2,971 research outputs found
Questions of quality in repositories of open educational resources: a literature review
Open educational resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials which are freely available and openly licensed. Repositories of OER (ROER) are platforms that host and facilitate access to these resources. ROER should not just be designed to store this content – in keeping with the aims of the OER movement, they should support educators in embracing open educational practices (OEP) such as searching for and retrieving content that they will reuse, adapt or modify as needed, without economic barriers or copyright restrictions. This paper reviews key literature on OER and ROER, in order to understand the roles ROER are said or supposed to fulfil in relation to furthering the aims of the OER movement. Four themes which should shape repository design are identified, and the following 10 quality indicators (QI) for ROER effectiveness are discussed: featured resources; user evaluation tools; peer review; authorship of the resources; keywords of the resources; use of standardised metadata; multilingualism of the repositories; inclusion of social media tools; specification of the creative commons license; availability of the source code or original files. These QI form the basis of a method for the evaluation of ROER initiatives which, in concert with considerations of achievability and long-term sustainability, should assist in enhancement and development.
Keywords: open educational resources; open access; open educational practice; repositories; quality assuranc
Combining Planning and Deep Reinforcement Learning in Tactical Decision Making for Autonomous Driving
Tactical decision making for autonomous driving is challenging due to the
diversity of environments, the uncertainty in the sensor information, and the
complex interaction with other road users. This paper introduces a general
framework for tactical decision making, which combines the concepts of planning
and learning, in the form of Monte Carlo tree search and deep reinforcement
learning. The method is based on the AlphaGo Zero algorithm, which is extended
to a domain with a continuous state space where self-play cannot be used. The
framework is applied to two different highway driving cases in a simulated
environment and it is shown to perform better than a commonly used baseline
method. The strength of combining planning and learning is also illustrated by
a comparison to using the Monte Carlo tree search or the neural network policy
separately
Using the Zeno line to assess and refine molecular models
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from CCP5Peer reviewe
Spinal Kinematics of Adolescent Male Rowers With Back Pain in Comparison to Matched Controls During Ergometer Rowing.
There is a high prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in adolescent male rowers. In this study, regional lumbar spinal kinematics and self-reported LBP intensity were compared between 10 adolescent rowers with moderate levels of LBP relating to rowing with 10 reporting no history of LBP during a 15-minute ergometer trial using an electromagnetic tracking system. Adolescent male rowers with LBP reported increasing pain intensity during ergometer rowing. No significant differences were detected in mean upper or lower lumbar angles between rowers with and without LBP. However, compared to rowers without pain, rowers with pain had: 1) relatively less excursion of the upper lumbar spine into extension over the drive phase, 2) relatively less excursion of the lower lumbar spine into extension over time, 3) greater variability in upper and lower lumbar angles over the 15-minute ergometer trial, 4) positioned their upper lumbar spine closer to end range flexion for a greater proportion of the drive phase, and 5) showed increased time in sustained flexion loading in the upper lumbar spine. Differences in regional lumbar kinematics exist between adolescent male rowers with and without LBP, which may have injury implication and intervention strategies
Dynamical Instabilities and Deterministic Chaos in Ballistic Electron Motion in Semiconductor Superlattices
We consider the motion of ballistic electrons within a superlattice miniband
under the influence of an alternating electric field. We show that the
interaction of electrons with the self-consistent electromagnetic field
generated by the electron current may lead to the transition from regular to
chaotic dynamics. We estimate the conditions for the experimental observation
of this deterministic chaos and discuss the similarities of the superlattice
system with the other condensed matter and quantum optical systems.Comment: 6 pages, RevTEX; 4 fig
Detection of Galactic Center source G2 at 3.8 m during periapse passage
We report new observations of the Galactic Center source G2 from the W. M.
Keck Observatory. G2 is a dusty red object associated with gas that shows tidal
interactions as it nears closest approach with the Galaxy's central black hole.
Our observations, conducted as G2 passed through periapse, were designed to
test the proposal that G2 is a 3 earth mass gas cloud. Such a cloud should be
tidally disrupted during periapse passage. The data were obtained using the
Keck II laser guide star adaptive optics system (LGSAO) and the facility
near-infrared camera (NIRC2) through the K' [2.1 m] and L' [3.8 m]
broadband filters. Several results emerge from these observations: 1) G2 has
survived its closest approach to the black hole as a compact, unresolved source
at L'; 2) G2's L' brightness measurements are consistent with those over the
last decade; 3) G2's motion continues to be consistent with a Keplerian model.
These results rule out G2 as a pure gas cloud and imply that G2 has a central
star. This star has a luminosity of 30 and is surrounded by
a large (2.6 AU) optically thick dust shell. The differences between the
L' and Br- observations can be understood with a model in which L' and
Br- emission arises primarily from internal and external heating,
respectively. We suggest that G2 is a binary star merger product and will
ultimately appear similar to the B-stars that are tightly clustered around the
black hole (the so-called S-star cluster).Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters, 2014 October 1
Preparation and Crystal Structure of a Platinum(II) Complex of [CH2N(CH2COOH)CH2CONH2]2, the Hydrolysis Product of an Anti-Tumour Bis(3,5-Dioxopiperazin-1-YL)Alkane
The synthesis and crystal and molecular structures of the platinum(II) complex
Pt(HL)Cl where H2L is the diacid diamide –[CH2N(CH2COOH)CH2CONH2]2, a
hydrolytic metabolite of an antitumour active bis(3,5-dioxopiperazin-1-yl)alkane are
reported. The complex is square planar and contains HL– as a tridentate 2N (amino),
O (carboxylate) donor. The metal to ligand bond distances are Pt-Cl 2.287(1) Å, Pt-O
2.002 (1) Å, Pt-Ntrans Cl 2.014(1) Å and Pt-Ntrans O 2.073 Å. There is extensive
hydrogen bonding, each molecule of Pt(HL)Cl being intermolecularly hydrogen
bonded to ten others giving a 3-dimensional network. There is also one
intramolecular H-bond
Australian human research ethics committee members' confidence in reviewing genomic research applications.
Human research ethics committees (HRECs) are evaluating increasing quantities of genomic research applications with complex ethical considerations. Genomic confidence is reportedly low amongst many non-genetics-experts; however, no studies have evaluated genomic confidence levels in HREC members specifically. This study used online surveys to explore genomic confidence levels, predictors of confidence, and genomics resource needs of members from 185 HRECs across Australia. Surveys were fully or partially completed by 145 members. All reported having postgraduate 94 (86%) and/or bachelor 15 (14%) degrees. Participants consisted mainly of researchers (n = 45, 33%) and lay members (n = 41, 30%), affiliated with either public health services (n = 73, 51%) or public universities (n = 31, 22%). Over half had served their HREC [Formula: see text]3 years. Fifty (44%) reviewed genomic studies [Formula: see text]3 times annually. Seventy (60%) had undertaken some form of genomic education. While most (94/103, 91%) had high genomic literacy based on familiarity with genomic terms, average genomic confidence scores (GCS) were moderate (5.7/10, n = 119). Simple linear regression showed that GCS was positively associated with years of HREC service, frequency of reviewing genomic applications, undertaking self-reported genomic education, and familiarity with genomic terms (p < 0.05 for all). Conversely, lay members and/or those relying on others when reviewing genomic studies had lower GCSs (p < 0.05 for both). Most members (n = 83, 76%) agreed further resources would be valuable when reviewing genomic research applications, and online courses and printed materials were preferred. In conclusion, even well-educated HREC members familiar with genomic terms lack genomic confidence, which could be enhanced with additional genomic education and/or resources
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