The Giant Branches of Open and Globular Clusters in the Infrared as Metallicity Indicators: A Comparison with Theory

We apply the giant branch slope-[Fe/H] relation derived by Kuchinski et al. [AJ, 109, 1131 (1995)] to a sample of open clusters. We find that the slope of the giant branch in K vs. (J-K) color-magnitude diagrams correlates with [Fe/H] for open clusters as it does for metal-rich globular clusters but that the open cluster data are systematically shifted to less negative values of giant branch slope, at constant [Fe/H]. We use isochrone models to examine the theoretical basis for this relationship and find that for a given value of [Fe/H], the slope of the relationship remains constant with decreasing population age but the relation shifts to less negative values of giant branch slope with decreasing age. Both of these theoretical predictions agree with the trends found in the data. Finally, we derive new coefficients for the giant branch slope-[Fe/H] relation for specific members of 3 populations, metal-rich globular clusters, bulge stars and open clusters.Comment: 16 pages including 3 figures (AASTEX), AJ Accepted, also available at http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~martini/pubs.htm

Global Warming and Religion

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. Introduction John A. Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker argue that it is the responsibility for religious people and organizations to combat the environmental crises, including global warming. David C. Barker and David H. Bearce, however, describe the end-times belief that some Christians follow which leads many to disregard the current effects of the ecological crises. I will support the views of Grim and Tucker as well as discuss the current responses toward the ecological crises

Part I: Modeling Media-related Educational Competencies

The following part is concerned with modeling media-related educational competencies from a theoretical viewpoint. First, the state of research in both countries will be summarized in the following chapter by a selection of central, related models and frameworks from an international context and from the USA and Germany. Generally, all competency models share a certain dependence on their national or international background or origin. This is true for deductively derived models, which mirror a certain selection of sources considered important by the researchers, and it is equally true for inductively developed models, reflecting practices and experiences from a specific background. Hence, the structure of presentation follows the objective of including a wide range of respective backgrounds. Although the main focus of this dissertation is on a comparison of Germany and the USA, it is yet valuable to include international models in the following considerations as well. Characterized by an explicitly broad applicability and impact, they offer a contrast and enrichen the perspective with potentially different foci and emphases. Hence, the perspective will be widened to international models first and then narrowed down to the USA and Germany, as the two countries of key interest

Evaluation Strategies for Risk Assessment and Usability of Medical Plasma Sources in Dermatology

This body of work provides descriptions of test systems, which can be used for a detailed assessment of physical, non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) devices with regard to bio-medically relevant performance parameters. To establish and perform experiments, two different plasma sources were used: the plasma jet type kINPen® MED and a µs-pulsed volume dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) device. On the basis of a general physico-technical characterization of the two sources, evaluation strategies were developed to comparatively study (1) immediate cell damages after APP treatments and (2) to test if APPs cause genetic alterations in cellular DNA. Since the dermatological use of APP devices was of major interest in this thesis, different human skin fibroblast lines were used for plasma experiments. With the test systems, cell-type dependent effects of APP can be compared; moreover, a direct comparison of plasma-type dependent effects is also feasible. The first part of this thesis presents common test systems for the basic physical characterization, which include measurements of electric current, gas temperature and resulting thermal output, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and emission of potentially unhealthy gases. Based on these measurements, a risk assessment was possible, which indicate that the two sources can be safely used as medical tools, but also exhibit plasma-specific handling and application requirements. Furthermore, a number of bio-medically relevant performance parameters of the sources were investigated: inactivation efficiency against pathogens, cytotoxicity on human skin fibroblasts, and chemical changes of plasma-treated phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution. The results demonstrated that the impact of APPs on cells differ due to their different physical and chemical properties. Most, but not all, of the test systems presented here were published in the context of a cooperation with other groups as German DIN-Specification 91315. The second part of the thesis presents test systems for the assessment of long-term damages. The genotoxic and mutagenic effects of plasmas on isolated and cellular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were examined with different techniques: host cell reactivation assay, DNA separation via gel electrophoresis, plasmid shuttle vector assay, and flow cytometry based on staining of phosphorylated histone proteins. The assessment of possible plasma-induced long-term damages is of utmost importance because some of the plasma components, like reactive oxygen species (ROS) and UV radiation, are well known to affect DNA. Particularly in dermatological therapies of wounds, potential mutagenic side effects induced by plasma application would lead to serious health risks, since the skin of patients will be directly exposed to plasma and, thus, also proliferative cells in the wound area. The level of impact of the two plasma sources on cells and isolated DNA was compared. At same treatment durations, plasma jet treatments usually induced stronger effects than DBD applications. In particular, a higher cytotoxicity and genotoxicity was observed. However, only a tendency towards a mutagenic effect was seen. In contrast, in experiments on plasmid DNA, which was located inside the cells during plasma treatments, no mutagenic effect was detected for either of the two sources. But, an increased formation of double strand breaks in genomic DNA could be demonstrated. Calculations of plasma doses within given treatment durations revealed that in same time periods the plasma jet transfers higher energy densities to the treatment object than the DBD plasma. On the other hand, the DBD plasma was shown to generate much higher ROS and RNS concentrations during the same treatment time. In some parts these findings can explain the observations in this thesis. It is, however, assumed that mainly ROS and UV radiation are responsible for the different effects of the two plasma sources. With the assays presented here, a valuable basis for a more detailed evaluation of different plasma jet systems and volume DBD devices with regard to their medical usability is created. Moreover, such APP sources can now be characterized and their desired therapeutic applications can be assessed on a standardized, quantitative basis

