No abstract

This chapter in Saliceae continues with short discussions of systematics and nomenclature, subjects that remain unsettled in this family. Then, it introduces in general terms each genus, followed by descriptions of the species in each section of the genus- Populus first, then Salix. The species descriptions are not intended to be rigorously botanical; that is, they focus on vegetative characteristics and cannot be used for reliable species identification in the field or in herbaria. For that purpose, a local taxonomic monograph or manual with keys, is recommended. Rather, the chapter approaches each taxon in its geographic and ecological context, describes certain morphological features, depicts intraspecific variation and discusses uses and commercial importance. Due to the large number of Salix taxa, however, the chapter describes only a 32-species subset of tree and shrub willows that currently are important in forestry, horticulture and environmental applications.

No abstract

No abstract

This paper examines one aspect of the curricular change process undertaken by the Foundation Coalition (FC); specifically, how understanding about curricular change held by the FC leaders evolved as they moved through the process of establishing a new curriculum at their institutions. The initial change model was similar to that used for product development and emphasized the role of a pilot program. However, as the curriculum moved beyond the pilot stage to adoption and full‐scale implementation, and then into the final stage where sustaining the new curriculum was the focus, the change model became more complex. Those complexities reflect a parallel evolution in their understanding of what constitutes a curriculum, from their initial conceptualization of it as a product to be carefully designed towards an understanding of it as a dynamic entity whose growth must be sustained.

No abstract

This article explores interactive opportunities provided by British broadsheet and tabloid newspapers' websites and the ways their readers make use of these opportunities to express their opinions. The article presents the results of both a quantitative and a qualitative analysis of national British broadsheet and tabloid newspaper websites. The research reveals some similarities between newspapers -for example, that interactive opportunities remain under utilized -but also some significant differences in the ways that visitors to broadsheet and tabloid websites use the interactive facilities on offer and engage in discussion. The conclusion suggests that the deliberative democratic potential of online discussion is a long way from the deliberative ideal.

Longitudinal studies using seven years of student record data were recently performed on the students participating in a freshman-engineering program (called TIDE) and on students in a comparison group. The results show that: I ) a statistically significant largerpercentage of TIDE students graduated in engineering lhan students from the comparison group; and 2) there was no significant difference in academic performance (RS measured by final GPA) between TIDE and traditional students. TIDE students entering the university ready for calculus had a 14% better graduation rate (significance level of a = 0.001). students entering ready for pre-calculus had a 16% better graduation rate (a = 0.10). women entering ready for calculus had a 23% better graduation rate (a = 0.001) and women entering ready for pre-calculus had a 26% better graduation rate (a = 0.05). Thepaper briefly describes the TIDEprogram. presents the data, and discusses the results. Index Terms -freshman engineering program, retention, under-represented groups OVERVIEW OF THE TIDE PROGRAMThe UA freshman-engineering program, now called TIDE, grew out of a prototype program developed as part of the NSF-supported Foundation Coalition.The FoundationCoalition (FC), composed of seven partner schools, emphasized four areas for improving undergraduate engineering education: curriculum integration, teamwork and collabolative learning, technology in the classroom, and continuous assessment and evaluation.mathematics, mechanical engineering and physics developed the curriculum for the prototype program during the 1993-1994 academic year. The primary goal of the faculty developing the curriculum was to improve student learning. Toward this end, UA faculty from the departments of chemistry, Course topics were substantially rearranged to achieve better integration between chemistry, mathematics and physics, Students worked in four-person teams in the new math, physics, chemistry and engineering courses, and All courses (except labs) were taught in new computerequipped classrooms.Because the topics in the new FC courses were rearranged to achieve better integration, students could not take a first-semester FC course and a second-semester traditional course. Although exceptions were made on a case-by-case basis, the majority of students took all of the FC courses. Students therefore went to their chemistry, mathematics, physics and engineering courses with the same group of students. Furthermore, they sat with the same team of four students in each lecture and worked with the same team for the chemistry lab, mathematics recitation, physics lab and engineering design projects.The chemistry and physics courses assigned team lab reports and the engineering course assigned team design projects. The reports and projects required the four-person teams to meet several times per week outside of class. This had two results. First, the students usually met in the new computer-equipped classrooms and soon got in the habit of going to the classrooms in the evenings to study. Seco...