bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A comparison of a first and third year UG enterprise unit: lessons from experiential learning and interdisciplinarity
Authors: Sanchez-Romaguera Veronica , Phillips Robert A
Published: July 2018

Drawing from several years of experience, this work describes lessons learnt in designing, delivering and assessing two interdisciplinary enterprise units offered undergraduate students from any discipline studing at the University of Manchester (UK). Both units are electives (optional). One unit is delivered to first year undergrdaute students whereas the other unit is delivered to third/fourth year undergraduate students. Experiential learning and interdisciplinary cohorts are core aspects of both units. Students work on ‘real-world’ projects to develop a credible and competitive solution within a tight dead-line. In this paper, findings are drawn from data collected from staff and teaching assistants observations, students’ reflective diaries and students’ feedback. Findings showed that in general, students at both levels, year 1 and year 3/4, regarded the experience challenging at first due to the ‘unusual’ learning environment when compared to the education that most students have experienced prior to the units here discussed. However, most students highly regarded the interdisciplinary experiential learning experience. The paper contributes to the growth of knowledge and aids understanding of how experiential learning and interdisciplinarity have been effectively combined and introduced in the university curriculum. Although this works focused on enterprise education the experience-based guidance here described is also applicable to a much wider range of situations and academic areas of study. Keywords: Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education; Employability; Experiential learning; Interdisciplinary education;
Flipping the classrrom in courses of statistics: analyzing the feedback from students
Authors: Perez-Marin Ana Maria , Lopez-Tamayo Jordi , Alcañiz Manuela , Riera Carme , Santolino Miguel , Chulia Helena
Published: July 2018

We present the application of the flipped classroom strategy in two subjects of the degree in Statistics (University of Barcelona-Polytechnic University of Catalonia) and analyse the opinion of students about the experience. The objective is to improve the learning process of statistics by promoting a more active attitude of students in the classroom. The new strategy has been welcomed by students, as most of them are satisfied with the experience. Many of them would like that the stratgy would be applied to a significant number of lessons in the subject, or even in other subjects of the degree. Moreover, students think that it helped them to develop their capacity to organize their study time and their self-learning competence. They also think that with the flipped classroom strategy they learn more than with the traditional classes, but they remark the importance of imcluding a session where the teacher answers the questions and solves the doubts of students to ensure a sucessful implementation.
Cluster Analysis of Digital Performance in Educational Techniques in Conditions of EU
Authors: Huculova Eva , Solcova Lucia
Published: July 2018

Global technological trends affect broad spectrum of areas in our life, and through the implementation of particular tools, they are affecting the development of educational levels in particular countries and also educational process itself. This study is aimed at the comparison and revealing of the effect of digitalization and e-skills on the level of education in 20 selected EU member countries by using Factor Analysis and Cluster Analysis. As a result, we consider four clusters of countries with similar characteristics in terms of education, digital literacy and public funding and expenditure on development of ICT and education. Population e-skills demonstrated almost identical levels. The implementation of technological trends into the educational process does not depend only on its positive effects on the educational level, but also on the real opportunity to use these modern tools within the educational process. This is determined by a number of socio-economic, political and cultural aspects. Their detailed examination requires the access to more structured data. Those conditions also create a platform for a subsequent research.
Mindfulness and gamification in the higher education classroom: Friends or foes?
Authors: Karadjova Katia G.
Published: July 2018

The paper provides short overview of the gamification, mindfulness and contemplative pedagogy approaches in the higher education with focus on specific experiences in the Information Literacy (IL) field in higher education. Students seem to engage eagerly with both mindfulness activities and games in the classroom. Although at first these two might give an impression of activities which stand on opposite sides an evident overlapping has been present through employing games as mindfulness activities. The paper discusses the Brain Booth Initiative at a rural, public university as an example of an innovative practice, which shows how mindfulness and gamification complement each other in helping students optimize learning and support their wellbeing. In addition to the scholarly literature the Brain Booth initiative shows that librarians are well-positioned to adopt contemplative pedagogy in their information literacy instruction and to serve as resources for departmental faculty, who may be willing to explore its use in their courses.
The MEM project: experiences, challenges and outcomes of an international double master-level degree
Authors: MONTANARI ROBERTO , Malek Layek Abdel , Andrei Paolo , Ferretti Gino , Valenti Simonetta , Mancinelli Luca Maria , Bernazzoli Alessandro , Bottani Eleonora , Bloom Joel S. , Deek Fadi P.
Published: July 2018

