A Vision for General Education: The Life and Mind of Ernest L. Boyer

General education has always been an integral part of the college experience. It is at the very heart of what it means to be a liberal arts institution. Currently this curriculum is being revamped, revitalized and even questioned at many institutions. Many programs lack purpose and goals behind the curriculum. Ernest Boyer, through his work at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, created a unique vision and displayed exemplary passion for core curriculum in general education. This study focuses on Boyer\u27s professional publications and highlights his work in higher education curriculum. His published works on general education through the Carnegie Foundation are synthesized to provide a literature review as a foundation for this project. Through archival research at the Boyer Center, a historiography using qualitative research methods analyzes certain influential events in Boyer’s life as well as major themes and subthemes that emerged as part of his general education vision. Archives used included published and unpublished works such as speeches, personal notes, articles and interviews. Themes that emerged from this research include coherence, two goals for education and six themes for learning. These overarching themes and practices are then used to create an application and provide recommendations for how educators can use Boyer’s vision to revitalize general education on college campuses today. Sections on limitations and further research provide areas of improvement on this topic and opportunities for future studies in regards to general education and Ernest Boyer

Artificial Neural Network Test Support Development for the Space Shuttle PRCS Thrusters

A significant anomaly, Fuel Valve Pilot Seal Extrusion, is affecting the Shuttle Primary Reaction Control System (PRCS) Thrusters, and has caused 79 to fail. To help address this problem, a Shuttle PRCS Thruster Process Evaluation Team (TPET) was formed. The White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) and Boeing members of the TPET have identified many discrete valve current trace characteristics that are predictive of the problem. However, these are difficult and time consuming to identify and trend by manual analysis. Based on this exhaustive analysis over months, 22 thrusters previously delivered by the Depot were identified as high risk for flight failures. Although these had only recently been installed, they had to be removed from Shuttles OV103 and OV104 for reprocessing, by directive of the Shuttle Project Office. The resulting impact of the thruster removal, replacement, and valve replacement was significant (months of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars). Much of this could have been saved had the proposed Neural Network (NN) tool described in this paper been in place. In addition to the significant benefits to the Shuttle indicated above, the development and implementation of this type of testing will be the genesis for potential Quality improvements across many areas of WSTF test data analysis and will be shared with other NASA centers. Future tests can be designed to incorporate engineering experience via Artificial Neural Nets (ANN) into depot level acceptance of hardware. Additionally, results were shared with a NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Super Problem Response Team (SPRT). There was extensive interest voiced among many different personnel from several centers. There are potential spin-offs of this effort that can be directly applied to other data acquisition systems as well as vehicle health management for current and future flight vehicles

Frogs of the genus Eleutherodactylus (Leptodactylidae) in the cordillera occidental in Peru with descriptions of three new species

Three new species of Eleutherodactylus are described from the Río Zaña Valley in the Pacific versant of the Cordillera Occidental in the Departamento de Cajamarca, Peru. One of the species is a member of the Eleutherodactylus conspicillatus Group, and two are members of the Eleutherodactylus unistrigatus Group. We recognize 15 species of Eleutherodactylus in the Cordillera Occidental; 10 of these species are reported for the first time from the Cordillera Occidental. Four of these species are shared with the Cordillera Occidental in Ecuador, and five are shared with the Cordillera de Huancabamba in northern Peru

The 67 Hz Feature in the Black Hole Candidate GRS 1915+105 as a Possible ``Diskoseismic'' Mode

The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) has made feasible for the first time the search for high-frequency (~ 100 Hz) periodic features in black hole candidate (BHC) systems. Such a feature, with a 67 Hz frequency, recently has been discovered in the BHC GRS 1915+105 (Morgan, Remillard, & Greiner). This feature is weak (rms variability ~0.3%-1.6%), stable in frequency (to within ~2 Hz) despite appreciable luminosity fluctuations, and narrow (quality factor Q ~ 20). Several of these properties are what one expects for a ``diskoseismic'' g-mode in an accretion disk about a 10.6 M_sun (nonrotating) - 36.3 M_sun (maximally rotating) black hole (if we are observing the fundamental mode frequency). We explore this possibility by considering the expected luminosity modulation, as well as possible excitation and growth mechanisms---including turbulent excitation, damping, and ``negative'' radiation damping. We conclude that a diskoseismic interpretation of the observations is viable.Comment: 4 Pages, Latex (emulateapj.sty included), to Appear in ApJ Letters, Vol. 477, Final Version with Updated Reference

Mesopore etching under supercritical conditions – A shortcut to hierarchically porous silica monoliths

Hierarchically porous silica monoliths are obtained in the two-step Nakanishi process, where formation of a macro microporous silica gel is followed by widening micropores to mesopores through surface etching. The latter step is carried out through hydrothermal treatment of the gel in alkaline solution and necessitates a lengthy solvent exchange of the aqueous pore fluid before the ripened gel can be dried and calcined into a mechanically stable macro mesoporous monolith. We show that using an ethanol water (95.6/4.4, v/v) azeotrope as supercritical fluid for mesopore etching eliminates the solvent exchange, ripening, and drying steps of the classic route and delivers silica monoliths that can withstand fast heating rates for calcination. The proposed shortcut decreases the overall preparation time from ca. one week to ca. one day. Porosity data show that the alkaline conditions for mesopore etching are crucial to obtain crack-free samples with a narrow mesopore size distribution. Physical reconstruction of selected samples by confocal laser scanning microscopy and subsequent morphological analysis confirms that monoliths prepared via the proposed shortcut possess the high homogeneity of silica skeleton and macropore space that is desirable in adsorbents for flow-through applications

