In recent years, the use of technology in educational contexts including e-learning has become in... more In recent years, the use of technology in educational contexts including e-learning has become increasing ubiquitous. While it is commonly believed that technology use can facilitate the process of teaching and learning, it is of paramount importance to adopt a Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) to address the needs of students who might experience difficulty because of cultural, linguistic and technological obstacles that might be inherent in the use of educational technology. With this consideration in mind, the present paper reports on the findings of a qualitative research involving three case studies based on structured interviews with three university professors who are experts in developing digital tools and applications for educational purposes. The participants recorded their responses to interview questions on Google Docs over a period of one month, and the data was analysed for significant themes. The data revealed that all participants believe that cultural, methodologic...
Receptive knowledge of the meanings of the first 3,000 most frequent word families in English is ... more Receptive knowledge of the meanings of the first 3,000 most frequent word families in English is a vital pre-requisite for enabling academic reading and contributing to academic success in higher education where English is the medium of instruction. While many English foundation programmes include frequency-based word lists for their students to learn, learning gains made by students have frequently proven to be disappointing and little attention has been paid to the technological interventions to learn these words. In addition, little consideration has been given to the negative aspects of smartphone use to learn these words. In this naturalistic, mixed-methods study, I explore the mediating effects of using an off-the-shelf, digital vocabulary learning tool in out-of-class settings on the receptive vocabulary knowledge of students in the United Arab Emirates. I also examine how the same tool mediates the students' capacity for self-regulation and whether different devices had ...
International Association for Development of the Information Society, 2017
According to research findings, learners who are about to commence an undergraduate degree course... more According to research findings, learners who are about to commence an undergraduate degree course with English as the medium of instruction (EMI), require a minimum English vocabulary size in order to decode and comprehend the academic texts that they have to read (Hazenberg and Hulstijn, 1996; Staehr, 2008; Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010; Schmitt, 2010; Nation, 2013, Milton and Treffers-Daller, 2013). In the United Arab Emirates, several thousand Emirati students attend English foundation programmes prior to starting their EMI degrees in order to improve their academic skills, such as reading and vocabulary knowledge. However, despite the increased use of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) and the introduction of mobile learning in 2012, the results of this study show that the vast majority of female Emirati still have an insufficient receptive vocabulary size for beginning an EMI undergraduate degree course. In addition, the use of a generic vocabulary learning app over a fo...
Thank you for joining us at the Graduate Student Showcase. Special appreciation goes to all of th... more Thank you for joining us at the Graduate Student Showcase. Special appreciation goes to all of the graduate students who presented, as the Graduate Student Showcase would not have been possible without your willingness to share your creative works and scholarship. An additional thank you to the judges who volunteered for the Graduate Student Showcase. Your time and efforts truly made all the difference in allowing us to recognize and celebrate graduate student excellence here on campus. An equal-opportunity University.
Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the 222 Rn decay chain on detector surfaces may be the limi... more Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the 222 Rn decay chain on detector surfaces may be the limiting background in many experiments attempting to detect dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay. Removal of tens of microns of material via electropolishing has been shown to be effective at removing radon daughters implanted into material surfaces. Some applications, however, require the removal of uniform and significantly smaller thicknesses. Here, we demonstrate that electropolishing < 1 µm from stainless-steel plates reduces the contamination efficiently, by a factor > 100. Examination of electropolished wires with a scanning electron microscope confirms that the thickness removed is reproducible and reasonably uniform. Together, these tests demonstrate the effectiveness of removal of radon daughters for a proposed low-radiation, multi-wire proportional chamber (the BetaCage), without compromising the screener's energy resolution. More generally, electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel may effectively remove radon daughters without compromising precisionmachined parts.
The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory studied en... more The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory studied energy loss associated with defect formation in germanium crystals at mK temperatures using in situ 210Pb sources. We examine the spectrum of 206Pb nuclear recoils near its expected 103 keV endpoint energy and determine an energy loss of (6:08 ± 0:18)%, which we attribute to defect formation. From this result and using TRIM simulations, we extract the first experimentally determined average displacement threshold energy of 19.7−0.5+0.6 eV for germanium. This has implications for the analysis thresholds of future germanium-based dark matter searches.