Educating the workforce of the future to perform adeptly in the global environment as well as to surmount cross cultural boundaries is of a paramount necessity in today’s technologically advanced and complex settings. This environment has led institutions of higher education to seek international collaborations to face these challenges. Building on experiences and successes gained from a nearly decade long project entitled UMANE that was jointly supported by both the US Department of Education and the EU for undergraduate double/triple Bachelor’s degrees, this paper reports on an extension of the earlier partnership, to include a graduate level partnership that offers a double master degree between New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and University of Parma (UNIPR) that was put in place in 2015. In this work, we present the developed framework of this international cooperation, report on its challenges, and share our experiences. Specifically, the framework of the agreement establishes guidelines and course of study leading to double master degrees in the area of Engineering Management, one from NJIT and another from Parma University. Students in this program, usually, start their studies in Italy, attending the classes at their home Institution and then move to Newark, New Jersey, during the spring/second semester (6 months) of their first year, to attend NJIT classes. At the end of their studies, students will be awarded two master’s degrees in Engineering Management from the partnering universities.
Nursing Relational Laboratory: Educational, dialogical and critical projet
Authors: Torres Ana , Soares Sérgio , Carvalhais Maribel
Published: July 2018

Nursing is a relational profession and communication is the basic instrument in its practice. The Nursing Relational Laboratory aims to collaborate in the development of communication skills of students of the Nursing, using Portuguese sign language, dramatization and emotional facial expression. 73 students participated (Experimental group; EG; n=38; Control group; CG; n=35). General self-efficacy scale(GSES), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Depression Module(PHQ-9), assertiveness questionnaire(ASS), Emotional Thermometer(ET), Inventory of Barrett-Lennard interpersonal relations(OS-M-40), and autoscopies, are used. The main results were as follows: a) better outcomes of EG on final autoscopy; b) significant reduction of the levels of assertiveness and revolt from the beginning to the end in EG; c) lower levels of emotional distress and need for help of EG, compared with CG at the beginning; d) lower levels of emotional distress, anxiety, need for help, empathy and congruence, and higher levels of revolt and unconditionality in EG, at the end; e) teachers recognize the high potential of the LRE. The LRE allowed the development of communicational skills of GE students through sign language, drama and emotion analysis. It is incentivized the development of projects in the area and reinforces the importance of this skills training in health professionals.
Relationship between student guidance and academic achievement
Authors: Lukkarinen Anna , Koivukangas Paula
Published: July 2018

We assess how different types of guidance offered to first-year students are related to the students’ subsequent academic performance. Using data from a student survey conducted at a Finnish business university, as well as the university’s student database, we build regression models to predict student performance. We find that guidance on choosing a major subject and guidance on study methods are significant predictors of subsequent performance. More tactical types of guidance are not statistically significant, and can be rather considered as enablers. The quantitative findings are supported by verbal feedback collected from students. We conclude that guidance offered to students at the start of their university careers can bear fruit still several years afterwards. The findings have implications for university educators and staff responsible for the orientation of first-year students. Educators and staff can seek to enhance academic achievement by ensuring that students are equipped with sufficient methods and skills necessary for their university studies and by providing students with extensive information on possible study paths beyond the first year.
Embedding Social Innovation in Latin America Academic Curriculum
Authors: Galego Diego , Soto Waldo , Carrasco Gabriela , Amorim Marlene , Ferreira Dias Marta
Published: July 2018

Recently we have witnessed the growth of social innovation initiative as a viable approach to address many challenges of contemporary societies across the social, cultural, economic, educational and environmental domains. Social innovation stes up to develop alternative, and sustainable solutions to social issues by means of organizational models that rely on strong civic engagement and participation across private and public sectors. As such, social innovation holds a strong potential for the transformation of societies and has attracted a growing interest from researchers, practitioners and policy makers around the world. A key domain of concern is the need for developing adequate models and methodologies for the qualification of indivduals for social innovation. In this vein the Students4Change project aims to develop and implement an integrative methodology to embed social innovation and entrepreneurship in the academic experience of students in Latin America. This paper offers a preliminary description of the advancements led by 10 universities in 5 Latin America countries engaged in the project, in order to develop competences for social innovation and social entrepreneurship through innovations in academic curricula.
Responsible Research and Innovation: an opportunity to develop creative skills at Higher Education
Authors: Carrió Mar , Rodríguez Gemma , Saladié Núria , Revuelta Gema , Vizuete Clara , Llorente Carolina
Published: July 2018

During the last decades, research and innovation have experienced a revolution that has lead to new challenge, and creativity has been identified as a main skill for professional success. In this context, not only concerns about involving society in research and innovation processes have been increasing but also to make this process responsible. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has been defined as the approach for making research and innovation a collaborative, intergenerational and democratic process. The HEIRRI project aims to integrate RRI at all stages of education with the creation of different programs in Higher Eduaction. The aim of this study is assess how creativity has been developed in an RRI framework in the HEIRRI Summer School programme troughout an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) approach. On the basis of the results, this paper highlights that the IBL approach, but also the RRI framework foster creativity development in a research proposal design but also that have an impact on how researchers’ perceive their profession. This paper concludes that integral elements of this pedagogical approach and RRI, such as discussion, multidisciplinarity and including different voices and perspectives are main ingredients to promote creativity in research and innovation processes and have a transformative potential.
Learning Lab "Digital Technologies" - Concept, Streams and Experiences
Authors: Brehm Lars , Günzel Holger
Published: July 2018

