bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simulation modelling: educational development roles for learning technologists
Authors: Riley David
Published: January 2012

Simulation modelling was in the mainstream of CAL development in the 1980s when the late David Squires introduced this author to the Dynamic Modelling System. Since those early days, it seems that simulation modelling has drifted into a learning technology backwater to become a member of Laurillard's underutilized, 'adaptive and productive' media. Referring to her Conversational Framework, Laurillard constructs a pedagogic case for modelling as a productive student activity but provides few references to current practice and available resources. This paper seeks to complement her account by highlighting the pioneering initiatives of the Computers in the Curriculum Project and more recent developments in systems modelling within geographic and business education. The latter include improvements to system dynamics modelling programs such as STELLA®, the publication of introductory textbooks, and the emergence of online resources. The paper indicates several ways in which modelling activities may be approached and identifies some educational development roles for learning technologists. The paper concludes by advocating simulation modelling as an exemplary use of learning technologies - one that realizes their creative-transformative potential.DOI:10.1080/0968776020100305
Cost-effectiveness analysis of computer-based assessment
Authors: Loewenberger Pauline , Bull Joanna
Published: January 2012

The need for more cost-effective and pedagogically acceptable combinations of teaching and learning methods to sustain increasing student numbers means that the use of innovative methods, using technology, is accelerating. There is an expectation that economies of scale might provide greater cost-effectiveness whilst also enhancing student learning. The difficulties and complexities of these expectations are considered in this paper, which explores the challenges faced by those wishing to evaluate the costeffectiveness of computer-based assessment (CBA). The paper outlines the outcomes of a survey which attempted to gather information about the costs and benefits of CBA.DOI:10.1080/0968776030110204
Using classroom communication systems to support interaction and discussion in large class settings
Authors: Boyle James T. , Nicol David J.
Published: January 2012

Teaching methods that promote interaction and discussion are known to benefit learning. However, large class sizes make it difficult to implement these methods. Research from the United States has shown that an electronic classroom communication system (CCS) can be used to support active discussion in large lecture classes. This investigation extends that research and it evaluates students' and teachers' experiences of CCS technology in the context of two different modes of discussion — peer-group and classwide discussion. With CCS technology, students' answers to multiple-choice concept tests are collated in real time with the class results fed back as a histogram. This information serves as the trigger for each mode of discussion. This paper explores the unique contribution of CCS technology, the relative strengths of peer- and class-wide discussion and some practical implementation issues.DOI:10.1080/0968776030110305
Creating virtual communities of practice for learning technology in higher education: issues and experiences
Authors: Gunn Cathy
Published: January 2012

Dempster et al .’s paper (2003) describes an example of a community of practice that fits well with the definition given in current literature—one of a few that does not stretch the definition beyond the limits. Some would doubtless argue that communities evolve and cannot be created. This may point to a key element missing from the scenario described, i.e. a compelling reason for users to access the resources and participate in the communities provided for them by learning technologists.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000211557
Editorial
Authors: Conole Gráinne , Danson Myles
Published: January 2012

This issue forms a special collection on Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA) and has been produced in conjunction with the International Computer Assisted Assessment Conference (www.caaconference.com offers a free downloadable archive of all previous CAA Conference papers. It includes selected papers from the CAA Conference, along with other CAA papers from across further and higher education. The variety of different papers, and the issues they explore, illustrates that CAA is now an active and established research area, which is testing both the technical and pedagogical challenges associated with developing and delivering assessment online.DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000259528
Making online learning accessible to disabled students: an institutional case study
Authors: Copper Martyn
Published: January 2012

Based on the authors’ reflections on experience working at the Open University, approaches to making online learning accessible to disabled students are considered. The considerations are applicable to all concerned with online learning and indeed anyone seeking to trade, disseminate information and mediate services online. In reflecting on the Open University experience of making online material accessible, pedagogic, organisational and cultural issues are highlighted and it is argued that it is important to address these issues in order to effect the organisational change needed to ensure that accessibility challenges are effectively met.DOI: 10.1080/09687760500479779
A window into learning: case studies of online group communication and collaboration
Authors: Jones Richard E. , Cooke Louise
Published: January 2012

The two case studies presented explore the potential offered by in-depth qualitative analysis of students’ online discussion to enhance our understanding of how students learn. Both cases are used to illustrate how the monitoring and moderation of online student group communication can open up a ‘window into learning’, providing us with new insights into complex problem-solving and thinking processes. The cases offer examples of students’ ‘thinking aloud’ while problem-solving, showing how and why they arrived at particular outcomes and the underlying thought processes involved. It is argued that these insights into students’ learning processes can in turn offer us the opportunity to adapt our own teaching practice in order to achieve a better pedagogical ‘fit’ with the learning needs of our students; for example, through a more precise or more timely intervention. It is also suggested that looking through this ‘window’ enables us to concentrate our assessment more closely on the process of task completion, rather than focusing solely on the end product.DOI: 10.1080/09687760600668578
Mediating between practitioner and developer communities: the Learning Activity Design in Education experience
Authors: Falconer Isobel
Published: January 2012

