Best Practices in Faculty Training for Online Course Design: Implications for St. Catherine University

In fall 2012, St. Catherine University changed the name of its Weekend and Evening College (WEC) to the Evening/Weekend/Online (E/W/O) Program. The change was to better reflect the flexibility and convenience the blending of face-to-face with online instruction afforded students. In spring 2015, registered nurses were invited to apply to St. Catherine University’s first fully online Bachelor’s degree in the RN-BS Degree Completion Program. These changes increased the demand to adapt courses previously taught face-to-face or hybrid to a fully online format. Given that all E/W/O Program courses must be hybrid, and many RN-BS students require fully online courses, it is imperative that St. Catherine University provides faculty with the tools, training, and support systems to both effectively teach online and adequately address adult learners’ expectations. To address these needs, the University’s Academic Technology team developed a multitude of training and professional development opportunities. However, there are currently no requirements for faculty to participate. This action research project examined research in best practices for online course design, and studied the resources in place at St. Catherine University that support faculty developing an online course. Through self-participation in a faculty training course in online course design, and conducting interviews with three exemplary online instructors at St. Catherine University, the current strengths and weaknesses of the university’s training program were assessed. In addition, recommendations were identified that can further support faculty in providing high-quality hybrid and online teaching and learning

Configurational order-disorder induced metal-nonmetal transition in B13_{13}C2_{2} studied with first-principles superatom-special quasirandom structure method

Due to a large discrepancy between theory and experiment, the electronic character of crystalline boron carbide B$_{13}$C$_{2}$ has been a controversial topic in the field of icosahedral boron-rich solids. We demonstrate that this discrepancy is removed when configurational disorder is accurately considered in the theoretical calculations. We find that while ordered ground state B$_{13}$C$_{2}$ is metallic, configurationally disordered B$_{13}$C$_{2}$, modeled with a superatom-special quasirandom structure method, goes through a metal to non-metal transition as the degree of disorder is increased with increasing temperature. Specifically, one of the chain-end carbon atoms in the CBC chains substitutes a neighboring equatorial boron atom in a B$_{12}$ icosahedron bonded to it, giving rise to a B$_{11}$C$^{e}$(BBC) unit. The atomic configuration of the substitutionally disordered B$_{13}$C$_{2}$ thus tends to be dominated by a mixture between B$_{12}$(CBC) and B$_{11}$C$^{e}$(BBC). Due to splitting of valence states in B$_{11}$C$^{e}$(BBC), the electron deficiency in B$_{12}$(CBC) is gradually compensated

transformations in the nuclear and bioenergy sectors in Sweden, Brazil, and the United States

Most of the controversies surrounding how to structure climate change mitigation and adaptation – including financing, what counts as action, and how to measure progress against uncertain goals – have technological change as an underlying assumption. Technological transformation is at the heart of mitigation in the energy system, and technological change (cultivars and management) will be a prime contributor to mitigation and adaptation in agriculture and water. Therefore, the issue of governing the diffusion of GEC- related technology is critically important. The standard analyses that assume we just need to “get the prices right” are insufficient in a world where markets are at best imperfect and equitable well-being is as much a goal as efficiency. Our research examines the ways in technological change is guided by such governance factors as governments (regulation and policy), firms with existing expertise and infrastructure, international and national needs for security, innovation networks, and leadership. We will illustrate the determinative nature of these governance factors through case studies of two major energy technologies – nuclear power and biofuels – in three countries – Brazil, Sweden, and the United States. Primary data comes from interviews with policymakers and firm managers who have been involved in these changes in the three countries. Open-ended and structured questions about a range of driving or enabling factors allow us to establish one or more configurations of factors that can inform the governance of future technological change related to mitigation and serve as the basis for further research into technological change related to adaptation

Phase composition and transformations in magnetron-sputtered (Al,V)2O3 coatings

Coatings of (Al1-xVx)2O3, with x ranging from 0 to 1, were deposited by pulsed DC reactive sputter deposition on Si(100) at a temperature of 550 {\deg}C. XRD showed three different crystal structures depending on V-metal fraction in the coating: {\alpha}-V2O3 rhombohedral structure for 100 at.% V, a defect spinel structure for the intermediate region, 63 - 42 at.% V. At lower V-content, 18 and 7 at.%, a gamma-alumina-like solid solution was observed, shifted to larger d-spacing compared to pure {\gamma}-Al2O3. The microstructure changes from large columnar faceted grains for {\alpha}-V2O3 to smaller equiaxed grains when lowering the vanadium content toward pure {\gamma}-Al2O3. Annealing in air resulted in formation of V2O5 crystals on the surface of the coating after annealing to 500 {\deg}C for 42 at.% V and 700 {\deg}C for 18 at.% V metal fraction respectively. The highest thermal stability was shown for pure {\gamma}-Al2O3-coating, which transformed to {\alpha}-Al2O3 after annealing to 1100{\deg} C. Highest hardness was observed for the Al-rich oxides, ~24 GPa. The latter decreased with increasing V-content, larger than 7 at.% V metal fraction. The measured hardness after annealing in air decreased in conjunction with the onset of further oxidation of the coatings

