Inquiry Teaching: It is Easier than You Think!

This article is a survey of the literature on inquiry teaching. Many teachers do not participate in inquiry teaching for various reasons. The following are the main reasons: it takes too much time; students do not learn what they need for the state test; and, the teachers do not know how to grade projects and presentations. These reasons sound like rhetoric from long ago, but it is very current. In this article, research is used to show that students who participate in inquiry learning or any type of problem-based education do much better than students who do not have that opportunity. The student participants not only have better grades, but they think on a higher level, become more civic minded, and are better problem solvers. Included in the article are four models which can be used to teach inquiry science, and two lesson plans with rubrics to help grade the inquiry STS lesson. The major point being made throughout is that there is an advantage to teaching students using inquiry. The only disadvantage is not giving the students the opportunity to use inquiry and to grow

Flexible case analysis for compressible solid propellant grain motors Status report

Stiffness version of finite element method used for numerical analysis of small elementary regions of solid propellant grain

Valuation accuracy: reconciling the timing of the valuation and sale

Carsberg (2002) suggested that the periodic valuation accuracy studies undertaken by, amongst others, IPD/Drivers Jonas (2003) should be undertaken every year and be sponsored by the RICS, which acts as the self-regulating body for valuations in the UK. This paper does not address the wider issues concerning the nature of properties which are sold and whether the sale prices are influenced by prior valuations, but considers solely the technical issues concerning the timing of the valuation and sales data. This study uses valuations and sales data from the Investment Property Databank UK Monthly Index to attempt to identify the date that sale data is divulged to valuers. This information will inform accuracy studies that use a cut-off date as to the closeness of valuations to sales completion date as a yardstick for excluding data from the analysis. It will also, assuming valuers are informed quickly of any agreed sales, help to determine the actual sale agreed date rather than the completion date, which includes a period of due diligence between when the sale is agreed and its completion. Valuations should be updated to this date, rather than the formal completion date, if a reliable measure of valuation accuracy is to be determined. An accuracy study is then undertaken using a variety of updating periods and the differences between the results are examined. The paper concludes that the sale only becomes known to valuers in the month prior to the sale taking place and that this assumes either that sales due diligence procedures are shortening or valuers are not told quickly of agreed sale prices. Studies that adopt a four-month cut-off date for any valuations compared to sales completion dates are over cautious, and this could be reduced to two months without compromising the data

Standardization of Patient Handovers From the Operating Room to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Project

Background: Patient handovers from operating rooms (ORs) to intensive care units (ICUs) frequently endure communication breakdowns and poor staff satisfaction when standardized handover procedures (SHPs) are not in place. Purpose: The project’s purpose was to assess the impact of a SHP checklist on OR to surgical ICU (SICU) handover staff satisfaction and perceptions regarding the patient handover process at a Level 1-designated trauma academic hospital. Interventions: Pre- and post-project staff satisfaction surveys were conducted after four months of SHP checklist introduction and utilization. Methods: SHP checklist and survey formation were based on similar quality improvement (QI) project designs revealed during a comprehensive literature review. Surgeons, anesthesia providers, and ICU nurses were asked to complete surveys. Forty-five handovers using the developed SHP were utilized to fulfill sample size requirements. Statistical analyses were performed to compare pre- and post-implementation survey scores. Results: The project entailed 45 handovers utilizing the SHP checklist over two months in addition to 52 and 47 surveys submitted by handover staff one month before and after project execution, respectively. Each of the three services’ pre-survey and post-survey resultant mean comparisons revealed two questions with statistically significant findings. Conclusion: After implementation of a SHP checklist, SICU RNs, anesthesia providers, and surgery team members conveyed increased satisfaction with the overall handover process, patient information communicated during handovers, reduced distractions, and increased staff presence although checklist usage was inconsistent

Work, Life, And Community College Faculty: Understanding Community College Work/Life Balance Issues Through Socialization Theory And Academic Discipline

