A Qualitative Study of the Curricula For the Doctor of Education (EdD) Degree In Higher Education Programs

Using the Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate (CPED) as a model curricular framework, this study sought to determine the structures and functions of well-run and respected non-CPED participating higher education administration EdD curricula. The qualitative approach was used during two iterations of focus groups to learn the professional opinions and knowledge of nine full-time doctorally-prepared faculty members (also serving as administrators) of higher education administration EdD programs across the nation. Focus group data was interpreted by framing the emerging ideas and relating these ideas to Senge’s (2006) Theory of Learning Organizations (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). The researcher then compared the CPED model curricular framework, particularly the six guiding principles, with the curricula from participants’ institutions. The researcher learned that regardless of participants’ levels of knowledge regarding the CPED prior to the study, their higher education administration EdD curricula were closely aligned with the CPED model framework. Moreover, participants agreed more collaborative efforts are needed to further assess and revise EdD curricula, making certain the needs of the students are indeed being met, and the future of higher education administration will be positive. Implications and recommendations for additional curricular work and research, both pertaining specifically to the EdD in higher education administration, are included within the summary of this study

Machine Learning, Music and Creativity: An Interview with Rebecca Fiebrink

Rebecca Fiebrink is a Senior Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she designs new ways for humans to interact with computers in creative practice. As a computer scientist and musician, much of her work focuses on applications of machine learning to music, addressing research questions such as: ‘How can machine learning algorithms help people to create new musical instruments and interactions?’ and ‘How does machine learning change the type of musical systems that can be created, the creative relationships between people and technology, and the set of people who can create new technologies?’ Much of Fiebrink’s work is also driven by a belief in the importance of inclusion, participation, and accessibility. She frequently uses participatory design processes, and she is currently involved in creating new accessible technologies with people with disabilities, designing inclusive machine learning curricula and tools, and applying participatory design methodologies in the digital humanities. Fie-brink is the developer of the Wekinator: open-source software for real-time interac-tive machine learning, whose current version has been downloaded over 10,000 times. She is the creator of a MOOC titled “Machine Learning for Artists and Musicians.” She was previously an Assistant Professor at Princeton University, where she co-directed the Princeton Laptop Orchestra. She has worked with companies including Microsoft Research, Sun Microsystems Research Labs, Imagine Research, and Smule. She has performed with a variety of musical ensembles playing flute, keyboard, and laptop. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University

X-33 Environmental Impact Statement: A Fast Track Approach

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the developmental approach to the Environmental Impact Statement regarding the X-33 vehicle

Novel Distances for Dollo Data

We investigate distances on binary (presence/absence) data in the context of a Dollo process, where a trait can only arise once on a phylogenetic tree but may be lost many times. We introduce a novel distance, the Additive Dollo Distance (ADD), which is consistent for data generated under a Dollo model, and show that it has some useful theoretical properties including an intriguing link to the LogDet distance. Simulations of Dollo data are used to compare a number of binary distances including ADD, LogDet, Nei Li and some simple, but to our knowledge previously unstudied, variations on common binary distances. The simulations suggest that ADD outperforms other distances on Dollo data. Interestingly, we found that the LogDet distance performs poorly in the context of a Dollo process, which may have implications for its use in connection with conditioned genome reconstruction. We apply the ADD to two Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) datasets, one that broadly covers Eucalyptus species and one that focuses on the Eucalyptus series Adnataria. We also reanalyse gene family presence/absence data on bacteria from the COG database and compare the results to previous phylogenies estimated using the conditioned genome reconstruction approach

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 21: Technological innovation and technical communications: Their place in aerospace engineering curricula. A survey of European, Japanese, and US Aerospace Engineers and Scientists

Aerospace engineers and scientists from Western Europe, Japan, and the United States were surveyed as part of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Questionnaires were used to solicit their opinions regarding the following: (1) the importance of technical communications to their profession; (2) the use and production of technical communications; and (3) their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications. The ability to communicate technical information effectively was very important to the aerospace engineers and scientists who participated in the study. A considerable portion of their working week is devoted to using and producing technical information. The types of technical communications used and produced varied within and among the three groups. The type of technical communication product used and produced appears to be related to respondents' professional duties. Respondents from the three groups made similar recommendations regarding the principles, mechanics, and on-the-job communications to be included in an undergraduate technical communications course for aerospace majors

Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress, Muscle Damage and Inflammation in Prolonged High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise: Effect of Quercetin

