Natural Complexity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Charbonneau
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Mathematical Knowledge ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Complex Structures ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Source Codes ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Epidemic Diseases ◽  
Natural Complexity

This book provides a short, hands-on introduction to the science of complexity using simple computational models of natural complex systems—with models and exercises drawn from physics, chemistry, geology, and biology. By working through the models and engaging in additional computational explorations suggested at the end of each chapter, readers very quickly develop an understanding of how complex structures and behaviors can emerge in natural phenomena as diverse as avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes, chemical reactions, animal flocks, and epidemic diseases. This book provides the necessary topical background, complete source codes in Python, and detailed explanations for all computational models. Ideal for undergraduates, beginning graduate students, and researchers in the physical and natural sciences, this unique handbook requires no advanced mathematical knowledge or programming skills and is suitable for self-learners with a working knowledge of precalculus and high-school physics. The book enables readers to identify and quantify common underlying structural and dynamical patterns shared by the various systems and phenomena it examines, so that they can form their own answers to the questions of what natural complexity is and how it arises.

Hands-On Graduate Courses in Lean Manufacturing (LM) Emphasizing Green and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey J. Peter
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Lean Manufacturing ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Total Productive Maintenance ◽  
Initial Product ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Institute Of Technology

The author developed and taught the second hands-on graduate course in a series of three Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing (EFM) courses offered at the Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering and Technology (MMET) Masters Program at the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT), Portland Center. Courses in this series include Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM-1), Lean Manufacturing (LM) emphasizing Green and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and Emission Control in Manufacturing (ECM-II). The first two-thirds of the course curriculum consisted of regular classroom lectures, limited homework, two case studies, discussions, videos, and visits to two companies that were implementing or had implemented LM. In addition, a guest lecturer from Washington State Department of Ecology discussed relevant LM and environmental case studies. The final third of the course curriculum consisted of hands-on industry-based case studies. Students gained real-world experience in the manufacturing facilities of the four companies that elected to participate in the pilot project. The LM course, taught from an engineer’s point of view, emphasized the engineer’s role at the initial product design stage, and or manufacturing process design, including building design. This paper describes the course content of the LM curriculum, the innovative methods developed to teach the course, and the methods used to teach LM to graduate students with different undergraduate educational backgrounds including individuals with no prior industrial experience. It discusses three industry-based case studies, company profiles, and the benefits derived by participating companies and graduate students. Curriculum effectiveness was determined at the end of the course in part through students’ and industry participant’s comments. Future publication will describe the contents and case studies of the third ECM II in the EFM course curricula.

Introduction: What Is Complexity?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Charbonneau
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Computational Model ◽  
Computer Programs ◽  
Dissipative Systems ◽  
Ant Colonies ◽  
Natural Complex ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Complex Phenomena ◽  
Natural Complexity

This book investigates complex systems that are idealizations of naturally occurring phenomena characterized by the autonomous generation of structures and patterns at macroscopic scales. It provides material and guidance to allow the reader to learn about complexity through hands-on experimentation with complex systems with the aid of computer programs. Each chapter thus presents a simple computational model of natural complex phenomena ranging from avalanches and earthquakes to solar flares, epidemics, and ant colonies. This introductory chapter explains what complexity is, with emphasis on the fact that defining it is not a simple endeavor, and that it is not the same as randomness or chaos. It also shows that open dissipative systems are complex and clarifies what natural complexity means. Finally, it describes the computer programs listed in this book and suggests materials for further reading about complexity.

The Google Online Marketing Challenge

E-Marketing ◽  
2012 ◽  
pp. 1289-1308
Author(s):  
Sven Tuzovic ◽  
Lyle Wetsch ◽  
Jamie Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Online Marketing ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Advertising Campaign ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Search Engine Advertising

In 2008, a collaborative partnership between Google and academia launched the Google Online Marketing Challenge (hereinafter Google Challenge), perhaps the world’s largest in-class competition for higher education students. In just two years, almost 20,000 students from 58 countries participated in the Google Challenge. The Challenge gives undergraduate and graduate students hands-on experience with the world’s fastest growing advertising mechanism, search engine advertising. Funded by Google, students develop an advertising campaign for a small to medium sized enterprise and manage the campaign over three consecutive weeks using the Google AdWords platform. This article explores the Challenge as an innovative pedagogical tool for marketing educators. Based on the experiences of three instructors in Australia, Canada and the United States, this case study discusses the opportunities and challenges of integrating this dynamic problem-based learning approach into the classroom.

