A Comparison Of Internet And Classroom Students Performance In The Course Information Society

This empirical study investigated the performance of the students who took an undergraduate course “Information Society” either online, or in a traditional classroom setting in the semesters fall 2002, spring 2003, spring 2004, and summer 2003. Our study analyzed the performance of 279 students in those semesters. The students in each semester or summer session completed the same course work, including listening to the same lectures and taking the same exams. The results of our analysis indicates that that the Internet students performed at least in the same level as the on-campus students and that the online delivery method did not negatively affect success of the students. However, we also found that the non-completion rates for the course Information Society (SOC285) in fall 2002 and spring 2004 were different for students who took the course online or in a traditional classroom setting, indicating that Internet students in the course had more difficulties in finishing the course. The third major finding is that for online delivery, the students in the short summer session (in summer 2003) performed as well as students in normal semesters (fall 2002, spring 2003, and spring 2004) in terms of both completion rate and median scores

Technological Literacy Courses in Pre-Service Teacher Education

The goal of this study was to determine to what extent technological literacy courses were required in K-12 teacher education. A documents review of the appropriate course catalogs for initial teacher preparation was conducted. The documents review identified general education requirements and options for technological literacy courses, as well as requirements and options for these courses for English, social studies, mathematics, and science education majors. For this study, technological literacy was defined as the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technology (ITEA, 2000/2002/2007, p. 9). This definition of literacy is broader than technology literacy associated with computer use and instructional technology, as well as courses limited to the history or philosophy of technology. A finding from this study is that there is very little exposure to technological literacy courses for prospective K-12 teachers. This may be due in part to the confusion between instructional technology literacy and technological literacy

Food production, distribution and processing in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

Cornwall Taste of the West; Cornwall Agricultural Counci

A Study of the Elderly\u27s Anticipated Participation in Educational Activities

The main objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the extent to which persons who are fifty through sixty- nine years of age anticipate participating in educational activities; (2) to determine how the conditions under which educational activities are offered would effect [sic] the anticipated participation of the elderly, and (3) to ascertain what factors explain anticipated participation in educational activities of the elderly. The units of analysis were individuals who were at least fifty years of age but no more than seventy years of age on t heir last birthday and who had permanent residence within thirty-five miles of Dakota State College. A variety of socioeconomic, systemic, and attitudinal variables were us-ed to measure educational roles, continuity maintenance and anticipated participation in educational activities. In order to determine to what extent respondents anticipate taking educational offerings, the data were aggregated by summing the responses from a Likert scale pertaining to specific courses. It was found that fifteen percent of the respondents would definitely take a class in the future. To ascertain what courses were of most interest to the elderly the responses to each course were tabulated. It was found that seven courses were selected most frequently and the course selection reflected their social status as an older person. The conditions under which the respondent would take course offerings were examined by tabulating the responses to several statements regarding institutional conditions of offering a course on a college campus. Generally, the respondents were not looking for special course offerings, given in special places and under differing conditions than the usual college setting. To ascertain what specific factors explain anticipated participation in educational activities of the elderly, eighteen independent variables were placed in a multiple regression formula with the dependent variable. The results of this investigation found that those respondents who would most anticipated participating in course offerings were characterized by: (1) greater motivation to participate in educational activities; (2) greater participation in educational leisure time activities that are of a sporting nature; (3) greater perception of education as a life-long process; (4) greater organizational participation; (5) greater perception of education as desirable; (6) greater participation in educational leisure time activities; and (7) greater distance of residence from Dakota State College. Several general conclusions were made from the findings of the study: 1. A large market for educational offerings by Dakota State College to the elderly does not exist when compared to the traditional student population. 2. The elderly who are interested in taking courses are more likely to take courses that relate to their social stat us as pre- retired or retired person. 3. Five institutional conditions under which courses would be offered created some concern for the elderly. They are: (a) courses offered for a full semester, (b) courses offered in the Winter or (c) Summer, (d) the cost of the course and (e) courses offered on campus. 4. The academic division at Dakota State College best suited to deliver courses for the elderly is Health and Physical Education because this is the division where the elderly selected most of the courses they would take. 5. Elderly per sons who currently participate in informal educational and sporting activities will also tend to take courses. 6. The theoretical model using role theory and continuity theory was supported in that seven of the eighteen independent variables explained about sixty- five percent of the variation in the dependent variable

