Purpose as Content and Pedagogy: Rationale-Development as a Core Theme of Social Studies Teacher Education

Grounded in a belief in the transformative possibilities of social studies teacher education, I present an argument for considering the development of purpose as both content and pedagogy of social studies teacher education. As part of developing a coherent pedagogy of rationale-based social studies teacher education, I begin by exploring the influence of competing conceptions regarding the purpose of social studies teaching and learning on the work of social studies teacher educators. Next, I consider three distinct paths social studies teacher educators have taken to prepare teacher candidates for content and pedagogical decision-making as first-year teachers. While each has potential, I contend that they each miss an important first step – considering why teacher candidates want to teach social studies. Drawing on a growing body of research on rationale development, and my work as a teacher educator, I propose forging a new path. Situated in rationale-development as a core theme of social studies teacher education, and built on a conception of purpose as content and pedagogy, this path is designed to bridge the gap between rationale development and the subsequent rationale-based practices of beginning teachers

Effects of Dredge Material Placement on Macroinvertebrate Communities: Phase 1

ID: 8809; issued October 1, 1998INHS Technical Report prepared for Rock Island District, US Army Corps of Engineer

Identifying prognostic structural features in tissue sections of colon cancer patients using point pattern analysis

Diagnosis and prognosis of cancer is informed by the architecture inherent in cancer patient tissue sections. This architecture is typically identified by pathologists, yet advances in computational image analysis facilitate quantitative assessment of this structure. In this article we develop a spatial point process approach in order to describe patterns in cell distribution within tissue samples taken from colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. In particular, our approach is centered on the Palm intensity function. This leads to taking an approximate-likelihood technique in fitting point processes models. We consider two Neyman-Scott point processes and a void process, fitting these point process models to the CRC patient data. We find that the parameter estimates of these models may be used to quantify the spatial arrangement of cells. Importantly, we observe characteristic differences in the spatial arrangement of cells between patients who died from CRC and those alive at follow-up

Sentinel-based Surveillance of Coyotes to Detect Bovine Tuberculosis, Michigan

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the northeastern portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Bovine TB in deer and cattle has created immense fi nancial consequences for the livestock industry and hunting public. Surveillance identified coyotes (Canis latrans) as potential bio-accumulators of Mycobacterium bovis, a finding that generated interest in their potential to serve as sentinels for monitoring disease risk. We sampled 175 coyotes in the bovine TB–endemic area. Fifty-eight tested positive, and infection prevalence by county ranged from 19% to 52% (statistical mean 33%, SE 0.07). By contrast, prevalence in deer (n = 3,817) was lower (i.e., 1.49%; Mann-Whitney U4,4 = 14, pM. bovis by 40%. As a result of reduced sampling intensity, sentinel coyote surveys have the potential to be practical indicators of M. bovis presence in wildlife and livestock

How U.S. Ocean Policy and Market Power Can Reform the Coral Reef Wildlife Trade

As the world’s largest importer of marine ornamental species for the aquaria, curio, home décor, and jewelry industries, the United States has an opportunity to leverage its considerable market power to promote more sustainable trade and reduce the effects of ornamental trade stress on coral reefs worldwide. Evidence indicates that collection of some coral reef animals for these trades has caused virtual elimination of local populations, major changes in age structure, and promotion of collection practices that destroy reef habitats. Management and enforcement of collection activities in major source countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines remain weak. Strengthening US trade laws and enforcement capabilities combined with increasing consumer and industry demand for responsible conservation can create strong incentives for improving management in source countries. This is particularly important in light of the March 2010 failure of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to take action on key groups of corals

Evaluating Puget Sound Marine Protected Areas to Improve MPA Policy and Implementation

In 2009, an inventory concluded there were 127 MPAs across the State of Washington. Despite this large number, relatively little is known about how well the MPAs are managed or how to improve their effectiveness, particularly in the Puget Sound. To understand how Puget Sound MPAs function from a social-ecological perspective, we will investigate the following key research questions: (1) What conditions and processes lead to successful MPA implementation?; (2) What are the opportunities for Puget Sound MPA planning processes to improve MPA management effectiveness and declare new, successful MPAs?; and (3) Should MPAs be used to increase social-ecological resilience in response to rockfish recovery needs, habitat loss, changing use patterns of Puget Sound resources, ocean acidification, and concomitant climate stresses? We will investigate these questions using literature reviews, key informant interviews, survey instruments, semi-structured interviews, and reviews of ecological monitoring data. Additionally, we will perform a scenario-planning workshop to improve MPA management, help resolve long-standing disagreements between various constituency groups, and possibly identify new MPA sites. We will also investigate whether impacts from climate change could serve as a potential “common ground” between disparate stakeholders for designing and evaluating spatial conservation strategies in a changing environment. Treaty tribes, who have unique rights and authorities as resource co-managers, are explicitly included in our research and scenario planning exercise. The objective of our presentation is to share our preliminary project design and solicit feedback to potentially improve it

Implementation of Physical Employment Standards for Physically Demanding Occupations

Objective: The aim of this paper was to describe an approach to implementing and integrating physical employment standards into an organisational procedure, to ensure the safe and effective supervision of physical fitness of workers in a physically demanding occupation, using a real-world example. Methods: Using previously published cardiorespiratory, muscular strength and endurance physical demands data from UK firefighters, a process to manage all levels of physical capability was developed with industry stakeholders. Results: Performance standards and associated cut-scores relating to acceptable, uncertain, and unacceptable job performance, using a traffic-light style process, were agreed by stakeholders to ensure the safe and effective management of incumbent’s physical fitness. Conclusions: This paper describes the processes involved in implementing a physical capability management procedure, for the administration of routine in-service physical employment standards and tests in the UK Fire & Rescue Service

ROSIsat

As the cost of sending satellites into space continues to drive down, the use of CubeSats for orbital missions continues to rise. Even though these satellites are smaller than traditional satellites, they still provide the ability to take on important science-based missions at a fraction of the cost. The Radiation Orbital Shielding Investigation satellite (ROSIsat) otherwise known as Project Hermes, will be the first student-built satellite for Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus. The main research mission of Project Hermes consists of shielding onboard flight computer memory modules from space radiation using various materials and substances. These materials include simulated Martian and Lunar regolith. To send a student-built CubeSat to space, the Hermes team is designing and integrating the majority of the satellite’s components in-house. These in-house components include the CubeSat’s electronics system, avionics, payload bay, and magnetorquer. Project Hermes will provide students with educational, technical, scientific, and legal knowledge that can be applied in their respective futures