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Presents letters to the editor referencing articles and topics discussed in previous issues. Political convention of the Democratic Party in the U.S. in 1968; Genocide committed by the Caucasian race against the Indians of North America.

When higher education adopted total quality management in the 1980s, changes were made primarily in business and service departments. Some curricula were revised, and a few instructors made changes in what they did in their classrooms, but most continued to teach the way they had always taught. This research is specifically concerned with the applicability of TQM to teaching, as opposed to academic or research program structure and administration. The authors first consider how an instructor can improve the quality of instruction in an individual course, and then they explore the more difficult question of how an academic organization (a university, college, or academic department) can improve the quality of its instructional program. In both cases, the potential contribution of quality management principles to teaching improvement programs is examined, in light of the cultural differences between industry and the university.

Objectives of this study were to assess the effects of key variables involved in cucumber fermentation on growth of the yeast,Saccharomyces rosei, and to develop a mathematical description of those effects. The growth medium for the studies was cucumber juice. Effects of concentrations of lactic, acetic, and hydrochloric acids and sodium chloride on growth at 30°C were determined in batch culture. Effect of substrate concentration on the specific growth rate was also defined. The specific growth rate decreased from 0.355 h−1at pH 6.0 to 0.189 h−1at pH 3.2. The undissociated form of lactic acid was more inhibitory than that of acetic acid. A predictive equation for specific growth rate was developed for predicting growth ofS. roseiin batch culture. The molar yield of ethanol was 1.75 (±0.07) mM ethanol per mM hexose. Malate was not utilized, and glycerol was produced. The apparent biomass yield under anaerobic condition was 12.2 (±1.3) g cells/mol hexose. Aerobically, the biomass yield was 30.7 g cells/mol hexose. Similar specific growth rates were observed anaerobically (0.358 h−1) and aerobically (0.352 h−1). The predictive model for growth ofS. roseiin cucumber juice should prove useful in modeling the mixed culture (yeast and lactic acid bacteria) fermentation of brined, whole cucumbers.

An experimental interdisciplinary freshman course called “The Systems Approach to the Universe” was taught at North Carolina State University in the Spring of 1986. The goals of the course were to introduce principles of general systems theory; to provide examples through lectures and readings of applications of these principles in a wide variety of fields and disciplines; and to introduce and provide practice in critical questioning and evaluation. This paper outlines what was done, how it worked, and how the instructors and the students assessed the experience afterwards.

An excerpt from the article "The National Effective Teaching Institute: Assessment of Impact and Implications for Faculty Development" in the April 2010 issue of "Journal of Engineering Education."