High School Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Developing Critical Thinkers via the Socratic Method

A global concern exists regarding the lack of critical thinking skills in young adults and college graduates. Fortune 500 companies have reported the need for better development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills to prepare employees to be successful in the workplace. This study focused on teacher perceptions of the Socratic method (SM) in developing critical thinking skills in high school students. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative case study was to describe high school teachers\u27 perceptions regarding the development of critical thinkers via the Socratic method. Jean Piaget\u27s theory of cognitive development was used in this qualitative study to explore perceptions of 7 teachers. The central research question and subquestions that guided this study were focused on teachers\u27 perceptions of the SM and its effectiveness in developing critical thinking skills in high school students. Data were collected with face-to-face interviews with 7 teachers and classroom observations. Data were recorded via a systematic approach with chart and diagrams. Themes, patterns, and any identified relationships were categorized and coded to comprise data tracking. Results indicated that a lack of professional development, teacher comfort level, and student participation all played a role in low SM execution. The resulting project was designed to provide teachers with materials and learning opportunities to increase their SM skill level and stimulate teachers to use their new knowledge to increase critical thinking skills in high school students. The online professional development course evaluation provided both summative and formative assessments. The project contributes to social change by helping improve the way teachers teach and students learn the SM, which may result in improved critical thinking skills in students

EVALUASI PERFORMANSI TEKNOLOGI DWDM JARINGAN NON-HOMOGEN PADA SISTEM KOMUNIKASI SERAT OPTIK REGIONAL METRO JAWA BARAT

ABSTRAKSI: Regional Metro Jawa Barat merupakan jaringan transmisi Sistem Komunikasi Serat Optik (SKSO) yang menghubungkan daerah-daerah yang ada di Jawa Barat dan memiliki peranan yang sangat penting dalam kegiatan komunikasi. Seiring dengan kebutuhan pelanggan akan kegiatan berkomunikasi yang semakin meningkat, terlebih lagi di Jawa Barat salah satu yang memiliki kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi di Indonesia, maka evaluasi dan peningkatan performansi terhadap SKSO akan selalu dibutuhkan baik dalam segi jaringan transmisi maupun kemampuan perangkat agar kebutuhan pelanggan selalu terpenuhi.Dalam tugas akhir ini akan dianalisa kinerja SKSO pada regional metro Jawa Barat, di mana teknologi multiplexing yang digunakan adalah Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). Analisis dilakukan berdasarkan beberapa parameter performansi yaitu link power budget, rise time budget, maintainability, availability, reliability. Melakukan perhitungan serta menganalisis bit error rate, mengamati detail gangguan dan penanggulangannya.Dari hasil evaluasi menyeluruh pada periode Juni 2012 – Maret 2013 menyimpulkan bahwa sistem belum beroperasi dengan baik secara menyeluruh, karena nilai availability rata-rata nya sebesar 97.88% terhitung tidak memenuhi standar minimum yang ditetapkan Telkom Indonesia, yaitu 99.95%, sedangkan nilai MTTRepair rata-rata sebesar 3.05 jam (memenuhi standar), nilai MTTRecovery rata-rata sebesar 1.5 jam (memenuhi standar), dan nilai reliability rata-rata nya sebesar 0.9727.Kata Kunci : Dense Wavelenght Dense Multiplexing, G.652, G.655, evaluasi, performansi.ABSTRACT: Regional Metro West Java is an optical fiber communication systems transmission network that connect existing areas in West Java and has an important role in communication activities. Along with customer needs for communication is increasing, especially in West Java, one of which has a high population density in Indonesia, the evaluation and improvement of performance will always be needed both in terms of the transmission network and the ability of the device so the customer needs are always met.This final project evaluates the performance of optical fiber communication systems in Regional Metro West Java, where the multiplexing technology used is Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). Evaluation and analysis is based on some parameter, that is link power budget, rise time budget, maintainability, availability, reliability. Analyze the bit error rate, observe details and interference mitigation.From the evaluation results during the period June 1st, 2012 – March 31st, 2013, conclude that the performance of Regional Metro West Java was not good enough, because the average availability system is 97.88% that calculated does not meet the minimum standards set by Telkom Indonesia, which is 99.95%, while the average value MTTRepair is 3,05 hours (meets standard), the value MTTRecovery average is 1,5 hours (meets standard), and the value of his average reliability is 0.9727.Keyword: Dense Wavelenght Dense Multiplexing, Evaluation, Performance

The Development of a New Deal Land Policy: Fergus County, Montana (1900-1945).