Part III: Advancing Media-related Educational Competencies

In the first part of this dissertation, selected models and standards from Germany and the USA were introduced, based on a literature review and thus revealing what is considered relevant for practice in a variety of sources and which competencies preservice teachers should acquire, according to these sources. In the second part, methods and selected results of competency measurements were introduced, thus demonstrating ways to operationalize the models and to assess the outcomes of respective processes of such a model integration. Complementary to these theoretical and measurement-focused perspectives on media-related educational competencies, it is important to extend the viewpoint to practices of media-related education of preservice teachers: the objectives both of competency models and of competency measurements ultimately include impacting the respective practices in teacher education and offering a grounded basis and stimuli for improvements and enhanced practice. In accordance with this, various sources emphasize the importance of research on the integration of ICT and respective competencies into initial teacher education (Enochsson und Rizza 2009; Krumsvik 2014; Tondeur u. a. 2017)

Conclusions: Media-related Educational Competencies of German and US Preservice Teachers

In the previous three main parts, the dimensions of modeling, measuring and advancing media-related educational competencies were analyzed in detail. Against this background, it has now become evident how closely interrelated the three dimensions are. The fourth research question addresses this issue: “What is the relationship between modeling, measuring and advancing media-related educational competencies in both countries?” Hence, the following final chapter will bring together and draw conclusions on the findings presented above and conclude the work with an overall summary and analysis of the relationships between modeling, measuring and advancing media-related educational competencies and with an outlook to further perspectives and research desiderata

Editorial: Media-related Educational Competencies of German and US Preservice Teachers: A Comparative Analysis of Competency Models, Measurements and Practices of Advancement