Research has established that college faculty at research institutions often struggle to maintain a balance between their personal and professional lives (Drago & Williams, 2000; Mason & Goulden, 2002, 2004; Quinn, 2010; Sorcinelli & Near, 1989; Ward & Wolf-Wendel, 2004). While some work/life research has focused on two-year faculty, the research on community college faculty and work/life balance issues has often proved contradictory (Lester & Bers, 2010; Perna, 2001; Sallee, 2008; Townsend & LaPaglia, 2000; Wolf-Wendel, Ward, & Twombly, 2007). Furthermore, little is known about how community college culture and discipline affect the ability of two-year faculty to balance their professional and personal lives. While many theories of socialization have been utilized to explain faculty work (Bess, 1978; Merton, 1957; Tierney & Rhoads, 1994; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979) and disciplinary culture (Austin, 1990; Becher, 1984, 1987; Biglan, 1973; Clark, 1987; Kuh & Whitt, 1988; Tierney, 1990), this body of literature has not often focused on community college faculty. The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of community college faculty work/life balance issues. As a result, I sought to gain a greater understanding of how academic socialization affects community college faculty. Furthermore, I investigated if these changes in socialization patterns produce a culture that presents work/life challenges unique to the community college. Finally, I sought to interrogate the degree to which discipline affects work/life challenges. Data were collected through interviews with 11 full-time community college faculty members from both science and English who had a least one child. The findings revealed Southern State faculty members struggled to balance their personal and professional lives due to time demands associated with faculty workload and family life. The results also indicated that issues associated with instruction often led to work/life issues among the science faculty, while grading was the biggest work/life stressor among the English faculty. Tierney and Rhoads’ (1994) concept of faculty socialization and culture also proved helpful in identifying the causes and patterns of faculty behavior crucial to understanding work/life balance issues specific to community college work

Helicopter simulation validation using flight data

A joint NASA/Army effort to perform a systematic ground-based piloted simulation validation assessment is described. The best available mathematical model for the subject helicopter (UH-60A Black Hawk) was programmed for real-time operation. Flight data were obtained to validate the math model, and to develop models for the pilot control strategy while performing mission-type tasks. The validated math model is to be combined with motion and visual systems to perform ground based simulation. Comparisons of the control strategy obtained in flight with that obtained on the simulator are to be used as the basis for assessing the fidelity of the results obtained in the simulator

Concert recording 2016-04-23c

[Track 01]. Unfamiliar territory. Local spirits ; [Track 02]. As night falls ; [Track 03]. Shortcuts / Michael Markowski -- [Track 04]. Phantastes / James Greeson -- [Track 05]. Escapades. Closing in ; [Track 06]. Reflections ; [Track 07]. Joyride / John Williams -- [Track 08]. Sultana / John Mackey

Sequential Adaptive Detection for In-Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)

We develop new efficient online algorithms for detecting transient sparse signals in TEM video sequences, by adopting the recently developed framework for sequential detection jointly with online convex optimization [1]. We cast the problem as detecting an unknown sparse mean shift of Gaussian observations, and develop adaptive CUSUM and adaptive SSRS procedures, which are based on likelihood ratio statistics with post-change mean vector being online maximum likelihood estimators with $\ell_1$. We demonstrate the meritorious performance of our algorithms for TEM imaging using real data

Influence of congruency between ideal self and brand image on Sustainable Happiness

Building on the Sustainable Happiness Model, this study examines how congruency between ideal self-concepts and brand image influences a sense of happiness. The findings show that when the ideal self-image and the ideal social self-image are congruent with brand image, a sense of happiness can be enhanced through brand identification and positive emotions. An additional two-mediation analysis confirms that there are full mediation effects of brand identification and positive emotions between ideal self/ideal social self-brand congruency and happiness. This study contributes to the literature as it reveals the mechanism of how congruency between ideal self-concepts and brand image positively affects happiness. In addition, this study also provides useful insights for business practitioners as previous studies suggest that enhancing consumer well-being helps increase firms’ long-term sustainability in many ways

Microparticle analysis in disorders of hemostasis and thrombosis.

Microparticles (MPs) are submicron vesicles released from the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells in response to activation or apoptosis. MPs are known to be involved in numerous biologic processes, including inflammation, the immune response, cancer metastasis, and angiogenesis. Their earliest recognized and most widely accepted role, however, is the ability to promote and support the process of blood coagulation. Consequently, there is ongoing interest in studying MPs in disorders of hemostasis and thrombosis. Both phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure and the presence of tissue factor (TF) in the MP membrane may account for their procoagulant properties, and elevated numbers of MPs in plasma have been reported in numerous prothrombotic conditions. To date, however, there are few data on true causality linking MPs to the genesis of thrombosis. A variety of methodologies have been employed to characterize and quantify MPs, although detection is challenging due to their submicron size. Flow cytometry (FCM) remains the most frequently utilized strategy for MP detection; however, it is associated with significant technological limitations. Additionally, pre-analytical and analytical variables can influence the detection of MPs by FCM, rendering data interpretation difficult. Lack of methodologic standardization in MP analysis by FCM confounds the issue further, although efforts are currently underway to address this limitation. Moving forward, it will be important to address these technical challenges as a scientific community if we are to better understand the role that MPs play in disorders of hemostasis and thrombosis