Is E-learning replacing the traditional lecture?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review some of the learning technologies associated with teaching and learning in Higher Education (HE). It looks at E-learning and Information Technology (IT) as tools for replacing the traditional learning experience in HE, i.e. the ‘chalk and talk’ lecture and seminar. HE is on the threshold of being transformed through the application of learning technologies. Are we on the brink of a new way of learning in HE after a tried and tested formula over eight hundred years? Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a case based approach, the fieldwork for this research took place at two UK Higher Education Institutes (HEI’s). A number of units that included IT based learning were identified. All units included a web site that was aimed at supporting students’ learning. The data was collected through unstructured discussion with the lecturer and a questionnaire to students. Findings – This paper considers and highlights the key findings from the sample linking them to the literature with the purpose of testing the aim/title of this paper. Evidence suggested the implications for HEI’s are they cannot assume that presenting new technologies automatically makes their institutions “youth friendly”; this new generation would like to see some concrete benefits of technology. Originality/value – From this small-scale investigation this paper attempts to investigate which direction the threshold may go. There has been eight hundred years of learning in the UK, is this generation wanting a new chapter. Evidence from this research suggests not, it will only play a bit part. They can help free up time in order to engage and support students in new and interesting ways

Is Uber a Substitute or Complement for Public Transit?

How Uber affects public transit ridership is a relevant policy question facing cities worldwide. Theoretically, Uber’s effect on transit is ambiguous: while Uber is an alternative mode of travel, it can also increase the reach and flexibility of public transit’s fixed-route, fixed-schedule service. We estimate the effect of Uber on public transit ridership using a difference-in-differences design that exploits variation across U.S. metropolitan areas in both the intensity of Uber penetration and the timing of Uber entry. We find that Uber is a complement for the average transit agency, increasing ridership by five percent after two years. This average effect masks considerable heterogeneity, with Uber increasing ridership more in larger cities and for smaller transit agencies

Effects of activation on selected Marine Corps Reserve prior service enlisted continuation rates in the post-9/11 era

This thesis analyzes the continuation behavior of prior service Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR) unit members in the grades of E3 to E5 and examines the effect of activation post-9/11 on 12-month continuation rates. The effect of monetary incentives is estimated and other significant predictors of continuation identified. Data were collected from the Total Force Data Warehouse (TFDW) for all Selected Reserve (SelRes) members who served between August 31, 2001 and October 31, 2009. Limited data to determine service history were collected from December 31, 1994 to July 31, 2001. Two probit regression models were estimated for the three tour lengths of 4-, 12- and 24-months. The models included explanatory variables for activation in support of a contingency operation, bonuses, economic conditions, ability, person-job fit, military experience, and demographics. Two additional models were estimated to isolate the effects of prior reserve experience in the active and Reserve Components (RC). Factors having positive effects on continuation were activation frequency, bonuses, the unemployment rate, prior RC experience, tour length, and multiple tours. Negative influencers on continuation included activation length, deploying outside the continental U.S., unexcused absence from drill, being female, being married, and being older.Outstanding ThesisUS Marine Corps (USMC) authorApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Magma Traps and Driving Pressure: Consequences for Pluton Shape and Emplacement in an Extensional Regime

The level of emplacement and final form of felsic and mafic igneous rocks of the Wichita Mountains Igneous Province, southwestern Oklahoma, U.S.A. Are discussed in light of magma driving pressure, lithostatic load, and crustal magma traps. Deposition of voluminous A-type rhyolites upon an eroded gabbroic substrate formed a subhorizontal strength anisotropy that acted as a crustal magma trap for subsequent rising felsic and mafic magma. Intruded along this crustal magma trap are the A-type sheet granites (length/thickness 100:1) of the Wichita Granite Group, of which the Mount Scott Granite sheet is typical, and smaller plutons of biotite bearing Roosevelt Gabbro. In marked contrast to the subhorizontal granite sheets, the gabbro plutons form more equant stocks with flat roofs and steep side walls. Late Diabase dikes cross-cut all other units, but accompanying basaltic flows are extremely rare in the volcanic pile. Based on magmastatic calculations, we draw the following conclusions concerning the level of emplacement and the shape of these intrusions. (1) Magma can rise to a depth at which the magma driving pressure becomes negligible. Magma that maintains a positive driving pressure at the surface has the potential to erupt. (2) Magma ascent may be arrested at a deeper level in the crust by a subhorizontal strength anisotropy (i.e. crustal magma trap) if the magma driving pressure is greater than or equal to the lithostatic load at the depth of the subhorizontal strength anisotropy. (3) Subhorizontal sheet-intrusions form along crustal magma traps when the magma driving pressure greatly exceeds the lithostatic load. under such conditions, the magma driving pressure is sufficent to lift the overburden to create the necessary space for the intrusion. (4) Thicker steep-sided stocks or batholiths, with flat roofs, form at crustal magma traps when the magma driving pressure approximates that of the lithostatic load. under these conditions, the necessary space for the intrusion must be created by other mechanisms (e.g. stoping). (5) Subvertical sheets (i.e. dikes) form when the magma driving pressure is less than the lithostatic load at the level of emplacement

