Understanding Technology Mediated Learning in Higher Education: A Repertory Grid Approach

Given the considerable opportunities that Web 2.0 technologies are seen to present for the enhancement of learning and teaching, understanding what motivates today’s students to use this technology in their learning is crucial. Drawing from technology mediated learning (TML) and Uses and Gratifications (U&G) perspectives, this study investigates university students’ motivations for using Web 2.0 technologies in learning. The Repertory Grid Interview technique (RGT) is used to interview 16 participants and capture their technology use motivations. A grounded approach was used to resolve eleven categories of motivations: Access and Content Control, Accessibility, Communication Efficiency, Communication Mode, Communication Quality, Course Management, Information Seeking, Interaction, Learning Capability, Managing Contents, and Self-Disclosure. The findings suggest that today’s students have different motivations for using technologies when it comes to learning

Tree-Structured Grid Model of Line and Polarization Variability from Massive Binaries

We have developed a 3-D Monte Carlo radiative transfer model which computes line and continuum polarization variability for a binary system with an optically thick non-axisymmetric envelope. This allows us to investigate the complex (phase-locked) line and continuum polarization variability features displayed by many massive binaries: W-R+O, O+O, etc. An 8-way tree data structure constructed via a ``cell-splitting'' method allows for high precision with efficient use of computer resources. The model is not restricted to binary systems; it can easily be adapted to a system with an arbitrary density distribution and large density gradients. As an application to a real system, the phase dependent Stokes parameters (I, Q, U) and the phase dependent He I (5876) profiles of the massive binary system V444 Cyg (WN5+O6 III-V) are computed.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic

Comparison of Bulbar and Mucosal Olfactory Ensheathing Cells Using FACS and Simultaneous Antigenic Bivariate Cell Cycle Analysis

Transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) is a promising route for CNS repair. There have, however, been major discrepancies between the results from different groups. Part of this can be attributed to variations in cell sources and culture protocols. Accurate estimation of the proportions of OECs and their associated fibroblasts (ONFs) and their evolution with time in culture is an essential baseline for establishing the reparative properties of transplants. In this study, we compare the evolution of cultures from the superficial layers of the olfactory bulb with tissue from the olfactory mucosa, both whole and split into lamina propria and epithelial layer. We used FACS based on p75 and Thy1 to provide a robust and objective numerical estimate of the numbers of OECs and ONFs, respectively in the cultures. A novel four color simultaneous antigenic bivariate cell cycle analysis shows that proliferation of OECs is time-limited, and is unable to prevent an overall loss of OECs with time. Overall, the numbers of OECs in the cultures were inversely correlated with the deposition of fibronectin (FN). Further, culture of the cells purified by flow cytometry shows that, whereas the Thy1 population is terminally differentiated, the p75 population from the mucosal samples generates subpopulations with different antigenic phenotypes, including the reappearance of a subpopulation of p75 cells expressing FN. Culturing epithelial samples at high density reveals an unexpected transient stem cell-like population of rapidly proliferating p75 positive cells. (C) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Interactions between imagined movement and the initiation of voluntary movement: A TMS study

Objective: The purpose was to examine motor imagery-induced enhancement in corticospinal excitability during a reaction time (RT) task. Methods: Nine young and healthy Subjects performed an isometric finger flexion tasks in response to a visual imperative cue. In the pre-cue period, they were instructed to: (I) rest; (2) imagine flexing their fingers isometrically (ImFlex): or (3) imagine extending their fingers isometrically (ImExt). Surface EMGs from the finger flexors and extensors were monitored to ensure EMG silence before movement onset. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to evaluate changes in motor-evoked potentials (MEP) in the finger flexor and extensor muscles during the response phase. TMS was delivered either with the imperative cue, or 120 ms before and after the imperative cue. Results: RT was slower when they were imagining finger extension prior to the visual imperative cue. MEPs were significantly increased for the finger flexors during imagined finger flexion and for the finger extensors during imagined finger extension at both TMS delivery time points, reflecting movement specific enhancement in corticospinal excitability during motor imagery. When TMS was delivered 120 ms after the cue, finger flexor MEN were further facilitated under the Rest and ImFlex conditions, but not under the ImExt condition, suggesting additive interactions between imagery-induced enhancement and early rise in corticospinal excitability during the initiation of a reaction time response. Conclusions: Our results provide neurophysiological evidence mediating dynamic interactions between imagined movement and the initiation of voluntary movement. Significance: Motor imagery can be integrated into a rehabilitation protocol to facilitate motor recovery. (C) 2009 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Analyzing Students’ Technology Use Motivations: An Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach

Despite being more meaningful and accurate to consider student technology use motivations as a set of interactive needs and expectations, the possible underlying hierarchical relationships among motivations receive little attention. Drawn from Uses and Gratifications (U&G) approach and from Means-End Chain (MEC) theory, this study investigates how student technology use motivations can be represented as a set of interrelated and hierarchically organized elements. A set of relevant data concerning students’ technology use motivations was collected by the Repertory Grid Interview Technique (RGT) and analyzed qualitatively using content analysis. Eleven identified student technology use motivations were structured by adopting interpretive structure modeling (ISM) technique. By using Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) technique, eleven identified factors were further classified into three different types of variables: means, consequences, and ends. The findings of this study have significant theoretical and practical implications to both researchers and managers

A Typology and Hierarchical Framework of Technology Use in Digital Natives’ Learning

The technological capability of digital natives is thought to have considerable implications on the way they communicate, socialize, think and learn. Some researchers have even suggested that fundamental changes to the educational system are required to cater for the needs of this new cohort of learner, although such claims have little empirical support. In this study, we adopt a structural approach to the investigation of the digital natives’ motivations for using technologies in learning. Based on in-depth interviews with 16 digital natives, a cluster analysis was used to segment respondents into two distinct groups: independent learners and traditional learners. Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) was used to develop a hierarchical structural model of technology use motivations for each group. The results show that these two groups are driven to achieve the same learning goals by different paths. Implications are drawn for both educators and managers from both research and practical perspectives

Galactic Coronae in the Intracluster Environment: Semi-confined Stellar-feedback-driven Outflows

Recently X-ray observations have shown the common presence of compact galactic coronae around intermediate-mass spheroid galaxies embedded in the intracluster/intragroup medium (ICM). We conduct 2-D hydrodynamic simulations to study the quasi-steady-state properties of such coronae as the natural products of the ongoing distributed stellar feedback semi-confined by the thermal and ram pressures of the ICM. We find that the temperature of a simulated corona depends primarily on the specific energy of the feedback, consistent with the lack of the correlation between the observed hot gas temperature and K-band luminosity of galaxies. The simulated coronae typically represent subsonic outflows, chiefly because of the semi-confinement. As a result, the hot gas density increases with the ICM thermal pressure. The ram pressure, on the other hand, chiefly affects the size and lopsidedness of the coronae. The density increase could lead to the compression of cool gas clouds, if present, and hence the formation of stars. The increase also enhances radiative cooling of the hot gas, which may fuel central supermassive black holes, explaining the higher frequency of active galactic nuclei observed in clusters than in the field. The radiation enhancement is consistent with a substantially higher surface brightness of the X-ray emission detected from coronae in cluster environment. The total X-ray luminosity of a corona, however, depends on the relative importance of the surrounding thermal and ram pressures. These environment dependences should at least partly explain the large dispersion in the observed diffuse X-ray luminosities of spheroids with similar stellar properties. Furthermore, we show that an outflow powered by the distributed feedback can naturally produce a positive radial gradient in the hot gas entropy, mimicking a cooling flow.Comment: accepted by MNRAS, comments are welcom

Directionality and bipolarity of olfactory ensheathing cells on electrospun nanofibers

AIM: As a preliminary to the construction of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) bearing scaffold for bridging larger lesions in the spinal cord, we have investigated the response of purified cultured OECs to nanoscale fibers of varying diameter using US FDA-approved, biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic-acid). MATERIALS & METHODS: Conventional electrospinning produced fibers of approximately 700 nm diameter (nano-700) while nanocomposite electrospinning with quantum dots produced significantly more uniform fibers of a reduced diameter to approximately 237 nm (nano-250). OECs from adult rat were FACS purified, cultured at low density on either a flat surface or a meshwork of randomly orientated nano-700 and nano-250 fibers, and assessed using cytomorphometric analysis of immunofluorescent confocal images and by scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: Compared with a flat surface, culture on a nano-700 mesh increases cell attachment. Cells change from rounded to stellate forms in random orientation. Further size reduction to the nano-250 favors bipolarity in cells with unidirectional orientation as observed in the case when transplanted OECs were used to bridge areas of damage in rat spinal cords

Advances in the fabrication of biomaterials for gradient tissue engineering

Natural tissues and organs exhibit an array of spatial gradients, from the polar-ized neural tube during embryonic development to the osteochondral interfacepresent at articulating joints. The strong structure–function relationships inthese heterogeneous tissues have sparked intensive research into the develop-ment of methods that can replicate physiological gradients in engineered tis-sues. In this Review, we consider different gradients present in natural tissuesand discuss their critical importance in functional tissue engineering. Using thisbasis, we consolidate the existing fabrication methods into four categories: addi-tive manufacturing, component redistribution, controlled phase changes, andpostmodification. We have illustrated this with recent examples, highlightedprominent trends in thefield, and outlined a set of criteria and perspectives forgradient fabrication