Comparing distance education and conventional education: Observations from a comparative study of post‐registration nurses

This retrospective study presents a comparison of assessment results achieved by distance‐learning students and classroom‐based students undertaking the same module in a degree course. The purpose of the comparison is to provide some objective measurement of the quality of distance education in relation to conventional classroom‐based education. The authors have selected three groups of students, who have all undertaken the same module in the B. Sc Health Studies degree programme offered by the University of Paisley. One group (in Paisley) undertook their studies by means of conventional classroom‐based education, the second (in Hong Kong) by supported distance learning with face‐to‐face contact in the form of tutorials, and the third (in a geographically dispersed group in the United Kingdom and other countries) by supported distance learning with no face‐to‐face contact. The results obtained by these three groups of students were analysed. Because of the differences in the size of the groups, the Kruskal‐ Wallis 1‐ Way Anova test was applied to validate the face value findings. The authors include findings from the literature comparing distance education with conventional education and from cross‐cultural studies to present their data in context. Analysis of the assessment results showed that students from all three groups were successful in their studies, but the students studying by distance learning obtained significantly higher end‐of‐module results than their classroom‐based colleagues. This latter finding reflects the conclusion that other investigators have reached In their discussion the authors identify educational, cultural and personal factors that may help to explain their findings. A limitation in the study is that it concerns only one module in the degree programme. The research now moves on to comparing students who have undertaken the whole degree programme by the means describe

Constraining the orbits of sub-stellar companions imaged over short orbital arcs

Imaging a star's companion at multiple epochs over a short orbital arc provides only four of the six coordinates required for a unique orbital solution. Probability distributions of possible solutions are commonly generated by Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis, but these are biased by priors and may not probe the full parameter space. We suggest alternative methods to characterise possible orbits, which compliment the MCMC technique. Firstly the allowed ranges of orbital elements are prior-independent, and we provide means to calculate these ranges without numerical analyses. Hence several interesting constraints (including whether a companion even can be bound, its minimum possible semi-major axis and its minimum eccentricity) may be quickly computed using our relations as soon as orbital motion is detected. We also suggest an alternative to posterior probability distributions as a means to present possible orbital elements, namely contour plots of elements as functions of line of sight coordinates. These plots are prior-independent, readily show degeneracies between elements and allow readers to extract orbital solutions themselves. This approach is particularly useful when there are other constraints on the geometry, for example if a companion's orbit is assumed to be aligned with a disc. As examples we apply our methods to several imaged sub-stellar companions including Fomalhaut b, and for the latter object we show how different origin hypotheses affect its possible orbital solutions. We also examine visual companions of A- and G-type main sequence stars in the Washington Double Star Catalogue, and show that $\gtrsim50$ per cent must be unbound.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Volume I, Issue 5

Volume I, Issue 5 of the Too-Sah-You-Aht Noorvik -Min, published October 20, 1966.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/noorvik_paper/1004/thumbnail.jp

Volume I, Issue 16

Volume I, Issue 16 of the Too-Sah-You-Aht Noorvik -Min, published January 15, 1967.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/noorvik_paper/1015/thumbnail.jp

Volume I, Issue I

Volume I, Issue I of the Noorvik Too-Sah-You-Ahk, published September 23, 1966.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/noorvik_paper/1000/thumbnail.jp

Volume I, Issue 13

Volume I, Issue 13 of the Too-Sah-You-Ant Noorvik -Min, published December 17, 1966.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/noorvik_paper/1012/thumbnail.jp

A strategy for the future management of the Joint Authority Northern Shark Fishery. A discussion paper.

This paper discusses the current status of the Joint Authority Northern Shark Fishery (JANSF), and the major issues affecting it. The main aim of the document is to present a seires of recommendations to enable effective future management of this resource. The paper provides a brief introduction to the JANSF, followed by an examination of the resource base of the fishery (primary species, stock distribution and stock assessment)

Volume I, Issue 6

Volume I, Issue 6 of the Too-Sah-You-Aht Noorvik -Min, published October 28, 1966.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/noorvik_paper/1005/thumbnail.jp