Medien sind in den Lebenswelten heutiger Kinder und Jugendlicher allgegenwärtig, und auch für pädagogische Kontexte bieten sie vielfältige Chancen, aber auch Herausforderungen. Einerseits können Medien beispielsweise effektiv die Lernprozesse von Schülerinnen und Schülern unterstützen, Unterricht um innovative Instrumente und Methoden ergänzen und zur Individualisierung von Lehr- und Lernprozessen beitragen. Andererseits müssen Schülerinnen und Schüler beispielsweise lernen, wie sie diese Medien nutzen, wie sie sie auswählen und einschätzen und wie sie in einer digitalisierten Welt verantwortungsvoll handeln. Lehrerinnen und Lehrern kommt dabei eine zentrale Rolle zu. Um die Vorteile, die Medien für Lehr- und Lernprozesse bieten, nutzen zu können, um Schülerinnen und Schüler beim Erwerb entsprechender Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen unterstützen zu können und um zahlreiche weitere medienbezogene Aufgaben und Herausforderungen bewältigen zu können, müssen Lehrerinnen und Lehrer bereits im Studium entsprechende Kompetenzen erwerben, die als medienbezogene pädagogische Kompetenzen [media-related educational competencies] bezeichnet werden können. Die Relevanz dieser Kompetenzen zeigt sich auf verschiedenen Ebenen. In der Wissenschaft werden entsprechende Kompetenzmodelle entwickelt, und in der Praxis der Lehrerbildung werden Kompetenzen gemessen und es werden Anstrengungen unternommen, um die Kompetenzen von Lehramtsstudierenden zu fördern. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt diese teilkumulative Dissertation eine theoriebasierte und empirische Untersuchung der betroffenen Kompetenzen aus einer umfassenden und vielschichtigen Perspektive vor. In Übereinstimmung mit den skizzierten zentralen Aspekten sind die drei systematischen Kernfelder Modelle medienbezogener pädagogischer Kompetenzen, ihre Messung und Praktiken der Förderung im Lehramtsstudium, sowie das Zusammenspiel dieser drei Felder. Es wird eine international vergleichende Perspektive eingenommen, die beispielhaft die Lehrerbildung in Deutschland und den USA in den Blick nimmt. Die teilkumulative Dissertation umfasst drei Hauptteile, die durch eine Einleitung und ein Schlusskapitel gerahmt werden. Die Einleitung stellt in Hinblick auf Terminologie, Forschungsabsicht und die grundlegende Methodik eine Grundlage für das folgende Werk dar. Im ersten Hauptteil werden Modelle medienbezogener pädagogischer Kompetenzen behandelt und ein theoriebasierter systematischer Vergleich dreier relevanter Modelle wird vorgestellt. So werden die Unterschiede zwischen Kompetenzmodellen verdeutlicht und zentrale Aspekte der Auswahl und des Einsatzes diskutiert. Im zweiten Teil werden Methoden und unterschiedliche Möglichkeiten der Kompetenzmessung fokussiert, und in einer veröffentlichten Studie werden Ergebnisse einer explorativen quantitativen Messung der entsprechenden Kompetenzen bei deutschen und US-amerikanischen Lehramtsstudierenden vorgestellt. Insgesamt werden in diesem Teil die Möglichkeiten und Einschränkungen der Kompetenzmessung aufgezeigt und auf die Modelle übertragen, die im ersten Teil eingeführt wurden. Im dritten Teil werden gegenwärtige Praktiken der Förderung medienbezogener pädagogischer Kompetenzen in Deutschland und den USA analysiert. In diesem Zusammenhang werden auch Parteien und Interessengruppen, die einen Einfluss auf diese Praktiken ausüben, hinsichtlich ihrer Rolle und ihres Einflusses systematisiert und analysiert. Die veröffentlichte Studie in diesem Teil stellt Experteninterviews vor, deren Ziel es ist, einen Einblick in die Perspektiven ausgewählter Expertinnen und Experten bezüglich relevanter Modelle, Praktiken und Ergebnissen der medienbezogenen Lehramtsausbildung in Deutschland und den USA zu erlangen. Am Ende werden im Abschlusskapitel die verschiedenen Bereiche zusammengeführt und die enge Verbindung und die gegenseitigen Abhängigkeiten zwischen den Bereichen der Modellierung, der Messung und der Förderung der untersuchten Kompetenzen verdeutlicht und diskutiert. Diese Perspektiven tragen dazu bei, sowohl Dimensionen, die zuvor in der relevanten Forschung oftmals separat behandelt wurden, zu kontextualisieren und zusammenzuführen, als auch neue Facetten hinzuzufügen, um ein umfassendes und mehrperspektivisches Verständnis medienpädagogischer Kompetenzen zu erreichen. Vor dem Hintergrund einer international vergleichenden Sichtweise werden die Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse schlussendlich zu einer ausführlichen und tiefgehenden Analyse und Reflexion zum komplexen Themengebiet der medienbezogenen pädagogischen Kompetenz in Deutschland und den USA und darüber hinaus führen.Media have become omnipresent in children’s and youths’ everyday lives, and they also offer rich chances and challenges for educational contexts. On the one hand, media can, for example, support students’ learning effectively, enhance lessons with innovative tools and methods and help individualize teaching and learning processes. On the other hand, students need to learn, e.g., how to use these media, how to select and evaluate them and how to act responsibly in a digitalized and mediatized world. Teachers are a core stakeholder in this context. To take advantage of the benefits media offer for teaching and learning processes, to support students in the acquisition of respective competencies and to fulfill numerous other media-related tasks and challenges, teachers need to acquire respective competencies in their initial teacher education, which can be summarized as media-related educational competencies. The relevance of these competencies is evident on different levels. In related research, respective competency models are developed, and in practices of teacher education, competencies are measured and efforts are taken to advance the competencies of preservice teachers. Against this background, this semi-cumulative dissertation presents a theory-based and empirical analysis of the competencies in question from a comprehensive and multidimensional perspective. In accordance with the central aspects outlined, the three systematic main fields focused on are models of media-related educational competencies, their measurement and practices of advancement in teacher education, as well as the interplay of these three fields. The dissertation takes on an international comparative perspective and focuses on the examples of initial teacher education in Germany and the USA. The article-based dissertation comprises three main parts, framed by introduction and conclusion. The introduction provides a basis for the following work with regards to terminology, scope of research and overall methodology. The first main part is concerned with models of media-related educational competencies and includes a theory-based systematic comparison of three relevant models. This part explicates the varieties between competency models, and it discusses central aspects of selection and application. In Part II, methods and varieties of competency measurement are focused on, and an article is presented which shares results of an exploratory quantitative measurement of the respective competencies of German and US preservice teachers. Overall, this part reveals the potential and limitations of competency measurement and transfers these conclusions to the competency models introduced in Part I. Part III is concerned with an analysis of current practices of advancing media-related educational competencies in Germany and the USA. In this context, stakeholders influencing these practices will be systemized and analyzed in their role and impact. The article included in Part III introduces interviews which were conducted to achieve insights into the perspectives of selected experts, regarding relevant models, practices and outcomes of media-related teacher education in Germany and the USA. Finally, the Conclusion of the dissertation will draw together the different strands, clarify the close connection between the domains of modeling, measuring and advancing the competencies in question and discuss the interdependencies of these three dimensions. These perspectives help both to contextualize and bring together important facets which have often been treated separately in related research and will add new facets to ultimately achieve a comprehensive and multifaceted viewpoint. Against the background of the intercultural comparative perspective, the results and findings will ultimately achieve an enhanced and deep analysis and reflection on the complex field of media-related educational competencies in Germany and the USA and beyond

