Canvas Five Year LMS Accreditation Reporting Using Rubrics and Assignments

There is a surprisingly large gap between measuring inputs to a program and outputs from that program. Accreditation requirements have added an increasingly burdensome workload to degree-plan and course administration. The ease with which one can design assignments and their corresponding rubrics does not freely translate to assessing student response to those assignments. The challenge is to deploy assessment tools that are easy to understand, administer, deploy, and learn from. This paper focuses on the assessment of assignments evaluated by detailed rubrics. We describe tools and processes that enable us to examine years of data at a granularity not directly supported by our LMS

Ultrasound Career Structure and Education : a Time for Change

Background: In 2011 the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) undertook a survey of Ultrasound Departments in the United Kingdom (UK) to ascertain the current state of the workforce with a focus on staffing and vacancy levels. The study found there was a 10.9% Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) vacancy rate (SCoR 2011); current studies through the Health Education East Midlands sonography workforce project (2015) have found the WTE vacancy rate as high as 17%. The workforce issue in ultrasound is not a new problem; the British Medical Ultrasound Society’s (BMUS) “Extending the Provision of Ultrasound services in the UK’ (2003) highlighted that ultrasound training was failing to keep up with the service demand for, and natural wastage of, sonographers. It is therefore evident that a solution to the workforce dilemma is long overdue to secure the future of ultrasound services Purpose: The study aimed to explore sonographer opinion on the feasibility of a clinical competence framework that included bands 5 to 8 sonographer practitioners. Methodology: A qualitative study was undertaken using semi-structured interviews. A purposive sample population from a wide professional and geographical demographic was included in the study. Thematic analysis was undertaken using NVIVO. Findings: Data illustrated themes such as power, professional protectionism, managing change and sonographer education but failed to identify clinical competences for band 5 and 6 sonographers. Conclusion: The research suggests that a professional resistance to engage with the concept of a band 5 and 6 sonographer persist. This resistance is routed in the fear and anxiety of the unknown. A microcosm of power within Sonography exists which inhibits any move to address the unsustainable career and education philosophy that exists today

Controls on Sediment Exchange and Connectivity in Coastal Barrier Systems and Implications for Long-Term Evolution

Sediment exchange within and among the barriers, marshes and bays of coastal barrier systems is critical to the subaerial maintenance of these landforms and their resilience to the impacts of storm events. However, these sediment pathways can be impacted by coastal ecology and internal barrier processes, the long-term effects of which remain understudied. In this dissertation, I explore three controls on sediment connectivity in coastal barrier systems – seagrass, dunes, and shrubs – and the implications of these controls for long-term (decadal to centurial) morphological evolution. In Chapter 1, I incorporate seagrass dynamics into an existing barrier-marsh exploratory model to examine the coupled interactions of the back-barrier bay with both adjacent (marsh) and nonadjacent (barrier) subsystems. Results suggest that the presence of seagrass in the bay generally reduces the loss of marsh but may actually enhance marsh erosion when sediment export from the back-barrier is negligible. Model simulations also suggest that expanding (contracting) seagrass meadows operate as dynamic sinks (sources) of sediment that lead to enhanced erosion (progradation) of the adjacent marsh. In Chapter 2, I develop the new model Barrier3D to explore the fundamental linkage between dune dynamics and barrier migration. My experiments demonstrate that discontinuous barrier retreat is a prevalent behavior that can arise directly from the bistability of foredune height, occurring most likely when the storm return period and characteristic time scale of dune growth are of similar magnitudes. Simulations suggest that discontinuous (continuous) retreat will become less (more) common in the future with greater sea-level rise rates and storm intensity. In Chapter 3, I add an ecological module of shrub expansion and mortality to Barrier3D to examine how shrubs alter barrier morphology and migration behaviors. Experimental results suggest that barriers with shrubs are significantly narrower and less voluminous than barriers without, are more likely to retreat discontinuously, and, under certain forcing conditions, may be more vulnerable to drowning. Taken together, these studies emphasize that ecological and internal barrier processes, while often neglected in exploratory barrier modeling, are essential components of long-term barrier evolution.Doctor of Philosoph

Increasing Innovation-driven Entrepreneurship in Scotland through Collective Impact

In Scotland we have an opportunity to redefine ourselves as a nation of dynamic and high achieving entrepreneurs, targeting global market opportunities, using innovation as a key driver of sales growth, making a significant contribution to the creation of employment and wealt