The slow uptake by teachers in post-compulsory education of new technological tools and technology- enhanced teaching methods may be symptomatic of a general split in the e-learning community between development of tools, services and standards, and research into how teachers can use these most effectively (i.e. between the teaching practitioner and technical developer communities). This paper reflects on the experience of transferring knowledge and understanding between these two communities during the Learning Activity Design in Education project funded by the UK Joint Information Systems Committee. The discussion is situated within the literature on ‘mediating representations’ and ‘mediating artefacts’, and shows that the practical operation of mediating representations is far more complex than previously acknowledged. The experience suggests that for effective transfer of concepts between communities, the communities need to overlap to the extent that a single representation is comprehensible to both. This representation may be viewed as a boundary object that is used to negotiate understanding. If the communities do not overlap a chain of intermediate representations and communities may be necessary. Finally, a tentative distinction is drawn between mediating representations and mediating artefacts, based not in the nature of the resources, but in their mode and context of use.DOI: 10.1080/09687760701472177
What constitutes good research in e-learning—are there lessons we can draw from the Research Assessment Exercise?
Authors: Conole Gráinne
Published: January 2012

The next Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is nearly upon us and as such I thought it would be useful to reflect on what the RAE offers us in terms of positioning our own research discipline and how it might help us to answer the question ‘what constitutes good e-learning research?’DOI: 10.1080/09687760701673576
Creating interaction in online learning: a case study
Authors: Downing Kevin J. , Lam Tsz-fung , Kwong Theresa , Downing Woo-kyung , Chan Sui-wah
Published: January 2012

This paper uses the case-study method to examine detailed data related to student and tutor usage of an asynchronous discussion board as an interactive communication forum during a first-semester associate degree course in applied psychology at the City University of Hong Kong. The paper identifies ‘what works’ in relation to discussion board use, demonstrating how students might gradually create an online community of their own, but only if prompted in a timely and appropriate way by the course structure. It also identifies three distinct phases in online interaction and suggests these might, to some extent, be mediated by assessment tasks.DOI: 10.1080/09687760701673592
On campus, but out of class: an investigation into students’ experiences of learning technologies in their self-directed study
Authors: Deepwell Frances , Malik Samina
Published: January 2012

This paper presents an investigation into how students studying at university engage actively with learning technology in their self-directed study time. The case study surveyed 250 students studying at undergraduate and postgraduate level from a purposive sample of departments within one institution. The study has also conducted focus groups and a number of in-depth follow-up interviews with respondents to the survey. In this article we explore three emerging aspects of the learning experience, namely student expectations of the technology, their lecturers’ engagement with technology and how the technology might support processes of transition in higher education. One key implication is that more academic guidance is needed on what and how to use the technology effectively for independent learning, even where ICT skills levels are high. The study also identifies the significant role that the lecturer plays in facilitating students’ use of technology. The findings of this study will be of interest to those working to incorporate learning technologies more effectively in higher education, in particular for those who are looking to improve the engagement of students in self-directed learning.Keywords: student experience; learning technologies; self-directed learning; blended learning; case studyDOI: 10.1080/09687760701850166
Auto-monitoring: theoretical touchstone or circular catch-all?
Authors: Hammond Nick
Published: January 2012

Until I read Ray McAleese's paper, I perhaps had a rather simplistic psychologist's view of concept mapping. It was, I felt, a technique - one of several - that helped learners to articulate their burgeoning understanding of some topic, providing a canvas on which to record, expand and manipulate their knowledge. The activities involved in concept mapping could be linked to well-known psychological principles of understanding, memorization and learning: effort, elaboration and depth of processing; generation and enactment effects; encoding specificity and encoding variability; the distinctions between explicit and implicit representations; metacognitive strategies and reflection, and so forth (Hammond 1993). These psychological underpinnings, while not in any sense providing an integrated 'theory' of concept mapping, give a view of when and why the use of concept mapping might be effective in some situations and not in others, and how different concept mapping tools differ in the claims they are making about their educational use (Trapp, Reader and Hammond 1992).DOI:10.1080/0968776940020106
Computer-based learning in psychology using interactive laboratories
Authors: Richards Stephen
Published: January 2012

