3,577 research outputs found
The provision of distance education within the HE sector - some areas for concern
This paper presents a summary of the findings of a recent survey of the way in which UK higher education institutions (HEIs) are offering distance education (DE) courses, the types of courses being offered, and their modes of delivery. From analysis of the findings of this survey, it is apparent that the emphasis of HEIs is very much on the exploitation of available teaching technology in the delivery of DE courses. However, teaching at a distance is quite different from face-toface teaching, and the evidence suggests that many HEIs fail to implement any meaningful academic staff training for the new role of DE tutor. The authors consider the difficulties this presents to academic staff who are required to move from face-to-face teaching to online facilitating. The paper concludes with an examination of the current provision of staff development and training within UK HEIs and suggests the type of academic staff training required if DE courses are to become truly core activities
Residential Segregation in the Industrializing City: A Closer Look
This article maps and measures several dimensions of residential segregation in Montreal in 1881, thereby adding to our understanding of the social structure of the industrial city. Taking advantage of an unusual historical database—a historical geographic information system (H-GIS)—we locate 17,000 individual households with precision, and evaluate the dissimilarity of neighborhoods along several social dimensions and at various levels of spatial aggregation. The empirical findings suggest that Montreal was highly segregated along lines of ethnic identity as well as socioeconomic status; segregation values increased inversely with size of the spatial unit, but precision of unit boundaries have negligible effect. Coupling the highprecision GIS with a statistical model such as the classic index of dissimilarity lends new power to grasp the scale of phenomena, to inquire into behavioral choices of 19th-century households, and even to challenge our assumptions about the meaning of segregation or integration
Performance analysis of a parallel, multi-node pipeline for DNA sequencing
Post-sequencing DNA analysis typically consists of read mapping followed by variant calling and is very time-consuming, even on a multi-core machine. Recently, we proposed Halvade, a parallel, multi-node implementation of a DNA sequencing pipeline according to the GATK Best Practices recommendations. The MapReduce programming model is used to distribute the workload among different workers. In this paper, we study the impact of different hardware configurations on the performance of Halvade. Benchmarks indicate that especially the lack of good multithreading capabilities in the existing tools (BWA, SAMtools, Picard, GATK) cause suboptimal scaling behavior. We demonstrate that it is possible to circumvent this bottleneck by using multiprocessing on high-memory machines rather than using multithreading. Using a 15-node cluster with 360 CPU cores in total, this results in a runtime of 1 h 31 min. Compared to a single-threaded runtime of similar to 12 days, this corresponds to an overall parallel efficiency of 53%
Teamwork: Crucible for Learning about Collaborative Leadership
In teaching leadership development we have developed and revised a model of teamwork and collaboration, which has yielded innovative and positive results. Our study draws on insights from more than 90 project teams, gathered over twelve years of a mid-career executive education program designed specifically to teach collaborative leadership. The teams work on a strategic dilemma with a business association or community organization, highlighting the civic engagement aspect of collaborative leadership. Teams devise their own operating procedures, refine (not simply manage) the project, create working relationships with multiple stakeholders, and present a deliverable within the nine-month span of the program. The team experience emphasizes complexity and ongoing reflection. We identify seven concrete leadership skills that emerging leaders developed: coping with ambiguity, working cross-functionally beyond their usual expertise, knowing when to get outside help, understanding different stakeholders, working effectively across dimensions of diversity, dividing labor in a leaderless team, and handing off a project that advances but does not close a complex problem. Rather than implementing flawlessly on a project with defined metrics—which propels potential leaders partway up the ladder—participants shift toward the greater leadership challenges of defining scale and significance, changing course after listening carefully, and learning from obstacles. They emerge from the crucible of teamwork with leadership skills for everyday work and the future
Preparation Of Cationic Polymer Surfaces By Grafting Polymerization
A cationic polymer surface with extensive capacity for adsorption of anionic surfactants was prepared by graft polymerization of vinyl pyridine onto a plasma‐treated polypropylene surface. The nitrogen was quaternized in order to obtain the cationic sites. The concentration dependence of adsorption from high eletrolyte solution of the anionic surfactant was similar to the one a solid surface from solutions with no added electrolyte. The hydrophobic contribution to the adsorption was experienced at surfactant concentrations far below its critical micellization. Copyright © 1982 John Wiley & Sons, Inc
The validity of the brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale.
The Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale [FNE; J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 33 (1969) 448] is a commonly used measure of social anxiety. A brief version of the scale (FNEB) is available for convenient administration. Despite being widely advocated for use, the psychometric properties of the FNEB have not been evaluated with clinically anxious samples. The present study addressed the reliability and validity of the FNEB in a clinical sample of individuals with either social phobia (n = 82) or panic disorder (n = 99) presenting for treatment. Factor analysis supported the construct validity of the FNEB. The validity of the FNEB was further demonstrated through significant correlations with social avoidance and depression, and non-significant correlations with agoraphobic avoidance and demographic variables. The scale obtained excellent inter-item reliability (alpha = .97) and 2-week test-retest reliability (r = .94). Discriminant function analysis also supported validity of the FNEB. For example, individuals with social phobia scored significantly higher on the FNEB than those with panic disorder and a group of non-psychiatric community controls (n = 30). The FNEB was sensitive to pre- to post-CBT changes in both social anxiety and panic disorder, and changes on the FNEB correlated significantly with other measures of treatment responsiveness, such as reductions in somatic arousal, depression and other anxiety symptomatology. These research findings strongly support the validity of the FNEB and its clinical utility as an outcome measure in social anxiety treatment
Constraints on Higher-Order Perturbative Corrections in Semileptonic Decays from Residual Renormalization-Scale Dependence
The constraint of a progressive decrease in residual renormalization scale
dependence with increasing loop order is developed as a method for obtaining
bounds on unknown higher-order perturbative corrections to
renormalization-group invariant quantities. This technique is applied to the
inclusive semileptonic process (explicitly known to
two-loop order) to obtain bounds on the three- and four-loop perturbative
coefficients that are not accessible via the renormalization group. Using the
principle of minimal sensitivity, an estimate is obtained for the perturbative
contributions to that incorporates
theoretical uncertainty from as-yet-undetermined higher order QCD corrections.Comment: latex2e using amsmath, 8 pages, 4 embedded eps figures. Revised
version contains an additional figure and accompanying revision
Using Social Networking for Educational and Cultural Adaptation: An Exploratory Study
This study investigates how an innovative technology, social networking, can be used in the process of building and maintaining social capital and exchanging knowledge in an educational setting. We employ a qualitative methodology, autoethnography, to examine how social networking can help students learn from other classmates and professors, exchange knowledge, and adjust both to a new program of study and to living in the United States. Using the theoretical foundation of social capital (Jacobs, 1960) and a social support framework created by Drentea and Moren-Cross (2005), autobiographical narratives are classified as instrumental support, emotional support, and community building. Our findings provide evidence that social networking sites can enhance social capital through these mechanisms in a doctoral education context, and our research serves as an important first step in addressing a gap in educational and cultural adaptation studies using social networking tools
Psychometric Assessment of the Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire: Comparing a Brief Version to the Original Full Scale
The current set of studies compared the psychometric properties of the original Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire (CEOA) to a 15-item version (B-CEOA) in a nonclinical undergraduate sample (N = 581), and attempted to replicate and extend the B-CEOA findings in an undergraduate sample referred to an alcohol intervention (N = 734). Psychometric assessment included construct validity, internal consistency, and concurrent validity, using both “positive” and “negative” expectancy items in all analyses. Results provided further support for the empirical validity of the original CEOA, and provided support for the use of the B-CEOA despite the reduction in the number of items. The B-CEOA factor structures obtained using exploratory and confirmatory techniques provided support for a 4-factor structure of expectancies and 3-factor structure of valuations. Findings reveal potential problems with “positive” and “negative” expectancy items. Trade-offs regarding factor structure, internal consistency, and administration time should be considered in using the B-CEOA vs. the CEOA
- …