An analysis of alumni relations for higher educational institutions and its implications upon the alumni relations program of the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Scorpion: Close Air Support (CAS) aircraft

The objective is to outline the results of the preliminary design of the Scorpion, a proposed close air support aircraft. The results obtained include complete preliminary analysis of the aircraft in the areas of aerodynamics, structures, avionics and electronics, stability and control, weight and balance, propulsion systems, and costs. A conventional wing, twin jet, twin-tail aircraft was chosen to maximize the desirable characteristics. The Scorpion will feature low speed maneuverability, high survivability, low cost, and low maintenance. The life cycle cost per aircraft will be 17.5 million dollars. The maximum takeoff weight will be 52,760 pounds. Wing loading will be 90 psf. The thrust to weight will be 0.6 lbs/lb. This aircraft meets the specified mission requirements. Some modifications have been suggested to further optimize the design

Examining ICT application adoption in Australian home-based businesses: An innovation-decision process approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a study that examines an under-researched area, the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in Australian home-based businesses (HBB). Design/methodology/approach – HBB constitute a large part of the economy, yet little is known of how they use ICT to improve their business operations. The study involved a case study comprising interviews with 30 business operators in the Western region of Melbourne, a major Australian city. The findings were analysed using a unique approach to Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations, employing the innovation-decision process as a lens for the analysis. Findings – The study findings suggest that ICT application adoption in HBB participants is not uniform, with adoption of applications such as e-mail differing from adoption of newer applications, such as social networking. ICT use needs to be considered according to individual ICT applications and explained in the context of particular HBB. The study contributes to studies of innovation adoption, particularly in relation to the use of ICT applications in HBB. Research limitations/implications – It should be remembered that this study involved interviews with a broad selection of 30 HBB in the Western region of Melbourne, Australia. The results should be considered in the context of hypothesis generation in regards to HBB rather than hypothesis testing that can occur with larger samples. The authors feel that this study would be representative of the practices of ICT adoption in many such groupings of HBB in cities of major Western countries, but hesitate to claim that similar, specific uses of ICT applications would be matched elsewhere. Practical implications – This study has a number of practical implications. The results suggest that researchers should consider adoption of individual ICT applications in HBB. Further, policy makers looking to support the use of ICT by HBB should consider that the HBB in this study had adopted different ICT applications and were at different stages of ICT adoption. This is worth considering when deciding upon policies relating to how to suppzort the HBB sector (such as provision of training support and so forth). Originality/value – The paper introduces a unique means to assess the adoption of ICT applications by examining their level of penetration, level of maturity and usefulness to HBB. </jats:sec

A Proposed Supply Chain Management Model for Teacher Education Institutions: A Structural Equation Modeling

The effects of globalization on higher education bring rapid developments, thereby, foreseeing changes within teaching and learning systems and producing an information-based society. The higher education system has been facing major challenges, especially in matching its outcomes to the market (society) needs. These challenges are increasing as the job market becomes more globally competitive. This study proposed a Supply Chain Management (SCM) model for Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs). The study utilized cross-sectional, explanatory research design and was participated in by 863 respondents composed of administrators, faculty, students and graduates selected through purposive sampling using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results from instruction model show that the program establishment is the most significant factor for both instruction development and instruction assessment in producing high level of quality graduates. Results from research model show that the program establishment in research development and TEIs culture in research assessment are the most significant factor in producing relevant research output. For the extension output, program establishment is the most significant factor in extension development while in extension assessment, faculty capabilities and facilities are the most significant factors in producing service oriented professionals. The model was called Productivity and Advancement of Graduates through a Unified and Innovative Outputs Instruction, Research and Extension or PAGUIO-INREX Model. This model emphasizes the importance of the trifocal function of higher education to the formation of productive and competent graduates of Teacher Education Institutions, who in turn, can contribute to the progress and development of the country

Improved Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assays for Nuclear Receptors