Traditional approaches to computer-based learning often focus on the delivery of information. Such applications usually provide large stores of information which can be accessed in a wide variety of ways. Typical access facilities provided within such applications include Boolean search engines and hypermedia (non-linear) browsing. These types of approach often centre on providing human-computer dialogues which are relatively low on interaction. The interactive-laboratory approach, however, aims to limit the quantity of information presented, and instead to provide a highly interactive learning environment. In the field of psychology, users are able interactively to design and deliver a broad range of psychological experiments. This paper details the approach, and describes how it can be used to teach psychology within a university environment. The way in which its effectiveness as a learning tool can be evaluated is also discussedDOI:10.1080/0968776940020203
Computer-simulated experiments and computer games: a method of design analysis
Authors: Leary Jerome J.
Published: January 2012

Through the new modularization of the undergraduate science degree at the University of Brighton, larger numbers of students are choosing to take some science modules which include an amount of laboratory practical work. Indeed, within energy studies, the fuels and combustion module, for which the computer simulations were written, has seen a fourfold increase in student numbers from twelve to around fifty. Fitting out additional laboratories with new equipment to accommodate this increase presented problems: the laboratory space did not exist; fitting out the laboratories with new equipment would involve a relatively large capital spend per student for equipment that would be used infrequently; and, because some of the experiments use inflammable liquids and gases, additional staff would be needed for laboratory supervision.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030106
Enhancing laboratory activity with computer-based tutorials
Authors: Ritchie Gordon , Garner Paul
Published: January 2012

In a degree course in electronic engineering, great importance is attached to laboratory work, in which students have the opportunity to develop their creative skills in a practical environment. For example, in the first year of the course they are expected to design and test some basic circuits using data available on the characteristics of the semiconductor devices to be used. Many of the students cannot be prepared sufficiently for this activity by attendance at lectures, in which basic principles are expounded to large classes. Firstyear students have widely differing knowledge, experience and ability in circuit design. Therefore, without individual tuition many of them are insufficiently prepared for their laboratory work. Weaker students often neglect to study the laboratory documentation thoroughly in advance and they make poor progress in the laboratory.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030107
Effective CAL: theory and practice
Authors: Khan Hassan
Published: January 2012

Modern-day authoring systems have made the production of CAL applications so easy that people with little computer literacy are able quite quickly to create elaborate multimedia applications. The point, however, is that while so many of us have become authors in the past few years, the objective of our creations has been somewhat missed. It is all to easy to see visually impressive multimedia CAL, and to convince ourselves that they represent good CAL material. An application may be quickly sanctioned, produced and implemented at universities, then attention is focused on to the next project. While evaluation is normally costed into a project, various constraints, such as shifting personnel or additional demands on funds, limit the evaluation of the application to ascertain whether the investment of producing it was worthwhile. The Hypertext Support Unit (HSU) at the University of Kent was set up in 1992 to promote the pervasive use of hypertext across the campus. In its role as a support unit, it facilitates the development of CAL material in all disciplines in close collaboration with the content specialists, i.e. the lecturers. The HSU, along with many other units or departments, produce many CAL application paying attention to the aesthetics of interface design, but largely glossing over the learning instructions so vital to good CAL applications in harnessing the potential of multimedia in an educational environment. Too many people put a linear book on-line, give it some bookmarks, and call it hypertext; worse yet, they add a few scanned-in photographs and a soundtrack and call it multimedia (Fisher, 1994).DOI:10.1080/0968776950030116
Using information technology to help business students learn about contract law
Authors: Edwards John S. , Akroyd Robert I.
Published: January 2012

Almost all business students study law. However, business students have a different perspective on law from that of law students. A common problem, therefore, in legal courses for business students is how to provide a sufficiently wide-ranging, practically relevant programme without the sacrifice of intellectual depth. At Aston Business School, one approach adopted has been to supplement lectures with role-play exercises, rather than conventional tutorials.DOI:10.1080/0968776950030117
Editorial Caution: changing education, changing technology
Authors: Jacobs Gabriel
Published: January 2012

The theme of ourvery successful ALT-C 95 was Changing Education, Changing Technology. The papers which made up the conference (a small selection of which are published in this special issue of ALT-f) would have reflected this theme even if it had not been chosen by the conference committee, since both educational thinking and educational technology are so patently in flux.DOI:10.1080/0968776960040102
Editorial
Authors: Jacobs Gabriel
Published: January 2012

I am sure that few people know how ALT started, and I suppose that even fewer care. But how our Association began relates to a basic issue which I wish to address in this Editorial.DOI:10.1080/0968776960040201
CAL evaluation: future directions
Authors: Gunn Cathy
Published: January 2012

