Smart education: an event framework for cognitive blended learning

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Mobile Telecommunication and Innovation at (MSc.MTI) at Strathmore UniversityDigital learning has increasingly been adopted around the world, evidenced by large scale deployment of online learning platforms. More specifically, the use of hand held devices such as mobile phones and tablets has disrupted learning as we traditionally knew it. Blended learning,which extends classroom learning with computer mediated learning, is increasingly being adopted by education systems around the world. However, the two (blended learning and traditional classroom learning) have not been well integrated. For example, there is limited or no information sharing between digital learning mostly carried out by an automated tutor and the traditional classroom conducted by a human instructor. This leads to fragmentation in the overall teaching and learning experience.Existing blended learning platforms have tried to address this issue by focusing on performance management. This approach ignores the bigger challenge in public and private schools: the large number of students to teacher and the inability to offer personalised learning that is essential for students to excel academically. Understanding how personalized technical interventions can be designed requires understanding of where issues intersects. We present the overall architecture and design of event framework. The first version supporting a core set of capabilities for blended learning has been implemented as mobile applications for teachers and students. We conducted a limited pilot to test the technology in an actual classroom setting. We also report on a usability study of the event framework that demonstrates user awareness and support for data-driven cognitive decision-making in education

Многоагентная интеллектуальная система дистанционного обучения

During the recent several decades a lot of research projects have been done in the area of intelligent distance learning systems. Such systems became wide spread in different educational and industrial organizations due to rapid evolution of network engineering and Internet. The physical presence of teacher and students in one class is not required due to usage of such systems. Usually, such systems have distributed architecture. This was a major motivation to make a research to analyze possibility of multiagent technologies usage in intelligent distance learning systems. The paper presents the developed architecture of agent community for such systems and research prototype of the system allowing to model agents’ interaction for user interface control based on several pedagogical strategies.В последние несколько десятилетий большое количество исследовательских проектов было посвящено различным аспектам организации обучающих систем. Благодаря развитию сетевых технологий и Интернет интеллектуальные системы дистанционного обучения становятся все более востребованными в различных учебных и производственных организациях. Их использование позволяет производить процесс обучения «виртуально» — не требуя личного присутствия преподавателя и учащихся в учебном помещении. Как правило, такие системы имеют распределенную архитектуру. Данный факт мотивировал выполнение исследования, в ходе которого был проведен анализ возможности использования многоагентных технологий в интеллектуальных системах дистанционного обучения. В данной статье предложена общая архитектура сообщества агентов для таких систем и представлен исследовательский прототип системы, моделирующий взаимодействие агентов для управления интерфейсом учащегося на основе реализации нескольких педагогических стратегий

Examining E-readiness In Libraries of Public Sector Universities Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan

This research has investigated the level of e-readiness in public sector university libraries located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan. The study aimed to assess the presence of human resources, electronic infrastructure, network services, and programs in these libraries. The target population consisted of twenty-seven public sector university libraries in the region. The research utilized a quantitative approach and employed a questionnaire-based survey to gather data from the librarians or individuals in charge of these libraries. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22 (SPSS). The findings revealed that the respondents\u27 satisfaction regarding their knowledge of libraries was low or moderate, as indicated by mean scores below 3. Similarly, the satisfaction levels concerning electronic infrastructure, network services, and programs, as well as the role of libraries in the digital world, were rated as average or below. Based on the results, the study recommended significant transformations in various aspects of public-sector university libraries. To achieve this, the government should allocate necessary resources and provide facilities to meet the informational and recreational needs of the population. Improvements are required in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure of these libraries, including the availability of computer equipment, databases, network servers, multimedia projectors, digital cameras, uninterruptible power supply, scanners, and backup devices such as hard discs and Digital Video Disc/compact Dis

PresenceClick, mejorando los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje mediante el modelado de interacciones presenciales

