Nature tables: Discovering Children's interest in natural objects

Primary school pupils in the UK today may be less familiar with natural objects, less exposed to formal natural history teaching and have less time given to school-based observation and discussion of natural objects. This study of children’s responses to a ‘Nature Table’ of displayed natural objects was designed to assess pupils’ knowledge of those objects, the sources of their knowledge and the phenomenological nature of those children’s interest in items which they selected to talk about or to photograph. Children in the study were drawn from the first year of formal schooling (age 5-6) and the fifth year of formal schooling (age 9-10). Responses have been recorded and analysed using a simple systemic network. Results show that pupils are attracted most towards items with: an animate or novel nature or appearance, or for which they have some prior familiarity. Items are also attractive if they have aesthetic attributes, which display some responsiveness to the child or engage with the child’s previous experience, or elicit affective feeling. The present study reveals a greater home-based, rather than school-based, source for much of this experience and suggests how the criteria for teachers selecting natural objects for learning in school might be improved

Insertion sequence elements in Yersinia: Nucleotide sequence of IS100 of Yersinia pestis

The World Health Organization classified (Williams, 1983) Y. pestis as Y. pseudotuberculosis subsp. pestis on the basis of DNA homology, yet the two organisms cause markedly different disease. Portnoy and Falkow (1981) reported IS100 to influence the virulence of Y. pestis. IS100 was shown to be found in Y. pestis but not Y. pseudotuberculosis. IS100 from Y. pestis was sequenced and shown by sequence analysis to fulfill the requirements of being an IS element. pIS1C, an 821 bp fragment of IS100 was transferred to Y. pseudotuberculosis Trp-Ca-, resulting in the ability of the cells to ferment rhamnose and delayed production of urease at 37\sp\circC but not at 26\sp\circC. These traits are normally associated with Y. pestis. Maxicell analysis revealed more products and larger products than could be expected from the coding capacity of the clone. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis demonstrated a complex rearrangement of protein profile based on the presence of pIS1C. These data clearly indicate the thermo-regulatory involvement of IS100 at the molecular level

Investigating history of concussion and data from head impact telemetry (xPatch) in relation to neuropsychological outcomes in a sample of adult rugby players in Cape Town

While Rugby Union has worldwide popularity, with over 5 million registered and nonregistered players participating every year, the game lends itself to a high incidence of concussion among players. Rugby players, more so than that recorded for any other contact sport, including American Football, are also more frequently exposed to head collisions not resulting in concussion (i.e., subconcussive head injuries). Despite some evidence for a potential association between such injuries and acute neurological and neuropsychological difficulties, which may at times persist among some players, overt symptoms still guide the initial on-field response for further concussion management to be initiated. The aim of this study was threefold: 1) to investigate the relationship between rugby players' history of concussion and neuropsychological outcomes, 2) to explore the use of a head impact telemetry (HIT) device in describing high-impact head collisions (and potentially subconcussive injuries), and 3) to explore the relationship between that HIT data and neuropsychological outcomes. Study 1 investigated differences between non-contact sport participants (n = 23) and rugby players with (Rugby Concussed; n = 31), and without a history of concussion (Rugby Not Concussed; n = 26) in a baseline cognitive assessment. Results showed that at the beginning of the rugby season there were no differences in cognitive abilities at a group level; a more severe concussion history was largely not associated with a poorer performance on these cognitive outcomes. Study 2 was a pilot study utilising the xPatch to objectively capture a rugby player's exposure to head impacts in an amateur rugby team (UCT IRL team; n = 8). Although the majority of impacts captured were of a 'mild' severity, there were many acceleration forces, particularly rotational accelerations, recorded above an injury threshold potentially implicated with concussion. Following from this, Study 3 used a prospective and repeated-measures design with the same UCT IRL team, to evaluate a means for investigating a player's neuropsychological vulnerability to high-impact subconcussive head injuries. Using correlational analyses, the Reliable Change Index (RCI) and head collision data from Study 2, there was a lack of evidence to indicate that player's increased exposure to repeated high-impact head collisions results in a generally poorer neuropsychological performance. However, a number of test practice effects are noted. Combined, these findings suggest that (a) identifying possible enduring neuropsychological difficulties retrospectively is limited, and issues such as test-practice effects and test sensitivity should be considered in future, preferably prospective studies, (b) rugby players are vulnerable to sustaining multiple high-impact subconcussive head injuries and the data suggests utility in including HIT like the xPatch, and (c) that implementing a multi-faceted protocol for monitoring rugby players' that negates a reliance on concussion diagnosis is necessary to better understanding individual recovery trajectories

Contemporary learning environments: designing e-learning for education in the professions