Encouraged by the Enlarged Homestead Act, higher than average rainfall, and various boosters, thousands of Americans homesteaded in Montana and the northern Great Plains during the 1910s. The agricultural economy boomed during World War I, but the post-war contraction during the 1920s, coupled with drought, caused serious economic problems for farmers. In response to the problems in the agricultural economy, a Land Utilization movement emerged, led by agricultural economists such as Lewis C. Gray. Land utilizationists believed that a readjustment of land use would correct the problems in the agricultural economy. Toward that end they sought changes in federal land policy, especially on the Great Plains, because of the problems caused by cultivating submarginal land--land that could not consistently raise crops. Federal land laws, including the Homestead Act, had all but guaranteed that land on the plains would not be put to its best use. The situation worsened during the Great Depression and subsequently, under the New Deal, many of the ideas of the Land Utilization movement came to fruition. During the mid-1930s, the federal government made dramatic changes to land policy, ending the homestead movement and initiating a Land Utilization Program that repurchased failed submarginal farmland and created a new public domain. The program purchased more than 11 million acres, including nearly 100,000 acres in Fergus County, Montana. Through the purchase of submarginal agricultural land and the conversion of that land to grazing, the Land Utilization Program contributed to the stabilization of the agricultural economy in Fergus County. In part because of the implementation of the ideas of the Land Utilization movement, grazing increased, wheat farming decreased, and farms got larger and more diversified. The influence of the movement is also reflected in land classification and planning efforts. Ultimately, the new policies signified a deeper shift in the role of government as the government relinquished its trust of individual landowners to protect and maintain the country\u27s land resources

Educated In Agency: A Feminist Service-Learning Pedagogy for Community Border Crossings

Thesis advisor: Sharlene Hesse-BiberService-learning is an experiential form of education that moves students outside of the walls of academe to meet community-identified needs through the application and renegotiation of a set of theoretical and methodological skills. It is simultaneously a teaching strategy, an epistemological framework, and an educational reform movement. This research takes the form of multi-methodological case studies of service-learning classrooms and service-learning partnerships, examining the translation of feminist pedagogy to the service-learning experience. The voices of students, faculty, pioneers, administrators, and community partners articulate the common and uncommon struggles of teaching a new generation of students to learn and serve in agencies while simultaneously recognizing their own capacity for agency. This work provides evidence that applying feminist pedagogical principles to service-learning initiatives creates more meaningful transformations for our students, faculty, and communities. The interdependent Feminist Service-Learning Process posited here is an innovative framework for moving our students across the civic borders necessary for community engagement.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Sociology

Lignocellulosic Conversion of Oil Palm Frond for Bio-ethanol

Alternatives for energy resources such as petroleum are highly in demand nowadays. One of the more appealing substitutes for fossil fuels are ethanol, which is produced through the fermentation of sugars that could be fragmented from lignocellulosic materials of any plants. Being one of the biggest producers of palm oil in the world, Malaysia are a natural candidate to provide alternative fuels from the conversion of palm oil agricultural waste to bio-ethanol. As for this study, the waste material from the palm oil industry, which is the oil palm frond (OPF), were converted into ethanol via fragmentation and fermentation. Through a sequential two-stage pre-treatment process, the mechanically pulverized lignocellulosic materials underwent two different chemical pre-treatments which includes an alkaline and acidic hydrolysis to break the fragmented cellulose into glucose. The glucose is the final form of monosaccharide that can readily be converted to alcohol via fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae or yeast. The presence of alcohol was determined via infrared absorption frequency using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy to identify the functional group, meanwhile the alcohol yield were determined through the specific gravity of the solution. The result shows that the fragmented fermentation process successfully produces alcohol through the analysis of the infrared absorption frequency via FTIR which indicates the presence of peak at 3200 – 3600 cm-1 , confirming the presence of alcohol. The specific gravity of the samples determined the alcohol by volume percentage of 6.9%, indicating the agricultural residue OPF as a viable renewable resource for the production of the equally renewable fossil fuel alternative, which is bio-ethanol