An ECOOP web portal for visualising and comparing distributed coastal oceanography model and in situ data

As part of a large European coastal operational oceanography project (ECOOP), we have developed a web portal for the display and comparison of model and in situ marine data. The distributed model and in situ datasets are accessed via an Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) respectively. These services were developed independently and readily integrated for the purposes of the ECOOP project, illustrating the ease of interoperability resulting from adherence to international standards. The key feature of the portal is the ability to display co-plotted timeseries of the in situ and model data and the quantification of misfits between the two. By using standards-based web technology we allow the user to quickly and easily explore over twenty model data feeds and compare these with dozens of in situ data feeds without being concerned with the low level details of differing file formats or the physical location of the data. Scientific and operational benefits to this work include model validation, quality control of observations, data assimilation and decision support in near real time. In these areas it is essential to be able to bring different data streams together from often disparate locations

Electron ionisation of cyanoacetylene: Ionisation cross sections and dication formation

Cyanoacetylene (HC3N) is an important trace species in the atmosphere of Titan. We report, for the first time, absolute partial electron ionisation cross sections and absolute precursor-specific partial electron ionisation cross sections for cyanoacetylene, following an experimental and computational investigation. Our methodology involves using 2D ion-ion coincidence mass spectrometry to generate relative cross sections, over the electron energy range 50 – 200 eV. These relative values are then normalised to an absolute scale, using a binary encounter-Bethe (BEB) calculation of the total ionisation cross section. The BEB calculation agrees well with previous determinations in the literature. The mass spectrometric observations of HC2N+ and HCN+, ions with a connectivity markedly different to that of the neutral molecule, point towards a rich cationic energy landscape possessing several local minima. Indeed, [HC3N]2+ minima involving a variety of cyclic configurations are revealed by a preliminary computational investigation, along with two minima with linear and bent geometries involving H atom migration (CCCNH2+). Determination of the energy of a transition state between these local minima indicates that the dication is able to explore the majority of this rich conformational landscape at our experimental energies. This investigation of the energetics also determines an adiabatic double ionisation energy of 30.3 eV for the lowest lying singlet state of HCCCN2+, and 30.1 eV for the lowest-lying triplet state. The bulk of the cation pairs detected in the coincidence experiment appear to originate from markedly excited dication states, not the ground state. We observe 5 two-body dissociations of HCCCN2+, and subsequent decay of one of the ions generated in such two-body processes accounts for the majority of three-body dissociations we observe

Observations of impacted, frozen Lunar and Martian regolith simulants

An examination of impact flashes from frozen Lunar and Martian simulant (JSC-1A and JSC-1 respectively) was carried out in order to better understand the physical and chemical behaviour of the highly energetic, short-lived, ejecta cloud. The relative emission intensity and decay from the impact ejecta were examined across 10 spectral regions and a semi-quantitative analysis of the peak flash intensity and relative densities of the frozen targets carried out. Additional experiments recorded the emission spectra of the frozen target ejecta during the first 15 microseconds after impact to more clearly understand the origin of any atomic/molecular emission

The physical determinants of the thickness of lamellar polymer crystals

Based upon kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of crystallization in a simple polymer model we present a new picture of the mechanism by which the thickness of lamellar polymer crystals is constrained to a value close to the minimum thermodynamically stable thickness. This description contrasts with those given by the two dominant theoretical approaches.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, revte

Competitive transport processes of chloride, sodium, potassium, and ammonium in fen peat

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2018.08.004 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/There is sparse information on reactive solute transport in peat; yet, with increasing development of peatland dominated landscapes, purposeful and accidental contaminant releases will occur, so it is important to assess their mobility. Previous experiments with peat have only evaluated single-component solutions, such that no information exists on solute transport of potentially competitively adsorbing ions to the peat matrix. Additionally, recent studies suggest chloride (Cl-) might not be conservative in peat, as assumed by many past peat solute transport studies. Based on measured and modelled adsorption isotherms, this study illustrates concentration dependent adsorption of Cl- to peat occurred in equilibrium adsorption batch (EAB) experiments, which could be described with a Sips isotherm. However, Cl- adsorption was insignificant for low concentrations (<500 mg L−1) as used in breakthrough curve experiments (BTC). We found that competitive adsorption of Na+, K+, and NH4+ transport could be observed in EAB and BTC, depending on the dissolved ion species present. Na+ followed a Langmuir isotherm, K+ a linear isotherm within the tested concentration range (~10 – 1500 mg L−1), while the results for NH4+ are inconclusive due to potential microbial degradation. Only Na+ showed clear evidence of competitive behaviour, with an order of magnitude decrease in maximum adsorption capacity in the presence of NH4+ (0.22 to 0.02 mol kg-1), which was confirmed by the BTC data where the Na+ retardation coefficient differed between the experiments with different cations. Thus, solute mobility in peatlands is affected by competitive adsorption.NSERC Canadian Network for Aquatic Ecosystem ServicesNSERC ["NETGP417353-11"]NSERC Discovery ["174626-2013-RGPIN"