Sisyphus and Climate Change: Educating in the Context of Tragedies of the Commons

The tragedy of the commons is a primary contributing factor in ensuring that humanity makes no serious inroads in averting climate change. As a recent Canadian politician pointed out, we could shut down the Canadian economy tomorrow, and it would make no measurable difference in global greenhouse gas emissions. When coordinated effort is required, it would seem that doing the “right thing” alone is irrational: it will harm oneself with no positive consequences as a result. Such is the tragedy. And that is the challenge that we take up here. Though Garrett Hardin suggests that the solution is a governmental process that rules over all contenders, since a world government seems unlikely before the planet hits the tippy point, we suggest an educational initiative instead: one that holds a mirror up to the behaviour of individuals, rather than to the behaviour of individuals in groups. Such an educational initiative would be focused on priming individuals to keep constant track of what they do as individuals as opposed to focusing on the behaviour of humanity in general. Such an educational initiative would focus on tackling the “problem solvers” rather than just “the problem”.

A Single Surgeon’s Experience of Infection Rates in K-Wires in Hand Surgery: Buried vs. Exposed.

There is anecdotal evidence suggesting buried K-wires are superior to unburied or exposed K-wires due to lower pin track infection rates, although the evidence remains unclear. We present a closed loop audit looking at a single surgeon’s experience of 111 consecutive cases requiring K-wires in hand surgery. Our pin track infection rates differed between a series of 3 consecutive cohorts. Pin track infection rates were 2% in an initial cohort of buried K-wires, 14.3% in a second cohort of exposed K-wires and 0% in a third cohort when practice was changed back to burying the K-wires. Our experience demonstrates there was a measurable difference in post-procedure infection rates between burying and exposing K-wire ends.

This Is My Last Shot

Participants were asked to recall their final year of teaching, when they knew they would be leaving, and to describe how it affected their job performance. Some claimed there was no measurable difference in their last year, but for most their last year in academia was special. Some participants articulated a sense of relief: their work had come to a natural end, and now they were happy to pass the torch. With The Next Chapter approaching, many participants looked forward to a relaxed transition and to calmer days. The desire to “go out strong” was a popular response. This chapter describes how professors approaching The Next Chapter were resolute that their final year would be their best ever. They were fired up, and in turn ignited their students.

Lorentz invariant mass and length scales

We show that the standard Lorentz transformations admit an invariant mass (length) scale, such as the Planck scale. In other words, the frame independence of such a scale is built-in within those transformations, and one does not need to invoke the principle of relativity for their invariance. This automatically ensures the frame-independence of the spectrum of geometrical operators in quantum gravity. Furthermore, we show that the above predicts a small but measurable difference between the inertial and gravitational mass of any object, regardless of its size or whether it is elementary or composite.

Asymmetric Time Evolution and Reduced Dynamics

When using a time asymmetric quantum theory, one must identify the time evolution parameter with a duration in time rather than with a time coordinate value. This identification restricts the options for the quantum mechanical environment of open quantum systems. The restriction may be important for interpretational questions concerning irreversibility or entanglement, but there is no measurable difference between a reduced dynamics within a time symmetric theory or within a time asymmetric theory.

3rd International Conference on E-Learning in the Workplace - ICELW 2009

ICELW is an international conference focused on e-learning in the workplace. With researchers and practitioners coming from around the globe--and from university and business settings--the ICELW community works to improve online learning so that it makes a measurable difference in workplace performance and morale. By uniting the corporate and academic worlds, ICELW is creating a new synergy--one with the unique capability to realize the vast potential of e-learning in business and industry.

Pattern of Deterioration and Recovery of Wood from Dead Yellow-Cedar in Southeast Alaska

Live yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) trees and five classes of snags dead up to 81 yr were contrasted based on the following: the retention of bark and sapwood; the penetration of stain, decay, and weather checks; and the volume and grade of lumber recovered. Of 138 sample trees, most bark was retained on the boles of trees dead <14 yr but thereafter sloughed away and was generally missing by 51 yr after death. Stain, decay, and weather checks were limited to the narrow sapwood on snags 26 yr after tree death (n = 280 log end surfaces). Weather checking, the most serious deterioration defect in snags, did not encroach on heartwood until the sapwood was missing some 51 yr after death. Checking penetration averaged 1.3 in. for the last two snag classes. Cubic volume recovery from 305 mill-length logs did not differ significantly by classes of live trees or snags dead up to 26 yr, and the significant reduction in recovery from snags dead 51 and 81 yr was less than 15%. Grades of lumber were generally similar among the classes of trees, but no clear lumber was recovered from the oldest snag class. These results indicate little to no measurable difference of recovered wood from live trees and the first three snag classes, dead up to 26 yr, and a modest reduction in volume and grade in snags dead up to 81 yr. West. J. Appl. For. 15(2):49-58.