Engineering simulations for cancer systems biology

Computer simulation can be used to inform in vivo and in vitro experimentation, enabling rapid, low-cost hypothesis generation and directing experimental design in order to test those hypotheses. In this way, in silico models become a scientific instrument for investigation, and so should be developed to high standards, be carefully calibrated and their findings presented in such that they may be reproduced. Here, we outline a framework that supports developing simulations as scientific instruments, and we select cancer systems biology as an exemplar domain, with a particular focus on cellular signalling models. We consider the challenges of lack of data, incomplete knowledge and modelling in the context of a rapidly changing knowledge base. Our framework comprises a process to clearly separate scientific and engineering concerns in model and simulation development, and an argumentation approach to documenting models for rigorous way of recording assumptions and knowledge gaps. We propose interactive, dynamic visualisation tools to enable the biological community to interact with cellular signalling models directly for experimental design. There is a mismatch in scale between these cellular models and tissue structures that are affected by tumours, and bridging this gap requires substantial computational resource. We present concurrent programming as a technology to link scales without losing important details through model simplification. We discuss the value of combining this technology, interactive visualisation, argumentation and model separation to support development of multi-scale models that represent biologically plausible cells arranged in biologically plausible structures that model cell behaviour, interactions and response to therapeutic interventions

Affect and strategy use in independent language learning

Affect is about emotions and feelings, moods and attitudes, anxiety, tolerance of ambiguity and motivation. For some it is also connected with dispositions and preferences (Oatley & Jenkins, 1996). It is generally accepted that the affective domain encompasses a wide range of elements which reflect the human side of being, and play a part in conditioning behaviour and influencing learning. We are becoming more knowledgeable about the importance of attention to affective factors, but there is still a huge gap in terms of our knowledge of the affective strategies that students use or could use to promote more effective language learning. Moreover, the research that has been carried out into affect over several years has largely concentrated on language learning in the classroom (Arnold, 1999; Ehrman, 1996; MacIntyre, 1999; Young, 1999) with very few studies devoted to independent learning settings. Independent language learners, whether learning through self-access, distance or other modes, are a fast-growing group, and we need to know more about them, in particular the ways in which their affective needs differ from those of classroom learners (Harris, 2003; Hurd, 2002; White, 2003). This chapter investigates affect and strategy use in independent settings. It looks first at the concept of affect and its interrelationships with other domains, continues with an exploration of strategy definitions and classification schemes in relation to affect, and concludes with a study carried out with a small group of distance language learners using think-aloud verbal protocols

Exploring the case for simplification of the copyright framework: report of proceedings

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How Should Universities be Responding to the Fast-changing Professional and Vocational Worlds?

Universities are currently facing an acute crisis of identity. The focus on traditional and academic courses is being redirected to vocational programmes. Universities are turning to industry to sponsor research, and even courses, in a drive towards educational privatisation. Such a dependence could lead to pedagogic compromise. The successful graduate in vocational subjects will be defined by their ability to transfer essential skills to a fluctuating professional arena. It is only by continuous, and a responsive, alliance with the market that we can build course that are relevant to industry but also preserve their pedagogic integrity

Models for Learning (Mod4L) Final Report: Representing Learning Designs

The Mod4L Models of Practice project is part of the JISC-funded Design for Learning Programme. It ran from 1 May – 31 December 2006. The philosophy underlying the project was that a general split is evident in the e-learning community between development of e-learning tools, services and standards, and research into how teachers can use these most effectively, and is impeding uptake of new tools and methods by teachers. To help overcome this barrier and bridge the gap, a need is felt for practitioner-focused resources which describe a range of learning designs and offer guidance on how these may be chosen and applied, how they can support effective practice in design for learning, and how they can support the development of effective tools, standards and systems with a learning design capability (see, for example, Griffiths and Blat 2005, JISC 2006). Practice models, it was suggested, were such a resource. The aim of the project was to: develop a range of practice models that could be used by practitioners in real life contexts and have a high impact on improving teaching and learning practice. We worked with two definitions of practice models. Practice models are: 1. generic approaches to the structuring and orchestration of learning activities. They express elements of pedagogic principle and allow practitioners to make informed choices (JISC 2006) However, however effective a learning design may be, it can only be shared with others through a representation. The issue of representation of learning designs is, then, central to the concept of sharing and reuse at the heart of JISC’s Design for Learning programme. Thus practice models should be both representations of effective practice, and effective representations of practice. Hence we arrived at the project working definition of practice models as: 2. Common, but decontextualised, learning designs that are represented in a way that is usable by practitioners (teachers, managers, etc).(Mod4L working definition, Falconer & Littlejohn 2006). A learning design is defined as the outcome of the process of designing, planning and orchestrating learning activities as part of a learning session or programme (JISC 2006). Practice models have many potential uses: they describe a range of learning designs that are found to be effective, and offer guidance on their use; they support sharing, reuse and adaptation of learning designs by teachers, and also the development of tools, standards and systems for planning, editing and running the designs. The project took a practitioner-centred approach, working in close collaboration with a focus group of 12 teachers recruited across a range of disciplines and from both FE and HE. Focus group members are listed in Appendix 1. Information was gathered from the focus group through two face to face workshops, and through their contributions to discussions on the project wiki. This was supplemented by an activity at a JISC pedagogy experts meeting in October 2006, and a part workshop at ALT-C in September 2006. The project interim report of August 2006 contained the outcomes of the first workshop (Falconer and Littlejohn, 2006). The current report refines the discussion of issues of representing learning designs for sharing and reuse evidenced in the interim report and highlights problems with the concept of practice models (section 2), characterises the requirements teachers have of effective representations (section 3), evaluates a number of types of representation against these requirements (section 4), explores the more technically focused role of sequencing representations and controlled vocabularies (sections 5 & 6), documents some generic learning designs (section 8.2) and suggests ways forward for bridging the gap between teachers and developers (section 2.6). All quotations are taken from the Mod4L wiki unless otherwise stated

