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We consider combinatorial problems arising in the design of Metro Core optical networks, dealing with the placement of specially equipped nodes capable of efficiently re-distributing the traffic. Two optimality criteria are considered: minimization of the maximal distance between two adjacent nodes, and minimization of the maximal path length. The paths are selected subject to the Quality of Service constraint implemented as the maximal hop length, and subject to survivability implemented as the request for having two edge disjoint paths. Integer programming formulations and a heuristic strategy based on tabu search are presented and solved either optimally using CPLEX 11.0 optimizer, or sub-optimally using a heuristic approach.

The author argues that the online environment lends opportunities for development of critical thinking and creation of a collaborative learning environment not available in the face-to-face classroom. The author compares student participation, test results, the quality of writing assignments in art history survey courses she taught online and face to face at the same university. Not only can critical thinking be encouraged and facilitated by introducing challenging and intriguing topics in group discussions and blogs, but the specific nature of online communication provides a unique and positive atmosphere for discussion: anonymity fosters participation among students who are less fond of public speaking, schedule flexibility means students can do research before posting to discussion boards, a lack of time constraints means discussions do not have to "end" when "class" is over, visibility of discussion postings to the entire class means that students can and do learn from their peers, and the variety of available tools means students can incorporate images, audio/video clips and graphics into their analytical reflections. This paper summarizes the most effective approaches taken to establishing group discussions in asynchronous online courses, discusses learner engagement strategies in the e-learning environment, describes best practices for the optimal use of discussion boards, analyzes learning outcomes of discussion board assignments compared to in-class essays and writing assignments. Copyright © 2012, Common Ground.

