A multimedia presentation system for interactive learning

With the advances in multimedia technology, computers now support learning in many ways. Further, the Internet may make it possible to break the traditional classroom contact model. The major goal of this project work is to develop a prototype Multimedia Presentation System for Interactive Learning based on a graph model. This model is called the CONCEPT GRAPH MODEL (CGM). The CGM is a digraph in which the nodes correspond to "concepts" to be taught (learned) and a directed arc corresponds to the suggested precedence order. The CGM may be structured hierarchically. The navigation of Concept Graph Model is adjusted to suit the level of understanding of the students. While navigating the CGM, a student can listen to the lecture, see the professor's teaching on the screen, request for a quiz and receive quiz answers interactively. For further detailed discussions, the student may communicate to the professor by using the built-in E-mail sub-system. The student's progress and status can be monitored by the proposed system during the course. The proposed system is developed using Visual Basic 5.0 with Microsoft Access as the database. Module # 2 (prepared by Dr. Radhakrishnan for teaching Assembly language) is used as a sample topic to demonstrate this syste

Insights into the magnetic origin of CunCr (n= 9÷11) clusters: A superposition of magnetic and electronic shells

Interests in Cu-Cr sub-nanometer systems have been increasing due to the recently-found icosahedral Cu12Cr cluster as a superatomic molecule, where the 3d-Cr and 4s-Cu electrons can phenomenologically form the 18-e molecular shell (1S21P61D10) of Cu12Cr. In this report, we set out to investigate the energetically-preferred geometries and stabilities of CunCr (n = 9÷11) clusters using the density-functional-theory calculations. It is found that not all of 3d-Cr electrons involve in the formation of the cluster shell and the remaining localized ones cause the magnetic moment of the clusters, which is different from what was believed

The Determinants of Financial Analysts' Performance: Analyses using Quasi-Natural Experiments

This thesis consists of three studies that utilize financial analyst career events as quasi-natural experiments to examine the factors that explain analyst forecasting performance. The purpose of this thesis is to minimize endogeneity problems that have hampered the financial analyst literature and at the same time add to the literature by showing that important life events can have a significant impact on analyst forecasting performance. First, I examine how employment change affects analyst herding behavior in their forecasts. My results show that analysts exhibit stronger herding behavior following an employment change. Specifically, they have a greater tendency to imitate other analysts’ earnings forecasts. Also, relative to their peers, they are slower in issuing forecasts and, as a result, issue revisions less frequently. This has a consequential negative effect on the market impact of their forecasts. I argue that the results are due to the need for newcomers to contend with the unfamiliarity of their new workplace environment and demonstrate that my results hold across several robustness tests, including a quasi-natural experiment using brokerage firm M&As that utilizes the estimation of an average treatment effect. This study raises a significant human resource question on how brokerage firms should support employees who have recently switched jobs. Second, I examine the impact that work specialization has on the performance of superior and inferior analysts. My results show that the forecast accuracy of superior analysts improves when their coverage is more concentrated within a few industries. However, there is no evidence of an equivalent improvement for inferior analysts. I argue that this is due to superior analysts being better able to utilize intra-industry relevant information when pricing stocks within the same sector, leading them to benefit more viii from specialization. My results are robust when I conduct quasi-natural experiments by utilizing brokerage firm M&As to capture changes to the work specialization of analysts who continue to work in the merged firms after the M&A events. The findings of this study have implications for how brokerage firms allocate coverage to analysts with different abilities. Third, I examine a channel that can explain analyst forecast pessimism. Specifically, I investigate the forecasting performance of analysts who have been rehired after experiencing a recent job loss following their brokerage firm closures and find that their forecasts will be more pessimistic relative to both their peers and actual earnings. Importantly, this leads to a decline in the accuracy of their forecasts at their new job. These results are theoretically supported by the career transitions literature, which shows that a job loss will affect the mental disposition of an employee and which I argue leads to analysts providing more pessimistic recommendations. This raises an important question as to how brokerage firms should support new employees who have recently experienced a job loss to avoid any negative impact it might have on their performance.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 201

