The impact of Group Intelligence software on enquiry-based learning

Despite the increasing use of groupware technologies in education, there is little evidence of their impact, especially within an enquiry-based learning (EBL) context. In this paper, we examine the use of a commercial standard Group Intelligence software called GroupSystems®ThinkTank. To date, ThinkTank has been adopted mainly in the USA and supports teams in generating ideas, categorising, prioritising, voting and multi-criteria decision-making and automatically generates a report at the end of each session. The software was used by students carrying out an EBL project, set by employers, for a full academic year. The criteria for assessing the impact of ThinkTank on student learning were those of creativity, participation, productivity, engagement and understanding. Data was collected throughout the year using a combination of interviews and questionnaires, and written feedback from employers. The overall findings show an increase in levels of productivity and creativity, evidence of a deeper understanding of their work but some variation in attitudes towards participation in the early stages of the project

Interdisciplinary approach to the demography of Jamaica

<p>Background: The trans-Atlantic slave trade dramatically changed the demographic makeup of the New World, with varying regions of the African coast exploited differently over roughly a 400 year period. When compared to the discrete mitochondrial haplotype distribution of historically appropriate source populations, the unique distribution within a specific source population can prove insightful in estimating the contribution of each population. Here, we analyzed the first hypervariable region of mitochondrial DNA in a sample from the Caribbean island of Jamaica and compared it to aggregated populations in Africa divided according to historiographically defined segments of the continent's coastline. The results from these admixture procedures were then compared to the wealth of historic knowledge surrounding the disembarkation of Africans on the island.</p> <p>Results: In line with previous findings, the matriline of Jamaica is almost entirely of West African descent. Results from the admixture analyses suggest modern Jamaicans share a closer affinity with groups from the Gold Coast and Bight of Benin despite high mortality, low fecundity, and waning regional importation. The slaves from the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa were imported in great numbers; however, the results suggest a deficit in expected maternal contribution from those regions.</p> <p>Conclusions: When considering the demographic pressures imposed by chattel slavery on Jamaica during the slave era, the results seem incongruous. Ethnolinguistic and ethnographic evidence, however, may explain the apparent non-random levels of genetic perseverance. The application of genetics may prove useful in answering difficult demographic questions left by historically voiceless groups.</p&gt

Gestational diabetes mellitus in Africa: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is any degree of impaired glucose tolerance first recognised during pregnancy. Most women with GDM revert to normal glucose metabolism after delivery of their babies; however, they are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life as are their offspring. Determining a country's GDM prevalence can assist with policy guidelines regarding GDM screening and management, and can highlight areas requiring research. This systematic review assesses GDM prevalence in Africa. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Three electronic databases were searched without language restrictions; PubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane Library. Thirty-one search terms were searched. Eligible articles defined GDM, stated what GDM screening approaches were employed and reported GDM prevalence. The reporting quality and risk of bias within each study was assessed. The PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews were followed. The literature search identified 466 unique records. Sixty full text articles were reviewed of which 14 were included in the systematic review. One abstract, for which the full text article could not be obtained, was also included. Information regarding GDM classification, screening methods and prevalence was obtained for six African countries; Ethiopia (n = 1), Morocco (n = 1), Mozambique (n = 1), Nigeria (n = 6), South Africa (n= 4) and Tanzania (n = 1). Prevalence figures ranged from 0% (Tanzania) to 13.9% (Nigeria) with some studies focussing on women with GDM risk factors. Most studies utilised the two hour 75 g oral glucose tolerance test and applied the World Health Organization's diagnostic criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Six countries, equating to 11% of the African continent, were represented in this systematic review. This indicates how little is known about GDM in Africa and highlights the need for further research. Considering the increasing public health burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes, it is essential that the extent of GDM is understood in Africa to allow for effective intervention programmes.This is the final published version of the article. It was originally published here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0097871

