Achieving a coherent curriculum in second grade : science as the organizer

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (March 1, 2007)Vita.Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2006.The purpose of this study was to examine how a team of teachers used science as a means for designing and implementing a coherent curriculum.Using a phenomenological research framework and a case study method, I generated four assertions: 1) the teachers viewed science as a tool to motivate students and used an inquiry based approach to teach science; 2) they described inquiry as a process of thinking organized around questions, and shifted their instruction between guided and open inquiry approaches; 3) they taught all subjects using an inquiry-based approach, emphasized the process skills associated with doing scientific inquiry, and used the language of the process skills throughout their instruction; 4) the success of their collaboration relied on members' unique contributions and commitment to professional development. This study demonstrates how an inquiry-based science curriculum can provide educators with an effective model for designing and implementing a coherent curriculum.Includes bibliographical reference

What do Employers expect from Business Analysts and is it captured by the “Business Analysis Body of Knowledge” (BABOK)?

Emerging professions need to define their role and contributions to business and society. An important part of this is setting policies and definitions of what constitutes a professional and professional practice in their discipline. This information is increasingly being captured and codified using tools such as Bodies of Knowledge, Quality Frameworks and Codes of Practice. The International Institute for Business Analysis defined a Body of Knowledge for Business Analysis (BABOK). This paper reports on a longitudinal survey of 240 SEEK advertisements over a six year period investigating how closely the skills and knowledge required for Business Analysis positions matched those defined within BABOK. This exploratory and qualitative study used secondary sources, so generalizability of results has limitations. Nevertheless, interesting patterns were observed. There was strong evidence that the “Competencies” defined within BABOK are sought by employers. However, surprisingly little reference was made to many of the BABOK Knowledge Areas

Evidence for added value of convection-permitting models for studying changes in extreme precipitation

Climate model resolution can affect both the climate change signal and present-day representation of extreme precipitation. The need to parametrize convective processes raises questions about how well the response to warming of convective precipitation extremes is captured in such models. In particular, coastal precipitation extremes can be sensitive to sea surface temperature (SST) increase. Taking a recent coastal precipitation extreme as a showcase example, we explore the added value of convection-permitting models by comparing the response of the extreme precipitation to a wide range of SST forcings in an ensemble of regional climate model simulations using parametrized and explicit convection. Compared at the same spatial scale, we find that the increased local intensities of vertical motion and precipitation in the convection-permitting simulations play a crucial role in shaping a strongly nonlinear extreme precipitation response to SST increase, which is not evident when convection is parametrized. In the convection-permitting simulations, SST increase causes precipitation intensity to increase only until a threshold is reached, beyond which further SST increase does not enhance the precipitation. This flattened response results from an improved representation of convective downdrafts and near-surface cooling, which damp the further intensification of precipitation by stabilizing the lower troposphere locally and also create cold-pools that cause subsequent convection to be triggered at sea, rather than by the coastal orography. These features are not well represented in the parametrized convection simulations, resulting in precipitation intensity having a much more linear response to increasing SST

The Impact of Environmental Features on Beef Cattle Behavior, Physiology, Performance and Health

Two separate experiments were conducted to further understand beef cattle welfare. The first experiment (e.g. systematic review) sought to answer the question “How do housing facility features impact the status of animal welfare of beef cattle?” From 1,147 citations, 40 studies were included that evaluated the impact of a feature of beef cattle housing on welfare. Housing features were categorized by floor type, space allowance, shade availability, and inclusion of enrichment devices or ventilation features. The second experiment evaluated the impact of environmental enrichment (EE) on cattle stress physiology, health, productivity and behavior. The EE consisted of an Lshaped brush structure mounted to the fence line furthest from the feed bunk. Fifty-four crossbred steers were randomly assigned to one of two treatments 1) No enrichment (CON) or 2) Enrichment (BRUSH). Hair coat shed scores were recorded upon arrival at the feedlot (d -55) and prior to shipment of first weight block (d 161) for slaughter using an objective scoring system. Body weights and hair samples for cortisol extraction were obtained at 35-d intervals throughout the duration of the study. Average daily gain, G:F and weekly DMI were calculated. Upon slaughter, carcass data were collected. Decoded video recordings measured the frequency and duration of behaviors for 9.5 hours on d - 2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 relative to brush installation using both continuous and scan sampling. Impact of day, treatment and their interactions were evaluated using PROC MIXED in SAS. Treatment did not impact steer stress physiology, feed efficiency or carcass traits (P > 0.05). BRUSH cattle performed fewer headbutts (P = 0.006), engaged in bar licking less frequently (P = 0.009) and for a shorter duration (P = 0.035) compared to CON cattle. For BRUSH cattle, frequency and duration of brush usage changed over time peaking on d 0 (P < 0.001). BRUSH cattle performed fewer stereotypic and aggressive behaviors and cattle did not habituate to the brush over time. Presence of a cattle brush did not negatively impact production or physiology of the animals. A cattle brush would be beneficial to feedlot cattle welfare

