Variables influencing the use of institutional outcomes assessment results in institutional decision-making: an attitudinal survey of chief academic officers from public two-year institutions in the North Central region

Successfully completing the assessment process and using the resulting findings to inform institutional decision-making processes is one of the most difficult, least understood, and least researched phases of the assessment process. Difficult though it may be, closing the loop, as it is commonly called, is necessary for improvement to occur. Accreditation agencies recognize the importance of closing the loop and now mandate that institutions document how the results of the assessment process are being used for institutional improvement. This exploratory study sought to identify which areas of institutional decision-making the results of the assessment process are being used in the most/least and how extensively the following five variables (called collectively the BLCCK Variables, pronounced \u27block\u27) influence the use of such results: (1) funds budgeted for assessment; (2) upper administration\u27s leadership in/support of assessment; (3) institutional assessment culture; (4) institutional communication regarding assessment; and, (5) assessment leadership\u27s knowledge of assessment. This study is based on the premise that successful implementation of an outcomes assessment plan is dependent upon the continuous completion of an outcomes assessment process, including using the results to inform institutional decision-making. Chief academic officers of community colleges accredited by the North Central Association Higher Learning Commission primarily provided the data for this research. Of the 302 chief academic officers surveyed, 216 (72%) responded. This study identified 20 areas of institutional decision-making in which the results of the assessment process are used. Analysis of the data revealed that results are most used in: (1) curriculum planning/evaluation; (2) improvement of teaching and learning; (3) program evaluation; and, (4) reports to accrediting agencies and upper-level administration. Areas in which results are least used include: (1) gift solicitation; (2) student recruitment; (3) job placement of graduates; and, (4) faculty evaluation and hiring. Further, the findings revealed that all of the BLCCK Variables significantly impact the use of assessment results in institutional decision-making with institutional assessment culture and assessment budget most impacting the use of results. This study is significant because institutions of higher education throughout the United States are struggling to successfully complete the assessment process

Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture of Northern France: Where Art Meets Economics

Gothic cathedrals were financed in many ways and their building could take centuries to complete. The process was long and arduous costing enormous sums of money over a sustained period of time. Their construction depleted both capital and skilled labor from the surrounding areas spurring both the donors and workers to be represented in the cathedral. The materials used to build these massive structures drew greatly on the region and dictated their architectural form. When the donors, religious figures, aristocracy, and workers are represented it validates the sacrifices they made towards building the cathedral as well as showing their social and economic standing in society to the viewer

The Knights Templar’s Economic Empire and the Images That Supported It

Today the Knights Templar are known through a swirl of history and conspiracy. The Order of the Temple grew far beyond its original purpose, to reclaim the Holy Land and to protect pilgrims, becoming a banking, financial, and trade giant. The Knights Templars built innovative financial systems, along with a network of monasteries and churches, not only to support the crusades in the Holy Land, but to build, expand, and maintain their empire through the re-working of traditional European art forms to create a particular image of power and piety for both their patrons and enemies

Application of Fuzzy Logic in Automated Cow Status Monitoring

Sensors that measure yield, temperature, electrical conductivity of milk, and animal activity can be used for automated cow status monitoring. The occurrence of false-positive alerts, generated by a detection model, creates problems in practice. We used fuzzy logic to classify mastitis and estrus alerts; our objective was to reduce the number of false-positive alerts and not to change the level of detected cases of mastitis and estrus. Inputs for the fuzzy logic model were alerts from the detection model and additional information, such as the reproductive status. The output was a classification, true or false, of each alert. Only alerts that were classified true should be presented to the herd manager. Additional information was used to check whether deviating sensor measurements were caused by mastitis or estrus, or by other influences. A fuzzy logic model for the classification of mastitis alerts was tested on a data set from cows milked in an automatic milking system. All clinical cases without measurement errors were classified correctly. The number of false-positive alerts over time from a subset of 25 cows was reduced from 1266 to 64 by applying the fuzzy logic model. A fuzzy logic model for the classification of estrus alerts was tested on two data sets. The number of detected cases decreased slightly after classification, and the number of false-positive alerts decreased considerably. Classification by a fuzzy logic model proved to be very useful in increasing the applicability of automated cow status monitoring

Long-term solar UV radiation reconstructed by Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)

International audienceArtificial Neural Networks (ANN) are efficient tools to derive solar UV radiation from measured meteorological parameters such as global radiation, aerosol optical depths and atmospheric column ozone. The ANN model has been tested with different combinations of data from the two sites Potsdam and Lindenberg, and used to reconstruct solar UV radiation at eight European sites by more than 100 years into the past. Annual totals of UV radiation derived from reconstructed daily UV values reflect interannual variations and long-term patterns that are compatible with variabilities and changes of measured input data, in particular global dimming by about 1980?1990, subsequent global brightening, volcanic eruption effects such as that of Mt. Pinatubo, and the long-term ozone decline since the 1970s. Patterns of annual erythemal UV radiation are very similar at sites located at latitudes close to each other, but different patterns occur between UV radiation at sites in different latitude regions