The Mind as Black Box: A Simulation of Theory Building in Psychology

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Hildebrandt ◽  
Jennifer Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Scientific Investigation ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Logical Thinking ◽  
Social Collaboration ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Black Plastic ◽  
The Mind

This activity gives students a collaborative, hands-on experience in theory building. Using the metaphor “the mind is a black box,” students work together in small groups to discover what is inside a sealed, black, plastic box. In all, 63 undergraduate and 11 graduate students evaluated the activity. Students reported that they enjoyed the activity and that it helped them learn more about the development of scientific theories; the existence of conflicting theories; and the value of logical thinking, imagination, and social collaboration in the process of scientific investigation.

scholarly journals Facing and managing natural disasters in the Sporades islands, Greece

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 995-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Karanikola ◽  
T. Panagopoulos ◽  
S. Tampakis ◽  
M. I. Karantoni ◽  
G. Tsantopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Civil Defense ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Public Response ◽  
Central Greece ◽  
Good Management ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes

Abstract. The region of the Sporades islands located in central Greece is at the mercy of many natural phenomena, such as earthquakes due to the marine volcano Psathoura and the rift of Anatolia, forest fires, floods, landslides, storms, hail, snowfall and frost. The present work aims at studying the perceptions and attitudes of the residents regarding how they face and manage natural disasters. A positive public response during a hazard crisis depends not only upon the availability and good management of a civil defense plan but also on the knowledge and perception of the possible hazards by the local population. It is important for the stakeholders to know what the citizens expect so that the necessary structures can be developed in the phase of preparation and organization. The residents were asked their opinion about what they think should be done by the stakeholders after a catastrophic natural disaster, particularly about the immediate response of stakeholders and their involvement and responsibilities at different, subsequent intervals of time following the disaster. The residents were also asked about the most common disasters that happen in their region and about the preparation activities of the stakeholders.

An intensive hands-on course designed to teach molecular biology techniques to physiology graduate students

2002 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea D. Weston ◽  
Sasha Stasko ◽  
Gerald M. Kidder
Keyword(s):  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Rna Expression ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Similar Information ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Intensive Course

To address a growing need to make research trainees in physiology comfortable with the tools of molecular biology, we have developed a laboratory-intensive course designed for graduate students. This course is offered to a small group of students over a three-week period and is organized such that comprehensive background lectures are coupled with extensive hands-on experience. The course is divided into seven modules, each organized by a faculty member who has particular expertise in the area covered by that module. The modules focus on basic methods such as cDNA subcloning, sequencing, gene transfer, polymerase chain reaction, and protein and RNA expression analysis. Each module begins with a lecture that introduces the technique in detail by providing a historical perspective, describing both the uses and limitations of that technique, and comparing the method with others that yield similar information. Most of the lectures are followed by a laboratory session during which students follow protocols that were carefully designed to avoid pitfalls. Throughout these laboratory sessions, students are given an appreciation of the importance of proper technique and accuracy. Communication among the students, faculty, and the assistant coordinator is focused on when and why each procedure would be used, the importance of each step in the procedure, and approaches to troubleshooting. The course ends with an exam that is designed to test the students’ general understanding of each module and their ability to apply the various techniques to physiological questions.

scholarly journals A practical guide to mechanistic systems modeling in biology using a logic-based approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Niarakis ◽  
Tomáš Helikar
Keyword(s):  
Computational Modeling ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Mechanistic Modeling ◽  
Lac Operon ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Validation Criteria ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Modeling Software ◽  
Logical Modeling

Abstract Mechanistic computational models enable the study of regulatory mechanisms implicated in various biological processes. These models provide a means to analyze the dynamics of the systems they describe, and to study and interrogate their properties, and provide insights about the emerging behavior of the system in the presence of single or combined perturbations. Aimed at those who are new to computational modeling, we present here a practical hands-on protocol breaking down the process of mechanistic modeling of biological systems in a succession of precise steps. The protocol provides a framework that includes defining the model scope, choosing validation criteria, selecting the appropriate modeling approach, constructing a model and simulating the model. To ensure broad accessibility of the protocol, we use a logical modeling framework, which presents a lower mathematical barrier of entry, and two easy-to-use and popular modeling software tools: Cell Collective and GINsim. The complete modeling workflow is applied to a well-studied and familiar biological process—the lac operon regulatory system. The protocol can be completed by users with little to no prior computational modeling experience approximately within 3 h.

Computers in Teaching

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 204-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Goolkasian
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Psychology Majors ◽  
Process Oriented

In this article, I describe a process-oriented course designed to teach psychology majors about information technology. The course centers around hands-on experience with computer software, and it is directed toward upper division undergraduate and graduate students. Tables 1 and 2 show a sample syllabus and a listing of software, respectively.

Thermo/Fluids Curriculum Development in a New Mechanical Engineering Program

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Jokar ◽  
Stephen Solovitz
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Fluid Mechanics ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Dual Approach ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Hands On

This study describes a model for developing a thermo/fluids curriculum in a new mechanical engineering program. Hands-on experience and applied engineering research are the center of this development. The efforts in creating undergraduate, elective, and graduate level courses and laboratories in the fundamental topics of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer are reviewed and explained in detail. A dual approach has been taken in developing the curriculum, so that both undergraduate and graduate students can utilize the facility in their research activities. This development has been revised and optimized since its initiation in 2005, and it has successfully been accredited by ABET. The good results obtained from this model can be used in developing mechanical engineering programs, especially for smaller-sized institutions.

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