Age related differences in anxiety-like behavior and amygdalar CCL2 responsiveness to stress following alcohol withdrawal

Behavioral and neuroimmune vulnerability to withdrawal from chronic alcohol varies with age. The relation of anxiety-like behavior to amygdalar CCL2 responses following stress after withdrawal from chronic intermittent alcohol (CIA) was investigated in adolescent and adult rats

Sensitivity of Southern Ocean overturning to wind stress changes:Role of surface restoring time scales

The influence of different surface restoring time scales on the response of the Southern Ocean overturning circulation to wind stress changes is investigated using an idealised channel model. Regardless of the restoring time scales chosen, the eddy-induced meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is found to compensate for changes of the direct wind-driven Eulerian-mean MOC, rendering the residual MOC less sensitive to wind stress changes. However, the extent of this compensation depends strongly on the restoring time scale: residual MOC sensitivity increases with decreasing restoring time scale. Strong surface restoring is shown to limit the ability of the eddy-induced MOC to change in response to wind stress changes and as such suppresses the eddy compensation effect. These model results are consistent with qualitative arguments derived fromresidual-mean theory andmay have important implications for interpreting past and future observations

Impact of changing US cigarette smoking patterns on incident cancer: Risks of 20 smoking-related cancers among the women and men of the NIH-AARP cohort

Background: Historically, US women started smoking at a later age than men and had lower relative risks for smoking-related cancers. However, more recent birth cohorts of women and men have similar smoking histories and have now reached the high-risk age for cancer. The impact of these changes on cancer incidence has not been systematically examined. Methods: Relative risks (RR), 95% confidence intervals (CI) and attributable fractions were calculated for cigarette smoking and incidence of 20 smoking-related cancers in 186 057 women and 266 074 men of the National Institutes of Health-AARP cohort, aged 50 to 71 years in 1995 and followed for 11 years. Results: In the cohort, which included participants born between 1924 and 1945, most women and men started smoking as teenagers. RRs for current vs never smoking were similar in women and men for the following cancers: lung squamous-cell (RR women: 121.4, 95% CI: 57.3–257.4; RR men:114.6, 95% CI: 61.2–214.4), lung adenocarcinoma (RR women: 11.7, 95% CI: 9.8–14.0; RR men: 15.6, 95% CI: 12.5–19.6), laryngeal (RR women: 37.0, 95% CI: 14.9–92.3; RR men: 13.8, 95% CI: 9.3–20.2), oral cavity-pharyngeal (RR women:4.4, 95% CI: 3.3–6.0; RR men: 3.8, 95% CI: 3.0–4.7), oesophageal squamous cell (RR women: 7.3, 95% CI: 3.5–15.5; RR men: 6.2, 95% CI: 2.8–13.7), bladder (RR women: 4.7, 95% CI: 3.7–5.8; RR men: 4.0, 95% CI: 3.5–4.5), colon (RR women: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.2–1.5; RR men: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1–1.4), and at other sites, with similar attributable fractions. Conclusions: RRs for current smoking and incidence of many smoking-related cancers are now similar in US women and men, likely reflecting converging smoking patterns