Scientific, experimental methodology was previously considered to be the only acceptable approach to educational research. Two important principles of experimental design are: • to balance individual differences within study populations and so achieve generalizable results, and • to attempt to isolate the effects of a single resource for evaluation purposes. Problems with this approach were reported in the literature of the 1970s (Elton and Laurillard, 1979; MacDonald and Jenkins, 1979) when the influence on learning of individual and contextual factors was recognized. Similar issues emerged during the 1980s and early 1990s, (Bates, 1981; Spencer, 1991) when the inability to identify which single or combined factors supported learning became a recurrent problem. It was clear that prior knowledge, approaches to learning, provision of appropriate scaffolding, complementary combinations of resources and various contextual factors all influenced the quality of learning outcomes. It was concluded that evaluations must be designed to account for these factors, rather than to balance or disregard them as was previously the norm (Kemmis, 1987, Gunn, 1995).DOI:10.1080/0968776970050107
Electronic information resource use: implications for teaching and library staff
Authors: Ottewill Roger , Hudson Alison
Published: January 2012

Within institutions of higher education, teaching staff and library-based information specialists have tended to occupy separate worlds. Although there has been some contact, in the main this has been partial and intermittent. For first-year students, one consequence of this state of affairs has been the absence of a systematic and co-ordinated strategy for enabling them to acquire, practise and develop information-gathering skills. Teaching staff have seen their role in this respect mainly in terms of issuing students with reading lists containing a mix of books and journal articles, and underlying this approach is the expectation that information specialists will be on hand to provide whatever additional help is needed to access these resources, for example through the provision of introductory talks and one-to-one support sessions. Relatively few teaching staff have incorporated library exercises into their teaching and assessment, or adopted a more creative approach to information gathering by students, such as helping them use bibliographic and other aids to prepare personalized reading lists. Consequently, when students have been required to do this at later stages of their studies, especially in the context of preparing a dissertation, they have not been adequately prepared, and often find it extremely difficult to access and evaluate information resources effectively.DOI:10.1080/0968776970050204
Reviews
Authors: Barker Philip , Ingraham Bruce , Cook Tony , Funnell Peter , Sherratt Robert , Turton Brian , Whatley Janice , Yorke Mantz
Published: January 2012

There were two copy-editing blunders in Clive Betts's review, in ALT-J 5 (3), of Shirley Fletcher's Designing Competence-Based Training, one in paragraph 2 line 1, the other in paragraph 3 line 8. The errors (the result of the Editor, Gabriel Jacobs, trying to perform a final proof of the journal at lightning speed in order to meet the printing deadline, and not of any mistake on the part of either Philip Barker or the University of Wales Press) hardly affected meaning, but the fact that they appeared in a review of a book on competence makes the embarrassment all the more telling. The Editor apologizes, and thanks eagle-eyed readers. He has decided to read the book in the hope that such errors will not recur.DOI:10.1080/0968776980060116
Online educational counselling for students with special needs: building rapport
Authors: Debenham Margaret , Whitelock Denise M. , Fung Pat , Emms Judy M.
Published: January 2012

Distance learners with long-term health problems face a number of difficulties in their studies. These include severe fatigue, problems of manual dexterity, academic and social isolation, together with a need for better interactive communication with support agencies (Debenham, 1996a). It was expected that the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) could provide a possible way to tackle all four problems described above.DOI:10.1080/0968776990070104
Designs on the Web: a case study of online learning for design students
Authors: Brown S. , Hardaker C. H.M. , Higgett N. P.
Published: January 2012

As governments, companies and individuals come to recognize the contribution of learning to economic success and competitiveness, HE institutions are under increasing pressure to increase access to a larger number and a greater variety of students. Today, rapid technological development means that knowledge is soon outdated and employees need to enhance their attractiveness through periodic self-development. In order to remain competitive employers need to update the skills of their workforce, as does the nation state. In recent years many publications have argued the need to replace traditional patterns of education with the more flexible concept of Lifelong Learning (HMSO, 1998; DfEE, 1998a).DOI: 10.1080/0968776000080104
Online self-assessment materials: do these make a difference to student learning?
Authors: Peat Mary
Published: January 2012

In our changing world where university students are demanding a greater say in their tertiary education, and in particular are demanding a greater flexibility in the way they receive their instruction, it is imperative that we investigate and experiment with course delivery strategies that fulfil these expectations. Online delivery of learning materials is not new, nor is it the panacea for all problems, but it does offer certain advantages for both teachers and students. The flexibility of using the Web may suit certain teaching activities, but more importantly may suit the learning styles and commitments of the students. In the current economic climate students may have to juggle university activities with employment, potentially missing some of the structured teaching and learning sessions. In addition they may not have time to use campus-based course materials or seek face-to-face assistance from staff. An Australian benchmark survey of the first-year experience (Mclnnis, James and McNaught, 1995), found the pressures of part-time work made it extremely difficult for some students to fulfil course expectations. A 1998 survey of firstyear science students at the University of Sydney revealed that 54 per cent of full-time students are undertaking some form of employment, with 31 per cent working ten hours or more per week during semester, and 14 per cent working over fifteen hours per week (Peat and Franklin, 1998). A small shift away from courses comprising all face-to-face activities to courses with a mix of face-to-face and online activities has the potential to help those very students who may otherwise give up when the pressure of time and other commitments seems too difficult to cope withDOI:10.1080/0968776000080206
Towards electronically assisted a case study
Authors: Bhalerao Abhir , Ward Ashley
Published: January 2012

