The Effect of Multiple Formats on Understanding Complex Visual Displays

Students in introductory science courses frequently have difficulty comprehending complex graphics such as contour maps. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI), because of its ability to convey the same information in different formats, may help students gain necessary graphic interpretation skills. This article describes a research project in which students practiced reading two temperature maps in either a standard black and white contour or a color-enhanced contour format. They were then divided into groups and tested using only standard contour maps. The tests examined comprehension of the distribution of sea surface temperature, oceanographic phosphate concentration, and brain activation. Results suggest that having students practice with differently formatted maps of the same information improves later comprehension of standard contour maps. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

The Fluvial Muddy Creek Formation Near Overton, Nevada

The Muddy Creek Formation (MCF) may represent an ancestral Colorado River deposit. To test this hypothesis, I mapped exposures of the MCF within the Virgin River Depression (VRD), a rift basin in the central Basin and Range. This is the first study to analyze fluvial MCF facies and test their viability as ancestral Colorado River deposits. Mapping, paleocurrent analysis, conglomerate provenance, and architectural elements analysis were used in order to characterize the fluvial MCF near Overton NV. Architectural elements analysis revealed that MCF fluvial facies are most closely associated with those of a high-energy sand-bed braided river system. These results do not resemble definitive Colorado River deposits. In light of these findings, fluvial facies of the MCF may be attributed to a Miocene Virgin River and permit a revised depositional model for the MCF within the VRD. Additionally, these findings inform models of dryland fluvial systems in rift basins

USING VCOS AS RF MEASURING DEVICES

This thesis presents an alternative way to test the amount of energy harvested by an antenna. Accurately measuring the amount of energy an antenna harvests is a challenge. The test equipment that touches the antenna can greatly affect the results of the test. Using a VCO to measure an antenna's harvested power enables accuracy and prevents the need to attach testing equipment. The VCO is powered by a harvesting antenna. The frequency produced is then output to a transmitting antenna. The output frequency of the VCO can easily be determined and then used to look up the power from the characteristics of the VCO. A background study of types of VCOs, and VCOs available on the market will also be included in this thesis. Finally the experiment setups and results will be presented

The Newfound Region of New Hampshire.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityThe Newfound Region of New Hampshire is a cluster of nine towns approximately 105 miles from Boston University. These towns exhibit a remarkably high degree of physical, economic, and social unity which is displayed by evidences of a youthful stage of regionalism. Geographic analysis was used to determine the natural environmental factors shaping the Region's personality. [TRUNCATED

The History of the Utah Education Association

This study seeks to present a history of the Teacher Organizations which have functioned in Utah from 1860 to 1940. Since 1892 their association has been known as the Utah Education Association. This study is a phase of the history of education as as such shares in the purposes claimed for such studies. A statement of general purposes of such studies is as follows: 1. To gain a knowledge of the history of the Utah Education Association as an important part of the professional training of the teacher of the school administrator. 2. The history of education is an ally in the scientific study of education rather than a competitor. It enables teachers to avoid the istakes of the past. It serves to present the educational ideals and stardards of other times. 3. The necessity for adequate interpretation of the history of education is emphasized by E. W. Knight: The history of education eables the educational worker to detect fads and frills in whatever form they may appear, and it serves as a necessary preliminary to educational reform. 4. One of the purposes in making this study was to determine what the Utah Education Association conributes to the classroom teachers of Utah. 5. It has been requested by the National Education Association that a study be made of the history of the Utah Education Association

In the Crosshairs: Second Amendment Lawyers and Cases in State and Federal Appellate Courts

