Engaging students in the curriculum through the use of blogs; how and why?

This paper presents an academic case for the use of blogs in higher education, and some key considerations for those planning and designing blogging activities in an HE setting. Focusing on the roles of action/activity and experience, reflection and community in learning, this paper suggests how the blogging process can engage students and enhance learning, and how specific features of blogs might be used to bring maximum benefit to the learner

Mentoring first-time and low-level delinquent adolescents: the impact of an on-campus mentoring program on sense of self and rule non-compliance

2011 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Researchers have linked sense of self variables such as self-esteem and self-concept to delinquent activity among adolescents for decades, finding that delinquency is often associated with lower levels of sense of self and proposing that lower self-esteem may motivate delinquent behavior. This thesis first considers relevant research and theories, and then presents an evaluation of Campus Corps, a college-campus mentoring program for low-level or first-time offending youth. Using hierarchical regression models, it was determined that youth in Campus Corps, compared to non-participants, experienced higher levels of self-esteem, self-concept, and feelings of being important to others. Youth in higher-quality mentor relationships experienced, on average, lower rule non-compliance, higher self-esteem, higher feelings of being noticed by others, and higher feelings of being important to others. This program evaluation contributes to the small body of research on mentoring programs for delinquent and status-offending youth, adding to the definition of what makes a mentoring program effective

BP\u27s Use of Twitter as a Crisis Communication Tool During the Gulf Oil Spill Crisis Response Phase

On April 20, 2010, British Petroleum\u27s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig located in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, creating the largest oil spill in U.S. history. BP launched a major public relations response that targeted its online audience through strategic use of its corporate website, Twitter feed, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Flickr photostream. This content analysis examines BP\u27s use of Twitter during the crisis response phase of the oil spill. BP tweeted on 1,161 occasions from the time of the explosion to the capping of the well. All tweets during this 13-week period were coded by two separate coders to ensure intercoder reliability. Tweets from @BP_America reflected reputation repair strategies, responsibility attributions, and public risk perceptions during different emergency management phases. Reputation repair strategies were reflected in 331 tweets, with the strategies of “compensation” and “reminder” appearing most often. An overwhelming majority of tweets indicated an accident crisis (1,129) with a strong/high crisis responsibility (1,044). Public risk perceptions were implied in 831 tweets, and the perception most implied was that the oil spill response had strong political attributes tied to it

Beyond Higher Ed Marketing: Unsanctioned User Generated Conten

The impact of User Generated Content (UGC) on higher-education marketing is an entirely untouched area of marketing research, therefore the current study aims to better understand how widely disseminated this content is among students, how they perceive this content and its impact upon their university, as well as what kinds of students are drawn to participate in and consume this content. A sample of 238 university students at a large public institution were surveyed regarding their engagement with UGC content associated with their school, the reasons for their interest in this content, and the ways in which it may effect their perception of the institution

Spellbound...?: A hermeneutic response to disillusionment in the contemporary university

Universities occupy an important place in the world’s economies, and the idea and purpose of the university is a question that has historically received considerable attention. In recent years, a state of disillusionment among UK academics has been observed, and attributed in part to a belief that the economic mandate of the contemporary university has become alienated from its academic mission. This thesis aims to further explore and understand this disillusionment in context, through eliciting the experiences and conceptions of teachers, students, and managers—groups that are also, in a sense, alienated from one another—and ‘bringing them into conversation’. The thesis presents a framework of ideas pertaining to disillusionment as a state of mind, including disenchantment as a corresponding state of world and its opposite, enchantment. It uses these concepts to build a theory of disillusionment in the university, drawing on a novel methodology that is informed by philosophical hermeneutics and justified in ethical terms as a responsive vacillation between the modes of understanding and explanation. At the heart of the thesis is a semi-fictional conversation that has been created by weaving together excerpts from transcripts of individual interviews. It is fictional in the sense that the interaction between the individuals is imagined, and truthful in its intention to represent faithfully the histories and experiences of the teachers, students, and senior managers who participated. The aim of this creative act is to present a fusion of real perspectives on the university. Presented alongside the conversation is a commentary that documents the author’s encounter with it as a reader. The commentary highlights tensions, contradictions, and inconsistencies as the author perceives them to emerge from the conversation, and links these with the theoretical and methodological issues discussed in previous chapters. The thesis concludes by advancing a theory of (dis)illusionment in the university. Having shown that the idea of the university is replete with contradiction, and as such constitutes an ‘impossible object’, illusionment is proposed as an alternative state of mind (to disillusionment) in which one is able to hold contradictory and/or inconsistent ideas. The specific context of the specialist arts university in which the conversations take place is proposed to be significant, with reference to the tolerance of contradiction demonstrated by the characters in the conversation and the participants whose voices they represent. The thesis offers an original contribution to knowledge that has both methodological and disciplinary aspects. While its methodological approach and framing of findings may not be considered experimental by those undertaking scholarly activity in the type of specialist arts institution in which this research is situated, the playful and imaginative approach to data analysis documented here has not previously been applied to the study of higher education itself. In terms of higher education philosophy and theory, the thesis also makes a novel contribution to an understanding of disillusionment in the university, and some of the practical implications of this