Formative assessment plays an important role in teaching by motivating learners and providing feedback on the achievement of learning objectives to both students and tutors. However, formative assessment is confounded by large student/tutor ratios, which is an inevitable consequence of resource constraints in publicly funded higher education today. Indeed, for formative assessment to be effective, the feedback to the learner must be timely, specific to the individual, and discursive.DOI:10.1080/09687760108656773
Online interactivity: best practice based on two case studies
Authors: Boyle Tom , Cook John
Published: January 2012

This paper compares the experiences of two studies in the use of network supported collaborative learning. These studies aimed to enhance the learning experience of traditional campus-based students. The courses used a hybrid of face-to-face contact and collaborative work mediated through electronic networks. The aim of the studies was to provide an enhanced educational experience to these traditional student cohorts.DOI:10.1080/09687760108656779
Share and share alike: encouraging the reuse of academic resources through the Scottish electronic Staff Development Library
Authors: Campbell Lorna M. , Littlejohn Allison , Duncan Charles
Published: January 2012

The Scottish electronic Staff Development Library (http://www.sesdl.scotcit.acuk) is an ongoing collaborative project involving the Universities of Edinburgh, Paisley and Strathclyde which has been funded by SHEFC as part of their current ScotCIT Programme (http:llwww.scotcit.ac.uk). This project is being developed in response to the increasing demand for flexible, high-quality staff development materials.DOI:10.1080/0968776010090204
Taking over someone else's design: implications for the tutor's role in networked learning
Authors: Asensio Mireia , Whatley Janice , Jones Chris
Published: January 2012

This paper reflects on the experiences of a particular tutor taking over a specific course. It is an example of a common situation found in higher education (HE) institutions, when newly appointed or temporary part-time or full-time staff are hired to teach courses that have been designed and developed by other members of teaching staff. The experience of this particular tutor may help us to illuminate the role that tutors have more generally in networked learning environments. For the purpose of clarification, we define networked learning as 'learning in which C&IT is used to promote connections between one learner and other learners, between learners and tutors, between a learning community and its learning resources'.DOI:10.1080/0968776010090307
On the Nature of the 20°—Discontinuity in the Earth’s Mantle
Authors: Nishimura Eiichi , Kishimoto Yoshimichi , Kamitsuki Akira
Published: January 2012

The structure of the earth’s mantle, mainly its upper part, having been investigated by the analysis of seismic waves of five Kamchatka-Kurile Islands earthquakes of shallow focus and some others, the problems on the existence and property of the 20°-discontinuity and the low-velocity layer in the mantle are discussed in some detail. The time-distance graphs obtained in Japan are in fair agreement with JEFFREYS-BULLEN’s Table (1939), and also the 20°-discontinuity is considered to exist certainly at nearly the same depth as given by Jeffreys. The amplitude relation observed at the epicentral distance near 20° between the direct wave propagating through the medium entirely above the 20°-discontinuity and the refracted wave penetrating down into that discontinuity is just the reverse of that commonly expected, that is, the former being small and the latter large, both for the P- and S-waves. Concerning this phenomenon some arguments are given. Moreover, the existence of a new discontinuity was ascertained at some depth below the 20°-discontinuity, as deduced from the appearance of a prominent later phase. As to the existence of a low-velocity layer in the mantle, it is somewhat questionable at least in the form after Gutenberg from the analysis of seismic waves observed at the stations in Japan of the earthquakes of Kamchatka-Kurile Islands. But its existence is still probable in some forms, which is uncertain at present, at some depths below the Mohorovi?i? discontinuity. This problem will be postponed to a succeeding paper.
Some Examples of Stationary Planetary Flow Patterns in Bounded Basins
Authors: Stommel Henry , Arons A. B. , Faller A. J.
Published: January 2012

A simple regime of fluid flow is defined. This regime can occur in a homogeneous layer of fluid (i) of uniform depth on a rotating sphere and bounded by meridional barriers (ii) of uniform depth on a betaplane and bounded by barriers running north-south (iii) of radially non-uniform depth on a rotating plane and bounded by radial barriers. The essential elements defining the regime are: (a) the flow in the whole layer is steady and geostrophic except and only (b) at the western boundary where a narrow, intense western boundary current is permitted to depart markedly from geostrophy, and (c) the system, which would otherwise be at rest, is driven by a distribution of sources and sinks of fluid (this includes driving agents such as the wind, which can be expressed in terms of source and sink distributions).

