Design Scaffolding for Computational Making in the Visual Programming Tool ARIS

In this thesis, I explore how design scaffolds, or (i.e., intellectual supports) can assist learners engaging with computational making processes. Computational making combines programming with artifact production. Due to the complexity of tasks involved in computational making, there is an increasing need to explore and develop support systems for learners engaging with computational making. With $3,000 funding from Utah State University’s College of Education and Human Services, an undergraduate researcher and I, who both have experience with youth and computational making research, explored how design scaffolds impact youth engaging with computational making processes. To do so, we held a workshop where 11 learners (11 female, ages 11-16) used ARIS, a platform designed for non-programmers to create mobile games. In addition, we interviewed five ARIS designers who were able to evaluate our design scaffolds. We provide insights for improving the use of design scaffolds in computational making with ARIS specifically that also apply broadly to computational making processes. Moreover, we developed an ARIS course that teaches educators to use a design scaffold tool for ARIS. This research provides immediate benefits for educators who access the ARIS course and researchers seeking to improve upon design scaffold research for computational making processes

CoopeTárcoles, Costa Rica. Equator Initiative Case Study Series

The artisanal fishers of the community of Tárcoles, located in the Gulf of Nicoya on the Pacific coast of North America (Central America)-Costa Rica; faced declining fish stocks due to a combination of overharvesting by commercial shrimp boats and unsustainable local fishing practices. At the same time, development of the tourism sector along the coast threatened to restrict access to the shore and to marginalize their work. The local fishing cooperative Coope Tárcoles R.L. was founded in 1985 to confront these twin threats. At the forefront of these efforts has been the development of fishing bylaws that stress sustainable practices, enshrined in the community's 'Code of Responsible Fishing'. In partnership with CoopeSolidar R.L., the initiative launched a sustainable and community-based ecotourism venture in 2007 to provide an alternative source of income for local residents. In 2009, meanwhile, the group was successful in gaining approval of a community-managed marine area

A Descriptive Study of Undergraduate Student and Faculty Perspectives of Engagement When Learning About Cultural Content

poster abstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to explore student perception of engagement and knowledge gained during two class sessions on cultural competence using interactive teaching strategies. Improving cultural knowledge among nursing students can be expected to lead to the provision of culturally competent care upon graduation. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive design was used. Data was collected at the IU School of Nursing during two class sessions from 49 students and the course faculty. Three strategies were used to collect data: the one-minute paper (OMP) to gather the students’ perspectives, field notes taken during the class sessions, and interviews with the faculty before and after the class sessions. Results: Data showed recurring themes for each of the 3 OMP questions. When asked “What three things did you learn about culture during class,” the themes that emerged included knowledge of specific cultural practices, intercultural communication strategies, subculture/cultural differences, and the importance of cultural competence. Themes from the second question “What stood out for you the most” were cultural specifics, broad concepts, and means of teaching. The themes of the third question, “When did you feel most engaged,” were scenario/skit, questions, while presenting, feedback, and interaction. We found that out of the all the interactive techniques used, the skit had the greatest positive feedback. Students who reported the skit as being the time of greatest engagement also reported the skit as the time they learned the greatest content on cultural and subcultural differences as well as importance of cultural competency. Conclusion: We found that a high impact teaching strategy enhanced student engagement and learning. We encourage both students and teachers to take full advantage of interactive learning strategies as a way to promote deep learning about cultural competence

Wayfinding Meets Library App: What Students Want From a Mobile Library Experience

Wayfinding refers to how someone navigates a space. Indoor maps, directories, and more recently, digital mobile maps are used as wayfinding aids

The Hall of Mirrors Perceptions and Misperceptions in the Congressional Foreign Policy Process

Explores several factors related to an inconsistency in the voting record by the U.S. Congress on foreign policy issues, compared with the position taken by the public, administration officials, and leaders in business, labor, media, and education

Validation of the adolescent binge eating disorder measure (ADO-BED) among transgender youth and young adults

BACKGROUND: Transgender youth and young adults are at increased risk for eating disorders, including binge eating disorder, yet few measures have been validated for screening purposes with the transgender population. METHODS: The purpose of this study was to provide initial evidence for the internal consistency and convergent validity of the Adolescent Binge Eating Disorder questionnaire (ADO-BED) in a sample of transgender youth and young adults. 208 participants completed the ADO-BED as part of a routine nutrition screening protocol at a gender center. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis was used to establish the factor structure of the ADO-BED. Relationships between the ADO-BED, Sick, Control, One Stone, Fat, Food (SCOFF), Nine Item Avoidant/restrictive Intake Disorder (NIAS), Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7), and demographic characteristics were explored. RESULTS: Analyses revealed a one-factor structure of the ADO-BED with good fit to the data in the present sample. The ADO-BED was shown to be significantly related to all convergent validity variables, except the NIAS. CONCLUSIONS: The ADO-BED is a valid measure to screen for BED among transgender youth and young adults. Healthcare professionals can screen all transgender patients for BED, regardless of body size, in order to effectively identify and manage binge eating concerns

A Sard theorem for Tame Set-Valued mappings

If $F$ is a set-valued mapping from $\R^n$ into $\R^m$ with closed graph, then $y\in \R^m$ is a critical value of $F$ if for some $x$ with $y\in F(x)$, $F$ is not metrically regular at $(x,y)$. We prove that the set of critical values of a set-valued mapping whose graph is a definable (tame) set in an $o$-minimal structure containing additions and multiplications is a set of dimension not greater than $m-1$ (resp. a porous set). As a corollary of this result we get that the collection of asymptotically critical values of a semialgebraic set-valued mapping has dimension not greater than $m-1$, thus extending to such mappings a corresponding result by Kurdyka-Orro-Simon for $C^1$ semialgebraic mappings. We also give an independent proof of the fact that a definable continuous real-valued function is constant on components of the set of its subdifferentiably critical points, thus extending to all definable functions a recent result of Bolte-Daniilidis-Lewis for globally subanalytic functions.Comment: 23

Ways to Reduce Peak Electrical Demand in South Louisiana

This study analyses alternatives for coping with the peak electrical demand of hot summer afternoons. Economic and Political aspects, as well as technical feasibility, are included. It is concluded that South Louisiana may indeed be able to trim peak demand to 5% below what is anticipated by 1980 , thus making one of the coal fired stations scheduled then unnecessary. However, the contingencies (Natural Gas Shortage, Another Oil Embargo) would make a coal-fired station very desirable

Twist1 Inactivation in Dmp1-Expressing Cells Increases Bone Mass but Does Not Affect the Anabolic Response to Sclerostin Neutralization

Wnt signaling plays a major role in bone metabolism. Advances in our understanding of secreted regulators of Wnt have yielded several therapeutic targets to stimulate osteoanabolism—the most promising of which is the Wnt inhibitor sclerostin. Sclerostin antibody recently gained approval for clinical use to treat osteoporosis, but the biology surrounding sclerostin antagonism is still incompletely understood. Numerous factors regulate the efficacy of sclerostin inhibition on bone formation, a process known as self-regulation. In previous communications we reported that the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Twist1—a gene know to regulate skeletal development—is highly upregulated among the osteocyte cell population in mice treated with sclerostin antibody. In this communication, we tested the hypothesis that preventing Twist1 upregulation by deletion of Twist1 from late-stage osteoblasts and osteocytes would increase the efficacy of sclerostin antibody treatment, since Twist1 is known to restrain osteoblast activity in many models. Twist1-floxed loss-of-function mice were crossed to the Dmp1-Cre driver to delete Twist1 in Dmp1-expressing cells. Conditional Twist1 deletion was associated with a mild but significant increase in bone mass, as assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and microCT (µCT) for many endpoints in both male and female mice. Biomechanical properties of the femur were not affected by conditional mutation of Twist1. Sclerostin antibody improved all bone properties significantly, regardless of Twist1 status, sex, or endpoint examined. No interactions were detected when Twist1 status and antibody treatment were examined together, suggesting that Twist1 upregulation in the osteocyte population is not an endogenous mechanism that restrains the osteoanabolic effect of sclerostin antibody treatment. In summary, Twist1 inhibition in the late-stage osteoblast/osteocyte increases bone mass but does not affect the anabolic response to sclerostin neutralization