Emergency vehicle alert system (EVAS)

The Emergency Vehicle Alert System (EVAS) program is sponsored by the NASA/MSFC Technology Utilization (TU) office. The program was conceived to support the needs of hearing impaired drivers. The objective of the program is to develop a low-cost, small device which can be located in a personal vehicle and warn the driver, via a visual means, of the approach of an emergency vehicle. Many different technologies might be developed for this purpose and each has its own advantages and drawbacks. The requirements for an acoustic detection system, appear to be pretty stringent and may not allow the development of a reliable, low-cost device in the near future. The problems include variations in the sirens between various types of emergency vehicles, distortions due to wind and surrounding objects, competing background noise, sophisticated signal processing requirements, and omni-directional coverage requirements. Another approach is to use a Radio Frequency (RF) signal between the Emergency Vehicle (EV) and the Personal Vehicle (PV). This approach requires a transmitter on each EV and a receiver in each PV, however it is virtually assured that a system can be developed which works. With this approach, the real technology issue is how to make a system work as inexpensively as possible. This report gives a brief summary of the EVAS program from its inception and concentrates on describing the activities that occurred during Phase 4. References 1-3 describe activities under Phases 1-3. In the fourth phase of the program, the major effort to be expended was in development of the microcontroller system for the PV, refinement of some system elements and packaging for demonstration purposes. An EVAS system was developed and demonstrated which used standard spread spectrum modems with minor modifications

<i style="">In-Situ</i> Monitoring of Phase Transition and Microstructure Evolution in Ni-Based Superalloys by Electrical Resistivity:Direct Comparison With Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Application to Case Studies

In this study, resistivity measurements are made during continuous heating and cooling on four different Ni-based superalloys of different grain structures and with different phases (i.e., γ′ and carbide). The results are directly compared with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) profiles to identify the material’s resistivity response. The resistivity measurements have been performed using an electro-thermal mechanical testing (ETMT) system having a capability of heating and cooling a sample at a rate of up to 100 K/s by Joule heating, which is not possible with standard heating methods used in previous in-situ microstructure analysis approaches. By comparing different precipitate variations and thermal histories, γ′ volume fraction and precipitate number density are found to be the most important factors determining the resistivity of the materials. In-situ resistivity measurement was applied to several case studies to show that it can provide microstructural information in complex high temperature experiments.<br/

Differential Transcriptome Responses to Aflatoxin B1 in the Cecal Tonsil of Susceptible and Resistant Turkeys

The nearly-ubiquitous food and feed-borne mycotoxin aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is carcinogenic and mutagenic, posing a food safety threat to humans and animals. One of the most susceptible animal species known and thus a good model for characterizing toxicological pathways, is the domesticated turkey (DT), a condition likely due, at least in part, to deficient hepatic AFB1-detoxifying alpha-class glutathione S-transferases (GSTAs). Conversely, wild turkeys (Eastern wild, EW) are relatively resistant to the hepatotoxic, hepatocarcinogenic and immunosuppressive effects of AFB1 owing to functional gene expression and presence of functional hepatic GSTAs. This study was designed to compare the responses in gene expression in the gastrointestinal tract between DT (susceptible phenotype) and EW (resistant phenotype) following dietary AFB1 challenge (320 ppb for 14 days); specifically in cecal tonsil which functions in both nutrient absorption and gut immunity. RNAseq and gene expression analysis revealed significant differential gene expression in AFB1-treated animals compared to control-fed domestic and wild birds and in within-treatment comparisons between bird types. Significantly upregulated expression of the primary hepatic AFB1-activating P450 (CYP1A5) as well as transcriptional changes in tight junction proteins were observed in AFB1-treated birds. Numerous pro-inflammatory cytokines, TGF-β and EGF were significantly down regulated by AFB1 treatment in DT birds and pathway analysis suggested suppression of enteroendocrine cells. Conversely, AFB1 treatment modified significantly fewer unique genes in EW birds; among these were genes involved in lipid synthesis and metabolism and immune response. This is the first investigation of the effects of AFB1 on the turkey gastro-intestinal tract. Results suggest that in addition to the hepatic transcriptome, animal resistance to this mycotoxin occurs in organ systems outside the liver, specifically as a refractory gastrointestinal tract