Exploiting the Hierarchical Structure of Rule-Based Specifications for Decision Planning

Rule-based specifications have been very successful as a declarative approach in many domains, due to the handy yet solid foundations offered by rule-based machineries like term and graph rewriting. Realistic problems, however, call for suitable techniques to guarantee scalability. For instance, many domains exhibit a hierarchical structure that can be exploited conveniently. This is particularly evident for composition associations of models. We propose an explicit representation of such structured models and a methodology that exploits it for the description and analysis of model- and rule-based systems. The approach is presented in the framework of rewriting logic and its efficient implementation in the rewrite engine Maude and is illustrated with a case study.

Which Digital Transformation Strategy for Non-profit Organisations

Scholars largely debate digital transformation (DT) initiatives in several organisational contexts and consider multiple aspects. Some scholars develop DT strategies providing frameworks to support researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and IT specialists in governing DT initiatives. However, from the industries perspective, only a few studies discuss DT focusing specifically on non-profit organisations (NPOs). The interest in investigating DT in NPOs derives from the way how NPOs strive to reach their objectives, which often differ significantly from those of public and for-profit firms. Then, our aim is twofold: (i) developing a meta-synthesis of the literature discussing DT initiatives in NPOs identifying characteristics and strategy traits and (ii) proposing a taxonomy framework focused on DT in NPOs comparing it with the DT strategies framework unfocused on any particular industry. This research contributes to explore the discourse of DT in NPOs, stressing industries-based aspects and proposing a further lens of analysis of DT phenomena

Evaluating the impact of electronic voting systems on university mathematics teaching and learning

This thesis presents an evaluation of the impact of the use of Electronic Voting Systems (EVS) on mathematics teaching and learning, based on the research question: What are the views of academic staff on the impact of EVS use on their mathematics teaching; and how has EVS use influenced student engagement and learning approach to mathematics? To answer the question, a descriptive survey of academic staff, and semi-structured interviews with students were conducted; data from these studies were supplemented by classroom observations of EVS use, relevant documentary evidence, and preliminary studies conducted. Survey data was analysed via quantitative techniques; while the annotated interview transcripts were analysed via thematic analysis, and the application of an integrated theoretical framework. The validity, reliability and replicability of both studies were also established. The findings show that feedback is viewed as the single, most beneficial impact of EVS use, as it enables instructors, through formative assessment, to identify student misconceptions, which then helps instructors to focus on the identified problem areas. EVS has also positively impacted student emotion, behaviour, and cognition. EVS use helps focus student attention, enhances participation and interactivity, and enables students to cognitively engage with learning material. The adoption of an integrated theoretical framework helps to characterise, and to reveal qualitative differences in student learning approaches. Also, the use of specific EVS question types tends to induce specific learning approaches in students. Implications of the findings include the need for EVS-using instructors to have clearly defined pedagogical objectives and well-designed questions, and for learners to re-adapt their mathematical ideas in response to EVS feedback. Findings also show the need to incorporate instructional measures that would promote both procedural and conceptual learning approaches in students, and to perhaps rethink the role of calculator usage and guesswork in student approaches to learning. The requirements for technologies that may replace EVS, the need to align assessment with instructional practices, and for instructors to undergo further EVS training and/or form mathematics-specific support group(s) are also highlighted