An Examination of the Impact of Smart Pen Technology on Mathematics Achievement and Attitudes of Community College Students

This study sought to examine the impact of instructional use of smart pen technology on the mathematics achievement and attitudes of community college students enrolled in a College Algebra course. This quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study utilized a nonequivalent control-group design. In this study, two sections of College Algebra were analyzed with one section serving as a treatment group which had access to an online archival of smart pen documents. The other section served as a control group which had access to an online archival of digital documents which did not have smart pen capabilities. The first hypothesis sought to analyze the effect of the pen on students\u27 mathematics achievement. Pretest and posttest data were collected from students in both sections. Using an ANCOVA test, results indicated that there was no significant difference in mean mathematics achievement scores by instructor\u27s use of the smart pen as an instructional aid when controlling for pretest scores. The second hypothesis examined the number of times students viethe online documents. The online communication platform collected data regarding how often each document was accessed by the students. Using a one-way chi square test, results indicated there was no significant difference in the distribution of student views of online course notes by the existence of smart pen documents for instructional use. The third research question investigated student attitudes regarding mathematics. This question was explored qualitatively using participant interviews from each group. Using an interview protocol, the researcher questioned students about their attitudes toward mathematics, mathematics self-efficacy, use of the online documents, and satisfaction with the course. Responses of the interviews indicated that participants from each group held different views of how the documents should be utilized. Students from the treatment group also seemed to be more satisfied with their understanding attained in the course. Findings indicated that the instructor\u27s use of smart pen technology did not significantly impact student achievement or attitudes. This lack of significance could be attributed to the low number of students who actually accessed the documents. The findings indicate the need for further research regarding the effects of smart pen technology

Segmentation of Folk Songs with a Probabilistic Model

Structure is an important aspect of music. Musical structure can be recognized in different musical modalities such as rhythm, melody, harmony or lyrics and plays a crucial role in our appreciation of music. In recent years many researchers have addressed the problem of music segmentation, mainly for popular and classical music. Some of the more recent approaches are Mauch et al. (2009), Foote (2000), Serr`a et al. (2012) and McFee & Ellis (2014). Last three are included in the music structure analysis framework MSAF Nieto & Bello (2015). None of the mentioned approaches however, addresses the specifics of folk music. While commercial music is performed by professional performers and recorded with professional equipment in suitable recording conditions, this is usually not true for folk music field recordings, which are recorded in everyday environments and contain music performed by amateur performers. Thus, recordings may contain high levels of background noise, equipment induced noise (e.g. hum) and reverb, as well as performer mistakes such as inaccurate pitches, false starts, forgotten melody/lyrics or pitch drift throughout the performance. One of the most recent approaches which addressed folk music specifics was presented by M¨uller et al. (2013). The approach was designed for solo singing and was evaluated on a collection of Dutch folk music by Muller et al. (2010). In our paper, we present a novel folk music segmentation method, which also addresses folk music specifics and is designed to work well with a variety of ensemble types (solo, choir, instrumental and mixtures)

Cities and their grassroutes

10.1068/d14043cmEnvironment and Planning D: Society and Space323381-38

Boaventura de Sousa Santos: Epistemologies of the south: Justice against epistemicide. New York in London, Routledge, 2014

Santosova monografija Epistemologije Juga je sestavljena iz osmih poglavij, v katerih nam avtor razkrije tri kritične vpoglede, in sicer zakaj ni globalne pravičnosti brez kognitivne globalne pravičnosti, zakaj razumevanje sveta presega zahodno hegemonsko razumevanje sveta ter zakaj emancipatorno preoblikovanje sveta lahko sledi narativom, ki niso mišljeni skozi zahodno kritično tradicijo. V recenziji bom podrobneje predstavila njegovo četrto poglavje, v katerem se osredotoči na razlago za zahodni svet značilnega prepadnega mišljenja in kakšne posledice to povzroča danes, ko se je čas urejene ločnice med metropolitanskimi družbami in kolonialnim ozemljem končal

