The solar gamma ray and neutron capabilities of COMPTEL on the Gamma Ray Observatory

The imaging Compton telescope COMPTEL on the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) has unusual spectroscopic capabilities for measuring solar gamma-ray and neutron emission. The launch of the GRO is scheduled for June 1990 near the peak of the sunspot cycle. With a 30 to 40 percent probability for the Sun being in the COMPTEL field-of-view during the sunlit part of an orbit, a large number of flares will be observed above the 800 keV gamma-ray threshold of the telescope. The telescope energy range extends to 30 MeV with high time resolution burst spectra available from 0.1 to 10 MeV. Strong Compton tail suppression of instrumental gamma-ray interactions will facilitate improved spectral analysis of solar flare emissions. In addition, the high signal to noise ratio for neutron detection and measurement will provide new neutron spectroscopic capabilities. Specifically, a flare similar to that of 3 June 1982 will provide spectroscopic data on greater than 1500 individual neutrons, enough to construct an unambiguous spectrum in the energy range of 20 to 200 MeV. Details of the instrument and its response to solar gamma-rays and neutrons will be presented

Computer Science To Go (CS2Go): Developing a course to introduce and teach Computer Science and Computational Thinking to secondary school students

Computer Science To Go (CS2Go) is a course designed to teach Transition Year Students about Computer Science and Computational Thinking. This project has been conducted over two years and this thesis charts the development of the course from the initial research stage, through the lesson creation sections to the testing and evaluation of the course material. Over 80 hours of engaging, informative and challenging material has been developed for use in the classroom. Alongside the lesson plans, assessment and monitoring tools have been created, including a novel tool to assess students Computational Thinking skills. The content was tested in two major studies after an initial pilot study. This initial pilot study proved useful in constructing the full CS2Go course. Overall the course has been well received with teachers and students engaging well with the content. A web portal has also been created to allow for easy dissemination of all the CS2Go material. The further development of this web portal will turn CS2Go into a one-stop shop for teachers and educators hoping to find CS teaching material

An analysis of U.S./Canadian fisheries policy in regards to Pacific salmon and the preservation of indigeneity in the Pacific Northwest

For more than 160 years, the Pacific salmon has been an important resource for the United States and Canada. However, it has been overexploited. Proper management of the species is essential not only for maintaining healthy populations but also maintaining the interests of diverse stakeholders. One set of stakeholders consists of the indigenous peoples of North America because the Pacific salmon are crucial to their food, social, and ceremonial traditions. This thesis explores the impacts of Canadian and U.S. public policies on the cultural integrity of native peoples in the Pacific Northwest, specifically as those peoples rely on wild Pacific salmon for key cultural attributes. Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest have historically depended on the salmon resource as a source of sustenance, trade, and spirituality. A “desk study” was conducted for this thesis using literature resources. A “matched pairs case study” was utilized to compare and contrast United States and Canadian fisheries policy impacts on their respective indigenous cultures. It analyzes nine indigenous tribes throughout the region and assesses the impacts based on seven cultural traits. Each relevant cultural trait was evaluated on its current state and the degree of impact caused by policy. The findings suggest that Canada has better accommodated the rights of its indigenous peoples because it actively incorporated these rights into federal legislation, wild salmon policies and strategies, and modern-day treaty-making. However, both Canada and the United States have unique policy issues that include how to create effective co-management schemes and equally distribute fish catch between indigenous and non-indigenous fishing interests. The hope is that policy makers will use this information to better understand the impacts of fisheries management on indigenous peoples and make policy decisions that better accommodate their needs

Computational Thinking in Education: Where does it fit? A systematic literary review

Computational Thinking (CT) has been described as an essential skill which everyone should learn and can therefore include in their skill set. Seymour Papert is credited as concretising Computational Thinking in 1980 but since Wing popularised the term in 2006 and brought it to the international community's attention, more and more research has been conducted on CT in education. The aim of this systematic literary review is to give educators and education researchers an overview of what work has been carried out in the domain, as well as potential gaps and opportunities that still exist. Overall it was found in this review that, although there is a lot of work currently being done around the world in many different educational contexts, the work relating to CT is still in its infancy. Along with the need to create an agreed-upon definition of CT lots of countries are still in the process of, or have not yet started, introducing CT into curriculums in all levels of education. It was also found that Computer Science/Computing, which could be the most obvious place to teach CT, has yet to become a mainstream subject in some countries, although this is improving. Of encouragement to educators is the wealth of tools and resources being developed to help teach CT as well as more and more work relating to curriculum development. For those teachers looking to incorporate CT into their schools or classes then there are bountiful options which include programming, hands-on exercises and more. The need for more detailed lesson plans and curriculum structure however, is something that could be of benefit to teachers

