A Qualitative Case Study of Programmed Computer-Assisted Instruction in a College Course Delivered Online

vi, 269 leaves. (Leaves 183-187 lacking.) Advisor: James L. Romig.The Problem: Can online (computer-assisted) college instruction, using theoretically sound instructional design, provide rich instructional interaction without sacrificing time efficiency? What are some of the barriers and benefits encountered with online instruction? Procedures: A naturalistic inquiry, this case study focused on two sections of a course titled "Principles of Communication" at a Midwestern, private, liberal arts college. Participants were two professors and 39 undergraduate volunteers. The case study examined five weeks of online course activity, where students engaged in 14 online exercises, weekly assessments of activiw, two performance tests, and four group interactions online, while reading the assigned text. . The case study revealed that rich interaction could be achieved online, that performance standards were satisfied, and that the course could be time efficient (with a mean of 45 minutes less per week spent on course activity). Barriers encountered included: equipment failure, inadequate software, inadequate teacher preparation, inadequate resources, human error, time inefficiencies, and a lack of spontaneous interaction. Benefits encountered included: entertainment value, learning value, convenience, development of computer skills, development of Internet skills, and development of student responsibility. Conclusions: Beyond the findings, several conclusions could be drawn from this case study that might improve the theoretical framework used to create this online course. Those conclusions include: 1) provide adequate contingencies to encourage non-linear investigation where feasible; 2) distinguish relationships between interactive exercises and instructional objectives through sound instructional design; 3) provide adequate contingencies to require mastery of each unit before allowing a student to proceed; 4) require effective communication in student responses where feasible; 5) provide an adequate range of cognitive processing levels (low to high) to establish student performance at accepted standards; 6) provide adequate support technicians and resources (including thorough backup systems) from host institution; 7) empirically test interactivity to establish if practice provided will optimize time efficiency while remaining sufficient to achieve student performance at selected standards

Strategic Information Systems Planning and U.S. County Government

This article presents the second in a series of public sector studies conducted by Syracuse University in cooperation with the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The research reported here investigates Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) at the county level. The first study described SISP at the state level. Because the questionnaire and research methodologies are almost identical, this study of countywide SISP closely follows the format of the SISP study conducted at the state level. The entire series of SISP studies is based on data from the Government Performance Project (GPP) survey of U.S. governments (state, county, and city) conducted by Syracuse University from 1998 through 2002. The findings for counties mirror those for states, and indicate an absence of SISP

Theory of Current and Shot Noise Spectroscopy in Single-Molecular Quantum Dots with Phonon Mode

Using the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function technique, we study the current and shot noise spectroscopy of a single molecular quantum dot coupled to a local phonon mode. It is found that in the presence of electron-phonon coupling, in addition to the resonant peak associated with the single level of the dot, satellite peaks with the separation set by the frequency of phonon mode appear in the differential conductance. In the ``single level'' resonant tunneling region, the differential shot noise power exhibit two split peaks. However, only single peaks show up in the ``phonon assisted'' resonant-tunneling region. An experimental setup to test these predictions is also proposed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 eps figures embedde

High resolution study of the Lambda p final state interaction in the reaction p + p -> K+ + (Lambda p)

The reaction pp -> K+ + (Lambda p) was measured at Tp=1.953 GeV and Theta = 0 deg with a high missing mass resolution in order to study the Lambda p final state interaction. The large final state enhancement near the Lambda p threshold can be described using the standard Jost-function approach. The singlet and triplet scattering lengths and effective ranges are deduced by fitting simultaneously the Lambda p invariant mass spectrum and the total cross section data of the free Lambda p scattering.Comment: submitted to Physics Letters B, 10 pages, 3 figure

Is there an oxidative cost of acute stress? Characterization, implication of glucocorticoids and modulation by prior stress experience

Acute rises in glucocorticoid hormones allow individuals to adaptively respond to environmental challenges but may also have negative consequences, including oxidative stress. While the effects of chronic glucocorticoid exposure on oxidative stress have been well characterized, those of acute stress or glucocorticoid exposure have mostly been overlooked. We examined the relationship between acute stress exposure, glucocorticoids and oxidative stress in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). We (i) characterized the pattern of oxidative stress during an acute stressor in two phenotypically distinct breeds; (ii) determined whether corticosterone ingestion, in the absence of acute stress, increased oxidative stress, which we call glucocorticoid-induced oxidative stress (GiOS); and (iii) explored how prior experience to stressful events affected GiOS. Both breeds exhibited an increase in oxidative stress in response to an acute stressor. Importantly, in the absence of acute stress, ingesting corticosterone caused an acute rise in plasma corticosterone and oxidative stress. Lastly, birds exposed to no previous acute stress or numerous stressful events had high levels of GiOS in response to acute stress, while birds with moderate prior exposure did not. Together, these findings suggest that an acute stress response results in GiOS, but prior experience to stressors may modulate that oxidative cost

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Radical chemistry and ozone production at a UK coastal receptor site

OH, HO2, total and partially speciated RO2, and OH reactivity (kOH′) were measured during the July 2015 ICOZA (Integrated Chemistry of OZone in the Atmosphere) project that took place at a coastal site in north Norfolk, UK. Maximum measured daily OH, HO2 and total RO2 radical concentrations were in the range 2.6–17 × 106, 0.75–4.2 × 108 and 2.3–8.0 × 108 molec. cm−3, respectively. kOH′ ranged from 1.7 to 17.6 s−1, with a median value of 4.7 s−1. ICOZA data were split by wind direction to assess differences in the radical chemistry between air that had passed over the North Sea (NW–SE sectors) and that over major urban conurbations such as London (SW sector). A box model using the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCMv3.3.1) was in reasonable agreement with the OH measurements, but it overpredicted HO2 observations in NW–SE air in the afternoon by a factor of ∼ 2–3, although slightly better agreement was found for HO2 in SW air (factor of ∼ 1.4–2.0 underprediction). The box model severely underpredicted total RO2 observations in both NW–SE and SW air by factors of ∼ 8–9 on average. Measured radical and kOH′ levels and measurement–model ratios displayed strong dependences on NO mixing ratios, with the results suggesting that peroxy radical chemistry is not well understood under high-NOx conditions. The simultaneous measurement of OH, HO2, total RO2 and kOH′ was used to derive experimental (i.e. observationally determined) budgets for all radical species as well as total ROx (i.e. OH + HO2 + RO2). In NW–SE air, the ROx budget could be closed during the daytime within experimental uncertainty, but the rate of OH destruction exceeded the rate of OH production, and the rate of HO2 production greatly exceeded the rate of HO2 destruction, while the opposite was true for RO2. In SW air, the ROx budget analysis indicated missing daytime ROx sources, but the OH budget was balanced, and the same imbalances were found with the HO2 and RO2 budgets as in NW–SE air. For HO2 and RO2, the budget imbalances were most severe at high-NO mixing ratios, and the best agreement between HO2 and RO2 rates of production and destruction rates was found when the RO2 + NO rate coefficient was reduced by a factor of 5. A photostationary-steady-state (PSS) calculation underpredicted daytime OH in NW–SE air by ∼ 35 %, whereas agreement (∼ 15 %) was found within instrumental uncertainty (∼ 26 % at 2σ) in SW air. The rate of in situ ozone production (P(Ox)) was calculated from observations of ROx, NO and NO2 and compared to that calculated from MCM-modelled radical concentrations. The MCM-calculated P(Ox) significantly underpredicted the measurement-calculated P(Ox) in the morning, and the degree of underprediction was found to scale with NO

Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study

A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4