Search for: All records

Engaging students in free and open source (FOSS) projects can provide significant curricular benefits but is known to be challenging for both students and faculty. This paper reports on our efforts to mitigate these challenges through the creation and use of Education-Oriented H/FOSS (Humanitarian FOSS or FOSS) projects - authentic open source projects consciously designed and managed to facilitate student and faculty engagement. We describe four active Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects and introduce a framework for illustrating different models of H/FOSS engagement. The framework is used to structure a discussion of the considerations and trade-offs of different engagement models, and highlights particular models that have been used to engage students and faculty in our four Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects. The framework positions projects along dimensions of professor involvement, responsibility for project hosting/management, mode of student knowledge and skill acquisition, and the curricular engagement goals. In doing so it broadly captures trade-offs that exist between the level of institutional resources used and the level of student independence required. It is anticipated this framework and the discussion that it organizes will be useful to faculty a) in evaluating the appropriateness of particular H/FOSS projects for use in their courses and curriculum and b) as guidance to those considering the creation of new Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects. 

Engaging students in free and open source (FOSS) projects can provide significant curricular benefits but is known to be challenging for both students and faculty. This paper reports on our efforts to mitigate these challenges through the creation and use of Education-Oriented H/FOSS (Humanitarian FOSS or FOSS) projects - authentic open source projects consciously designed and managed to facilitate student and faculty engagement. We describe four active Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects and introduce a framework for illustrating different models of H/FOSS engagement. The framework is used to structure a discussion of the considerations and trade-offs of different engagement models, and highlights particular models that have been used to engage students and faculty in our four Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects. The framework positions projects along dimensions of professor involvement, responsibility for project hosting/management, mode of student knowledge and skill acquisition, and the curricular engagement goals. In doing so it broadly captures trade-offs that exist between the level of institutional resources used and the level of student independence required. It is anticipated this framework and the discussion that it organizes will be useful to faculty a) in evaluating the appropriateness of particular H/FOSS projects for use in their courses and curriculum and b) as guidance to those considering the creation of new Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects. 

Engaging students in free and open source (FOSS) projects can provide significant curricular benefits but is known to be challenging for both students and faculty. This paper reports on our efforts to mitigate these challenges through the creation and use of Education-Oriented H/FOSS (Humanitarian FOSS or FOSS) projects - authentic open source projects consciously designed and managed to facilitate student and faculty engagement. We describe four active Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects and introduce a framework for illustrating different models of H/FOSS engagement. The framework is used to structure a discussion of the considerations and trade-offs of different engagement models, and highlights particular models that have been used to engage students and faculty in our four Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects. The framework positions projects along dimensions of professor involvement, responsibility for project hosting/management, mode of student knowledge and skill acquisition, and the curricular engagement goals. In doing so it broadly captures trade-offs that exist between the level of institutional resources used and the level of student independence required. It is anticipated this framework and the discussion that it organizes will be useful to faculty a) in evaluating the appropriateness of particular H/FOSS projects for use in their courses and curriculum and b) as guidance to those considering the creation of new Education-Oriented H/FOSS projects. 

Abstract. Nonlinear oceanic internal solitary waves are considered under the influence of the combined effects of saturating nonlinearity, Earth's rotation, and horizontal depth inhomogeneity. Here the basic model is the extended Korteweg–de Vries equation that includes both quadratic and cubic nonlinearity (the Gardner equation) with additional terms incorporating slowly varying depth and weak rotation. The complicated interplay between these different factors is explored using an approximate adiabatic approach and then through numerical solutions of the governing variable depth, i.e., the rotating Gardner model. These results are also compared to analysis in the Korteweg–de Vries limit to highlight the effect of the cubic nonlinearity. The study explores several particular cases considered in the literature that included some of these factors to illustrate limitations. Solutions are made to illustrate the relevance of this extended Gardner model for realistic oceanic conditions. 

ABSTRACT Swimming organisms may actively adjust their behavior in response to the flow around them. Ocean flows are typically turbulent and are therefore characterized by chaotic velocity fluctuations. While some studies have observed planktonic larvae altering their behavior in response to turbulence, it is not always clear whether a plankter is responding to an individual turbulence fluctuation or to the time-averaged flow. To distinguish between these two paradigms, we conducted laboratory experiments with larvae in turbulence. We observed veliger larvae of the gastropod Crepidula fornicata in a jet-stirred turbulence tank while simultaneously measuring two components of the fluid and larval velocity. Larvae were studied at two different stages of development, early and late, and their behavior was analyzed in response to different characteristics of turbulence: acceleration, dissipation and vorticity. Our analysis considered the effects of both the time-averaged flow and the instantaneous flow, around the larvae. Overall, we found that both stages of larvae increased their upward swimming speeds in response to increasing turbulence. However, we found that the early-stage larvae tended to respond to the time-averaged flow, whereas the late-stage larvae tended to respond to the instantaneous flow around them. These observations indicate that larvae can integrate flow information over time and that their behavioral responses to turbulence can depend on both their present and past flow environments. 

During the emergence of Data Science as a distinct discipline, discussions of what exactly constitutes Data Science have been a source of contention, with no clear resolution. These disagreements have been exacerbated by the lack of a clear single disciplinary 'parent.' Many early efforts at defining curricula and courses exist, with the EDISON Project's Data Science Framework (EDISON-DSF) from the European Union being the most complete. The EDISON-DSF includes both a Data Science Body of Knowledge (DS-BoK) and Competency Framework (CF-DS). This paper takes a critical look at how EDISON's CF-DS compares to recent work and other published curricular or course materials. We identify areas of strong agreement and disagreement with the framework. Results from the literature analysis provide strong insights into what topics the broader community see as belonging in (or not in) Data Science, both at curricular and course levels. This analysis can provide important guidance for groups working to formalize the discipline and any college or university looking to build their own undergraduate Data Science degree or programs.