Patterns in the legislative ratings and campaign contributions of business and labor pacs.

ManagementDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.

Elk summer-autumn habitat selection in the Clearwater Basin of north-central Idaho

Since the 1960\u27s, Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) populations have declined steadily in the Clearwater Basin in north-central Idaho. The Clearwater Basin Collaborative (CBC) was formed with the goal of restoring healthy elk populations to the Clearwater Basin. They initiated this study by collaring 53 cow elk from four distinct areas. I analyzed elk detection and GIS-based habitat data from June 15-September 15 2014 to address one of the CBC\u27s objectives: identifying elk habitat use responses on summer-autumn range. Ground-truth surveys are necessary to verify satellite-derived data are analogous to actual vegetation components. I used a proportion analysis to compare satellite derived cover type and forest cover to the true on-the-ground cover type and forest cover classification. All habitats had over 85% accuracy in the cover type validation analysis and 84% in the percent forest cover validation analysis. To assess the summer-autumn habitat selection of elk I used a new modeling approach with a use-availability design, the Synoptic model, to assess the importance of topography (valley and midslope), forage emergence and senescence (NDVI and NDVI*forest), the type of habitat (shrub, forested, or herbaceous), and forest cover (high and low) to elk habitat selection. The relative variable importance of habitat variables in descending order was: forest, valley, shrub, lowcover, NDVI and NDVI*forest, midslope, and highcover. I used a MANOVA to test for overall differences in mean habitat selection coefficients among populations. MANOVA results showed there was no significant difference in habitat selection among populations. Then, I examined how distribution patterns related to habitat variables by calculating a habitat suitability index (HSI) for each of the four populations. Overall, elk showed a positive relationship with shrub and forest, and a negative relationship with valleys and high cover in the four populations. The results of this study indicated that elk select for a juxtaposition of both forage and cover, and used high to moderate elevations during the summer. The CBC has attributed declines in the Clearwater Basin elk populations to the loss of early-seral shrub habitat and subsequent limiting effects of summer-autumn nutrition. Based on this analysis, elk populations would be enhanced by converting areas of contiguous forest cover to a diversity of seral communities, particularly early-seral shrubs with adjacent forest stands. These results will help us recognize resources important for elk conservation or habitat improvement, and inform ongoing research in identifying elk nutritional status and population responses on summer-autumn range --Leaf iv

Systematische Entwicklung amorpher Kohlenstoffschichten unter Berücksichtigung der Anforderungen der Blechmassivumformung