Digital technology capabilities are highly important also for non-computer-science students. Unfortunately, the understanding of the underlying technologies of daily used devices is often non-existent, but also difficult for lecturers to explain. There is a need for new ways of teaching and learning; this here presented concept of the Learning Lab ”Digital Technologies” is an answer to this challenge for building up knowledge and breaking down barriers to technology in a playful and self-contained way. The focus is on hands-on approaches to technology and solving assignments in small student teams. The four core elements of the Learning Lab: didactic concept, stream concept, assignment repository concept and community concept. The article outlines the experiences with students of the business administration master program in the specialisation field of “Digital Technology Entrepreneurship” at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. The article concludes with all key benefits of the Learning Lab for students and lecturers and an outlook for further development.
The Effectiveness of Different Levels of Activation in Higher Education
Authors: Figas Paula , Sailer Michael , Hagel Georg , Sailer Maximilian
Published: July 2018

Although there are several empirical studies about active learning in higher education, there are some open research questions. Especially, it appears to be relevant to find out what type of activity (active, interactive and constructive) has a positive effect on the learning result of participants in task-based activities. In order to answer this question an experimental study was conducted with students in German higher education (N=50). The results do not show a significant difference between active, interactive and constructive activities on learning performance in task-based learning. But all groups have benefited from the classroom activities according to the test results.
Educating designers through Materials Club
Authors: Zhou Ziyu , Rognoli Valentina , Ayala-García Camilo
Published: July 2018

Material education is becoming a crucial element in the process of change that is involving the teaching in the field of design. The affirmation of fab labs in design education is increasingly manifested both in traditional classroom didactics and prototyping practices in studio. The growth number of fab labs in universities, have a high potential to change the original material didactics into participatory activities. Based on this situation, this paper aims to analysis how existing fab lab systems can be reframed to maximize benefits in the material education in design domain. As a result, we elaborate the concept of Materials Club as an enabling system to support design students developing their design projects with materials and being highly involvement inside the co-creative study community. In conclusion, Materials Club as an optimize of the fab lab system, can increase the effectiveness in material education. This scenario also promotes us to think about a universal method, which is valorizing the resources which already exist in university and integrate them in a virtuous system for reinforcing the design and material education.
Hungarian ethnic minority higher education students in different countries of Central Europe
Authors: Pusztai Gabriella , Márkus Zsuzsanna
Published: July 2018

There are about 3 million Hungarians living as a minority outside Hungary in 7 countries of Central Europe. In some of those countries they still live in a nearly homogeneous block, whereas in others they live in diaspora. Their access to education in their mother tongue also differs. Our research covered the Hungarian institutions of higher education in the four countries with largest Hungarian minority groups, and we undertook a comparative study of their students. For our investigation we compared the families’ social status. We used data on 1739 students from 13 institutions. We concluded that indigenous Hungarian minority students did not produce homogeneous results in the categories that were examined, which led us to the discovery of important differences.
Designing a programme for Sustainability in Vietnam: Smart Sustainable Vietnamese Cities, SSVC.
Authors: De la Poza Elena , Rietbergen Martijn , Orozco-Messana Javier
Published: July 2018

This work deals with the design and development of the SSVC module, which is organised and implemented by European Higher Education Institutions in partnership with Vietnamese Universities. The reform of the Higher Education in Vietnam requires new pedagogical practices and methods which are used in the SSVC module. In addition, the  process of design must include the adjustment of the European content and pedagogical methods into Vietnamese circumstances. Finally, the programme needs to be piloted and assessed.
Diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica in primary health care: favoring and confounding factors – a cohort study
Authors: Manzo Ciro , Natale Maria , Traini Enea
Published: July 2018

Objectives

To evaluate in a primary care setting the favoring and confounding factors for the diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).

Material and methods

Among 303 patients consecutively referred by their general practitioners (GPs) to our rheumatologic outpatient clinic, we identified three groups: group A – patients with confirmed diagnosis of PMR, group B – patients with unconfirmed diagnosis, group C – patients with unrecognized PMR. All the diagnostic confounding and favoring factors were discussed with GPs using an e-mail questionnaire. Participation in rheumatology training courses represented the final question. The collected data were statistically assessed in a blind way. In Fisher’s exact test and ANOVA test, a p-value was significant if < 0.05. The study was carried out in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration and approved by the Ethics Committee of Mariano Lauro Hospital. Every patient signed an informed consent form at the time of the first visit.

