Factors affecting the implementation of an elementary science curriculum in three northern Saskatchewan provincial schools

This qualitative study explores factors affecting the implementation of an elementary science curriculum in three schools in northern Saskatchewan. Data gathered from thirteen elementary level teachers indicate that most teachers interviewed possess a general vision of ideal science teaching and learning close to that presented in the provincial curriculum, but that most teachers believe that they are a considerable distance away from translating that vision into reality. Data indicate that few teachers use the curriculum on a regular basis or possess detailed familiarity with its components.A variety of generic factors not unique to the north are creating challenges for teachers striving to implement the science curriculum. Tight timelines for implementation, as well as challenges such as class size, limited inservice availability, and infrequent networking opprtunities were identified as challenges. Many challenges were linked to the need to refine or acquire skills made more necessary by new curricula, as well as by other provincial and regional initiatives. The need to address such skill deficits is felt by most teachers, but is felt most acutely by those who are not recent graduates of teacher-training programs or those who rely primarily on locally available professional development within the context of the regular school year and setting.Teachers in this study indicated that a greater degree of instructional leadership at the school division and school level would assist them in their efforts to implement mandated changes. Concern was also expressed that little monitoring of the implementation process by either their school division or by the provincial government had taken place.A variety of factors unique to the North were identified as affecting implementation efforts. Teachers found the curriculum to be easily adapted for northern needs, as well as appropriate for students for whom English is a second language. General funding levels and special school division initiatives were also seen as helpful. Respondents, however, identified socioeconomic factors, questionable levels of instructional leadership, as well as distance between community and school as serious challenges to implementation.This study confirms current research indicating that managing changes such as the implementation of an elementary science curriculum is a complex venture necessitating organizational and operational changes at school, school division, and provincial levels to encourage and support efforts to make schools learning organizations for both students and teachers. The study concludes with several recommended areas of further research, as well as with several specific action recommendations to assist with the implementation of new curricula

The use of business intelligence systems in Australia

Business Intelligence (BI) systems are information systems that combine operational data, models, analytical tools and user interfaces to generate information to support business decision-making. BI is an important part of IT practice and is currently the highest technical priority for chief information officers. As there is to date no published academic research on the nature of BI practice we commenced an exploratory study of the area. A survey of business and IT professionals was used to test fourteen propositions about the nature of BI system adoption, development, use, and governance in Australia. This paper reports on the slice of results related to BI system use, including findings related to six propositions about the nature of BI system use. The survey highlights the critical role of BI in organizations, which justifies research effort into the area, as well as organizational spending on BI implementations

Who pays for decision support systems research?: Review, directions and issues

IS academics are under increasing pressure to apply for national competitive grants, internal university grants, and industry funding to support their research programs. This paper presents an investigation of the nature of DSS research funding through the analysis of 1.020 papers published in 14 high quality journals from 1990 to 2003. In the sample, 23.6 of DSS papers acknowledged grant support, 14.75 were supported by major competitive grants, and only 5.15 received industry grant support. This level of grant funding may be a major problem for the DSS field. Even more worrying is the finding that overall grant support is falling over time. The detailed analysis of DSS research funding shows what types of DSS are grant-funded, where the grant funded papers are published, what paradigms and methods are grant-funded in DSS research, the relationship between research quality and funding type, and the relationship between grant funding and research relevance. The findings and conclusions related to DSS research, but because of the proportion of IS research that concerns DSS, they are also important for IS research in general

Morphology and Formation of an Holocene Coastal Dune Field, Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