A new class of forming operations, called sheet-bulk metal forming, is being developed within the scope of the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 73. The objective is the cost- and resource-efficient production of function integrated components based on sheet metals, preferably steel sheets, by a combination of sheet and bulk forming. In order to enable the forming of complex secondary design features in the size of the sheet thickness, e. g. gearing teeth, in few forming stations, triaxial stress and strain states have to be applied purposefully to the sheet material. Due to partially high contact stresses and surface enlargement of the workpiece, improved wear protection measures compared to the present state of the art are required. Furthermore, there is a demand for new solutions allowing the targeted adaptation of the (local) friction conditions in the contact tool/workpiece in order to contribute to the control of the material flow. In view of these challenges in the field of tribology, amorphous carbon coatings are a promising response. As compared to tool materials and hard ceramic coatings, their key advantages are an enhanced adhesion protection and low coefficients of friction in dry sliding against steels. Even though amorphous carbon coatings are well-established in other fields of application, their capacity to withstand stresses is considered insufficient to be used as tool coatings for the cold forming of steels. However, a closer look at the current relevant state of research reveals that the underlying knowledge is fragmentary, at times contradictory, and in total not sufficiently well-founded. Therefore, the present thesis focuses on a systematic technology development with the objective of qualifying amorphous carbon coatings for the application on sheet-bulk metal forming tools and supporting their establishment by accompanying measures. A methodology for the tribology-oriented system analysis of sheet-bulk metal forming processes, which is already applicable during the simulation-based process design, is proposed. It facilitates the early survey of the requirements, which are needed for the selection and/or development of surface modifications. By applying the methodology on a combined deep drawing and extrusion process, typical tribological boundary conditions of sheet-bulk metal forming are depicted. Subsequently, the results of a profound comparative study on the tribological-mechanical performance of a hydrogenated (a-C:H) and a tungsten-modified hydrogenated amorphous carbon coating (a-C:H:W) in highly loaded dry sliding against steel are presented and discussed. On the basis of load-scanning tests and scanning electron microscope analyses, the friction behaviour as well as the progression of wear and mechanical failure are assessed in dependence of the contact pressure and the number of load cycles. As a major finding, adhesive transfer of micrometre-scale steel flakes, resulting in locally increased frictional stresses, is identified as the first cause of mechanical coating failure. Based on the tribological-mechanical behaviour, it is established that a-C:H:W should be much better suited for sheet-bulk metal forming than a-C:H. Finally, a systematic coating development process, dedicated to the research on a-C:H:W variants with an enhanced performance in highly loaded sliding against steel, is described in a comprehensive manner. For this part of the work, a PVD/PACVD coating machine was employed. During a-C:H:W deposition by reactive magnetron sputtering of tungsten-carbide in argon-ethine atmosphere, the four most relevant process parameters, namely sputtering power, bias voltage, argon and ethine flows, were varied according to a central composite design. Coating characterisation was performed using common techniques as well as pin-on-disk and load-scanning tests in sliding against steel under dry conditions and lubrication with forming oil. Coating properties and tribological behaviour are shown to be greatly adaptable, usually via more than one parameter. Based on statistical evaluation, relationships between process parameters, process conditions, coating properties and tribological behaviour are elaborated. Remarkably, it can be concluded that a-C:H:W coatings with a much enhanced performance in highly loaded sliding against steel were deposited under rather uncommon process conditions.Bei der Blechmassivumformung handelt es sich um eine neue Klasse von Umformverfahren, für die im Sonderforschungsbereich/Transregio 73 die ingenieurwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen geschaffen werden. Das Ziel ist es, durch eine Kombination von Verfahren