Results

All patients were Caucasian; 24.1% were male; mean age was 72.3 ±8.6 years (min. – 51, max. – 94). There were 41 patients in group A, 93 in group B and 169 in group C. The percentage of misdiagnoses was very high (87.1%): among 134 patients diagnosed with PMR by their GPs (group A + group B) confirmation was made in 41, and in 169 unrecognized PMR was found. Participation in training courses was very significant compared to the diagnostic accuracy (p < 0.0001 in χ2 test) and to the diagnosis timing (24.3 days ±12.5 vs. 42.9 ±15.5 with p-value < 0.05 in the ANOVA test). When the percentages were assessed according to participation, an inadequate evaluation of some clinical manifestations favored over-diagnosis among the trained Gps.

Conclusions

The level of diagnostic accuracy for PMR must be improved in primary care. Participation in rheumatology training courses can be an important step.
Antimalarials – are they effective and safe in rheumatic diseases?
Authors: Haładyj Ewa , Sikora Mariusz , Felis-Giemza Anna , Olesińska Marzena
Published: July 2018

Antimalarial drugs (AD) are a group of widespread therapeutic agents in multiple rheumatic indications. Although the effect of AD is mild and extended in time, low toxicity is their appreciated value. This paper describes the current state of knowledge on the mechanism of action, use, toxicity and pleiotropic effects of AD in the pharmacotherapy of autoimmune diseases.
Paraneoplastic systemic sclerosis associated with colorectal carcinoma
Authors: Samotij Dominik , Maj Joanna , Reich Adam
Published: July 2018

A number of rheumatic disorders may appear as paraneoplastic syndromes, the most common being dermatomyositis or polymyositis. Systemic sclerosis is associated with a slightly increased risk of cancer, although its direct association with malignancies is controversial. We describe a case of a 57-year-old male with rectal adenocarcinoma and systemic sclerosis. Close temporal relationship between the initial presentation and parallel course of both conditions, as well as atypically rapid progression of systemic sclerosis symptoms, were observed in the reported case. The strict relation between these two conditions suggested that systemic sclerosis was a paraneoplastic syndrome rather than a concomitant morbidity in the presented patient. Current literature on systemic sclerosis coexisting with colorectal tumours is very limited, especially in the paraneoplastic setting.
Steve Garfein’s reflections on Professor Steyn’s paper
Authors: Garfein Stephen
Published: July 2018

Steve Garfein's reflections on Professor Steyn's paper
Brian Kooyman’s reflections on Professor Peter Steyn’s paper
Authors: Kooyman Brian
Published: July 2018

Brian Kooyman's reflections on Professor Steyn's paper on the need for a Chief Portfolio Officer
Editorial
Authors: Sankaran Shankar
Published: July 2018

Editorial for Vol 1 Iss 2
Developing and teaching of a world-class online project management curriculum
Authors: Leybourne Stephen A , Kanabar Vijay , Warburton Roger D.H.
Published: July 2018

The evolution of the internet and collaboration tools have made it possible to enhance the range of online education, and make it universally accessible and eminently affordable. Around 2000, the faculty at Boston University’s Metropolitan College proposed an online master’s degree in project management, using the emerging learning management systems. The program grew quickly from 40 to 200 students, and was one of the first in the United States to be accredited by the Project Management Institute’s Global Accreditation Committee. This academic model has now been extended to other disciplines and programs.It was expected from the outset that the BU online and classroom academic experiences would be completely equivalent. This presented several challenges, the first of which was developing online equivalents for the face-to-face pedagogical course components. Second, writing online courses, recording videos and developing innovative discussion topics is time-consuming, and we quickly realised that only fulltime faculty had the commitment and motivation to devote the required effort to produce quality courses. Finally, the technological resources associated with course development and course operation required significant investment, beyond the faculty time, currently estimated at around $60,000 per course.We surveyed our students and alumni every two years and now have enough data to describe accurately the evolution in attitudes to online education.As one of the earlier and premier adopters of a rigorous academic online education model, BU has a vested interest to contribute to the growing debate about the academic quality and rigour of online education, the application of high pedagogical standards, and the innovative use of online teaching frameworks and tools. This paper will address and document these issues and assist in raising awareness of emerging “best practice” in the online education domain.
Visualising project management dimensions
Authors: Copertari Luis
Published: July 2018

It is easier to decide upon which projects to include in a portfolio if a comprehensive human–computer interface is provided. Two alternative displays were designed according to best practice from the literature and tested according to a simple mathematical optimisation model and the average error from testing subjects and the “optimal” solution to decide which one performs better.
Evaluating strategic project and portfolio performance
Authors: Bible Michael J , Bivins Susan S.
Published: July 2018

