Chart Your Course

Library instruction is most effective when thoughtfully developed with faculty and integrated in a course. But how do you determine which faculty partnerships will have the most impact? In this poster, we discuss the process of curriculum mapping in an agriculture program, how it reveals new opportunities for library instruction, and pitfalls to avoid when charting your course. In fall 2016, librarians at the University of Tennessee Hodges Library and Pendergrass Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Library developed learning outcomes for library instruction and services using feedback from staff and the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. We mapped or coded the outcomes to learning objectives in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) at the department and course level. We analyzed frequency patterns in the data to determine (a) which library outcomes are most important to CASNR undergraduate and graduate programs and (b) which departments and courses have the greatest overlap with library objectives. The patterns identified key players who would benefit most from additional library instruction, as well as gaps in instruction and resources. Finally, we developed visual mind maps to illustrate how library instruction supports the college and to serve as an outreach tool. Curriculum mapping is a useful exercise but not without challenges. Lessons learned include: be willing to train library staff on writing effective learning outcomes; investigate your institution’s ability and willingness to provide their objectives; and be flexible and consider alternative ways to connect with the curriculum

Whitebark Pine Stand Condition, Tree Abundance, and Cone Production as Predictors of Visitation by Clark's Nutcracker

Accurately quantifying key interactions between species is important for developing effective recovery strategies for threatened and endangered species. Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act, depends on Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) for seed dispersal. As whitebark pine succumbs to exotic disease and mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae), cone production declines, and nutcrackers visit stands less frequently, reducing the probability of seed dispersal.We quantified whitebark pine forest structure, health metrics, and the frequency of nutcracker occurrence in national parks within the Northern and Central Rocky Mountains in 2008 and 2009. Forest health characteristics varied between the two regions, with the northern region in overall poorer health. Using these data, we show that a previously published model consistently under-predicts the proportion of survey hours resulting in nutcracker observations at all cone density levels. We present a new statistical model of the relationship between whitebark pine cone production and the probability of Clark's nutcracker occurrence based on combining data from this study and the previous study.Our model clarified earlier findings and suggested a lower cone production threshold value for predicting likely visitation by nutcrackers: Although nutcrackers do visit whitebark pine stands with few cones, the probability of visitation increases with increased cone production. We use information theoretics to show that beta regression is a more appropriate statistical framework for modeling the relationship between cone density and proportion of survey time resulting in nutcracker observations. We illustrate how resource managers may apply this model in the process of prioritizing areas for whitebark pine restoration

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified

Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient Method for Solution of Large Finite Element Problems on CPU and GPU

In this article the preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) method, realized on GPU and intended to solution of large finite element problems of structural mechanics, is considered. The mathematical formulation of problem results in solution of linear equation sets with sparse symmetrical positive definite matrices. The authors use incomplete Cholesky factorization by value approach, based on technique of sparse matrices, for creation of efficient preconditioning, which ensures a stable convergence for weakly conditioned problems mentioned above. The research focuses on realization of PCG solver on GPU with using of CUBLAS and CUSPARSE libraries. Taking into account a restricted amount of GPU core memory, the efficiency and reliability of GPU PCG solver are checked and these factors are compared with data obtained with using of CPU version of this solver, working on large amount of RAM. The real-life large problems, taken from SCAD Soft collection, are considered for such a comparison

Filozoficzne refleksje nad turystyką

Celem artykułu jest uwypuklenie istoty turystyki jako środka kształtującego osobowość turysty. W pracy zastosowano metodę analizy danych zastanych, literatury przedmiotu, zasobów źródeł elektronicznych. Analiza zebranego materiału pozwoliła na wysunięcie następujących wniosków: jednym z czynników wpływających na rozwój turystyki jest potrzeba zweryfikowania tradycyjnego pojmowania turystyki. Według autorów, powinno się uwypuklać znaczenie turystyki w aspekcie ideologicznym, kulturowym, humanistycznym, etycznym, poznawczym itp. Biorąc to pod uwagę, rozpatrujemy zjawisko turystyki jako czynnik wpływający na ogólny światopogląd człowieka. W związku z tym, turystyka daje powody do postrzegania jej od strony filozoficznej, zawierającej aspekty epistemologiczne, społeczne, aksjologiczne, duchowe i inne. Rozpatrując fenomen turystyki z filozoficznego punktu widzenia, należy podkreślić, że turystyka sprzyja unifikacji, komunikacji i socjalizacji, jak również rozprzestrzenianiu wartości etycznych w duchu wzajemnego zrozumienia i szacunku.The aim of the article is to reveal the essence of tourism as means of outlook formation of a person. The following research methods were used in the paper: desk research analysis of the literature on the subject, Internet sources. Analysis of the collected material allowed the following conclusions: one of the factors influencing tourism development is the need to verify traditional understanding of tourism. According to the authors, ideological, cultural, humanistic, ethical, cognitive, ets. aspects of tourism should be emphasized. Taking this into account, we consider tourism as a factor influencing general worldview of man. In this regard, tourism gives reasons to perceive it from a philosophical perspective, including epistemological, social, axiological, spiritual and other aspects. When considering the phenomenon of tourism from a philosophical point of view, it should be emphasized that tourism promotes unification, communication and socialization as well as the spread of ethical values in a spirit of mutual understanding and respect

Growing Mine Rescue Capability through Development of University Student Teams

Following a study by NIOSH on the availability of teams in the U.S. as well as existing training sites and their capabilities, the Penn State University, leaders of the Pittsburgh Section of SME, providers of mine rescue equipment, and industry sponsors united to establish and make fully functional a student mine rescue team at Penn State University. With the growth of MERD and mine rescue competitive events at Missouri S&T, the Mine Training and Technology Center in PA, and at Colorado School of Mines Edgar Mine, a critical mass of effective training venues were made available to help student teams progress and develop mine rescue skills. The challenges to be met in creating and developing a student mine rescue team will be discussed. The rewards from this type of effort will be the quick capability of graduates from mining engineering programs to be involved in not only mining operations, but industry mine rescue teams and other leadership roles as well. Copyright © 2012 by SME

The relationship among the age at menarche, anthropometric characteristics, and socio-economic factors in Bengali girls from Kolkata, India

Objectives: The aim of the study was to measure the causal effect of selected socio-economic factors and anthropometrical characteristics on the menarche occurrence. Methods: The sample consisted of 2195 Bengali girls (aged 7-21) from middle-class families, from Kolkata city, India. The age at menarche was recorded from the retrospective data and status quo method. The causal effect of anthropometric and socio-economic variables on menarche occurrence was estimated by the nonparametrical analysis of survival probability (survival random forest). Results: In the examined cohort menarche occurred, on average, at 11.8 years of age. The probability of menarche occurrence amplified with the increasing values of factors such as body mass index, height-for-age z-scores, number of family members, household rooms, and toilets, but decreased when expenditures increased. The relation maintained a similar pattern of causal effect with girls' age. Conclusions: A complex pattern of relationship among sexual development, physique, and socio-economic characteristics was defined. The tendency toward early menarche, along with the observed causal relationships indicate that the analyzed sample is nearing the characteristics and standards of living noted in other middle and even high-income countries in the world