Nuclear receptors play important roles in many cellular functions through control of gene transcription. It is also a large target class for drug discovery. Luciferase reporter assays are frequently used to study nuclear receptor function because of their wide dynamic range, low endogenous activity, and ease of use. Recent improvements of luciferase genes and vectors have further enhanced their utilities. Here we applied these improvements to two reporter formats for studying nuclear receptors. The first assay contains a Murine Mammary Tumor Virus promoter upstream of a destabilized luciferase. The presence of response elements for nuclear hormone receptor in this promoter allows the studies of endogenous and/or exogenous full length receptors. The second assay contains a ligand binding domain (LBD) of a nuclear receptor fused to the GAL4 DNA binding domain (DBD) on one vector and multiple Gal4 Upstream Activator Sequences (UAS) upstream of luciferase reporter on another vector. We showed that codon optimization of luciferase reporter genes increased expression levels in conjunction with the incorporation of protein destabilizing sequences into luciferase led to a larger assay dynamic range in both formats. The optimum number of UAS to generate the best response was determined. The expression vector for nuclear receptor LBD/GAL4 DBD fusion also constitutively expresses a Renilla luciferase-neoR fusion protein, which provides selection capability (G418 resistance, neoR) as well as an internal control (Renilla luciferase). This dual-luciferase format allowed detecting compound cytotoxicity or off-target change in expression during drug screening, therefore improved data quality. These luciferase reporter assays provided better research and drug discovery tools for studying the functions of full length nuclear receptors and ligand binding domains

Luciferase Reporter Assay System for Deciphering GPCR Pathways

The G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) represent the target class for nearly half of the current therapeutic drugs and remain to be the focus of drug discovery efforts. The complexity of receptor signaling continues to evolve. It is now known that many GPCRs are coupled to multiple G-proteins, which lead to regulation of respective signaling pathways downstream. Deciphering this receptor coupling will aid our understanding of the GPCR function and ultimately developing drug candidates. Here, we report the development of four homogenous bioluminescent reporter assays using improved destabilized luciferases and various response elements: CRE, NFAT-RE, SRE, and SRF-RE. These assays allowed measurement of major GPCR pathways including cAMP production, intracellular Ca2+ mobilizations, ERK/MAPK activ-ity, and small G protein RhoA activity, respectively using the same reporter assay format. We showed that we can decipher G protein activation profiles for exogenous m3 muscarinic receptor and endogenous β2-adrenergic receptors in HEK293 cells by using these four reporter assays. Furthermore, we demonstrated that these assays can be readily used for potency rankings of agonists and antagonists, and for high throughput screening

Interventions in entrepreneurial learning: Blended learning and ICT capacity

The effective use of information and communications technologies (ICT) can benefit most small businesses. This article examines the design, development and delivery of a pilot blended learning program for entrepreneurial learning that targets the use of ICT by tradespeople. The study involves a case study of tradespeople in Australia who participated in a program designed to build their capacity to identify, use and evaluate ICT to enhance their business practices. The program combined traditional instructional approaches (through face-to-face and online sessions for delivering basic ICT concepts to participants) with learner-centred approaches (through a combination of student mentor visits and practical exercises to identify applications that were context-specific for each participant's business). A blended learning assessment framework is employed throughout the article to inform and evaluate various aspects of the program. Project participants rated the face-to-face sessions, student mentor visits and practical exercises as very effective. However, some participants could not free up the time from their employment to participate in all of the face-to-face classes. From a theoretical perspective, an amended blended learning assessment framework for the delivery of ICT programs to entrepreneurs is presented and potential lessons for the delivery of ICT concepts to entrepreneurs in the trades and similar vocations are proposed

AdPisika: an adaptive e-learning system utilizing k-means clustering, decision tree, and bayesian network based on felder-silverman model to enhance physics academic performance

Amid the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 outbreak, the academic performance of students has become a concern. To address this, Adaptive Learning Systems (ALS) have emerged, these help in assessing students and delivering personalized content. This study develops an ALS incorporating K-means Clustering, Decision Tree, and Bayesian Network techniques, based on the Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model (FSLSM). The aim is to optimize learning materials based on students' current Knowledge Level (KL) and their Learning Style (LS). The students who utilized the proposed system showed substantial improvements in their performance across the Electromagnetic Spectrum, Light, Electricity, and Magnetism modules, with increases of 28.8%, 41.4%, 31.9%, and 32.9%, respectively. These findings provide strong evidence that the adaptive e-learning system had a significant positive impact on post-test scores compared to pre-test scores, surpassing the outcomes achieved with the traditional learning approach. With a silhouette score of 0.7 for K-Means clustering, an accuracy of 87.5% for Decision Tree, and a 95.1% acceptance value for the distribution of learning objects using the Bayesian Network, the proposed adaptive system demonstrated successful implementation of these machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, the proposed system received "excellent" ratings for functional stability, performance efficiency, compatibility, and reliability, with mean values of 4.49, 4.43, 4.43, 4.8, and 4.47 respectively