The premise ofthis chapter is that U.S. society will reject continued attempts to defend discrimination against lesbian and gay people in the name of “family values�? or “special rights�? or “preservation ofmorale�? or any other meaningless slogan. Such discrimination will be seen for what it really is: bigotry. However, social change is slow and discriminatory attitudes and behaviors will continue to be oppressive environmental and organizational influences on lesbian and gay social workers employed by human service agencies. This vestige of homophobia and heterosexism, therefore, must become the target of social work intervention (Appleby, 1995). © 1998 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Purpose - This chapter aims to discuss the issues associated with social indexing as a solution to the challenges of current information organization systems by investigating the quality and efficacy of social indexing. Design/methodology/approach - The chapter focuses on the study which compared indexing similarity between two professional groups and also compared social tagging and professional indexing. The study employed the method of the modified vector-based Indexing Consistency Density (ICD) with three different similarity measures: cosine similarity, dot product similarity, and Euclidean distance metric. Findings - The investigation of social indexing in comparison of professional indexing demonstrates that social tags are more accurate descriptions of resources and reflection of more current terminology than controlled vocabulary. Through the characteristics of social tagging discussed in this chapter, we have a clearer understanding of the extent to which social indexing can be used to replace and improve upon professional indexing. Research limitations/implications - As investment in professionally developed web directories diminishes, it becomes even more critical to understand the characteristics of social tagging and to obtain benefit from it. In future research, the examination of subjective tags needs to be conducted. A survey or user study on tagging behavior also would help to extend understanding of social indexing practices. © 2013 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The study of the origin and causes of interpersonal violence and warfare in human prehistory has drawn the interest of anthropologists for over a century (Ember and Ember 1995; Ferguson 1984; Ferguson and Whitehead 1992; Gat 2000; Haas 1990; Keeley 1996; Kelly 2000; Lambert 2002; McCall and Shields 2008; Martin and Frayer 1997; Otterbein 1994; Turney-High 1971; Walker 2001; Wrangham and Peterson 1996). Over the past few decades, a plethora of research has provided unambiguous evidence for interpersonal violence and warfare in a vast number of prehistoric societies, countering the notion of a “pacified past” (Keeley 1996; Lambert 2002; Maschner and Reedy-Maschner 1998; Milner 1995; Walker 2001). This is particularly true in California, where the notion of idyllic, peaceful hunter-gatherer groups living in a bountiful temperate climate has been contradicted by numerous skeletal studies revealing evidence of cranial trauma, projectile point injuries and trophy-taking (e.g. Andrushko et al. 2005, 2010; Jurmain 1991, 2001; Jurmain and Bellifemine 1997; Jurmain et al. 2009; Lambert 1994, 1997; Nelson 1997; Walker 1989; Wiberg 2002). The study of human skeletal remains provides a unique perspective on trauma in pastsocieties that complements evidence from material culture, site context and ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts (Jurmain 1999; Larsen 1997; Walker 1997). While early trauma analyses focused on single case studies or small samples, more recent studies have followed a population-based perspective, with greater emphasis on the examination of trauma patterns in larger and more representative skeletal samples (e.g., Lambert 1994, 1997; Lovejoy and Heiple 1981; Steadman 2008). This population-based perspective has allowed osteologists to recognize individual, temporal and geographic variation in traumatic injuries due to a wide range of cultural, biological and environmental factors. Over the past two decades, several studies have also increasingly focused on more definitiveindicators of violence, such as cranio-facial trauma and injuries associated with embedded projectile points or other types of weaponry (e.g. Andrushko and Torres 2011; Buzon and Richman 2007; Dawson et al. 2003; Fiorato et al. 2000; Jurmain et al. 2009; Kanz andGrossschmidt 2006; Lambert 1994, 1997; Lessa and Mendonça de Souza 2004, 2006; Murphy et al. 2010; Owens 2007; Paine et al. 2007; Smith, 1996, 1997, 2003; Standen and Arriaza 2000; Steadman 2008; Torres-Rouff and Costa Junqueira 2006; Tung 2007; Walker 1989, 1997; Webb 1995; Willey and Emerson 1993). Peri-mortem mutilation, including evidence of dismemberment and trophy-taking (e.g. scalping, body part removal), is also considered a corollary to interpersonal violence and warfare practices (Andrushko et al. 2005, 2010; Lambert 2007; Steadman 2008; Tung 2007, 2008; Tung and Knudson 2008; Verano 2003). When analysed together, these direct indicators of violence – cranio-facial trauma, projectile point injury and evidence of trophy-taking – provide powerful evidence for interpersonal violence in a society. Moreover, when these indicators of conflict are analysed from a population-based perspective, as described above and employed in the present study, a more accurate and nuanced understanding of violent conflict in the past can be achieved. © 2014 Christopher Knüsel and Martin J. Smith for selection and editorial matter; individual contributions, the contributors. All rights reserved.

The influence of defects on the local structural, electronic, and chemical properties of a surface oxide on Cu(100) were investigated using atomic resolution three-dimensional force mapping combined with tunneling current measurements and ab initio density functional theory. Results reveal that the maximum attractive force between tip and sample occurs above the oxygen atoms; theory indicates that the tip, in this case, terminates in a Cu atom. Meanwhile, simultaneously acquired tunneling current images emphasize the positions of Cu atoms, thereby, providing species-selective contrast in the two complementary data channels. One immediate outcome is that defects due to the displacement of surface copper are exposed in the current maps, even though force maps only reflect a well-ordered oxygen sublattice. The exact nature of the defects is confirmed by the simulations, which also reveal that the arrangement of the oxygen atoms is not disrupted by the copper displacement. In addition, the experimental force maps uncover a position-dependent modulation of the attractive forces between the surface oxygen and the copper-terminated tips, which is found to reflect the surface's inhomogeneous chemical and structural environment. As a consequence, the demonstrated method has the potential to directly probe how defects affect surface chemical interactions. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Introduction: Although there is some common pedagogical ground for all teachers of mathematics, there is a fundamental difference in the topics and depth of content knowledge required for students preparing to teach elementary, middle, or high school mathematics. The middle school teacher preparation program at Western Oregon University (WOU) seeks to develop foundational content for middle school teachers while exploring best practices such as active learning, appropriate use of technology, and hands-on exploration. WOU offers many courses specifically for middle school teachers that are designed to develop mathematical maturity and content knowledge while connecting the subject matter to the middle school curriculum and standards. This article describes the structure of WOU's middle school mathematics program and the courses designed specifically for middle school mathematics teachers. We point out the difference in the mathematical preparation and requirements for middle school mathematics teachers compared to elementary teachers and high school mathematics teachers and explain the licensure requirements for middle school mathematics teachers in Oregon. Background and Philosophy of the Program: Western Oregon University's math curriculum for K–8 teacher preparation was among ten programs singled out as meeting critical coursework needs by the National Council on Teacher Quality [5]. The teacher preparation program as a whole was named the 2010 recipient of the Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). © 2013 by The Mathematical Association of America (Incorporated).