Accelerated Calvarial Healing in Mice Lacking Toll-Like Receptor 4

The bone and immune systems are closely interconnected. The immediate inflammatory response after fracture is known to trigger a healing cascade which plays an important role in bone repair. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is a member of a highly conserved receptor family and is a critical activator of the innate immune response after tissue injury. TLR4 signaling has been shown to regulate the systemic inflammatory response induced by exposed bone components during long-bone fracture. Here we tested the hypothesis that TLR4 activation affects the healing of calvarial defects. A 1.8 mm diameter calvarial defect was created in wild-type (WT) and TLR4 knockout (TLR4-/-) mice. Bone healing was tested using radiographic, histologic and gene expression analyses. Radiographic and histomorphometric analyses revealed that calvarial healing was accelerated in TLR4-/- mice. More bone was observed in TLR4-/- mice compared to WT mice at postoperative days 7 and 14, although comparable healing was achieved in both groups by day 21. Bone remodeling was detected in both groups on postoperative day 28. In TLR4-/- mice compared to WT mice, gene expression analysis revealed that higher expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α,TGF-β1, TGF-β3, PDGF and RANKL and lower expression level of RANK were detected at earlier time points (≤ postoperative 4 days); while higher expression levels of IL-1β and lower expression levels of VEGF, RANK, RANKL and OPG were detected at late time points (> postoperative 4 days). This study provides evidence of accelerated bone healing in TLR4-/- mice with earlier and higher expression of inflammatory cytokines and with increased osteoclastic activity. Further work is required to determine if this is due to inflammation driven by TLR4 activation. © 2012 Wang et al

How can diagnostic assessment programs be implemented to enhance inter-professional collaborative care for cancer?

BackgroundInter-professional collaborative care (ICC) for cancer leads to multiple system, organizational, professional, and patient benefits, but is limited by numerous challenges. Empirical research on interventions that promote or enable ICC is sparse so guidance on how to achieve ICC is lacking. Research shows that ICC for diagnosis could be improved. Diagnostic assessment programs (DAPs) appear to be a promising model for enabling ICC. The purpose of this study was to explore how DAP structure and function enable ICC, and whether that may be associated with organizational and clinical outcomes.MethodsA case study approach will be used to explore ICC among eight DAPs that vary by type of cancer (lung, breast), academic status, and geographic region. To describe DAP function and outcomes, and gather information that will enable costing, recommendations expressed in DAP standards and clinical guidelines will be assessed through retrospective observational study. Data will be acquired from databases maintained by participating DAPs and the provincial cancer agency, and confirmed by and supplemented with review of medical records. We will conduct a pilot study to explore the feasibility of estimating the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio using person-level data from medical records and other sources. Interviews will be conducted with health professionals, staff, and referring physicians from each DAP to learn about barriers and facilitators of ICC. Qualitative methods based on a grounded approach will be used to guide sampling, data collection and analysis.DiscussionFindings may reveal opportunities for unique structures, interventions or tools that enable ICC that could be developed, implemented, and evaluated through future research. This information will serve as a formative needs assessment to identify the nature of ongoing or required improvements, which can be directly used by our decision maker collaborators, and as a framework by policy makers, cancer system managers, and DAP managers elsewhere to strategically plan for and implement diagnostic cancer services

Soil bacterial diversity is associated with human population density in urban greenspaces

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2018. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of American Chemical Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Environmental Science and Technology 52 (2018): 5115–5124, doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b06417.Urban greenspaces provide extensive ecosystem services, including pollutant remediation, water management, carbon maintenance, and nutrient cycling. However, while the urban soil microbiota underpin these services, we still have limited understanding of the factors that influence their distribution. We characterized soil bacterial communities from turf-grasses associated with urban parks, streets and residential sites across a major urban environment, including a gradient of human population density. Bacterial diversity was significantly positively correlated with the population density; and species diversity was greater in park and street soils, compared to residential soils. Population density and greenspace type also led to significant differences in the microbial community composition that was also significantly correlated with soil pH, moisture and texture. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that microbial guilds in urban soils were well correlated. Abundant soil microbes in high density population areas had fewer interactions, while abundant bacteria in high moisture soils had more interactions. These results indicate the significant influence of changes in urban demographics and land-use on soil microbial communities. As urbanization is rapidly growing across the planet, it is important to improve our understanding of the consequences of urban zoning on the soil microbiota.This study is supported by the Earth Microbiome Project (http://www.earthmicrobiome.org/) and the China Scholarship Council (http://en.csc.edu.cn/).2019-04-0