The effects of a pediatric ACL injury prevention program

Implementing an ACL injury prevention program to athletes prior to the ages of highest injury risk may result in reduced ACL injury rates and osteoarthritis development. There is limited knowledge regarding whether this age group can modify lower extremity biomechanics, balance ability, and performance after completing an injury prevention program or if age-specific training is required. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the effects of a traditional and a pediatric-specific ACL injury prevention program on lower extremity biomechanics, balance ability, and jump performance. A total of 65 youth soccer athletes (Males: n=38, mass=34.2±5.4 kg, height=143.1±6.3 cm, age=10±1 years; Females: n=27, mass=33.8±5.4 kg, height=141.0±6.6 cm) volunteered to participate. Teams were cluster-randomized to either a pediatric or traditional injury prevention program, or a control group. Teams performed their respective program as part of their normal warm-up routine. Balance ability, vertical jump performance, and lower extremity biomechanics during anticipated and unanticipated sidestep cutting tasks were assessed before and after an intervention period. Change scores were calculated from the two testing sessions. The pediatric program (Change Mean±SD: Anticipated: 7.73±10.71°; Unanticipated: 7.98±11.93°) reduced the amount of tibial external rotation at initial ground contact during the anticipated (F(2,62)=3.79, p=0.03) and the unanticipated (F(2,62)=6.92, p=0.002) tasks compared to the control group (Anticipated: -0.35±7.76°;Unanticipated: - 3.06±6.18°) after the intervention period. Anterior-posterior time-to-stabilization decreased after the traditional program (Change Mean±SD=-0.92±0.49) compared to the control group (-0.49±0.59) (F(2,60)=6.34, p=0.003). The traditional program increased vertical jump height (1.70±2.80) compared to the control group (0.20±0.20)(F(2,61)=3.45, p=0.04). Youth athletes can improve dynamic balance ability and vertical jump height after completing an injury prevention program with specific exercises targeting balance and vertical jumps. The injury prevention program designed specifically for a preadolescent population modified lower extremity biomechanics, which suggests athletes under 12 years of age can change potential neuromuscular risk factors for injury with specialized training

Plasmonic light yield enhancement of a liquid scintillator

We demonstrate modifications to the light yield properties of an organic liquid scintillator due to the localization of the tertiary fluorophore component to the surface of Ag-core silica-shell nanoparticles. We attribute this enhancement to the near-field interaction of Ag nanoparticle plasmons with these fluor molecules. The scintillation light yield enhancement is shown to be equal to the fluorescence enhancement within measurement uncertainties. With a suitable choice of plasmon energy and scintillation fluor, this effect may be used to engineer scintillators with enhanced light yields for radiation detection applications

Enhancing Sustainability at Lower Huron Metropark

Urban parks throughout the nati on are recognizing the need to become more sustainable environments, moving beyond their traditi onal roles. The Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority, which oversees 13 parks spanning 24,000 acres across fi ve counti es in Southeast Michigan, recognizes that its operati ons currently lack a detailed sustainability plan. While the Metroparks are a valuable environmental resource for the surrounding area, current practi ces are impacti ng human and natural systems. With the HCMA’s mission in mind, a sustainability plan for Lower Huron Metropark was developed, detailing sustainability initi ati ves that can be integrated with the park’s natural and built environments. The hope is that this plan can serve as a model for enhancing sustainability at the other Metroparks. This sustainability plan outlines recommendati ons for enhancing the environmental, economic, and social benefi ts provided by the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. Aft er selecti ng Lower Huron as the study park, fi ve issue areas (energy, water, waste management, stormwater management, and educati on) were chosen as the focus of the report. Lower Huron’s baseline was analyzed in each of these areas, followed by the research of precedent studies. The Metroparks of the Toledo Area and Portland Department of Parks and Recreati on are two organizati ons highlighted which have embraced sustainability measures throughout their operati ons. Finally, potenti al opti ons for implementati on were evaluated against specifi c criteria and recommendati ons of the most benefi cial opti ons were made. The criteria used to evaluate each opti on included project cost, site appropriateness, economic benefi ts, social benefi ts, and environmental benefi ts. The recommendati ons made include a system for increased data tracking, the installati on of a solar awning, the expansion of sustainability educati onal programs for children, the development of a waste reducti on policy, the capture and treatment of stormwater on site, and the installati on of water and energy effi ciency measures at park faciliti es.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90873/1/enhancing_sus_Huron_metropark_2012.pd