333 research outputs found
Measurements and Models of Reactive Transport in Geological Media
No full textAuthor Brian Berkowitz answers questions about his recently published article and the scientific and societal implications of his findings.</jats:p
Genome-wide approaches to study RNA secondary structure
No full textThe central hypothesis of molecular biology depicts RNA as an intermediary conveyor of genetic information. RNA is transcribed from DNA and translated to proteins, the molecular machines of the cell. However, many RNAs do not encode protein and instead function as molecular machines themselves. The most famous examples are ribosomal RNAs and transfer RNAs, which together form the core translational machinery of the cell. Many other non-coding RNAs have been discovered including catalytic and regulatory RNAs. In many cases RNA function is tightly linked to its secondary structure, which is the collection of hydrogen bonds between complimentary RNA sequences that drives these molecules into their three dimensional structure. Over the last decade, technology for determining the sequence of DNA and RNA has advanced rapidly, making transcriptome-wide expression profiling fast and widely available. In this dissertation, I discuss recent efforts to leverage this powerful technology to study, not just RNA expression, but several other aspects of RNA function. In particular, I focus on three tightly linked aspects of RNA biology: RNA-secondary structure, RNA cleavage, and regulatory small RNAs. I introduce a database for integrating, comparing, and contrasting techniques for determining RNA secondary structure including a technique developed in my dissertation laboratory. Additionally, I discuss a newly improved technology capable of detecting RNA cleavage events. Finally, I integrate RNA secondary structure probing and RNA cleavage detection to interrogate a family of genes important for eukaryotic small RNA-mediated silencing. These diverse analyses are just a few examples of the vast promises offered by adapting RNA-sequencing technology to probe RNA function across many cellular processes
An integrated environment for simulation and control of mobile robots
No full textThere have been increased interests in mobile robot research due to its many applications in areas such as material handling, explorations in hazardous environments, and military missions under extreme conditions. Many control schemes and robot systems have been developed, yet most of these systems eventually become individual experiments that are unique or specific to particular applications. It is very difficult to verify or reuse the controls developed and build upon the existing knowledge. We argue that it is necessary to develop an integrated experiment and simulation environment equipped with a user-friendly interface to examine existing controls and eventually serve as an experimental testbed for mobile robot research. The main contributions of this thesis are the design and integration of a hardware in the loop simulation environment for mobile robot control and navigation. We developed an easy to use graphical user interface (GUI) that can provide the users with the overall access to various robot functions including sensor feedback, object recognition, and tools for implementing the control strategies to study robot behaviors.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Ron Berkowit
El delincuente honrado, comedia edited with introduction, notes, exercises and vobabulary, by H. Chonon Berkowitz ... and Samuel A. Wofsy
No full textMunicipal University of Wichita faculty author
Reading Obama: Dreams, Hopes, and the American Political Tradition
No full textDerided by the Right as dangerous and by the Left as spineless, Barack Obama does not fit contemporary partisan categories. Instead, his writings and speeches reflect a principled aversion to absolutes that derives from sustained engagement with American democratic thought. In his book Reading Obama: Dreams, Hopes, & the American Political Tradition, author James T. Kloppenberg (Charles Warren Professor of American history at Harvard University) covers the sources of Obama\u27s commitment to democratic deliberation: the books he has read, the visionaries who have inspired him, the social movements and personal struggles that have shaped his thinking. Kloppenberg says that Obama\u27s positions on social justice, religion, race, family, and America\u27s role in the world do not stem from a desire to please everyone but from deeply rooted—although currently unfashionable—convictions about how a democracy must deal with difference and conflict.
Following Kloppenberg\u27s remarks, Dr. Peter Berkowitz (Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University) offers some critical comments on those arguments before engaging with Kloppenberg and the audience in conversation about these ideas
Kontribusi Pemikiran Mike Eisdenberg Dan Bob Berkowitz Tentang Model The Big6 Bagi Solusi Permasalahan Literasi Informasi
No full textThe development of information has an impact on the emergence of the work of world leaders, not least in the field of libraries. Two of them are Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz with the work of a literacy model The Big6. The Big6 consists of 6 stages and each stage consists of 2 subdivisions. These two figures emphasize the importance of information skills for problem-solving with a systematic framework. The research method used is a literature study. Data collection is done by means of documentation from articles that have been published on the internet. The data analysis technique chosen is content analysis. To prevent misinformation, the author re-checks the articles used. The results of this study state that The Big6's literacy model can answer anxiety in unraveling information problems. The development of this model can be accessed on the official website of The Big6. One form of innovation from this model is the emergence of The Big6 in a technological context which is almost the same as the stages in Christine Bruce's Seven Faces of Information Literacy. The benefits of this research can be used as a solution in problem-solving. While the purpose of this study is to provide a broad overview of the stages of The Big6.Keywords: the big6; literacy model; Mike Eisenberg; Bob Berkowits
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
My "Extended Bio" Instructions
Respond to this Conference by telling us
your name and what you like to be called
where you work and what your job is
what your previous jobs were
where you went to school and what field(s)
your degree(s) are in
where you are in the ENVM programyour
previous experience with the subject matter
of this course
anything else that will help us get to know
you better
Take this opportunity to write about
yourself. You will not have a chance to
write about a more interesting subject all
semester.