To assess performance at the portfolio level, it is vital to measure the performance of individual projects and consolidate the measurements in a mathematically meaningful way that reflects the strategic importance of the member projects. Beyond the traditional metrics, obvious questions are how to: (1) derive project strategic performance using traditional performance measurements, (2) synthesise individual project measurements into meaningful strategic performance measurements at the portfolio level, and (3) assess current project and portfolio strategic performance with respect to continued expectation of achieving strategic objectives as they progress through implementation. This article proposes solutions for the first two questions and suggests a means of approaching the third.
The rise and fall of project management: are we observing the birth of a new discipline?
Authors: Young Michael , Young Raymond
Published: July 2018

This conceptual paper examines the state of the project, program and project portfolio management literature and highlights the divergent views of strategy that exist between project managers and top managers. Project management concepts are shown to be based on approaches to planning that top managers had rejected after thirty years of unsuccessful experience with strategic planning. Persistently high project failure rates and recent developments at the board level suggest that we might have reached the limits of our current approaches, and the question is asked whether project management is destined to follow the rise and fall of strategic planning. Alternatives to the traditional linear mechanistic approaches are explored and it is suggested that the project management field would need to embrace the delivery of strategy as the common ground to engage top managers. Approaches would need to be developed that are consistent with how strategy emerges in turbulent environments. Program and portfolio concepts are found to have the most potential to contribute to the emerging field of strategy implementation.
Student Heterogeneity and Leadership Training: Designing project management pedagogy for maximum learning impact
Authors: Shah Mona N , Janardhanan Niranjan Srinivasan
Published: July 2018

In today’s organisations, project managers’ responsibilities go far beyond managing projects within the triple constraints of cost, time and quality (Crawford 2005). They are increasingly being looked upon as drivers of strategic development of their organisations. This transformation in the role of a project manager calls for developing additional competencies such as business analysis and strategic leadership. The Project Management Institute emphasises a focus on these skills for project managers worldwide. Owing to the country’s fast pace of growth and the challenges that arise thereof, Indian companies and educational institutions are also fast realising the importance of holistic development of project managers. Recent research underscores the induction of soft skills and leadership capabilities in project management education. This has led to several studies in the international context that examine student experiences while attending courses in project management. A prominent characteristic that the literature has not dealt with in sufficient detail is the potential impact of prior work experience on students’ learning capabilities during the course. Since most Indian schools do not specify prior work experience as an admission requirement, cohorts usually comprise a mix of students with and without prior work experience. Hence, to analyse if pedagogy is effective, we must consider overall student experience and, in addition, whether and how the students’ heterogeneity in the form of their past work experience impacts their experience during the course. The objective of this study is to answer two questions: (1) is there a significant difference in perceptions of leadership aspects of project management between experienced and inexperienced students? (2) How can we design project management pedagogy to cater to this heterogeneity and yet provide superior student experience?
Work motivation as a determinant of organisational and professional commitment in temporary organisations: theoretical lenses and propositions
Authors: Dwivedula Ravikiran , Bredillet Christophe , Müller Ralf
Published: July 2018

The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical framework to investigate the relationship between work motivation, organisational commitment and professional commitment in temporary organisations. Through a review of theory, we contend that work motivation has two major patterns — internal motivation (which includes intrinsic, need-based and self-deterministic theories), and external motivation (which includes cognitive or process-based theories of motivation) through which it has been investigated. We also hold the nature of employee commitment to be of three types — affective, continuance and normative. This commitment may be towards either the organisation or the profession. A literature review revealed that the characteristics of the temporary organisation — specifically tenure and task — regulate the relationship between work motivation, organisational commitment and professional commitment. Testable propositions are presented
Applying system dynamics for outsourcing services in design-build projects
Authors: Lisse Stephen
Published: July 2018

This study analysed a system dynamics model for outsourcing engineering services in a large and complex project organisational structure that is typically associated with design-build (DB) project delivery. A literature review indicated that most of the reviewed papers implied the project engineering resources were totally insourced or the authors were silent regarding any resources that were outsourced. Comprehensive sensitivity analysis of various model variables was performed, which indicates that the quality and productivity of the outsourced resources as well as the initial number of assigned experienced engineers significantly impacted the amount and timing of engineering work completion. Project outcomes were also impacted by varying the number of initial and changed engineering tasks. The decision to insource/outsource engineering work on DB projects may have significant cost and time impacts, which should be considered by decision makers.
Editorial
Authors: Sankaran Shankar
Published: July 2018

