inner disk radius is consistent with the dust sublimation radius (1400 K at 0.1 AU). We place constraints on the total disk mass using a flat-disk model and find that it is probably too low to form gas giant planets according to current models. Despite the fact that PDS 66 is much older than a typical classical T Tauri star (< 5 Myr), its physical properties are not much different.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figure

Stormwater Best Management Practices Assessment for the City of Lincoln, Nebraska

The objective of this research was to assess BMP performance and implementation in Lincoln, Nebraska. In order to accomplish this objective, four tasks were established: sampling of stormwater runoff at eight sites located upstream of Holmes Lake, inspecting BMPs at construction sites in Lincoln, sampling and analysis of soil phosphorus levels in the Holmes Lake watershed, and conducting discussions with professionals involved with stormwater management in Lincoln. Based on the information collected during these tasks, several recommendations regarding the BMP assessment process are made including: recommendations for sampling site selection, an inexpensive flow monitoring method, and a rapid construction site BMP assessment protocol

A comprehensive gene expression atlas of sex- and tissue-specificity in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae.

BACKGROUND: The mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, is the primary vector of human malaria, a disease responsible for millions of deaths each year. To improve strategies for controlling transmission of the causative parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, we require a thorough understanding of the developmental mechanisms, physiological processes and evolutionary pressures affecting life-history traits in the mosquito. Identifying genes expressed in particular tissues or involved in specific biological processes is an essential part of this process. RESULTS: In this study, we present transcription profiles for ~82% of annotated Anopheles genes in dissected adult male and female tissues. The sensitivity afforded by examining dissected tissues found gene activity in an additional 20% of the genome that is undetected when using whole-animal samples. The somatic and reproductive tissues we examined each displayed patterns of sexually dimorphic and tissue-specific expression. By comparing expression profiles with Drosophila melanogaster we also assessed which genes are well conserved within the Diptera versus those that are more recently evolved. CONCLUSIONS: Our expression atlas and associated publicly available database, the MozAtlas (http://www.tissue-atlas.org), provides information on the relative strength and specificity of gene expression in several somatic and reproductive tissues, isolated from a single strain grown under uniform conditions. The data will serve as a reference for other mosquito researchers by providing a simple method for identifying where genes are expressed in the adult, however, in addition our resource will also provide insights into the evolutionary diversity associated with gene expression levels among species.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Effects of partial sleep deprivation on food consumption and food choice

Abstract Sleep deprivation alters food consumption in animals; however, little is known of the effects of partial sleep deprivation on food consumption and choice in humans. We examined 50 undergraduate students who recorded sleep quality, food consumption, and food choice in daily diaries for four days. On the second night of the study, participants were instructed to sleep for 4 h or less, which served as a partial sleep deprivation manipulation. Following sleep loss, participants reported consuming fewer calories. They also reported altering food choice following deprivation, choosing foods less for health and weight concerns. The results provide initial evidence that sleep deprivation impacts food consumption and choice, which may have subsequent health implications

Testing annual asthma reviews for those who fail to attend: proof-of-concept study

Introduction: Suboptimal asthma care is related to increased morbidity and mortality. As a result, GP surgeries provide annual reviews for people with asthma. A high proportion of asthma patients do not attend their review but still collect asthma treatment from their community pharmacy. The aim of this proof-of-concept study was to evaluate the provision of patient non-attendance lists to community pharmacies who subsequently offered the review Method: Five GP surgeries and ten community pharmacies were recruited in the east of England. Non-attender details were provided to community pharmacies from GP surgeries directly over a six-month period. Asthma reviews, funded by the medicines use review scheme, were delivered using standardised methodological approaches and electronic recording systems. Relevant routinely collected data were obtained before and after service provision. Stakeholder meetings were held to obtain feedback after service completion. Results: A total of 27 patients received the service, with data collected on 26 patients. High levels of satisfaction with the service were identified. Pharmacist training, pharmacy accessibility and pharmacist competence were seen as service enablers. The pharmacy consultation room, GP surgery organisation and different IT systems were seen as barriers. A high level of satisfaction was identified, with the recommendation that the service should be offered to all patients with asthma irrespective of attendance. Discussion and conclusion: This service model, which involved integrated working between GPs and community pharmacies and enabled asthma review non-attenders to be targeted, is in line with the recommendations of the Murray Review. Stakeholders recommended that community pharmacists should provide yearly asthma reviews and that these should be performed in close collaboration with GP surgeries