Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing supplement 180, May 1978

This special bibliography lists 201 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in April 1978

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 130, July 1974

This special bibliography lists 291 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in June 1974

Best practices in developing global collaborations in education

This purpose of this study was to examine the best practices used by facilitators of global collaborations in education. Four research questions were examined to address this purpose, which included: (a) challenges faced by facilitators in developing online international collaborations in education (b) current strategies used by facilitators in developing online international collaborations in education (c) how success is measured and tracked (d) recommendations for future online international collaborations in education. This qualitative, phenomenological study utilized a purposive sample of 14 participants who were ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) award recipients or conference presenters between 2014 - 2017 affiliated with global collaboration. Data collection was done through a semi-structured interview protocol comprised of six questions. The recorded interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed to determine 27 total themes that emerged from the data. With some themes reinforced by literature and some unique to the study, results led to establishing “dimensions of leading global collaboration.” This includes two primary dimensions: (a) the responsibilities dimension, which entails the tasks and logistical aspects needed in global collaboration efforts, such as planning, practices during the collaboration, and logistical considerations (b) the characteristics dimension, which refers to the qualities that characterize a good global collaboration leader and partner, such as empathy, accountability, and willingness to take risks. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of people and developing a peer to peer network in the dynamic among facilitators (who should be seen as leaders) of global collaboration

Exploring the virtual classroom: What students need to know (and teachers should consider)

Technological improvements in many countries have meant that institutions offering distance education programmes now have more options available to them to communicate and interact with their students, and increasingly, attention is being turned to the potential of Web2 technologies to facilitate synchronous interaction. This study explores the affordances and limitations of an online virtual classroom, Adobe Connect Pro, when used in the learning programmes of two groups of undergraduate and postgraduate education students. Results indicate that while both groups gained value from using the classroom, they also found it a completely new environment, and one to which many had trouble transferring the interaction and communication skills developed in other contexts. The reasons for this related to three specific areas of knowledge – technical, procedural and operational, that were identified as being critical to student performance in this environment. The study suggests that educators and course designers need to embed strategies into their online offerings to enable students to develop these, if they are to gain substantial benefit from the availability of virtual classrooms. Additionally, the study identified that when making design decisions about online learning environments, it is very much a matter of horses for courses when selecting tools for specific purposes. While the virtual classroom proved useful for developing social connection and a sense of community, it may not be so beneficial for supporting deeper learning

Web 2.0 technologies for learning: the current landscape – opportunities, challenges and tensions: supplementary materials

These supplementary materials accompany the report ‘Web 2.0 technologies for learning: the current landscape – opportunities, challenges and tensions’, which is the first report from research commissioned by Becta into Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4. This report describes findings from the commissioned literature review of the then current landscape concerning learner use of Web 2.0 technologies and the implications for teachers, schools, local authorities and policy makers

What would learning in an open world look like? A vision for the future

The pace of current technological advancement is phenomenal. In the last few years we have seen the emergence of ever more sophisticated gaming technologies, rich, immersive virtual worlds and new social networking services that enable learners and teachers to connect and communicate in new ways. The pace of change looks set to continue as annual Horizon reports testify (http://www.nmc.org/horizon). Clearly new technologies offer much in an educational context, with the promise of flexible, personalised and student-centred learning. Indeed research over the past few years, looking at learners' use of technologies, has given us a rich picture of how learners of all ages are appropriating new tools within their own context, mixing different applications for finding/managing information and for communicating with others (Sharpe and Beetham, forthcoming)

Effects of computer-supported collaboration script and incomplete concept maps on web design skills in an online design-based learning environment

Web design skills are an important component of media literacy. The aim of our study was to promote university students’ web design skills through online design-based learning (DBL). Combined in a 2x2-factorial design, two types of scaffolding were implemented in an online DBL environment to support the students through their effort to design, build, modify, and publish web sites on processes and outcomes measures, namely collaboration scripts and incomplete concept maps. The results showed that both treatments had positive effects on collaborative (content-related discourse quality, collaboration skills, and quality of published web sites) and individual (domain-specific knowledge and skills related to the design and building of websites) learning outcomes. There was synergism between the two scaffolds in that the combination of the collaboration script and incomplete concept maps produced the most positive results. To be effective, online DBL thus needs to be enhanced by appropriate scaffolds, and both collaboration scripts and incomplete concept maps are effective examples

Decoding learning: the proof, promise and potential of digital education

With hundreds of millions of pounds spent on digital technology for education every year – from interactive whiteboards to the rise of one–to–one tablet computers – every new technology seems to offer unlimited promise to learning. many sectors have benefitted immensely from harnessing innovative uses of technology. cloud computing, mobile communications and internet applications have changed the way manufacturing, finance, business services, the media and retailers operate. But key questions remain in education: has the range of technologies helped improve learners’ experiences and the standards they achieve? or is this investment just languishing as kit in the cupboard? and what more can decision makers, schools, teachers, parents and the technology industry do to ensure the full potential of innovative technology is exploited? There is no doubt that digital technologies have had a profound impact upon the management of learning. institutions can now recruit, register, monitor, and report on students with a new economy, efficiency, and (sometimes) creativity. yet, evidence of digital technologies producing real transformation in learning and teaching remains elusive. The education sector has invested heavily in digital technology; but this investment has not yet resulted in the radical improvements to learning experiences and educational attainment. in 2011, the Review of Education Capital found that maintained schools spent £487 million on icT equipment and services in 2009-2010. 1 since then, the education system has entered a state of flux with changes to the curriculum, shifts in funding, and increasing school autonomy. While ring-fenced funding for icT equipment and services has since ceased, a survey of 1,317 schools in July 2012 by the british educational suppliers association found they were assigning an increasing amount of their budget to technology. With greater freedom and enthusiasm towards technology in education, schools and teachers have become more discerning and are beginning to demand more evidence to justify their spending and strategies. This is both a challenge and an opportunity as it puts schools in greater charge of their spending and use of technolog

