Identification of Tasks in Office Occupations: June 1973 Workshop. Final Report

A shortened version of the final report of a Federally-funded developmental curriculum research project; the publication presents the findings of a workshop (University of Northern Iowa; 1973) for the purpose of identification of job tasks for entry-level office occupations from research-based materials. Studies by Lamb (Mary Lou); Lanham (Frank W.); and Perkins (Edward A.) were used by the workshop participants to identify job tasks for selected entry-level office occupations. Job performance tasks indicated in the research were the basis for the selection of the following job classifications: stenographer; secretary; receptionist; general office clerk; clerk typist; mail clerk; transcribing machine operator; office machine operator; and file clerk. Three sets of tables were prepared. Tables 1-9 list the percent of respondents performing tasks; arranged in descending order; for nine subject matter areas. Tables 9-18 list the percent of respondents performing tasks; arranged in descending order; according to subject matter and the above listed job classifications; tables 19-27 provide additional coverage of subject matter area and job classifications using a matrix format. Since lower percents did not appear significant in curriculum development for office occupations; the percent of respondents performing tasks below 30% was eliminated. (Approximately 120 pages consist of tables.) (Author/EA

Spatial Distribution of Flying Southern Pine Beetle (Coleoptera:Scolytidae) and the Predator ThanasUnus dubius (Coleoptera:Cleridae)

Spatial dispersion patterns of flying southern pine beetles, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm., and the clerid predator Thanasimus dubius (F.) were determined within 3 natural infestations of southern pine beetle (SPB) in eastern Texas using grids of sticky traps. There was significant positive association of the 2 insects throughout the trapping grids, although aerial population densities of the clerid were inversely related to aerial densities of SPB. Aggregation patterns were quantified using the index of patchiness (lP) and the regressions of mean crowding (m) on mean density (m). Both methods showed a highly clumped pattern for both beetle species. SPB density in the infestations was positively associated with the daily rate of tree attack by the beetles, but the degree of population aggregation in the infestations was inversely related to the daily rate of tree attack. Although densities of the two species did not follow the same trends among the 3 infestations, the degree of aggregation did (i.e., SPB was most highly aggregated in the location where T. dubius was most highly aggregated) and Lloyd\u27s index of interspecific patchiness indicated overlapping aggregate distributions. A kairomonal response mechanism for T. dubius, and SPB co-aggregation within infestations is hypothesized

Computer Literacy: An Instructional Unit

This instructional unit on computer literacy is intended for use as a 9-week course meeting five days per week for 50-minute class periods. If tied to a 9-week course in keyboarding or combined with additional materials on programming or software applications; it could also be expanded into a semester course. The following topics are covered in the individual chapters: the role of computers in society; ways in which computers affect society (historical development of computers; their effects on quality of life; economic effects of computers; concerns arising from computer use; and rapid technological changes in business); the way in which computers work (system components; binary code; kinds of computers; and differences between hardware and software); procedures for using computers (operation of a computer system; techniques in analyzing and solving a problem through flowcharting; procedures for writing and executing simple programs coded in BASIC; introduction to other languages; and software applications); and career opportunities in areas using computer technology. Each chapter includes some or all of the following: objectives; an outline of the section\u27s general content; teacher and student learning activities; and resources. A list of print and nonprint references concludes the guide. (MN) -- Provided by publishe

Computer Applications: Using Electronic Spreadsheets

This instructional unit is intended to assist teachers in helping students learn to use electronic spreadsheets. The 11 learning activities included; all of which are designed for use in conjunction with Multiplan Spreadsheet Software; are arranged in order of increasing difficulty. An effort has been made to include problems applicable to each of the following areas: basic business; secretarial; administrative support; information processing; marketing; and accounting. Topics covered in the individual lessons include operating a spreadsheet program; formatting an electronic spreadsheet; entering and saving data; creating a new electronic spreadsheet from an existing one; rearranging and replacing data; changing data on an electronic spreadsheet and understanding the effect of new what if projections; printing an electronic spreadsheet; entering formulas; copying data; printing tables; making interest projections; and organizing and creating a new spreadsheet by integrating all of the aforementioned concepts. Each lesson includes a lesson title; objectives; list of needed teaching aids and references; teaching outline; outcomes; learning activity; instructions; and reference data necessary to complete the activity. (MN)--Provided by publishe

