A Methodology to Assist Faculty in Developing Successful Approaches for Achieving Learner Centered Information Systems Curriculum Outcomes: Team Based Methods

All industries face the interrelated challenges of indentifying and training the critical skills needed to be successful in the workplace. Specifically of interest to the information systems field is that any newly trained IS professional has to be equipped to solve increasingly difficult problems with great confidence and competence. In this paper we present the case for IS curriculum implementations (Landry 2008) based on the transformational learner centered methodologies (Saulnier 2008). With this approach, student learners take responsibility for their education and are accountable for the outcomes based on a continuous feedback and self adjustment of goal. We present a methodology for learner centered outcome development by using a template approach developed within a quality process improvement environment. This approach utilizes an existing model curriculum in developing the learner centered attributes. Examples for implementing the approach utilizing team based behaviors are provided

Upper-crustal architecture and record of Famatinian arc activity in the Sierra de Narváez and Sierra de Las Planchadas, NW Argentina

The 495 to 450 Ma Famatinian orogen, exposed throughout central and northwestern Argentina, formed from east-directed subduction under the Gondwanan margin. The Sierra de Narváez and Sierra de Las Planchadas preserve a rare upper-crustal section of the Famatinian arc. New mapping, structural analysis, detrital U–Pb zircon geochronology, as well as major and trace element geochemistry in the Sierra de Narváez – Las Planchadas are presented to give a comprehensive geodynamic portrait of the volcano-sedimentary, igneous, and deformational processes acting within the top of the Famatinian arc in the Ordovician. Field observations and bulk rock geochemistry agree with previous work indicating that the top of the Famatinian arc consisted of volcanic centers, mafic and felsic feeders, and plutons built into continental crust in a shallow marine arc setting, characterized by fossil-bearing, fine-grained marine sediments interbedded with coarse-grained volcanic-clastic material. Trace element chemistry is consistent with the Sierra de Narváez – Las Planchadas region being a continuation along the main arc axis from the more southerly Sierra de Famatina, not a back arc setting as previously interpreted. Detrital zircon geochronology in Permian and Carboniferous sedimentary units unconformably overlying Ordovician units adds further constraints to the duration of Famatinian arc activity and the source of sedimentary material. Two peaks in detrital zircon ages within Carboniferous and Permian strata at 481 Ma and from 474 to 469 Ma, record periods of enhanced magma addition during Famatinian arc activity. Structural analysis establishes both Famatinian and post-Famatinian (largely Andean) deformation; contractional deformation in the Ordovician, although small relative to middle- to lower-crustal levels of the Famatinian orogen, caused crustal thickening and likely initiated surface uplift. Unlike the Famatinian middle to lower crust, however, where widespread ductile deformation is ubiquitous, shortening here is accommodated by open folding, pressure solution, and likely localized brittle faulting. We briefly speculate on the implications of variable shortening recorded at different crustal levels.Fil: Lusk, Alexander D.. University of Wisconsin; Estados Unidos. University of Southern California; Estados UnidosFil: Ratschbacher, Barbara C.. University of Southern California; Estados UnidosFil: Larrovere, Mariano Alexis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Alasino, Pablo Horacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Memeti, Valbone. California State University Fullerton; Estados UnidosFil: Paterson, Scott Robert. University of Southern California; Estados Unido

A randomised trial and economic evaluation of the effect of response mode on response rate, response bias, and item non-response in a survey of doctors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Surveys of doctors are an important data collection method in health services research. Ways to improve response rates, minimise survey response bias and item non-response, within a given budget, have not previously been addressed in the same study. The aim of this paper is to compare the effects and costs of three different modes of survey administration in a national survey of doctors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A stratified random sample of 4.9% (2,702/54,160) of doctors undertaking clinical practice was drawn from a national directory of all doctors in Australia. Stratification was by four doctor types: general practitioners, specialists, specialists-in-training, and hospital non-specialists, and by six rural/remote categories. A three-arm parallel trial design with equal randomisation across arms was used. Doctors were randomly allocated to: online questionnaire (902); simultaneous mixed mode (a paper questionnaire and login details sent together) (900); or, sequential mixed mode (online followed by a paper questionnaire with the reminder) (900). Analysis was by intention to treat, as within each primary mode, doctors could choose either paper or online. Primary outcome measures were response rate, survey response bias, item non-response, and cost.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The online mode had a response rate 12.95%, followed by the simultaneous mixed mode with 19.7%, and the sequential mixed mode with 20.7%. After adjusting for observed differences between the groups, the online mode had a 7 percentage point lower response rate compared to the simultaneous mixed mode, and a 7.7 percentage point lower response rate compared to sequential mixed mode. The difference in response rate between the sequential and simultaneous modes was not statistically significant. Both mixed modes showed evidence of response bias, whilst the characteristics of online respondents were similar to the population. However, the online mode had a higher rate of item non-response compared to both mixed modes. The total cost of the online survey was 38% lower than simultaneous mixed mode and 22% lower than sequential mixed mode. The cost of the sequential mixed mode was 14% lower than simultaneous mixed mode. Compared to the online mode, the sequential mixed mode was the most cost-effective, although exhibiting some evidence of response bias.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Decisions on which survey mode to use depend on response rates, response bias, item non-response and costs. The sequential mixed mode appears to be the most cost-effective mode of survey administration for surveys of the population of doctors, if one is prepared to accept a degree of response bias. Online surveys are not yet suitable to be used exclusively for surveys of the doctor population.</p

Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Chapter 18- Chick Survival of Greater Prairie-Chickens

Chick survival during the first three weeks of life is a critical stage in the demography of Greater Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido), but little information is available. Biologists often estimate brood success using periodic flushes of radio-marked females, but it is impossible to determine mortality factors if chicks are not radio-marked. We used sutures to attach 0.5-g transmitters to 1- to 2-day-old chicks in Johnson County, Nebraska, during 2008. Our objectives were to (1) assess causes of mortality of 0- to 21-day-old chicks, (2) estimate daily survival probability for 0- to 21-day-old chicks, and (3) evaluate the effect of applying transmitters with suture attachment to chicks. We monitored a total of 221 prairie chicken chicks from 20 broods. We radio-marked 27 chicks from 10 broods of radio-marked females (one to five chicks per brood). The chicks were located twice per day to ensure that they were within a 10-m radius of the female. Our limited sample showed a weak effect of radio-marking on the survival of prairie chicken chicks (β= –0.54; SE= 0.33). Forty-two (19%; 95% CI: ±5%) of the 221 chicks in our sample survived to day 21, confirming low rates of productivity observed in hunter wing surveys and brood flushes of radio-marked females in a concurrent study. All radio-marked chicks in our sample died (13% exposure; 87% predators) before 21 days of age. Survival of chicks increased with age, and survival decreased during periods with high precipitation. Daily and 21-day survival rate estimates for all chicks in our sample were 0.926 (95% CI: 0.915–0.937) and 0.193 (95% CI; 0.155–0.255), respectively. Predation appeared to be the most critical factor for chick survival, so management of landscapes to reduce risk from predators may have a positive effect on Greater Prairie-Chicken populations

Interactions between Mad1p and the Nuclear Transport Machinery in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In addition to its role in nucleocytoplasmic transport, the nuclear pore complex (NPC) acts as a docking site for proteins whose apparent primary cellular functions are unrelated to nuclear transport, including Mad1p and Mad2p, two proteins of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) machinery. To understand this relationship, we have mapped domains of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mad1p that interact with the nuclear transport machinery, including further defining its interactions with the NPC. We showed that a Kap95p/Kap60p-dependent nuclear localization signal, positioned in the C-terminal third of Mad1p, is required for its efficient targeting to the NPC. At the NPC, Mad1p interacts with Nup53p and a presumed Nup60p/Mlp1p/Mlp2p complex through two coiled coil regions within its N terminus. When the SAC is activated, a portion of Mad1p is recruited to kinetochores through an interaction that is mediated by the C-terminal region of Mad1p and requires energy. We showed using photobleaching analysis that in nocodazole-arrested cells Mad1p rapidly cycles between the Mlp proteins and kinetochores. Our further analysis also showed that only the C terminus of Mad1p is required for SAC function and that the NPC, through Nup53p, may act to regulate the duration of the SAC response

Modelling ecological niches with support vector machines

1. The ecological niche is a fundamental biological concept. Modelling species' niches is central to numerous ecological applications, including predicting species invasions, identifying reservoirs for disease, nature reserve design and forecasting the effects of anthropogenic and natural climate change on species' ranges. 2. A computational analogue of Hutchinson's ecological niche concept (the multidimensional hyperspace of species' environmental requirements) is the support of the distribution of environments in which the species persist. Recently developed machine-learning algorithms can estimate the support of such high-dimensional distributions. We show how support vector machines can be used to map ecological niches using only observations of species presence to train distribution models for 106 species of woody plants and trees in a montane environment using up to nine environmental covariates. 3. We compared the accuracy of three methods that differ in their approaches to reducing model complexity. We tested models with independent observations of both species presence and species absence. We found that the simplest procedure, which uses all available variables and no pre-processing to reduce correlation, was best overall. Ecological niche models based on support vector machines are theoretically superior to models that rely on simulating pseudo-absence data and are comparable in empirical tests. 4. Synthesis and applications. Accurate species distribution models are crucial for effective environmental planning, management and conservation, and for unravelling the role of the environment in human health and welfare. Models based on distribution estimation rather than classification overcome theoretical and practical obstacles that pervade species distribution modelling. In particular, ecological niche models based on machine-learning algorithms for estimating the support of a statistical distribution provide a promising new approach to identifying species' potential distributions and to project changes in these distributions as a result of climate change, land use and landscape alteration