Leveraging Green Computing for Increased Viability and Sustainability

Greening of computing processes is an environmental strategy gaining momentum in the 21st century as evidenced by increased virtual communications. Because of the rising cost of fuel to travel to meetings and conferences, corporations are adopting sophisticated technologies that provide a “personal” experience for geographically disbursed colleagues to interact in real time. This article highlights several companies and academic professional organizations that utilize video conferencing, virtual classrooms, and virtual worlds to create digital spaces for collaboration. The article compares the impact of face-to-face collaboration that includes business travel expenses to the impact of the same activity in a virtual space. The human side of technology is also examined through virtual human resource development that increases employees’ learning capacity and performance improvement. As advances in technology continue, it is expected that meetings will become more lifelike with the improvement of holographics. Corporations must continue to integrate green strategies to satisfy both environmental concerns and financial viability

Going Virtual: Delivering Nanotechnology Safety Education on the Web

The emergence of nanotechnology has created new challenges for the 21st century. Future development of Engineered Nano Materials (ENMs) will soon impact society in ways never imagined before. Most importantly, those who develop and work with ENMs must understand the importance of worker safety. Educators must use creative and innovative ways to educate Generation ‘Y’ to develop a competent nano workforce. We posit that the use of virtual environments in education may be the conduit between Generation ‘Y’s technology connectedness and the teaching of nanotechnology safety education effectively, and cite an example of teaching nanotechnology safety education in a virtual world. In addition, this method of instruction may have implications for engaging higher education students in the STEM area of nanotechnology

Updated perspectives on educational diagnosticians’ understanding of reading assessments

Chappell, Stephens, Kinnison, and Pettigrew (2009) conducted a study investigating educational diagnosticians knowledge of early reading development. Our study replicated the work of Chappell et al. through a mixed methods design that investigated educational diagnosticians’ perceptions and knowledge of early reading development. Additionally, our study sought to gain a better understanding of how educational diagnosticians selected assessment instruments. Our findings suggested that educational diagnosticians may lack understanding of the early developmental processes of reading and that there may be limited use of diagnostic assessment instruments when evaluating students who are struggling to read

The Life of a Professor: Stress and Coping

The life of a professor is a balancing act, both professionally and personally. Professors must weigh the demands of research, publishing, teaching, and service with the requirements of their personal responsibilities. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the role of stress on the work-life balance of a professor. This study was conducted by an interdisciplinary research team and included participants from a wide-range of academic fields. A mixed-methods approach, utilizing an electronic survey composed of demographic questions, Likert-scale responses, and open-ended questions, yielded data related to the benefits and challenges of being a professor from 31 states in the United States as well as from other countries. Structured interviews were then conducted to reveal the coping methods of the participants. In addition, this article incorporated embedded media in the form of audio sound bites and animated video, which provided the ‘voice’ of the faculty. The triangulated data revealed that lack of supports, both social and institutional, significantly increased the stress experienced by professors. Mechanisms for coping with stress that could be utilized by individual professors as well as institutional stress management strategies were discussed

Updated Perspectives on Educational Diagnosticians' Understanding of Reading Assessments

Chappell, Stephens, Kinnison, and Pettigrew (2009) conducted a study investigating educational diagnosticians knowledge of early reading development. Our study replicated the work of Chappell et al. through a mixed methods design that investigated educational diagnosticians perceptions and knowledge of early reading development. Additionally, our study sought to gain a better understanding of how educational diagnosticians selected assessment instruments. Our findings suggested that educational diagnosticians may lack understanding of the early developmental processes of reading and that there may be limited use of diagnostic assessment instruments when evaluating students who are struggling to read

The Rise of eSports: Insights Into the Perceived Benefits and Risks for College Students

The availability and affordability of increased internet bandwidth, video memory, and processing speed has enabled electronic sports (eSports) to become a flourishing global sensation, and college students are helping to drive this phenomenon. This mixed-methods study focuses on feedback from 159 college students regarding the eSports phenomenon across both gender and educational classification. Findings from the study include their eSports-related gaming and spending habits and perceptions of personal and academic benefits of playing eSports such as social interaction, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. Included are the perceived risks of playing eSports that encompassed eSports gaming addiction; mental, social, emotional risks; lack of physical activity; and physical disorders associated with playing eSports

The Rise of eSports

The availability and affordability of increased Internet bandwidth, video memory, and processing speed has enabled Electronic sports (eSports) to become a flourishing global sensation and college students are helping to drive this phenomenon. This mixed-methods study focuses on feedback from 159 college students regarding the eSports phenomenon across both gender and educational classification. Findings from the study include their eSports-related gaming and spending habits, and perceptions of personal and academic benefits of playing eSports such as social interaction, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. Included are the perceived risks of playing eSports that encompassed eSports gaming addiction, mental, social, emotional risks, lack of physical activity, and physical disorders associated with playing eSports