In-Service Education of Office Occupations Teacher-Coordinators. Final Report

Twenty-six office occupations teachers from 24 states; the District of Columbia; and Puerto Rico attended the First National Institute for Inservice Education of Office Occupations Teacher-Coordinators at the University of Northern Iowa to participate in 4 weeks of classroom instruction and practical field observations related to the office occupations educational cycle. The cycle; as developed by Dr. Bruce I. Blackstone; starts from an analysis of the occupation and a description of behavioral terms translated into educational procedures which; placed into operation in and out of school; provide the student with planned learning experiences and realistic opportunities to use skills and knowledges; placement in the world of work; and evaluation on the basis of success on the job. Nationally known resource persons presented materials relative to the cycle. The teaching of disadvantaged youth was given prime concern. Each participant spent 3 days in each of two offices in the area to gather job information. Included are (1) the followup evaluation findings and comments of the participants; (2) a bibliography; (3) extensive appendixes containing federal legislation reports; instructional materials; the evaluation questionnaire; and institute information; and (4) a description of the cycle. (ps

Keyboarding for Elementary Students

This package contains four components designed to help elementary or business education teachers teach keyboarding to elementary students. The keyboarding program described in these materials consists of three phases: Phase I--learn the keyboard; basic function keys; technique and confidence; Phase II--review the keyboard and technique; language arts application; introduction to composition and proofreading; and Phase III--quick review of keyboard and technique; creating; editing; and printing; and computer terminology. This package contains (1) an inservice guide for business teachers and elementary teachers that provides suggestions for introducing and implementing a keyboarding program; (2) a teacher\u27s guide; with a day-by-day lesson plan for a six-week course in keyboarding that could be used in Phase I and for review; (3) Appendix A; with supplemental materials such as suggestions for implementation; sample letters to parents; visual keyboard; sample name card; activity suggestions; activity sheets; technique check list; glossary of computer terms; certificate and good work awards; and picture of a computer bug ; and (4) Appendix B; which contains references for software; textbooks; and a bibliography of articles that relate to keyboarding. (KC

Education for Business in Iowa. Curriculum and Reference Guide.

This business education curriculum model contains elementary; middle/junior high; and high school business education courses for Iowa students in the following areas: accounting; basic business; information processing; marketing; and general topics. A curriculum model provides specific courses for different educational levels. Each area contains units; and within each unit; the following may be included: introduction; course objectives; competencies; course content; teaching strategies; and references. Accounting units include recordkeeping; accounting I; and accounting II. Basic business units are as follows: introduction to business; consumer economics; business mathematics; and business law. Information processing includes five units: keyboarding; word origination; computer applications; business procedures; and business and office education. Marketing units include the following: principles of marketing; sales and promotion; entrepreneurship; marketing education; and a marketing education-related class. General topics are as follows: advisory councils; area education agencies; articulation; career education; certification; community colleges; continuing education; equity; Iowa Curriculum Assistance System; methods of instruction; multi-occupations; pre-high school; professional organizations; program evaluation standards; public relations; small schools; special needs; student organizations; and training demands. (NLA

Virus Infection of Plants Alters Pollinator Preference: A Payback for Susceptible Hosts?

