Outreach and Engagement in Thailand

For the past two years I have been fortunate to have been invited to give seminars and workshops at Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University located in the city of Maha Sarakham in northeast Thailand. The northeast of Thailand is often referred to as the Isan area because the culture and the people were heavily influenced by the Lao people. The area is drier than other parts of Thailand, and the economy of the Isan area and Maha Sarakham province are largely agricultural. However, the city of Maha Sarakham is the center of education for the Isan area. Besides being home to Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University, it also features Maha Sarakham University, a large comprehensive university, and several smaller colleges and institutes. The population of Maha Sarakham doubles when all the universities, colleges, and institutes are in session

Prepare to be shocked: Hypermedia does not improve learning!

We reviewed the findings of 35 experimental studies of hypermedia use in educational tasks which emphasized quantitative, empirical methods to assess learning outcomes. The review found three broad themes in the literature: studies of learner comprehension compared across hypermedia and between other media; effects on learning outcome of the increased learner control offered users in hypermedia environments, and the individual differences that exist in learner response to hypermedia. The findings indicate that the benefits of hypermedia in education are limited to learning tasks reliant on repeated manipulation and searching of information. There exist significant individual differences in the response of learners to this technology. The majority of findings do not provide eviudence for increased learning in hypermedia environments, a conclusion that runs contrary to the popular advocacy of this technology for training and education

The Interdisciplinary Influence of Library and Information Science 1996–2004: A Journal-to-Journal Citation Analysis

Using citation data from Journal Citation Reports (JCR) 1996–2004, this research replicates Meyer and Spencer's analysis of other-field citations to Library and Information Science (LIS) journals from 1972 to 1994. After 1994, JCR added LIS journals emphasizing empirical, information science research and simultaneously dropped journals addressing the profession of librarianship. The newly added journals attract a broader interdisciplinary readership—a readership reflected in a 14 percent increase in other-field citations of the LIS journals. The LIS journals included in both this and the Meyer and Spencer research, a list dominated by titles frequently read and cited by others in the LIS discipline, have not received an equal increase in other-field citations

Hypermedia as an educational technology: a review of the empirical literature on learner comprehension, control and style

Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon and Gabbard (1998) Hypermedia as an educational technology: a review of the empirical literature on learner comprehension, control and style. Review of Educational Research, 68(3), 322, 349. Reprinted in P. Smith and A. Pellegrinni (eds.) (2000) The Psychology of Education: Major Themes, London: Routledge, 3, 496-531. Abstract: By virtue of its enabling rapid, non-linear access to multiple forms of information, hypermedia technology is considered a major advance in the development of educational tools to enhance learning and a massive literature on the use of hypermedia in education has emerged. The present review examines the published findings from experimental studies of hypermedia which emphasized quantitative, empirical methods to assess learning outcomes. Specifically, the review categorizes this research into three themes: studies of learner comprehension compared across hypermedia and other media; effects on learning outcome offered by increased learner control in hypermedia environments, and the individual differences that exist in learner response to hypermedia. The review concludes that to date, the benefits of hypermedia in education are limited to learning tasks reliant on repeated manipulation and searching of information, and are differentially distributed across learners depending on their ability and preferred learning style. Methodological and analytical shortcomings in this literature limit the generalizability of all findings in this domain. Suggestions for addressing these problems in future research and theory development are outlined

Polymerase discordance in novel swine influenza H3N2v constellations is tolerated in swine but not human respiratory epithelial cells.

Swine-origin H3N2v, a variant of H3N2 influenza virus, is a concern for novel reassortment with circulating pandemic H1N1 influenza virus (H1N1pdm09) in swine because this can lead to the emergence of a novel pandemic virus. In this study, the reassortment prevalence of H3N2v with H1N1pdm09 was determined in swine cells. Reassortants evaluated showed that the H1N1pdm09 polymerase (PA) segment occurred within swine H3N2 with ∼ 80% frequency. The swine H3N2-human H1N1pdm09 PA reassortant (swH3N2-huPA) showed enhanced replication in swine cells, and was the dominant gene constellation. Ferrets infected with swH3N2-huPA had increased lung pathogenicity compared to parent viruses; however, swH3N2-huPA replication in normal human bronchoepithelial cells was attenuated - a feature linked to expression of IFN-β and IFN-λ genes in human but not swine cells. These findings indicate that emergence of novel H3N2v influenza constellations require more than changes in the viral polymerase complex to overcome barriers to cross-species transmission. Additionally, these findings reveal that while the ferret model is highly informative for influenza studies, slight differences in pathogenicity may not necessarily be indicative of human outcomes after infection

Reassortment outcomes following human H1N1 pdm09 and swine H3N2 co-infection.

<p>Segments originating from pdm09 origin (light colored) and swH3N2 (dark-colored) are shown after co-infection in NSBE cells (left) and PK-1 cells. Primer and probes specific to parental strains pdm09 and swH3N2 gene segments were used and from left to right in the matrix correspond to PA, PB2, M, NS, NA and HA. All reassortant plaques identified are categorized by HA and NA backbone type. In total, 121 reassortants for PK-1 cells and 45 reassortants for NSBE cells were evaluated. The number of virus plaques showing 6-gene non-reassortment and the top 6 reassortant types are summarized below profile matrix.</p

Reassortment findings after eight serial passages.

<p>Co-infection was performed in (A) PK-1 cells and (B) NSBE cells. While pdm09 and swH3N2 parent viruses were evident the only reassortant constellation identified was the PA segment of human pdm09 (light colored, “Hu”) within seven gene segments from swH3N2 (dark colored, “Sw”). Mixed gene segments with Ct values <8 are depicted as hash marks. Serial passaging was done in triplicate with a starting MOI of either 1.0 or 0.1 for each virus as indicated. To the left of (A) PK-1 cells and (B) NSBE cells is the kinetics of PA acquisition and loss for a MOI = 1∶1. Depicted is the first replicate shown from matrix. (C) 12 plaques with PA gene of pdm09 and 5 segments of swH3N2 from reassortant studies (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0110264#pone-0110264-g001" target="_blank">Fig. 1</a>) were subjected to qPCR do delineate the final two segments, NP and PB1. Depicted on right, 11 of 12 reassortants were determined to be swH3N2-huPA, and 1 of 12 reassortants to be swH3N2-huPA-PB1.</p