A Prediction-Based Framework to Reduce Procrastination in Adaptive Learning Systems

Procrastination and other types of dilatory behaviour are common in online learning, especially in higher education. While procrastination is associated with worse performance and discomfort, positive forms of delay can be used as a deliberate strategy without any such consequences. Although dilatory behaviour has received attention in research, it has to my knowledge never been included as an integral part of an adaptive learning system. Differentiating between different types of delay within such a system would allow for tailored interventions to be provided in the future without alienating students who use delay as a successful strategy. In this thesis, I present four studies that provide the basis for such an endeavour. I first discuss the results of two studies that focussed on the prediction of the extent of dilatory behaviour in online assignments. The results of both studies revealed an advantage of objective predictors based on log data over subjective variables based on questionnaires. The predictive performance slightly improved when both sets of predictors were combined. In one of these studies, we implemented Bayesian multilevel models while the other aimed at comparing various machine learning algorithms to determine the best candidates for a future inclusion in real-time predictive models. The results reveal that the most suitable algorithm depended on the type of predictor, implying that multiple models should be implemented in the field, rather than selecting just one. I then present a framework for an adaptive learning system based on the other two studies, where I highlight how dilatory behaviour can be incorporated into such a system, in light of the previously discussed results. I conclude this thesis by providing an outlook into the necessary next steps before an adaptive learning system focussing on delay can be established

The reader's feeling and text-based emotions : the relationship between subjective self-reports, lexical ratings, and sentiment analysis

In this study, we examined how precisely a sentiment analysis and a word list-based lexical analysis predict the emotional valence (as positive or negative emotional states) of 63 emotional short stories. Both the sentiment analysis and the word list-based analysis predicted subjective valence, which however was predicted even more precisely when both analysis methods were combined. These results can, for example, contribute to the development of new technology-based teaching designs, in that positive or negative emotions in the texts or online-contributions of students can be assessed in automated form and transferred into instructional measures. Such instructional actions can, for example, be hints, learning support or feedback adapted to the students' emotional state

El enlace faltante entre cadenas globales de producción y ciudades globales: el servicio financiero en Ciudad de México y Santiago de Chile

Desde los años ochenta, las economías de México y Chile pasaron por un profundo proceso de globalización. En cuanto a las ciudades capitales de ambospaises, esta globalización implicó una nodalización, que se ve en una concentración alta de los funciones de gestión económica. Intentamos especificar la relación entre la formación de ciudades globales y la profundizad ón de la integración global por medio de un estudio de casos prácticos de proveedores de servicios financieros. Usando los datos de transacciones del mercado de valores, analizamos la implicación de instituciones financieras (locales y globales) en emisiones de bonos y acciones de las 50 empresas mejor posicionadas de México y Chile. Con nuestra investigación empírica inicialde intermediarios de servicios financieros, que proveen servicios a las corporaciones más importantes en México y en Chile, damos el primer paso para especificar cómo se relacionan las dos redes trans-estatales basadas en empresas -las redes de ciudades globales y de producciónSince the 1980s, the economies of Mexico and Chile have passed through a profound process of globalisation. The result has been a nodalisation of the cities' economies, documented by their high concentration of command and control functions essential for economic globalization. In order to specif the relationship between global city formation and the deepening of global integration we draw on the findings of the global city and global commodity chain literature. Since advanced producer services have been identified as key actors in interlocking de-centralized production sites and urban networks we have analyzed the involvement of financial institutions in bond and share issues of the 50 top ranked Mexican and Chilean enterprises. Based on this initial empirical investigation we take a first step to specif how the two firm-based, trans-state networks -global city- and global production networks - relat

Reduced peroxisomal import triggers peroxisomal retrograde signaling

Maintaining organelle function in the face of stress is known to involve organelle-specific retrograde signaling. Using Caenorhabditis elegans, we present evidence of the existence of such retrograde signaling for peroxisomes, which we define as the peroxisomal retrograde signaling (PRS). Specifically, we show that peroxisomal import stress caused by knockdown of the peroxisomal matrix import receptor prx-5/PEX5 triggers NHR-49/peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPAR alpha)- and MDT-15/MED15-dependent upregulation of the peroxisomal Lon protease lonp-2/LONP2 and the peroxisomal catalase ctl-2/CAT. Using proteomic and transcriptomic analyses, we show that proteins involved in peroxisomal lipid metabolism and immunity are also upregulated upon prx-5(RNAi). While the PRS can be triggered by perturbation of peroxisomal beta-oxidation, we also observed hallmarks of PRS activation upon infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We propose that the PRS, in addition to a role in lipid metabolism homeostasis, may act as a surveillance mechanism to protect against pathogens.11Nsciescopu

A gamma-secretase-like intramembrane cleavage of TNFalpha by the GxGD aspartyl protease SPPL2b.

Gamma-secretase and signal peptide peptidase (SPP) are unusual GxGD aspartyl proteases, which mediate intramembrane proteolysis. In addition to SPP, a family of SPP-like proteins (SPPLs) of unknown function has been identified. We demonstrate that SPPL2b utilizes multiple intramembrane cleavages to liberate the intracellular domain of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) into the cytosol and the carboxy-terminal counterpart into the extracellular space. These findings suggest common principles for regulated intramembrane proteolysis by GxGD aspartyl proteases

A γ-secretase-like intramembrane cleavage of TNFα by the GxGD aspartyl protease SPPL2b

Gamma-secretase and signal peptide peptidase (SPP) are unusual GxGD aspartyl proteases, which mediate intramembrane proteolysis. In addition to SPP, a family of SPP-like proteins (SPPLs) of unknown function has been identified. We demonstrate that SPPL2b utilizes multiple intramembrane cleavages to liberate the intracellular domain of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) into the cytosol and the carboxy-terminal counterpart into the extracellular space. These findings suggest common principles for regulated intramembrane proteolysis by GxGD aspartyl proteases