Using an Open Software System (Sakai) to Develop Student Portfolios

E-portfolios are digital collections of artifacts that represent the achievements and reflections of individuals. They offer a unique view into student learning and allow educators and external accreditors to assess student progress towards established standards as well as reviewing their program’s performance in supporting that progress. Students benefit from assembling their e-portfolios through the process of reviewing their own work with a critical eye, choosing pieces of their work that best represent their abilities, and reflecting on the transformative nature of their University experience, both in class and through extra-curricular, service learning, internships and international activities. An e-portfolio provides a holistic view of a student’s personal growth and abilities that will serve them well in their career search or graduate school application. The challenge for an institution is to provide this learning and assessment resource in an accessible and affordable vehicle that is manageable for both faculty and students. Roger Williams University has crafted a strategy to utilize the Sakai open source course management system with its integrated e-portfolio tool set and a linked website to provide both e-portfolios and program assessment. This strategy will also be employed to propose a virtual accreditation of a professional program that will serve as a model throughout the University and the broader higher education community

"The Economic Consequences of Weintraub's Consumption Coefficient"

In this paper we show that Weintraub:s consumption coefficient (the ratio of total consumption to wages) can elucidate trends in the sectoral and functional distributions of income We also show that, in a Kaleckian model, it simplifies and add precision to Kaleckian macroeconomics. Using a Kaleckian definition of profits, empirical estimates of the coefficient are presented for the UK 1972-1990. From a level of around 1.1 in the 1970’s, the coefficient rose to around 1.3 in the mid-1980s from which it has started to fall back to its 1970's levels. During the 1980s, the coefficient indicated a marked redistribution of income in favour of profits along with a rise in capitalists' propensity to consume. This confirms the evidence that the economic boom of the 1980s was driven principally by an expansion of demand for luxury goods rather than fixed capital investment. This will have been a factor in the slump after 1990.

Distribution of Chinook Salmon (\u3cem\u3eOncorhynchus tshawytscha\u3c/em\u3e) in Upper-Columbia River Sub-Basins from Environmental DNA Analysis

Determining accurate species distribution is crucial to conservation and management strategies for imperiled species, but challenging for small populations that are approaching extinction or being reestablished. We evaluated the efficacy of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis for improving detection and thus known distribution of Chinook salmon in the Methow and Okanogan Sub-basins of the Upper-Columbia River, Washington, USA. We developed an assay to target a 90 base pair sequence of Chinook DNA and used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to quantify the amount of Chinook eDNA in 1-L water samples collected at 48 sites in the sub-basins. We collected samples once during high flows in June and again during low flows in August 2012. Results from eDNA surveys were compared to the current known distribution of Chinook. Using eDNA methods, the probability of detecting Chinook given that they were present was 0.83. Detection probability was lower (p = 0.69) in June during high flows and at the beginning of spring-Chinook migration than during base flows in August (p = 0.98). Based on our triplicate sampling, we had a false-negative rate of 0.07, suggesting that fewer replicates could be collected at a site while maintaining reasonable detection. Of sites that tested positive during both sampling events, there was a higher mean concentration of eDNA in August than in June, probably because of reduced discharge, more fish, or both. As expected eDNA concentration increased from upstream to downstream, but only in one tributary and this pattern varied considerably among streams suggesting that other factors influence the spatial pattern of eDNA concentrations. For example, highest eDNA concentrations were found at sites with water temperatures centered around the optimal rearing temperature for Chinook and decreased rapidly around the approximate lethal temperature for the species. These results demonstrate the potential effectiveness of eDNA detection methods for determining landscape-level distribution of anadramous salmonids in large river systems

Western North Dakota lignite strip mining processes and resulting subsurface characteristics

Data on subsurface conditions obtained prior to strip mining is useful in planning effective mining and reclamation procedures as well as predicting the subsurface characteristics after reclamation. The redistribution of the overburden sediments is less predictable, however. Through field observations, the major mining factors controlling subsurface structure and overburden sediment redistribution were determined. These include the geometry of the coal body, pit sequence, pit curvature, overburden thickness and managerial input. At a given location, however, the detailed structures and distribution of sediment types within a waste bank were observed to depend upon the dragline cutting pattern, distance between dragline positions, the previous mining activity adjacent the dragline position, mass wasting, overburden stratigraphic sequence, breaking characteristics of the overburden sediments, dragline bucket motion and operator variability. Waste banks were classified into morphological types which vary from small conical banks in thinner overburden areas to large level-crested banks in thicker overburden areas. Within a waste bank, the sediments were segregated to a varying but somewhat predictable degree into beds that lie at an angle of about 38°. The sequence of sediment types deposited within the waste bank depended primarily upon the sequence of sediments in the overburden and the bucket motion. Secondary sorting occurred when the large clasts of consolidated sediments rolled to the base of the waste bank. Patterns of sediment distribution along waste bank slopes have been empirically derived. The contouring processes that subsequently rearranged the sediments of the upper part of the waste banks were classified. It was observed that few concentrations of large clasts were produced in this phase except when frozen banks were contoured. By whatever processes they were produced, concentrations of large clasts have been observed to eventually cause surface collapse. When beds of waste banks are truncated in the contouring process, irregular zones of sediments with phytotoxic substances may be exposed. The production of potential aquifers during the stripping and contouring processes were observed. These potential aquifers include inter- and subbank blocky zones and beds of permeable sediments within the lower parts of waste banks. Flow will probably concentrate within the area between waste banks. Groundwater recharge will probably occur through the highwall of the initial pit, with minor recharge occurring through perched aquifers cut by the final pit