A 10B-based neutron detector with stacked Multiwire Proportional Counters and macrostructured cathodes

We present the results of the measurements of the detection efficiency for a 4.7 \r{A} neutron beam incident upon a detector incorporating a stack of up to five MultiWire Proportional Counters (MWPC) with Boron-coated cathodes. The cathodes were made of Aluminum and had a surface exhibiting millimeter-deep V-shaped grooves of 45{\deg}, upon which the thin Boron film was deposited by DC magnetron sputtering. The incident neutrons interacting with the converter layer deposited on the sidewalls of the grooves have a higher capture probability, owing to the larger effective absorption film thickness. This leads to a higher overall detection efficiency for the grooved cathode when compared to a cathode with a flat surface. Both the experimental results and the predictions of the GEANT4 model suggests that a 5-counter detector stack with coated grooved cathodes has the same efficiency as a 7-counter stack with flat cathodes. The reduction in the number of counters in the stack without altering the detection efficiency will prove highly beneficial for large-area position-sensitive detectors for neutron scattering applications, for which the cost-effective manufacturing of the detector and associated readout electronics is an important objective. The proposed detector concept could be a technological option for one of the new chopper spectrometers and other instruments planned to be built at the future European Spallation Source in Sweden. These results with macrostructured cathodes generally apply not just to MWPCs but to other gaseous detectors as well.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Surface Morphology of Unused and Used HydromerR-Coated Intravenous Catheters

HydromerR-coated polyurethane (Erythroflex)R catheters, unused, or intravenously inserted for 2-20 days, were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both unfixed and fixed (2% glutar-aldehyde in phosphate buffer), and air-or critical-point dried (CPD) specimens were investigated. The catheter segments were sputter-coated with approx. 20 nm gold and studied at an accelerating voltage of 20 kV. The specimens were examined for surface depositions, thickness and structure of the HydromerR layers, and occurrence of adhering and embedded bacteria. The outer HydromerR layer showed, in the un-used specimens, scratches and fissures, as well as adhering foreign bodies. In used specimens, the layer was swollen, with cracks (like dried earth ), and, occasionally , amorphous substances and coccoid bacteria were seen adhering. Damage to the layer, or even its total disappearance was also noted in some specimens. The inner (luminal) HydromerR layer was, in unused specimens, clean and slightly wavy. In used catheters, it was thicker, possibly swollen, with small, isolated or agglomerated protrusions, like a lunar landscape . Adhering platelets and amorphous substances were also occasionally seen. The results suggest that the HydromerR is a fragile material in both its dry and wet forms. Thus, the HydromerR-coated catheters should neither be stored in flexible packs, nor inserted by the Seldinger technique. The findings do not support the belief that the HydromerR-coating can prevent either thrombus formation, or intraluminal occlusion of the in-situ catheters

Self-organized nanostructuring in Zr0.69Al0.31N thin films studied by atom probe tomography

We have applied atom probe tomography (APT) to analyze self-organizing structures of wear-resistant Zr0.69Al0.31N thin films grown by magnetron sputtering. Transmission electron microscopy shows that these films grow as a three-dimensional nanocomposite, consisting of interleaved lamellae in a labyrinthine structure, with an in-plane size scale of ~ 5 nm. The structure was recovered in the Al APT signal, while the Zr and N data lacked structural information. The onset of the self-organized labyrinthine growth was observed to occur by surface nucleation, 5–8 nm above the MgO substrate, due to increasing Zr–Al compositional fluctuations during elemental segregation. At a final stage, the labyrinthine growth mode was observed to be interrupted by the formation of larger ZrN grains

A unified cluster expansion method applied to the configurational thermodynamics of cubic TiAlN

We study the thermodynamics of cubic Ti1-xAlxN using a unified cluster expansion approach for the alloy problem. The purely configurational part of the alloy Hamiltonian is expanded in terms of concentration and volume dependent effective cluster interactions. By separate expansions of the chemical fixed-lattice, and local lattice relaxation terms of the ordering energies, we demonstrate how the screened generalized perturbation method can be fruitfully combined with a concentration dependent Connolly-Williams cluster expansion method. Utilising the obtained Hamiltonian in Monte Carlo simulations we access the free energy of Ti1-xAlxN alloys and construct the isostructural phase diagram. The results show surprising similarities with the previously obtained mean-field results: The metastable c-TiAlN is subject to coherent spinodal decomposition over a larger part of the concentration range, e.g. from x >= 0.33 at 2000 K.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure