Internetworking with the Power Globe remailer

This study is an exploratory survey of current electronic mail (E-mail) use, attitudes toward E-mail and likelihood of future E-mail use among freshmen university students. Increasingly, universities are giving students access to their campus E-mail systems. In this case study, the administration of the college of communication in a Northeastern university was interested in implementing an E-mail system as part of a larger organizational shift toward electronic communications. As digital media become a reality, it was deemed important that students become familiar with electronic communications. An E-mail system would be the first entry for students into the production and receipt of digital information. This study was carried out prior to and in preparation for the implementation of a college-wide E-mail system into the curriculum. By exploring students' current E-mail use patterns, attitudes about Email, and a few correlates, this study hopes to shed some light on the factors that facilitate adoption and use once the system is formally implemented. Describing E-mail E-mail is a subset of computer networking. Along with other computer-mediated communication applications like individual and group scheduling, and collaborative workgroup software, the purpose of E-mail is the facilitation of information exchange between members of an organization, whether an office, a university community, a real or collaboration, or a commercial information service like CompuServe or Prodigy (Rapaport, 1991). Basically, electronic communication technology combines computer text processing and communication tools with the speed and reach of a computer network. The result of this is that anyone with a computer account or address can send and receive information to any other members of the network (Sproull and Kiesler 1993). The importance of introducing students to E-mail is highlighted by the growing number of studies reporting on using Email as a means of university teaching, and the growing use of E-mail among corporations and businesses. D'Souza (1991) studied the impact that E-mail has on the instructional process. In this study, students in a class went on-line with E-mail. Class material dissemination, discussion and paper collection were performed on-line. D'Souza (1991 ) found that the E-mail system helped the shy or passive students overcome communication anxiety that might be present in the setting. They expressed themselves more freely (both positively and negatively) to the instructor and classmates. Another benefit of the system described by D'Souza (1991) was more efficient completion of group projects through E-mail. Students could collaborate with other class members, ask questions, share data and keep up on events through the svstem. The one negative result of the system was that it lacked the traditional non-verbal cues of face-to-face communication. Some students found this system to be too impersonal, and felt awkward communicating electronically. The possibility for a virtual classroom was also explored by Hiltz (1986). Her study wondered if an interactive learning experience could be created within a computer system that would be as effective as traditional education. Hiltz (1986) taught two sections of a class; one traditional and one on-line. Students taking the on-line class didn't feel inhibited about taking part in discussions over the E-mail system, and felt that the system provided good access to their instructors (Hiltz,1986). Graduate students were more negative about the course than the undergraduates, a fact Hiltz (1986) attributes to the greater presence of undergraduates on campus where terminal access is more convenient. This study focuses upon describing and assessing variables that predict student use of E-mail. Its purpose is to study non-curricular E-mail use patterns among students before implementing a college of communication-wide E-mail system. …

Electronic mailing lists are an excellent way for pharmacists and other health care professionals to keep abreast of the newest technologies and share information with other colleagues with the same interests. There are now over 85,000 mailing lists available on a wide variety of topics. This article focuses on mailing lists that would be of interest to pharmacists and other interested health care professionals.

This study investigated the use of e-mail and other means of electronic communication by undergraduates at a northeastern university and whether gender and student year of study impact the use of various electronic communication means.It was found that 94% of the students check their university e-mail account at least once a day with the major use of university e-mail to communicate with instructors and keep up with the notices from the school.79% of the students have other e-mail accounts, but they do not use the other e-mail accounts as frequently as the university e-mail.In addition to e-mail, many students use other electronic communication means on a daily basis.E-mail is considered by 17% of the students as their favorite means of electronic communication, while 29% favor the cell phone and 25% favor instant messaging.It was also found that gender impacts the use of text messaging and student year of study impacts the use of instant messaging and facebook.com.In general, this study did not find that undergraduates have abandoned e-mail as reported in some periodicals.

The volume of emails is rising rapidly everywhere. However, there is no data available concerning how primary healthcare physicians feel about the use of email communication between themselves, with their managers and with other people contacting them. The objective of this study was to find out what the attitudes of primary care physicians are towards email at work. The use of email was studied among a convenience sample of primary healthcare physicians. Physicians thought that email was a good instrument for delivering information but not as an instrument for leadership. Physicians in lead positions thought more often than ordinary general practitioners (GPs) that email is good for information. The leaders used email more actively than other GPs. The contents of the emails received by the GPs differed depending on the site of work. The total number of emails was higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Emails relating to administration, educational information and meeting materials were more often sent in rural than in urban primary healthcare settings. Information about daily work arrangements and about social events were more frequently emailed in urban than in rural surroundings. Email was considered important for information inside the system but a somewhat difficult tool for discussing complicated subjects. Generally, it was agreed that there was some unimportant information filtering through this medium to the target GPs. GPs were uncertain whether important data reached everybody who needed it or not. Still, almost everybody used the email system regularly and the use of it was considered relatively easy. GPs were generally prone to adopt advice and instructions given via email and implemented those in their working routines. The use of the email system was related to technical ability to use the system. The easier the GP thought that the email system was the more he used it. Rural GPs were more critical in applying advice shared via email than their counterparts in urban areas. In general, physicians thought that email was a good method for reaching many people at the same time. However, the main points of the messages may be missed and the whole email may sometimes not be read. Especially during periods of change in the workplace, it is very important that management is conducted personally. Care must be taken so that disinformation does not spoil the informative value of email in the administration of primary health care. The needed technical assistance should be given to everyone in order to get the best advantage from the use of the email system.

