Econometrics meets sentiment : an overview of methodology and applications

The advent of massive amounts of textual, audio, and visual data has spurred the development of econometric methodology to transform qualitative sentiment data into quantitative sentiment variables, and to use those variables in an econometric analysis of the relationships between sentiment and other variables. We survey this emerging research field and refer to it as sentometrics, which is a portmanteau of sentiment and econometrics. We provide a synthesis of the relevant methodological approaches, illustrate with empirical results, and discuss useful software

MOOClm: Learner Modelling for MOOCs

Massively Open Online Learning systems, or MOOCs, generate enormous quantities of learning data. Analysis of this data has considerable potential benefits for learners, educators, teaching administrators and educational researchers. How to realise this potential is still an open question. This thesis explores use of such data to create a rich Open Learner Model (OLM). The OLM is designed to take account of the restrictions and goals of lifelong learner model usage. Towards this end, we structure the learner model around a standard curriculum-based ontology. Since such a learner model may be very large, we integrate a visualisation based on a highly scalable circular treemap representation. The visualisation allows the student to either drill down further into increasingly detailed views of the learner model, or filter the model down to a smaller, selected subset. We introduce the notion of a set of Reference learner models, such as an ideal student, a typical student, or a selected set of learning objectives within the curriculum. Introducing these provides a foundation for a learner to make a meaningful evaluation of their own model by comparing against a reference model. To validate the work, we created MOOClm to implement this framework, then used this in the context of a Small Private Online Course (SPOC) run at the University of Sydney. We also report a qualitative usability study to gain insights into the ways a learner can make use of the OLM. Our contribution is the design and validation of MOOClm, a framework that harnesses MOOC data to create a learner model with an OLM interface for student and educator usage

Enhancing Social Diversity and Communication in an Assisted Living Facility for Older Adults: A Community Health Nursing Project

Improving the health of specific populations requires community partnerships, collaboration, and an in-depth understanding of the diverse health status and health care needs of the population.  The purpose of this paper is to describe a community health project that the authors, in conjunction with the staff and residents, implemented at an assisted living facility for older adults who needed assistance with activities of daily living but who were otherwise fairly independent. The LODGE (pseudonym) community is located in a large urban centre in Western Canada.  The focus of this three and half month project was to gain information about this community in order to help optimize the function and independence of its members. The guiding frameworks included the nursing process, the Community as a Partner model and the Population Health model. The community assessment included a windshield survey, a general survey of 142 residents living in the facility (74% response rate), key informant interviews, literature review, and several brainstorming sessions with staff and residents.  The focus of data analysis was on the salient areas of strength and areas that needed improvement. The major finding regarding how to best optimize the function and independence of the residents included interventions related to (a) obtaining a more specific in-depth interview with residents who are inactive in both a physical and social sense in order to obtain more specific information about the activities and interests they valued in the past, and which ones they could still participate in if specific types of resources were provided , (b) enhancing relational communication and (c) increasing accessibility to information regarding the eligibility and benefits of the government funded Home Care services.  Interventions were viewed positively by members of the community. Recommendations are provided for expansion and sustainability of future community interventions. &nbsp

An investigation into internetworking education

Computer network technology and the Internet grew rapidly in recent years. Their growth created a large demand from industry for the development of IT and internetworking professionals. These professionals need to be equipped with both technical hands-on skills and non-technical or soft skills. In order to supply new professionals to the industry, educational institutions need to address these skills training in their curricula. Technical hands-on skills in internetworking education can be emphasised through the practical use of equipment in classrooms. The provision of the networking equipment to the internetworking students is a challenge. Particularly, university students in developing countries may find that this equipment is ineffectively provided by their teaching institutions, because of the expense. Modern online learning tools, such as remote access laboratories, may be used to address this need. However, the provision of such tools will also need to concentrate upon the pedagogical values. In addition, traditional remote access laboratories provide only text-based access, which was originally designed for highly professional use. Novice students may struggle with learning in these virtual environments, especially when the physical equipment is not available locally. Furthermore, non-technical skills or soft skills are social skills that should not be neglected in graduates’ future workplaces. A traditional model of developing soft skills that was used in face-to-face classroom may not be as effective when applied in an online classroom. Research on students’ opinions about their soft skills development during attending internetworking courses is needed to be conducted. In order to address both research needs, this study was focused on two research aspects related to online learning in internetworking education. The first focus was on research into providing a suitable technical learning environment to distance internetworking students. The second focus was on the students’ opinions about their non-technical skills development. To provide a close equivalent of a face-to-face internetworking learning environment to remote students in Thailand, a transformation of a local internetworking laboratory was conducted. A new multimedia online learning environment integrated pedagogically-rich tools such as state model diagrams (SMDs), a real-time video streaming of equipment and a voice communication tool. Mixed research data were gathered from remote online and local student participants. The remote online participants were invited to use the new learning environment developed in this study. Qualitative research data were collected from twelve remote online students after their trial usage. Concurrently, another set of research data were collected from local students asking their opinion about the development of soft skills in the internetworking course. There were sixty six participants in this second set of research data. Although the research data was limited, restricting the researcher’s ability to generalise, it can be concluded that the provision of multimedia tools in an online internetworking learning environment was beneficial to distant students. The superiority of the traditional physical internetworking laboratory cannot be overlooked; however, the remote laboratory could be used as a supplementary self-practice tool. A concrete learning element such as a real-time video stream and diagrams simplified students learning processes in the virtual environment. Faster communication with the remote instructors and the equipment are also critical factors for a remote access network to be successful. However, unlike the face-to-face laboratory, the future challenge of the online laboratory will creating materials which will encourage students to build soft skills in their laboratory sessions