Long term improvements in activities of daily living in patients with hemispatial neglect

No abstract available

Patent portfolio structure for single technology companies

Single technology companies (STCs) are defined in this thesis as companies that (a) have the fundamental rights to a new technology, (b) have development of that technology as their core competence, (c) seek to exploit that technology primarily by licensing the patent rights, and (d) are driven primarily by 'technology push'. These factors often result in much of the value of the STC residing in its patent portfolio. This in turn may place significant - and often conflicting - demands on the Intellectual Property (IP) Manager of the company. A review of the literature reveals a lack of guidance for the IP Manager, exacerbated by inconsistent terminology. To provide the IP Manager with suitable tools, this thesis explores the logic behind patent portfolios, optimal patent portfolio structure for STCs and a risk management (RM) approach to patents. Three stages in the patenting decision process are identified together with associated responsibilities, some of which extend beyond the IP department. Fundamental concepts of external Risk Factors/intemal Objectives and Patent Relationships are also proposed. A real-life patent portfolio belonging to an actual STC is reviewed, with a previously abstract literature method being adapted to depict that portfolio. Several Patent Relationships are found and the hitherto unexplored characteristic of 'Advantage' is identified as a way of showing other Patent Relationships. When applied to a second real-life portfolio, this reveals a new model for patent portfolio structure - the three- dimensional Scope/Advantage/Integration diagram - as well as highlighting that portfolio structure is determined by Risk Factors and Objectives that will be different for each STC. The thesis finishes with an examination of patent risk, particularly patent invalidity. Invalidity modes in Europe and the US are considered in detail and a comprehensive review of patent data sources is carried out. Results from two previously unexplored data sources are found to be consistent with trends proposed in the literature.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Patent portfolio structure for single technology companies

Single technology companies (STCs) are defined in this thesis as companies that (a) have the fundamental rights to a new technology, (b) have development of that technology as their core competence, (c) seek to exploit that technology primarily by licensing the patent rights, and (d) are driven primarily by 'technology push'. These factors often result in much of the value of the STC residing in its patent portfolio. This in turn may place significant - and often conflicting - demands on the Intellectual Property (IP) Manager of the company. A review of the literature reveals a lack of guidance for the IP Manager, exacerbated by inconsistent terminology. To provide the IP Manager with suitable tools, this thesis explores the logic behind patent portfolios, optimal patent portfolio structure for STCs and a risk management (RM) approach to patents. Three stages in the patenting decision process are identified together with associated responsibilities, some of which extend beyond the IP department. Fundamental concepts of external Risk Factors/intemal Objectives and Patent Relationships are also proposed. A real-life patent portfolio belonging to an actual STC is reviewed, with a previously abstract literature method being adapted to depict that portfolio. Several Patent Relationships are found and the hitherto unexplored characteristic of 'Advantage' is identified as a way of showing other Patent Relationships. When applied to a second real-life portfolio, this reveals a new model for patent portfolio structure - the three- dimensional Scope/Advantage/Integration diagram - as well as highlighting that portfolio structure is determined by Risk Factors and Objectives that will be different for each STC. The thesis finishes with an examination of patent risk, particularly patent invalidity. Invalidity modes in Europe and the US are considered in detail and a comprehensive review of patent data sources is carried out. Results from two previously unexplored data sources are found to be consistent with trends proposed in the literature.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A high sensitivity refractometer based upon a long period grating Mach-Zehnder interferometer

A low cost interrogation scheme is demonstrated for a refractometer based on an in-line fiber long period grating (LPG) Mach–Zehnder interferometer. Using this interrogation scheme the minimum detectable change in refractive index of ?n ~ 1.8×10-6 is obtained, which is the highest resolution achieved using a fiber LPG device, and is comparable to precision techniques used in the industry including high performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet spectroscopy

Respiratory monitoring using fibre long period grating sensors

We demonstrate the use of a series of in-line fibre long period grating curvature sensors on a garment, used to monitor the thoracic and abdominal volumetric tidal movements of a human subject. These results are used to obtain volumetric tidal changes of the human torso showing reasonable agreement with a spirometer used simultaneously to record the volume at the mouth during breathing. The curvature sensors are based upon long period gratings written in a progressive three layered fibre that are insensitive to refractive index changes. The sensor platform consists of the long period grating laid upon a carbon fibre ribbon, which is encapsulated in a low temperature curing silicone rubber