Effect of powder dispersity on rheological behavior

Cilj ovog rada bio je odrediti raspodjelu veličina čestica, kut mirovanja, nasipnu gustoću, gustoću nakon potresanja te indekse koji pokazuju svojstva tečenja prašaka i mješavina prašaka. Na temelju dobivenih podataka određene su karakteristike prašaka i karakteristike mješavina tih prašaka. U eksperimentu je korišteno sedam komponenata iz kojih je pripremljeno sedam različitih mješavina prašaka. Kao osnovna komponenta u svim mješavinama korištena je granulirana saharoza dobivena granuliranjem usitnjene saharoze p.a. uz dodatak veziva polivinilpirolidona (PVP). Mikrokristalinična celuloza (MCC), manitol, laktoza te PanExcea MC200G izvorna i granulirana, korištene su kao punila u mješavinama. U svaku mješavinu, kao sredstvo za klizenje, dodan je magnezijev stearat. Na temelju raspodjele veličina čestica i svojstva tecivosti prašaka i mješavina prašaka može se zaključiti da veliki udio čestica u području većih vrijednosti dovodi do bolje tecivosti prašaka. Također se pokazalo da širina raspodjele nema značajan utjecaj na svojstva tecivosti mješavina prašaka.The purpose of this work was to determine the particle size distribution, angle of repose, bulk density, tapped density and indexes that show the flow properties of powders and powder mixtures. Based on experimental and calculated data, the specific characteristics of powders and mixture were determined. In the experiments, seven different powder mixtures were prepared combining seven components. Sucrose obtained by granulation of grinded sucrose with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a binder was used as a core component in all mixtures. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), mannitol, lactose and PanExcea MC200G original and granulated, were used as fillers in the mixtures. Magnesium stearate was added as lubricant. Based on the particle size distribution and the flow properties of powders and mixtures it can be concluded that a greater proportion of large particles leads to better flow properties of powders. Also, it was shown that the distribution span has no significant effect on the flow properties of powder mixtures

Primerjava kolorimetričnega testa MTT in testa klonogenosti na mišjih fibrosarkomskih SA-1 celicah po obsevanju in zdravljenju s cisplatinom

Background. The aim of our study was to determine the relationship between cell survival of SA-1 tumor cells measured by clonogenic assay and MTT assay after irradiation and cisplatin treatment. Materials and methods. Survival of SA-1 cells was measured after irradiation (2-8 Gy) and cisplatin treatment (0.05-0.5 u g/ml) by clonogenic assay performed 7 days after treatment, and byMTT assay performed on day 3, 4, 5, and 7 after the treatment. Results. The results showed good correlation between MTT assay and clonogenic assay for irradiation doses below 4 Gy. For higher doses good correlation between MTT and clonogenic assay was determined only when MTT assay was performed on day 5and 7 after the treatment. In the case of cisplatin treatment, similar pattern was observed, good correlation between IC50 values for MTT and clonogenic assay was found when MTT assay was performed on day 5 and 7 after the treatment. Conclusion. Results of our study confirmed the results of previous studies addressing this topic and further support the use of MTT testas an alternative test for clonogenic test as a predictive assay of tumourresponse to the radio or chemotherapy.Izhodišče. Namen naše raziskave je bil določiti povezavo med testom MTT in testom klonogenosti z merjenjem preživetja SA-1 tumorskih celic po obsevanju in po terapiji s cisplatinom. Materiali in metode. Preživetje SA-1 celic smo določali po obsevanju celic (2-8 Gy) ali po terapiji s cisplatinom (0.05 - 0.5ug/ml) s testom klonogenosti, ki smo ga izvedli 7 dan po terapiji, ter testom MTT, ki smo ga izvedli 3., 4., 5., in 7. po terapiji. Rezultati. Ugotovili smo, da testa dobro korelirata, ko smo celice obsevali z dozami pod 4 Gy. Pri višjih dozah obsevanja sta test MTT in test klonogenosti dobro korelirala samo v primeru, ko smo merili preživetje celic z testom MTT 5. in 7. dan po obsevanju. Po terapiji s cisplatinom smo dobili podobne rezultatekorelacija med testom MTT in testom klonogenosti je bila dobra v primeru, ko smo izvedli test MTT 5. in 7. dan po terapiji. Zaključki. Rezultati naše raziskave so potrdili ugotovitve predhodnih študij, ter podpirajo uporabo testa MTT kot alternativo testu klonogenosti pri napovedovanju izida zdravljenja tumorjev z radio- in kemoterapijo