298 p.Este trabajo de tesis propone la modelización de interacciones presenciales entre profesores y alumnos para generar conocimiento nuevo que ayude a enriquecer el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje mediante mecanismos de concienciación y reflexión. El resultado principal es la herramienta PresenceClick, un sistema distribuido en una plataforma web y una aplicación móvil, que permite un registro ágil de las interacciones presenciales y proporciona información a docentes y estudiantes sobre ellas mediante visualizaciones. Además de la asistencia de los alumnos de manera automática, PresenceClick facilita el registro de las emociones de los alumnos a través de una serie de eventos emocionales durante el curso, de preguntas-respuestas en el aula, del estado de realización de los ejercicios y de las dudas de los alumnos a resolver en tutorías. Por un lado, el alumno puede visualizar su progreso en clase en comparación al grupo con el fin de provocar un proceso de reflexión que incida en una mejora continua. Por otro lado, el profesor obtiene información sobre el progreso de sus alumnos de manera individual y grupal con el fin de promover intervenciones tempranas para adaptar la instrucción y mejorar la tasa de éxito. Además, con este fin, también se han creado modelos de predicción que predicen el éxito/fracaso de los estudiantes a partir de los datos recogidos. Se ha realizado un proceso de evaluación e implantación de la herramienta en entornos reales de aprendizaje con resultados satisfactorios

PresenceClick, mejorando los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje mediante el modelado de interacciones presenciales

298 p.Este trabajo de tesis propone la modelización de interacciones presenciales entre profesores y alumnos para generar conocimiento nuevo que ayude a enriquecer el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje mediante mecanismos de concienciación y reflexión. El resultado principal es la herramienta PresenceClick, un sistema distribuido en una plataforma web y una aplicación móvil, que permite un registro ágil de las interacciones presenciales y proporciona información a docentes y estudiantes sobre ellas mediante visualizaciones. Además de la asistencia de los alumnos de manera automática, PresenceClick facilita el registro de las emociones de los alumnos a través de una serie de eventos emocionales durante el curso, de preguntas-respuestas en el aula, del estado de realización de los ejercicios y de las dudas de los alumnos a resolver en tutorías. Por un lado, el alumno puede visualizar su progreso en clase en comparación al grupo con el fin de provocar un proceso de reflexión que incida en una mejora continua. Por otro lado, el profesor obtiene información sobre el progreso de sus alumnos de manera individual y grupal con el fin de promover intervenciones tempranas para adaptar la instrucción y mejorar la tasa de éxito. Además, con este fin, también se han creado modelos de predicción que predicen el éxito/fracaso de los estudiantes a partir de los datos recogidos. Se ha realizado un proceso de evaluación e implantación de la herramienta en entornos reales de aprendizaje con resultados satisfactorios

Structural violence and maternal healthcare utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa: A Bayesian multilevel analysis

Considerable advances have been made in medical sociology and other population health- related subject areas to understand structural sources of disparities in health outcomes. We know that structural factors are the ‘fundamental causes’ of disease and illness. However, few studies focusing on structural conditions have considered maternal healthcare especially in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a dearth of knowledge regarding the effects of wider structural factors on maternal healthcare utilisation. Specifically, it is not well-known as to which dimension of the social structure is strongly associated with maternal healthcare and what specific combinations of factors influence adequate use of maternal healthcare in sub- Saharan Africa. This study was conceived to fill this gap in literature. The study focuses on community and country-level inequalities in gender relations, human rights violations and globalisation as the three dimensions of structural violence that are consequential to maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa. I also consider individual level maternal characteristics that are associated with maternal healthcare utilisation. The analysis pools data of 245,955 respondents from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and several other international datasets. I apply separate three-level Bayesian multilevel models on women who have had births five years prior to the recent DHS, nested in 17,000 communities, which are nested in 35 sub-Saharan African countries. On each aspect of structural violence, I estimate four models predicting the odds of having four or more antenatal care visits, institutional delivery and postnatal care based on a set of individual, community and country-level variables. Overall, the results indicate that inequalities in gender relations and disrespect for human rights are negatively associated with adequate use of maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa. The relationship between globalisation and maternal healthcare is conditional on the specific dimension of globalisation. In comparison with other dimensions of globalisation, social globalisation is the most significant predictor of adequate maternal healthcare. These results help to underscore the importance of contextual factors in understanding women’s utilisation of maternal healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa

COPING WITH PAIN AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG ADULTS WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE

Objectives The objectives of this dissertation are to: 1) to examine the psychometric properties of the CSQSCD among adult sickle cell disease (SCD) patients; 2) to identify psychosocial predictors of health-related quality (HRQOL) among adult SCD patients; and 3) to identify the distinct, multidimensional patterns of strategies for coping with SCD and their association with HRQOL among adult SCD patients in the United States. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted using a web-based self-administered survey. Adults with SCD were recruited with the help of Rare Patient Voice, a market research company that maintains a panel of SCD patients. Psychometric properties of the CSQ-SCD were assessed in terms of its construct validity and internal consistency reliability using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and further exploratory factor analysis was also conducted. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a theory-driven model to identify psychosocial predictors of HRQOL in the study sample. Finally, unobserved subtypes of coping patterns among adult SCD patients were evaluated using latent class analysis. Results The study sample consisted of 196 adults SCD patients. The CSQ-SCD was found to have less than adequate psychometric properties. The CFA revealed a three-factor model for the CSQSCD but had a mediocre model fit. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a three-factor model with different subscale loadings, demonstrating a better fit compared to the CFA model. Results from the SEM analysis suggested that crises severity, frequency, affective coping, and self-efficacy were key predictors of HRQOL among adults with SCD. The latent class analysis revealed three groups of underlying coping strategy patterns: cognitive coping, negative thinking/passive adherence coping, and physiological coping. Conclusions The study results indicated that the CSQ-SCD has somewhat poor psychometric properties to assess coping in adults with SCD. Clinicians and caregivers of patients with SCD should aim to mitigate affective coping strategies and encourage more self-efficacy related behaviors while discussing treatment with patients. This study also shows that SCD patients do not utilize one single method of coping, but instead use multiple coping strategies to improve their HRQOL

Genetic basis of adaptive radiation in East African cichlids

East African cichlids are a paramount example of adaptive morphological radiation. The most dramatic difference among species occurs in oral jaw design and correlates with ecological niche partitioning. Convergent evolution of trophic forms between lakes suggests a common mechanism. What combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors constitute this mechanism still remains to be seen. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the genetic basis of shape differences between two closely related cichlid species that employ alternate modes of feeding. This was achieved through a number of independent experiments. First, I used field data to characterize the way in which foraging habitat was partitioned between sympatric rock-dwelling species from Lake Malawi. Second, morphological differences between two species that employ alternate modes of feeding, Labeotropheus fuelleborni and Metriaclima zebra, were quantified via geometric morphometrics. I found that specific aspects of shape predicted differences in feeding performance. In this experiment I also developed the phenotypic characters that were used in subsequent experiments. Next, the genetic bases of these morphological characters were biometrically estimated using the Castle-Wright estimator. I estimated between 1 and 11 factors to control shape differences in various traits. Specific traits were also shown to segregate together in hybrid progeny, suggesting a degree of pleiotropy among genes that underlie differences in the cichlid feeding apparatus. Finally, I constructed a genetic linkage map for Lake Malawi\u27s rock-dwelling cichlids, and identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) that affected shape differences in the cichlid head. Segregation at 136 molecular markers was studied in 173 F2 hybrids. The final linkage map consisted of 126 markers distributed over 24 linkage groups and 838 cM. QTL were detected for sex, color, and 15 morphological traits that distinguish the shape of the feeding apparatus in L. fuelleborni and M. zebra. At every stage of this dissertation results are related to the developmental and functional biology of the cichlid head

Propuesta de un sistema multi-agente para la adaptación de contenidos docentes a las competencias, contexto y dispositivo del usuario

Marcos Ortega, Luis de, codir.El e-learning ha supuesto una revolución en los últimos años en el ámbito de la enseñanza. Esto, combinado con el incremento del uso de los dispositivos móviles ha propiciado la aparición del m-learning, y por consiguiente la aparición de nuevos problemas y retos en el ámbito de la enseñanza y de las nuevas tecnologías. Mostrar adecuadamente (teniendo en cuenta el tipo de dispositivo utilizado) los contenidos docentes al alumno o seleccionar aquellos materiales educativos más adecuados en base al contexto del mismo son algunos de los retos planteados en el presente trabajo. El problema planteado en la presente tesis es la necesidad de dotar a los sistemas de formación de sensibilidad al contexto y al dispositivo móvil, de tal forma que se adapten los contenidos docentes al alumno en función de estos parámetros. Para resolver dicho problema, se propone el diseño de un nuevo sistema multi-agente capaz de adaptar los contenidos docentes al contexto, competencias y dispositivo móvil del alumno. A raíz del sistema propuesto se desarrolla un prototipo y se llevan a cabo tres casos de estudio: uno de tipo teórico y dos casos reales, con dispositivos móviles y alumnos reales. Los resultados muestran que el sistema propuesto tiene éxito en los tres casos de estudio y es capaz de resolver satisfactoriamente el problema planteado. Sin embargo, los resultados también indican que habría que seguir investigando, sobre todo en lo relativo a las cuestiones pedagógicas y la forma de integrar estos desarrollos en las acciones formativas, para que tengan impacto en los resultados académicos