A neurofeedback system to promote learner engagement

This report describes a series of experiments that track novice programmer's engagement during two attention based tasks. The tasks required participants to watch a tutorial video on introductory programming and to attend to a simple maze game whilst wearing an electroencephalogram (EEG)device called the Emotiv EPOC. The EPOC's proprietary software includes a system which tracks emotional state (specifically: engagement, excitement, meditation, frustration, valence and long-term excitement). Using this data, a software application written in the Processing language was developed to track user's engagement levels and implement a neurofeedback based intervention when engagement fell below an acceptable level. The aim of the intervention was to prompt learners who disengaged with the task to re-engage. The intervention used during the video tutorial was to pause the video if a participant disengaged significantly. However other interventions such as slowing the video down, playing a noise or darkening/brightening the screen could also be used. For the maze game, the caterpillar moving through the maze slowed in line with disengagement and moved more quickly once the learner re-engaged. The approach worked very well and successfully re-engaged participants, although a number of improvements could be made. A number of interesting findings on the comparative engagement levels of different groups e.g. by gender and by age etc. were identified and provide useful pointers for future research studies

Developing a Computational Thinking Test using Bebras problems

Assessment is one of the major factors to consider when developing a new course or program of study. When developing a course to teach Computer Science there are many forms this could take, one of which is linked to Computational Thinking. Whilst developing Computer Science to Go (CS2Go), an introductory course aimed at secondary school students, we have developed a Computational Thinking test based on the problems developed for the international Bebras Challenge. This paper will describe the content and development of the course, as well as some analysis on results from a year-long study with secondary school students and first-year undergraduate students. We believe that, based on our analysis and previous research in the field, that our assessment, based on pre-exisiting Bebras problems, has the potential to offer educators another way of testing this increasingly discussed skill, Computational Thinking

Insurance-State Regulation-Surplus Line Insurance

Plaintiff, a New York corporation doing business in Texas, purchased insurance covering risks located in Texas from insurers not licensed to do business in that state. The entire insurance transaction was consummated outside Texas, and any adjustment for losses was to be made outside the state. Pursuant to a Texas statute, plaintiff was taxed an amount equal to five percent of its gross premiums. Plaintiff instituted the present suit in a state court in Texas to recover the tax, which had been paid under protest. The trial court\u27s decision for plaintiff was affirmed by the court of civil appeals, and the Supreme Court of Texas denied an application for writ of error. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, affirmed, one Justice dissenting. Congress, in passing the McCarran Act, explicitly incorporated the limitations of prior Supreme Court decisions which had held that a state does not have the power to tax insurance contracts entered into outside its jurisdiction, even though such contracts covered risks located within the state, and thus a de novo consideration of such decisions is inappropriate. State Bd. of Ins. v. Todd Shipyards Corp., 370 U.S. 451 (1962)

Negative voters : electoral competition with loss-aversion

This paper studies how voter loss-aversion affects electoral competition in a Downsian setting. Assuming that the voters’ reference point is the status quo, we show that loss-aversion has a number of effects. First, for some values of the status quo, there is policy rigidity both parties choose platforms equal to the status quo, regardless of other parameters. Second, there is a moderation effect when there is policy rigidity, the equilibrium policy outcome is closer to the moderate voters’ ideal point than in the absence of loss-aversion. In a dynamic extension of the model, we consider how parties strategically manipulate the status quo to their advantage, and we find that this increases policy rigidity. Finally, we show that with loss-aversion, incumbents adjust less than challengers to changes in voter preferences. The underlying force is that the status quo works to the advantage of the incumbent. This prediction of asymmetric adjustment is new, and we test it using elections to US state legislatures. The results are as predicted: incumbent parties respond less to shocks in the preferences of the median voter

An interpretive business statistics course encompassing diverse teaching and learning styles: Working paper series--05-04

An interpretive-learner-centered approach attempting to match diverse learning and teaching styles is implemented to improve student learning and reduce high attrition for an undergraduate business statistics course. The redesigned course focuses on the interpretation and implications of statistical results through real business problems and data while relegating the mechanical steps of computation via formulae to the background. The philosophy that "students are responsible for their education" is embraced; thus, a mastery approach to learning was adopted utilizing pre-lecture, post-lecture and lab web quizzes all with multiple attempts allowed. Cooperative learning serves as a common thread in the course through the use of student teams in lectures, labs and two project assignments. Team projects require students to create business reports in which all statistical jargon is translated into everyday language. Results from assessment data collected on student learning styles, pre and post assessments and the various course components indicate a significant reduction in course attrition and improved student learning