Welcome to the eighth issue of the journal. We have gone well past the infant mortality period of academic journals, which is usually three years. For this, we owe our gratitude to our unsung heroes — our reviewers — our special issue editors and authors. I also owe thanks to Daniel Adler, who has started supporting the journal recently and to Dr Gita Sankaran who has helped me with the copyediting and proofreading as a volunteer.
Desert Island Disks: Ten Reveries on Inter-Disciplinary Pedagogy in Law
Authors: Manderson Desmond
Published: July 2018

In this essay Professor Manderson defends the use of inter-disciplinary methodologies in teaching law. Focusing in

particular on images and texts of no more than a page's length, the essay insists that a whole curriculum could be

devised around these pictures, sounds, and stories. Yet legal teaching, reflecting the character of legal texts in

general, has been relentlessly long-winded and linear. They direct us to one conclusion to the exclusion of all others;

they close options rather than open them. This is no way to learn: it is untrue; it is tedious; it excludes us from

ourselves participating in learning. Other forms of expression have more to say and say it differently. A picture for

example has a density to it in its depiction of the relationship of ideas and forces which can be both easy to take in

and complex to decipher. Its ability to communicate paradoxical, ambiguous, or double-edged thought repays

continuing reflection. Other forms of expression welcome our thinking instead of merely forcing us to submit to its

logic. We are embodied beings not logicians. Words are often such abstract ghostly emanations. The physicality of

sound or vision draws out memories and associations which offer each observer inimitable divergent paths to

interpretation. The reciprocity thus forged between writer and reader, teacher and student, is a grossly under

exploited pedagogic resource that provides to all parties an unparalleled richness and discursive power.
Art of Judgement
Authors: Rogers Nicole , Bird Greta
Published: July 2018

We performed this paper at the Judicial Reasoning: Art or Science? conference held at the Australian National University in February 2009. We were performing on at least two levels: as academics and editors of a collection of judicially-authored essays on the art of judging but also, as we proclaimed at the outset, as Jester and Fool. We did not appear in costume as jesters or fools. We did not even appear as fairies, although one of us is well-known at Southern Cross University for donning fairy wings and fairy tales featured in this performance (as did sheep, land rights and playfulness). But then, our audience of judges had also left their costumes behind; there were no wigs or robes. They were in civilian clothes, recognisable only as judges through name tags. They were, in fact, unmasked.
Representing sub-grid scale variations in nitrogen deposition associated with land use in a global Earth System Model: implications for present and future nitrogen deposition fluxes over North America
Authors: Paulot Fabien , Malyshev Sergey , Nguyen Tran , Crounse John D. , Shevliakova Elena , Horowitz Larry W.
Published: July 2018

Abstract. Reactive nitrogen (N) emissions have increased over the last 150 years as a result of greater fossil fuel combustion and food production. The resulting increase in N deposition can alter the function of ecosystems, but characterizing its ecological impacts remains challenging, in part because of uncertainties in model-based estimates of N dry deposition. Here, we leverage the tiled structure of the land component (LM3) of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) Earth System Model to represent the impact of physical, hydrological, and ecological heterogeneities on the surface removal of chemical tracers. We show that this framework can be used to estimate N deposition at more ecologically-relevant scales (e.g., natural vegetation, water bodies) than from the coarse-resolution global chemistry–climate model (GFDL-AM3). Focusing on North America, we show that the faster removal of N over forested ecosystems relative to cropland and pasture implies that coarse resolution estimates of N deposition from global models systematically underestimate N deposition to natural vegetation by 10 to 30 % in the Central and Eastern US. Neglecting the subgrid scale heterogeneity of dry deposition velocities also results in an underestimate (overestimate) of the amount of reduced (oxidized) nitrogen deposited to water bodies. Overall, changes in land cover associated with human activities are found to slow down the removal of N from the atmosphere, causing a reduction in the dry oxidized, dry reduced, and total N deposition over the contiguous US of 8 %, 26 %, and 6 %, respectively. We also find that the reduction in the overall rate of removal of N associated with land-use change tends to increase N deposition on the remaining natural vegetation and facilitate N export to Canada. We show that subgrid scale differences in the surface removal of oxidized and reduced nitrogen imply that near-term (2010–2050) changes in oxidized (−47 %) and reduced (+40 %) US N emissions will cause opposite changes in N deposition to water bodies (increase) and natural vegetation (decrease) in the Eastern US, with potential implications for acidification and ecosystems.
Kinetic mass-transfer calculation of water isotope fractionation due to cloud microphysics in a regional meteorological model
Authors: Tsai I-Chun , Chen Wan-Yu , Chen Jen-Ping , Liang Mao-Chang
Published: July 2018

