A Phenomenographic Study of Introductory Physics Students: Approaches to Problem Solving and Conceptualisation of Knowledge.

This phenomenographic study presents a description of the approaches to problem solving and conceptualisation of physics knowledge of introductory physics students, specifically in the context of the Irish higher education system. Much research has been carried out that has shown that physics students are not developing the conceptual knowledge necessary to become adept problem-solvers. This may be due to the traditional physics education assumption that students will develop an understanding of the conceptual nature of physics by repetitively solving quantitative problems. However, research has shown that this is not the case and that education and the curriculum needs to explicitly reflect the qualitative and quantitative nature of physics. This empirical study was conducted using phenomenographic assumptions and methodology to collect, analyse and interpret data from forty two individual semistructured interviews with introductory physics students. This study presents a systematic way of identifying the variations in the students’ approaches to problem solving, the variations in these students’ conceptual awareness, and an assessment of the effect this has on student learning. The findings from this study reveal that novice physics students’ approaches to problem solving can be described by five qualitatively and critically different categories. Also these students’ conceptual awareness in the context of mechanics can be described by four qualitatively and critically different categories. The findings suggest that in order for these students to develop as problem solvers they must have developed an awareness of the conceptual nature of physics. This research provides an insight into and a better understanding of the way introductory physics students approach problem solving and of the development of their conceptual knowledge. It will inform teaching and assessment practices, not only in physics education but also in other disciplines so that higher level education can produce better problemsolvers for industry, research and a knowledge-based society

Predictive performance of front-loaded experimentation strategies in pharmaceutical discovery: a Bayesian perspective

Experimentation is a significant innovation process activity and its design is fundamental to the learning and knowledge build-up process. Front-loaded experimentation is known as a strategy seeking to improve innovation process performance; by exploiting early information to spot and solve problems as upstream as possible, costly overruns in subsequent product development are avoided. Although the value of search through front-loaded experimentation in complex and novel environments is recognized, the phenomenon has not been studied in the highly relevant pharmaceutical R&D context, where typically lots of drug candidates get killed very late in the innovation process when potential problems are insufficiently anticipated upfront. In pharmaceutical research the initial problem is to discover a “drug-like” complex biological or chemical system that has the potential to affect a biological target on a disease pathway. My case study evidence found that the discovery process is managed through a front-loaded experimentation strategy. The research team gradually builds a mental model of the drug’s action in which the solution of critical design problems can be initiated at various moments in the innovation process. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the predictive performance of frontloaded experimentation strategies in the discovery process. Because predictive performance necessitates conditional probability thinking, a Bayesian methodology is proposed and a rationale is given to develop research propositions using Monte Carlo simulation. An adaptive system paradigm, then, is the basis for designing the simulation model used for top-down theory development. My simulation results indicate that front-loaded strategies in a pharmaceutical discovery context outperform other strategies on positive predictive performance. Frontloaded strategies therefore increase the odds for compounds succeeding subsequent development testing, provided they were found positive in discovery. Also, increasing the number of parallel concept explorations in discovery influences significantly the negative predictive performance of experimentation strategies, reducing the probability of missed opportunities in development. These results are shown to be robust for varying degrees of predictability of the discovery process. The counterintuitive business implication of my research findings is that the key to further reduce spend and overruns in pharmaceutical development is to be found in discovery, where efforts to better understand drug candidates lead to higher success rates later in the innovation process

