First Year at University: Perceptions and Experiences of Students

This study was initiated by concerns in the literature over freshman students and by the need to know more about students' perceptions of their university experience. In 1984, all 937 first-year students in the Faculties of Arts, Business, Education, Engineering, and Science who had come directly to the University of Alberta from high school were asked about their university experiences and the transition from high school. Family members, the University's reputation, and the University's proximity exerted the greatest influence upon the decision to attend. Preparation for an interesting career, obtaining a well-paying job, and learning about topics of special interest were the most important goals associated with their programs. Students considered that they were best prepared in reading skills, listening skills, and taking notes, and least well prepared in budgeting time, library skills, and study skills. Most assessed that they were working considerably harder than at high school, and many said that high school had not adequately prepared them for university. The greatest need to adjust occurred in amount of work, stress, difficulty of work, and methods of instruction. Students varied considerably in the extent to which their expectations were met and the time taken to feel "at ease."Cette étude est née d'une part, des préoccupations soulevées dans les publications sur les étudiants nouvellement inscrits à l'université et d'autre part, de la nécessité de mieux connaître leur perception sur leur expérience universitaire. En 1984, tous les étudiants de première année des Facultés des Arts, du Commerce, de l'Education, de l'Ingénierie et des Sciences venant des écoles secondaires pour entrer directement à l'Université de l'Alberta ont été interrogés sur la transition de l'école secondaire et sur leur expérience universitaire. Ce sont les membres de la famille, la réputation de l'Université et sa proximité qui ont exercé la plus grande influence sur leur décision de s'inscrire. La préparation d'une carrière intéressante, l'obtention d'un travail bien rémunéré et la connaissance de sujets présentant un intérêt particulier ont été les principaux facteurs qui ont déterminé leur choix de programme. Les étudiants ont considéré qu'ils avaient bien été préparés dans leur compétence à lire, écouter, et prendre des notes, et moins bien préparés dans leur compétence à gérer leur temps, étudier et se servir de la bibliothèque. La plupart ont considéré qu'ils travaillaient plus fort qu'à l'école secondaire et que celle-ci ne les avait pas préparés de façon adéquate à l'univer-sité. Le plus grand besoin auquel les étudiants ont dû s'ajuster, c'est au montant de travail, à sa difficulté, au stress et aux méthodes d'enseignement. Les étudiants variaient considérablement dans leurs réponses sur la satisfaction de leur attente et sur le temps nécessaire pour qu'ils se sentent à l'aise

Airborne laser scanning of natural forests in New Zealand reveals the influences of wind on forest carbon

Abstract Background Forests are a key component of the global carbon cycle, and research is needed into the effects of human-driven and natural processes on their carbon pools. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) produces detailed 3D maps of forest canopy structure from which aboveground carbon density can be estimated. Working with a ALS dataset collected over the 8049-km2 Wellington Region of New Zealand we create maps of indigenous forest carbon and evaluate the influence of wind by examining how carbon storage varies with aspect. Storms flowing from the west are a common cause of disturbance in this region, and we hypothesised that west-facing forests exposed to these winds would be shorter than those in sheltered east-facing sites. Methods The aboveground carbon density of 31 forest inventory plots located within the ALS survey region were used to develop estimation models relating carbon density to ALS information. Power-law models using rasters of top-of-the-canopy height were compared with models using tree-level information extracted from the ALS dataset. A forest carbon map with spatial resolution of 25 m was generated from ALS maps of forest height and the estimation models. The map was used to evaluate the influences of wind on forests. Results Power-law models were slightly less accurate than tree-centric models (RMSE 35% vs 32%) but were selected for map generation for computational efficiency. The carbon map comprised 4.5 million natural forest pixels within which canopy height had been measured by ALS, providing an unprecedented dataset with which to examine drivers of carbon density. Forests facing in the direction of westerly storms stored less carbon, as hypothesised. They had much greater above-ground carbon density for a given height than any of 14 tropical forests previously analysed by the same approach, and had exceptionally high basal areas for their height. We speculate that strong winds have kept forests short without impeding basal area growth. Conclusion Simple estimation models based on top-of-the canopy height are almost as accurate as state-of-the-art tree-centric approaches, which require more computing power. High-resolution carbon maps produced by ALS provide powerful datasets for evaluating the environmental drivers of forest structure, such as wind. </jats:sec

A brief description of geological and geophysical exploration of the Marysville geothermal area

