Rapid near-optimal VQ design with a deterministic data net

We present a new algorithm for fixed-rate vector quantizer (VQ) design with deterministic data net. The algorithm also performs efficient VQ design for simply characterized continuous distributions. The algorithm also serves as an approximation algorithm for the d-dimensional fixed-rate operational distortion-rate function, extends to a variety of network VQ problems. The algorithm generalizes to give /spl epsiv/-approximation algorithms for many network VQ design problems. A few examples are multiresolution VQ (MRVQ), multiple description VQ (MDVQ), side information VQ (SIVQ), Broadcast VQ (BCVQ), joint source-channel VQ (JSCVQ) and remote source VQ (RSVQ)

Not just another pretty reef: the Gainesville Florida Reef, a satellite of the worldwide Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project: poster presentation

The Gainesville Florida Reef, a satellite of the Worldwide Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, project not only shows the beauty of reefs but serves to: • Foster scientific communication through the visual arts • Raise awareness of the fragility of our coral reefs and the entire ecosystem • Support learning by creating physical models of geometric principles • Connect several areas on campus, including fine arts, mathematics and ecology and environmental sciences through collaboration and mutual interest • Encourage local community and alumni involvement through creating, observing and learnin

Social Networking, the Writing Process, and Cooperative Learning: A Three-Strategy Approach Helping Developmental Students and First-Year Composition Students Prewrite

Students in developmental writing courses and first-year composition coursesstruggle with thewriting process. Individual instructional strategieshave been insufficient to engage these students or build their self-confidences for further writing courses. The purpose of thisstudy was to understand how students perceive a combination of three strategies,social networking, the writing process, and cooperative learning may help students to be successfulwith the prewriting phase of the writing process. The three research questions were (1) what are students\u27 perceptions of a social networking tool; (2) how do students perceive asocial networking tool influences prewriting in cooperative groups; and(3) how do cooperative groups work together to prewrite? A combination of strategies together with a high level of student engagement may help to increase student success in developmental writingand first-year composition courses. Nine students across four sections of writing courses agreed to participate inthis qualitative inquiry. Data werecollected from semi-structured interviews, social networking posts, observations, and a researcher-made handout, and data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Three themesemerged:Students perceivedusefulness related to using a social netowrking tool, their behaviors, and positive results.Group interaction refleceted students\u27positive interdependnece,individual accountability, group processing, social skills, andface-to-face interaction.Finally,knowledge representation was evident as it encapsulated the participants\u27 views on making their thinking visible and sharing ideas. A discussion of the research questions integrated these findings.Students perceived a social networking tool to be valuable, beneficial to helping them learn, and an achive for their ideas. Students perceiveda social networking tool to influence prewriting in cooperative groups by generating ideas,representing their contributions, andcommunications with groupmembers. Finally, the participants\u27 perceptions and observations revealedthat working together in cooperative groups to prewrite reflected the five elementsof cooperation. Implications for practice with writing instructions, limitations of the current study, and implications for further research about timeframes, participants, and challenges are provided

Using What We Know about Couples in the Context of Chronic Pain to Push for Continued Progress: Commentary on Vivekanantham and Colleagues

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106957/1/pme12444.pd

Pain Affects Spouses Too: Personal Experience With Pain and Catastrophizing as Correlates of Spouse Distress

Chronic pain has adverse effects on individuals with chronic pain (ICPs) as well as their family members. Borrowing from an empathy model described by Goubert et al. (2005), we examined topdown and bottom-up factors that may be related to psychological well-being in the spouses of ICPs. A diverse community sample of 113 middle-aged spouses of individuals with chronic pain (ICPs) completed measures on pain severity and spouse pain catastrophizing (PCS-S; Cano et al., 2005). Results showed that almost half (48.7%) of spouses reported chronic pain themselves and that pain in the spouse accounted for within-couple differences on psychological distress. That is, in couples where only the ICP reported pain, ICP psychological distress was greater than their spouses. However, when both partners reported chronic pain, there was no significant difference in psychological distress between partners. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that spouse magnification catastrophizing was associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, and that helplessness catastrophizing was associated with depressive symptoms for spouses of ICPs who also reported chronic pain but not for spouses of ICPs without chronic pain. The results are discussed in light of interpersonal processes that may affect spouses’ distress