In the modern world, power industry is one of the most dynamically developing ones, the specifics of which involve the introduction of the latest technologies and equipment into a complex production process. In this regard, employers’ requirements for the professional competence of power specialists are constantly changing. However, the development of educational programs in universities does not always keep pace with these changes due to the lack of tools for interaction and cooperation with high-tech enterprises. Therefore, the problem of high-quality training of power engineers at the university, taking into account the demands of the labor market, is becoming more and more urgent. The purpose of the article is to search for pedagogical tools that would contribute to the formation of professional competence of future specialists in the power industry, increase their competitiveness and employment efficiency. The participation of employers and their representatives in the educational process of future power engineers is important for high-quality training and rapid adaptation of young professionals during their employment. Within the framework of the conducted research, the concept of social partnership between universities and enterprises is revealed, aspects of the problems of social partnership in the context of cooperation between universities and enterprises are highlighted. Using the example of events held at Amur State University in partnership with employers and their representatives, the article examines the forms of social partnership between the university and enterprises that are applicable to the professional training of power engineers and take into account regional specifics. The variety of forms of social partnership contributes to improving the quality of professional training, as well as creates conditions for the professional development of future power engineers, ensuring their successful careers and contributions to the development of the power industry.

This paper describes and evaluates an unusual continuing education program which is offered to practicing power engineers from the Engineering College at Iowa State University. This program provides credit courses from the central campus via video tape to seven different power utility companies as well as a consulting engineering firm in the state. The program permits the power engineer to take graduate courses and if interested to complete a graduate degree without returning to campus to satisfy residency requirements. This is made possible by a system of video taping of courses taught to on-campus students. The faculty is encouraged to teach via video tape with the full knowledge that providing this educational service remote from the central campus is of considerable importance to the Engineering College. This relatively new continuing education concept has grown significantly and has enjoyed considerable success. Over a six year period 38 different courses have been offered. Nine different college departments have been involved in this off-campus effort, although the largest interest of the power engineer has been in the areas of Electrical Engineering and Industrial Engineering course offerings. Historically the power industry has had little interest in university offered continuing education programming for their practicing engineers. Through this program, however, a dramatic change has taken place with regard to continuing education and the power industry in the last few years. This may be attributed to a number of factors.

This article explores patterns of student discourse on an electronic mailing list in an undergraduate teacher education instructional technology course. All postings from distant, studio, and lab sections were placed in one of 18 categories derived from the postings’ content and then discussed in terms of distribution among the three groups. The postings are examined in terms of levels of cognitive engagement and the patterns among the levels, groups, and categories. Finally, the postings are discussed in terms of William Perry’s (1970) Model of Intellectual and Ethical Development. The article concludes with suggestions for ways instructors might use electronic mailing lists and discussion boards more effectively.

A Review of:
 Brown, Cecilia M. and Ortega, Lina. “Information-Seeking Behavior of Physical Science Librarians: Does Research Inform Practice?” College & Research Libraries (2005). 66:231-47.
 
 
 Objective – As part of a larger study exploring the information environments of physical science librarians (Ortega & Brown), the authors’ overall objective for this study is to profile physical science librarians’ information behaviours. The authors’ two-part hypothesis was that first, peer-reviewed journals would be preferred over all other sources for research dissemination, resembling the preferences of scientists, and second, that peer-to-peer consultation would predominate for practice-oriented decisions. 
 
 Design – Mixed methods: survey questionnaire followed by citation and content analysis. 
 
 Setting – Five internationally disseminated professional association electronic mailing lists whose readership comprised those with interests in science librarianship: the American Library Association (ALA) Science and Technology Section; the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIST) Science and Technology Information Special Interest Group; the Special Library Association (SLA) Chemistry Division and its Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics Division; and the American Geological Institute Geoscience Information Society.
 
 Subjects – Seventy-two physical science librarians voluntarily responding to an online survey.
 