A generic, collaborative framework for internal constraint solving

Esta tesis propone un esquema genérico y cooperativo para CLP(Interval(X)) donde X es cualquier dominio de computación con estructura de retículo. El esquema, que está basado en la teoría de retículos, es un enfoque general para la satisfacción y op-timización de restricciones de intervalo así como para la cooperación de resolutores de intervalo definidos sobre dominios de computación con estructura de retículos, independientemente de la cardinalidad de estos. Nuestra propuesta asegura un enfoque transparente sobre el cual las restricciones, los dominios de computación y los mecanismos de propagación y cooperación, definidos entre las variables restringidas, pueden ser fácilmente especificados a nivel del usuario. La parte principal de la tesis presenta una especificación formal de este esquema.Los principales resultados conseguidos en esta tesis son los siguientes:Una comparativa global de la eficiencia y algunos aspectos de la expresividad de ocho sistemas de restricciones. Esta comparativa, realizada sobre el dominio finito y el dominio Booleano, muestra diferencias principales entre los sistemas de restricciones existentes.Para formalizar el marco de satisfacción de restricciones para CLP(Interval(X))hemos descrito el proceso global de resolución de restricciones de intervalo sobre cualquier retículo, separando claramente los procesos de propagación y división (ramificación) de intervalos. Una de las ventajas de nuestra propuesta es que la monótona de las restricciones esta implícitamente definida en la teoría. Además, declaramos un conjunto de propiedades interesantes que, bajo ciertas condiciones, son satisfechas por cualquier instancia del esquema genérico. Mas aún, mostramos que muchos sistemas de restricciones actualmente existentes satisfacen estas condiciones y, además, proporcionamos indicaciones sobre como extender el sistema mediante la especificación de otras instancias interesantes y novedosas. Nuestro esquema para CLP(Interval(X)) permite la cooperación de resolutores de manera que la información puede ⁰uir entre diferentes dominios de computación.Además, es posible combinar distintas instancias del esquema: por ejemplo, instancias bien conocidas tales como CLP(Interval(<)), CLP(Interval(Integer)),CLP(Interval(Set)), CLP(Interval(Bool)), y otras novedosas que son el resultado de la generación de nuevos dominios de computación definidos por el usuario, o incluso que surgen de la combinación de dominios ya existentes como puede ser CLP(Interval(X1 £ : : : £ Xn)). Por lo tanto, X puede ser instanciado a cualquier conjunto de dominios de computación con estructura de retículo de forma que su correspondiente instancia CLP(Interval(X)) permite una amplia flexibilidad en la definición de dominios en X (probablemente definidos por el usuario) y en la interaccion entre estos dominios.Mediante la implementacion de un prototipo, demostramos que un unico sistema,que este basado en nuestro esquema para CLP(Interval(X)), puede proporcionarsoporte para la satisfaccion y la optimizacion de restricciones as como para la cooperacion de resolutores sobre un conjunto conteniendo multiples dominios decomputacion. Ademas, el sistema sigue un novedoso enfoque transparente sujeto a una doble perspectiva ya que el usuario puede definir no solo nuevas restricciones y su mecanismo de propagacion, sino tambien nuevos dominios sobre los cuales nuevas restricciones pueden ser resueltas as como el mecanismo de cooperacion entre todos los dominios de computación (ya sean definidos por el usuario o predefinidos por el sistema).En nuestra opinión, esta tesis apunta nuevas y potenciales direcciones de investigación dentro de la comunidad de las restricciones de intervalo.Para alcanzar los resultados expuestos, hemos seguido los siguientes pasos (1) la elección de un enfoque adecuado sobre el cual construir los fundamentos teóricos de nuestro esquema genérico; (2) la construcción de un marco teórico genérico (que llamaremos el marco básico) para la propagación de restricciones de intervalo sobre cualquier retículo; (3) la integración, en el marco básico, de una técnica novedosa que facilita la cooperación de resolutores y que surge de la definición, sobre múltiples dominios, de operadores de restricciones y (4) la extensión del marco resultante para la resolución y optimización completa de las restricciones de intervalo.Finalmente presentamos clp(L), un lenguaje de programación lógica de restricciones de intervalo que posibilita la resolución de restricciones sobre cualquier conjunto de retículos y que esta implementado a partir de las ideas formalizadas en el marco teórico. Describimos una primera implementación de este lenguaje y desarrollamos algunos ejemplos de como usarla. Este prototipo demuestra que nuestro esquema para CLP(Interval(X)) puede ser implementado en un sistema único que, como consecuencia, proporciona, bajo un enfoque transparente sobre dominios y restricciones, cooperación de resolutores así como satisfacción y optimización completa de restricciones sobre diferentes dominios de computación

Technology Directions for the 21st Century

The Office of Space Communications (OSC) is tasked by NASA to conduct a planning process to meet NASA's science mission and other communications and data processing requirements. A set of technology trend studies was undertaken by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for OSC to identify quantitative data that can be used to predict performance of electronic equipment in the future to assist in the planning process. Only commercially available, off-the-shelf technology was included. For each technology area considered, the current state of the technology is discussed, future applications that could benefit from use of the technology are identified, and likely future developments of the technology are described. The impact of each technology area on NASA operations is presented together with a discussion of the feasibility and risk associated with its development. An approximate timeline is given for the next 15 to 25 years to indicate the anticipated evolution of capabilities within each of the technology areas considered. This volume contains four chapters: one each on technology trends for database systems, computer software, neural and fuzzy systems, and artificial intelligence. The principal study results are summarized at the beginning of each chapter

Quantum Nonlocality

This book presents the current views of leading physicists on the bizarre property of quantum theory: nonlocality. Einstein viewed this theory as “spooky action at a distance” which, together with randomness, resulted in him being unable to accept quantum theory. The contributions in the book describe, in detail, the bizarre aspects of nonlocality, such as Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen steering and quantum teleportation—a phenomenon which cannot be explained in the framework of classical physics, due its foundations in quantum entanglement. The contributions describe the role of nonlocality in the rapidly developing field of quantum information. Nonlocal quantum effects in various systems, from solid-state quantum devices to organic molecules in proteins, are discussed. The most surprising papers in this book challenge the concept of the nonlocality of Nature, and look for possible modifications, extensions, and new formulations—from retrocausality to novel types of multiple-world theories. These attempts have not yet been fully successful, but they provide hope for modifying quantum theory according to Einstein’s vision

Constructing curvature: the iterative design of a computer-based microworld for non-Euclidian geometry.

