An investigation of computer generated knowledge retention activities in computer-based training with adult learners

The goal of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of training and the effectiveness of different types of knowledge retention activities delivered by computer-based training programs. This study focused on a computer-based learning system called the Profound Learning Delivery System (PLS). PLS is an application designed to improve the content knowledge retention of adult learners who are completing computer-based training. This study used a pretest-posttest experimental design to compare adult learners’ knowledge of Microsoft Outlook ( Outlook, 1997) before and after a computer-based training session. Participants were trained using two different computer-based instructional programs; a commercially available software program matched for comparison purposes and PLS. This comparison involved three different formats for post-instruction retention activities that were; no review activities, user generated review activities, and program generated retention activities. Results indicate, there was a significant difference between the groups 60 days after training. This result demonstrated that PLS has potential worth exploring

The Graininess of Dark Matter Haloes

We use the recently completed one billion particle Via Lactea II LambdaCDM simulation to investigate local properties like density, mean velocity, velocity dispersion, anisotropy, orientation and shape of the velocity dispersion ellipsoid, as well as structure in velocity space of dark matter haloes. We show that at the same radial distance from the halo centre, these properties can deviate by orders of magnitude from the canonical, spherically averaged values, a variation that can only be partly explained by triaxiality and the presence of subhaloes. The mass density appears smooth in the central relaxed regions but spans four orders of magnitude in the outskirts, both because of the presence of subhaloes as well as of underdense regions and holes in the matter distribution. In the inner regions the local velocity dispersion ellipsoid is aligned with the shape ellipsoid of the halo. This is not true in the outer parts where the orientation becomes more isotropic. The clumpy structure in local velocity space of the outer halo can not be well described by a smooth multivariate normal distribution. Via Lactea II also shows the presence of cold streams made visible by their high 6D phase space density. Generally, the structure of dark matter haloes shows a high degree of graininess in phase space that cannot be described by a smooth distribution function.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication by MNRA

Youth Connectedness Mitigates the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Adolescent Substance Use in a Rural Midwest County

Background: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) increase the risk of adolescent substance abuse. Positive youth connections may mitigate these negative effects. We test whether and how home and school connectedness influences adolescent substance use. Methods: Youth (N=1651 6 th to 8 th graders, N=565, 10 th graders) from a rural, Midwestern low to middle income school district completed a baseline questionnaire prior to a health education program. The outcome, substance use, was a mean index of eight reported substance use behaviors (tobacco, electronic vapor, alcohol, any marijuana [organic or synthetic], prescription pills, inhalants, IV injection; all 6 categories: never to 40+ times). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate both the direct and indirect relationships between ACEs (middle school (MS), α =.700; high school (HS), α=.740), school- (MS α =.805; HS α=.833) and parent- connectedness (MS α =.923; HS α=.942) and substance use (Stata, 15.1). Results: Higher ACEs was directly associated with lower school connectedness (MS: B=-0.29, p<.000; HS: B=- 0.27, p<.000) and lower parent connectedness (MS: B=-0.16, p<.000; HS: B=-0.23, p<.000). Higher school connectedness (MS: B=-0.19; p<.000; HS: B=-0.14, p<.000), higher parent connectedness (MS: B=-0.09; p<.000; HS: B=-0.209, p<.000) and lower ACEs (MS: B=0.27; p<.000; HS: B=-.17, p<000) all directly associated with lower substance use. The impact of ACEs on substance use was mitigated indirectly through higher school connectedness (MS: B=0.01, p<.000; HS: B=0.03, p<.000) and parent connectedness (MS: B=0.03, p<.000; HS: B=-=0.01, p<.000). Conclusion: Prevention programs should be trauma-informed and incorporate parent-youth and teacher-student components

Dark Matter Direct Detection with Non-Maxwellian Velocity Structure

The velocity distribution function of dark matter particles is expected to show significant departures from a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. This can have profound effects on the predicted dark matter - nucleon scattering rates in direct detection experiments, especially for dark matter models in which the scattering is sensitive to the high velocity tail of the distribution, such as inelastic dark matter (iDM) or light (few GeV) dark matter (LDM), and for experiments that require high energy recoil events, such as many directionally sensitive experiments. Here we determine the velocity distribution functions from two of the highest resolution numerical simulations of Galactic dark matter structure (Via Lactea II and GHALO), and study the effects for these scenarios. For directional detection, we find that the observed departures from Maxwell-Boltzmann increase the contrast of the signal and change the typical direction of incoming DM particles. For iDM, the expected signals at direct detection experiments are changed dramatically: the annual modulation can be enhanced by more than a factor two, and the relative rates of DAMA compared to CDMS can change by an order of magnitude, while those compared to CRESST can change by a factor of two. The spectrum of the signal can also change dramatically, with many features arising due to substructure. For LDM the spectral effects are smaller, but changes do arise that improve the compatibility with existing experiments. We find that the phase of the modulation can depend upon energy, which would help discriminate against background should it be found.Comment: 34 pages, 16 figures, submitted to JCAP. Tables of g(v_min), the integral of f(v)/v from v_min to infinity, derived from our simulations, are available for download at http://astro.berkeley.edu/~mqk/dmdd