Playing Jeopardy in the Classroom: An Empirical Study

Playing TV game shows such as Jeopardy or Survivor in the classroom can be fun. But does it improve student understanding of course concepts? To find out, the author conducted eight experimental trials in five separate undergraduate information systems classes. Although he found limited improvement in student learning, the author’s experiences with the game and the results of a student survey were positive

The Poetry of Prompts: The Collaborative Role of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Creation of Poetry and the Anxiety of Machine Influence

2022 has been heralded as the year of generative artificial intelligence AI Generative AI like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion along with a host of others launched late in the year and immediately disrupted the status quo of the literary and artworlds leading to outcries to ban AI Art and spawning an entirely new market of NFTs Fears over the death of the artist and the death of college composition however are unfounded when considering the historical adoption of emerging technologies by creatives and the reconsideration of authorship that began with poststructuralism and the Foucauldian Death of the Author in 196

Advancing Understanding of Toddler and Preschooler Sport Participation: A Research Area in its Infancy

The purpose of this doctoral dissertation was to advance understanding of early-years (<6) sport and organized physical activity (OPA) participation. This research involved a scoping review, followed by a qualitative case-study, which drew upon multiple data collection methods (semi-structured interviews, observation) from multiple perspectives (toddlers, preschoolers, parents, coaches; N=27), providing a comprehensive picture of early-years sport (Baxter & Jack, 2008; Creswell, 2012). Specific goals across four manuscripts/studies were to: (1) systematically review and synthesize research examining developmental outcomes associated with early-years sport involvement, (2) explore parents, coaches, and childrens perceived outcomes and experiences of early-years sport, (3) explore early-years sport pathways and patterns of engagement, and (4) explore coaches experiences in early-years sport, focusing on challenges-faced and strategies drawn-upon for effective coaching. Scoping review findings (Study 1) offer preliminary evidence that early sport and OPA participation is related to primarily positive outcomes (e.g., enhanced social skills, pro-social behaviours, self-regulation); however, negative and inconclusive outcomes were also identified. Study 2 showed some alignment between parents, coaches, and childrens perceived outcomes and experiences in early-years sport in the areas of physical activity, energy management, sport skill acquisition, physical literacy, learning to win and lose, and social/life skills. Findings were moderated by childrens age, developmental capacities, sport readiness, and attendance in other programs (e.g., music, preschool). Study 3 offered insight into early-years sport, OPA, and unstructured sport pathways, highlighting common features and engagement patterns within programming (e.g., structure, movement/sport skill focus, play-based activities). Findings suggest existing life-span sport participation/development models may not align with delivery of and experiences within early-years sport programming. Finally, Study 4 highlighted unique challenges and strategies for effective coaching across diverse early-years coaching contexts, showing differences according to program-type (i.e., private and club-based versus community-based). Collectively, this research advances limited understanding of early-years sport and OPA participation, which may help inform key stakeholders decisions around early-years sport programming; several important future research directions are outlined

The Poetry of Prompts: The Collaborative Role of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Creation of Poetry and the Anxiety of Machine Influence

2022 has been heralded as the year of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion, along with a host of others, launched late in the year and immediately disrupted the status quo of the literary and art worlds, leading to outcries to ban “AI Art” and spawning an entirely new market of NFTs. Fears over the “death of the artist” and the “death of college composition,” however, are unfounded when considering the historical adoption of emerging technologies by creatives and the reconsideration of authorship that began with post structuralism and the Foucauldian Death of the Author in 1967. Contemporary scholarship has faced challenges in reconciling the function of the human author in conjunction with artificial intelligence (AI) due to the progressive sophistication and selfsufficiency of generative code. Nonetheless, it is erroneous to establish the threshold for authorship based on the development or advancement of AI or robotics, as it falls within the realm of ontology. Instead, assertions of AI authorship stem from a romanticized perception of both authorship and AI during a period in which neither holds significance. A new discussion on the role of the human agent in the writing process, particularly in the creative process like poetry, should prioritize the practical aspects of what an author does. This study examines how AI is increasingly becoming involved in collaborative efforts to create poetry and aims to explore the potential of this trend. Furthermore, the study seeks to provide empirical evidence on the boundaries of AI\u27s ability to replicate human thought and experience. Through generating content in the creative written arts using ChatGPT-3, poetry analysis revealed that, in fact, such new generative models can imitate the vocabulary, language choices, style, and even rhythm of famous poets such as Keats, it is unable to generate emotions that it has not experienced. The questions that will continue to be raised on the nature of humanity, existence, and creative capabilities should be reframed with the concept of fear fore grounded to assist in understanding the uniquely human anxiety and drive to create in an attempt to communicate across the gulf what it “feels” like to be human as a phenomenology of experience

Development and Application of a Rasch Model Measure of Student Competency in University Introductory Computer Programming

University computer programming instruction nomenclature commonly uses the term Computer Science 1 (CS1) to describe introductory units of study. Success in CS1 is important as a pre-requisite for further study in programming and related disciplines. It is important to measure student progress and the antecedent influences. This study applied the Rasch Model and Messick’s Unified Theory of Validity to construct an interval level measure of CS1 competency with demonstrable suitability for this purpose