The Participant\u27s Summative Perceptions of the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) Process as Used to Review a School Policy

This study investigated a recent development in the quality management area, namely, quality function deployment (QFD) and its relevance to education. QFD has shown itself to be very useful as a tool for understanding, prioritising and planning the way in which organisations perform their functions; however, its application has, to date, been very limited in education. This study concerned itself with the use of the QFD process in a high school to review a behaviour management policy. The literature is extensively examined to review the development of quality management leading up to the advent of QFD. The study explored QFD’s benefits in industry and the complementary trends in education in an attempt to establish a link between the two. A detailed explanation of the concepts associated with QFD is provided along with the placement of QFD among curriculum planning models to orientate educators to this new development. Action research was used with a case study approach to clarify what could be expected if QFD was implemented in mainstream schools. Part One of the study comprised of the steps followed in the application of the QFD process to review a school\u27s Managing Student Behaviour (MSB) policy and includes a diagram of the procedure, a House of Quality matrix and a table of results. In Part Two the perceptions of the members of the QFD team about the QFD process were gathered and summarised. This study was the first time that Western Australian teachers had experienced the QFD process and their verbatim comments about the process arc evaluated. The study found that QFD was a useful tool by which a school\u27s behaviour management policy could be reviewed. According to the teachers who were in the QFD team, the QFD process was thorough and gave a good validation for the decisions which were made during the process. In addition to this, the QFD team thought that the QFD process provided for the input of all parts of the school community as well as showing the team what to do with the data which were gathered from this community