A True Underdog: The Contributions of Professor D. Barry Lumsden to Teacher Development in Higher Education

People love stories about real-life underdogs who overcome insurmountable odds to achieve success. This article chronicles one such underdog in the truest sense of the word. As one of the privileged students to have had the opportunity to study under Dr. Lumsden, this paper is written as a tribute to the contributions of D. Barry Lumsden to the contemporary practice of Higher Education. Lumsden has developed numerous teachers in the field of higher education. The information for this paper was obtained through personal interviews with Lumsden, correspondence with his former students and firsthand experiences as his student. Lumsden and I maintain a great friendship and I continue to be mentored by him both professionally and personally

Cole Von Cole the Aviator: Fatal Veil

Indulge on a journey through the harrowing skies of WWII with historical accuracy and a fictious main character, Cole Von Cole. Already famous in the world of aviation, Cole Von Cole has 10 missions on his belt but this one will prove to be difficult as he embraces the idea of death. High above the Third Reich behind enemy lines Cole is tasked with providing reconnaissance of a ball bearing factory deep within Germany with his trusted P-38 Lightning. Death has never been considered as viable but in the night sky a fatal shot may unveil death after all as his aircraft is struck during a barrage of flak aimed directly at him. Spotlights shine through the night sky blinding Cole temporarily and we are left wondering if he will return to base safely or meet his demise

There’s an (Educational) App for That?: m-Learning Across Device Platforms

The mobile platform has advanced to a level of technological sophistication and availability that many educators need to begin to think about how to utilize its potential. M-Learning may be used to supplement and deliver learning content. Mobile devices are ubiquitous among all age groups of students whether the popular iPod Touch\iPad, PSP, Netbooks, etc. Smartphones have become very powerful devices, capable of performing many useful applications. The mobile device market has seen tremendous growth recently. The largest increase was in the 12-17 year old demographic

A Technologically Based Approach to Providing Quality Feedback to Students: A Paradigm Shift for the 21st Century

This article will begin with a focus on the importance of providing quality feedback. Faculty providing constructive and detailed feedback serves as an important component for effective student learning and is beneficial towards student achievement (Debuse, Lawley, & Shibl, 2007; Higgins, Hartley, & Skelton, 2002). According to Wolsey (2008), the desired outcome of feedback is to provide communication between instructor and student, which promotes learning. Quality feedback is defined as providing students with clear assessment criteria that is not only timely, but encourages further learning (Brown & Glover, 2006)

History and Demise of The University Foundation in St. Augustine, Florida: An Institutional Autopsy

This is an historical study of an institution of higher education that existed in St. Augustine, Florida from 1942-1949. The name of the institution was The University Foundation, founded by George J. Apel, Jr. This institution had several higher education divisions functioning under its umbrella. These divisions were the St. Augustine Junior College, the Graduate Division, the American Theological Seminary and the University Extension College with evening courses and Home Study courses for vacation study. The information collected for this study was accomplished primarily by the process of studying archives and conducting personal interviews. Since this is a qualitative research study, the collected information was processed through the use of multiple data-collection methods, data sources and analyses which insured the validity of the findings of the study. This process is known as information triangulation. The results of this study provide answers to the circumstances and identities of the key players which led to the formation of The University Foundation. Issues relating to the mission, revenue streams, faculty, curricula, and the ultimate demise of The University Foundation were also addressed in this study. Recommendations are included for higher education administrators, faculty, researchers, fund-raisers, and others whose efforts may be directed toward the launching and operation of new Christian institutions of higher learning

Cryptosporidium muris, a Rodent Pathogen, Recovered from a Human in Perú

Cryptosporidium muris, predominantly a rodent species of Cryptosporidium, is not normally considered a human pathogen. Recently, isolated human infections have been reported from Indonesia, Thailand, France, and Kenya. We report the first case of C. muris in a human in the Western Hemisphere. This species may be an emerging zoonotic pathogen capable of infecting humans

Evaluation of hydrochars from lignin hydrous pyrolysis to produce biocokes after carbonization

Hydrochars were obtained after hydrous pyrolysis of a pine Kraft lignin using different reaction conditions (temperature, water content and residence time) and the residues were characterized through a wide range of analytical techniques including high-temperature rheometry, solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results indicated that an increase in reaction temperature, an increase in residence time or a decrease in water content reduces the amount of fluid material in the residue. The hydrous pyrolysis conditions studied were not able to increase the maturation of lignin, which would result in an increase in the resolidification temperature, but reduced the amount of mineral matter in the hydrochar produced. On the other hand, the hydrochars obtained from pristine lignin, torrefied lignin (300 °C, 1 h) and their 50:50 wt.%/wt.% blend at temperatures of 350 °C after 6 h using 30 ml of water had lower ash contents (45%) is excessively high compared to that of the good coking coal (10%) and the micro-strength of the biocokes (R139%) and high microporous surface areas ( > 400 m2/g) of the biocokes and high alkalinity index of the lignins (>27%) compared to those of the coke (27% and 145 m2/g) and coal (0.6%), respectively. Furthermore, the biocoke derived from the hydrous pyrolysed torrefied lignin did not agglomerate, which could not be explained by changes in the chemical properties of the material and requires further investigation

Blood sampling: two sides to the story

This study aimed to investigate why there is variability in taking blood. A multi method Pilot study was completed in four National Health Service Scotland hospitals. Human Factors/Ergonomics principles were applied to analyse data from 50 observations, 15 interviews and 12-months of incident data from all Scottish hospitals. The Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) was used to understand why variability may influence blood sampling functions. The analysis of the 61 pre blood transfusion sampling incidents highlighted limitations in the data collected to understand factors influencing performance. FRAM highlighted how variability in the sequence of blood sampling functions and the number of practitioners involved in a single blood sampling activity was influenced by the working environment, equipment, clinical context, work demands and staff resources. This pilot study proposes a realistic view of why blood sampling activities vary and proposes the need to consider the system’s resilience in future safety management strategies