Go Research! Building an Information Literacy Tool that Bridges the Gap

With the increase in online learning, identifying new ways to develop the information literacy skills of distance learners is paramount. Developing a research question, selecting resources, searching databases, refining search results, getting full text, and citing sources in the online environment can be especially challenging for nontraditional learners who may not have the same digital know-how as traditional students or digital natives. Global Campus librarians at Central Michigan University (CMU) travel to CMU’s remote centers to provide information literacy instruction for core research courses. But how do they reach everyone, including students taking classes online? Because distance students are typically expected to explore resources and manage assignments independently, Global Campus Library Services (GCLS) librarians developed a self-paced, interactive tutorial to help them develop the basic research skills needed to be successful in their coursework. All CMU students can access the LibGuides-based Go Research! tutorial online to assess what they already know, interact with multimedia tools and resources that foster specific information literacy skills, and evaluate their own learning outcomes. To promote its use, GCLS librarians incorporate the tutorial into ongoing library instruction, and work with selected faculty to integrate the tutorial into research-intensive classes. This presentation describes the collaborative planning, design, implementation and evaluation of this information literacy tutorial, and discusses how its content and use have been modified over time to facilitate flipped classroom instruction and better meet the needs of online students and faculty

Nucleation and growth control in protein crystallization

The five topics summarized in this final report are as follows: (1) a technique for the expedient, semi-automated determination of protein solubilities as a function of temperature and application of this technique to proteins other than lysozyme; (2) a small solution cell with adjustable temperature gradients for the growth of proteins at a predetermined location through temperature programming; (3) a microscopy system with image storage and processing capability for high resolution optical studies of temperature controlled protein growth and etching kinetics; (4) growth experiments with lysozyme in thermosyphon flow ; and (5) a mathematical model for the evolution of evaporation/diffusion induced concentration gradients in the hanging drop protein crystallization technique

Flood inundation uncertainty: the case of a 0.5% annual probability flood event

Aging coastal defences around the UK are challenging managers to redesign schemes to be resilient to extreme events and climate change, be cost-effective, and have minimal or beneficial environmental impact. To enable effective design, reduced uncertainty in the assessment of flood risk due to natural variability within the coastal forcing is required to focus on conditions that pose highest threat. The typical UK standard of protection for coastal defences is to withstand a 0.5% annual probability event, historically also known as a 1 in 200 year return period event. However, joint wave-water level probability curves provide a range of conditions that meet this criterion. We examine the Dungeness and Romney Marsh coastal zone, a region of high value in terms of habitat and energy assets, to quantify the uncertainty in flood depth and extent generated by a 0.5% probability event, and to explore which combinations of wave and water levels generate the greatest threat

Physical and economic impacts of sea-level rise and low probability flooding events on coastal communities

Conventionally flood mapping typically includes only a static water level (e.g. peak of a storm tide) in coastal flood inundation events. Additional factors become increasingly important when increased water-level thresholds are met during the combination of a storm tide and increased mean sea level. This research incorporates factors such as wave overtopping and river flow in a range of flood inundation scenarios of future sea-level projections for a UK case study of Fleetwood, northwest England. With increasing mean sea level it is shown that wave overtopping and river forcing have an important bearing on the cost of coastal flood events. The method presented converts inundation maps into monetary cost. This research demonstrates that under scenarios of joint extreme surge-wave-river events the cost of flooding can be increased by up to a factor of 8 compared with an increase in extent of up to a factor of 3 relative to “surge alone” event. This is due to different areas being exposed to different flood hazards and areas with common hazard where flood waters combine non-linearly. This shows that relying simply on flood extent and volume can under-predict the actual economic impact felt by a coastal community. Additionally, the scenario inundation depths have been presented as “brick course” maps, which represent a new way of interpreting flood maps. This is primarily aimed at stakeholders to increase levels of engagement within the coastal community

