Introduction to location-based mobile learning

[About the book] The report follows on from a 2-day workshop funded by the STELLAR Network of Excellence as part of their 2009 Alpine Rendez-Vous workshop series and is edited by Elizabeth Brown with a foreword from Mike Sharples. Contributors have provided examples of innovative and exciting research projects and practical applications for mobile learning in a location-sensitive setting, including the sharing of good practice and the key findings that have resulted from this work. There is also a debate about whether location-based and contextual learning results in shallower learning strategies and a section detailing the future challenges for location-based learning

Measurement of bone quality in growing male rats using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and bone ash content : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Animal Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Growing male rats have been considered and used as a model for bone growth and prevention of osteoporosis because of their high bone turnover and demand for calcium. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) is a useful tool for identifying minimal changes in bone mineral density and has recently been adapted for use in small animal models. The objective of this trial was to identify the changes in Bone Mineral Density (BMD) in relation to age and to identify how BMD varies from site to site. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were split into six groups to allow measurements at one, two, three, four, five and six months of age (n=10 per group). At each time point a group of rats was scanned using a QDR4000 DEXA machine from Hologic. Duplicate BMD measurements were obtained for the whole body, spine and both femurs in vivo. The rats were then euthanased and the spine and both femurs were excised for ex vivo DEXA scanning and ashed calcium analysis. BMD increased almost linearly to four months and then formed a plateau. This indicates that from weaning to four months is an especially sensitive time for manipulating bone growth in male rats. There was a significant difference in BMD between groups (P<0.001), which is to be expected in growing rats. There was also a significant difference in BMD within groups (p<0.001), believed to be due to variation at two and five months of age. There was a very strong positive correlation between weight and BMD and age and BMD at all sites, indicating that BMD is a strongly related to both weight and age. All sites were strongly correlated to each other and to the ashed calcium values. The excised femur had a lower BMD value than the in vivo femur, although the two values were strongly correlated. This is believed to be due to differences in positioning and indicates that the two methods cannot be used interchangeably. These results indicate that bone mineral density is the gold standard for following changes in bone growth over time in the growing rat. Alternatively, ashed bone calcium content can be used, but only as a once off endpoint

Connecting to Students: Launching Instant Messaging Reference at Binghamton University

Binghamton University Libraries implemented an IM reference service using the Trillian client to monitor multiple IM accounts at two distinct reference service points. This paper addresses the process and practical considerations of implementing the service including selection of the appropriate software, creation of IM accounts for each service, development of a staffing schedule, and training of reference staff. Also included is an outline of future plans for improving IM services for students and academic library users

Feasibility of a resonance-based Planet Nine search

It has been proposed that mean motion resonances (MMRs) between Planet Nine and distant objects of the scattered disk might inform the semimajor axis and instantaneous position of Planet Nine. Within the context of this hypothesis, the specific distribution of occupied MMRs largely determines the available constraints. Here we characterize the behavior of scattered Kuiper Belt objects arising in the presence of an eccentric Planet Nine ($e_9 \in 0.1$, $0.7$), focusing on relative sizes of populations occupying particular commensurabilities. Highlighting the challenge of predicting the exact MMR of a given object, we find that the majority of resonant test particles have period ratios with Planet Nine other than those of the form $P_9/P=N/1$, $N/2$ $(N \in \mathbb{Z}^+)$. Taking into account the updated prior distribution of MMRs outlined in this work, we find that the close spacing of high-order resonances, as well as chaotic transport, preclude resonance-based Planet Nine constraints from current observational data.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Postpartum Depression Screening of Women Veterans in Alaska Quality Improvement Project

A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Nursing SciencePostpartum depression screening guidelines were updated by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the United States Preventive Services Task Force in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Universal postpartum depression screening is recommended where previously it was not. Postpartum depression screening is relevant to the rapidly growing population of women Veterans served by the Veterans Health Administration (VA) as part of their comprehensive health care benefits. Little information was available on the postpartum depression screening practices within the Alaska VA Healthcare System. Using a quality improvement methodology, the author identified postpartum depression screening as a topic of interest. Current practice was assessed through a retrospective chart audit of all maternity consults placed during the fiscal year 2014. The chart audit revealed an 81% postpartum depression screening rate. Incomplete data limited a full statistical analysis; however, all women who returned to an Alaska VA clinic, received screening and treatment. An informational brochure was developed for women and their health care providers highlighting postpartum depression screening and treatment resources.Title Page / Abstract / Table of Contents / List of Tables / List of Appendices / Introduction / Purpose / Literature Review / Implications for Nursing Practice / Methods / Results / Discussion / Conclusion / References / Appendice