Layoutautomatisierung im analogen IC-Entwurf mit formalisiertem und nicht-formalisiertem Expertenwissen

After more than three decades of electronic design automation, most layouts for analog integrated circuits are still handcrafted in a laborious manual fashion today. Obverse to the highly automated synthesis tools in the digital domain (coping with the quantitative difficulty of packing more and more components onto a single chip – a desire well known as More Moore), analog layout automation struggles with the many diverse and heavily correlated functional requirements that turn the analog design problem into a More than Moore challenge. Facing this qualitative complexity, seasoned layout engineers rely on their comprehensive expert knowledge to consider all design constraints that uncompromisingly need to be satisfied. This usually involves both formally specified and nonformally communicated pieces of expert knowledge, which entails an explicit and implicit consideration of design constraints, respectively. Existing automation approaches can be basically divided into optimization algorithms (where constraint consideration occurs explicitly) and procedural generators (where constraints can only be taken into account implicitly). As investigated in this thesis, these two automation strategies follow two fundamentally different paradigms denoted as top-down automation and bottom-up automation. The major trait of top-down automation is that it requires a thorough formalization of the problem to enable a self-intelligent solution finding, whereas a bottom-up automatism –controlled by parameters– merely reproduces solutions that have been preconceived by a layout expert in advance. Since the strengths of one paradigm may compensate the weaknesses of the other, it is assumed that a combination of both paradigms –called bottom-up meets top-down– has much more potential to tackle the analog design problem in its entirety than either optimization-based or generator-based approaches alone. Against this background, the thesis at hand presents Self-organized Wiring and Arrangement of Responsive Modules (SWARM), an interdisciplinary methodology addressing the design problem with a decentralized multi-agent system. Its basic principle, similar to the roundup of a sheep herd, is to let responsive mobile layout modules (implemented as context-aware procedural generators) interact with each other inside a user-defined layout zone. Each module is allowed to autonomously move, rotate and deform itself, while a supervising control organ successively tightens the layout zone to steer the interaction towards increasingly compact (and constraint compliant) layout arrangements. Considering various principles of self-organization and incorporating ideas from existing decentralized systems, SWARM is able to evoke the phenomenon of emergence: although each module only has a limited viewpoint and selfishly pursues its personal objectives, remarkable overall solutions can emerge on the global scale. Several examples exhibit this emergent behavior in SWARM, and it is particularly interesting that even optimal solutions can arise from the module interaction. Further examples demonstrate SWARM’s suitability for floorplanning purposes and its application to practical place-and-route problems. The latter illustrates how the interacting modules take care of their respective design requirements implicitly (i.e., bottom-up) while simultaneously paying respect to high level constraints (such as the layout outline imposed top-down by the supervising control organ). Experimental results show that SWARM can outperform optimization algorithms and procedural generators both in terms of layout quality and design productivity. From an academic point of view, SWARM’s grand achievement is to tap fertile virgin soil for future works on novel bottom-up meets top-down automatisms. These may one day be the key to close the automation gap in analog layout design.Nach mehr als drei Jahrzehnten Entwurfsautomatisierung werden die meisten Layouts für analoge integrierte Schaltkreise heute immer noch in