The Grizzly, November 9, 1984

Program Board Attends Activities Conference • Fraternity Sponsors Thanksgiving Food Drive • Smith Addresses Value of Liberal Arts • Editorials: Newspaper Reflects Campus News and Views; Pulling the Big Lever • Letters to the Editor: Mock Election Coverage Questioned; Intervention Policy Must Go • College Bowl Season Underway • Ursinus in a Box • Shorts: Ec. Council Programs; Photo Exhibit in Library; Turkey Trot; UPB Trips Scheduled; Dutch Folk Songs; USGA Report • Bear Booters Win ECA Conference Bid • Runners Second in MAC\u27s • A Student\u27s View of The Training Facility • Mers Shine at Relay Carnival • Middle East Forum Scheduled • Theater Review: A Thurber Carnival • Student Teachers Hard at Work • News of Yesteryear: Judy Collins to Appear in Concert at Ursinushttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1127/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, November 9, 1984

Program Board Attends Activities Conference • Fraternity Sponsors Thanksgiving Food Drive • Smith Addresses Value of Liberal Arts • Editorials: Newspaper Reflects Campus News and Views; Pulling the Big Lever • Letters to the Editor: Mock Election Coverage Questioned; Intervention Policy Must Go • College Bowl Season Underway • Ursinus in a Box • Shorts: Ec. Council Programs; Photo Exhibit in Library; Turkey Trot; UPB Trips Scheduled; Dutch Folk Songs; USGA Report • Bear Booters Win ECA Conference Bid • Runners Second in MAC\u27s • A Student\u27s View of The Training Facility • Mers Shine at Relay Carnival • Middle East Forum Scheduled • Theater Review: A Thurber Carnival • Student Teachers Hard at Work • News of Yesteryear: Judy Collins to Appear in Concert at Ursinushttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1127/thumbnail.jp

Protest Cycles and Political Process: American Peace Movements in the Nuclear Age

Since the dawn of the nuclear age small groups of activists have consistently protested both the content of United States national security policy, and the process by which it is made. Only occasionally, however, has concern about nuclear weapons spread beyond these relatively marginal groups, generated substantial public support, and reached mainstream political institutions. In this paper, I use histories of peace protest and analyses of the inside of these social movements and theoretical work on protest cycles to explain cycles of movement engagement and quiescence in terms of their relation to external political context, or the "structure of political opportunity." I begin with a brief review of the relevant literature on the origins of movements, noting parallels in the study of interest groups. Building on recent literature on political opportunity structure, I suggest a theoretical framework for understanding the lifecycle of a social movement that emphasizes the interaction between activist choices and political context, proposing a six-stage process through which challenging movements develop. Using this theoretical framework I examine the four cases of relatively broad antinuclear weapons mobilization in postwar America. I conclude with a discussion of movement cycles and their relation to political alignment, public policy, and institutional politics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68552/2/10.1177_106591299304600302.pd

Systems genetics identifies a convergent gene network for cognition and neurodevelopmental disease

Genetic determinants of cognition are poorly characterized, and their relationship to genes that confer risk for neurodevelopmental disease is unclear. Here we performed a systems-level analysis of genome-wide gene expression data to infer gene-regulatory networks conserved across species and brain regions. Two of these networks, M1 and M3, showed replicable enrichment for common genetic variants underlying healthy human cognitive abilities, including memory. Using exome sequence data from 6,871 trios, we found that M3 genes were also enriched for mutations ascertained from patients with neurodevelopmental disease generally, and intellectual disability and epileptic encephalopathy in particular. M3 consists of 150 genes whose expression is tightly developmentally regulated, but which are collectively poorly annotated for known functional pathways. These results illustrate how systems-level analyses can reveal previously unappreciated relationships between neurodevelopmental disease–associated genes in the developed human brain, and provide empirical support for a convergent gene-regulatory network influencing cognition and neurodevelopmental disease