Tangled Roots, Bittersweet Exposure

Accompanied by tree portraits, this personal narrative reflects upon the intersecting histories between the indigenous peoples of Marin County (north of San Francisco, CA) and the author, who is Euro-American, while contemplating the changing relationship to their shared woodland, the effects of colonization, and possibilities for healing

Learning Analytics Community Exchange: Evidence Hub

This poster sets out the background and development of the LACE Evidence Hub, a site that gathers evidence about learning analytics in an accessible form. The poster also describes the functionality of the site, summarises its quantitative and thematic content to date and the state of evidence. In addition, it encourages people to add to and make use of the Hub

An Open Future for Higher Education

As the world becomes more open, universities have the opportunity to embrace openness in how they carry out their operations, teaching, and research. Open educational resources can provide the catalyst for different forms of learning, linking formal and informal aspects and splitting up the functions of content, support, assessment, and accreditation. Models from research suggest that an open approach is likely to encourage the crossing of boundaries between inside and outside the classroom, games and tools for learning, and the amateur and the expert. A new attitude toward research and scholarship is needed to work with the data of openness and to use it as an approach to gather evidence, share thoughts, and disseminate results

Recollected in tranquility : FE teachers’ perceptions of their initial teacher training

"The main research question posed by the project was: ‘What are FE teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of initial training in helping them to teach and to support learning?’" -- page 1

The teaching of linear programming in different disciplines and in different countries

This paper discusses an online survey of linear programming (LP) lecturers in four countries in various disciplines. The study uses Biglan’s [1, 2] classification of disciplines to show that courses in hard-pure and hard-applied subjects were more likely to teach theoretical aspects of linear programming whilst the hard-applied and soft-applied subjects looked more at the application. Further, the soft-applied disciplines were more likely to utilize software during the teaching of the topic. Also, US lecturers were more likely to teach theoretical aspects of LP whilst the UK lecturers were more likely to use common software such as spreadsheets rather than dedicated LP or maths software

Free convection in the Matian atmosphere

The 'free convective' regime for the Martian atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) was investigated. This state occurs when the mean windspeed at the top of the ABL drops below some critical value U(sub c) and positive buoyant forces are present. Such forces can arise either from vertical temperature or water vapor gradients across the atmospheric surface layer. During free convection, buoyant forces drive narrow plumes that ascend to the inversion height with a return circulation consisting of broad slower-moving downdraughts. Horizontal pressure, temperature, windspeed, and water vapor fluctuations resulting form this circulation pattern can be quite large adjacent to the ground (within the surface layer). The local turbulent fluctuations cause non-zero mean surface stresses, sensible heat fluxes, and latent heat fluxes, even when the mean regional windspeed is zero. Although motions above the surface layer are insensitive to the nature of the surface, the sensible and latent heat fluxes are primarily controlled by processes within the interfacial sublayer immediately adjacent to the ground during free convection. Thus the distinction between aerodynamically smooth and rough airflow within the interfacial sublayer is more important than for the more typical situation where the mean regional windspeed is greater than U(sub c). Buoyant forces associated with water vapor gradients are particularly large on Mars at low pressures and high temperatures when the surface relative humidity is 100 percent, enhancing the likelihood of free convection under these conditions. On this basis, Ingersol postulated the evaporative heat losses from an icy surface on Mars at 237 K and current pressures would exceed the available net radiative flux at the surface, thus prohibiting ice from melting at low atmospheric pressures. Schumann has developed equations describing the horizontal fluctuations and mean vertical gradients occurring during free convection. Schumann's model was generalized to include convection driven by water vapor gradients and to include the effects of circulation above both aerodynamically smooth and rough surfaces

MARKETING AND CROP INSURANCE COMBINED TO MANAGE RISK ON A CASS COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE FARM

This study analyzed the effects that the use of crop insurance products and marketing alternatives had on the gross revenue per acre for an individual farm in Cass County. Crop insurance products and marketing strategies were analyzed individually to determine if they were effective in minimizing down side risk, and combined to determine if integration created synergies. A whole farm scenario analysis was run that included integrated strategies that implemented the same insurance coverage and marketing alternatives for each crop. Several general conclusions can be drawn for situations similar to the representative farm. When analyzed at the individual crop level, the use of crop insurance at the 65 percent level minimizes down side risk in wheat and corn, but not significantly in soybeans. Marketing alternatives generally increase the up side potential of gross revenue per acre, while doing little to minimize the down side risk. The integration of crop insurance products and marketing alternatives create a synergy at the lower levels of value at risk, where the down side risk is located. However, the use of integrated strategies does not increase the chances of achieving a cash flow breakeven gross revenue per acre over the base strategy, which did not include insurance or marketing alternatives. The breakeven level is not reached until the 70 percent level, which means that 7 out of 10 years, the farm will not cash flow. Output from the Bullock and AgRisk models are similar. This study may be used as a guide for producers and analysts in studying risk management strategies. To assist in the individual decision making process, further study will need to be done with yield data and budgets for the individual farm.risk, management, strategy, yield, price, insurance, market, Risk and Uncertainty,

Free convection in the Martian atmosphere

Researchers investigated the free convective regime for the Martian atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Researchers generalized Schumann's model describing horizontal fluctuations and mean vertical gradients occurring during free convection to include convection driven by water vapor gradients and to include the effects of circulation above both aerodynamically smooth and rough surfaces. Applying the model to Mars, researchers found that nearly all the resistance to sensible and latent heat transfer in the ABL occurs within the thin interfacial sublayer at the surface. Free convection is found to readily occur at low pressures and high temperatures when surface ice is present. At 7 mb, the ABL should freely convect whenever the mean windspeed at the top of the surface layer drops below about 2.5 m s(-1) and surface temperatures exceed 250 K. Mean horizontal fluctuations within the surface layer are found to be as high as 3 m (-1) for windspeed, 0.5 K for temperature, and 10 (-4) kg m (-3) for water vapor density. Airflow over surfaces similar to the Antarctic Polar Plateau was found to be aerodynamically smooth on Mars during free convection for all pressures between 6 and 1000 mb, while surfaces with z sub o approx. equals 1 cm are aerodynamically rough over this pressure range