Designing e-learning environments for quality professional education is a challenge for education designers, as the continuing practice of simply moving courses online can be surprisingly disabling. We argue that as universities strive to educate for excellence in professional practice, design approaches for the e-learning components must be conceptualized in a broader view of a contemporary learning environment involving integrated virtual and physical dimensions. These are comprehensively considered in an integrated way to facilitate learning experiences providing an emphasis on grounded practice. Our paper considers learning environments in the service of a broader understanding of a professional &quot;practicum.&quot; In providing the more flexible, immediate and evolving virtual experiences, e-learning as a feature must take account of a range of education design considerations we model in a framework of elements. These are outlined, and broader issues are illuminated through a comparative case analysis of educational technology developments at Deakin University in the two professional fields of teaching and journalism. The Education Studies Online (ESO) project and the HOTcopy newsroom simulation project exemplify elements of the approach recommended in addressing the challenges of quality professional education. We highlight the generative role of the education designer in adopting an integrative and strategic stance, when creating such environments. Implications for the selection and use of various e-learning resources and corporate e-learning systems become evident as we highlight the dangers of a returning &quot;instructional industrialism&quot; as we risk allowing courses to &quot;move online&quot;, rather than moving towards proposed features of contemporary learning environments. <br /

Creating and sustaining quality e-learning environments of enduring value for teachers and learners

Australian universities continue staking a claim on the future of e-learning, acquiring Learning Management Systems (LMS) as rapidly as universities overseas. Much is published on processes and criteria for selecting the best LMS for an organisation\u27s needs and attempts to establish training and support mechanisms for deploying these systems. Beyond initial efforts to commission these technologies, particularly in the hands of teachers and students, what should happen to ensure these commitments yield real educational value in the long term? The search for and realisation of systemic and substantial new value requires a more profound reconceptualisation of what it means to design and work within contemporary learning environments, incorporating e-learning, in support of excellence in educational outcomes. This demands the foregrounding of the role of the academic teacher in the system in relation to other parties who can make important educational contributions in support of student learning. Central to new strategies is a transformation of the role of academic teacher, but on terms understood by them and supportive of their educational values. Six areas of value creation for teachers and learners are considered in relation to this transformation.<br /

Empirical investigation of enhanced air fins

Enhanced convective heat transfer surfaces have been a subject of interest for quite some time. Many different methods have been used to increase the amount of heat transfered from a surface. However, nearly all surface enhancement methods come with a price, frictional losses. This thesis studies the use of enhanced convective heat transfer surfaces on air fins in the laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow regimes with emphasis on the transitional regime. A major goal of this thesis is to further the understanding of the influence of an enhanced wall geometry on the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. Causing the flow to transition at a lower Reynolds number is typically a desirable effect because heat transfer from the surface is increased with a relatively small frictional loss increase --Abstract, page iii

Single Event Transients in Linear Integrated Circuits

On November 5, 2001, a processor reset occurred on board the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP), a NASA mission to measure the anisotropy of the microwave radiation left over from the Big Bang. The reset caused the spacecraft to enter a safehold mode from which it took several days to recover. Were that to happen regularly, the entire mission would be compromised, so it was important to find the cause of the reset and, if possible, to mitigate it. NASA assembled a team of engineers that included experts in radiation effects to tackle the problem. The first clue was the observation that the processor reset occurred during a solar event characterized by large increases in the proton and heavy ion fluxes emitted by the sun. To the radiation effects engineers on the team, this strongly suggested that particle radiation might be the culprit, particularly when it was discovered that the reset circuit contained three voltage comparators (LM139). Previous testing revealed that large voltage transients, or glitches appeared at the output of the LM139 when it was exposed to a beam of heavy ions [NI96]. The function of the reset circuit was to monitor the supply voltage and to issue a reset command to the processor should the voltage fall below a reference of 2.5 V [PO02]. Eventually, the team of engineers concluded that ionizing particle radiation from the solar event produced a negative voltage transient on the output of one of the LM139s sufficiently large to reset the processor on MAP. Fortunately, as of the end of 2004, only two such resets have occurred. The reset on MAP was not the first malfunction on a spacecraft attributed to a transient. That occurred shortly after the launch of NASA s TOPEX/Poseidon satellite in 1992. It was suspected, and later confirmed, that an anomaly in the Earth Sensor was caused by a transient in an operational amplifier (OP-15) [KO93]. Over the next few years, problems on TDRS, CASSINI, [PR02] SOHO [HA99,HA01] and TERRA were also attributed to transients. In some cases, such events produced resets by falsely triggering circuits designed to protect against over- voltage or over-current. On at least three occasions, transients caused satellites to switch into "safe mode" in which most of the systems on board the satellites were powered down for an extended period. By the time the satellites were reconfigured and returned to full operational state, much scientific data had been lost. Fortunately, no permanent damage occurred in any of the systems and they were all successfully re-activated

Are Public Officials Obstacles to Citizen-Centered E-Government? An Examination of Municipal Administrators’ Motivations and Actions

This study investigates why municipal officials have not fully taken advantage of the interactive features of the Internet to bring citizens closer to their governments. Studies show that although the Internet has great potential to improve government–citizen relations, many governments at all levels have not taken advantage of this potential to improve Web site deliberative features to enhance online citizen participation in the policy process. Based on the data analysis from a survey of local government chief administrative officers in five Midwestern states, the authors find evidence that city officials have not taken advantage of the Internet to bring citizens closer to their governments because these officials strongly prefer traditional citizen participation to Internet-based citizen participation. In addition, deployment of resources to support online participation is restrained by the low preference for Internet-based citizen participation. These findings call into question the widespread assumption that public officials enthusiastically embrace the movement toward e-democracy