A cognitive approach to user perception of multimedia quality: An empirical investigation

Whilst multimedia technology has been one of the main contributing factors behind the Web's success, delivery of personalized multimedia content has been a desire seldom achieved in practice. Moreover, the perspective adopted is rarely viewed from a cognitive styles standpoint, notwithstanding the fact that they have significant effects on users’ preferences with respect to the presentation of multimedia content. Indeed, research has thus far neglected to examine the effect of cognitive styles on users’ subjective perceptions of multimedia quality. This paper aims to examine the relationships between users’ cognitive styles, the multimedia quality of service delivered by the underlying network, and users’ quality of perception (understood as both enjoyment and informational assimilation) associated with the viewed multimedia content. Results from the empirical study reported here show that all users, regardless of cognitive style, have higher levels of understanding of informational content in multimedia video clips (represented in our study by excerpts from television programmes) with weak dynamism, but that they enjoy moderately dynamic clips most. Additionally, multimedia content was found to significantly influence users’ levels of understanding and enjoyment. Surprisingly, our study highlighted the fact that Bimodal users prefer to draw on visual sources for informational purposes, and that the presence of text in multimedia clips has a detrimental effect on the knowledge acquisition of all three cognitive style groups

A Survey of Learning Styles of Engineering Students

This study examined the learning styles of engineering students using the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) developed by Soloman and Felder (Soloman & Felder, 2002), the Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA) developed by Riding (Riding, 1991), and the Learning Style Inventory (LSI) developed by Kolb (Kolb, 1993). Thirty-five graduate and thirty-six undergraduate engineering students took each of the assessments. There was a strong preference for the visual category on the ILS, but an even split for the imagery/verbal dimension on the CSA. Scores were also evenly split on the active/reflective and sequential/global dimensions on the ILS. Another strong preference was seen for the analytic category on the CSA. On the LSI, most students' scores indicated a preference for the convergent category and no student scores were in the divergent category. An overview of each of the instruments as well as a summary of student learning needs for each of the dimensions is presented.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Aetiology and Treatment Outcome of Non-traumatic Small Bowel Perforations at Mbarara Hospital in South-Western Uganda

Background: Non-traumatic small bowel perforation (SBP) is the most common form of gastrointestinal perforation in sub-Saharan Africa. Although SBP is a surgical emergency associated with complications, information regarding its aetiology is scanty in Uganda. This study was aimed at determining the aetiology and document treatment outcomes of non-traumatic small bowel perforations in South-western Uganda. Methods: This was a descriptive case series of 87 consenting patients with non-traumatic SBP confirmed at laparotomy, on the emergency ward of Mbarara University Teaching Hospital. They were enrolled from September 2011 to May 2012. Specimens for blood culture, stool microscopy, HIV testing and tissue biopsies at the site of perforation were collected and analyzed. Patient follow-up was done till discharge. Results: Of the 78 biopsies performed, 66(84.6%) had histological features suggestive of typhoid perforations while 12(15.4%) had features of non-specific inflammation. Salmonella typhi was isolated in 13(15.0%) out of the 87 patients. Isolates were susceptible to Ceftriaxone and Ciprofloxacin. All patients tested HIV negative. Ascaris lumbricoides were seen in two patients. Re-laparotomy was done in four patients with new perforations, two with anastomotic breakdown and two with intra-abdominal abscesses. Wound sepsis was observed in 25(28.7%). Average length of hospital stay was 13 days. Some 10(11.5%) patients died. Conclusions: Most cases of non-traumatic SBP in south western Uganda are associated with Salmonella infection. There is need to enhance laboratory capacity to detect typhoid and preventive measures should be instituted in the general population

SurF: an innovative framework in biosecurity and animal health surveillance evaluation

Surveillance for biosecurity hazards is being conducted by the New Zealand Competent Authority, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to support New Zealand's biosecurity system. Surveillance evaluation should be an integral part of the surveillance life cycle, as it provides a means to identify and correct problems and to sustain and enhance the existing strengths of a surveillance system. The surveillance evaluation Framework (SurF) presented here was developed to provide a generic framework within which the MPI biosecurity surveillance portfolio, and all of its components, can be consistently assessed. SurF is an innovative, cross‐sectoral effort that aims to provide a common umbrella for surveillance evaluation in the animal, plant, environment and aquatic sectors. It supports the conduct of the following four distinct components of an evaluation project: (i) motivation for the evaluation, (ii) scope of the evaluation, (iii) evaluation design and implementation and (iv) reporting and communication of evaluation outputs. Case studies, prepared by MPI subject matter experts, are included in the framework to guide users in their assessment. Three case studies were used in the development of SurF in order to assure practical utility and to confirm usability of SurF across all included sectors. It is anticipated that the structured approach and information provided by SurF will not only be of benefit to MPI but also to other New Zealand stakeholders. Although SurF was developed for internal use by MPI, it could be applied to any surveillance system in New Zealand or elsewhere

