BIBS: A Lecture Webcasting System

The Berkeley Internet Broadcasting System (BIBS) is a lecture webcasting system developed and operated by the Berkeley Multimedia Research Center. The system offers live remote viewing and on-demand replay of course lectures using streaming audio and video over the Internet. During the Fall 2000 semester 14 classes were webcast, including several large lower division classes, with a total enrollment of over 4,000 students. Lectures were played over 15,000 times per month during the semester. The primary use of the webcasts is to study for examinations. Students report they watch BIBS lectures because they did not understand material presented in lecture, because they wanted to review what the instructor said about selected topics, because they missed a lecture, and/or because they had difficulty understanding the speaker (e.g., non-native English speakers). Analysis of various survey data suggests that more than 50% of the students enrolled in some large classes view lectures and that as many as 75% of the lectures are played by members of the Berkeley community. Faculty attitudes vary about the virtues of lecture webcasting. Some question the use of this technology while others believe it is a valuable aid to education. Further study is required to accurately assess the pedagogical impact that lecture webcasts have on student learning

PCORnet's Collaborative Research Groups.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) launched a multi-institutional "network of networks" in 2013 - Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) - that is designed to conduct clinical research that is faster, less expensive, and more responsive to the information needs of patients and clinicians. To enhance cross-network and cross-institutional collaboration and catalyze the use of PCORnet, PCORI has supported formation of 11 Collaborative Research Groups focusing on specific disease types (e.g., cardiovascular health and cancer) or particular patient populations (e.g., pediatrics and health disparities). PCORnet's Collaborative Research Groups are establishing research priorities within these focus areas, establishing relationships with potential funders, and supporting development of specific research projects that will use PCORnet resources. PCORnet remains a complex, multilevel, and heterogeneous network that is still maturing and building a diverse portfolio of observational and interventional people-centered research; engaging with PCORnet can be daunting, particularly for outside investigators. We believe the Collaborative Research Groups are stimulating interest and helping investigators navigate the complexity, but only time will tell if these efforts will bear fruit in terms of funded multicenter PCORnet projects

Fungal Species Cross-Reactivity in Semen Testing (Acid Phosphatase)

Acid phosphatase (AP), a test used in forensic cases, indicates the presence of semen. AP is also present in fungi. The aim of this project was to further evaluate the level of enzymatic activity in fungi. In this work, a spectrophotometric quantitative method was developed to test for enzymatic activity. Samples were evaluated in the wavelength range 350-600 using the Genesys 10UV spectrophotometer. The highest absorbance wavelength, 368, was used to evaluate enzymatic activity

School Social Work as an Intervention in a Rural Setting IV Classroom Serving Students with Behavioral Needs

The purpose of the project was to review the evidence-based literature to determine how to best support the academic and other needs of students with EBD in a school-based setting and to determine the role that support service professionals, particularly school social workers, play in providing such evidence-based supports and services

Clustering Techniques in Multi-Objective Optimization: Applications in Climate-Driven Refugee Relocation

As climate change becomes increasingly concerning around the world, and with large uncertainty falling on the aspects of displaced people, a need for planning is prevalent. This complex problem—of which there is little to no preparation for—will require a comprehensive look into the different layers of the pathways to resettlement. The current process for refugee resettlement is not suitable for the prospective increase in the number of displaced people due climate related incidents, nor does it consider climate resettlement apart of the growing refugee population at the time. As this problem has proven to be laborious and extensive in the number of attributes to be considered, the goal of this study is to expand on a developing multi-objective optimization (MOO) problem by displaying how applying clustering methods can be beneficial to a resettlement plan for decision-makers. By applying k-medoids clustering (PAM) to host locations, the proposed addition aims neutralize some of the error in the arduous resettlement plan, provides the ability to adjust the granularity of focus, and takes a more practical look into an unknown, multi-faceted future

Building an effective marketing model for Native American casinos

In 1987 the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that, as sovereign political entities, federally recognized Native American tribal entities could operate gaming facilities free of state regulation. Soon after, Congress introduced the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which maps out the conditions under which Native American tribal entities are permitted to operate casinos and bingo parlors (Kilby, Fox, & Lucas, 2005). These terms and conditions for Native American casinos under IGRA regulation are Class II gaming methods. Class II gaming is defined as the game of chance commonly known as bingo (regardless of electronic, computer, or other technological aid) (Kilby et al., 2005). Class II gaming also includes non-banked card games; that is, games that are played exclusively against other players rather than against the house or a player acting as a bank. The most common form of non-banked card games are poker games (Kilby et al., 2005). The IGRA specifically excludes slot machines or electronic facsimiles of any game of chance from the definition of Class II games (Kilby et al, 2005). Tribes retain their authority to conduct, license, and regulate Class II gaming so long as the state in which the tribe is located permits such gaming for any purpose and the tribal government adopts a gaming ordinance approved by the Commission. Tribal governments are responsible for regulating Class II gaming with commission oversight. Native American casinos have the option to create a state compact to allow Class III games such as roulette, black jack, and craps (Kilby et. al., 2005). This allows the state in which the tribe operates to collect a percentage of the revenues generated by the compacted games. With the addition of new gaming options, it is important to implement a marketing model that will satisfy the new gaming market that is being tapped into with the addition of Class III games

On computations of the integrated space shuttle flowfield using overset grids

Numerical simulations using the thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations and chimera (overset) grid approach were carried out for flows around the integrated space shuttle vehicle over a range of Mach numbers. Body-conforming grids were used for all the component grids. Testcases include a three-component overset grid - the external tank (ET), the solid rocket booster (SRB) and the orbiter (ORB), and a five-component overset grid - the ET, SRB, ORB, forward and aft attach hardware, configurations. The results were compared with the wind tunnel and flight data. In addition, a Poisson solution procedure (a special case of the vorticity-velocity formulation) using primitive variables was developed to solve three-dimensional, irrotational, inviscid flows for single as well as overset grids. The solutions were validated by comparisons with other analytical or numerical solution, and/or experimental results for various geometries. The Poisson solution was also used as an initial guess for the thin-layer Navier-Stokes solution procedure to improve the efficiency of the numerical flow simulations. It was found that this approach resulted in roughly a 30 percent CPU time savings as compared with the procedure solving the thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations from a uniform free stream flowfield