Small blocking sets of hermitian designs

AbstractA Hermitian design H(q) consists of the points and Hermitian unitals of PG(2,q2). A committee of H(q) is a blocking set of H(q) of minimum cardinality b(H(q)). It is proved that the committees of H(3) are the lines of PG(2, 9) and, for all odd q, that 2q + 2 ≤b(H(q)) < (1 + 7 ln q)(q2 + 1)q−1

Embracing imperfection in learning analytics

© 2018 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Learning Analytics (LA) sits at the confluence of many contributing disciplines, which brings the risk of hidden assumptions inherited from those fields. Here, we consider a hidden assumption derived from computer science, namely, that improving computational accuracy in classification is always a worthy goal. We demonstrate that this assumption is unlikely to hold in some important educational contexts, and argue that embracing computational “imperfection” can improve outcomes for those scenarios. Specifically, we show that learner-facing approaches aimed at “learning how to learn” require more holistic validation strategies. We consider what information must be provided in order to reasonably evaluate algorithmic tools in LA, to facilitate transparency and realistic performance comparisons

Towards the Discovery of Learner Metacognition from Reflective Writing

Modern society demands renewed attention on the competencies required to best equip students for a dynamic and uncertain future. We present exploratory work based on the premise that metacognitive and reflective competencies are essential for this task. Bringing the concepts of metacognition and reflection together into a conceptual model within which we conceived of them as both a set of similar features, and as a spectrum ranging from the unconscious inner-self through to the conscious, external, social self. This model was used to guide exploratory computational analysis of 6,090 instances of reflective writing authored by undergraduate students. We found the conceptual model useful in informing the computational analysis, which in turn showed potential for automating the discovery of metacognitive activity in reflective writing, an approach that holds promise for the generation of formative feedback for students as they work towards developing core 21st century competencies

Framing Professional Learning Analytics as Reframing Oneself

Central to imagining the future of technology-enhanced professional learning is the question of how data are gathered, analyzed, and fed back to stakeholders. The field of learning analytics (LA) has emerged over the last decade at the intersection of data science, learning sciences, human-centered and instructional design, and organizational change, and so could in principle inform how data can be gathered and analyzed in ways that support professional learning. However, in contrast to formal education where most research in LA has been conducted, much work-integrated learning is experiential, social, situated, and practice-bound. Supporting such learning exposes a significant weakness in LA research, and to make sense of this gap, this article proposes an adaptation of the Knowledge-Agency Window framework. It draws attention to how different forms of professional learning locate on the dimensions of learner agency and knowledge creation. Specifically, we argue that the concept of “reframing oneself” holds particular relevance for informal, work-integrated learning. To illustrate how this insight translates into LA design for professionals, three examples are provided: first, analyzing personal and team skills profiles (skills analytics); second, making sense of challenging workplace experiences (reflective writing analytics); and third, reflecting on orientation to learning (dispositional analytics). We foreground professional agency as a key requirement for such techniques to be used effectively and ethically

Beyond the team: understanding interprofessional work in two North American ICUs

OBJECTIVE: To examine the ways in which healthcare professionals work together in the ICU setting, through a consideration of the contextual, organizational, processual, and relational factors that impact their interprofessional collaboration. DESIGN: Data from over 350 hours of ethnographic observation and 35 semistructured interviews with clinicians in two ICUs were collected by two medical anthropologists over a period of 6 months. SETTING: Medical surgical ICUs in two urban research hospitals in Canada and the United States. MAIN RESULTS: Although the concept of teamwork is often central to interventions to improve patient safety in the ICU, our observations suggest that this concept does not fully describe how interprofessional work actually occurs in this setting. With the exception of crisis situations, most interprofessional interactions in the two ICUs we studied could be better described as forms of interprofessional work other than teamwork, which include collaboration, coordination, and networking. CONCLUSIONS: A singular notion of team is too reductive to account for the ways in which work happens in the ICU and therefore cannot be taken for granted in quality improvement initiatives or among healthcare professionals in this setting. Adapting -interventions to the complex nature of interprofessional work and each ICUs unique local context is an important and necessary step to ensure the delivery of safe and effective patient care

