The introduction of ICT in fieldwork to enhance student learning

Report of a CELT project on supporting students through innovation and researchThe aim of the project was to introduce a dedicated ICT package into the fieldwork experience in order to enhance student learning in the field at a range of levels and in a number of subject areas. The field kit consists of a laptop computer, digital camera with multi-card reader, global positioning system (GPS), video camera, portable scanner and printer. The kit is kept in a waterproof portable case specifically for student fieldwork use (Plate 1). A digital microscope and video camera is also separately available. The students have been able to use the equipment in the field in order to produce supporting materials to enhance their fieldwork. For example the IT package has been used in conjunction with a data-logger on mapping equipment allowing maps to be printed in the field for detailed recording of field sites. Also the use of digital and video cameras has allowed students to take responsibility for identifying and recording aspects of fieldwork for their reports

The snow and the willows : the ecological responses of the alpine dwarf shrub "Salix herbacea" to climate change

Current changes in shrub abundance in alpine and arctic tundra ecosystems are primarily driven by warming, changes in snow cover time and shifts in biotic interactions. However, while taller shrub communities are expanding, dwarf shrubs show reductions under climate warming. The aim of this thesis was to disentangle the phenological, growth and fitness response of a widespread prostrate shrub to warming and changes in snowmelt time, investigate shifts between competition and facilitation in communities along environmental stress gradients, and determine trait plasticity in response to snowmelt change. To this end, we investigated phenology, vegetative growth and reproductive traits in Salix herbacea, a widespread, long-lived alpine and arctic prostrate shrub, along its elevational and snowmelt microhabitat range over three years in Davos, Switzerland. To examine environmental drivers of trait variation, community interactions and potential for plastic responses to global changes, we used a space-for-time substitution study, a neighbor removal experiment, and reciprocal transplant experiment. Earlier snowmelt was associated with longer phenological development periods, an increased likelihood of herbivory and fungal damage, fewer stems and no increase in end-of-season wood reserve carbohydrates. Furthermore, while early snowmelt was associated with an increased proportion of flowering stems, the number of fruiting stems was not, as fruit set decreased significantly with earlier snowmelt. Warmer temperatures at lower elevations were associated with decreases in stem number and wood low-molecular weight sugars, and increases in proportion of stems fruiting. In the reciprocal transplant experiment, S. herbacea generally started to grow earlier, but had a longer development time and produced smaller leaves on ridges relative to snowbeds. The phenological changes did not influence clonal or sexual reproduction, but smaller leaves in early-snowmelt sites were associated with reduced sexual reproduction, a potentially maladaptive response of leaf plasticity. Clonal and sexual reproduction generally showed no response to changes in snowmelt timing. Moreover, we found no home site advantage in terms of sexual and clonal reproduction. Leaf damage probability depended on snowmelt timing and thus exposure period, but it had no short-term effect on fitness traits. In the neighbor removal study, the majority of S. herbacea traits were controlled primarily by snowmelt timing. However, neighbour removal directly reduced the number of days required for fruit production relative to control shrubs; however, it also increased the likelihood of leaf tissue herbivory. Effects of neighbour removal also changed along the environmental gradients, with neighbour removal leading to reduced leaf size on earlier snowmelt sites, and increased fungal damage with increasing elevation. We conclude that Salix herbacea exhibits strong reductions in performance under earlier snowmelt, with few benefits of warming temperatures. Further, plasticity in leaf traits may lead to fitness reductions under earlier snowmelt. With accelerated spring snowmelt, environmental stress will likely increase due to increasing exposure to cold temperatures and damage agents, which reduce the leaf crops and flowering probability in the following summers. However, detrimental effects of early snowmelt may be at least partly mediated by facilitative interactions by neighbours. Under climate change, we may begin to see reductions in clonal and sexual reproduction, leading to fitness declines in S. herbacea, which in turn may reduce persistence of populations in arctic and alpine ecosystems, particularly those growing on current early exposure microhabitats as spring snowmelt accelerates. The results of this thesis suggest that earlier spring snowmelt timing may represent one of the critical global change drivers reducing dwarf shrub performance in arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems

Embedding e-portfolios for effective lifelong learning:a case study

Lifelong learning is a ‘keystone’ of educational policies (Faure, 1972) where the emphasis on learning shifts from teacher to learner. Higher Education (HE) institutions should be committed to developing lifelong learning, that is promoting learning that is flexible, diverse and relevant at different times, and in different places, and is pursued throughout life. Therefore the HE sector needs to develop effective strategies to encourage engagement in meaningful learning for diverse student populations. The use of e-portfolios, as a ‘purposeful aggregation of digital items’ (Sutherland & Powell, 2007), can meet the needs of the student community by encouraging reflection, the recording of experiences and achievements, and personal development planning (PDP). The use of e-portfolios also promotes inclusivity in learning as it provides students with the opportunity to articulate their aspirations and take the first steps along the pathway of lifelong learning. However, ensuring the uptake of opportunities within their learning is more complex than the students simply having access to the software. Therefore it is argued here that crucial to the effective uptake and engagement of the e-portfolio is embedding it purposefully within the curriculum. In order to investigate effective implementation of e-portfolios an explanatory case study on their use was carried out, initially focusing on 3 groups of students engaged in work-based learning and professional practice. The 3 groups had e-Portfolios embedded and assessed at different levels. Group 1 did not have the e-Portfolio embedded into their curriculum nor was the e-Portfolio assessed. Group 2 had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and formatively assessed. Group 3 also had the e-Portfolio embedded into the curriculum and were summatively assessed. Results suggest that the use of e-Portfolios needs to be integral to curriculum design in modules rather than used as an additional tool. In addition to this more user engagement was found in group 2 where the e-Portfolio was formatively assessed only. The implications of this case study are further discussed in terms of curriculum development