Plant volatiles play important roles in attraction of certain pollinators and in host location by herbivorous insects. Virus infection induces changes in plant volatile emission profiles, and this can make plants more attractive to insect herbivores, such as aphids, that act as viral vectors. However, it is unknown if virus-induced alterations in volatile production affect plant-pollinator interactions. We found that volatiles emitted by cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)-infected tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and Arabidopsis thaliana plants altered the foraging behaviour of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). Virus-induced quantitative and qualitative changes in blends of volatile organic compounds emitted by tomato plants were identified by gas chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry. Experiments with a CMV mutant unable to express the 2b RNA silencing suppressor protein and with Arabidopsis silencing mutants implicate microRNAs in regulating emission of pollinator-perceivable volatiles. In tomato, CMV infection made plants emit volatiles attractive to bumblebees. Bumblebees pollinate tomato by 'buzzing' (sonicating) the flowers, which releases pollen and enhances self-fertilization and seed production as well as pollen export. Without buzz-pollination, CMV infection decreased seed yield, but when flowers of mock-inoculated and CMV-infected plants were buzz-pollinated, the increased seed yield for CMV-infected plants was similar to that for mock-inoculated plants. Increased pollinator preference can potentially increase plant reproductive success in two ways: i) as female parents, by increasing the probability that ovules are fertilized; ii) as male parents, by increasing pollen export. Mathematical modeling suggested that over a wide range of conditions in the wild, these increases to the number of offspring of infected susceptible plants resulting from increased pollinator preference could outweigh underlying strong selection pressures favoring pathogen resistance, allowing genes for disease susceptibility to persist in plant populations. We speculate that enhanced pollinator service for infected individuals in wild plant populations might provide mutual benefits to the virus and its susceptible hosts.Major funding for this project was provided to JPC by the Leverhulme Trust (Grant numbers RPG-2012-667 and F/09741/F: https://www. leverhulme.ac.uk/). Additional funding to JPC and studentships to support JHW and SCG came from the Biotechnological and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grant number BB/J011762/1: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/). Other additional funding was obtained from the Isaac Newton Trust (http://www. newtontrust.cam.ac.uk/: grant number 12.07/I to AMM).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Public Library of Science via http://dx.doi.org/:10.1371/journal.ppat.100579

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO

The angular resolution of ground-based optical telescopes is limited by the degrading effects of the turbulent atmosphere. In the absence of an atmosphere, the angular resolution of a typical telescope is limited only by diffraction, i.e., the wavelength of interest, λ, divided by the size of its primary mirror's aperture, D. For example, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), with a 2.4-m primary mirror, has an angular resolution at visible wavelengths of ~0.04 arc seconds. The atmosphere is composed of air at slightly different temperatures, and therefore different indices of refraction, constantly mixing. Light waves are bent as they pass through the inhomogeneous atmosphere. When a telescope on the ground focuses these light waves, instantaneous images appear fragmented, changing as a function of time. As a result, long-exposure images acquired using ground-based telescopes - even telescopes with four times the diameter of HST - appear blurry and have an angular resolution of roughly 0.5 to 1.5 arc seconds at best. Astronomical adaptive-optics systems compensate for the effects of atmospheric turbulence. First, the shape of the incoming non-planar wave is determined using measurements of a nearby bright star by a wavefront sensor. Next, an element in the optical system, such as a deformable mirror, is commanded to correct the shape of the incoming light wave. Additional corrections are made at a rate sufficient to keep up with the dynamically changing atmosphere through which the telescope looks, ultimately producing diffraction-limited images. The fidelity of the wavefront sensor measurement is based upon how well the incoming light is spatially and temporally sampled. Finer sampling requires brighter reference objects. While the brightest stars can serve as reference objects for imaging targets from several to tens of arc seconds away in the best conditions, most interesting astronomical targets do not have sufficiently bright stars nearby. One solution is to focus a high-power laser beam in the direction of the astronomical target to create an artificial reference of known shape, also known as a 'laser guide star'. The Robo-AO laser adaptive optics system employs a 10-W ultraviolet laser focused at a distance of 10 km to generate a laser guide star. Wavefront sensor measurements of the laser guide star drive the adaptive optics correction resulting in diffraction-limited images that have an angular resolution of ~0.1 arc seconds on a 1.5-m telescope