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I
Joan Berkowitz
Adjunct Faculty
Graduate School of Management and Technology
Published: 0 2003
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Classroom-communication
Part I | Part II
"Going for the Gold" in On-line Classes Part I: Beginning a Dialog with Students
There's gold in WebTycho. It isn’t in the chance to make money, although the profit motive has
certainly driven the distance education field at more than one institution. It isn't in the software,
although that is the envy of at least one D.E. instructor at Harvard. The gold in WebTycho resides in
the members of the class.
As instructors, we are at a handicap relative to our students in WebTycho classes. Most of us have
never taken an on-line course for academic credit. Many of our students have never taken an on-site
course in graduate school. How can we tap their experience for our mutual advantage? The answer is
at once supremely simple and challengingly complex.
Ask them.
Read what they write to you and to each other. Participate in the dialog, not as a "“sage on the stage"
but as a "guide on the side." [1]
This two-part article describes one professor's approach to collaborating with students in a search for
excellence. Part 1 covers the first steps in establishing a dialog.
Start (and Set Up) Dialog via Class
Introductions
In the courses I teach, the dialog begins the moment a
student enters the classroom. The opening Class
Announcement directs the student to our "Getting
Acquainted Conference." There, I ask each student to
write an extended biography, and I ask for specific
information [see sidebar].
I am the first to respond and I include some details about
family and pets.
Extended biographies are wonderful ice-breakers. One
student said that he felt he knew more about his online
classmates than his face-to-face (f2f) classmates, even
though he would not recognize the former if he tripped
over them.
In addition to getting to know one other, students start to
interact. Those who have been in prior classes together
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I - DE Oracle
greet each other warmly and wish each other luck. Those who have worked or traveled in the same
circles comment on their common heritage. I ask questions of those who are a bit parsimonious with
their words.
The value of this exercise for me is several-fold.
1. Knowing where students are located and something about their background helps me assign groups,
if we do group work.
2. In subsequent weeks I use the biographies to draw on individuals' specific knowledge. For example,
I asked an accountant in one of my environmental auditing courses to explain to us the similarities and
differences between environmental auditing and financial auditing. I know the answer, but it means a
lot more to the students to hear it from one of their own.
3. Finally, I use the biographies to help students choose term paper topics. When a few ask for
recommendations, I anchor my response around their stated backgrounds. For one stay-at-home Mom
in environmental auditing, I suggested that she develop an audit protocol for a household. She
attacked the topic with enthusiasm and turned in the best paper in the class.
Deepen Mutual Understanding via "Objectives" Dialogs
The opening Class Announcement also directs the students to the Week One Conference where one
topic asks, "What would you like to learn in this course?" I ask the students to review my objectives for
the course as stated in the Syllabus and to indicate their objectives. Most concur with the syllabus
objectives. Some express very specific learning objectives based on their current jobs or career
aspirations. If a student expresses an interest in a relevant topic that I was not planning to include, I
either modify the curriculum accordingly, or say why I am not doing so and suggest the topic as a good
one for the term paper. (It almost invariably is.)
I have the students revisit their objectives in Weeks Five and Ten of the course under a conference
topic entitled, "How goes it?" I invite them to comment on whether their objectives are being met, and
if not, what changes they would recommend. I also invite them to add objectives now that we have
gotten into the content of the course. By that time, we have corresponded enough so that they feel
"safe" to be open with me and their classmates.
Students know that when I say there are no stupid questions or comments, I mean it. They know I pay
attention. Following suggestions in the Week Five and Ten dialogs, I chose a new textbook for ENVM
647, Environmental Risk Assessment. I modified the assignments in the Capstone course to mesh with
the Capstone projects. I do not accept every suggestion, but when I do not, I indicate why.
Be Accessible and Timely
I visit the classroom daily throughout the semester so that students get responses to their questions
and comments within 24 hours. In case they need faster response or have a private matter they want
to discuss, I give them access to my e-mail address, my office and home telephone numbers, my FAX
number, and my office address. Many send me e-mails. Very few phone or visit.