Judicial behavior, the types of activities and behaviors judges become involved with in their capacity on the bench, has a profound and lasting impact on the types of decisions rendered by judges across all courts that comprise the American judiciary (Baum 2000; Baum 2006; Maveety 2002). There is a growing realization that judicial behavior encompasses more than just the making of good laws and public policy decisions (Baum, 2000; Baum 2006; Hammond, Bonneau, & Sheehan 2005; Comparato 2003). For example, Songer & Haire (1992) explore integrated approaches to the study of judicial voting through obscenity cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Creating an integrated multivariate model that combines five approaches to judicial voting, the authors find that this new model correctly predicts about 80% of the judges\u27 votes on obscenity cases with an error reduction rate of almost 46%. My dissertation focuses on the judicial behavior of state Supreme Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals judges through the lens of Second Amendment claims and issues, a polarizing American political issue over the last fifty years.;Through a descriptive and logistic regression analysis of the extent of 488 Second Amendment court rulings made in state courts of last resort and U.S. Courts of Appeals rendered between 1960 and 2009, I theorize that state Supreme Court selection methods, the presences of a state intermediate appellate courts, U.S. Courts of Appeals majority presidential party nomination panel, along with state and federal appellate circuit political ideology, urban/rural dynamics, gun ownership percentage, and homicide rates will have an impact on the outcome of Second Amendment decisions at these various judicial levels. For instance, an elected state Supreme Court system is more likely to produce a gun rights ruling, while an appellate panel with a majority of judges appointed by Democratic Presidents would be more likely to produce a gun control ruling. The results indicate state and appellate circuit political ideology (conservative→liberal spectrum) and gun ownership percentages affect the outcome of Second Amendment decisions in state Supreme Courts and the U.S. Courts of Appeals, while homicide rates affect these decisions in state courts of last resort. As such, a conservative political ideology and high gun ownership percentage in a state or appellate circuit means that it is more likely for their judges to produce a gun rights ruling, while a liberal political ideology and low gun ownership percentage means that the state or appellate circuit is more likely to produce a gun control ruling. One chapter explores these dynamics at the state Supreme Court level, while a second chapter does the same in the U.S. Courts of Appeals.;A third substantive dissertation chapter considers the impact of legal participation, litigation strategies, venue-shopping, along with interest group coordination, networking, and organization, in planned telephone interviews with pro-gun and gun control Second Amendment interest group lawyers who have litigated cases in these two levels of the state and federal judiciary between 1960 and 2009. In this chapter, it is theorized that there will be clear differences between gun rights and gun control interest groups, and heavily funded and lesser funded interest groups, with regard to the five major interview issues listed above. Twenty-one interviews with interest group lawyers will be conducted between 24 August and 15 October 2010

“Education will get you to the station”: MARGINALIZED STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS OF MERIT IN ACCESSING UNIVERSITY

This article explores how four minority students in a university access program reconciled their presence on merit. They shared their experiences over two years through their application statements, life history interviews, weekly group sessions, and personal journal entries. Consistent with the discourse of merit, participants believed that by exercising agency and taking responsibility for their schooling, education will work to their benefit. They reconceptualized the access program as a scholarship program and affirmed pride in being university students, with a sense of obligation to their immigrant parents and a desire to give back to their communities. Key words: immigrant youth, access programs, racism, parental expectations Les auteurs analysent comment quatre étudiants faisant partie de groupes minoritaires et participant à un programme d’accès à l’université réconcilient leur présence au mérite. Ces étudiants partagent leurs expériences par divers moyens : textes rédigés lors de leurs demandes d’admission, entrevues portant sur leur histoire de vie, sessions hebdomadaires en groupe et journaux intimes. Dans le droit fil du discours sur le mérite, les participants croient que s’ils prennent leur éducation en main, elle leur sera profitable. Ils reconceptualisent le programme d’accès comme un programme de bourse; se disant fiers d’aller à l’université, ils se sentent redevables à l’égard de leurs parents immigrants et souhaitent faire profiter leurs communautés de leur acquis. Mots clés: jeunes immigrants, programmes d’accès, racisme, attentes des parents

ISOLATION AND STRUCTURAL STUDIES ON SYNAPTIC COMPLEXES FROM RAT BRAIN

A fraction enriched in synaptic complexes has been isolated from rat brain. The major structural elements of synaptic complexes after isolation are a sector of pre- and postsynaptic plasma membranes joined together by a synaptic cleft and a postsynaptic density (PSD) located on the inner surface of the postsynaptic membrane. On its outer surface, the postsynaptic membrane has a series of projections which extend about halfway into the cleft and which occur along the entire length of the PSD. Proteolytic enzymes at high concentrations remove the PSD and open the synaptic cleft; at low concentrations the PSD is selectively destroyed. By contrast, the structural integrity of the PSD is resistant to treatment with NaCl, EGTA, and low concentrations of urea. Pre- and postsynaptic membranes also remain joined by the synaptic cleft after NaCl, EGTA, or mild urea treatment. High concentrations of urea cause the partial dissociation of the PSD. We conclude that polypeptides are probably one of the major components of the PSD and that the structural integrity of the PSD depends on polypeptides because disruption of the covalent or hydrophobic bonding of these polypeptides leads to a progressive loss of PSD structure

Characterization of a graphite epoxy optical bench during thermal vacuum cycling

In-situ monitoring of the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera, a Hubble Space Telescope science instrument, was performed in a vacuum environment to better understand the formation of ice on cooled optical detectors. Several diagnostic instruments were mounted on an access plate to view the interior of the instrument housing and the graphite epoxy optical bench. The instrumentation chosen and the rationale for choosing the instrumentation are discussed. In addition, the performance of the instrumentation during monitoring operations is discussed