The aim of this study was to compare objectively the clinical and haemodynamic effects of an isos... more The aim of this study was to compare objectively the clinical and haemodynamic effects of an isosorbide dinitrate infusion with buccal nitroglycerin in patients with unstable angina, in order to evaluate the use of buccal nitroglycerin as first-line therapy in such patients
The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of... more The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of Oregon that promotes education, service, public outreach, and research on the design and development of sustainable cities. We are redefining higher education for the public good and catalyzing community change toward sustainability. Our work addresses sustainability at multiple scales and emerges from the conviction that creating the sustainable city cannot happen within any single discipline. SCI is grounded in cross-disciplinary engagement as the key strategy for improving community sustainability. Our work connects student energy, faculty experience, and community needs to produce innovative, tangible solutions for the creation of a sustainable society. About SCYP The Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) is a year-long partnership between SCI and one city in Oregon, in which students and faculty in courses from across the university collaborate with the partner city on sustainability and livability projects. SCYP faculty and students work in collaboration with staff from the partner city through a variety of studio projects and service-learning courses to provide students with real-world projects to investigate. Students bring energy, enthusiasm, and innovative approaches to difficult, persistent problems. SCYP's primary value derives from collaborations resulting in on-theground impact and expanded conversations for a community ready to transition to a more sustainable and livable future. SCY 2011-12 includes courses in Architecture;
We report on the results of a search for a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) signal in l... more We report on the results of a search for a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) signal in low-energy data of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment using a maximum likelihood analysis. A background model is constructed using GEANT4 to simulate the surface-event background from 210 Pb decaychain events, while using independent calibration data to model the gamma background. Fitting this background model to the data results in no statistically significant WIMP component. In addition, we perform fits using an analytic ad hoc background model proposed by Collar and Fields, who claimed to find a large excess of signallike events in our data. We confirm the strong preference for a signal hypothesis in their analysis under these assumptions, but excesses are observed in both single-and multiple-scatter events, which implies the signal is not caused by WIMPs, but rather reflects the inadequacy of their background model.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 1984
The efficacy of nicardipine, a new calcium ion antagonist, was studied in 39 patients aged 42 to ... more The efficacy of nicardipine, a new calcium ion antagonist, was studied in 39 patients aged 42 to 70 years with chronic stable angina in two different placebo-controlled single-and double-blind crossover trials and with longterm follow-up, using serial quantitated exercise testing and ambulatory ST segment monitoring. In the first study the minimal effective dose was determined, and in the repeat study the effectsof three different dose levelswere evaluated. Treadmill exercise testing was performed at the end of each 2 week treatment period with on-line computer analysis of the electrocardiogram. The mean (± standard error of the mean) exercise time was 6.8 ± 0.7 minutes on placebo and 7.0 ± 0.8 minutes during treatment with nicardipine, 60 mg/day (p = NS). This increased to 8.7 ± 0.8 (p < 0.001) and 9.2 ± 0.9 minutes (p < 0.001) with 90 and 120 mg/day, respectively. The Movement of calcium ions across myocardial and vascular smooth muscle cells plays a vital role in their contractile function and in the maintenance of tone. The drugs that block the movement of extracellular calcium into the cells are known as calcium antagonists, calcium flux inhibitors, slow channel blocking agents and calcium channel blocking agents, a situation that reflects disagreement about their precise mode of action. Despite this disagreement (I), these drugs have been hailed as a significant advance in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (2). They have been shown to be effective in the control of stable and unstable angina
In recent years, the use of technology in educational contexts including e-learning has become in... more In recent years, the use of technology in educational contexts including e-learning has become increasing ubiquitous. While it is commonly believed that technology use can facilitate the process of teaching and learning, it is of paramount importance to adopt a Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) to address the needs of students who might experience difficulty because of cultural, linguistic and technological obstacles that might be inherent in the use of educational technology. With this consideration in mind, the present paper reports on the findings of a qualitative research involving three case studies based on structured interviews with three university professors who are experts in developing digital tools and applications for educational purposes. The participants recorded their responses to interview questions on Google Docs over a period of one month, and the data was analysed for significant themes. The data revealed that all participants believe that cultural, methodologic...
Receptive knowledge of the meanings of the first 3,000 most frequent word families in English is ... more Receptive knowledge of the meanings of the first 3,000 most frequent word families in English is a vital pre-requisite for enabling academic reading and contributing to academic success in higher education where English is the medium of instruction. While many English foundation programmes include frequency-based word lists for their students to learn, learning gains made by students have frequently proven to be disappointing and little attention has been paid to the technological interventions to learn these words. In addition, little consideration has been given to the negative aspects of smartphone use to learn these words. In this naturalistic, mixed-methods study, I explore the mediating effects of using an off-the-shelf, digital vocabulary learning tool in out-of-class settings on the receptive vocabulary knowledge of students in the United Arab Emirates. I also examine how the same tool mediates the students' capacity for self-regulation and whether different devices had ...
International Association for Development of the Information Society, 2017
According to research findings, learners who are about to commence an undergraduate degree course... more According to research findings, learners who are about to commence an undergraduate degree course with English as the medium of instruction (EMI), require a minimum English vocabulary size in order to decode and comprehend the academic texts that they have to read (Hazenberg and Hulstijn, 1996; Staehr, 2008; Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010; Schmitt, 2010; Nation, 2013, Milton and Treffers-Daller, 2013). In the United Arab Emirates, several thousand Emirati students attend English foundation programmes prior to starting their EMI degrees in order to improve their academic skills, such as reading and vocabulary knowledge. However, despite the increased use of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) and the introduction of mobile learning in 2012, the results of this study show that the vast majority of female Emirati still have an insufficient receptive vocabulary size for beginning an EMI undergraduate degree course. In addition, the use of a generic vocabulary learning app over a fo...
Thank you for joining us at the Graduate Student Showcase. Special appreciation goes to all of th... more Thank you for joining us at the Graduate Student Showcase. Special appreciation goes to all of the graduate students who presented, as the Graduate Student Showcase would not have been possible without your willingness to share your creative works and scholarship. An additional thank you to the judges who volunteered for the Graduate Student Showcase. Your time and efforts truly made all the difference in allowing us to recognize and celebrate graduate student excellence here on campus. An equal-opportunity University.
Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the 222 Rn decay chain on detector surfaces may be the limi... more Long-lived alpha and beta emitters in the 222 Rn decay chain on detector surfaces may be the limiting background in many experiments attempting to detect dark matter or neutrinoless double beta decay. Removal of tens of microns of material via electropolishing has been shown to be effective at removing radon daughters implanted into material surfaces. Some applications, however, require the removal of uniform and significantly smaller thicknesses. Here, we demonstrate that electropolishing < 1 µm from stainless-steel plates reduces the contamination efficiently, by a factor > 100. Examination of electropolished wires with a scanning electron microscope confirms that the thickness removed is reproducible and reasonably uniform. Together, these tests demonstrate the effectiveness of removal of radon daughters for a proposed low-radiation, multi-wire proportional chamber (the BetaCage), without compromising the screener's energy resolution. More generally, electropolishing thin layers of stainless steel may effectively remove radon daughters without compromising precisionmachined parts.
The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory studied en... more The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory studied energy loss associated with defect formation in germanium crystals at mK temperatures using in situ 210Pb sources. We examine the spectrum of 206Pb nuclear recoils near its expected 103 keV endpoint energy and determine an energy loss of (6:08 ± 0:18)%, which we attribute to defect formation. From this result and using TRIM simulations, we extract the first experimentally determined average displacement threshold energy of 19.7−0.5+0.6 eV for germanium. This has implications for the analysis thresholds of future germanium-based dark matter searches.
The aim of this study was to compare objectively the clinical and haemodynamic effects of an isos... more The aim of this study was to compare objectively the clinical and haemodynamic effects of an isosorbide dinitrate infusion with buccal nitroglycerin in patients with unstable angina, in order to evaluate the use of buccal nitroglycerin as first-line therapy in such patients
The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of... more The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of Oregon that promotes education, service, public outreach, and research on the design and development of sustainable cities. We are redefining higher education for the public good and catalyzing community change toward sustainability. Our work addresses sustainability at multiple scales and emerges from the conviction that creating the sustainable city cannot happen within any single discipline. SCI is grounded in cross-disciplinary engagement as the key strategy for improving community sustainability. Our work connects student energy, faculty experience, and community needs to produce innovative, tangible solutions for the creation of a sustainable society. About SCYP The Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) is a year-long partnership between SCI and one city in Oregon, in which students and faculty in courses from across the university collaborate with the partner city on sustainability and livability projects. SCYP faculty and students work in collaboration with staff from the partner city through a variety of studio projects and service-learning courses to provide students with real-world projects to investigate. Students bring energy, enthusiasm, and innovative approaches to difficult, persistent problems. SCYP's primary value derives from collaborations resulting in on-theground impact and expanded conversations for a community ready to transition to a more sustainable and livable future. SCY 2011-12 includes courses in Architecture;
We report on the results of a search for a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) signal in l... more We report on the results of a search for a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) signal in low-energy data of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment using a maximum likelihood analysis. A background model is constructed using GEANT4 to simulate the surface-event background from 210 Pb decaychain events, while using independent calibration data to model the gamma background. Fitting this background model to the data results in no statistically significant WIMP component. In addition, we perform fits using an analytic ad hoc background model proposed by Collar and Fields, who claimed to find a large excess of signallike events in our data. We confirm the strong preference for a signal hypothesis in their analysis under these assumptions, but excesses are observed in both single-and multiple-scatter events, which implies the signal is not caused by WIMPs, but rather reflects the inadequacy of their background model.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 1984
The efficacy of nicardipine, a new calcium ion antagonist, was studied in 39 patients aged 42 to ... more The efficacy of nicardipine, a new calcium ion antagonist, was studied in 39 patients aged 42 to 70 years with chronic stable angina in two different placebo-controlled single-and double-blind crossover trials and with longterm follow-up, using serial quantitated exercise testing and ambulatory ST segment monitoring. In the first study the minimal effective dose was determined, and in the repeat study the effectsof three different dose levelswere evaluated. Treadmill exercise testing was performed at the end of each 2 week treatment period with on-line computer analysis of the electrocardiogram. The mean (± standard error of the mean) exercise time was 6.8 ± 0.7 minutes on placebo and 7.0 ± 0.8 minutes during treatment with nicardipine, 60 mg/day (p = NS). This increased to 8.7 ± 0.8 (p < 0.001) and 9.2 ± 0.9 minutes (p < 0.001) with 90 and 120 mg/day, respectively. The Movement of calcium ions across myocardial and vascular smooth muscle cells plays a vital role in their contractile function and in the maintenance of tone. The drugs that block the movement of extracellular calcium into the cells are known as calcium antagonists, calcium flux inhibitors, slow channel blocking agents and calcium channel blocking agents, a situation that reflects disagreement about their precise mode of action. Despite this disagreement (I), these drugs have been hailed as a significant advance in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (2). They have been shown to be effective in the control of stable and unstable angina
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Papers by Michael Bowles