Extensive geological and geophysical surveys were carried out at the Marysville geothermal area during 1973 and 1974. The area has high heat flow (up to microcalories per square centimeter-second, a negative gravity anomaly, high electrical resistivity, low seismic ground noise, and nearby microseismic activity. Significant magnetic and infrared anomalies are not associated with the geothermal area. The geothermal anomaly occupies the axial portion of a dome in Precambrian sedimentary rocks intruded by Cretaceous and Cenozoic granitic rocks. The results from a 2.4-km-deep test well indicate that the cause of the geothermal anomaly is hydrothermal convection in a Cenozoic intrusive. A maximum temperature of 95 C was measured at a depth of 500 m in the test well

Height-related risk factors for prostate cancer

Previous studies have reported that adult height is positively associated with the risk of prostate cancer. The authors carried out a population-based case–control study involving 317 prostate cancer cases and 480 controls to further investigate the possibility that height is more strongly associated with advanced, compared with localized forms of this disease. Since the inherited endocrine factors, which in part determine height attained during the growing years, may influence the risk of familial prostate cancer later in life, the relationship with height was also investigated for familial versus sporadic prostate cancers. Adult height was not related to the risk of localized prostate cancer, but there was a moderate positive association between increasing height and the risk of advanced cancer (relative risk (RR) = 1.62; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.97–2.73, upper versus lowest quartile, P -trend = 0.07). Height was more strongly associated with the risk of prostate cancer in men with a positive family history compared with those reporting a negative family history. The RR of advanced prostate cancer for men in the upper height quartile with a positive family history was 7.41 (95% CI 1.68–32.67, P -trend = 0.02) compared with a reference group comprised of men in the shortest height quartile with a negative family history. Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 levels did not correlate with height amongst men with familial or sporadic prostate cancers. These findings provide evidence for the existence of growth-related risk factors for prostate cancer, particularly for advanced and familial forms of this disease. The possible existence of inherited mechanisms affecting both somatic and tumour growth deserves further investigation. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into the Evolutionary History of New Zealand's Extinct Giant Eagle

Prior to human settlement 700 years ago New Zealand had no terrestrial mammals—apart from three species of bats—instead, approximately 250 avian species dominated the ecosystem. At the top of the food chain was the extinct Haast's eagle, Harpagornis moorei. H. moorei (10–15 kg; 2–3 m wingspan) was 30%–40% heavier than the largest extant eagle (the harpy eagle, Harpia harpyja), and hunted moa up to 15 times its weight. In a dramatic example of morphological plasticity and rapid size increase, we show that the H. moorei was very closely related to one of the world's smallest extant eagles, which is one-tenth its mass. This spectacular evolutionary change illustrates the potential speed of size alteration within lineages of vertebrates, especially in island ecosystems

Historical Criminology and the Explanatory Power of the Past

To what extent can the past ‘explain’ the present? This deceptively simple question lies at the heart of historical criminology (research which incorporates historical primary sources while addressing present-day debates and practices in the criminal justice field). This article seeks first to categorise the ways in which criminologists have used historical data thus far, arguing that it is most commonly deployed to ‘problematize’ the contemporary rather than to ‘explain’ it. The article then interrogates the reticence of criminologists to attribute explicative power in relation to the present to historical data. Finally, it proposes the adoption of long time-frame historical research methods, outlining three advantages which would accrue from this: the identification and analysis of historical continuities; a more nuanced, shared understanding of micro/macro change over time in relation to criminal justice; and a method for identifying and analysing instances of historical recurrence, particularly in perceptions and discourses around crime and justice

Hanford MOX fuel lead assemblies data report for the surplus plutonium disposition environmental impact statement

The purpose of this document is to support the US Department of Energy (DOE) Fissile Materials Disposition Program`s preparation of the draft surplus plutonium disposition environmental impact statement. This is one of several responses to data call requests for background information on activities associated with the operation of the lead assembly (LA) mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility. DOE-MD requested that the DOE Site Operations Offices nominate DOE sites that meet established minimum requirements that could produce MOX LAs. Six initial site combinations were proposed: (1) Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W) with support from Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), (2) Hanford, (3) Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) with support from Pantex, (4) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), (5) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR), and (6) Savannah River Site (SRS). After further analysis by the sites and DOE-MD, five site combinations were established as possible candidates for producing MOX LAs: (1) ANL-W with support from INEEL, (2) Hanford, (3) LANL, (4) LLNL, and (5) SRS. Hanford has proposed an LA MOX fuel fabrication approach that would be done entirely inside an S and S Category 1 area. An alternate approach would allow fabrication of fuel pellets and assembly of fuel rods in an S and S Category 1 facility. In all, a total of three LA MOX fuel fabrication options were identified by Hanford that could accommodate the program. In every case, only minor modification would be required to ready any of the facilities to accept the equipment necessary to accomplish the LA program