Skill-Related Uncertainty and Expected Value in 5-to 7-Year-Olds

Studies using an Information Integration approach have shown that children from four years have a good intuitive understanding of probability and expected value. Experience of skill-related uncertainty may provide one naturalistic opportunity to develop this intuitive understanding. To test the viability of this view, 16 5- and 16 7-year-olds played a marble rolling game in which size of the target and distance from it varied factorially. Task difficulty judgements (prior to practical experience with the game) reflected both objective task structure and subsequent performance for both age groups. Children then judged how happy they would be playing games of variable difficulty for different prizes. These judgements had the multiplicative structure predicted by the normative expected value model, again for both age groups. Thus children can use task difficulties as estimates of personal success probability in skill-related tasks. Our findings therefore extend previous work on early probability understanding from games of chance to games of skill

The Assessment Plan in Action: Business Communication, A Core Course

Accrediting agencies and state legislatures frequently require universities to provide methods of assessing student performance. Continuous improvement for accreditation drives the assessment movement. This paper describes a six-semester study conducted at a regional university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The study conducted from Fall 2006 to Spring 2009 encompassed six objectives related to communication mandated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The study involved 2,562 students in 87 sections of the business communication course. Embedded questions and assignment review were the methods of assessment used. The findings showed clear improvement in some areas and additional improvement needed in others

Assessment Measures and Rubrics in a Business Communication Course

Assessment to assure continuous improvement has increasingly become a requirement imposed by accrediting agencies and state legislatures on secondary and post-secondary schools. This paper describes a seven-semester study conducted at a regional university accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Using existing course assignments in the Business Communication course, the study, conducted from fall 2006 through fall 2009, measured student performance related to six state-mandated communication objectives. The faculty used the results to close the loop for continuous improvement, the driving force of the assessment movement

The Oral Presentation: Enhancing the Experience in an Online Business Communication Course

This study addressed student and faculty experiences in using a commercially available website to facilitate the delivery and evaluation of student presentations in the online business communication course. Of the students enrolled in online business communication, 75 students participated in the study by sharing their perceptions of the effectiveness of the oral presentation process. Additionally, their faculty members assessed the process from the instructor’s perspective. The findings and conclusion revealed that the process provided useful student feedback and was more effective than pedagogical methods tried before

Faculty Perceptions and Policies of Students’ Use of Personal Technology in the Classroom

With the increased use of personal technology in the classroom, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, effective teaching may have some powerful distractions, or some excellent support. The purpose of this paper is to report on the progress of personal technology in the classroom and to determine how members of the Association of Business Information Systems (ABIS) and the Southwest Decision Sciences Institute (SWDSI) are clarifying the use of personal technology through syllabus statements and policies. The study does not intentionally set out to provide definitive answers related to the best way to handle personal technology in the classroom; but rather, to share some current perceptions and policies that have been adopted by educators. This, in turn, may provide a springboard for specific policies that would work in an educator’s classroom

The variable polarity plasma arc welding process: Its application to the Space Shuttle external tank

The technical history of the variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding process being introduced as a partial replacement for the gas shielded tungsten arc process in assembly welding of the space shuttle external tank is described. Interim results of the weld strength qualification studies, and plans for further work on the implementation of the VPPA process are included

Implications of X-Ray Line Variations for 4U1822-371

4U 1822-371 is one of the proto-type accretion disk coronal sources with an orbital period of about 5.6 hours. The binary is viewed almost edge-on at a high inclination angle of 83 degrees, which makes it a unique candidate to study binary orbital and accretion disk dynamics in high powered X-ray sources. We observed the X-ray source in 4U 1822-371 with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) for almost nine binary orbits. X-ray eclipse times provide an update of the orbital ephemeris. We find that our result follows the quadratic function implied by previous observations; however, it suggests a flatter trend. Detailed line dynamics also confirm a previous suggestion that the observed photo-ionized line emission originates from a confined region in the outer edge of the accretion disk near the hot spot. Line properties allow us to impose limits on the size of accretion disk, the central corona, and the emission region. The photo-ionized plasma is consistent with ionization parameters of log(xi) > 2, and when combined with disk size and reasonable assumptions for the plasma density, this suggests illuminating disk luminosities which are over an order of magnitude higher than what is actually observed. That is, we do not directly observe the central emitting X-ray source. The spectral continua are best fit by a flat power law with a high energy cut-off and partial covering absorption (N_H ranging from 5.4-6.3x10^{22} cm^{-2}) with a covering fraction of about 50%. We discuss some implications of our findings with respect to the photo-ionized line emission for the basic properties of the X-ray source.Comment: Submitted to the Astrophysical Journa

Recent Improvements To The RELAP5-3D Code

The RELAP5-3D computer program has been recently improved. Changes were made as follows: (1) heat structures are allowed to be decoupled from hydrodynamic components, (2) built-in material properties for heat structures have been made consistent with those in MATPRO and the Nuclear Systems Materials Handbook (they are now documented in the RELAP5-3D manual, (3) Schrock's flow quality correlation is now used for a downward oriented junction from a horizontal volume for the stratification entrainment/pullthrough model

The effect of IGFC warm gas cleanup system conditions on the gas-solid partitioning and form of trace species in coal syngas and their interactions with SOFC anodes

The U.S. Department of Energy is currently working on coupling coal gasification and high temperature fuel cell to produce electrical power in a highly efficient manner while being emissions free. Many investigations have already investigated the effects of major coal syngas species such as CO and H2S. However coal contains many trace species and the effect of these species on solid oxide fuel cell anode is not presently known. Warm gas cleanup systems are planned to be used with these advanced power generation systems for the removal of major constituents such as H2S and HCl but the operational parameters of such systems is not well defined at this point in time. This paper focuses on the effect of anticipated warm gas cleanup conditions has on trace specie partitioning between the vapor and condensed phase and the effects the trace vapor species have on the SOFC anode. Results show that Be, Cr, K, Na, V, and Z trace species will form condensed phases and should not effect SOFC anode performance since it is anticipated that the warm gas cleanup systems will have a high removal efficiency of particulate matter. Also the results show that Sb, As, Cd, Hg, Pb, P, and Se trace species form vapor phases and the Sb, As, and P vapor phase species show the ability to form secondary Ni phases in the SOFC anode