Perceptions of Nebraska school leaders toward the use of digital portfolios in the teacher selection process

The purpose of this study was to examine Nebraska School administrators\u27 perceptions of digital portfolios in the teacher selection process. The digital portfolio can become another tool that school administrators use to help with the teacher selection process. Before universities or individual students spend a great deal of time and resources in creating and developing a digital portfolio plan, it is important to study the perceptions of the school administrators who may be using the digital portfolio in the teacher selection process. It is important to note whether they perceive a digital portfolio as useful and, if so, what contents of a digital portfolio do they feel are important in making a valid and reliable judgment about the teacher\u27s abilities to teach

Experimental and Physics Prospects at ATLAS and CMS - 2011 and Beyond

The ATLAS and CMS experiments have collected data at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) since December 2009, and with a collision energy \sprts=7 TeV since March 2010. Both detectors work remarkably well at this early stage of operation, and several physics analyses have already been published. It is currently expected that an integrated luminosity of ~1 fb-1 will be collected before a 15 month shutdown from early 2012, and that up to 10 (100) fb-1 will be collected at a collision energy at or near \sqrts=14 Tev by the end of 2013 (2016). Taking account of the outstanding Tevatron results obtained so far, a perspective is given of key physics measurements using data at the end of 2011 and beyond.Comment: HCP2010 - Toronto Proceeding

Magnetostratigraphy susceptibility correlations for the Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary and the placement of the North American Ochoan Series: Texas (USA) and South China

Stratigraphic studies have emphasized the use of multiple, geochemical and geochemical proxies to investigate critical geologic boundaries, events and their correlation throughout the entire Phanerozoic. In this study, an emerging geophysical proxy, mass-specific, low-field magnetic susceptibility (χ) is used to investigate the global correlation of the Guadalupian-Lopingian (G-L) boundary, to better resolve and supplement biostratigraphic correlations, including inferred G-L boundary sections defining the base of the North American Ochoan Series. The North American Ochoan Series of West Texas, defined lithostratigraphically by the contact between the Bell Canyon and Castile Formations, represents a unique and well-studied sequence in the Delaware Basin, West Texas, but it has not yet been possible to tie the Ochoan to international type sections, including the Guadalupian-Lopingian (G-L) Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), due to biostratigraphic ambiguities. χ results, and their correlations may be used for global, isochronous correlation tied to both eustasy and global climate throughout distributed marine basins. This study presents regional and global χ results for sections in Texas and China to investigate the correlation of the G-L boundary, the correlation of both global conodont biozones and lithofacies, and the placement of the North American Ochoan Series. These χ correlations reinforce the biostratigraphically defined position of key conodont biozones in both Texas and China and indicate that the G-L boundary very nearly corresponds to the start of the Ochoan Series in Texas, and to the base of unit E in the West Texas EF section, despite the absence of the defining conodont C. postbitteri postbitteri. Lithostratigraphic correlations, depositional facies and χ trends were interpreted to represent distinct systems tracts, which were tied to changes in eustatic sea-level. The correlation of high-frequency lithostratigraphic cycles may represent a globally correlated fifth-order climate cyclicity. Coincident changes in global facies, in China and Texas, suggest that the G-L boundary represents a period of significant environmental change and warming, producing global evaporite sequences in the US and Europe, coinciding with a eustatic highstand

Reducing the Risk: Psychological and Technological Approaches for Improving Handwashing Practices in the Foodservice Industry

As Americans are spending greater portions of their dollar on food consumed outside the home, the foodservice industry plays more of an integral part of daily existence compared to previous generations. Given the numerous annual foodborne illness outbreaks that threaten human lives while undermining confidence in the food supply, food safety is a pertinent issue for industry stakeholders, government regulators, and consumers. Food worker handwashing reduces the risk of foodborne illness transmission, yet compliance with this simple behavior is a complex problem. This dissertation addresses, predominantly, the issue of sub-optimal handwashing practices through applying psychology and technology, including wearable computers and a video game. Chapter one discusses prior efforts to improve handwashing compliance, while providing a theoretical framework to guide industry professionals through strategies that consider the potentially negative psychological effects of interventions on employees. Chapter two highlights handwashing practices of early childhood center food handlers. While average compliance was 22%, strict adherence to the guidelines would have required 12 minutes/hour devoted to handwashing. Chapter three explores handwashing in relation to organizational climate factors; managerial commitment was the only significant predictor of handwashing. Chapter four shows wearable technology-based training is preferred by food handlers. Chapter five indicates how participants who viewed strictly video-based training were four times as likely to wash hands compared to participants trained with smart glasses. Chapter six highlights the efficiency of handwashing training with smart glasses. Chapter seven includes the design and development of a video game played while washing hands. Perceptions of the device were only slightly positive, showing the need for either improved reward mechanisms or alternative strategies to motivate handwashing. Chapter eight evaluates the relationship between risk classification of foodservice establishments and food safety violation rates. High priority facilities had significantly higher food safety violation rates compared to medium and low priority facilities. In looking to the future of foodservice, many jobs are highly susceptible to automation; emotional intelligence may translate to greater job security in the coming years. Chapter nine evaluated perceptions of job insecurity rendered by automation in relation to emotional intelligence. There was no correlation between the two variables

4-H Dairy Youth Opportunities in Utah

This publication discusses the different opportunities available to youth in Utah to become involved with Dairy 4-H