Abstract. In conventional atmospheric models, isotope exchange between liquid and gas phases is usually assumed to be in equilibrium, and the highly kinetic phase transformation processes inferred in clouds are yet to be fully investigated. In this study, a two-moment microphysical scheme in the NCAR Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was modified to allow kinetic calculation of isotope fractionation due to various cloud microphysical phase-change processes. A case of moving cold front is selected for quantifying the effect of different factors controlling isotopic composition, including water vapor sources, atmospheric transport, phase transition pathways of water in clouds, and kinetic versus equilibrium mass transfer. A base-run simulation was able to reproduce the ~ 50 ‰ decrease in δD that observed during the frontal passage. Sensitivity tests suggest that all the above factors contributed significantly to the variations in isotope composition. The thermal equilibrium assumption commonly used in earlier studies may cause an overestimate of mean vapor-phase δD by 11 ‰, and the maximum difference can be more than 20 ‰. Without microphysical fractionation, the δD in water vapor can be off by about 25 ‰. Also, using initial vertical distribution and lower boundary conditions of water isotopes from satellite data are critical to successful isotope simulations, without which the δD in water vapor can be off by about 34 and 28 ‰, respectively.
Representation of disturbance in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator Vn4.8 (JULES)
Authors: Burton Chantelle , Betts Richard , Cardoso Manoel , Feldpausch Ted R. , Harper Anna , Jones Chris , Kelley Douglas I. , Robertson Eddy , Wiltshire Andy
Published: July 2018

Abstract. The representation of disturbance is a critical factor in land-surface modelling, but is generally poorly constrained in carbon cycle models. In particular, land-use change and fire can be treated as large-scale disturbances without full representation of their underlying complexities and interactions. Here we describe developments to the land surface model JULES (Joint UK Land Environment Simulator) to represent land-use change and fire as separate disturbances. We use the HYDE (History Database of the Global Environment) land cover dataset to analyse the impact of land-use change on global vegetation, and couple the fire model INFERNO (INteractive Fire and Emission algoRithm for Natural envirOnments) to dynamic vegetation within JULES to assess how the representation of disturbance affects the simulation of present day vegetation. We test model performance, evaluating the inclusion of land use and fire disturbance against standard benchmarks. Using the Manhattan Metric, overall disturbance improves the simulation of vegetation cover compared to observations by up to 53 %. Grasses show an improvement of up to 52 %, with biases in extent reduced from −66 % to 13 %. Total woody cover improves by up to 121 % from a reduction in forest extent in the tropics, although simulated tree cover is now too sparse in some areas. Disturbance generally decreases tree and shrub cover and increases grasses. The results show that the disturbances provide important contributions to the realistic modelling of vegetation on a global scale, although in some areas fire and land-use together result in over-disturbance. This work provides a substantial contribution towards representing the full complexity and interactions between land-use change and fire that could be used in Earth System Models.
Understanding the Impact of Variations in Measurement Period Reporting for
Electronic Clinical Quality Measures
Authors: Colin Nicholas V. , Cholan Raja A. , Sachdeva Bhavaya , Nealy Benjamin E. , Parchman Michael L. , Dorr David A.
Published: July 2018

Objective: To understand the impact of varying measurement period on the
calculation of electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs).Background: eCQMs have
increased in importance in value-based programs, but accurate and timely measurement has
been slow. This has required flexibility in key measure characteristics, including
measurement period, the timeframe the measurement covers. The effects of variable
measurement periods on accuracy and variability are not clear.Methods: 209 practices
were asked to extract and submit four eCQMs from their Electronic Health Records on a
quarterly basis using a 12-month measurement period. Quarterly submissions were
collected via REDCap. The measurement periods of the survey data were categorized into
non-standard (3, 6, 9 months and other) and standard periods (12 months). For
comparison, patient-level data from three clinics were collected and calculated in an
eCQM registry to measure the impact of varying measurement periods. We assessed the
central tendency, shape of the distributions, and variability across the four measures.
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to analyze the differences among standard and
non-standard measurement period means, and variation among these groups.Results: Of 209
practices, 191 (91 percent) submitted data over three quarters. Of the 546 total
submissions, 173 had non-standard measurement periods. Differences between measures with
standard versus non-standard periods ranged from –3.3 percent to 14.2 percent between
clinics (p < .05 for 3 of 4), using the patient-level data yielded deltas of –1.6
percent to 0.6 percent when comparing non-standard and standard periods.Conclusion:
Variations in measurement periods were associated with variation in performance between
clinics for 3 of the 4 eCQMs, but did not have significant differences when calculated
within clinics. Variations from standard measurement periods may reflect poor data
quality and accuracy.
El ēthos tradicional. Estudio sobre ética antigua. Artículo que fue ampliado en el conversatorio con el Mtr. Jaime Escalante
Authors: López David Ernesto
Published: July 2018