Microstructural abnormalities in deep and superficial white matter in youths with mild traumatic brain injury

BACKGROUND: Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies of traumatic brain injury (TBI) have focused on alterations in microstructural features of deep white matter fibers (DWM), though post-mortem studies have demonstrated that injured axons are often observed at the gray-white matter interface where superficial white matter fibers (SWM) mediate local connectivity. OBJECTIVES: To examine microstructural alterations in SWM and DWM in youths with a history of mild TBI and examine the relationship between white matter alterations and attention. METHODS: Using DTIDWM fractional anisotropy (FA) and SWM FA in youths with mild TBI (TBI, n=63) were compared to typically developing and psychopathology matched control groups (n=63 each). Following tract-based spatial statistics, SWM FA was assessed by applying a probabilistic tractography derived SWM mask, and DWM FA was captured with a white matter fiber tract mask. Voxel-wise z-score calculations were used to derive a count of voxels with abnormally high and low FA for each participant. Analyses examined DWM and SWM FA differences between TBI and control groups, the relationship between attention and DWM and SWM FA and the relative susceptibility of SWM compared to DWM FA to alterations associated with mild TBI. RESULTS: Case-based comparisons revealed more voxels with low FA and fewer voxels with high FA in SWM in youths with mild TBI compared to both control groups. Equivalent comparisons in DWM revealed a similar pattern of results, however, no group differences for low FA in DWM were found between mild TBI and the control group with matched psychopathology. Slower processing speed on the attention task was correlated with the number of voxels with low FA in SWM in youths with mild TBI. CONCLUSIONS: Within a sample of youths with a history of mild TBI, this study identified abnormalities in SWM microstructure associated with processing speed. The majority of DTI studies of TBI have focused on long-range DWM fiber tracts, often overlooking the SWM fiber type

Scorpions of the genus Diplocentrus (Diplocentridae) from Sonora, Mexico, with description of a new species

To date, only two references place members of the genus Diplocentrus in Sonora, Mexico. The first was a passing comment by Francke (1975) that D. spitzeri Stahnke occurs in northeastern Sonora. The specimens he examined and used in his systematic studies on that species are the same as the ones reported here for the first time from a specific Sonoran locality. The second reference was by Sissom and Walker (1992) listing a single record of D. gertschi Sissom and Walker from Libertad on the northern coast. Examination of material from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), the California Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the Academy of Natural Sciences (ANS) indicates that, in addition to D. spitzeri and D. gertschi, another distinct species occurs in the Alamos and Navajoa areas in southern Sonora. This species is described as new below. It should be noted that a juvenile specimen from the vicinity of Benjamin Hill was also examined that was unassignable with certainty to any of the above species. This indicates that the genus has a wider distribution in Sonora than demonstrated even by the specimens listed in this report. Nomenclature and mensuration utilized herein essentially follows that of Stahnke (1970), with the following exceptions: carinal terminology and cheliceral measurements are after Francke (1975,1977) and trichobothrial terminology is after Vachon (1974). Specimens in the senior author's collection are listed in the records sections as "WDS”. Because D. spitzeri and the new species are both quite similar to D. peloncil1ensis Francke, the latter is included in the tables for comparison; in addition, the hemispermatophore of this species is also drawn. D. peloncillensis was described from only 6 males, 1 female, and 1 juvenile. The data presented here for D. peloncillensis are derived from these and new specimens available since the original description was published (Francke 1975), thereby providing a better understanding of variation in this species

Podcasting: A tool for enhancing assessment feedback?

This presentation discusses how audio feedback to student assignments have been given by podcast at the University of Chester for some Geography modules. There is an overview of the process of producing the podcast and a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of giving feedback in this form

Chapter Urban and Industrial Habitats: How Important They Are for Ecosystem Services

The sustainable management of natural resources can make human survival possible. Sustainable management is based on a deep understanding of the complex mechanisms of the Earth’s natural ecosystems and of how those resources can be managed without compromising future benefits and availability. The sustainable management of natural resources becomes much more complicated when there is severe and constant anthropogenic impact, and therefore, an interdisciplinary approach has to be undertaken to improve the understanding, assessment, and maintenance of the natural capital, and the related ecosystem services, in urban-industrial areas. In ecological restoration, the biggest challenge is to find a general consensus of suitable biodiversity indicators and economically viable measures, which will produce multiple socially and ecologically guided environmental benefits. There is difficulty in reaching such consensus because of the complexity, and differing understanding, of the biodiversity concept. In an effort to restore sites disturbed by industrial (mining) activities, restoration projects should involve ecologically based methods and approaches, which will be able to fulfill many stakeholders’ expectations for sustainable development and human well-being. The integrated natural and human models for sustainable management can used to understand the dynamics of ecosystems, including biodiversity and trophic levels (including mid-trophic consumer influences), in order to simulate and evaluate different management scenarios in relation to biodiversity and ecosystem services. There is still a need for the increasing understanding of the role of biodiversity and ecosystem service identification as important factors influencing the dynamics of ecosystem and sustainable management scenarios

Long-Term Outcomes of Early Adult 4-H Alumni

Very little has been published reporting on long-term outcomes experienced by young adults (aged 19 to 34 years old) who participated in 4-H youth development programs. We adopted Gambone et al.’s (2002) framework advancing three long-term outcomes for early adulthood: economic stability, health and well-being, and community involvement. With cross-sectional survey methods, we compared long-term impacts between 693 California 4-H young adult alumni and 373 young adults in a U.S. general population sample who had not participated in 4-H. The results demonstrated that 4-H alumni report more positive long-term outcomes than the U.S. general population sample. The study contributes to the dearth of research around long-term outcomes, may be useful for marketing and funding, and will help better understanding the public value of Extension