Predictions concerning patterns of flow have been deduced from the defined regime and verified experimentally on a rotating model of type (iii). Certain results obtained were by no means intuitively obvious from a priori considerations.
Gas Loss from a Temperate Glacier
Authors: Coachman Lawrence K. , Enns Thedore , Scholander Per F.
Published: January 2012

The gas enclosed in the ice of a temperatezone glacier, Storbreen in the Jotunheimen district of Norway, has been systematically examined (COACHMAN ET AL., 1956). In this study samples of ice were taken from the glacier surface in a longitudinal line from the fim area to the terminus. Ice thus sampled has both a gradient in age and a gradient in depth of passage in the glacier interior.
The Possible Use of Tritium' for Estimating Groundwater Storage
Authors: Eriksson Erik
Published: January 2012

In view of a recent work by Begemann & Libby (1957) their postulate on rapid mixing inside a groundwater body is examined. It is found that there are no possible processes which can accomplish such a mixing. Their observations can, however, be readily explained from a simple model of groundwater flow, assuming no mixing. Possible methods of using tracers like tritium for estimating groundwater storage are also discussed.
Influence of the Environment on the Initiation of Precipitation in Tropical Cumuli over the Ocean
Authors: Battan Louis J.
Published: January 2012

An analysis has been made of the day-to-day variation of the likelihood of precipitation in cumulus clouds observed over the ocean in the vicinity of Puerto Rico. It is shown that the probability of rain in a cloud having a particular height depends on environmental conditions, and that the principal factors governing precipitation initiation are stability, vertical wind shear and depth of the moist layer. On the west side of polar troughs moving into the tropics, these parameters have values which make precipitation likelihood small.
On the Influence of Cosmic Radiation on the Isotopic Composition of the Elements
Authors: Johansson Sven A. E.
Published: January 2012

When cosmic radiation interacts with the atomic nuclei of the atmosphere, it produces a great number of stable as well as radioactive isotopes. The radioactive isotopes are fairly easy to detect but the production of stable isotopes can only be detected by the changes in isotopic composition of the elements that might be caused by this effect. The amounts of Li6, Ne21, and A36 that are produced in this way have been calculated. If the mean intensity of cosmic radiation in the past has been the same as at present it turns out that the production of these isotopes causes a change in isotopic composition which is barely detectable.

A study of this effect gives a possibility of obtaining information about the cosmic-ray intensity in the past. If no cosmic-ray effect is found, it shows that the mean cosmic-ray intensity in the past could not have been considerably higher than at present. If the cosmic-ray intensity during the earlier stages in the earth's evolution were higher than at present, one could expect easily detectable changes in the isotopic composition of some elements.
Fission Product Radioactivity in the Air along the 80th Meridian — January–June 1957
Authors: Lockhart, Jr. L. B. , Baus R. A. , Blifford, Jr. I. H.
Published: January 2012

Measurements of gross fission product radioactivity in the air at a number of sites along the 80th meridian (west) are reported for the period January–June 1957.

The concentration of long-lived radioactive products (primarly fission products) in the air continues to remain considerably higher in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere. Among the more interesting developments, there has been obtained a definite inverse relation between the air concentration of radioactivity and rainfall during the dry and rainy seasons at Panama.

The use of “radioactivity profiles” (plots of latitude vs fission product concentration) to represent a cross section of the average air concentrations of fission products along the 80th meridian for any given period offers a ready means to obtain the total burden of such activity in the atmosphere for such a period and to follow its increase or decrease with time.
Uninodal Seiches in the Oscillation System Baltic proper—Gulf of Finland
Authors: Lisitzin Eugenie
Published: January 2012

Seventeen cases of regular sea level oscillations with at least four distinctly developed periods recorded at Hamina (Fredrikshamn) in the east part of the Gulf of Finland during the years 1952–1954 were selected and the period corresponding to the maximum amplitude computed numerically. The results show that this period is fairly constant with an average of 26.2 (± 0.2) hours. Sea level records at Władysławowo on the Polish coast confirm this period as a uninodal seiche in the oscillation system Baltic proper—Gulf of Finland.

In the paper is also discussed the possible occurrence of transversal oscillations in the Gulf of Finland and the probability of the participation of the Bay of Kiel at the named seiches in the Baltic.
Solar Disturbances and the Cosmic Ray Equator
Authors: Pomerantz M. A. , Sandström A. E. , Potnis V. R. , Rose D. C.
Published: January 2012

The location of the cosmic ray equator off the west coast of Africa has been established from measurements obtained with a shipboard neutron monitor which made ten crossings between November, 1956, and October, 1958. From the individual determinations of the point of minimum cosmic ray intensity, the mean geographical position was 6.7 ± 0.8° N at 14° W. Direct measurements of zero magnetic inclination were made at the same time in the immediate vicinity of this point.