Grants for Libraries

More and more libraries, museums and cultural institutions rely on fundraising and grant writing to sustain their services, special projects, or new initiatives Since most MLIS programs do not include grant project planning and proposal writing as part of their curriculum, librarians learn the process through trial and error, or continuing education classes. There are numerous books and websites that can assist the novice grant writer. We hope to provide beginners with basic information on the types of grants available, where to look for funding agencies, selected grant writing resources, and a few helpful grant writing hints to get you started. The presentation will be a three-person panel providing a short overview of the areas mentioned above, and discussion of sample grants submitted or received. The overview will be presented in Power Point format with an accompanying handout for each attendee

The Significant Other Version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS-S): Preliminary Validation

Researchers have hypothesized that pain catastrophizing has a social function. Although work has focused on the catastrophizing of individuals with chronic pain (ICPs), little is known about the pain catastrophizing of their significant others. The purpose of this study was to test the validity of a revised version of the original PCS [Sullivan MJL, Bishop S, Pivik J. The pain catastrophizing scale: development and validation. Psychol Assess 1995; 7: 432–524.] in which individuals were instructed to report on their own catastrophizing about their significant other’s pain. In Study 1, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine the factor structure of the PCS-Significant Other (PCSS) in a diverse sample of university undergraduates (n=264). An oblique second-order 3-factor model with two cross-loadings provided the best fit and this model was invariant across gender and racial groups. This factor structure was cross-validated in Study 2 with a second sample of university undergraduates (n=213). Results indicated that the 3-factor structure with two cross-loadings was a viable model of significant others’ pain catastrophizing across gender and racial groups. In Study 3, this factor structure was replicated and the content validity of the PCS-S was examined in a sample of adult ICPs and their spouses (n=111). Spouse catastrophizing was related to ICP pain severity and interference as well as both spouses’ depressive symptoms. In addition, ICPs were at a greater risk for psychological distress when both spouses had higher levels of catastrophizing. The PCS-S has the potential to be a useful and valid measure of pain catastrophizing in the significant others of ICPs

Form Over Substance: Learning Objectives In The Business Core

While members of the business faculty community have been advocating active learning in the classroom, it appears that textbooks encourage learning from a passive perspective.  A review of learning objectives from 16 textbooks used in Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Finance, and Marketing demonstrates a focus on basically the same set of primary verbs at a low cognitive level. These low cognitive level verbs differ in substance from the expectations contained in the end-of-the-chapter materials.  In a world of assessment, the authors are concerned that the textbook learning objectives seem to focus on the form of technical content and not the substance of student learning

Le chiusure scolastiche per Covid-19 mettono sotto i riflettori le disparità di trattamento e altre carenze: Le voci di chi rischia di scivolare tra le maglie del sistema

This study presents five themes which were highlighted by Maltese educators and parents when reflecting on their experience of sustaining the education of their students and children during the COVID-19 pandemic. By capturing these voices, the study seeks to gain insight into how these educators and parents reflected on their practice and daily experiences and how this has impinged on the educational experience of the students.Questo studio presenta cinque argomenti evidenziati dagli educatori e dai genitori maltesi nel riflettere sulla loro esperienza di sostegno all’educazione di studenti e figli durante la pandemia da COVID-19. Nel cogliere queste voci, lo studio mira a raggiungere una migliore prospettiva su come questi educatori e genitori riflettano sulle loro pratiche ed esperienze quotidiane e su come ciò abbia influito sull’esperienza educativa degli studenti stessi