der Blech- und Massivumformung funktionsintegrierte Bauteile ausgehend von flächigen Halbzeugen, vorzugsweise Stahlblechen, kosten- und ressourceneffizient fertigen zu können. Um komplexe Nebenformelemente in der Größe der Blechdicke, z. B. Verzahnungen, in wenigen Umformstufen ausformen zu können, müssen in den Blechwerkstoffen gezielt dreiachsige Spannungs- und Formänderungszustände eingestellt werden. Aufgrund der teils hohen Kontaktspannungen sowie der Oberflächenvergrößerung des Werkstücks, sind gegenüber dem Stand der Technik verbesserte Verschleißschutzmaßnahmen erforderlich. Darüber hinaus sind neue Lösungen gefordert, die eine (lokale) Anpassung der Reibung in der Wirkfuge zwischen Werkzeug und Werkstück gestatten, und damit einen Beitrag zur Steuerung des Werkstoffflusses leisten. Eine mögliche Antwort auf diese Herausforderungen auf dem Gebiet der Werkzeugtribologie stellen amorphe Kohlenstoffschichten dar. Gegenüber den Werkzeugwerkstoffen sowie keramischen Hartstoffschichten zeichnen sich diese insbesondere durch einen besseren Adhäsivverschleißschutz und niedrigere Reibzahlen im Gleitkontakt gegen Stahl aus. Während sich amorphe Kohlenstoffschichten in anderen Anwendungsfeldern etabliert haben, gilt ihre Beanspruchbarkeit für einen Einsatz auf Werkzeugen zur Kaltumformung von Stählen bisher als zu gering. Eine nähere Betrachtung des Stands der Forschung zeigt jedoch, dass die zugrunde liegenden Erkenntnisse bruchstückhaft, teils widersprüchlich und in Summe nicht hinreichend fundiert sind. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde daher eine systematische Technologieentwicklung betrieben, die darauf abzielt, amorphe Kohlenstoffschichten für eine Anwendung auf Werkzeugen der Blechmassivumformung zu qualifizieren und ihre Etablierung durch begleitende Maßnahmen zu erleichtern. Es wird eine Methode für die tribologieorientierte Systemanalyse von Blechmassivumformprozessen vorgeschlagen, die sich bereits während der simulationsbasierten Fertigungsprozessauslegung anwenden lässt. Diese erleichtert eine frühzeitige Erfassung der Anforderungen, die für die Auswahl und/oder Entwicklung von Oberflächenmodifikationen benötigt werden. Durch Anwendung der Methodik auf einen kombinierten Tiefzieh-/Fließpressprozess werden typische tribologische Randbedingungen der Blechmassivumformung aufgezeigt. Anschließend werden die Ergebnisse einer umfangreichen vergleichenden Studie zur tribologisch-mechanischen Leistungsfähigkeit von wasserstoffhaltigen (a-C:H) und wolframhaltigen wasserstoffhaltigen amorphen Kohlenstoffschichten (a-C:H:W) im hoch belasteten trockenen Gleitkontakt gegen Stahl dargestellt und diskutiert. Auf Basis von Load-Scanner-Versuchen und rasterelektronenmikroskopischen Analysen werden das Reibungsverhalten sowie der Verschleiß- und Schädigungsfortschritt in Abhängigkeit der Pressung und der Anzahl an Gleitzyklen eingehend betrachtet. Als wesentliche Erkenntnis können wenige Mikrometer große Stahlanhaftungen, die eine lokale Erhöhung der Reibschubspannungen nach sich ziehen, als Initiator des mechanischen Schichtversagens identifiziert werden. Anhand des tribologisch-mechanischen Verhaltens wird aufgezeigt, dass a-C:H:W für die Blechmassivumformung deutlich besser geeignet ist als a-C:H. Schließlich wird ein systematischer Schichtentwicklungsprozess zur Auffindung von a-C:H:W-Varianten mit einer gesteigerten Leistungsfähigkeit im hoch belasteten Gleitkontakt gegen Stahl umfassend beschrieben. In diesem Teil der Arbeit, für den eine PVD-/PACVD-Beschichtungsanlage zur Verfügung stand, wurden bei der a-C:H:W-Abscheidung durch reaktives Magentron-Kathodenzerstäuben eines Wolframcarbidtargets in Argon-Ethin-Atmosphäre die vier wichtigsten Prozessparameter, Sputterleistung, Biasspannung, Argon- und Ethinfluss, anhand eines zentral zusammengesetzten Versuchsplans variiert. Die Schichtcharakterisierung wurde mit üblichen Verfahren sowie im Rahmen von Stift-Scheibe- und Load-Scanner-Versuchen, im Gleitkontakt gegen Stahl unter trockenen Bedingungen und unter Schmierung mit Umformöl, durchgeführt. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass sich die Schichteigenschaften und das tribologische Verhalten meist über mehr als einen Prozessparameter weitläufig anpassen lassen. Durch statistische Evaluierung werden zudem Zusammenhänge zwischen Prozessparametern, Prozessbedingungen, Schichteigenschaften und tribologischem Verhalten der Schichten herausgearbeitet. Bemerkenswerter Weise kann gefolgert werden, dass a-C:H:W-Schichten, die im hoch belasteten Gleitkontakt gegen Stahl eine deutlich gesteigerte Leistungsfähigkeit besitzen, unter eher ungewöhnlichen Prozessbedingungen abgeschieden wurden

