Living up to our students’ expectations – using student voice to influence the way academics think about their undergraduates learning and their own teaching

Understanding the student learning experience is essential if Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are to provide an education for the 21st century. This study investigated students’ perspectives on their learning experiences and offered undergraduates a chance to influence the way academics think about learning and teaching.Participants were drawn from two UK HEIs and a semi structured focus group approach was adopted. A total of nine focus groups consisting of 3-7 participants were drawn from across all Sport degree year groups in both institutions. Assessment, pedagogy and teacher characteristics emerged as primary concerns across both institutions. Assessment was appreciated by all students as key to their learning but was exposed as being overly traditional and rigid in its application. Students were unanimous in their support for small group pedagogies, rejecting traditional powerpoint dominated lecturing styles. The emphasis on the behaviour of, and delivery by, tutors was noteworthy.Students appraised the development of their academic skills and confidence, linking these to motivation, knowledge, self-awareness and critical reflection. In doing so they understood the impact of inconsistencies in tutors’ teaching practices. The onus is on every tutor to combine imaginative assessment with dynamic and relational experiences in order to provide a strong foundation for flexible, reflective and creative graduates

An investigation into the comparative learning gain and ‘value added’ for students from widening participation and non-widening participation groups:a case study from sports degrees

Increasingly universities are expected to demonstrate the impact of students’ higher education experiences; learning gain is one of the metrics that can evidence this. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) agrees Widening Participation (WP) objectives with the universities with an implicit expectation that Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs) work within their communities to enable those who could benefit from a university education to enrol. The Abertay sport programmes have historically supported students from diverse backgrounds. This case study focuses specifically on the graduate outcomes of WP and non-WP students graduating from these programmes in the years 2000–2015. An e-mail survey and departmental database of graduate destinations were linked with the student record. Analysis confirmed that those from WP backgrounds were equally as likely to gain a good degree as their non-WP counterparts and to be in graduate and/or sports employment. Longitudinal graduate outcomes are considered in the context of pedagogic strategy

Cyclotron waves in a collisionless plasma

Plasma waves with resonances near electron cyclotron frequency investigated in long collisionless plasma column - wavelength dispersion curves and relation

Experimental investigation of the fundamental modes of a collisionless plasma quarterly report no. 3, sep. 11 - dec. 10, 1964

Plasma waves between electron cyclotron frequency and upper hybrid frequency in collisionless hydrogen plasm

Using CMOS Sensors in a Cellphone for Gamma Detection and Classification

The CMOS camera found in many cellphones is sensitive to ionized electrons. Gamma rays penetrate into the phone and produce ionized electrons that are then detected by the camera. Thermal noise and other noise needs to be removed on the phone, which requires an algorithm that has relatively low memory and computational requirements. The continuous high-delta algorithm described fits those requirements. Only a small fraction of the energy of even the electron is deposited in the camera sensor, so direct methods of measuring the energy cannot be used. The fraction of groups of lit up pixels that are lines is correlated with the energy of the gamma rays. This correlation under certain conditions allows limited low resolution energy resolution to be performed

Tracking career destinations of sports graduates 2000-2015:a longitudinal exploration of destinations and preparedness for the workplace

The advent of the TEF means that universities will be expected to evidence the impact of curriculum interactions on graduate destinations and social mobility. Over a third of sport employees are graduates but little data charts their career journeys. Key objectives: • track all Abertay sport graduates from the programmes’ inception • compare Honours and non-Honours graduates’ destination data • examine career trajectories • explore preparedness for the workplace • utilise demographic data to contextualise findings. 452 graduates were e-mailed.123 responded to the survey, 84% being in identifiable graduate level jobs. Across time, increasing proportions of students were Honours' graduates. Social class, gender and disability did not impact on this but articulation from FE was a significant factor (χ2 =84.68, p<0.01). Very few respondents (n=13) felt that their degree had not equipped them for working life. 'Placement' and 'research methods skills' were of most benefit in preparing for the workplace

Roe at Thirty-Six and Beyond: Enhancing Protection for Abortion Rights Through State Constitutions

In a series of decisions over the past three decades, the Supreme Court has seriously undermined Roe v. Wade\u27s promise of full and meaningful federal constitutional protection for women\u27s access to abortion. While the new Obama administration will enhance protection for reproductive rights at the federal level, the reality remains that reconstituting the Supreme Court with a majority of Justices amenable to fully restoring Roe\u27s strict protections will likely take many years. This Article considers whether state constitutions are a promising avenue for enhancing protection for abortion rights. This Article looks back on thirty years of reproductive rights litigation under state constitutions to evaluate the strategy of using state constitutions to advance protection for abortion rights. Part I of the Article provides an overview of the major jurisprudential developments on abortion at the federal level, highlighting the steady erosion of protection under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the multiple obstacles to successful legal challenges under current law. Part II reviews the sources of protection for abortion rights available under state constitutions and describes the history of reproductive rights litigation in the state courts, highlighting both selected state court decisions that have provided expansive protection for abortion rights and those that have not. Part III evaluates the advantages and drawbacks of a state constitutional law litigation strategy and offers suggestions for future reproductive rights litigation in the state courts. The Article concludes that state constitutions are playing an important role in safeguarding abortion rights in individual states in an era of diminished federal constitutional protection and hold promise for influencing a return to expanded protection at the federal level. Although independent state constitutional adjudication is not without limitations and pitfalls, it offers a fruitful alternative venue for continued litigation as one component of a broad-based strategy that includes litigation in federal courts, legislative advocacy, public education, political action, and grass roots organizing

LAPR: An experimental aircraft pushbroom scanner

A three band Linear Array Pushbroom Radiometer (LAPR) was built and flown on an experimental basis by NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The functional characteristics of the instrument and the methods used to preprocess the data, including radiometric correction, are described. The radiometric sensitivity of the instrument was tested and compared to that of the Thematic Mapper and the Multispectral Scanner. The radiometric correction procedure was evaluated quantitatively, using laboratory testing, and qualitatively, via visual examination of the LAPR test flight imagery. Although effective radiometric correction could not yet be demonstrated via laboratory testing, radiometric distortion did not preclude the visual interpretation or parallel piped classification of the test imagery

Phenomenological model for predicting the energy resolution of neutron-damaged coaxial HPGe detectors

The peak energy resolution of germanium detectors deteriorates with increasing neutron fluence. This is due to hole capture at neutron-created defects in the crystal which prevents the full energy of the gamma-ray from being recorded by the detector. A phenomenological model of coaxial HPGe detectors is developed that relies on a single, dimensionless parameter that is related to the probability for immediate trapping of a mobile hole in the damaged crystal. As this trap parameter is independent of detector dimensions and type, the model is useful for predicting energy resolution as a function of neutron fluence.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Ablation of atrial fibrillation: a procedure come of age?

Various approaches for catheter ablation of focal initiators of atrial fibrillation or the substrate for maintaining atrial fibrillation have evolved over the past 5 years. Despite these advances, there are still a large number of unresolved issues regarding the efficacy and safety of these procedures as well as optimal patient selection for the different approaches. These uncertainties raise questions about the applicability at the present time of atrial fibrillation as front-line therapy within the community