Adaptive Learning and Returning Adult Online Students

Many returning adults choose online education for its flexibility but sometimes require additional preparation. We will discuss an adaptive learning pilot to address academic remediation and share preliminary research findings

Ideology and Entry Policy: Why Non-Socialist Parties in Sweden Support Open Door Migration Policies

While the continued growth of far-right populist parties across Europe has led to a rich body of literature detailing the impact of anti-immigrant parties on entry policies, less attention has been directed towards analyzing how mainstream non-socialist parties formulate their migration policy preferences. In this paper, we seek to correct this imbalance by addressing the case of Sweden. The conventional wisdom frequently portrays non-socialist parties as proponents of restrictive entry policies for labor migrants and asylum seekers. However, we show that center-right parties and the Greens have largely been the driving force behind key Swedish migration policy developments over the past several decades, allowing greater numbers of migrants to enter and settle permanently. Our analysis shows that non-socialist support for generous entry policies is largely consistent over time, regardless of efforts by far-right populist parties, or the socialist left, to see more restrictive entry policies enacted. To account for this stance, we focus on the role of party ideology as the missing factor. While vote maximization and inter-party competition have their place in accounts of entry policy preference formation, a more nuanced analysis requires examining the role of ideology. Long-held ideological principles help parties evaluate societal change, leading them to formulate generous entry policies in the face of pressure from both the left and the right for stricter migration policies

Graduate Student-Athletes: An Examination of Identity Roles and Transition

Increasingly, student athletes are enrolling in graduate programs with remaining athletic eligibility. From identity role conflict and transition theory approaches, this study examines how graduate student athletes develop by negotiating their identities as both graduate students and as athletes. Implications for collegiate administrators, coaches, and faculty who seek to support graduate student success and transition out of sport are discussed

Transactional Distance in MOOCs: A Critical Analysis of Dialogue, Structure, and Learner Autonomy

Drawing upon a content analysis of students’ postings on CourseTalk.org, this study presents preliminary findings of analyzing transactional distance in xMOOCs in order to elucidate the educational exchange facilitated or restricted with reference to the three variables of transactional distance theory

Mapping the mineralogy and lithology of Canyonlands, Utah with imaging spectrometer data and the multiple spectral feature mapping algorithm

The sedimentary sections exposed in the Canyonlands and Arches National Parks region of Utah (generally referred to as 'Canyonlands') consist of sandstones, shales, limestones, and conglomerates. Reflectance spectra of weathered surfaces of rocks from these areas show two components: (1) variations in spectrally detectable mineralogy, and (2) variations in the relative ratios of the absorption bands between minerals. Both types of information can be used together to map each major lithology and the Clark spectral features mapping algorithm is applied to do the job

Worksite Follow-Up and Engagement Strategies for Initiating Health Risk Behavior Changes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66663/2/10.1177_109019819001700409.pd

Ground-truthing AVIRIS mineral mapping at Cuprite, Nevada

Mineral abundance maps of 18 minerals were made of the Cuprite Mining District using 1990 AVIRIS data and the Multiple Spectral Feature Mapping Algorithm (MSFMA) as discussed in Clark et al. This technique uses least-squares fitting between a scaled laboratory reference spectrum and ground calibrated AVIRIS data for each pixel. Multiple spectral features can be fitted for each mineral and an unlimited number of minerals can be mapped simultaneously. Quality of fit and depth from continuum numbers for each mineral are calculated for each pixel and the results displayed as a multicolor image

Activation of AMPK by the putative dietary restriction mimetic metformin is insufficient to extend lifespan in Drosophila

The biguanide drug, metformin, commonly used to treat type-2 diabetes, has been shown to extend lifespan and reduce fecundity in C. elegans through a dietary restriction-like mechanism via the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the AMPK-activating kinase, LKB1. We have investigated whether the longevity-promoting effects of metformin are evolutionarily conserved using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We show here that while feeding metformin to adult Drosophila resulted in a robust activation of AMPK and reduced lipid stores, it did not increase lifespan in either male or female flies. In fact, we found that when administered at high concentrations, metformin is toxic to flies. Furthermore, no decreases in female fecundity were observed except at the most toxic dose. Analysis of intestinal physiology after metformin treatment suggests that these deleterious effects may result from disruptions to intestinal fluid homeostasis. Thus, metformin appears to have evolutionarily conserved effects on metabolism but not on fecundity or lifespan

Activation of AMPK by the putative dietary restriction mimetic metformin is insufficient to extend lifespan in Drosophila.

The biguanide drug, metformin, commonly used to treat type-2 diabetes, has been shown to extend lifespan and reduce fecundity in C. elegans through a dietary restriction-like mechanism via the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the AMPK-activating kinase, LKB1. We have investigated whether the longevity-promoting effects of metformin are evolutionarily conserved using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We show here that while feeding metformin to adult Drosophila resulted in a robust activation of AMPK and reduced lipid stores, it did not increase lifespan in either male or female flies. In fact, we found that when administered at high concentrations, metformin is toxic to flies. Furthermore, no decreases in female fecundity were observed except at the most toxic dose. Analysis of intestinal physiology after metformin treatment suggests that these deleterious effects may result from disruptions to intestinal fluid homeostasis. Thus, metformin appears to have evolutionarily conserved effects on metabolism but not on fecundity or lifespan

Relative Timing of Off-Axis Volcanism from Sediment Thickness Estimates on the 8°20’N Seamount Chain, East Pacific Rise

Volcanic seamount chains on the flanks of mid-ocean ridges record variability in magmatic processes associated with mantle melting over several millions of years. However, the relative timing of magmatism on individual seamounts along a chain can be difficult to estimate without in situ sampling and is further hampered by Ar40/Ar39 dating limitations. The 8°20’N seamount chain extends ∼170 km west from the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR), north of and parallel to the western Siqueiros fracture zone. Here, we use multibeam bathymetric data to investigate relationships between abyssal hill formation and seamount volcanism, transform fault slip, and tectonic rotation. Near-bottom compressed high-intensity radiated pulse, bathymetric, and sidescan sonar data collected with the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry are used to test the hypothesis that seamount volcanism is age-progressive along the seamount chain. Although sediment on seamount flanks is likely to be reworked by gravitational mass-wasting and current activity, bathymetric relief and Sentry vehicle heading analysis suggest that sedimentary accumulations on seamount summits are likely to be relatively pristine. Sediment thickness on the seamounts\u27 summits does not increase linearly with nominal crustal age, as would be predicted if seamounts were constructed proximal to the EPR axis and then aged as the lithosphere cooled and subsided away from the ridge. The thickest sediments are found at the center of the chain, implying the most ancient volcanism there, rather than on seamounts furthest from the EPR. The nonlinear sediment thickness along the 8°20’N seamounts suggests that volcanism can persist off-axis for several million years