Performance Evaluation of Judgmental Directional Exchange Rate Predictions

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A procedure is proposed for examining different aspects of performance for judgemental directional probability predictions of exchange rate movements. In particular, a range of new predictive performance measures is identified to highlight specific expressions of strengths and weaknesses in judgemental directional forecasts. Proposed performance qualifiers extend the existing accuracy measures, enabling detailed comparisons of probability forecasts with ex-post empirical probabilities that are derived from changes in the logarithms of the series. This provides a multi-faceted evaluation that is straightforward for practitioners to implement, while affording the flexibility of being used in situations where the time intervals between the predictions have variable lengths. The proposed procedure is illustrated via an application to a set of directional probability exchange rate forecasts for the US Dollar/Swiss Franc from 23/7/96 to 7/12/99 and the findings are discussed. D 2005 International Institute of Forecasters. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Apolarity, Hessian and Macaulay polynomials

A result by Macaulay states that an Artinian graded Gorenstein ring R of socle dimension one and socle degree b can be realized as the apolar ring of a homogeneous polynomial f of degree b. If R is the Jacobian ring of a smooth hypersurface g=0, then b is just equal to the degree of the Hessian polynomial of g. In this paper we investigate the relationship between f and the Hessian polynomial of g.Comment: 12 pages. Improved exposition, minor correction

Fermat hypersurfaces and Subcanonical curves

We extend the classical Enriques-Petri Theorem to $s$-subcanonical projectively normal curves, proving that such a curve is $(s+2)$-gonal if and only if it is contained in a surface of minimal degree. Moreover, we show that any Fermat hypersurface of degree $s+2$ is apolar to an $s$-subcanonical $(s+2)$-gonal projectively normal curve, and vice versa.Comment: 18 pages; AMS-LaTe

Evaluating predictive performance of judgemental extrapolations from simulated currency series

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Judgemental forecasting of exchange rates is critical for ®nancial decision-making. Detailed investigations of the potential e ects of time-series characteristics on judgemental currency forecasts demand the use of simulated series where the form of the signal and probability distribution of noise are known. The accuracy measures Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Squared Error (MSE) are frequently applied quantities in assessing judgemental predictive performance on actual exchange rate data. This paper illustrates that, in applying these measures to simulated series with Normally distributed noise, it may be desirable to use their expected values after standardising the noise variance. A method of calculating the expected values for the MAE and MSE is set out, and an application to ®nancial experts' judgemental currency forecasts is presented. Ó 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

The body in the library: adventures in realism

This essay looks at two aspects of the virtual ‘material world’ of realist fiction: objects encountered by the protagonist and the latter’s body. Taking from Sartre two angles on the realist pact by which readers agree to lend their bodies, feelings, and experiences to the otherwise ‘languishing signs’ of the text, it goes on to examine two sets of first-person fictions published between 1902 and 1956 — first, four modernist texts in which banal objects defy and then gratify the protagonist, who ends up ready and almost able to write; and, second, three novels in which the body of the protagonist is indeterminate in its sex, gender, or sexuality. In each of these cases, how do we as readers make texts work for us as ‘an adventure of the body’

Pure O-sequences and matroid h-vectors

We study Stanley's long-standing conjecture that the h-vectors of matroid simplicial complexes are pure O-sequences. Our method consists of a new and more abstract approach, which shifts the focus from working on constructing suitable artinian level monomial ideals, as often done in the past, to the study of properties of pure O-sequences. We propose a conjecture on pure O-sequences and settle it in small socle degrees. This allows us to prove Stanley's conjecture for all matroids of rank 3. At the end of the paper, using our method, we discuss a first possible approach to Stanley's conjecture in full generality. Our technical work on pure O-sequences also uses very recent results of the third author and collaborators.Comment: Contains several changes/updates with respect to the previous version. In particular, a discussion of a possible approach to the general case is included at the end. 13 pages. To appear in the Annals of Combinatoric