Although solar and geophysical activity varied considerably during this period, the location of the cosmic ray equator appears to have remained fixed within approximately 1°. However, the possibility of a small progressive change of about the magnitude of the uncertainty cannot be precluded.

Comparison of the results with plots of measurements of the magnetic elements along the ship’s route reveals a significant difference between the location of the points of maximum horizontal intensity and minimum cosmic ray intensity.
A Method to Make Standard CO2 Samples for Infrared Gas Analysis and the Operation of an IRGA Analyser for Air Samples from the Scandinavian Network
Authors: Fonselius Stig , Wörme Kafu-Erik
Published: January 2012

A method of making CO2 standard gas mixtures varying between 1 and 400 ppm in concentration with an accuracy of ± 1 ppm is described. An accurately known volume of pure CO2 gas is mixed with CO2 free dry air in an evacuated vessel. A method to take samples from this vessel and to analyse the samples in an IRGA gas analyser is described. The use of the apparatus for the Scandinavian CO2 network is described.
Meteorological Fractionation of Nuclear Bomb Debris
Authors: Storebö Per B.
Published: January 2012

Radioactive particles are produced by nuclear bomb explosions which are widely different in size and nature. Systematic differences in properties are expected for particles formed under different conditions. Differences in particle properties may cause sorting during deposition because of systematic differences in weather trends at different geographical locations and thus bring to light information about the particles.

Deposits at a mountain station in Norway appear to have contained more short-lived fission products than those at lowland stations, especially during periods when considerable fresh fission products have been present in the atmosphere. This could be due to a substantial chemical fractionation on particle sizes taking place during formation, or to the general formation of particles somewhat larger than 0.5 micron diameter during high-yield explosions.
Midwinter Ozone Variations and Stratospheric Flow over Canada, 1958–1959
Authors: Allington K. , Boville B. W. , Hare F. K.
Published: January 2012

The total ozone variations at Edmonton and Moosonee during December, 1958 and January, 1959 are examined in relation to daily synoptic analysis up to the 25-mb level. The stratospheric perturbations of the polar-night westerlies appear to dominate the ozone record when that régime is over the station. Otherwise, the usual Normand tropospheric perturbation effect is indicated. Correspondence is analyzed using adiabatic vertical motions computed at the 200, 100 and 25-mb levels, in addition to the 200-mb geopotential height and the 100–15-mb thickness.
On the motion of a cyclone embedded in a uniform flow
Authors: Adem Julián , Lezama Pedro
Published: January 2012

Using the barotropic model, an analytical expression for the motion of a cyclone embedded in a uniform flow is obtained. The solution contains as parameters the radius of the vortex, the maximum velocity in the vortex, the velocity of the uniform flow and the variation of the Coriolis parameter.

It is shown that, if the variation of the Coriolis parameter is neglected, a cyclone initially embedded in a uniform flow moves with the velocity of the flow. However, superimposed with that motion there always exists a north-westward translation due to the variation of the Coriolis parameter  that in some cases represents a non-negligible percentage of the total displacement of a hurricane.
A Calculation of the Effect of Large-Scale Heat Sources on Southern Hemisphere Sub-Tropical Wind Flow
Authors: De Lisle J. F. , Harper J. F.
Published: January 2012

The quasi-stationary effects of large-scale heat sources on a baroclinic model atmosphere in which low-level zonal easterly winds decreasing with height are surmounted by Zonal westerly winds increasing with height are calculated. Two cases are considered : (1) where the surface of zero zonal wind is parallel to the bottom boundary, (2) where it slopes upwards from this boundary towards the north.

The latter case incorporates roughly the more important features of the mean summer sub-tropical flow in the Australian region.

The results found by calculation were compared with the effects produced in the general circulation in summer by the Australian continent and similarities were found.
The Stability Properties and Energy Transformations of the Two-layer Model of Variable Static Stability
Authors: Gates W. Lawrence
Published: January 2012

The design and performance of simple atmospheric models is briefly reviewed as an introduction to the question of energetic consistency. The two-layer model of Lorenz appears to be the simplest fully-consistent formulation, and the freedom of this model from the constraints upon the Coriolis parameter and static stability characteristic of the usual quasi-geostrophic models is felt to be particularly important. As a prelude to actual numerical integration, the baroclinic stability properties and the energy transformations of this two-layer model are examined. It is found that the perturbations are here significantly more unstable than when the static stability is constrained in the usual manner. For the finite-amplitude disturbances, it is found that some of their available potential energy is transferred to the mean state through the stabilizing action of the systematic rising of the warmer air. These results suggest that the variation of the static stability both promotes the growth of new disturbances and limits the growth of the mature disturbances-effects which would appear to remedy some of the conspicuous performance errors of the conventional two-level models.
On the pressure dependence of the cosmic ray intensity recorded by the standard neutron monitor
Authors: Lindgren S.
Published: January 2012