Workload doesn’t mean exhaustion: Antecedents of teacher burnout

Workload has consistently been found to be a predictor of burnout in teachers.  However, while academia considers workload a psychological concept, the public tends to simplify workload as the number of tasks assigned. This study seeks to provide further evidence of the psychological nature of workload by examining if workload understood in terms of quantity of work had any effect on teacher burnout and whether this relationship was moderated by psychological processes such as self-efficacy and mediated by stress. 117 primary and high school teachers holding at least two roles at school participated in the study. Teacher burnout was measured using MBI-ES, self-efficacy was measured by OSTES and stress and workload were measured by single-item questions. Results showed that workload (i.e., the number of roles assigned) did not have a main effect on burnout. Perceived stress and self-efficacy had direct effects on teacher burnout: stress increased burnout while self-efficacy reduced burnout. Self-efficacy had a significant moderation effect on workload-burnout interaction. Workload increased burnout only in teachers with low self-efficacy  while stress did not moderate the workload-burnout relationship. These findings support the psychological nature of the relationship between workload and burnout among teachers. They also point out the importance of enhancing teacher stress management and self-efficacy in protecting them from burnout

Assessing the price and output effects of monetary policy in Vietnam:evidence from a VAR analysis

Using monthly data, we perform a vector-autoregressive analysis to measure the effects of monetary policy on the Vietnamese economy. We concentrate our attention on the period following the introduction of the Law on Central Bank in January 1998 (which brought the national monetary policy and its objectives in line with international practices). Contrary to previous studies on Vietnam, we find evidence suggesting that monetary policy (through the manipulation of interest rates) is an effective policy tool in stabilizing prices. However, credit growth tends to induce inflationary pressures. In addition, we find that an expansion of broad money supply leads to an increase in industrial production

CHARACTERISTICS OF QUATERNARY SEDIMENTARY FACIES IN RELATION TO WATER BEARING CAPACITY OF AQUIFERS AND AQUICLUDES IN RED RIVER DELTA, VIETNAM

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

The Relationship between Online Learning and Student Satisfaction with Training Quality in Private Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aims to explore the relationship between the influential factors of online learning and the satisfaction of economics and business majors with the quality of their training in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 900 students in private universities completed a questionnaire. The principal findings of this research are that the students are satisfied with their online learning and that learning conferencing software is the most important driving factor leading to the students’ satisfaction when compared with learning conditions and learning devices. Another interesting finding is that the experience of using learning conferencing software results in a slight difference in the students’ perceived level of satisfaction, adding that users with more than two years’ experience are more satisfied with their training quality than users with less than one year’s experience. However, the results also show that students want to switch to offline learning when the pandemic is over. This study should, therefore, be of value to higher education authorities wishing to understand their students’ perceptions of online learning. In addition, results from the study suggest more managerial approaches as well as improve the online teaching quality during the pandemic

Polyamorphism and Two State Model in Liquid GeO2_{2} under Compression: Insight from Visualization of Molecular Dynamics Data

The polyamorphism and two-state model based on the coordination number distribution in liquid GeO$_{2}$ at 3200~K and in a wide pressure range are investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Results show that the structure of liquid GeO$_{2}$ mainly consists of GeO$_{x}$ coordination units $(x=4,5,6)$ and OGe$_{y}$ linkages $(y=2, 3)$. The distribution of OGe$_{y}$ linkages in network structure is not uniform but tends to form clusters of OGe$_{y}$. The cluster of OGe$_{2}$ will form low-density phase region, conversely the cluster of OGe$_{3}$ will form high-density phase region. In other word, under compression, in the liquid GeO$_{2}$ coexist two states: low-density and high-density. The size of phase regions significantly depends on compression