995 research outputs found
\u3cb\u3eBook Review:\u3c/b\u3e \u3cem\u3eMeaningful Course Revision: Enhancing Academic Engagement Using Student Learning Data\u3c/em\u3e by Catherine Wehlburg (Jossey-Bass, 2007)
Excerpt: In Meaningful Course Revision: Enhancing Academic Engagement Using Student Learning Data, Wehlburg persuasively argues that letting evidence guide change and innovation is perhaps the only way to break the dysfunctional tradition of what may be termed “teaching as telling” and “grading to the bell curve.” Throughout the book, Wehlburg convincingly argues that assessment is not yet another chore that faculty and administrators are obliged to perform, but an integrated set of activities that enhances learning and provides the feedback teachers and institutions need in order to improve learning outcomes and implement innovations in teaching. In Chapter 1, “Data-based Decision-Making,” Wehlburg effectively makes the case for data-driven course redesign. Better yet, in Chapter 2, Wehlburg asserts that many faculty members are already engaged in performing assessments, they are just not aware of how to make use of the data to revise their courses
Loki, Io: New groundbased observations and a model describing the change from periodic overturn
Loki Patera is the most powerful volcano in the solar system. We have
obtained measurements of Loki's 3.5 micron brightness from NASA's Infrared
Telescope Facility (IRTF) and have witnessed a change from the periodic
behavior previously noted. While Loki brightened by a factor of several every
540 days prior to 2001, from 2001 through 2004 Loki remained at a constant,
medium brightness. We have constructed a quantitative model of Loki as a
basaltic lava lake whose solidified crust overturns when it becomes buoyantly
unstable. By altering the speed at which the overturn propagates across the
patera, we can match our groundbased brightness data. In addition, we can match
other data taken at other times and wavelengths. By slowing the propagation
speed dramatically, we can match the observations from 2001-2004. This slowing
may be due to a small change in volatile content in the magma
The Sandwich algorithm for spatial equilibrium analysis
Recent advances in mathematical programming techniques have
made it possible to provide more realistic solutions to applied
economic problems. Although mathematical programming techniques are
widely used, the economic content of the solutions is often limited by
the assumptions imposed by the algorithms available. This report is
designed to demonstrate the increased flexibility which is currently
available for the solution of a wide range of spatial economic
problems.
Transportation and transhipment models have been widely used in
the analysis of the impact of policy changes on spatial activity,
Borrell & Zwart [l]; Beck, Rathbun and Abbott [2]. One of the major
shortcomings of such models has been an inability to model the impact
of more flexible pricing policies on regional supply and demand, while
maintaining the realistic non linearities which are associated with
processing and transportation costs. In this paper a simplified
version of the transhipment model developed by Borrell & Zwart [l] is
modified to incorporate regional supply response while at the same time
retaining complex processing and handling cost relationships.
This report outlines the general form of the spatial
equilibrium problem and some of the solution techniques available, in a
format easily understood by readers not conversant with operational
research techniques. Initially the problem is defined and solution
methods used in the past are then briefly described. The advantages
and disadvantages of these methods are outlined before showing how a
relatively new solution technique may be able to improve both the scope
and flexibility of the problems being solved
Distribution and Abundance of Manatees Along the Northern Coast of the Gulf of Mexico
A review of historical and recent records of manatee (Trichechus manatus) sightings along the coast of the northern Gulf of Mexico indicates that their numbers have declined in Texas, but increased in Louisiana and Mississippi. This is due to their extirpation in Mexico and dramatic increase along the southern Big Bend coast of northwestern peninsular Florida. The distribution of manatees along the southern Big Bend coast is related to their need for warm water and the distribution of fresh water and submerged aquatic and marine food plants. The spring-fed headwaters of Crystal and Homosassa rivers are important warm water winter refuges; nearly 90% of the same individuals return each winter. The estuaries and grass beds associated with these two rivers and the Suwannee, Withlacoochee, and Chasshowitzka rivers are the principal summer habitats. The Suwannee and Crystal rivers are high-use rivers, whereas the other three are low-use rivers. Low human-caused mortality, high fecundity, some immigration, and high site fidelity are responsible for the increasing numbers of manatees using the southern Big Bend coast. Since this region of Florida has experienced relatively little development compared with the rest of the state, the best long-term future for this endangered marine mammal in the United States lies along the southern Big Bend coast
Notes on Operations: Classifying African Literary Authors
This paper reviews the literature on the inadequacies of the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) schedules for African literary authors and describes a modified practice that collocates African literature and facilitates patron browsing. Current LCC practice scatters African literature across the multiple European language classifications of former colonial powers. Future strategies could place individual authors more accurately in the context of their country, region, culture, and languages of authorship. The authors renew the call for a formal international effort to revisit the literature schedules and create new classification practices for African literature
Envisioning Creative Collaboration between Faculty and Technologists
Faculty developers must often mediate conflicts resulting from differences between seemingly mutually exclusive cultures that university technolo gists and university teachers inhabit. Activity theory embraces workplace conflict as normal and as contributing to organizing health and adapta tion, in contrast to a functionalist approach that focuses on how to maintain system equilibrium. Engestrom’s (1987) interpretation of activity theory provides a theoretically informed framework for under standing different forms of human activity, mediated by culturally mol ded rules, values, and division of labor, without suffering from the polarizing effects of an us-versus-them approach
Cj0596 is a periplasmic peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase involved in Campylobacter jejuni motility, invasion, and colonization
Abstract Background Campylobacter jejuni is a gastrointestinal pathogen of humans, but part of the normal flora of poultry, and therefore grows well at the respective body temperatures of 37°C and 42°C. Proteomic studies on temperature regulation in C. jejuni strain 81–176 revealed the upregulation at 37°C of Cj0596, a predicted periplasmic chaperone that is similar to proteins involved in outer membrane protein folding and virulence in other bacteria. Results The cj0596 gene was highly conserved in 24 strains and species of Campylobacter, implying the importance of this gene. To study the role that Cj0596 plays in C. jejuni pathogenesis, a mutant derivative of strain 81–176 was constructed in which the cj0596 gene was precisely deleted. A revertant of this mutant was isolated by restoring the gene to its original chromosomal location using streptomycin counterselection. The cj0596 mutant strain demonstrated a slightly decreased growth rate and lower final growth yield, yet was more motile and more invasive of human intestinal epithelial cells than wild-type. In either single or mixed infections, the mutant was less able to colonize mice than 81–176. The cj0596 mutant also expressed altered levels of several proteins. Conclusion Mutation of cj0596 has an effect on phenotypes related to C. jejuni pathogenesis, probably due to its role in the proper folding of critical outer membrane proteins.</p
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