aufwändiger Handarbeit entworfen. Gegenüber den hochautomatisierten Synthesewerkzeugen im Digitalbereich (die sich mit dem quantitativen Problem auseinandersetzen, mehr und mehr Komponenten auf einem einzelnen Chip unterzubringen – bestens bekannt als More Moore) kämpft die analoge Layoutautomatisierung mit den vielen verschiedenen und stark korrelierten funktionalen Anforderungen, die das analoge Entwurfsproblem zu einer More than Moore Herausforderung machen. Angesichts dieser qualitativen Komplexität bedarf es des umfassenden Expertenwissens erfahrener Layouter um sämtliche Entwurfsconstraints, die zwingend eingehalten werden müssen, zu berücksichtigen. Meist beinhaltet dies formal spezifiziertes als auch nicht-formal übermitteltes Expertenwissen, was eine explizite bzw. implizite Constraint Berücksichtigung nach sich zieht. Existierende Automatisierungsansätze können grundsätzlich unterteilt werden in Optimierungsalgorithmen (wo die Constraint Berücksichtigung explizit erfolgt) und prozedurale Generatoren (die Constraints nur implizit berücksichtigen können). Wie in dieser Arbeit eruiert wird, folgen diese beiden Automatisierungsstrategien zwei grundlegend unterschiedlichen Paradigmen, bezeichnet als top-down Automatisierung und bottom-up Automatisierung. Wesentliches Merkmal der top-down Automatisierung ist die Notwendigkeit einer umfassenden Problemformalisierung um eine eigenintelligente Lösungsfindung zu ermöglichen, während ein bottom-up Automatismus –parametergesteuert– lediglich Lösungen reproduziert, die vorab von einem Layoutexperten vorgedacht wurden. Da die Stärken des einen Paradigmas die Schwächen des anderen ausgleichen können, ist anzunehmen, dass eine Kombination beider Paradigmen –genannt bottom-up meets top down– weitaus mehr Potenzial hat, das analoge Entwurfsproblem in seiner Gesamtheit zu lösen als optimierungsbasierte oder generatorbasierte Ansätze für sich allein. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt die vorliegende Arbeit Self-organized Wiring and Arrangement of Responsive Modules (SWARM) vor, eine interdisziplinäre Methodik, die das Entwurfsproblem mit einem dezentralisierten Multi-Agenten-System angeht. Das Grundprinzip besteht darin, ähnlich dem Zusammentreiben einer Schafherde, reaktionsfähige mobile Layoutmodule (realisiert als kontextbewusste prozedurale Generatoren) in einer benutzerdefinierten Layoutzone interagieren zu lassen. Jedes Modul darf sich selbständig bewegen, drehen und verformen, wobei ein übergeordnetes Kontrollorgan die Zone schrittweise verkleinert, um die Interaktion auf zunehmend kompakte (und constraintkonforme) Layoutanordnungen hinzulenken. Durch die Berücksichtigung diverser Selbstorganisationsgrundsätze und die Einarbeitung von Ideen bestehender dezentralisierter Systeme ist SWARM in der Lage, das Phänomen der Emergenz hervorzurufen: obwohl jedes Modul nur eine begrenzte Sichtweise hat und egoistisch seine eigenen Ziele verfolgt, können sich auf globaler Ebene bemerkenswerte Gesamtlösungen herausbilden. Mehrere Beispiele veranschaulichen dieses emergente Verhalten in SWARM, wobei besonders interessant ist, dass sogar optimale Lösungen aus der Modulinteraktion entstehen können. Weitere Beispiele demonstrieren SWARMs Eignung zwecks Floorplanning sowie die Anwendung auf praktische Place-and-Route Probleme. Letzteres verdeutlicht, wie die interagierenden Module ihre jeweiligen Entwurfsanforderungen implizit (also: bottom-up) beachten, während sie gleichzeitig High-Level-Constraints berücksichtigen (z.B. die Layoutkontur, die top-down vom übergeordneten Kontrollorgan auferlegt wird). Experimentelle Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Optimierungsalgorithmen und prozedurale Generatoren von SWARM sowohl bezüglich Layoutqualität als auch Entwurfsproduktivität übertroffen werden können. Aus akademischer Sicht besteht SWARMs große Errungenschaft in der Erschließung fruchtbaren Neulands für zukünftige Arbeiten an neuartigen bottom-up meets top-down Automatismen. Diese könnten eines Tages der Schlüssel sein, um die Automatisierungslücke im analogen Layoutentwurf zu schließen