The Nature of Self-Regulation, Scaffolding, and Feedback in a Computer-Based Developmental Mathematics Classroom

This study looks at what aspects of a computer-based course are key to success and building understanding in mathematics. Three students enrolled in the Independent Study section of Developmental Mathematics at the University are interviewed, and several other students observed and surveyed throughout a semester in the course. Their responses are analyzed in terms of their perceptions of learning and understanding mathematics; confidence, motivation, and interest in mathematics; and self-regulation and one's ability to keep up with the online mathematics course. Each of the three interviewee's interviews are analyzed individually in a case-study format and discussed individually based on patterns seen. These interviews are used to address how these online courses are set up, how students proceed in such courses, and what makes students successful in such courses

The Development of Chemoattractant Plumes in Complex Flows and the Role of the Chemotactic Strategies Employed by Sperm to Navigate the Plumes to Fertilize an Egg

The ability of benthic invertebrate sperm to utilize chemotaxis and chemokinesis to locate an egg during broadcast spawning is examined under a variety of flow conditions. During the fertilization process, males release a cloud of sperm and females release a cloud of eggs into the ambient flow. The two plumes are brought together due to turbulent stirring. Individual eggs release a mass of chemoattractant into the flow upon being spawned. The motile sperm are tasked with swimming to an egg for fertilization to occur. The sperm are able to sense the concentration of chemoattractant released by a conspecific egg and change their swimming behavior. Chemotaxis, the orientation due to a chemoattractant, and chemokinesis, the increase in speed due to a chemoattractant, aid the sperm in finding and reaching the egg in a flow. The mechanics of this process are not well understood. The flow around an egg in a linear shear flow is modeled for both a constant linear shear rate and for an unsteady turbulent flow where the linear shear changes direction and magnitude. Sperm are placed in a mass at an initial location and advect due to their swimming behavior and the flow. The rate at which the sperm reach the egg is quantified. The efficacy of several possible response behaviors are tested within 5 flows: quiescent flow, two constant linear shear flows with different shear rates and two levels of complexity for the unsteady linear shear flows, and from different initial locations

Local pathways to low-carbon domestic heat : exploring the options in the UK

Currently, natural gas is the predominant source of domestic heat provision. Take-up of heat pumps and district heating remains at a minimal penetration of around 0.5%. In total, only around 2.5% of heat comes from low carbon sources, compared with more than 45% of electricity. As heat accounts for around 40% of UK energy consumption and 20% of GHG emissions, the decarbonisation of the heat sector is seen as vital for the UK to reach UK emission reduction targets. Different trajectories in heat provision using parallel energy vectors (electricity, gas, alternative gases, heat networks) imply a range of infrastructure impacts. In order to explore the form of different local energy systems under decarbonisation scenarios, this work seeks to: - Capture the broad forms of ’last-mile’ network: Urban, Suburban, Rural (on/off gas grid ) seen as exemplar of the UK energy system; - Downscale whole system-derived technology mixes and construct demonstrative local energy systems representing key use cases; - Using multi-carrier optimisation, determine the impacts of heat decarbonisation on current and future system actors

Local pathways to low-carbon domestic heat : exploring the options in the UK

Currently, natural gas is the predominant source of domestic heat provision. Take-up of heat pumps and district heating remains at a minimal penetration of around 0.5%. In total, only around 2.5% of heat comes from low carbon sources, compared with more than 45% of electricity. As heat accounts for around 40% of UK energy consumption and 20% of GHG emissions, the decarbonisation of the heat sector is seen as vital for the UK to reach UK emission reduction targets. Different trajectories in heat provision using parallel energy vectors (electricity, gas, alternative gases, heat networks) imply a range of infrastructure impacts. In order to explore the form of different local energy systems under decarbonisation scenarios, this work seeks to: - Capture the broad forms of ’last-mile’ network: Urban, Suburban, Rural (on/off gas grid ) seen as exemplar of the UK energy system; - Downscale whole system-derived technology mixes and construct demonstrative local energy systems representing key use cases; - Using multi-carrier optimisation, determine the impacts of heat decarbonisation on current and future system actors

Psychosocial factors of caregiver burden in child caregivers: results from the new national study of caregiving

Background Over 50 million informal caregivers in the United States provide care to an aging adult, saving the economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually from costly hospitalization or institutionalization. Despite the benefits associated with caregiving, caregiver stress can lead to negative physical and mental health consequences, or “caregiver burden”. Given these potential negative consequences of caregiver burden, it is important not only to understand the multidimensional components of burden but to also understand the experience from the perspective of the caregiver themselves. Therefore, the objectives of our study are to use exploratory factor analysis to obtain a set of latent factors among a subset of caregiver burden questions identified in previous studies and assess their reliability. Methods All data was obtained from the 2011 National Study of Caregiving (NSOC). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to identify a set of latent factors assessing four domains of caregiver burden in “child caregivers”: those informal caregivers who provide care to a parent or stepparent. Sensitivity analysis was also conducted by repeating the EFA on demographic subsets of caregivers. Results After multiple factor analyses, four consistent caregiver burden factors emerged from the 23 questions analyzed: Negative emotional, positive emotional, social, and financial. Reliability of each factor varied, and was strongest for the positive emotional domain for caregiver burden. These domains were generally consistent across demographic subsets of informal caregivers. Conclusion These results provide researchers a more comprehensive understanding of caregiver burden to target interventions to protect caregiver health and maintain this vital component of the US health care system

On the formation of trapezium-like systems

We investigate the formation and evolution of high-order massive star multiples similar to the Trapezium in the Orion Nebula Cluster. We perform ensembles of N-body simulations of the evolution of N=1000 Orion-like clusters with initial conditions ranging from cool and clumpy to relatively smooth and relaxed. We find that trapezium-like systems are frequently formed in the first 2 Myr in initially cool and clumpy clusters and can survive for significant amounts of time in such clusters. We also find that these systems are highly dynamical entities, constantly interacting with the surrounding cluster, changing their appearance and membership regularly. The eventual decay of trapezium-like systems can even destroy the host cluster. We argue that the current state of any trapezium-like system is transient and care should be taken when analysing and drawing conclusions from a single snapshot in the life of a highly dynamic object.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Supplementary material can be found at ftp://hydra.shef.ac.uk/pub/spg/TRAP_SUPLIMENTARY.pd