Measuring Broadband’s Economic Impact

Does broadband matter to the economy? Numerous studies have focused on whether there is a digital divide, on regulatory impacts and investment incentives, and on the factors influencing where broadband is available. However, given how recently broadband has been adopted, little empirical research has investigated its economic impact. This paper presents estimates of the effect of broadband on a number of indicators of economic activity, including employment, wages, and industry mix, using a cross-sectional panel data set of communities (by zip code) across the United States. We match data from the FCC (Form 477) on broadband availability with demographic and other economic data from the US Population Censuses and Establishment Surveys. We find support for the conclusion that broadband positively affects economic activity in ways that are consistent with the qualitative stories told by broadband advocates. Even after controlling for community-level factors known to influence broadband availability and economic activity, we find that between 1998 and 2002, communities in which mass-market broadband was available by December 1999 experienced more rapid growth in (1) employment, (2) the number of businesses overall, and (3) businesses in IT-intensive sectors. In addition, the effect of broadband availability by 1999 can be observed in higher market rates for rental housing in 2000. We compare state-level with zip-code level analyses to highlight data aggregation problems, and discuss a number of analytic and data issues that bear on further measurements of broadband’s economic impact. This analysis is perforce preliminary because additional data and experience are needed to more accurately address this important question; however, the early results presented here suggest that the assumed (and oft-touted) economic impacts of broadband are both real and measurable

The life of the Common soldier in the Spanish American War

Purpose It was the purpose of this study to describe the life of the common American soldier in the Spanish-American War. It was told not as seen through statistics, military strategy, or the press, but as it was experienced by the participants themselves. The study encompassed the background for the war, the enlistment of the soldier, his camp life, the fighting in Cuba, the siege of Santiago, the soldier’s return home, and his discharge. Rather than just sketching events of the war the investigation considered mainly the physical living conditions and environment of the soldier, as well as his attitudes and reactions to circumstances he faced. Methods The methods used to obtain information for this study were (1) interviews of veterans of the Spanish-American War, (2) the examination of periodicals, contemporary and current, letters of participants, books written by participants, government documents and reports, published reminiscences, general histories, newspaper articles, and published and unpublished diaries, and (3) correspondence with veterans of that war and their organization. Findings From the evidence presented in this study the following evaluations appear to be in order: 1. While the Spanish-American War lasted only a short time, it was responsible for many changes made in foreign and military affairs of the United States. 2. The causes for the conflict go much deeper than the sinking of the Maine. The United States eventually wanted a war that could have been avoided. Little consideration for preparedness was given by the government of the public. The war was not incited by conservative commercial interests but was considered a popular crusade to end Spanish misrule in Cuba. Enlistment was a simple but colorful event for a soldier. A variety of methods were used to entice enlistment, but patriotic appeal to answer his country’s call was the main inducement. 4. The training camps were poorly situated and posed hardships of climate and inadequate water supply in most of them. The soldier had to make a difficult adjustment to the routine, training, and manner of living in a regimented environment, but the training proved to be insufficient and outmoded. 5. The soldier’s equipment was found to be inadequate, particularly his clothing and firearms. The Volunteers came to camp with hardly any serviceable equipment, which caused a great deal of confusion, since it was supposed by the government that the National Guard and the Volunteers would have their essentials. 6. Many hardships befell the soldiers. Their food was often poorly prepared and monotonous. Again the Guardsmen were worse off than the regular army, and had to subsist on hardtack, beans, coffee, canned tomatoes, and canned beef. Worse than poor food were the epidemics of typhoid and dysentery that struck the camps during the summer months claiming many lives. The camp hospitals were appealing to the public and many camps were disbanded because of the terrible conditions which resulted. 7. The embarkation port of Tampa was a scene of mass confusion and hard work. Life aboard the crowded transports was trying to the troopers who were irked at the delays and conditions, but they did not complain because they wanted to be in the fighting. Once the enroute most enjoyed the voyage. 8. The trooper’s reactions under fire differed from what he thought they would be, and many found battle was not so glorious. The lack of preparation on the part of the government was displayed then more vividly than at any other time during the war. The soldiers faced an enemy that was well armed and experienced. The Americans had very little food, black powder ammunition exposed their positions, their artillery was of little help, and many errors in strategy increased unnecessarily the loss of life. 9. The problems of lack of supplies worked many hardships on the army during combat and during the siege which followed. 10. The living conditions of the men in the trenches were extremely unsanitary, and greatly weakened the entire army. The surrender of the Spanish saved the invaders from military disaster, because the army was so weakened by disease that it could not have withstood a severe counterattack. 11. The sick and wounded soldiers were left to their own care while the others were relieved and sent home. Later hospital ships (converted cattle boats) were sent to pick them up. 12. The spirit of individual self-reliance was one of the most outstanding characteristics of the soldier of this war