4.2 Why do I need to know about first aid?
Health, safety and risk assessment are of paramount importance both in the laboratory and the field. This unit will help make you more aware of the hazards and risks involved in laboratory and field-based research work, as well as giving you an overview of the legal requirements attached to this work. The unit discusses issues involved in the handling chemical and biological agents, basic safety procedures and common field-work hazards.
Architecture's Unique Position Among the Disciplines : Puzzle-Making vs. Problem Solving
Most disciplines involved in the building process, i.e., programmers, space planners, and engineers work in what may be described as a problem solving mode. They state desired effects as explicit performance criteria before they initiate a decision process and test alternative solutions against those criteria until a fit is attained which falls within known probabilities of success. Architects, however are not problem solvers and they are not seeking explicit information when they design how bui
Principles of Industrial Hygiene
Principles of Industrial Hygiene provides an introduction to the field of industrial hygiene and to occupational health in general. The instructor focuses on introducing concepts, terminology, and methodology in the practice of industrial hygiene and identifies resource materials. The class would benefit those wishing to pursue a Master's degree in industrial hygiene, those wishing to complete a certificate in occupational health, or for students in allied health fields needing a basic understan
Does prison work?
Does prison work and what purpose does it serve? This unit allows you to listen to a discussion surrounding the purpose efficacy and regulation of prisons. Does prison benefit those serving the sentence or simply satisfy a public demand?
Introduction to the Global Catastrophes Risk Conference 2008
Nick Bostrom provides an introduction to the Global Catastrophic Risks Conference and briefly addressing some of the key themes running through it.
A Novel Method to Archive Plant Material for DNA Analysis
In this exercise, students isolate and analyze DNA from food plants in a supermarket, or from common backyard plants. Extracting plant DNA is often difficult using conventional means because undesirable material including PCR inhibitors often co-purifies with the DNA. The novel approach used in this exercise is simple and quick, and also avoids the use of dangerous organic reagents. Students crush plant material (spinach leaves in this exercise) onto special cards originally used to archive bloo
An Investigation of the Behavior of the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum
The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, is a versatile laboratory organism. This experiment investigates the response of pea aphids to an alarm pheromone normally produced in response to predator attack. The responses of aphids feeding on good quality and on poor quality long bean plants will be compared and discussed in terms of the costs and benefits of antipredator behaviors. The life cycle of the pea aphid is demonstrated and information about obtaining, rearing, and working with pea aphids is p
Diffusion Across a Sheep Red Blood Cell Membrane
This cell membrane physiology laboratory uses sheep red blood cells to determine: (1) the isotonic and hemolytic molar concentrations of electrolytes and nonelectrolytes, and degree of electrolyte dissociation; (2) the diffusion rate of penetrating molecules of varying size and lipid solubility; and (3) the relationship of molecular size, number of hydroxyl groups, and partition coefficient to diffusion rate. Student research teams then design an experiment using the acquired techniques to deter
Boudreaux on Monetary Misunderstandings
Don Boudreaux of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts on some of the common misunderstandings people have about prices, money, inflation and deflation. They discuss what is harmful about inflation and deflation, the importance of expectations and the implications for interest rates and financial institutions.
John Taylor on the Financial Crisis
John Taylor of Stanford University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the fundamental causes of the financial crisis of 2008. Taylor argues that the housing bubble of the early 2000s was caused by excessively loose monetary policy, in particular, a sustained period of excessively low interest rates pursued by the Federal Reserve. Other topics covered include rules vs. discretion in monetary policy and the risks of inflation in the coming months. The conversation concludes with a discuss
Moore's Law Forever?
In 1965, Gordon Moore observed that the number of transistors on a silicon chip doubled every technology generation (12 months at that time, currently 18-24 months). He predicted that this trend would continue for a while. Forty years later, Moore's Law continues to hold. Since the number of transistors in a circuit is a measure of the circuit's computational power, the doubling of transistor counts compounded over a 40 year period has led to an enormous increase in the performance of electronic
Vegetative Filter Strips May Deter Pesticide Runoff
The Center for Agriculture at UMass Amherst is studying how to improve methods that deter pesticide runoff and protect water supplies. Learn how researchers are evaluating how various plants, known as vegatative filter strips, can protect public health.
MacRetina
MacRetina simulates data from retinal ganglion cells in the eye to the brain.
By sampling neural activity while stimulating the retina with small spots of light, students can see the dynamic excitatory and inhibitory responses of these neurons in the simulation, and map the organization of the retinal region that drives the cell's receptive field.
MacRetina is modeled accurately on published data and is a realistic simulation of a lab experiment that would otherwise be beyond the reach of the
Biotechnology and Biosecurity
Lecture on Biotechnology; its applications, its implications, risks and the challenges this new technology brings
Business School Annual Lecture 2009 - Every Cloud has a Silver Lining
Following a very successful career that saw him lead a number of well-known business ventures, such as PizzaExpress and bookshop chain Borders, Luke Johnson became Chairman of Channel 4 Television Corporation in January 2004. In this presentation, Luke Johnson draws on his own experience as an entrepreneur to discuss the business of risk. How does risk affect us today in our lives? Hear from the man who has ridden through his fair share of storms in the business world and who has lived through t
7.342 Reading the Blueprint of Life: Transcription, Stem Cells and Differentiation (MIT)
In this course, we will address how transcriptional regulators both prohibit and drive differentiation during the course of development. How does a stem cell know when to remain a stem cell and when to become a specific cell type? Are there global differences in the way the genome is read in multipotent and terminally differentiated cells? We will explore how stem cell pluripotency is preserved, how master regulators of cell-fate decisions execute developmental programs, and how chromatin regula
Rauch on the Volt, Risk, and Corporate Culture
Jonathan Rauch, of the Brookings Institution and the Atlantic Monthly, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the evolution of the Chevy Volt, GM's planned electric car. Due to the transparency of GM's effort, Rauch was able to spend a great deal of time on site at GM writing a piece for the Atlantic Monthly on GM's plans and hopes. Rauch discusses the huge risks, GM's past failures, and GM's hopes that the Volt might change the company's culture. The conversation closes with a discussion
The Next Wave of Corporate Philanthropy - Larry Brilliant (Google.org)
In contrast to simply donating dollars for public relations benefit, in-house altruism today means ubiquitous dedication to real causes. Dr. Larry Brilliant, Executive Director for Google.org, points out that effective business-backed giving means global outreach, partnerships with experts at the heart of solving problems, and a dedicated percentage of gross income to keep these projects afloat.
Using audio feedback - Case study
Download the supporting PDF file for this episode http://bit.ly/bobJOD from the Learning to Teach Online project website.
This Learning to Teach Online http://bit.ly/d18ac5 case study aims to show how simple and powerful using audio feedback can be. Simon McIntyre from COFA Online http://online.cofa.unsw.edu.au, ...
Overcoming Adversity and Taking Risks - Jackie Speier, Deborah Stephens (Former St Senator)
Former California State Senator Jackie Speier and best-selling author Deborah Collins Stephens share engaging stories about taking risks, learning from failure, overcoming adversity, and challenging the status quo based on their extensive leadership experience.