G08-1614 Drinking Water: Certified Water Testing Laboratories in Nebraska

This 2008 NebGuide explains the certification process water testing laboratories follow, and lists certified government and commercial operated laboratories

Ur-Words of the Affective Language of Gestures: The Hermeneutics of Body Movement in Aby Warburg

The article deals with the question of the relationship between visual memory and the literary and aesthetic transfer of high-potential emotional experiences in gestures as an immanent element of cultural creativity. Against that background the article focuses on the work of the German art- and cultural historian Aby Warburg, especially his lecture and picture series entitled “Urworte leidenschaftlicher Gebärdensprache” (Ur-Words of the Affective Language of Gestures), which Warburg presented in January - February 1927 in Hamburg’s Cultural Library (Kulturwissenschftliche Bibliothek). Warburg was mainly interested in the processes by which the antiquity has suirvived in visual elements. He observed that especially high-potential emotional experiences were transferred into later cultures, mainly preserved in ancient artworks, but also in literature, and the “Metamorphosis” by Ovid was one of the most important transmitters. The ancient art and literature created “ur-words”, that is, original significant visual elements as gestures preserved in concepts and in cultural artefacts, which have been transferred to the later cultures and were finally one of the most important impulses for the overcoming of superstition and paganism. In the above-mentioned lecture and picture series, Warburg discusses that topic in the composition and ordering of pictures from Ovid’s stories, among others “Daphne and Actaeon”, “The Rape of Proserpina”, “The Death of Orpheus”, or “Medea killing her Children”. Warburg’s lecture, but especially the picture series were a methodological tool destined to present his highly complex reflections, rooted less in rhetoric than in psychology, anthropology and linguistics ca. 1900. The text is a result of a broader investigation made on the relationship between humanism and sciences, particularly psychology and anthropology in the context of Warburg’s understanding of cultural and individual image memory and the role of gestures in that context.Cet article étudie les relations entre mémoire visuelle et le transfert dans les domaines esthétique et littéraire de gestes particulièrement chargés émotionnellement, qui informent de façon immanente la créativité des artistes. Dans ce contexte, l’article examine l’apport de l’historien de l’art et de la culture Aby Warburg, en particulier sa série de conférences illustrées intitulée “Urworte leidenschaftlicher Gebärdensprache” (les termes sources du langage affectif des gestes), qu’il prononça à Hambourg en janvier-février 1927 à la Bibliothèque culturelle (Kulturwissenschftliche Bibliothek). Warburg s’intéressait surtout à la façon dont les schémas visuels issus de l’Antiquité survivaient. Il fit observer que des expériences particulièrement chargées en émotion étaient sauvegardées dans des cultures ultérieures par le biais d’œuvres d’art et de littérature antiques et il étudia en particulier l’impact des Métamorphoses d’Ovide, agent de transmission de ces expériences. L’art et la littérature de l’Antiquité avaient créé des « termes sources », c’est-à-dire des éléments visuels significatifs et originaux préservés dans les œuvres, transmis à des cultures plus récentes, et qui finirent par triompher du paganisme et de la superstition. Dans la série présentée ci-dessus, Warburg explore ce sujet chez Ovide, en examinant des œuvres illustrant « Daphné et Actéon », « Le viol de Proserpine », « La mort d’Orphée » et « Médée assassinant ses enfants ». Les conférences de Warburg et leurs illustrations lui donnèrent une méthodologie pour présenter ses réflexions complexes, fondées sur la psychologie, l’anthropologie et la linguistique des années 1900 plutôt que sur la rhétorique. La série reprend des développements antérieurs sur les rapports entre l’humanisme et les sciences, particulièrement la psychologie et l’anthropologie, telles que les comprenait Warburg, et la façon dont il les reliait à son étude des souvenirs individuels et culturels et du rôle des gestes

EC95-742 Pollution Prevention: A Tool Kit for Vehicle Maintenance Shops

Would you like to: • Reduce your operating costs by using fewer materials and supplies? • Reduce hazardous and nonhazardous waste transportation and disposal costs? • Reduce liability and risks associated with hazardous waste? • Reduce the paperwork and record keeping requirements associated with hazardous waste? • Improve workplace safety and employee health? • Help safeguard the environment? • Improve your company\u27s image? • Increase your company\u27s business activities? If you answered Yes, to any of the above questions, you may want to look at the materials in this pollution prevention tool kit

NF03-589 New Onsite Wastewater Treatment Law Protects Nebraska\u27s People and Environment

New Law Requires Certification to Perform On-site Wastewater Treatment Work Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, a new Nebraska law allows only certified professionals or Nebraska-licensed professional engineers to perform work on on-site wastewater treatment systems (septic systems and individual lagoons). There is a concern that failing septic systems are having a negative impact on the environment and creating potentially harmful health conditions. This legislation will protect public health and the environment by authorizing development of a certification system so that people in the industry have, and demonstrate, the knowledge base necessary to minimize risks. This NebFact discusses what this law will cover for Nebraska\u27s people and the environment