A sociological exploration of the tensions related to interprofessional collaboration in acute-care discharge planning

Patient discharge is a key concern in hospitals, particularly in acute care, given the multifaceted and challenging nature of patients' healthcare needs. Policies on discharge have identified the importance of interprofessional collaboration, yet research has described its limitations in this clinical context. This study aimed to extend our understanding of interprofessional interactions related to discharge in a general internal medicine setting by using sociological theories to illuminate the existence of, and interplay between, structural factors and microlevel practices. An ethnographic approach was employed to obtain an in-depth insight into healthcare providers' perspectives, behaviours, and interactions regarding discharge. Data collection involved observations, interviews, and document analysis. Approximately 65 hours of observations were undertaken, 23 interviews were conducted with healthcare providers, and government and hospital discharge documents were collected. Data were analysed using a directed content approach. The findings indicate the existence of a medically dominated division of healthcare labour in patient discharge with opportunities for some interprofessional negotiations; the role of organizational routines in facilitating and challenging interprofessional negotiations in patient discharge; and tensions in organizational priorities that impact an interprofessional approach to discharge. The findings provide insight into the various levels at which interventions can be targeted to improve interprofessional collaboration in discharge while recognizing the organizational tensions that challenge an interprofessional approach

Extracting Spooky-activation-at-a-distance from Considerations of Entanglement

Following an early claim by Nelson & McEvoy \cite{Nelson:McEvoy:2007} suggesting that word associations can display `spooky action at a distance behaviour', a serious investigation of the potentially quantum nature of such associations is currently underway. This paper presents a simple quantum model of a word association system. It is shown that a quantum model of word entanglement can recover aspects of both the Spreading Activation equation and the Spooky-activation-at-a-distance equation, both of which are used to model the activation level of words in human memory.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures; To appear in Proceedings of the Third Quantum Interaction Symposium, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, vol 5494, Springer, 200

Physical education as Olympic education

Introduction In a recent paper (Parry, 1998, p. 64), I argued that the justification of PE activities lies in their capacity to facilitate the development of certain human excellences of a valued kind. Of course, the problem now lies in specifying those ‘human excellences of a valued kind’, and (for anyone) this task leads us into the area of philosophical anthropology. I suggested that the way forward for Physical Education lies in the philosophical anthropology (and the ethical ideals) of Olympism, which provide a specification of a variety of human values and excellences which: •have been attractive to human groups over an impressive span of time and space •have contributed massively to our historically developed conceptions of ourselves •have helped to develop a range of artistic and cultural conceptions that have defined Western culture. •have produced a range of physical activities that have been found universally satisfying and challenging. Although physical activities are widely considered to be pleasurable, their likelihood of gaining wide acceptance lies rather in their intrinsic value, which transcends the simply hedonic or relative good. Their ability to furnish us with pleasurable experiences depends upon our prior recognition in them of opportunities for the development and expression of valued human excellences. They are widely considered to be such opportunities for the expression of valued human excellences because, even when as local instantiations, their object is to challenge our common human propensities and abilities. I claimed that Olympic ideals may be seen not merely as inert ‘ideals’, but living ideas which have the power to remake our notions of sport in education, seeing sport not as mere physical activity but as the cultural and developmental activity of an aspiring, achieving, well-balanced, educated and ethical individual. This paper seeks to make good that claim by trying to develop a case for Physical Education as Olympic Education. I begin by setting out various accounts and conceptions of the Olympic Idea; then I suggest a unifying and organising account of the philosophical anthropology of Olympism; and this is followed by the practical application of that account in two examples of current ethical issues. Finally, I seek to present an account of Physical Education as Olympic Education