Full Report: Use and Users of Digital Resources: A Focus on Undergraduate Education in the Humanities and Social Sciences

A "build it and they will come" approach to many university digitization initiatives has precluded systematic investigations of the demand for these resources. Those who fund and develop digital resources have identified the general lack of knowledge about the level and quality of their use in educational settings as pressing concerns. This full report describes our research and the complete results of a large 2-year study. The purpose of our research was (1) to map the universe of digital resources available to a subset of undergraduate educators in the humanities and social sciences, and (2) to investigate how and if available digital resources are actually being used in undergraduate teaching environments. We employed multiple methods, including surveys and focus groups. Our definition of digital resources was intentionally broad and included rich media objects (e.g., maps, video, images, etc.) as well as text

A True Aneurysm of the Profunda Femoris Artery: A Case Report and Review of the English Language Literature

A rare case of true aneurysm of the profunda femoris artery (PFA) is reported. Surgical management consisted of ligation of the aneurysm and decompression of the sac. Presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of true PFA aneurysms are discussed and the English language literature is comprehensively reviewed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41367/1/10016_2004_Article_116.pd

Functional conductive nanomaterials via polymerisation in nano-channels: PEDOT in a MOF.

Reactions inside the pores of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer potential for controlling polymer structures with regularity to sub-nanometre scales. We report a wet-chemistry route to poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT)-MOF composites. After a two-step removal of the MOF template we obtain unique and stable macroscale structures of this conductive polymer with some nanoscale regularity.The project is funded through the European Research Council (ERC) grant (grant number: EMATTER 280078). AKC thanks the Ras Al Khaimah Center for Advanced Materials (RAK-CAM). JDWM and MF acknowledge funding through a Discovery Grant from The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). TW thanks the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for funding and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council of the UK (EPSRC) Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies and Applications (grant number: EP/L015889/1) for support. SH acknowledges the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for funding. SS is funded through a scholarship from the Cambridge Overseas Trust. JSB thanks the Isaac Newton Trust for financial support for the FEI Tecnait TEM. The authors would also like to show the gratitude to Phenom-World for the use of the Phenom Pro X SEM and Dr Suman-Lata Sahonta for the help with Raman spectroscopy.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Royal Society of Chemistry at http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c6mh00230g

An Analysis of Technology Enhancements in a Large Lecture Course

As the large lecture course continues to be a component of many college programs, the potential of online technology to enhance such courses remains a question for researchers. To what extent can such technology result in saving financial resources and teaching time? How do students attending lectures respond to online course components? Does such technology have a noticeable impact on student performance and remote learning? In a study conducted at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, authors Diane Harley, Jonathan Henke, and Michael W. Maher compared traditional and technology-enhanced versions, including video lectures streamed over the internet, of an undergraduate chemistry course over a two-year span. In their findings, the authors indicate significant potential savings of money and teaching time after the second year as well as positive student attitudes towards the technology. Although the technology-enhanced version of the course did not result in any noticeable differences in student performance, the authors conclude that the benefits of online technology for large lectures remain substantial, particularly in providing stressed students with flexibility in their use of time and space, including viewing lectures remotely while preparing for exams. With respect to fully realizing significant institutional cost-savings, however, more faculty members would need to share and reuse course materials than is currently the case

Toward an Effective Understanding of Website Users

Almost every American research university and library has made significant investments in digitizing its intellectual and cultural resources and making them publicly available. There is, however, little empirical data about how these resources are actually used or who is using them (Harley, 2007). Those who fund and develop digital resources have identified the general lack of knowledge about the level and quality of their use in educational settings as pressing concerns. As part of a larger investigation into use and users of digital resources (Harley et al., 2006), 1 we conducted an experimental analysis of two commonly-used methods for exploring the use of university-based Web-based resources: transaction log analysis (TLA) and online site surveys. In this article, we first provide an overview of these two methods, including their key challenges and limitations. We then describe an implementation of TLA and online surveys in combination on two local sites and the results of that test, including an exploration of the surveys' response rates and bias. From that test, we draw conclusions about the utility of these two methods and the particular analytic methods that may provide the most valuable and efficient results

The Open Source Energy Model Base for the European Union (OSEMBE)