weSPOT: a cloud-based approach for personal and social inquiry

Scientific inquiry is at the core of the curricula of schools and universities across Europe. weSPOT is a new European initiative proposing a cloud-based approach for personal and social inquiry. weSPOT aims at enabling students to create their mashups out of cloud-based tools in order to perform scientific investigations. Students will also be able to share their inquiry accomplishments in social networks and receive feedback from the learning environment and their peers

D2.4 Guidance and assessment tutorial: Inquiry Guidance and Assessment Tutorial

The weSPOT project aims at propagating scientific inquiry as the approach for science learning and teaching in combination with today’s curricula and teaching practices. It lowers the threshold for linking everyday life with science teaching in schools by technology. weSPOT supports the meaningful contextualization of scientific concepts by relating them to personal curiosity, experiences, and reasoning. weSPOT addresses several challenges in the area of science learning and technology support for building personal conceptual knowledge. The project focuses on inquiry-based learning with a theoretically sound and technology supported personal inquiry approach. The project is focused on three main development aspects: (a) define a reference model for inquiry-based learning skills, (b) create a diagnostic instrument for measuring inquiry skills, and (c) implement a working environment that allows the easy linking of inquiry activities with school curricula and legacy systems. The foreseen weSPOT Toolkit gives smart support for personal scientific inquiry to address a lack of scientific inquiry skills in an age group of 12-25. The current deliverable, D2.4, outlines the inquiry guidance and assessment tutorial, to support teachers in their quest for scientific inquiry. The inquiry guidance tutorial includes several items that will introduce the weSPOT IBL model to the teachers, provide them with examples of how to use it in practice, describe the available tools and show them how they work. This diagnostic tutorial is focused on the diagnostic instrument which will look at the entire inquiry life cycle which may start with the formulation of a research question and may end with the valorisation of the results and it will cover the four different complexities of inquiry, from confirmation inquiry to open, self-directed inquiry. The second part of the deliverable focuses on the diagnostic framework describing the adopted approach. The weSPOT diagnostic instrument for inquiry skills and competences aimed at a) to establish a European baseline of the current level of inquiry skills in the target group and b) to demonstrate the potential of the weSPOT-technology for STEM-learning in general.weSPOT Project IST (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement N° 318499

First Year Parental Employment and Child Developmental Outcomes at Two and Four Years of Age

The goal of this project was to explore associations between maternal and paternal employment around nine months after the birth of a child and child socioemotional, cognitive, and health outcomes at two and four years of age. Three research aims were addressed. Aim One: To Examine Associations Between Maternal Employment And Child Outcomes Findings indicated that few links exist between maternal full and part time employment (compared to no employment) and child outcomes at two and four years. A series of home and family process variables were also analyzed to determine whether they served as significant mediators or offsetting variables in the association between employment and child outcomes. Although there was some variation by outcome, generally full and part time maternal employment was linked with more maternal knowledge of child development, less maternal depression, more maternal income, better attachment classification, and a higher quality home environment. Each of these process variables were, in turn, linked with positive child outcomes. On the other hand, full and part time maternal employment was also associated with less time spent with the child, which was associated with poorer child outcomes. Full and part time maternal employment was linked with greater participation in nonparental child care, which was associated with both better and worse child outcomes, varying by type of care and the specific outcome. Compared to non-working mothers, full time employment was linked with a shorter duration in breastfeeding, while part time employment was linked with a longer duration in breastfeeding. Duration of breastfeeding was associated with better child outcomes at age two. Lastly, the number of well child visits was not found to be a significant pathway between maternal employment and child outcomes. It appeared that positive and negative pathways existed, and in most cases balanced out to a non significant direct effect of employment on outcomes. Aim Two: To Examine Associations Between Parental Employment And Child Outcomes Findings from the second study indicated that, compared to children with a non working mother and full time working father, children with two full time working parents displayed more illness by age two. At age four, compared to children with a non working mother and full time working father, children with a part time working mother and a father with part time or no work showed less engagement of a parent. Children with a part time working mother and full time working father, children with a part time working mother and part time or non working father, and children with two full time working parents displayed more externalizing behavior. A series of home and family process variables were analyzed to determine their role as mediators or offsetting variables in the association between parental employment and child outcomes. Although there was some variation by outcome, generally the employment groups that included a full time working father and a part or full time working mother fared best on process variables. These groups were associated with more mother and father knowledge of child development, less maternal depression, more use of child care, more income, more maternal sensitivity, and a better home environment. These process variables were, in turn, associated with better child outcomes. On the other hand, those families with a non working mother and a part time or non working father generally fared worst on process variables. This group was associated with less mother and father knowledge of child development, more maternal and paternal depression, a lower quality home environment, less income, less months breastfed, and lower maternal sensitivity. These process variables were generally associated with poorer child outcomes at ages two and/or four. Aim Three: To Examine the Mediating Role Of Child Care Quality In The Association Between First-Year Parental Employment And Child Outcomes At Age Four Results indicated that overall there were associations between employment and child care, but few and inconsistent links between child care type and quality and child outcomes. The child outcomes for which some types of child care served as a significant pathway for parent employment were math ability, reading ability, engagement of the parent, and expressive language. High quality center-based care, high quality relative care, and high quality non-relative care were all positively linked with at least one child outcome measured at age four. However, low quality center based care was also positively linked with both math ability and engagement of the parent. The positive link with math was surprising, particularly in the absence of a positive link between high quality center-based care and math ability, which was expected based on previous findings. Engagement of the parent was the only socioemotional outcome with a positive link with parental employment though child care. The pathway emerged through both high and low quality, center-based settings. Because of the large groups and decreased one-on-one time with an adult, center-based care, at the onset of the study, was expected to have a negative link with socioemotional outcomes. No links with child health were found