A Sustained Dietary Change Increases Epigenetic Variation in Isogenic Mice

Epigenetic changes can be induced by adverse environmental exposures, such as nutritional imbalance, but little is known about the nature or extent of these changes. Here we have explored the epigenomic effects of a sustained nutritional change, excess dietary methyl donors, by assessing genomic CpG methylation patterns in isogenic mice exposed for one or six generations. We find stochastic variation in methylation levels at many loci; exposure to methyl donors increases the magnitude of this variation and the number of variable loci. Several gene ontology categories are significantly overrepresented in genes proximal to these methylation-variable loci, suggesting that certain pathways are susceptible to environmental influence on their epigenetic states. Long-term exposure to the diet (six generations) results in a larger number of loci exhibiting epigenetic variability, suggesting that some of the induced changes are heritable. This finding presents the possibility that epigenetic variation within populations can be induced by environmental change, providing a vehicle for disease predisposition and possibly a substrate for natural selection.This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (DP0771859) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (#459412, #635510)

Who Do you Say You Are: Relationships and Faith in Catholic Schools

This study aimed to evaluate and articulate what makes Catholic schools special and effective by measuring culture and climate in five Catholic high schools and two Catholic elementary schools in a large metropolitan area in the Midwest United States. The seven schools represented a variety of student demographics, location, and size of school. Findings of this study included: the Catholic identity of schools must become an intentional aspect of the planning, orientation, training, and evaluation of the faculty and administration; faculty-student relationships are rarely measured regarding their effectiveness in bolstering academic achievement or Catholic mission effectiveness; cultural awareness and cultural responsive pedagogy must become a component of school orientation if not teacher education; and teacher expectations impact the student-teacher relationship. Quién dices ser: relaciones y fe en las escuelas católicas Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar y articular lo que convierte en especiales y efectivas a las escuelas católicas, al medir la cultura y el ambiente en cinco escuelas secundarias católicas y dos escuelas elementales católicas en una zona metropolitana amplia del medio oeste estadounidense. Las siete escuelas representaron a una variedad en la composición demográfica de los estudiantes así como de ubicación y tamaño de las escuelas. Los hallazgos de este estudio indicaron que: la identidad católica de las escuelas debe convertirse en un aspecto intencional de la planificación, orientación, formación y evaluación del profesorado y de la administración; las relaciones profesor-alumno rara vez se miden en cuanto a su efectividad para impulsar logros académicos o la efectividad de la misión católica; la pedagogía de sensibilización cultural y de respuesta cultural deben convertirse en un componente de la orientación de la escuela, si no de la educación del profesorado; y por último, las expectativas del profesorado impactan la relación profesor-estudiante. Palabras clave: cultura, relaciones, fe, escuelas católicas Qui prétendez-vous être : les relations interpersonnelles et la foi dans les écoles catholiques Cette étude visait à évaluer et exprimer clairement ce qui fait la particularité et l\u27efficacité des écoles catholiques en mesurant la culture et l\u27ambiance de cinq lycées catholiques et deux écoles catholiques primaires dans une vaste zone métropolitaine, dans le Midwest des États-Unis. Les sept écoles étaient très diverses en raison des données démographiques des élèves, de leur situation et leur taille. Les constatations effectuées dans cette étude notaient les points suivants : l\u27identité catholique des écoles doit être délibérément incluse dans la planification, l\u27orientation, la formation et l\u27évaluation du corps enseignant et du personnel administratif ; les relations entre élèves et enseignants sont rarement mesurées en termes d\u27efficacité pour l\u27amélioration des résultats scolaires ou l\u27efficacité de la mission catholique ; la sensibilisation culturelle et une pédagogie culturelle réactive doivent être intégrées dans l\u27orientation de l\u27école, sinon dans la formation des enseignants, et les attentes des professeurs doivent influencer les relations élève-enseignant. Mots-clés : Culture, relations, foi, catholique, école