 Methods – A questionnaire was distributed to inquire about physical science librarians’ professional reading practices as well as their perceptions about the applicability of research to their work. Participants were asked to rank preferences among 11 resource types as sources supporting daily business, including personal communication, conference attendance, electronic mailing lists, and scholarly journals. Differences between the mean rankings of preferences were tested for significance by applying the Friedman test with p>0.0005. Journals identified most frequently were analyzed using the Institute for Scientific Information’s (ISI) Web of Science index and Ulrich’s Periodical Index to measure proportions of research and non-research citations, as well as the general topic areas covered by the journals. Next, content analysis was performed for the years 1995, 1997, and 2000 in order to characterize research methodologies used in the previously identified journals according to a previously tested schema (Buscha & Harter). Results from this portion of the study were compared with participants’ responses about journal usage. 
 
 Main Results – Librarians reported using personal communication (both face-to-face and electronic mailing lists) more frequently as a means of information gathering than professional journals, Web sites, conferences, trade publications, monographs, or ‘other’ resources. Variations in responses appeared to correlate with years in the profession and in the respondents’ time in their current positions, although there are indications that the importance of all information resources to practice and research declines over time. The relative importance of resources is also shown in time spent reading journal literature, less than 5 hours per week for 86% of participants. 
 
 Conclusion – For the first hypothesis, the authors found that unlike scientists, survey participants did not prefer research publications as vehicles for dissemination of their research results. For the second, librarians ranked peer-reviewed journals third in preference after personal communication and electronic mailing lists as sources of information supporting daily practice, supporting the second hypothesis that respondents would emulate the information use practices of mathematicians.

The major results in Russia’s power engineering of the 20th century were the design and mastering of production of practically the entire range of core power equipment with world-class technical characteristics. This made it possible not only to stop power equipment imports amid high growth rates of the country’s power industry but also to ensure its high exports and to occupy a significant position in the global market. Two decades of stagnation in the Russian power industry and the disruption of international relations have led to a notable degradation in domestic power engineering. Now, the initiated technological renovation is largely based on imported equipment. Primarily, this is the case of state-of-the-art gas turbines. The challenges encountered are analyzed, and immediate measures to provide Russia’s power industry with competitive domestic equipment that guarantees the country’s scientific and technological independence are substantiated.

Project Probe is an annual summer intern program offered by American Electric Power (AEP) to provide qualified engineering students a meaningful educational experience in power generation and utility operation. The program fosters communication and cooperation between academia and the power industry, enhances the education of future engineers, and supports engineering faculty while it enlightens students and faculty about the power industry. During the program, teams of junior and senior students from various engineering disciplines perform wide-ranging project work at a host plant under the supervision of engineering faculty and plant personnel. Lectures and field trips supplement the work experience. This paper presents the objectives, methodology, and results of Project Probe 1996 including student development, faculty enrichment, benefits to the host plant, and benefits (both tangible and anticipated) to American Electric Power. Project Probe is shown to offer advantages over traditional student intern or cooperative educational programs. Recommendations include potential improvements to Project Probe and information to encourage other industries to sponsor similar programs.

Recent changes to the electric power industry through deregulation and restructuring have had a considerable effect on power engineering education internationally. A number of Australian universities have also noticed a decline in the number of students interested in power engineering subjects, leading to the fewer graduates with power engineering knowledge. With a reduction in graduates and a perception of an aging workforce a shortage of suitably qualified power engineers for industry may be imminent. This paper provides discussion on the current status of university power engineering education within Australia and includes results from a recent Australia-wide survey of the university and industry sectors of electric power engineering.

8 - Addresses, Address Lists, and Offline Address Lists

Ergonomics guidelines for designing electronic mail addresses

Welcome to the Eighth LESCOPE, the 2006 Large Engineering Systems Conference on Power Engineering and to the Greater Halifax Area. The conference follows in the tradition of the seven LESCOPE Conferences held in Halifax in the past decade as an outgrowth of the more general, but very successful series of conferences held in the late seventies to the early eighties. Many of us recall the conferences held in Winnipeg, Waterloo, St. John’s, and Calgary. The idea of the Conference on Power Engineering stems from the recent trend in the engineering community preferring smaller, more focused, and specialized conferences to larger ones that bring together diverse areas under the umbrella of Large Engineering Systems. Once again, the 2006 conference is co-sponsored by the IEEE Power Engineering Society, and brings together many engineers, and power system specialists. We appreciate the support of many organizations and the organizational assistance offered by the Canadian Atlantic Section of IEEE and the Power Engineering and the Oceanic Engineering Chapters of IEEE in the Canadian Atlantic Section. We gather here to share ideas, thoughts, and findings in all areas of electric power engineering. The Conference is providing an international forum for participants to share knowledge, experience and new ideas and to discuss recent developments and practical applications in power engineering. Such topics are related to new developments in the application, operating experience, theory, design, control and analysis, in all areas of power engineering. The various stages of putting this conference together, has brought to us the joy of close interaction with the many authors and participants. This experience is truly appreciated. I am very grateful to the members of the Organizing Committee and the Technical Program Committee for their excellent contributions.

Fly Ashes from Polish Power Plants and Combined Heat and Power Plants and Conditions of their Application for Carbon Dioxide Utilization