Soccer is characterised by prolonged periods of high-intensity intermittent exercise, the metabolic and mechanical demands of which can induce oxidative stress, skeletal muscle damage, and associated inflammation as part of the adaptive response to exercise. However, the negative effects of these responses include fatigue and muscle soreness, which can compromise recovery and impair performance. There is paucity in the literature regarding these phenomena following intensified periods of soccer, such as microcycles of a competitive in-season, where athletes undertake daily training sessions and competitive matches with minimal recovery periods. Therefore, study one explored associations between oxidative stress (assessed via urinary MDA, a biomarker of lipid peroxidation) and high-intensity training load (GPS & HR derived variables) in a cohort of professional soccer players throughout microcycles of a competitive in-season. Results showed that urinary MDA decreased significantly over the season, but was not associated with high-intensity training load. Furthermore, lipid peroxidation was lower in professional soccer players when compared to recreational players. The observed progressive reduction in lipid peroxidation in professional soccer players may theoretically be explained as an adaptive response to regular participation in soccer training. To further increase understanding of the physiological demands imposed on athletes within a training microcycle, study two profiled the short-term response of biomarkers indicative of (i) oxidative stress, (ii) muscle damage, and (iii) inflammation, following a 3-day intensified period of simulated soccer in trained athletes; with results compared to a control group. The 3-day exercise protocol did not alter oxidative stress but induced transient cellular damage, which was accompanied by an inflammatory response, evidenced by significant post-exercise increases in (i) CK, (ii) LDH, (iii) CRP, (iv) IL-6, (v) MCP-1, (vi) total leukocyte and neutrophil counts. These findings may have negative implications for performance, as recovery may be incomplete prior to subsequent sessions; strategies that facilitate recovery by counteracting muscle damage and inflammation may be beneficial during this time. Quercetin supplementation has been proposed as a nutritional recovery strategy that could benefit athletes during intensified periods of exercise, as it is postulated that quercetin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties. Studies investigating the use of quercetin in intermittent exercise have been limited; therefore, study three expanded on study two, by examining the efficacy of prolonged quercetin supplementation to attenuate exercise-induced cellular damage and associated inflammation. For practical application, measures of perceptual recovery were also determined. Results revealed quercetin supplementation to be ineffective in alleviating (i) cellular damage, (ii) inflammation, (iii) perceived fatigue, and (iv) muscle soreness, in comparison to a placebo. Thus, the use of quercetin to improve recovery by counteracting cellular damage and inflammation during intensified periods of exercise characteristic of soccer, appears not to be supported. The NF-κB classical pathway was studied to elucidate underlying mechanisms of exercise-induced inflammation but findings revealed no effect of the 3-day exercise protocol, or quercetin supplementation, on NF-κB activity. In conclusion, results showed a progressive reduction in a biomarker of lipid peroxidation throughout a competitive in-season in professional soccer players, but no association between lipid peroxidation and high-intensity training load. Interestingly, a 3-day intensified period of simulated soccer induced acute transient cellular damage and inflammation but no alterations in oxidative stress. Therefore, this thesis provides novel data regarding intensified periods of soccer and simulated soccer. Moreover, the results add to the current literature debating the use of antioxidant supplementation in athletes, providing no significant evidence to support the use of quercetin supplementation as a recovery strategy. An overarching theme of this thesis was biomarker monitoring, which could be used to help sports scientists/coaches prescribe training loads and recovery strategies that negate the undesirable effects of exercise-induced muscle damage and associated inflammation in susceptible athletes when recovery time is limited

Hsp70 sequences indicate that choanoflagellates are closely related to animals

AbstractOver 130 years ago, James-Clark [1, 2] noted a remarkable structural similarity between the feeding cells of sponges (choanocytes) and a group of free-living protists, the choanoflagellates. Both cell types possess a single flagellum surrounded by a collar of fine tentacles [3]. The similarity led to the hypothesis that sponges, and, by implication, other animals, evolved from choanoflagellate-like ancestors. Phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal DNA neither supports nor refutes this hypothesis [4–6]. Here, we report the sequence of an hsp70 gene and pseudogene from the freshwater choanoflagellate Monosiga ovata. These represent the first nuclear-encoded protein-coding sequences reported for any choanoflagellate. We find that Monosiga and most bilaterian hsp70 genes have high GC contents that may distort phylogenetic tree construction; therefore, protein sequences were used for phylogenetic reconstruction. Our analyses indicate that Monosiga is more closely related to animals than to fungi. We infer that animals and at least some choanoflagellates are part of a clade that excludes the fungi. This is consistent with the origin of animals from a choanoflagellate-like ancestor

A Comparison Of Mission Statements Of National Blue Ribbon Schools And Unacceptable Texas High Schools

This study was conducted to determine the themes present in the context of high schools, to determine any significant differences in themes for high and low performing high schools, and to determine if significant differences were present for the same sample of high schools based on school size. An analysis of the content of mission statements identified 31 dominant themes: Students, Providing, All, Community, Learning, Academics, Developing, Responsible, Education, Environment, Preparing, Productive, Success, Lifelong Learning, Individual, Citizen, Excellence, Skills, Society, Committed, Promotes, Achievement, Diversity, Knowledge, Nature, Challenge, Future, Partnership, Quality, Potential, and Safe. Significant differences were found between the group of high and low performing high schools for the themes of Academics, Excellence, Challenge, Learning, Nurture, and Lifelong Learning (p ? .05). Analysis of mission statements grouped by size yielded a significant difference for the theme of Knowledge for large size high schools as compared to small and medium size high schools