Pressure coefficients have been determined for some standard neutron monitors at high latitudes for the years 1957-1959 with due regard to variations of primary origin. The following coefficients were obtained: (1) for Murchison Bay and Uppsala α = – 0.710 ± 0.006 per cent/mb; (2) for Resolute, Churchill and Ottawa α = – 0.725 ± 0.005 per cent/mb; (3) for Mawson and Mt. Wellington α = –0.736 ± 0.004 per cent/mb. The differences in a between the three groups of stations are certainly not due to a purely statistical scattering. They probably reflect dissimilarities in the neutron monitors and the pressure recording devices. As a by-product it has proved that for two stations above the latitude knee, the quotient between the pressure corrected daily neutron intensities is remarkably constant in time. It can thus be used as a sensitive indicator of changes in counting rate.
Observations of the vertical structure of a stratus cloud and radiation fogs in relation to the mechanism of drizzle formation
Authors: Okita T.
Published: January 2012

Observations of the vertical structure of radiation fogs and a stratus cloud were made by means of a rotary droplet sampler and other techniques. The results of the surveys of four radiation fogs and one stratus cloud are presented. It is found that the upper part of a deep fog or a stratus cloud has a similar physical structure to a cumulus cloud. The observation reveals that ordinary fog droplets grow mainly by condensation. It is also found that the presence of large droplets of radii about 60 microns or more near the top of the fog or stratus cloud is a necessary condition for the production of drizzle. The rate of growth of the large droplets is approximately explained by the Langmuir’s accretion theory.
Determination of sodium cations in atmospheric particles
Authors: Tufts Barbara J. , Hunemuller F. J.
Published: January 2012

A method of detecting sodium ion in atmospheric particles using the magnesium salt of 8-amino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid is described. The preparation of the reagent is outlined. The reaction product appears as small clusters of soft white or brownish-white needles, which may be readily identified under the optical microscope. A calibration curve is given for the particle-reaction site ratio, using sodium chloride as the calibrating material. Results of field tests of the method are presented.
The role of advection in the formation of vortex cloud patterns
Authors: Leese John A.
Published: January 2012

A case study of the spiral cloud patterns associated with an atmospheric vortex, as seen by the TIROS meteorological satellite, shows that advection can be a dominant mechanism in the formation of these patterns. This advection is then interpreted in terms of the horizontal and vertical structure of the low pressure system with which the clouds are associated. This case study indicates that the TIROS pictures are particularly well suited for the study of horizontal advection and show promise of yielding quantitative information.
Atmospheric turbidity, global illumination and planetary albedo of the earth
Authors: Ångström Anders
Published: January 2012

On the basis of measurements by A. J. Drummond of the natural illumination from sun and sky in South Africa, a formula has been derived, expressing the global illumination at sea level as a function of air mass and turbidity. From this formula the present author has derived the relative decrease in illumination caused by the intervention of the atmosphere, or what is here termed the “photometric loss factor”. The dependence of this factor on turbidity and air mass is studied. From its value at various latitudes the planetary photometric albedo of the system earth + cloudfree atmosphere is derived. If the planetary photometric albedo (atmosphere partly cloudy) of Danjon is accepted, we derive a value for the planetary energy albedo of the earth of 0.333. It is suggested that this value is slightly too low. With application of here-derived albedo values for the clear atmosphere and accepting Houghton’s value 0.56 for the cloud albedo we obtain a planetary energy albedo of the earth of 0.380. This value implies that the photometric albedo ought to be found slightly higher than the value derived by Danjon from measurements of the brightness of the moon, namely 0.43 instead of 0.39.
On the determination of characteristic times in a pure oxygen atmosphere
Authors: Hesstvedt Eigil
Published: January 2012

In a pure oxygen atmosphere, daytime equilibrium concentrations of O, O2 and O3 were calculated for heights from 30 to 140 km and for three temperature profiles: low latitude, high latitude summer, and high latitude winter. The results agree with ozone measurements up to 70 km. Expressions for restoration of photochemical equilibrium were developed. These consist of two exponential terms with widely different characteristic times. The relative importance of these terms depends upon the character of the initial perturbation.
On inertially-controlled flow patterns in a β-plane ocean
Authors: Veronis George
Published: January 2012

Possible flow patterns in a rectangular, β-plane, ocean are generated by assuming that the ocean basin can be divided into an interior region in which the dynamical balance is of the Sverdrup type (1947) and a boundary region where the dynamicai balance is governed by inertial forces. The flow pattern which was derived by CARRIER & ROBINSON (1962) is shown to be the only possible pattern for a one-layer and a two-layer ocean when friction is not taken into account. The impcrtance of friction is discussed and possible alternatives are mentioned for cases in which friction is included.