This paper describes a dune field on the gently-sloping Lake Huron shoreline of the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario. The inland boundary is marked by a prominent dune ridge 60 m wide and up to 30 m high, which extends parallel to the shoreline for about 19 km, and was formed about 5000 years BP near the end of the Nipissing transgression. The islands and rock reefs which protect the modern shoreline were submerged under the higher lake levels, giving rise to a relatively straight, exposed beach from which sediment was supplied for building the dune ridge. Dunes formed between this ridge and the modern shoreline during the post-Nipissing regression decrease in height and continuity, reflecting decreased sediment supply associated with regression and reduced wave exposure as the offshore islands emerged. The sequence described here supports previous conclusions that transgressions are associated with periods of coastal dune formation and instability.On fait ici la description d'un champ de dunes situé sur le rivage faiblement incliné de la péninsule de Bruce, au lac Huron. La limite intérieure est caractérisée par une chaîne de dunes de 60 m de large et jusqu'à 30 m de haut qui s'étend parallèlement au rivage sur une longueur de 19 km; elle a été formée il y a 5000 ans BP, presque la fin de la transgression de Nipissing. Les îles et les écueils rocheux qui protègent le rivage actuel étaient alors immergés sous des niveaux lacustres supérieurs, permettant ainsi la formation d'une plage découverte relativement rectiligne qui a fourni le sable nécessaire à l'édification de la chaîne de dunes. La formation, au cours de la régression post-Nipissing, de dunes moins hautes et plus dispersées, entre la chaîne de dunes et le rivage actuel, témoigne d'une faible alimentation en sédiments associée à la régression et d'une moindre exposition aux vagues en raison de l'émersion des îles. La séquence décrite ici corroborent les conclusions antérieures selon lesquelles les transgressions correspondent à des périodes de formation et d'instabilité des dunes littorales.Dieser Aufsatz beschreibt ein Dùnenfeld, das am schwach abfallenden Ufer des Huron-Sees, Bruce-Halbinsel liegt. Die Grenze zum Landinnern ist hervorgehoben durch eine Kette von Dunen, die 60 m breit und bis zu 30 m hoch sind, und die sich parallel zum Ufer ùber eine Lange von 19 km ausdehnt; sie wurde vor 5000 Jahren v.u.Z. gebildet, fast am Ende der Transgression von Nipissing. Die Insein und die Felsklippen, die das heutige Ufer schùtzen, waren damais unter den hôheren Seen-Niveaus untergetaucht, so dass ein offener, relativ gerader Strand entstehen konnte, der den fur den Aufbau der Dunenkette notwendigen Sand lieferte. Wàhrend der Regression post-Nipissing haben sich zwischen der Dunenkette und dem heutigen Uferweniger hohe und mehr verstreute Dùnen gebildet, welche Zeugnis von einer schwachen Sediment-Zufuhr abgeben, in Verbindung mit der Regression und einem geringeren Einfluss der Wellen wegen des Auftauchens der Insein. Die hier beschriebene Sequenz bestàtigt frùhere Schlussfolgerungen. denen zufolge die Transgressionen mit Perioden der Bildung und Instabilitàt von Kùstendùnen in Verbindung gebracht werden

Environmental complexity positively impacts affective states of broiler chickens

Affective state can bias an animal’s judgement. Animals in positive affective states can interpret ambiguous cues more positively (“optimistically”) than animals in negative affective states. Thus, judgement bias tests can determine an animal’s affective state through their responses to ambiguous cues. We tested the effects of environmental complexity and stocking density on affective states of broiler chickens through a multimodal judgement bias test. Broilers were trained to approach reinforced locations signaled by one color and not to approach unreinforced locations signaled by a different color. Trained birds were tested for latencies to approach three ambiguous cues of intermediate color and location. Broilers discriminated between cues, with shorter latencies to approach ambiguous cues closest to the reinforced cue than cues closest to the unreinforced cue, validating the use of the test in this context. Broilers housed in high-complexity pens approached ambiguous cues faster than birds in low-complexity pens–an optimistic judgement bias, suggesting the former were in a more positive affective state. Broilers from high-density pens tended to approach all cues faster than birds from low-density pens, possibly because resource competition in their home pen increased food motivation. Overall, our study suggests that environmental complexity improves broilers’ affective states, implying animal welfare benefits of environmental enrichment

Part A: Cirrus ice crystal nucleation and growth. Part B: Automated analysis of aircraft ice particle data

