\u3cem\u3eDistracted\u3c/em\u3e In Practice

Background - Distractions create well-known impediments to student learning. Many researchers have proposed techniques to overcome the challenges associated with distractions in the classroom.Purpose - Our study investigates instructors’ experiences in using various theories and practices in a variety of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) and HSS (Humanities & Social Sciences) classrooms applied in a post-secondary setting. We examine how well the techniques work in practice, investigating questions such as which techniques were most employed, whether instructors perceived improvements in student engagement, and whether instructors plan to use the techniques in the future or advocate the use of the techniques to their colleagues.Method - We gathered a total of 42 survey responses from instructors across 16 departments reporting on 112 experiences using these techniques. The instructors, who were primarily junior faculty, were participants in a faculty development program over the course of one academic year that discussed the use of counter-distraction techniques proposed as a framework for improving engagement.Results - Instructors reported that student engagement improved, or stayed about the same, in all reported experiences applying these techniques to reduce distraction. Instructors perceived improved engagement in 82 of the 112 experiences. In fact, for 103 of the 112 experiences, instructors reported that they were likely to use the techniques in their classroom again.Conclusions – Our analysis of these techniques supports the claim that these practices help address the challenges of distracted students, though we would like to extend the study to more instructors, with increased variety of experiences, across more disciplines, and covering the full gamut of presented techniques

Learning from Trade Through Innovation: Causal Link Between Imports, Exports and Innovation in Spanish Microdata

The paper explores the learning from trade hypothesis. Standardized research approach searchs for learning effects from trade focusing solely on exports, whereby firm's learning effects are accounted in the firm of total factor productivity improvements. In contrast, this papers defines a firm learning from trade in tfirms of introduction of either new products or processes induced by its import and export links with foreign markets. By using microdata for a large sample of Spanish firms, including data on innovation and trade, we find clear sequencing between imports, exports and innovation. The results suggest that firms learn primarily from import links, which enables them to innovate products and processes and to dress up for starting to export. In a sequence, exporting may enable firms to introduce further innovations. These positive learning effects from trade, however, seem to be limited to small and partially medium firms only. On the other side, firms that are closer to the relevant technological frontier seem to benefit more from trading activities in tfirms of innovation than the technological laggard firms

SynRGen: An extensible file reference generator

Abstract SynRGen, a synthetic file reference generator operating at the system call level, is capable of modelinga wide variety of usage environments. It achieves realism through trace-inspired micromodels and flexibility by combining these micromodels stochastically. A micromodel is a parameterized piece ofcode that captures the distinctive signature of an application. We have used SynRGen extensively for stress testing the Coda File System. We have also performed a controlled experiment that demonstratesSynRGen's ability to closely emulate real users- within 20 % of many key system variables. In this paper we present the rationale, detailed design, and evaluation of SynRGen, and mention its applicability tobroader uses such as performance evaluation. 1 Introduction Transforming a file system from an initial prototype into a fully deployed system is a process fraught with hazard. Manyinsidious bugs will only be triggered under heavy loads and extended usage. But fear of serious failures, involving loss of data and lengthy downtime, deters many potential users. How, then, can implementors hope to increase therobustness of their system

The importance of translucence in mobile computing systems

Mobile computing has been an active area of research for the past decade, but its importance will increase substantially in the decade to come. One problem faced by designers of mobile systems is that of maintaining the illusion of connectivity even when network performance is poor or nonexistent. The Coda file system uses its cache to maintain this illusion. Extensive experience with the system suggests that, although users find the functionality provided by the system extremely valuable, new users face an arduous learning curve and even experienced users are sometimes confused by the system’s behavior. The fundamental problem is that the lack of a strong network connection causes the system to violate a key property of caching: transparency. To overcome this problem, we have built an interface, called the CodaConsole, that makes caching translucent to users through controlled exposure of cache management internals. The interface exposes critical aspects of caching to support the mobile user while hiding noncritical details to preserve usability. This article presents the design, implementation, and usability evaluation of this interface. The CodaConsole successfully makes caching translucent in the presence of disconnected or weakly connected operation. The most surprising result was that novice Coda users performed almost as well as experienced Coda users

Overcoming the Network Bottleneck in Mobile Computing

this paper we argue that prescient caching and smart scheduling are key techniques for overcoming the network bottleneck