User characteristics in intelligent tutoring systems

The development of individualized educational environments, to facilitate learning for the diverse population of students in today\u27s secondary school system, has become more prevalent with the increased ease of access to computers that many schools are now enjoying. The use of Computer Aided Instruction is becoming more common as a means for individual tutoring. This thesis explores the problem of individualizing this instruction by analyzing the relationship between preferred teaching methods and computer users personality types, as defined by the Myers-Briggs type indicator and two other unscientific user characteristics. The preferred teaching method was analyzed using various criteria, including user choices, both sequence and quantity, opinion survey, comments, and observation. The results support many of the conclusions formulated in earlier studies, especially those concerning the independence of performance and the quantity of instruction, as well as the need for multiple instructional methodologies due to type differences. These two conclusions, alone, encourage the idea of more individualized instruction and foster the development of Intelligent Tutoring Systems to provide the student with an environment that is most conducive to his/her learning preference

City of Anacortes Water Treatment Plant Climate Change Mitigation

Building Community Resilience: Moving beyond climate adaptation planning to implementation, session 46. In 2013 the City of Anacortes completed construction of a new $57 million water treatment plant located adjacent to the Skagit River. Elements of the design and construction incorporated mitigation for the anticipated effects of climate change. The elements included waterproof construction techniques, elevated critical structures, and filtration method considerations

I\u27m Responsible for What?: Selecting for Topics You Know Nothing About

This case study details the author’s experiences selecting books for a subject he knew nothing about. Most librarians are asked at some point in their career to take on responsibilities that they do not feel prepared for, so the author hopes this article will help readers adapt to those unfamiliar duties. The author discusses the challenges he faced within Kennesaw State University’s team-based liaison model, his attempts to do evidence-based selecting, and the lessons he learned along the way. In the end, librarians tasked with selecting on unfamiliar topics may benefit simply from doing their best, relying on the available tools and experts, learning as much as they can, and trying to improve on the job. The author encourages all librarians to cut themselves some slack and give themselves the benefit of the doubt when faced with challenges they are not prepared for

The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, 1861-1865

Despite the abundant material available on the Civil War, little research has been dedicated to the court system of Virginia as it operated during the conflict. This thesis delves into this unchartered [sic] area by sorting out the cases heard by the Virginia Supreme Court from 1861 to 1865 and analyzing connections between the cases and the war. The results offer insight into the social and political circumstances of Virginia. The Confederate States of America, lacking a Supreme Court, relied on each state to sustain a high court of appeals. Three cases directly related to the war reached the court during the conflict, all pertaining to conscription. In the aftermath of the fighting, war-related cases, primarily related to Confederate currency, inundated the court. The analysis of all of these cases leads to the conclusion that a level of continuity is sustained in the antebellum, war and postwar cases, showing that the court maintained its ultimate mission as a high court of appeals whether the war was going on or not

Revisiting Teacher Adoption Of Technology: Research Implications And Recommendations For Successful Full Technology Integration

Most teachers are still failing to fully integrate technologies in their classrooms to improve student achievement. If certain conditions exist, however, they are more likely to accept and use appropriate technologies in significant instructional ways. Relevant professional development and continuous access to needed resources are two significant factors contributing to technology adoption. Other factors evolving from research as well as recommendations for integration are presented

To Move a River: Libraries as Funders for Open Access Publication

Much as Ohio University diverted the Hocking River to avoid catastrophic annual flood damage, so too must academic libraries consider alternative means of publishing materials to reduce inflating costs that drive a catastrophic loss of resources. To encourage transformative open access agreements that provide lower-cost and more accessible materials, Eric Buckenmeyer, Interim Teaching & Learning Librarian, and Chelsee Dickson, Scholarly Communications Librarian, have developed a proposal for an open access fund to begin “moving the river” of funding from gaining access to pay-walled materials to funding open access publishing content. In this talk, we discuss a vision of a publishing ecosystem based on this funding model, how the proposal was drafted, what it contains, and how we hope to evaluate it in the future

Invest In The Success Of Online Programs At The University? Mentor Professors

The Distance Education Mentoring Program (DEMP) is a unique program designed to assist faculty with developing and teaching quality online courses. This paper describes a survey assessment of the 92 faculty members who completed the program over the last four years and looks at preliminary data determining the program’s success

Bioengineering an Ovarian-specific ECM Hydrogel to Facilitate Intraovarian Follicle Delivery for Fertility Preservation

The ovarian reserve represents the absolute number of primordial follicles with the potential to release a fertilizable oocyte. A reduction of follicles occurs naturally with aging until the reserve is depleted and induces menopause. However, there is a growing population of post pubertal women who experience aberrant reproductive function prior to the onset of menopause, classified as premature ovarian failure (POF). A subset of POF cases directly result from surgical or chemical procedures used to ameliorate cancer or other ovarian-associated pathologies. The current gold standard used to treat iatrogenic POF is the transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissues, which has led to greater than 130 reported live-births to-date. This strategy has shown clinical success, but there remain risks of malignant cell transmission and complications due to surgery. We hypothesized that an ovarian-specific hydrogel could provide a minimally-invasive platform to facilitate the intraovarian delivery, engraftment and survival of isolated immature ovarian follicles. The first aim of this study was to prepare a hydrogel from ovarian tissues that retained ovarian specificity. Porcine ovaries were decellularized using a series of enzymes and detergents to remove immunogenic components from the tissues. Decellularization significantly reduced dsDNA, while preserving ovarian tissue morphology, extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and proteoglycans. Additionally, ovarian-specific hormones, such as anti-Müllerian hormone, estradiol and progesterone, were detected within decellularized ovaries. Ovarian ECM (OECM) hydrogels formed via physical crosslinking when exposed to physiological conditions. Hydrogel viscoelastic and ultrastructural properties were sensitive to changes in ECM concentration, while gelation time remained constant. Successful in vitro follicle maturation using OECM hydrogels demonstrated follicle compatibility. The second aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of an OECM hydrogel as a vehicle to support intraovarian follicle delivery and graft survival within chemotherapy-induced POF (ciPOF) mice. Immature ovarian follicles from young DBA-GFP/nu female mice were enzymatically isolated and microinjected into the ovaries of ciPOF nude mice within the OECM hydrogel. Mating studies resulted in multiple litters containing pups derived from transplanted donor follicles. Transplanted ovarian tissues contained developing donor follicles suggesting hydrogel-facilitated intraovarian microinjection could offer a low-risk, minimally-invasive alternative for fertility preservation

An Investigation of University Students' Ownership, Usage, and Skill with Technology: Key Factors for Course Design

Abstract Students at a regional campus of a Midwestern university were surveyed using an online questionnaire to determine their ownership, skill, and use of technological devices. Four hundred ninety-three students responded to the survey. It was found that the survey sample mirrored the student population at the university. Students owned and used a wide variety of electronic devices. Eighty five percent of the students owned laptop computers, 62% digital phones, 60% desktop computers, and 52% gaming systems. Students used electronic devices an average of 6.03 hours per week on classroom activities and 3.93 hours per week surfing the Internet for pleasure. They perceived themselves as being very skilled at using email, surfing the web, and word processing. It was also found that there was a significant correlation between students' ownership of and skill with educational technology and their experience with Blackboard. Technological barriers were found to have a negative impact on students' experience with Blackboard. Those barriers also negatively impacted their technological use and skill. A simple linear regression model explains that students' experience with Blackboard is enhanced by having greater skill with technology, but is diminished when confronted with technological barriers. Implications for course design are discussed