Specific measurement of cirrus crystals by aircraft and temperature modified CN are used to specify measurements necessary to provide a basis for a conceptual model of cirrus particle formation. Key to this is the ability to measure the complete spectrum of particles at cirrus levels. The most difficult regions for such measurement is from a few to 100 microns, and uses a replicator. The details of the system to automate replicator data analysis are given, together with an example case study of the system provided from a cirrus cloud in FIRE 2, with particles detectable by replicator and FSSP, but not 2DC

The Light Absorption Heating Method for Measurement of Light Absorption by Particles Collected on Filters

A new instrument for the quantification of light absorption by particles collected on filters has been developed to address long standing environmental questions about light-absorbing particles in air, water, and on snow and ice. The Light Absorption Heating Method (LAHM) uses temperature changes when filters are exposed to light to quantify absorption. Through the use of calibration standards, the observed temperature response of unknown materials can be related to the absorption cross section of the substance collected on the filter. Here, we present a detailed description of the instrument and calibration. The results of the calibration tests using a common surrogate for black carbon, Fullerene soot, show that the instrument provides stable results even when exposed to adverse laboratory conditions, and that there is little drift in the instrument over longer periods of time. Calibration studies using Fullerene soot suspended in water, airborne propane soot, as well as atmospheric particulates show consistent results for absorption cross section when using accepted values for the mass absorption cross section of the soot and when compared to results from a 3-wavelength photoacoustic instrument. While filter sampling cannot provide the time resolution of other instrumentation, the LAHM instrument fills a niche where time averaging is reasonable and high-cost instrumentation is not available. The optimal range of absorption cross sections for LAHM is from 0.1 to 5.0 cm$^{2}$ (~1.0–50.0 µg soot) for 25 mm filters and 0.4 to 20 cm$^{2}$ (4.0–200.0 µg soot) for 47 mm filters, with reduced sensitivity to higher values

Integrating personality research and animal contest theory: aggressiveness in the green swordtail <i>Xiphophorus helleri</i>

&lt;p&gt;Aggression occurs when individuals compete over limiting resources. While theoretical studies have long placed a strong emphasis on context-specificity of aggression, there is increasing recognition that consistent behavioural differences exist among individuals, and that aggressiveness may be an important component of individual personality. Though empirical studies tend to focus on one aspect or the other, we suggest there is merit in modelling both within-and among-individual variation in agonistic behaviour simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate how this can be achieved using multivariate linear mixed effect models. Using data from repeated mirror trials and dyadic interactions of male green swordtails, &lt;i&gt;Xiphophorus helleri&lt;/i&gt;, we show repeatable components of (co)variation in a suite of agonistic behaviour that is broadly consistent with a major axis of variation in aggressiveness. We also show that observed focal behaviour is dependent on opponent effects, which can themselves be repeatable but were more generally found to be context specific. In particular, our models show that within-individual variation in agonistic behaviour is explained, at least in part, by the relative size of a live opponent as predicted by contest theory. Finally, we suggest several additional applications of the multivariate models demonstrated here. These include testing the recently queried functional equivalence of alternative experimental approaches, (e. g., mirror trials, dyadic interaction tests) for assaying individual aggressiveness.&lt;/p&gt