AnswerTree – a hyperplace-based game for collaborative mobile learning

In this paper we present AnswerTree, a collaborative mobile location-based educational game designed to teach 8-12 year olds about trees and wildlife within the University of Nottingham campus. The activity is designed around collecting virtual cards (similar in nature to the popular Top TrumpsTM games) containing graphics and information about notable trees. Each player begins by collecting one card from a game location, but then he or she can only collect further cards by answering questions – whose solutions are obtainable through sharing knowledge with other cardholders. This ostensibly allows each player to become a subject expert at the start of the game, encouraging collaborative interaction for the game to be successfully completed. In this initial paper we will outline the structure and background of this location based game. AnswerTree has been authored within the Hyperplace framework, and is a first implementation of a wider process to develop a flexible, multi-purpose platform for both individual and group location-based mobile learning

A student-led comparison of techniques for augmenting the field experience

We report a study in which 30 university geography students compared five techniques to enhance the experience of visiting outdoor locations. The techniques were: a pre-prepared acetate overlay of the visual scene; a custom-designed visitor guide running on a PDA; the mScape location-based software running on a GPS-enabled mobile phone; Google Earth on a tablet PC; and a head-mounted virtual reality display. The students were given the assignment as part of their assessed coursework for a field trip to the UK Lake District, where they had to evaluate the techniques and propose improvements or future designs to enable tourists or students on field trips to gain an enhanced understanding of their surroundings. The paper describes these techniques, reports the process and results of the student assignment, and concludes with a discussion of some broader issues emerging from the project

Augmenting the field experience: a student-led comparison of techniques and technologies

In this study we report on our experiences of creating and running a student fieldtrip exercise which allowed students to compare a range of approaches to the design of technologies for augmenting landscape scenes. The main study site is around Keswick in the English Lake District, Cumbria, UK, an attractive upland environment popular with tourists and walkers. The aim of the exercise for the students was to assess the effectiveness of various forms of geographic information in augmenting real landscape scenes, as mediated through a range of techniques and technologies. These techniques were: computer-generated acetate overlays showing annotated wireframe views from certain key points; a custom-designed application running on a PDA; a mediascape running on the mScape software on a GPS-enabled mobile phone; Google Earth on a tablet PC; and a head-mounted in-field Virtual Reality system. Each group of students had all five techniques available to them, and were tasked with comparing them in the context of creating a visitor guide to the area centred on the field centre. Here we summarise their findings and reflect upon some of the broader research questions emerging from the project

Comparing generalisation in children and adults learning an artificial language

Successful language acquisition involves generalization, but learners must balance this against the acquisition of lexical constraints. Examples occur throughout language. For example, English native speakers know that certain noun-adjective combinations are impermissible (e.g., strong winds, high winds, strong breezes, *high breezes). Another example is the restrictions imposed by verb sub-categorization (e.g., I gave/sent/threw the ball to him; I gave/sent/threw him the ball; I donated/carried/pushed the ball to him; * I donated/carried/pushed him the ball; Baker, 1979). A central debate has been the extent to which learning such patterns depends on semantic cues (Pinker, 1989) and/or distributional statistics (Braine et al., 1990). The current experiments extend previous work which used Artificial Language learning to demonstrate that adults (Wonnacott et al., 2008) and 6 year olds (Wonnacott, 2011) are able to learn lexically based restrictions on generalization using distributional statistics. Here we directly compare the two age groups learning the same artificial language, with a view to exploring maturational differences in language learning. In addition to manipulating frequency (across high and low frequency items) and quantity of exposure (across days), languages were constructed such that a word’s semantic class was helpful for learning the restrictions for some types of lexical items, but potentially misleading for others