An investigation of Nebraska art teachers\u27 perceptions and usage of internet technology.

In order to prepare students to be life long learners in a rapidly changing global and technological society, educators need to promote the use of appropriate technology to support quality learning. Art students, as well as all of today\u27s students, need to be effective communicators, creative problem solvers, and be able to access and manage information in an electronic world. Although Nebraska is already a national leader in telecommunications and telecomputing, the extent to which technology is used and will be used in specific disciplines is as yet unclear. An important first step in supporting the future use of Internet in the art classrooms of Nebraska is to determine the current use and perceptions by art teachers. The purpose of the present study is to explore the perceptions and usage of the Internet by current art teachers in the state of Nebraska. A survey was distributed in March 1995 to approximately 588 public school art teachers who were certified in the state of Nebraska. All participants were presently teaching art all or part of the day. The survey combined a series of Likert scale and open ended questions to determine usage and perceptions of the Internet, as well as some more traditional computer tools. By March 24, 1995, a total of 294 surveys were returned, which represented a 50 percent return rate. To help validate the survey responses, 20 structured interviews were conducted. Survey and interview data revealed positive perceptions of Internet; but low usage, limited access, frustration with using this new technology, and a general lack of knowledge on how to successfully integrate Internet technology into the art curriculum. The study results also indicated greater need for Internet access in the classroom, enhanced and specialized Internet training for art teachers, and more specialized curriculum development that reflects the potential use of the Internet in the art classroom. This study also revealed positive perceptions towards Internet implementation despite teacher frustration in learning and using these new technologies. If effective training is provided for Art and Internet integration, art teachers seem willing to use Internet in the classroom to enhance student learning. The results of this study encourage longitudinal research regarding perceptions and usage of Internet in the art classroom, as well as research investigating Internet usage in all academic disciplines

A Search for X-Ray Flashes with XMM-Newton

We searched for X-ray flashes (XRFs) -- which we defined as ~10s duration transient X-ray events observable in the 0.4-15 keV passband -- in fields observed using XMM-Newton with the EPIC/pn detector. While we find two non-Poissonian events, the astrophysical nature of the events is not confirmed in fully simultaneous observations with the EPIC/MOS detectors, and we conclude that the events are anomalous to the EPIC/pn detector. We find a 90% upper limit on the number of flashes per sky per year at two different incoming flash fluxes: 4.0x10^9 events / sky / year for a flux of 7.1x10^-13 erg / cm^2 / s and 6.8x10^7 events / sky / year for 1.4x10^-11 erg / cm^2 / s. These limits are consistent with an extrapolation from the BeppoSAX/WFC XRF rate at much higher fluxes (about a factor of 10^5), assuming an homogenous population, and with a previous, more stringent limit derived from ROSAT pointed observations.Comment: Version accepted by MNRAS (minor changes

Editorial: Controversies and solutions in environmental sciences: Addressing toxicity of sediments and soils

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2007 Ecomed Publishers

Sus scrofa: Population Structure, Reproduction and Condition in Tropical North Eastern Australia

Three feral pig populations inhabiting contrasting environments along the north easterncoast of Australia have been investigated with respect to population structure, individual condition andreproduction. The population on Prince of Wales Island contains a large proportion of juvenile andsub-adult pigs but lacks pigs in the higher age classes. Individuals also breed at an earlier age thananimals of the mainland populations. Pig populations on Cape York Peninsula show a largerproportion of older animals and feral pigs living in rainforest habitats show a low proportion ofanimals in very young and very old age classes. Pigs from the lowland rainforest population are inbetter condition than those of the other populations for most of the year, reflecting the availability offood all year round in this environment. Differences in the population structure of the threepopulations are discussed with respect to fecundity and several mortality factors such as predation anddiseases/parasites