Water waves generated by a moving bottom

Tsunamis are often generated by a moving sea bottom. This paper deals with the case where the tsunami source is an earthquake. The linearized water-wave equations are solved analytically for various sea bottom motions. Numerical results based on the analytical solutions are shown for the free-surface profiles, the horizontal and vertical velocities as well as the bottom pressure.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in a book: "Tsunami and Nonlinear Waves", Kundu, Anjan (Editor), Springer 2007, Approx. 325 p., 170 illus., Hardcover, ISBN: 978-3-540-71255-8, available: May 200

Opportunities and challenges of China’s inquiry-based education reform in middle and high schools: Perspectives of science teachers and teacher educators

Consistent with international trends, an emergent interest in inquiry-based science teaching and learning in K-12 schools is also occurring in China. This study investigates the possibilities for and the barriers to enactment of inquiry-based science education in Chinese schools. Altogether 220 Chinese science teachers, science teacher educators and researchers (primarily from the field of chemistry education) participated in this study in August 2001. Participants represented 13 cities and provinces in China. We administered two questionnaires, one preceding and one following a 3-hour presentation by a US science educator and researcher about inquiry-based teaching and learning theories and practices. In each of three sites in which the study was conducted (Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing), questionnaires were administered, and four representative participants were interviewed. Our coding and analysis of quantifiable questionnaire responses (using a Likert scale), of open-ended responses, and of interview transcripts revealed enthusiastic interest in incorporating inquiry-based teaching and learning approaches in Chinese schools. However, Chinese educators face several challenges: (a) the national college entrance exam needs to align with the goals of inquiry-based teaching; (b) systemic reform needs to happen in order for inquiry-based science to be beneficial to students, including a change in the curriculum, curriculum materials, relevant resources, and teacher professional development; (c) class size needs to be reduced; and (d) an equitable distribution of resources in urban and rural schools needs to occur.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42933/1/10763_2005_Article_1517.pd

Implementing A One-Day Testing Model Improves Timeliness of Workup for Patients with Lung Cancer

Background: Patients with lung cancer often experience stressful delays throughout the diagnostic phase of care. To address that situation, our multidisciplinary team created a “Navigation Day,” during which patients partake in a single-day visit that comprises nurse-led teaching, social work, smoking cessation counselling, symptom control, and dedicated test slots for integrated positron-emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT), pulmonary function tests (PFTS), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. We evaluated the effects of that program on wait times and patient satisfaction. Methods: Patients with a suspicion of lung cancer on chest ct imaging referred during 3 time periods were reviewed: 1 year before launch of the Navigation Day, 1 year post-launch, and 2 years post-launch. Patients were further stratified according to concordance of their test date with a Navigation Day date. Mean wait times for PET/CT, PFTS, and MRI brain were calculated for each group. Patient satisfaction was measured using a standardized provincial survey. The Student t-test and analysis of variance were used to assess for significance. Results: After implementation, mean wait times in the first year improved to 9.2 days from 15.5 days for PET/CT (p < 0.0001), to 9.6 days from 15.7 days for PFTS (p < 0.0001), and to 10.2 days from 16.0 days for MRI brain (p < 0.0001). Patients who used a dedicated test slot experienced the shortest wait times, at 5.8 days for PET/CT, 5.8 days for pfts, and 6.3 days for mri brain (p < 0.0001). Those improvements were sustained at 2 years post-launch. Conclusions: Patient satisfaction in the categories of assistance, emotional support, and clarity remained high post-launch. Navigation Day significantly improved the timeliness of diagnostic testing services in patients with suspected lung cancer

Teachers' participation in school policy: Nature, extent and orientation

Contains fulltext : 64533.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Against the background of several large-scale innovations in secondary agricultural education, this study explores the relation between teachers' professionality and their participation in school policy. For the research into this, 1,030 teachers of 98 schools for preparatory and secondary agricultural education have filled in two questionnaires. On the basis of the results two types of teachers can be distinguished: teachers with a restricted professional orientation (type 1) and teachers with an extended professional orientation (type 2). It appeared that type-1 teachers participate less in school policy than type-2 teachers. This difference, however, is relative: both types of teachers participate in a limited way in the educational policy and in a very limited way in the management policy of the school