In this thesis, the Open Source Energy Model Base (OSEMBE) for the European Union was developed. Thus far the model covers seven countries around the Baltic sea, though preparatory work was done for adding the other countries of the union soon. OSEMBE, and hence this thesis, aims to provide an open-access, comprehensive and easy to understand long term model for Europe. By doing so, it aims to lower the threshold to join and to contribute to the discussion about the future of European energy supply shall be lowered. This shall widen the circle of researchers dealing with energy systems modelling and make the energy discussion more transparent. OSEMBE is built using the Open Source Energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS). As such, OSEMBE calculates the lowest net present value for the modelled system and period by using linear optimization. The modelling period covers the years from 2015 till 2050. Existing trans-border transmission capacity between the included countries – Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – is considered in the model. New trans-border transmission capacities, currently under construction or in the planning phase are considered from the expected starting date of operation. The connections to countries not covered by the model are not modelled as of yet. Ten fuels are used by the technologies defined in the model, namely biomass, coal, geothermal, heavy fuel oil, hydro, natural gas, nuclear, wind and waste. Each fuel can be used by several technologies. In addition to technology parameters like investment cost, fuel cost, and fixed and variable operation and maintenance cost, an increasing emission penalty for carbon dioxide is defined, which represents the cost related to the emission of greenhouse gases (similar to the European emission trading system). Domestically produced fuels are assumed to be cheaper than imported ones, but the domestic production is limited depending on the countries’ resources. The thesis is divided into five chapters. In the first chapter the motivation for the thesis is explained. The second chapter sets the objective of the work, before the creation of the model is described in chapter three. General results and the results of a sensitivity analysis of the influence of the reserve margin are shown and discussed in the fourth chapter. In the last chapter conclusions are drawn and a guideline is laid out on how the development of OSEMBE could be continued, e.g. through improvement of the transmission, implementation of heat, storage and traffic.Inom ramen för denna avhandling har energisystemmodellen Open Source Energy Model Base (OSEMBE) för Europeiska Unionen utvecklats. Den resulterande modellen omfattar sju länder runt Östersjön, även om förberedande arbete också utförts för att fler länder i unionen ska kunna läggas till i framtiden. OSEMBE, och därmed denna avhandling, syftar till att skapa en öppet tillgänglig, omfattande och lättförståelig modell lämpad för långsiktsstudier med avseende på det europeiska energisystemet. Genom att göra detta ska tröskeln för framtida diskussion kring den europeiska energiförsörjningen sänkas. Dessutom ska det bidra till att vidga kretsen av forskare som arbetar med energisystemmodellering och därigenom öppna upp diskussionen kring energifrågor. OSEMBE är byggd med hjälp av Open Source Energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS), där linjär optimering används för att finna det lägsta nettonuvärdet för den modellerade systemet inom en given tidsperiod. Modelleringsperioden omfattar åren 2015 till 2050. För de inkluderade länderna - Danmark, Sverige, Finland, Estland, Lettland, Litauen och Polen – tas hänsyn till gränsöverskridande överföringskapacitet, där kapaciteten utformats för att motsvara den befintliga så nära som möjligt. Hänsyn tas även till ny överföringskapacitet mellan länderna som för närvarande antingen är planerade eller under uppbyggnad, och dessa fasas i modellen in allt eftersom deras förväntade startdatum infaller. Anslutningar till länder som ännu inte omfattas av modellen har däremot inte inkluderats. Tio bränslen används av de kraftproduktionsteknologier som ingår i modellen: biomassa, kol, jordvärme, tung eldningsolja, vattenkraft, naturgas, kärnkraft, vind och avfall, av vilka teknologierna kan använda en eller flera. Utöver teknologispecifika investeringskostnader, bränslekostnader samt fasta och variabla drift- och underhållskostnader ingår även en straffkostnad för koldioxidutsläpp som representerar kostnader i samband med utsläpp av växthusgaser via exempelvis det europeiska utsläpphandelssystemet. Inhemskt producerade bränslen antas i modellen vara billigare än importerade bränslen, men den inhemska produktionen är begränsad beroende på egenskaperna hos de respektive ländernas energisystem. Avhandlingen är indelad i fem kapitel. I det första kapitlet presenteras motivationen för arbetet. Det andra kapitlet beskriver sedan arbetets målsättning innan själva modellen beskrivs i kapitel tre. De generella resultaten samt resultatet av en känslighetsanalys med avseende på reservkapacitet presenteras och diskuteras i det fjärde kapitlet. I det sista kapitlet dras slutsatser och en riktlinje läggs ut för hur OSEMBE kan vidareutvecklas, exempelvis via förbättring av elöverföring, implementering av värmekapacitet, energilagring samt trafik

Kinetic Modeling of Nickel Oxidation in SOFC Anodes

Understanding the mechanisms of performance degradation is of key importance for increasing the lifetime of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). The aim of this work is to achieve a deeper understanding of the processes leading to nickel oxidation at Ni/YSZ composite anodes. We present a kinetic model of chemical nickel oxidation which was integrated into a two-dimensional model of an anode-supported single cell. The feedback between nickel oxidation and cell performance was modeled by taking into account both, a loss in kinetic performance (via reducing three-phase boundary length) and a reduction in gas-phase diffusivity (via porosity decrease upon solid volume expansion). The simulations allow the quantification of nickel oxide formation over time and its influence on the cell performance