Making Large Classes Small(er): Assessing the Effectiveness Of a Hybrid Teaching Technology

This paper examines learning outcomes in a one-semester introductory microeconomics course where contact time with the instructor was reduced by two-thirds and students were expected to view pre-recorded lectures on-line and come to class prepared to engage in discussion. Students were pre-and post-tested using the Test of Understanding in College Economics (TUCE - 4). Learning outcomes as measured by the change in test scores are found to be as good as or better than calibrating data for groups assessed using the TUCE - 4. In addition to being a more enjoyable course for the instructor, the course design can be part of a more self-directed curriculum that uses available resources more efficiently to achieve similar learning objectives to a lecture-based introductory course.active learning, assessment, computer-assisted instruction, introductory microeconomics

The Abatement Cost Function for Motor Vehicle Pollution Emissions: Evidence from Canada

Mandatory inspection and maintenance programs require on-road vehicles to be tested regularly and repaired if they are not in compliance with air emission regulations. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the abatement cost function for a representative inspection and maintenance program. We do this by constructing a model of the statistical process that leads to noncompliance, parameterizing the model, and then by simulating the total abatement cost function. Our model predicts that the marginal abatement cost for a major representative program is so high that even a small reduction in the abatement target leads to substantial social cost savings. In addition, even for quite high levels of the abatement target, the optimal minimum testing age is substantially higher and the frequency of testing is much lower than is common in many jurisdictions.Abatement Cost Function, Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance, Mobile Source of Air Pollution, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Habitat Associations and Co-Occurrence Patterns of Two Estuarine-Dependent Predatory Fishes

Estuarine-dependent fishes experience a wide range of environmental conditions, and most species exhibit distinct associations with particular habitats. However, similar species or multiple conspecifics often overlap spatiotemporally, which can result in ecological interactions that have consequences for behaviors that can shape the structure and function of ecosystems. We used a long-term gill-net data set (2001–2015) to investigate the habitat associations and cooccurrence patterns of two estuarine-dependent predatory fishes, Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus and Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus, in coastal Alabama, USA. Both species were associated with similar environmental conditions, primarily low dissolved oxygen and low salinity, especially when temperature was low. However, differences emerged between the species with respect to the effects of interacting environmental variables on their habitat use patterns, which were likely driven by physiological, biological, and ecological dissimilarities between them. Concerning their biogenic habitat use, extensive submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) was an important habitat for both species, but Spotted Seatrout appeared to prefer high-salinity SAV beds, while Red Drum associated with SAV regardless of salinity. Spotted Seatrout were associated with extensive emergent marsh edges, and the positive relationship between Red Drum and SAV was diminished when marsh edge was abundant. Co-occurrence was observed primarily in habitats with which both species were associated, most frequently in shallow, prey-rich marsh edges and high-salinity seagrass beds. These observed habitat use patterns elucidate the subtle differences in resource use that allow these species to coexist and suggest potential areas where interactions between them may shape their roles as predators

The effects of iCVD film thickness and conformality on the permeability and wetting of MD membranes

Membranes possessing high permeability to water vapor and high liquid entry pressure (LEP) are necessary for efficient membrane distillation (MD) desalination. A common technique to prepare specialized MD membranes consists of coating a hydrophilic or hydrophobic base membrane with a low surface-energy material. This increases its liquid entry pressure, making the membrane suitable for MD. However, in addition to increasing LEP, the surface-coating may also decrease permeability of the membrane by reducing its average pore size. In this study, we quantify the effects of initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) polymer coatings on membrane permeability and LEP. We consider whether the iCVD films should have minimized thickness or maximized non-conformality, in order to maximize the permeability achieved for a given value of LEP. We determined theoretically that permeability of a single pore is maximized with a highly non-conformal iCVD coating. However, the overall permeability of a membrane consisting of many pores is maximized when iCVD film thickness is minimized. We applied the findings experimentally, preparing an iCVD-treated track-etched polycarbonate (PCTE) membrane and testing it in a permeate gap membrane distillation (PCMD) system. This study focuses on membranes with clearly defined, cylindrical pores. However, we believe that the principles we discuss will extend to membranes with more complex pore architectures. Overall, this work indicates that the focus of surface-coating development should be on minimizing film thickness, not on increasing their non-conformality.MIT & Masdar Institute Cooperative Program (02/MI/MI/CP/11/07633/GEN/G/00)Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (W911NF-13-d-0001

Making Large Classes Small(er): Assessing the Effectiveness Of a Hybrid Teaching Technology Making Large Classes Small(er): Assessing the Effectiveness Of a Hybrid Teaching Technology Making Large Classes Small(er): Assessing the Effectiveness Of a Hybrid

