Fostering improved learning about sustainability

University business graduates must not only understand but also be equipped to apply a sustainable thought process to today's business challenges. However, evidence suggests that standard approaches to teaching business courses have not advanced to reflect changing student needs, especially for NetGen students who have differing expectations than earlier cohorts. The current challenge for instructors concerns the preservation of rigor and integrity in course design, while responding to the needs of a new generation of learners. This article presents a conceptual framework incorporating experiential learning, reflective practice, and the use of metaphor, with application to the teaching of sustainability within a number of business courses

Incorporating Problem-Based Learning Skills into Graduate and Professional Student Classes: The University of Michigan Law School’s Problem Solving Initiative

This paper provides insights into an initiative that offers graduate and professional students from across the University of Michigan the opportunity to participate in multi-disciplinary, problem-based classes that foster creative thinking, teamwork, and development of transferrable skills. The paper describes how, in order to improve student learning outcomes and play to the strengths of instructors with, each, subject matter and problem solving expertise, we have modified the initiative’s structure

Do You Need a New Donor Management System? A Step-by-step Decision Making Workbook

Workbook provides guidance when considering a switch to a new donor management system. Worksheets and questionnaires help you assess your needs, compare them with what you have, and pinpoint the benefits and costs of migrating to a new system. Includes resources for more information

Digital apprehension and first year university students

The mere presence of global connections create the need for higher education to be internationally competitive—economically, culturally, and academically. The ‘latest’ digital tools can be heralded from the ‘best’ institutions enticing local and international students to come to their particular university. However, with the combination of global connection, the diversity of the contemporary university population, and technology, a new concern is appearing. While learning technologies are being increasingly utilised in the delivery of university programs, students may not use the technology to the full advantage. The aim of this study was to identify and characterise Digital Apprehension among first year university students (N = 30). This was achieved by thematic analyses of data gathered from focus group interviews, and development of a 12-item questionnaire. Findings revealed that one in three first year university students were frustrated with the learning technology

MaGICC-WDM: the effects of warm dark matter in hydrodynamical simulations of disc galaxy formation

We study the effect of warm dark matter (WDM) on hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation as part of the Making Galaxies in a Cosmological Context (MaGICC) project. We simulate three different galaxies using three WDM candidates of 1, 2 and 5 keV and compare results with pure cold dark matter simulations. WDM slightly reduces star formation and produces less centrally concentrated stellar profiles. These effects are most evident for the 1 keV candidate but almost disappear for $m_{\mathrm{WDM}}>2$ keV. All simulations form similar stellar discs independent of WDM particle mass. In particular, the disc scale length does not change when WDM is considered. The reduced amount of star formation in the case of 1 keV particles is due to the effects of WDM on merging satellites which are on average less concentrated and less gas rich. The altered satellites cause a reduced starburst during mergers because they trigger weaker disc instabilities in the main galaxy. Nevertheless we show that disc galaxy evolution is much more sensitive to stellar feedback than it is to WDM candidate mass. Overall we find that WDM, especially when restricted to current observational constraints ($m_{\mathrm{WDM}}>2$ keV), has a minor impact on disc galaxy formation.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables; minor clarifications added in results section, conclusions unchanged; accepted for publication in MNRA

Driving human motor cortical oscillations leads to behaviorally relevant changes in local GABAA inhibition: a tACS-TMS study

Beta and gamma oscillations are the dominant oscillatory activity in the human motor cortex (M1). However, their physiological basis and precise functional significance remain poorly understood. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to examine the physiological basis and behavioral relevance of driving beta and gamma oscillatory activity in the human M1 using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). tACS was applied using a sham-controlled crossover design at individualized intensity for 20 min and TMS was performed at rest (before, during, and after tACS) and during movement preparation (before and after tACS). We demonstrated that driving gamma frequency oscillations using tACS led to a significant, duration-dependent decrease in local resting-state GABAA inhibition, as quantified by short interval intracortical inhibition. The magnitude of this effect was positively correlated with the magnitude of GABAA decrease during movement preparation, when gamma activity in motor circuitry is known to increase. In addition, gamma tACS-induced change in GABAA inhibition was closely related to performance in a motor learning task such that subjects who demonstrated a greater increase in GABAA inhibition also showed faster short-term learning. The findings presented here contribute to our understanding of the neurophysiological basis of motor rhythms and suggest that tACS may have similar physiological effects to endogenously driven local oscillatory activity. Moreover, the ability to modulate local interneuronal circuits by tACS in a behaviorally relevant manner provides a basis for tACS as a putative therapeutic intervention.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Gamma oscillations have a vital role in motor control. Using a combined tACS-TMS approach, we demonstrate that driving gamma frequency oscillations modulates GABAA inhibition in the human motor cortex. Moreover, there is a clear relationship between the change in magnitude of GABAA inhibition induced by tACS and the magnitude of GABAA inhibition observed during task-related synchronization of oscillations in inhibitory interneuronal circuits, supporting the hypothesis that tACS engages endogenous oscillatory circuits. We also show that an individual's physiological response to tACS is closely related to their ability to learn a motor task. These findings contribute to our understanding of the neurophysiological basis of motor rhythms and their behavioral relevance and offer the possibility of developing tACS as a therapeutic tool

Are You Local? Academic Library Hiring Prior to and During COVID-19 in the United States

Using only limited information, job candidates must assess academic libraries as prospective workplaces, while search committee members at academic libraries must make hiring decisions. Highlighting challenges that the pandemic posed to job seekers and search committee members, such as further limiting opportunities to gather information, this study compares a group of individuals hired by U.S. academic libraries before COVID-19 to a group of individuals hired by academic libraries during COVID-19. Results have implications for job seekers and hiring institutions, as they indicate that academic libraries hire more individuals with pre-existing ties to the state or region of the hiring institution and that the pandemic strengthened this tendency

School leadership, culture and teacher stress: implications for problem students. A different lens on secondary student (mis)behaviour

The program of research presented in this dissertation is an investigation of contextual issues related to the number of students referred for behaviour problems in schools. It will attempt to capture some of the relationship dynamics that contribute to behaviour problems in an environment where achievement often transcends humanity as a measure of individual worth