Personality dimensions, global and ethical perspectives and engineering students’ ethical decisions

Motivation is an important predictor of ethical awareness; however, it is not easy to assess. The goal of our study is to examine the relationship between motivation and ethical awareness in engineering students. We focus on two personality measures: person-thing orientation and spheres of control and test their association with ethical awareness using engineering scenarios that present ethical dilemmas. We predict that engineering students who score higher on the personality dimension of personthing orientation will display more ethical awareness than those who score lower. We also predict that students with a higher level of personal control will also display more ethical awareness. Two groups of students were involved in the study. Group 1 was formed by fifty-three first-year engineering students from University in the United States and Group 2 was represented by sixty-four sophomore engineering students in Engineering School in Spain. Students worked individually on case studies that presenting ethical dilemmas; they were asked to write short essays describing how they would respond to each situation. Then the essays were analyzed using an ethical reasoning and a global awareness rubric. Results revealed that 1) the context/nature of the students’ responses to the case study varied greatly, 2) personality traits and global and ethical perspective, all correlate to students’ ethical decisions as measured by their responses to the case studies scores, 3) there is an alignment between the SOC and the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI) dimensions that merits further exploration

Emerging Technology Tools for Qualitative Data Collection

Emerging technology tools enable qualitative researchers to collect text, audio, and visual data any time and any place. However, given many of these tools are cloud-based, they also present questions regarding security and confidential data collection. The uses, advantages, and drawbacks of emerging technology tools used for note-taking, collecting, managing, and sharing various forms of data will be presented within the context of qualitative data collection in instructional technology

Pdlim7 is required for maintenance of the mesenchymal/epidermal Fgf signaling feedback loop during zebrafish pectoral fin development

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vertebrate limb development involves a reciprocal feedback loop between limb mesenchyme and the overlying apical ectodermal ridge (AER). Several gene pathways participate in this feedback loop, including Fgf signaling. In the forelimb lateral plate mesenchyme, Tbx5 activates Fgf10 expression, which in turn initiates and maintains the mesenchyme/AER Fgf signaling loop. Recent findings have revealed that Tbx5 transcriptional activity is regulated by dynamic nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and interaction with Pdlim7, a PDZ-LIM protein family member, along actin filaments. This Tbx5 regulation is critical in heart formation, but the coexpression of both proteins in other developing tissues suggests a broader functional role.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Knock-down of Pdlim7 function leads to decreased pectoral fin cell proliferation resulting in a severely stunted fin phenotype. While early gene induction and patterning in the presumptive fin field appear normal, the pectoral fin precursor cells display compaction and migration defects between 18 and 24 hours post-fertilization (hpf). During fin growth <it>fgf24 </it>is sequentially expressed in the mesenchyme and then in the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). However, in <it>pdlim7 </it>antisense morpholino-treated embryos this switch of expression is prevented and <it>fgf24 </it>remains ectopically active in the mesenchymal cells. Along with the lack of <it>fgf24 </it>in the AER, other critical factors including <it>fgf8 </it>are reduced, suggesting signaling problems to the underlying mesenchyme. As a consequence of perturbed AER function in the absence of Pdlim7, pathway components in the fin mesenchyme are misregulated or absent, indicating a breakdown of the Fgf signaling feedback loop, which is ultimately responsible for the loss of fin outgrowth.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This work provides the first evidence for the involvement of Pdlim7 in pectoral fin development. Proper fin outgrowth requires <it>fgf24 </it>downregulation in the fin mesenchyme with subsequent activation in the AER, and Pdlim7 appears to regulate this transition, potentially through Tbx5 regulation. By controlling Tbx5 subcellular localization and transcriptional activity and possibly additional yet unknown means, Pdlim7 is required for proper development of the heart and the fins. These new regulatory mechanisms may have important implications how we interpret Tbx5 function in congenital hand/heart syndromes in humans.</p

Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Habitat Monitoring and Assessment - 2010 Final Report

For the last two decades, the Cape Sable seaside sparrow (CSSS), a federally endangered species, has been a pivot point for water management operations in the Everglades, primarily because a decline in sparrow population in the early 1990s was attributed in part to managementinduced alterations in hydrologic regimes. With a goal of understanding the response of landscape-level processes to hydrological restoration and its interaction with fire, a study intended to monitor vegetation structure and composition throughout the marl prairie landscape has been conducted since 2003 with funding from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). In the first three years (2003-2005), vegetation structure and composition was characterized in relation to the existing hydrologic regime and fire history. During 2006-2010, vegetation was resampled to assess vegetation change within the sparrow habitat. This document summarizes the vegetation change pattern observed between the two sampling periods in sub-population A, C, E and F, emphasizing the work accomplished in FY 2010

100% RAG: Architectural Education | Theory vs. Practice, Volume 2, Number 4

100% RAG: Architectural Education | Theory vs. Practice, Syracuse School of Architecture, Student Newspaper, Volume 2, Number 4. Student newsletter from student contributors of Syracuse School of Architecture in 1977

Extreme oceanographic forcing and coastal response due to the 2015-2016 El Nino

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation is the dominant mode of interannual climate variability across the Pacific Ocean basin, with influence on the global climate. The two end members of the cycle, El Niño and La Niña, force anomalous oceanographic conditions and coastal response along the Pacific margin, exposing many heavily populated regions to increased coastal flooding and erosion hazards. However, a quantitative record of coastal impacts is spatially limited and temporally restricted to only the most recent events. Here we report on the oceanographic forcing and coastal response of the 2015–2016 El Niño, one of the strongest of the last 145 years. We show that winter wave energy equalled or exceeded measured historical maxima across the US West Coast, corresponding to anomalously large beach erosion across the region. Shorelines in many areas retreated beyond previously measured landward extremes, particularly along the sediment-starved California coast

Exploring the Nexus of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias with Cancer and Cancer Therapies

Recent population studies suggest an intriguing inverse relationship between several types of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Understanding the intersection of the underlying biology for these two distinct families of diseases with one another may offer novel approaches to identify new therapeutic approaches and possible opportunities to repurpose existing drug candidates. The Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation convened a one day workshop to delve into this discussion. Workshop participants outlined research focus areas, potential collaborations and partnerships for future action

Genome Sequencing Reveals Widespread Virulence Gene Exchange among Human Neisseria Species

Commensal bacteria comprise a large part of the microbial world, playing important roles in human development, health and disease. However, little is known about the genomic content of commensals or how related they are to their pathogenic counterparts. The genus Neisseria, containing both commensal and pathogenic species, provides an excellent opportunity to study these issues. We undertook a comprehensive sequencing and analysis of human commensal and pathogenic Neisseria genomes. Commensals have an extensive repertoire of virulence alleles, a large fraction of which has been exchanged among Neisseria species. Commensals also have the genetic capacity to donate DNA to, and take up DNA from, other Neisseria. Our findings strongly suggest that commensal Neisseria serve as reservoirs of virulence alleles, and that they engage extensively in genetic exchange