At Western Oregon University, we offer a College Algebra for Teachers course using the Visual Algebra for College Students [3] materials that we wrote and class tested. Visual Algebra is designed to help middle school teachers gain a deep understanding of basic algebraic skills. Students visually show algebra using a concrete model (algebra pieces), verbally describe the meaning of each algebra piece move, symbolically connect the ideas to standard algebraic algorithms and procedures, and graphically connect the ideas of the visual models and symbolic work. Overall, students think deeply about topics, do not rely on rote memorization or rote rules, and understand ideas so well that they can easily describe, model, and teach core algebraic ideas to their middle grade students in a variety of ways. This allows our future teachers to meet the needs of the different learning styles in their classrooms. Visual Algebra takes students through modeling integer operations with black and red tiles to modeling linear and quadratic patterns with tiles and variable algebra pieces, looking at the general forms of the patterns and then connecting all the ideas to symbolic manipulation, creating data sets, graphing, and finding intercepts and points of intersection. Ideas are then extended to higher order polynomial functions and then to modeling complex number operations with black, red, yellow, and green tiles. Throughout the course, students are able to relate what they learned using visual methods to the standard methods and algorithms they will see every day in their classroom. For example, after factoring quadratic equations using visual methods, students learn factoring by grouping and factoring using the “ac” method. © 2013 by The Mathematical Association of America (Incorporated).

This multi-phased study investigates the learning outcomes of courses taught in the K-14 classroom. Specifically, the methods and practices teachers use to develop and encourage 21st Century Skills including critical thinking skills and technological fluency in all subject areas, STEM and non-STEM related, are of great interest. Currently, these skills are in high demand in fields which develop advanced materials and are the backbone of the National Academies-developed Frameworks for K-12 Science Education. Phase I participants in this study included high school and college educators while Phase II of the study will involve K-14 students. In this study, educators were asked to rate their teaching self-efficacy in two primary areas: critical thinking skills and technological fluency. This included questions related to components in their current curriculum as well as methods of assessment [e.g., rubrics]. The instrument created to measure self-efficacy was based on a modified 'Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument' (STEBI). All participants were from Connecticut. Results indicate that both STEM and non-STEM related subject areas offer an equally rich array of opportunities to effectively teach critical thinking and technological fluency at a variety of educational levels. The impact of Professional Development on teacher self-efficacy was of particular importance, especially in K-12 education. © 2013 Materials Research Society.

Through 1975, the shareholder annual reports of publicly-owned U.S. railroads were exempt from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s accounting regulations, audit and disclosure rules because railroads were common carriers subject to the rules and regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Pub-liclyowned Class railroads voluntary began to away from ICC-type towards GAAP-type accounting and disclosures in their shareholder reports just after World War II.1 This paper reviews early industry practices with respect to internal and external audits. Using a sample of major Class I railroads from 1946 to 1975, the paper shows: the extent to which certain railroads voluntarily presented audited finan-cial statements before being required, the extent to which particular CPA firms were involved with the railroad industry, and the types of audit reports that issued to these railroads during this period. © 2016, Academy of Accounting Historians. All rights reserved.