Apparent diffusivity model for concrete containing supplementary cementitious materials

Concrete’s resistance to chloride diffusion is one of the primary factors governing the concrete structure service life and life-cycle costs. This paper presents a new model developed for estimating the apparent concrete diffusivity based on the mixture proportions, cementitious materials used, and concrete age. The model includes the effects of supplementary cementitious material types commonly found in other service life models such as fly ash, ground-granulated blast-furnace slag, and silica fume. Also included are ultra-fine fly ash and metakaolin, which were not available in previous service life models. For validation of the model, chloride profiles have been measured on concrete blocks exposed daily to seawater for 25 years at the Treat Island, ME concrete exposure site. Concrete mixtures tested as part of the validation dataset contained up to 80% ground-granulated blast-furnace slag, 25% fly ash, or 20% silica fume, and were compared against the predicted values and are presented in this paper

On Their Own: How Thirty-One Tribal Colleges Address Five Educational Concepts

This qualitative research, specifically a content analysis of 31 tribal colleges' mission statements and curricula, examined how the colleges' curricula aligned with the five educational concepts suggested in the colleges' mission statements. Cajete's (1994) seven foundations to indigenous thinking proved to be a major theoretical framework which provided a worldview for tribal learning. The study concluded that whereas the five educational concepts aligned between mission statements and curricula, the curricula emphasized culture, tribal community, and academic success at a greater level than mission statements indicated. Further, tribal colleges' curricula did not emphasize economic concepts as the mission statements indicated. A particular finding suggests that tribal colleges' are investing in environmental studies programs, thus increasing their intellectual capacity to protect their environmental interests while promoting indigenous thinking and community learning across all academic disciplines. Considerable implications include that an increase of American Indian environmental studies graduates may have a positive impact on environmental justice matters as well as the ability to promote new agricultural technologies. Additional implications include how mainstream universities will adapt to an increase of native students studying the sciences rather than liberal arts

The Paleocene of Antarctica: dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy and implications for the palaeo-Pacific margin of Gondwana

The Paleocene (66–56 Ma) was a critical time interval for understanding recovery from mass extinction in high palaeolatitudes when global climate was warmer than today. A unique sedimentary succession from Seymour Island (Antarctic Peninsula) provides key reference material from this important phase of the early Cenozoic. Dinoflagellate cyst data from a 376 m thick stratigraphical section, including the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, is correlated with biozones from New Zealand, the East Tasman Plateau and southeastern Australia. A detailed age model is suggested for the López de Bertodano (LDBF) and Sobral (SF) formations based on dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy and U-Pb dating of zircons, supported by correlated magnetostratigraphy and strontium isotope values from macrofossils. The top of the LDBF is confirmed as latest Maastrichtian to earliest Danian (~ 66.2–65.65 Ma) in age. The overlying SF is mostly Danian in age, with an inferred hiatus near the top overlain by sediments dated as? late Thanetian. Rare Apectodinium homomorphum first appear in the uppermost SF; the first in situ record from Antarctica. The distribution of marine and terrestrial fossils from uppermost Cretaceous to Eocene sediments in Patagonia, Antarctica, New Zealand and Australia required both sea and land connections between these fragments of Gondwana. Fossil evidence and reconstructions of Antarctic palaeogeography and palaeotopography reveals evidence for persistent embayments in the proto-Weddell and Ross Sea regions at this time. We conclude that a coastal dispersal route along the palaeo-Pacific margin of Gondwana could explain the fossil distribution without requiring a transAntarctic strait or closely spaced archipelago. A region in the West to East Antarctic boundary zone, elevated until the early Paleogene, perhaps acted as a site for high elevation ice caps. This supports fossil, geochemical and sedimentological evidence for cold climate intervals and significant sea level falls during the Maastrichtian and Paleocene

The role of the exit in the initial screening of investment opportunities: The case of business angel syndicate gatekeepers

The exit process has been largely ignored in business angel research.. The practitioner community identifies the difficulty in achieving exits as the most pressing problem for investors. This has been attributed to the failure of investors to adopt an exit-centric approach to investing. The validity of this claim is examined via a study of the investment approach of 21 ‘gatekeepers’ (managers) of angel groups in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Most gatekeepers say that they do consider the exit when they invest. However, this is contradicted by a verbal protocol analysis which indicates that the exit is not a significant consideration in their initial screening process. The small number of exits achieved by the groups is consistent with the general lack of an exit-centric approach to investing. Only three groups exhibit evidence of a strong exit-centric approach to investing. The lack of exits may have a negative impact on the level of future angel investment activity