Conclusion
Opening a dialog between all class members early and setting a pattern of drawing on students' own
individual strengths makes my class more effective and more relevant to my students. Both my
students and I come away with a richer learning experience. Opening the dialog is only the beginning,
however. Part 2 of this article will be featured in the January/February 2004 issue of the DE Oracle. It
will show how the dialog continues and ultimately results in the course becoming student-directed.
________________________________________
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I - DE Oracle
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[1] George Collison, Bonnie Elbaum, Sarah Haavind, and Robert Tinker. Facilitating Online Learning.
Atwood Publishing , Madison, WI, 2000 (ISBN 1-891859-33-1)
About the Author(s)
Dr. Joan Berkowitz teaches at UMUC's Graduate School of Management and Technology in the ENVM program. She has
taught courses in Planning for Environmental Managers, ISO 14001, Land and Water Resource Management, Watershed
Planning and Management, and Environmental Risk Assessment. She is Managing Director of Farkas Berkowitz & Company, a
management consulting firm that assists companies in the environmental industry with strategic planning, profitability
improvement, and commercialization of technology. Prior to co-founding Farkas Berkowitz & Company, with Alan Farkas, she
was Vice President of Arthur D. Little, Inc., in charge of that firm's environmental practice world-wide. Dr. Berkowitz holds a
B.A. in chemistry from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois. She is a graduate
of the Senior Executive Program of the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.
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Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I - DE Oracl
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part II - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
Conference Participation Criteria
I give weekly participation a significant
percent of the course grade (30%).
1.
I define my grading criteria:
A professional conference response, if clear
and concise, will merit a B. You will have to
2.
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part II
Joan Berkowitz
Adjunct Faculty
Graduate School of Management and Technology
Published: 0 2004
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Classroom-communication
Part I | Part II
"Going for the Gold" in On-line Classes Part II: Mining the Student-Directed Class
This two-part article describes one professor's approach to collaborating with students in a search for
excellence. Part I covers the first steps in establishing a dialog from teacher to student, student to
teacher, and student to student in the WebTycho classroom. Part II describes how to foster a
continuing class dialogue such that the course ultimately becomes student-directed -- and richer.
Structuring Ongoing Open Dialog
I set up conferences for each week of the course and make them all available on Day 1. In doing this, I
encourage students to submit their work early rather than late if they know they will be away. (Many
do. All appreciate the flexibility.)
My conferences typically include the following main topics:
Overview of the week – I summarize the topic for the week and the content of each module.
Lecturette – I discuss the topic for the week, adding to the material in the textbook or explaining it in
different words, and then I invite questions/comments. (Note: I don't find Powerpoints are effective as
stand-alone documents in online classes. Also, I find questions and comments flow much more easily
when students can read a well-written lecture right in the topic than when they have to download an
attachment.)
Readings for the week – I make clarifications and corrections on the week's readings (textbook,
website, or articles in Reserved Readings), draw attention to key passages, and invite
questions/comments.
Assignment information – I give detailed descriptions of the week's assignment (for submission in the
gradebook) and clarify due dates, especially if the schedule has changed. Here students can ask
questions, and all can easily locate my answers. In some cases, students answer each others' questions
before I do.
As part of the grade, I require every student to post a
comment or question on the lecturette or the readings
each week (see sidebar for my conference participation
criteria).
I do not ask specific discussion questions. I have tried it
both ways. When I provide discussion questions, the first
five respondents cover the topic quite well, and the rest
chime in with agreement. In contrast, an open-ended
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part II - DE Oracle
do extra for an A. This may involve
additional reading (with references), a
pertinent website, an original idea, a probing
question, an example from your own
experience, or other contributions that
indicate a truly excellent job.
I make it clear that I don't grade
presentation style, grammar, or punctuation
in the conference responses (in contrast to
my expectations for exams and term
papers). I want students to write
spontaneously.
3.
I do not deduct points for late submissions of
conference responses. The conferences
remain open all semester, for two reasons:
For students, one of the main attractions
of online classes is the opportunity to fit
their coursework into their own schedules
I know (by asking them) that students
are clear on the need to keep up with the
work; therefore, I don't find it necessary
to set up a rigid schedule for them. That's
their responsibility. (If a student is in
danger of falling behind, I do send an
e-mail that falls just short of
threatening.)
4.
invitation to comment or question evokes fruitful
responses from most students.
My Role as Expert Facilitator
I read the conference discussions almost daily, and I
participate in them regularly, so that students know I am
paying attention and can gain from my perspective. But I
participate indirectly, from the sidelines, in a coaching
rather than in an dominating way:
If a student makes an error or misunderstands
something, I point it out.
If a student asks a question, I answer it.
One student suggested, however, that I shouldn't be
too quick to do that. I should wait a day or two to give
fellow classmates a chance to answer.