The study charts the iterative development of a computer-based microworld for noneuclidean\ud geometry. Its aim was to explore the possibilities for constructing a suitable\ud context that simultaneously articulated the processes of teaching and learning using\ud computer-based versions of euclidean models for non-euclidean geometry, and the\ud construction of the context.\ud Using the microworld paradigm as the basis for a model of a computer-based learning\ud environment, the study defines a microworld not only in terms of the computational and\ud non-computational tools available to the learner, but also with reference to its pedagogical\ud intentions and cognitive pre-suppositions. The model of the microworld that was created\ud was then used to guide its design and development. The computational element of the\ud microworld employed an object-oriented version of the Lisp-based programming\ud language Logo to implement Turtle Graphics in a non-euclidean context.\ud The design process for the microworld was iterative. Activities, which brought together\ud software and specific pedagogic approaches to non-euclidean geometry, were trialled and\ud modified in the light of learners' experiences with the microworld. Organised into three\ud developmental cycles, the study describes and analyses each iteration under three\ud interrelated categories: technical refinement of the software and non-computational\ud objects, structuring of the pedagogical framework, and the cognitive development of the\ud learners mediated by their experience of the microworld.\ud The study concludes with an appreciation of this iterative development process. It\ud proposes a framework for microworld creation based on the principles of design and of\ud learning as the exploration of a knowledge domain

Kids 'n space : explorations into spatial cognition of children learning 3-D computer graphics

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1990.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 261-273).by Judy E. Sachter.Ph.D

The Effect of Information and communications technology (ICT) on franchisee to franchisor relationships.

Throughout the franchise industry, franchisors are increasingly introducing information and communications (ICT) technology into their franchise networks in attempts to save costs and increase efficiency, and are subsequently replacing their franchise support managers and preexisting, socially-rooted franchisor-to-franchisee relationships with computers. Because large and complex ICT franchise support and reporting systems are costly, it is vital for franchisors to be able call upon sound empirical research, of which there is currently a paucity, to assist them in judging whether such expensive technology-driven ICT strategies are likely to be worth the cost and effort, and indeed if they are, how to subsequently prepare for and handle any resulting changes in their relationships with their networks of franchisees. Even though there is rapidly escalating use of ICT systems in franchising worldwide, very little has been written about the way that such technological deployment within the industry has modified or affected the franchisee to franchisor relationship and network profitability. Therefore, this work seeks to make a contribution in this area. Multiple sources of data were collected (interview, observation and Intranet materials). Semistructured interviews were held with the CEO’s of two United Kingdom franchise systems, and with twenty-eight franchisees from one of these systems. The interviews were tape-recorded. Intranet materials made available by the case companies included franchise agreements, operations manuals, various Intranet resource files and other online management information. Visits to the Head Offices of both franchise systems provided the opportunity for direct observations and an understanding of the operating norms of the businesses. The initial interviews were transcribed and coded using Grounded Theory procedures, and then multiple follow-up interviews with fifteen of the franchisees were completed over a twelve-month period enabling the developing process of focused coding, conceptual categories and theoretical sampling to be carried out, which resulted in a Theory of Franchise Remote Control being revealed. The content of the resultant theory was then viewed through the context of extant franchising, relationship marketing and B2B literature. The results of this empirical grounded theory study, unusually carried out from the franchisee perspective, shows that franchisors must crucially recognise that virtual support delivered through an ICT system via online methods such as electronic updates, knowledge bases and email, plus a change in strategy to one of offering reactive rather than pro-active assistance, does not automatically result in successful technological implementation, however expensive or competent the ICT system is. Through the development of a complex Theory of Franchise Remote Control, this thesis reveals that for every time and cost-saving technological advance deployed through the ICT for their own benefit and ease, franchisors must advance a balancing social benefit for their franchisees. Equally importantly, franchisors embarking upon ICT introduction must understand that franchisees will accept newness and change only if they continue to feel valued. Valuing cannot be demonstrated through electronic means alone. It must be operationalised though the mechanisms of social bonding and the recognition of success