Innovative and Technology-Enhanced Learning Approaches for Older Adults

Dado que los alumnos adultos (y especialmente los alumnos mayores de sesenta años) son un grupo muy heterogéneo, es un reto crear conceptos de aprendizaje que se acoplen a la totalidad del grupo y respeten las necesidades particulares. El aprendizaje en línea puede ser una solución, pues posibilita un método de aprendizaje muy individualizado pero sin dejar de formar parte de la comunidad de alumnos que participan en un curso de estas características. Los cursos en línea para el aprendizaje de las TIC destinados a la tercera edad han revelado que este puede ser un modo muy adecuado de aprendizaje, siempre que se cumplan ciertos principios didácticos y que se ofrezca comunicación y apoyo al alumno. Este artículo describe algunas directrices básicas para la idoneidad de cursos sobre las TIC destinados a las personas mayores, y ofrece una solución para esa parte de la tercera edad que mantiene todavía ideas negativas hacia el uso de dichas TIC. Con las posibilidades de aprendizaje que brindan los dispositivos móviles, la adquisición de conocimientos sobre las TIC se facilita aún más, pues el uso de una tableta requiere menos destrezas tecnológicas que el uso de un ordenador estándar. Dado que los primeros resultados del aprendizaje a través de dispositivos móviles para la tercera edad son muy prometedores, un nuevo proyecto europeo ofrece material de aprendizaje para usuarios sin experiencia previa en cuatro países europeos. El presente artículo da a conocer también ese proyecto.As adult learners, and especially learners older than sixty years of age, are a very heterogenic group, it is challenging to create learning concepts which suit the entire group and respect particular needs. E-learning can be a solution, as it is possible to learn very individually but still as part of a learning community when participating in an e-learning course. E-learning courses for older adults about ICT learning have revealed that this can be a very successful way of learning as long as some didactical principles are fulfilled, and communication and support is offered to the learner. This article describes some basic guidelines for successful ICT courses for older adults and offers a solution for older adults who still have negative feelings towards using ICT. With the possibilities of mobile learning, ICT literacy acquisition becomes even easier as tablet use requires less technology skills than the use of a standard computer. As first results of mobile learning for older adults are very promising, a new European project offers learning material for unexperienced users in four European countries. This project is also introduced in this article