A Study of Knowledge Construction in Virtual Product User Communities

In this research the virtual product user community is defined as a producer sponsored customer aggregation existing on the Internet to share usage experience and to collaboratively find technical solutions to problems with specific brand products. Such groups have a variety of benefits to members and organisations, one being that they are a knowledge resource for product users to look for solutions to specific problems with products and identify how to use them effectively. They are also a platform for the producer to communicate with its customers, to collect market intelligence, and to incorporate users’ innovative insights and problem solving skills. However, how knowledge is constructed and shared in such groups has been rarely studied. Previous literature that focuses on cognitive development and critical thinking stages in a formal online learning context may offer some relevant insights and methodologies but requires translation to the new context, and is not likely to provide a comprehensive understanding of this area. Accordingly, this thesis aims to explore knowledge construction in virtual product user communities. The philosophical basis of the research design was constructivism and interpretivism. A qualitative research methodology was adopted. Dozens of discussion threads of theoretical interest were chosen from a typical virtual product user community on the Dell User Support Forum (and from the Dell Idea Storm Community) and were analyzed through a qualitative content analysis method. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 20 community members of the Dell User Support Forum were conducted via e-mail. A deductive thematic analysis method was used for analysing the interview transcripts. More threads were chosen from a range of other virtual product user communities for content analysis in order to explore the influences of attributes such as language, national culture and technology platform on knowledge construction. A new content analysis tool, which is based on a combination of prior codes and new categories identified from the data, was created, in order to analyze the knowledge construction embedded in the discussion of technical problems. The research identified five types of key knowledge construction episodes that make up the knowledge building process and which are characterised by low-level cognitive engagement. A knowledge construction model which represents knowledge building in reality was developed. Furthermore, problem description episodes, non-constructive episodes, and moderation episodes were identified and their relations clarified. The problem description episodes were found to facilitate knowledge construction by providing knowledge about the problem and knowledge about its context. Following from this the peer advisor could diagnose the cause of technical problems and propose tailored solutions ideas based on the users’ experiential knowledge. The moderation episode can offset the negative influence of non-constructive episodes, maintaining social order and promoting knowledge contribution. The findings illustrate that knowledge construction needs collective contribution through various types of participation by community members at different knowledge levels. The influences of contextual attributes of a virtual product user community, including communication technology, sponsorship, national language and culture, moderation, and discussion topics, on knowledge construction, were all explored in this research. Models of different types of knowledge transfer across the boundaries between the virtual product user community and the organization, highlighting the role of moderators, were constructed. Besides the above findings, this research identified and defined this specific type of online community on the Internet, i.e. the virtual product user community. In addition, it provided a content analysis tool which is tailored to the purpose of examining low-level critical knowledge construction, which complements existing analytical frameworks, derived from formal learning contexts. The study mainly contributes to the general area of information and knowledge management, specifically knowledge construction in the virtual product user community and other low-level cognitive engagement contexts. It provides a theoretical basis for practices in managing online communities, and offers useful suggestions for educators in designing and managing formal online learning communities

Analysis of a viral metagenomic library from 200 m depth in Monterey Bay, California constructed by direct shotgun cloning

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Viruses have a profound influence on both the ecology and evolution of marine plankton, but the genetic diversity of viral assemblages, particularly those in deeper ocean waters, remains poorly described. Here we report on the construction and analysis of a viral metagenome prepared from below the euphotic zone in a temperate, eutrophic bay of coastal California.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We purified viruses from approximately one cubic meter of seawater collected from 200m depth in Monterey Bay, CA. DNA was extracted from the virus fraction, sheared, and cloned with no prior amplification into a plasmid vector and propagated in <it>E. coli </it>to produce the MBv200m library. Random clones were sequenced by the Sanger method. Sequences were assembled then compared to sequences in GenBank and to other viral metagenomic libraries using BLAST analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only 26% of the 881 sequences remaining after assembly had significant (E ≤ 0.001) BLAST hits to sequences in the GenBank nr database, with most being matches to bacteria (15%) and viruses (8%). When BLAST analysis included environmental sequences, 74% of sequences in the MBv200m library had a significant match. Most of these hits (70%) were to microbial metagenome sequences and only 0.7% were to sequences from viral metagenomes. Of the 121 sequences with a significant hit to a known virus, 94% matched bacteriophages (Families <it>Podo</it>-, <it>Sipho</it>-, and <it>Myoviridae</it>) and 6% matched viruses of eukaryotes in the Family <it>Phycodnaviridae </it>(5 sequences) or the Mimivirus (2 sequences). The largest percentages of hits to viral genes of known function were to those involved in DNA modification (25%) or structural genes (17%). Based on reciprocal BLAST analyses, the MBv200m library appeared to be most similar to viral metagenomes from two other bays and least similar to a viral metagenome from the Arctic Ocean.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Direct cloning of DNA from diverse marine viruses was feasible and resulted in a distribution of virus types and functional genes at depth that differed in detail, but were broadly similar to those found in surface marine waters. Targeted viral analyses are useful for identifying those components of the greater marine metagenome that circulate in the subcellular size fraction.</p