Estimating a Multilevel Model with Complex Survey Data: Demonstration using TIMSS

Analysis of complex survey data is demonstrated for the multilevel model. Description of specific aspects of analysis, including plausible values, sampling weights, and replicate weights is provided. Following this, example TIMSS data and models are described and results are presented

An Experimental Study of Instructor Immediacy in the Wimba Virtual Classroom

The social underpinnings of learning make it important to understand how people experience themselves and form relationships in web-based educational environments. Social presence is a critical factor of a communication medium that plays an important role in building community and improving the effectiveness of instruction. The components of social presence include words conveyed, verbal and nonverbal immediacy cues, and the context of the communication. The immediacy component of social presence is most often defined as perceived psychological closeness which is created in part by nonverbal cues (e.g., smiling and using gestures) and verbal cues (e.g., utilizing humor and inclusive pronouns). A number of researchers have demonstrated that instructors/teachers who use verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors can facilitate interaction and reduce psychological distance. There is also evidence for improved learning outcomes including satisfaction and perceived learning when highly immediate instructor behaviors are employed. However, few studies have investigated instructor immediacy, the ways it can be communicated, and its relationship to learning outcomes in online settings. It is important to assess the effectiveness of methods by which immediacy can be cultured into the design and delivery of instruction in virtual settings—the aim of this study was to contribute to this emerging research base. The researcher employed a randomized one-factor experimental research design to explore the effects of immediacy (conceptualized as instructor behaviors and mode of communication media) on students\u27 perceptions of immediacy, cognitive learning, perceived learning, and satisfaction, in the Wimba Virtual Classroom. The study replicated design elements utilized by two previous studies, the main element being a 15-minute prerecorded teaching session where instructor immediacy was manipulated to create higher and lower conditions. In addition to manipulating instructor immediacy, the researcher explored two different technology-infused strategies for content delivery: one that combined full-motion video of the instructor with audio and text chat; and another that replaced full-motion video with a still photo of the instructor. Participants were 576 students from an introductory psychology course at a large urban university in southern California. Thirty-five sessions were conducted in a computer lab equipped with 22 individual work stations. Cognitive learning was assessed at three points, before exposure to the teaching session, just after exposure, and 5-6 weeks after exposure

Using Drones to Generate New Data for Conservation Insights

Human impact on the environment is driving a decline in biodiversity that heightens the need for informed management of conservation lands. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are an increasingly cost-effective tool for generating high-quality data used to map landscape features, analyze land cover change and assess the effectiveness of conservation efforts. Traditional sources of remotely sensed data such as satellites and aircraft can be costly, inflexible and unable to detect fine-scale surface variation. This paper explores the advantages (and challenges) of analyzing data collected by drones to generate useful conservation management insights. We focus on three key considerations. The first is pre-flight planning. This includes FAA regulations, flight control software and study area considerations. The second is acquiring and processing drone captured still images to generate georeferenced map layers. The third is developing GIS models that analyze relationships between drone-derived data layers at multiple scales. To demonstrate how data collected by UAVs can provide useful conservation insights, we analyze the relationship between fire behavior and landscape features at the Weaver Dunes Preserve in Minnesota. Here, the Nature Conservancy is restoring high quality prairie habitat via a series prescribed burns. Because prairies benefit from “patchy” burns (as opposed to fires that consume the entire burn site), we map landscape features (slope, elevation and aspect) and analyze their correlation with the location and extent of post-burn patches of ash

Reducing spoilage in shell eggs by the use of fungicides

Digitized 2007 AES.Includes bibliographical references (pages 30-31)

Resisting the Inevitable: Tar Sands, Regionalism and Rhetoric

Tar sands oil is rapidly becoming a primary means of powering the world’s petroleum-based economy. Despite some formidable barriers, an oppositional network is developing that spans the North American continent. This paper discusses the diverse nature of this opposition through an examination of 26 collective activities involving some 243 organizations. The first part of the analysis discusses the internal characteristics and the network dynamics of these activities; this is followed by a spatial analysis of the relationships among the participant organizations. The final section of the paper suggests that an important mechanism for achieving collaborative integrity in the midst of what are oftentimes very challenging circumstances are carefully elaborated rhetorical frames designed to appeal to a diverse set of key stakeholders and policymakers

The rectifying property of polarized barium titanate

February 8, 1955.Two titles published in one volume. "Ternary system ethyl alcohol--n--heptane-water at 30 [degrees] C" by Joseph L. Schweppe and James R. Lorah and "The rectifying property of polarized barium titanate" by Donald L. Waidelich.Ternary system ethyl alcohol--n--heptane-water at 30 [degrees] C ; "Reprinted from Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Vol. 26, November 1954"The rectifying property of polarized barium titanate ; "Reprinted from Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 25 July 1953.

Maintaining quality in shell eggs by heat treatment

Digitized 2007 AES.Includes bibliographical references (page 22)

Understanding Puberty and Its Measurement: Ideas for Research in a New Generation

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148344/1/jora12371.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148344/2/jora12371_am.pd

143— Mothers\u27 and Children\u27s Perceptions and Observed Aggression and Rough-and-Tumble Play in 7-Year-Olds\u27 Sibling Relationships

The purpose of this study was to compare mothers’ and children’s perceptions of sibling relationships with observed aggression and rough-and-tumble play (RTP). 64 White, middle-class 7-year-olds were videotaped performing three separate tasks with their siblings. Coded videotapes of the three tasks and questionnaires were used to collect data about perceived and observed aggression and RTP. Results suggest that the accuracy of mothers’ and children’s perceptions vary

Promise of the tech-enabled design competition

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.Pages 112-113 blank. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-108).At their best, urban design competitions offer access to innovative design thinking for competition sponsors; high quality spaces for the benefit of the public; and career advancement for designers. However, many feel that competitions are falling short of these aims, frustrating organizers and exploiting designers while leaving the public largely out of the dialogue. This thesis explores the potential of web-based social technologies to improve the urban design competition model so that it better serves all parties. It establishes a current model for urban design competitions before examining some precedents for related processes that have been disrupted by emerging social technologies. The study concludes with a proposal for a new, tech-enabled urban design competition on the eastern side of MIT's campus.by Katherine P. Lorah.M.C.P