Improving the classification of multiple disorders with problem decomposition

AbstractDifferential diagnosis of multiple disorders is a challenging problem in clinical medicine. According to the divide-and-conquer principle, this problem can be handled more effectively through decomposing it into a number of simpler sub-problems, each solved separately. We demonstrate the advantages of this approach using abductive network classifiers on the 6-class standard dermatology dataset. Three problem decomposition scenarios are investigated, including class decomposition and two hierarchical approaches based on clinical practice and class separability properties. Two-stage classification schemes based on hierarchical decomposition boost the classification accuracy from 91% for the single-classifier monolithic approach to 99%, matching the theoretical upper limit reported in the literature for the accuracy of classifying the dataset. Such models are also simpler, achieving up to 47% reduction in the number of input variables required, thus reducing the cost and improving the convenience of performing the medical diagnostic tests required. Automatic selection of only relevant inputs by the simpler abductive network models synthesized provides greater insight into the diagnosis problem and the diagnostic value of various disease markers. The problem decomposition approach helps plan more efficient diagnostic tests and provides improved support for the decision-making process. Findings are compared with established guidelines of clinical practice, results of data analysis, and outcomes of previous informatics-based studies on the dataset

Strengthening the teaching of the narrative genre: story and fable in primary school children in the Department of Magdalena – Colombia. A commitment to the use of ICT games and bayesian logistic regression

The low quality and relevance at all educational levels remain a problem present in education in Colombia, limiting the training and development of skills for work and for life. The above is evidenced in the results of the country in standardized tests. Colombia occupies one of the last places the two most recognized international tests (TIMMS and PISA); In fact, it is considered that ―at the international level, one of the benchmarks for measuring scientific competences is the PISA tests, which assess the knowledge, skills, and scientific attitudes of 15-year-old students in different countries. In 2006, PISA tests were applied to young Colombians. While it is true that the test results show the motivation of young Colombians to project in the scientific field (those evaluated had high scores in the subcompetence of identification of scientific phenomena), the country lags in other competences that are more related Direct with innovation processes, such as explaining scientific events and using scientific evidence. This article resulted from the research project: ―Strengthening of citizen and democratic culture in CT + I through the iep supported in ICT in the Department of Magdalena financed by SIGR funds - General System of Royalties

Prototyping learning and congruence in new realities

The educational system in the industrialized 20th Century, a monolithic delivery model, prepared students for a hierarchical livelihood in either blue collar or white collar worlds. Today, a different landscape is predicted for the workforce. And it is rapidly changing and advancing. Will Richardson points out that by 2020 more than half the US workforce will be “freelancers, consultants and independent workers” (Richardson, 2012). While forecasts and predictions vary, continuing studies support this workforce evolution. The continued revolution in digital technology is pervasive today with mobile devices and the Internet providing an abundance of information, knowledge and opportunity with the potential for a student customized learning experience. Anticipating this shift, Richardson recognizes the need for students to master learning instead of content as is assessed currently. This situates well with John Seely Brown describing “agency” as active participation, creating and building as a principal attribute of a student in this new educational model while inscribing “empathy” as a second requisite quality (Brown, 2013). A new strategy for learning, understanding and doing is required that encourages agency with individuals actively experiencing new technologies and realities for creating and communicating that support deeper experiences and shift perspectives in ways not possible before. This is required to imbue discovery, creativity and new craft toward the most appropriately designed solutions in a highly technological and evermore complex world. Universal Constructs, with new tools for seeing and making, become the framework to weave design thinking, STEM and 21st Century Skills together holistically to better define the potentials for learning, understanding and doing. A pilot program called the Forward Learning Experience (FLEx) was launched in 2014 with the intention to introduce the framework above to students today. As of July 2017, the FLEx has reached almost 45,000 constituents of Iowa, primarily K-12 students, and has undergone initial reviews with positive results showing its potential capacities toward a new educational and learning model. Leading students with forward looking experiences, strategies and frameworks through the FLEx or similar opportunities to augment core skills through emergent technologies for seeing and making through robust multi-mode neuro-phenomenological means will enable a new calculus for deeper learning, understanding and impactful doing with extended imagination, empathy and ethics

Experimental Approaches to Theoretical Thinking: Artefacts and Proofs

This chapter discusses some strands of experimental mathematics from both an epistemological and a didactical point of view. We introduce some ancient and recent historical examples in Western and Eastern cultures in order to illustrate how the use of mathematical tools has driven the genesis of many abstract mathematical concepts. We show how the interaction between concrete tools and abstract ideas introduces an "experimental" dimension in mathematics and a dynamic tension between the empirical nature of the activities with the tools and the deductive nature of the discipline. We then discuss how the heavy use of the new technology in mathematics teaching gives new dynamism to this dialectic, specifically through students' proving activities in digital electronic environments. Finally, we introduce some theoretical frameworks to examine and interpret students' thoughts and actions whilst the students work in such environments to explore problematic situations, formulate conjectures and logically prove them. The chapter is followed by a response by Jonathan Borwein and Judy-anne Osborn

The use of authentic teaching methods in tourism higher education: A case study of Level 6 university students

© 2023 University of Hertfordshire.Tourism, Hospitality, and Events (THE) higher education has often been criticised for graduates who are poorly prepared for realities of the workforce. Authentic teaching is one method in which it is argued instructors can balance theory with practical application. This study used a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) philosophy to engage Level 6 university students who had experienced an authentic teaching method. The survey was conducted between 22nd February 2023 - 19th April 2023. The results showed that the majority of students felt authentic teaching was beneficial to their understanding of course content, whereas 100% of students enjoyed the task and would like to see more similar tasks applied in the future, indicating the overall benefit of authentic teaching.Non peer reviewe

What is behind a summary-evaluation decision?

Research in psychology has reported that, among the variety of possibilities for assessment methodologies, summary evaluation offers a particularly adequate context for inferring text comprehension and topic understanding. However, grades obtained in this methodology are hard to quantify objectively. Therefore, we carried out an empirical study to analyze the decisions underlying human summary-grading behavior. The task consisted of expert evaluation of summaries produced in critically relevant contexts of summarization development, and the resulting data were modeled by means of Bayesian networks using an application called Elvira, which allows for graphically observing the predictive power (if any) of the resultant variables. Thus, in this article, we analyzed summary-evaluation decision making in a computational framewor

Scientific Reasoning in Science Education: From Global Measures to Fine-Grained Descriptions of Students’ Competencies

This book is a reprint of the Special Issue "Scientific Reasoning in Science Education: From Global Measures to Fine-Grained Descriptions of Students’ Competencies" published in the journal Education Sciences. It compiles all manuscripts of the special issue