The Re-Education of an Old Debater

Recounts the experience of joining a faculty debate on the issue of changing a university\u27s quarter system to a semester system in the U.S. Modification on the style of argumentation to better match that of non-debaters; Overview of the format for the debate; Lessons learned from the debate after hours of research and oral/e-mail argument

Academic Council Meeting Agenda and Minutes, January 8, 1990

Agenda and minutes from the Wright State University Academic Council Meeting held on January 8, 1990

More Self-Evident Truths for Departmental Governance

This article provides some thoughts about the pitfalls and problems associated with the lowest-level of academic administration. If nothing else, service as department chair can open the eyes to the real world of petty faculty politics in a way unknown and unseen by a regular faculty member. Finally, a new department chairperson must be aware that every move made on behalf of the department, every decision rendered, regardless of its mundane nature, will be scrutinized by colleagues for selfish intent. Graduate school does not prepare a person for service as departmental chairperson, nor do years of service as a regular full-time faculty member

Academic Council Meeting Agenda and Minutes, October 2, 1989

Agenda and minutes from the Wright State University Academic Council Meeting held on October 2, 1989

Academic Council Meeting Agenda and Minutes, January 9, 1995

Agenda and minutes from the Wright State University Academic Council Meeting held on January 9, 1995

Academic Council Meeting Agenda and Minutes, March 6, 1995

Agenda and minutes from the Wright State University Academic Council Meeting held on March 6, 1995

Teaching versus Research: An Imbalance of Importance?

This article features two essays presenting the major argumentative positions advanced by teams Robert E. Pruett and James E. Sayer and Norbert H. Mills and David E. Tucker, regarding the topic: Resolved: that teaching and research are mutually-exclusive activities. Pruett and Sayer upheld the affirmative position on the resolution, while Mills and Tucker upheld the negative. In the traditional sense, it is easy to claim that the function of a professor is twofold: to be an effective and creative teacher and, at the same time, be able to accumulate and disseminate knowledge through research. Regardless of what is said, teaching has become subservient to research and, while the responsibility of faculty members is to remain current in their fields, research is a separate activity that does not necessarily make one a better teacher and certainly is exclusive from the teaching function. N. Mills and D. Tucker contend that there is no constituency because teaching has been devalued and separated from research

The effect of brevenal on brevetoxin-induced DNA damage in human lymphocytes

Brevenal is a nontoxic short-chain trans-syn polyether that competes with brevetoxin (PbTx) for the active site on voltage-sensitive sodium channels. The PbTxs are highly potent polyether toxins produced during blooms of several species of marine dinoflagellates, most notably Karenia brevis. Blooms of K. brevis have been associated with massive fish kills, marine mammal poisoning, and are potentially responsible for adverse human health effects such as respiratory irritation and airway constriction in beach-goers. Additionally, the consumption of shellfish contaminated with PbTxs results in neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether PbTx could induce DNA damage in a human cell type, the lymphocyte, and if so, whether the damage could be antagonized or ameliorated by brevenal, a brevetoxin antagonist. The DNA damage may occur through both endogenous and exogenous physiological and pathophysiological processes. Unrepaired or erroneously repaired DNA damage may result in gene mutation, chromosome aberration, and modulation of gene regulation, which have been associated with immunotoxicity and carcinogenesis. A single-cell gel electrophoresis assay, or comet assay, was used to determine and compare DNA damage following various treatments. The data were expressed as tail moments, which is the percentage of DNA in the tail multiplied by the length between the center of the head and center of the tail (in arbitrary units). The negative control tail moment was 29.2 (SE=±0.9), whereas the positive control (hydrogen peroxide) was 72.1 (1.5) and solvent (ethanol) was 24.2 (2.1). The PbTx-2 (from Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA), 10−8 M was 41.3 (3.6), PbTx-9 (Sigma), 10−8 M was 57.0 (5.3), PbTx-2 (from University of North Carolina at Wilmington, UNCW), 10−8 M was 49.4 (9.9), and PbTx-3 (UNCW), 10−8 M was 64.0 (6.4). 1.0 μg/ml brevenal applied 1 h before the PbTxs protected the lymphocytes from DNA damage; PbTx-2 (Sigma), 31.3 (2.1); PbTx-9 (Sigma), 35.5 (2.9); PbTx-2 (UNCW), 33.9 (1.4); PbTx-3 (UNCW), 34.9 (1.25). The tail moment for 1.0 μg/ml brevenal alone was 30.8 (2.6). The results indicate that extensive genotoxic damage is induced by PbTx-2 and 9 (Sigma), and PbTx-2 and 3 (UNCW) in normal human lymphocytes, which is fully antagonized by brevenal. This suggests that the immune systems of individuals exposed to PbTx during harmful algal bloom (HAB) events may be at risk. Originally published Archives in Toxicology, Vol. 79, No. 11, Nov 200

Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety System (IVBSS): Heavy truck extended pilot test summary report

This report describes the findings and recommendations from the heavy-truck (HT) extended pilot test (EPT) conducted by University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and its partners under the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) program. The EPT was conducted to provide evidence of system performance (alert rate and reliable operation) and driver acceptance prior to conduct of the field operational test (FOT). The results of this test were to be used to modify the HT system performance and functionality as required, prior to the start of the FOT. The EPT entailed use of an integrated crash warning system in a heavy truck by seven drivers, over a period of five days each, in the course of their regular duties as drivers for Con-way Freight at the Ann Arbor distribution center. The test lasted four weeks starting on November 10 and ending December 12, 2008; the resultant data represent 5,300 miles of system use. The extended pilot test of the heavy truck platform on the IVBSS program successfully evaluated system performance and driver acceptance. Driver recruitment and training procedures were tested, as were the driver survey and debriefing methodologies. The warning system and data acquisition hardware operated reliably through the EPT. However, the warning system had an alert rate that was higher than anticipated based on previous testing. Nonetheless, drivers were generally still accepting of the system. Valuable data obtained from the EPT have led to further system performance improvements in the detection of stopped and slower-moving objects by the FCW subsystem in order to reduce the alert rate, and these enhancements have been implemented into the heavy truck fleet for the full field operational test.U.S. Department of Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62989/1/102284.pd

Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) light vehicle platform field operational test data analysis plan

This document presents the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute’s plan to perform analysis of data collected from the light vehicle platform field operational test of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) program. The purpose of the IVBSS program is to evaluate the effectiveness of, and driver acceptance for, state-of-the-art integrated crash warning systems for both passenger cars and commercial trucks. The light vehicle platform in the IVBSS FOT includes four integrated crash-warning subsystems (forward crash, lateral drift, curve speed, and lane-change/merge crash warnings). The integrated crash warning system is installed into a fleet of 16 passenger cars, each of which is instrumented to capture detailed data regarding the driving environment, driver behavior, warning system activity, and vehicle kinematics. The cars will be operated by 108 randomly selected, licensed drivers from southeast Michigan. Each driver operates the instrumented car in place of the car they normally drive for a period of 40 days—including a 12-day baseline period. Data on driver acceptance for the integrated system are being collected through a post-drive survey and debriefings. The plan describes analyses that emphasize a summary of integrated crash warning system activity, examine how the integrated system affects driver behavior, and assess driver acceptance for the integrated system. The analyses are intended to be complementary to analyses being performed by an independent evaluator, the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Administration ITS Joint Program Officehttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64505/1/102497.pd