28 research outputs found

    Moses Mendelssohn: the Modern Jew that Did Not Start It All

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    Moses Mendelssohn is commonly cited as the Jew that instigated the development of modern Jewry, but this paper contests some of these traditional perceptions. While it is ackowledged that Mendelssohn was a unique figure in modern Jewish history, his role as the originator of a modern movement is brought into question. Evidence focuses on groups and individuals that entered the modern age both socially and intellecturally prior to Mendelssohn, and it also questions just how much modern Jewry has used Mendelssoh\u27s life and work as an example and inspiration. The bigger issue called into question, beyond Mendelssohn, is that of whether it is possible to identify an idividual\u27s life as the beginning of an era

    USE OF BIOMETRICS TO DETERMINE BIOCHEMISTRY KNOWLEDGE LEVEL DIFFERENCES IN READING AND PROCESSING METABOLIC PATHWAYS

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    The areas of chemistry and biochemistry commonly use external representations to enhance learning for students. The use of schematics and representations for illustrating metabolic pathways is a familiar image in most biochemistry textbooks. These external representations can be the key to student understanding. To date, there has not been any previous research specifically focused on the areas of interest that are predominant for an individual viewing a metabolic pathway commonly found in a biochemistry textbook. Therefore, this thesis study set out to 1) investigate what individuals look at in a metabolic pathway based on their level of expertise in metabolism and 2) to look at areas of brain activation during the time an individual is viewing a metabolic pathway based on their level of expertise in metabolism. This was a phenomenological study; however, multiple theoretical frameworks guided the development, collection, and analysis of the data in this study. The method used to collect the data included manually co-registered systems of eye-tracking and electroencephalograph (EEG) followed by separate analysis. The experiment was conducted using 45 participants with varying levels of expertise in biochemistry. Through a post-survey, the participants were found to have different levels of familiarity with the metabolic pathways used for the stimulus presentation. This research concentrated on determining what part of the image the participants focused on and tracked the path that participants took while viewing metabolic pathway representations. This was accomplished through the use of an eye-tracking system that mapped the movement of the participants\u27 eyes while engaged with the image. The participants consisted of novices with little to no exposure to metabolic pathways, amateurs currently taking a biochemistry class that was discussing metabolism, and experts who presently teach biochemistry. Through scanpath data, the differences in how the groups read a glycolysis pathway and the inosine monophosphate pathway (IMP) were determined. Areas of activation in the brain while viewing the images were identified through analysis of the EEG data. It was determined that when presented with a familiar metabolic pathway the amateur group was more similar to the expert group with the number of vertical translations, amount of transitions between areas of interest, and fixation durations. For an unfamiliar pathway, the amateur group was more like the novice group with fewer transitions and a lower amount of vertical translations. It was also determined that the activation in the brain between the novice and amateur groups was similar, with the highest level of activation in the occipital lobe area. In contrast, the expert group had different patterns of brain activation showing more activity in the frontal lobe. The second part of the study showed there was little difference in the way an amateur group with some exposure to metabolic pathways read and processed metabolic pathways containing a targeted question as compared to a novice group with little to no exposure to metabolic pathways. The expert group had different patterns of brain activation compared to the novice and amateur groups. This study will set the baseline to ultimately determine how to best present and promote visual literacy in classes which utilize external representations for higher level learning content

    The Occurrence of False Positive Tests for Gunshot Residue Based on Simulations of the Suspect\u27s Occupation

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    Samples collected from high-risk occupations, or simulations thereof, are analyzed for elemental composition using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LlBS) to determine the occurrence of false positive gunshot residue results generated in the work environment. Previous work involving the study of lifetime of detectable amounts of gunshot residue on the hands of a suspect shooter found that gunshot residue exists up to 5.27 days after a firearm discharge. However, certain environmental and/or occupational false positive tests for gunshot residue could result when sampling non-shooters. Samples collected from occupations or simulations thereof include welding, pyrotechnics, key cutting, mechanics, and paper products all of which produced significant false positive results for gunshot residue

    Gunshot Residue Analysis in the Undergraduate Laboratory Using Toy Cap Guns

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    The authors developed an experiment for the undergraduate analytical or forensic chemistry laboratory in which gunshot residues (GSRs) produced from toy cap guns are analyzed by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Alternatively, the experiment is readily adaptable to any emission spectroscopy technique. This project allows students to investigate the development of a forensic method while addressing proper sampling techniques used in forensic investigations. Students were able to develop a library of blank samples, establish signal detection limits to address legal considerations for determination of false-positive and -negative error rates, and optimize an emission spectrometer
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