El concepto de ética antigua está ligado a una vertiente que viene de Sócrates (y los Sofistas), pasando por Platón, y que tiene su clímax en Aristóteles. En general, ninguna de estas teorías concibe la ética como un conjunto de consejos o normas sobre lo que los demás deben hacer. En este sentido, la ética antigua cumple una de las exigencias de Moore (1907), cuando afirma: “It is not the business of the ethical philosopher to give personal advice or exhortation”A excepción de la ética de Aristóteles, la de Sócrates y de Platón están plagadas de lo que algunos estudiosos, como Guthrie (1984) han llamado intelectualismo ético, esto es, la idea de que la bondad moral está ligada a la sabiduría y, por ende, a la educación y que, por el contrario, la maldad moral es el producto de la ignorancia, de la ineducación o de la mala educación. El Estagirita, en cambio, se pregunta por cuál es el bien para el individuo y para la pólis, concluyendo que se trata de la eudaimonía o felicidad, la cual es el fn de la acción humanaAl respecto, ha sido ampliamente notado que Aristóteles no se pregunta por qué acciones debe realizar el individuo, tampoco da un conjunto de normas o consejos sobre lo que debemos hacer, sino que sencillamente se pregunta cuál es el bien que el individuo y la pólis deben buscar. Su repuesta es categórica: este supremo bien es la eudaimonía.Aristóteles, no obstante, no es el primer pensador que aborda el problema ético. Antes de él lo hicieron Sócrates y los sofistas, y desde luego Platón. Pero a diferencia de ellos, Aristóteles lo hizo de manera sistemática.Debido a lo anterior, en nuestro estudio de la ética antigua abordaremos algunos aspectos del pensamiento ético de Sócrates, bajo el supuesto de que sus ideas al respecto las encontramos en los así llamados diálogos juveniles o socráticos de Platón. Luego de ello, pasaremos directamente al pensamiento ético de Aristóteles.AKADEMOS, Año 11, Vol. 2, No 29, Julio-Diciembre 2017: 59-75
Oportunidades y desafíos de la acuicultura en El Salvador : una mirada desde la perspectiva del desarrollo sostenible. Esta temática fue ampliada en el conversatorio con el Ing. Jorge López Padilla
Authors: Hidalgo Bonilla Ana Ruth
Published: July 2018

El objetivo de la investigación es diagnosticar el estado de la pesca y la acuicultura de El Salvador, para determinar los mayores desafíos que enfrenta el sector y proponer acciones a tomar, con el objeto de encaminar al sector para un desarrollo sustentable, desde los lineamientos de la economía azul, que promueve el uso de los recursos de forma eficiente.AKADEMOS, Año 11, Vol. 2, No 29, Julio-Diciembre 2017: 123-142
The Spillover and Transmission of Chinese Financial Markets Risk
Authors: Zhu Sha
Published: July 2018

After the 2008 financial crisis, the whole world financial markets became more fluctuates, the same to China also. It is necessary to pay great attention to high volatility problem in Chinese market, and also the uncertainty problem, risk accumulation and spillover effect come along with it. This paper calculates stock market return and builds financial stress index to explore the risk spillover effect. Empirical results show that the Chinese financial market have higher volatility than other countries. The Chinese stock market had higher dynamic market co-movement with international financial markets after 2008 financial crisis. What’s more, this article also finds the financial risk spreads between China and US. When the US financial stress index increases, China's financial stress index experiences a larger increase. However, after the change in China's financial stress index, the US financial stress index has no obvious trend of change. So we should pay more attention to periods of Chinese financial market risk and its spillover.
Assisted Christian Schools Governance, Practices, Boards Commitments and Performance Measures in Sri Lanka
Authors: Fernando Sr. Mary , D Gunawardana Kennedy , Banda Y K
Published: July 2018

Education has been playing the most important pivoting role in the development of human civilization in the present. Hence, education is inseparable and it is imperative to cater to the present needs of the society and prepare the society for a better future. One of the most valuable gifts that the Catholic Church has contributed is the holistic approach in the education, as we need to compete for Knowledge and wisdom; true education is not only training the mind but also the heart leading to wisdom. However the overall performance of the holistic education system faced wide spread controversy and continuing concern about how schools are being managed and controlled has led to many studies on school performance. The purpose of the study is provided evidence from single or a few perspectives such as selected indicators and school governance principals. In addition, there are many inconsistencies in the finding across the world that shows no signal school governance model is appropriate for all schools, countries and economic environments. The study has considered the three different school governance practicess of board clear funtion, sustainable policy, and board charter in capturing the effect of board governance on school performance. In addition, to elucidate school performance is dealing with board governance; the study used four perspective of balance score card as a determinant of school performance. The estimation results suggested that the board clear function, sustainable policy and board charter had significant positive driving forces on school performance.