Field relations, structure, and geochemistry of the Fisset Brook Formation in the Lake Ainslie - Gillanders Mountain area, central Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Detailed mapping shows that the Fisset Brook Formation in the Lake Ainslie - Gillanders Mountain area consists of a lowermost sedimentary unit overlain by basaltic and rhyolitic units. The sedimentary unit is mainly arkosic pebble conglomerate and siltstone, and unconformably overlies or is in faulted contact with older meta-morphic and plutonic rocks. Scattered gabbroic plutons and dykes in the sedimentary unit are interpreted to represent "feeders" to the overlying basaltic flows. The basaltic unit consists mainly of subaerial flows, locally interlayered and intermixed with red-brown siltstone. The overlying rhyolitic unit consists mainly of eutaxitic to spherulitic flows or welded tuffs, with less abundant lapilli tuff. In the Lake Ainslie area, these rocks occur in a north-south array of rhombic fault blocks, whereas in the Gillanders Mountain area, the dominant structure is a large-scale anticlinal fold closing toward the south, cored largely by rocks of the Fisset Brook Formation. The chemical compositions of the basalt and rhyolite in both areas have been modified by alteration, but discrimination diagrams using relatively immobile elements, including rare-earth elements, indicate that the basalts and gabbros are continental, within-plate tholeiites. The rhyolites also have features indicative of origin in a within-plate setting, but are depleted in Y, Zr, and rare-earth elements compared to A-type granites. A rhyolite sample yielded a U-Pb (zircon) age of 373 ± 4 Ma, thus indicating that the Fisset Brook Formation in the Lake Ainslie - Gillanders Mountain area is Middle to earliest Late Devonian in age, not Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous as previously inferred. R&#xC9;SUM&#xC9; Une cartographie detaill&#xE9;e montre que la Formation Fisset Brook dans le secteur du lac Ainslie et du mont Gillanders est constitut&#xE9;e d'une base s&#xE9;dimentaire recouverte d'unit&#xE9;s basaltique et rhyolitique. La base s&#xE9;dimentaire est principalement form&#xE9;e d'un conglomcrat de galets arkosiques et de siltstones; elle repose de fa&#xE7;on discordante ou par contact faill&#xE9; sur des roches m&#xE9;tamorphiques et plutoniques. Les dykes et les plutons gabbrotques dispers&#xE9;s dans l'unit&#xE9; s&#xE9;dimentaire sont interpr&#xE9;t&#xE9;s comme des syst&#xE8;mes d'alimentation &#xBB; des &#xE9;coulcments basaltiques sus-jacents. L'unit&#xE9; basaltique est principalement constitut&#xE9;e d'&#xE9;coulements sub&#xE9;criens, localement interstratifies et entremel&#xE9;s de siltstone brun rouge&#xE2;tre. L'unit&#xE9; rhyolitique sus-jacente est essentiellement compos&#xE9;e d'&#xE9;coulements eutaxiques &#xE0; sph&#xE9;rolitiqucs ou de tufs soud&#xE9;s, avec des conglom&#xE9;rats volcaniques &#xE0; lapilli dans une matrice fine moins abondants. Dans le secteur du lac Ainslie, ces roches se pr&#xE9;senters en une rang&#xE9;e nord-sud de blocs faill&#xE9;s rhombiques, tandis que dans le secteur du mont Gillanders, la structure dominante est un plissement anticlinal &#xE0; grande &#xE9;chelle qui se referme vers le sud et qui abrite en son cocur une quantit&#xE9; substantielle de roches de la Formation Fisset Brook. Les compositions chimiques du basalte et de la rhyolite des deux secteurs ont e&#xE9;t&#xE9; modifi&#xE9;es par alteration, mais des sch&#xE9;mas de discrimination utilisant des &#xE9;l&#xE9;ments relativement immobiles, dont des &#xE9;l&#xE9;ments de terres rarcs, r&#xE9;v&#xE8;lent que les basaltes et les gabbros sont des thol&#xE9;iites intra-plaque continentaux. Les rhyolites possedent en outre des caract&#xE9;ristiques qui t&#xE9;moignent qu'elles proviennent d'un cadre intra-plaque, mais elles sont pauvres en Y, en Zr et en &#xE9;l&#xE9;ments de terres rares comparativement aux granites de type A. Une datation au U-Pb (zircon) d'un &#xE9;chantillon de rhyolite lui a attribue un &#xE2;ge de 373 ± 4 Ma, ce qui r&#xE9;v&#xE8;le que la Formation Fisset Brook du secteur du lac Ainslie et du mont Gillanders remonte a la p&#xE9;riode du D&#xE9;vonien moyen au d&#xE9;but du D&#xE9;vonien sup&#xE9;rieur, et non &#xE0; celle du D&#xE9;vonien sup&#xE9;rieur au Carbonif&#xE8;re inf&#xE9;rieur comme on L'avait auparavant laisser entendre. [Traduit par la r&#xE9;daction