Creating Participatory Online Learning Environments: A Social Learning Approach Revisited

Online learning has never been more popular than it is today. Due to the rapid growth of online instruction at colleges and universities, questions about the effectiveness of online courses have been raised. In this paper, we suggest guidelines for the selection and application of social media tools. In addition to describing the potential implications of social media integrated into online learning environments (OLEs), this paper also presents new and established best practices to stimulate meaningful social interactions in OLEs. We propose five essential instructional approaches used in combination with social media tools for creating participatory OLEs. Drawing from the relevant literature in this area, we suggest a new framework that includes planned social interactions, collaborative activities, authentic learning, self-regulation, and assessment of participation to create a successful online learning experience for students

Ground water contamination from agricultural sources: implications for voluntary policy adherence from Iowa and Virginia farmers\u27 attitudes.

Abstract Contamination of ground water from agricultural sources has been documented in a majority of the contiguous US. In this study, we examine the potential for voluntary adoption of management practices that reduce risk of ground water contamination and discuss how farm operators\u27 attitudes regarding the environment might affect the success of voluntary programs. Farmers\u27 behavior and attitudes in Rockingham County, Virginia, and Big-Spring Basin, Iowa, reveal that both groups consider the ground water issue to be a serious problem to which they are contributing. This awareness is a significant first step in prompting consideration of management practices that reduce the threat to ground water quality. We also found that the worst offenders\u27 were those with the least concern about the problem. If major shifts in farming practices are to occur voluntarily, major incentives or disincentives are needed. Ultimately, policies designed to reduce ground water contamination may need a mix of strategies, including economic incentives and disincentives, zoning and land use restrictions, environmental regulations, and bans on agricultural chemicals. -from Author

Oxidative Release of Copper from Pharmacologic Copper Bis(thiosemicarbazonato) Compounds

Intracellular delivery of therapeutic or analytic copper from copper bis-thiosemicabazonato complexes is generally described in terms of mechanisms involving one-electron reduction to the Cu­(I) analogue by endogenous reductants, thereby rendering the metal ion labile and less strongly coordinating to the bis-thiosemicarbazone (btsc) ligand. However, electrochemical and spectroscopic studies described herein indicate that one-electron oxidation of Cu^II(btsc) and Zn^IIATSM (btsc = diacetyl-bis­(4-methylthiosemicarbazonato)) complexes occurs within the range of physiological oxidants, leading to the likelihood that unrecognized oxidative pathways for copper release also exist. Oxidations of Cu^II(btsc) by H₂O₂ catalyzed by either myeloperoxidase or horseradish peroxidase, by HOCl and taurine chloramine (which are chlorinating agents generated primarily in activated neutrophils from MPO-catalyzed reactions), and by peroxynitrite species (ONOOH, ONOOCO₂^–) that can form under certain conditions of oxidative stress are demonstrated. Unlike reduction, the oxidative reactions proceed by irreversible ligand oxidation, culminating in release of Cu­(II). 2-Pyridylazoresorcinol complexation was used to demonstrate that Cu­(II) release by reaction with peroxynitrite species involved rate-limiting homolysis of the peroxy O–O bond to generate secondary oxidizing radicals (NO₂^•, ^•OH, and CO₃^•–). Because the potentials for Cu^II(btsc) oxidation and reduction are ligand-dependent, varying by as much as 200 mV, it is clearly advantageous in designing therapeutic methodologies for specific treatments to identify the operative Cu-release pathway