This paper examines learning outcomes in a one-semester introductory microeconomics course where contact time with the instructor was reduced by two-thirds and students were expected to view pre-recorded lectures on-line and come to class prepared to engage in discussion. Students were pre-and post-tested using the Test of Understanding in College Economics (TUCE -4). Learning outcomes as measured by the change in test scores are found to be as good as or better than calibrating data for groups assessed using the TUCE -4. In addition to being a more enjoyable course for the instructor, the course design can be part of a more self-directed curriculum that uses available resources more efficiently to achieve similar learning objectives to a lecture-based introductory course. financial constraints on institutions of higher learning provide impetus for renewing the commitment to working smarter with instructional resources. For five decades, technology has been utilized in economics to help manage and/or deliver the course Every new technology expands the hope for improved learning results. Privateer (1999) argues that teaching technologies must be deployed with a view to their efficacy in fostering learning, and not merely their value in managing the course or large class numbers (see also The current paper looks at using technology as a way to free up classroom contact time for more productive teaching and learning activities. Lectures were pre-recorded using screencapture software and were made available for students to view before coming to class. As Privateer (1999, 69) suggests, recording lectures for students to view before coming to class automates the knowledge and comprehension parts of the learning objectives, freeing the instructor to change from reproduction activities to invention and intelligence-driven instructional technologies in the class time that is available. Any new technology must be expected to enhance student learning before being implemented, and the research in this paper is an exercise in quantifying that prior belief for this particular intervention in introductory microeconomics. The paper is organized as follows: the next section provides a brief review of the literature on technology, class size and hybrid instructional models. After that, the learning 3 context and the intervention are described. The learning outcomes measurement instrument being used in this study is the Test of Understanding in College Economics, fourth edition (TUCE -4, Walstad et al. 2007), augmented by some additional demographic questions. We next present the results of the empirical exercise, followed by a discussion of those results. Final observations about the hybrid teaching technology are presented in the conclusions. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN LARGE INTRODUCTORY ECONOMICS CLASSES? Principles of economics, where most students receive their first exposure to the topic, is a place where effective resource use has strong payoffs. For most students, the principles course is their first exposure to the economic way of thinking (Siegfried et al. 1991, 21) Technology may be applied to leverage the economies of scale in course delivery as classes get larger, particularly in introductory course contexts. In addition, information technology could permit the class size to be substantially reduced as it does in the hybrid course being evaluated here. Raimondo et al. (1990, 371-372) cite numerous examples from the economics education literature of no significant difference in content knowledge performance (as measured by the TUCE) due to differences in class size, attributing this to the idea that only the lower-level cognitive skills of recall and comprehension are emphasized in introductory courses. More recently, Bedard and Kuhn (2008) find large and significant reduction of instructor effectiveness as reported in student evaluations of teaching, so clearly students notice some differences in the environment as class size increases, although instructor effectiveness is not the same as student performance. Tay (1994, 291) emphasizes a number of student-specific characteristics that are important to learning outcomes, particularly aptitude and effort. The works discussed so far tend to treat technology as substitute for lecturing, to "(make) the same course information available to a wide audience of information consumers" (Privateer 1999, 68). Creed (1997, 4) observes that technologies that improve presentation of material are not inherently organized around student learning. Some uses of technology may be at cross purposes with a learner-centered approach, even though applications of technology are often advocated as a way to improve learning. As Maki et al. (2000, 230) say so succinctly, " [t]here is no pedagogical rationale for teaching in the lecture format;" they advocate instead taking Barr and Tagg's (1995) advice to focus on the learning rather than the teaching that goes on. Barr and Tagg's learning paradigm justifies breaking away from habitual methods of teaching if the change can better support learning. The challenge, then, is to explore ways to capitalize on the special features of technology that can be harnessed to foster different and better learning (for example, Schwerdt and Wupperman 2011). By contrast

Book Review: Strategies for Sustainable Development: experiences from the Pacific

No abstract availabl

The Economics of Ending Canada’s Commercial Harp Seal Hunt

The roots of the Canadian harp seal hunt can be traced to the 16th Century. But in the mid-20th century, opposition to the commercial hunt became widespread after television images of seal pups being killed with clubs on the pack ice off the coast of Newfoundland were broadcast around the world. International conservation groups, animal welfare groups, animal rights groups, and foreign governments have been calling for the Canadian government to end the commercial seal hunt on the grounds that it is inhumane and that harvest levels are unsustainable. The Canadian government defends the traditional practices of hunting harp seals, argues that seal pelts are an important source of income for sealers, and insists that the killing methods are humane and that harvest levels are sustainable. Emotions run high on both sides of the debate. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether or not there is a purely economic argument for ending Canada’s commercial seal hunt. The paper finds that the benefits of ending the commercial hunt exceed the costs, but not unequivocally. However, the paper argues there should be a higher criterion - the Pareto criterion - for ending the commercial hunt; that is the hunt should end only if winners compensate the losers. The paper goes on to argue that an effective way to satisfy this criterion is to introduce a system of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) and let the market reveal the value of the commercial seal hunt. In addition to many other advantages such as improving the safety and efficiency of the hunt, the ITQ market could provide a mechanism by which those willing to pay to end the hunt could do so directly to sealers thereby ensuring that the hunt is scaled back or ultimately ended only when it is economically efficient and unambiguously welfare-improving.seal hunt, common property; economic efficiency; individual transferable quotas.

The economics of ending Canada's commercial harp seal hunt

The roots of the Canadian harp seal hunt can be traced to the 16th Century. But in the mid-20th century, opposition to the commercial hunt became widespread after television images of seal pups being killed with clubs on the pack ice off the coast of Newfoundland were broadcast around the world. International conservation groups, animal welfare groups, animal rights groups, and foreign governments have been calling for the Canadian government to end the commercial seal hunt on the grounds that it is inhumane and that harvest levels are unsustainable. The Canadian government defends the traditional practices of hunting harp seals, argues that seal pelts are an important source of income for sealers, and insists that the killing methods are humane and that harvest levels are sustainable. Emotions run high on both sides of the debate. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether or not there is a purely economic argument for ending Canada's commercial seal hunt. The paper finds that the benefits of ending the commercial hunt exceed the costs, but not unequivocally. However, the paper argues there should be a higher criterion--the Pareto criterion--for ending the commercial hunt; that is the hunt should end only if winners compensate the losers. The paper goes on to argue that an effective way to satisfy this criterion is to introduce a system of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) and let the market reveal the value of the commercial seal hunt. In addition to many other advantages such as improving the safety and efficiency of the hunt, the ITQ market could provide a mechanism by which those willing to pay to end the hunt could do so directly to sealers thereby ensuring that the hunt is scaled back or ultimately ended only when it is economically efficient and unambiguously welfare-improving.Seal hunt Common property Economic efficiency Individual transferable quotas