If individual students fail to realize what they have to
contribute, I direct questions to them based on their
bios.
If I want the class to explore some aspect of the topic
that they have overlooked, I post my thoughts to
stimulate further thinking.
Leaving a "footprint" has never presented any difficulty.
After all, what professor is ever at a loss for words? On
those rare occasions when it happens, I post a note saying
that I am not intervening because the discussion is going so well.
The Value Added in the Student-Directed Course
In response to my open-ended requests to "Post your comments and questions below," I have been
truly amazed at the richness and the value of the conference discussions.
Students' questions let me know where the text or I have not been clear.
Personal experiences shared by students with prior knowledge of the subject make the discussions
come alive.
Websites and other resources (policies, protocols, slide shows, training materials) that students link to
or attach add value by clarifying or expanding on the topic under discussion. These resources would be
almost impossible to find on one's own.
About 85 percent of the conference contributions are substantive. When I ask for a course evaluation in
the Week Fifteen conference, students mention how much they learned from the material provided by
their fellows. That doesn't do much for the professorial ego, but my objective is not to prove how smart
I am but to instill in students the confidence to test their knowledge, understanding, and insights with
their peers as well as with me.
Within the framework provided by my syllabus, students determine the specific topics to be discussed,
to their own benefit. For example, my own experience is almost entirely with industrial organizations;
many of my students are employed by Federal departments or agencies. Without any prodding from
me, they provide excellent first-hand examples of how the coursework relates to their organizations. In
one class, a student was interested in learning more about airline accidents, a topic mentioned only
briefly in the text. A classmate was a pilot for Southwest Airlines and a living encyclopedia on the
subject. I asked him to respond, and he did so with far greater authority than I could have.
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part II - DE Oracle
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Conclusion
Going for the gold -- mining the intellects and experiences of the students -- is a responsibility, and it is
a shared joy for instructor and students alike. For all, it means being the best that we can be. It means
collaborating in the search for those nuggets of new knowledge and new insights that make a
difference in our lives and in the lives of those with whom we interact. In this model, the instructor is
no longer the "sage on the stage", [1] but a participant in a mutual learning experience.
I like to think of teaching and learning online as a revival of the ancient art of letter writing. Getting a
reply from teacher or fellow student to a thought or idea or question posted in the online classroom
creates the same sense of excitement as receiving a letter from a friend. One student told me that the
conference correspondence was so rewarding that I didn't have to make participation part of the grade.
I disagree, but when obligatory and encouraged, participation does become habit-forming and fruitful.
Both professor and students reap tremendous rewards.
________________________________________
[1] George Collison, Bonnie Elbaum, Sarah Haavind, and Robert Tinker. Facilitating Online Learning.
Atwood Publishing , Madison, WI, 2000 (ISBN 1-891859-33-1)
About the Author(s)
Dr. Joan Berkowitz teaches at UMUC's Graduate School of Management and Technology in the ENVM program. She has taught
courses in Planning for Environmental Managers, ISO 14001, Land and Water Resource Management, Watershed Planning and
Management, and Environmental Risk Assessment. She is Managing Director of Farkas Berkowitz & Company, a management
consulting firm that assists companies in the environmental industry with strategic planning, profitability improvement, and
commercialization of technology. Prior to co-founding Farkas Berkowitz & Company, with Alan Farkas, she was Vice President
of Arthur D. Little, Inc., in charge of that firm's environmental practice world-wide. Dr. Berkowitz holds a B.A. in chemistry
from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois. She is a graduate of the Senior
Executive Program of the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.
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["Presentation," party for Jewish Debutantes]
No full textPhotograph of the "Presentation" party for Jewish Debutantes of 1949 at the Beth-El Congregation's social hall at 207 W. Broadway in Fort Worth. The women are arranged in a curve away from the photographer and are holding bouquets of flowers and wearing formal ball gowns. The women from left to right: Charlotte Sue Louis (Alterman), Ruth Hendelman (Berkowitz), Marilyn Caughy (Raff), Harriet Friedson, Sara Kantrovich (Carr), Katherine Spiegel, Bessie Rutlader (Gaines), Rhoda Cohen (Schultz), Mary Sankary (Herman), Ellen Sankary (Smith), Idelle Engelberg (Luskey), Margie Weisblatt (Goone), Adele Nathan (Friedman)
The level of education and loss of earning capacity for Wisconsin worker's compensation claimants
No full textPlan BLoss of earning capacity is only one brief component of Worker’s Compensation. There are many factors involved in determining a person’s level of loss of earnings. Level of education is a factor that will affect a person’s lost earning capacity. In this study, the educational level of the individual will be correlated with their estimated loss of earning capacity
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