A study of factors which determine whether on not behavioural objectives affect student learning

This thesis is concerned with the identification of factors which, determine whether or not providing students with behavioural objectives affects student learning. It is inferred from the literature that under 'non-review' learning conditions, that is conditions under which students read straight through instructional material without referring back to points already covered, that according to how behavioural objectives are used they may provide students with different types of stimuli. Thus objectives inserted immediately before related passages in a text may function as orienting stimuli, directing student attention away from the incidental and towards the relevant, whereas objectives inserted immediately after related passages may function as reinforcement stimuli, stimulating further consideration of the relevant. The effects of such stimuli have been observed in a number of related studies (particularly in those carried out under 'non-review' learning conditions with inserted questions). Thus orienting stimuli (in the form of pre-questions) have been observed to result in relevant learning being enhanced and incidental learning being depressed, while reinforcement stimuli (in the form of post-questions) have been observed to result in relevant learning being enhanced without any depression of incidental learning occurring. However, it is noted that although the existence of orienting or reinforcement stimuli may lead to related effects on student learning, this is not always the case. With this anomaly in mind an experiment was set up to find out if student perception of instructional material could determine whether or not behavioural objectives affected student learning. The experiment, involving 640 students, was deliberately designed around a natural learning situation in the Open University as it was felt that it is extremely difficult to generalise findings from experiments conducted under 'non-review' learning conditions to natural learning situations. A number of statistical techniques were used to analyse the data collected, but a multiple regression approach was found to be the most informative. It was observed that behavioural objectives were able to affect student perception of the readability, structure and interest of instructional material, and the proportion of material read, and that in turn these variables were able to affect student learning. However, the analysis failed to explain why in one instance behavioural objectives affected student learning and in another instance did not. A follow-up study was undertaken to gain some insight into the anomaly. It was rationalised that although behavioural objectives may affect a number of student perceptions, only a limited number of these may be critical in determining whether behavioural objectives affect student learning. Sufficient information was gathered to suggest two variables which might be critical in this respect: the first concerned with student perception of goals set, and the second with student perception of the importance of these goals. The thesis describes how the present experiment, and the related mode of analysis, may be modified to carry out an empirical study on the role played by these two perceptions

Improving Health Literacy for At-Risk Youth: Educating in the Age of the Internet

Health literacy has been gaining broader attention as a viable method for improving health outcomes. Most of the information on health literacy has addressed its function among adult populations in healthcare settings. This presentation will describe the basics of health literacy, such as how it is defined, how it can be operationalized in adolescent populations, how it must be part of the prevention vocabulary for adolescent service providers. It will also provide practical strategies to improve health literacy in the age of technology for those who work directly with youth. The ultimate goal is to reduce health risk behaviors in this population

Non Radiation Hardened Microprocessors in Spaced Based Remote Sensing Systems

The CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) mission is a comprehensive suite of active and passive sensors including a 20Hz 230mj Nd:YAG lidar, a visible wavelength Earth-looking camera and an imaging infrared radiometer. CALIPSO flies in formation with the Earth Observing System Post-Meridian (EOS PM) train, provides continuous, near-simultaneous measurements and is a planned 3 year mission. CALIPSO was launched into a 98 degree sun synchronous Earth orbit in April of 2006 to study clouds and aerosols and acquires over 5 gigabytes of data every 24 hours. The ground track of one CALIPSO orbit as well as high and low intensity South Atlantic Anomaly outlines is shown. CALIPSO passes through the SAA several times each day. Spaced based remote sensing systems that include multiple instruments and/or instruments such as lidar generate large volumes of data and require robust real-time hardware and software mechanisms and high throughput processors. Due to onboard storage restrictions and telemetry downlink limitations these systems must pre-process and reduce the data before sending it to the ground. This onboard processing and realtime requirement load may mean that newer more powerful processors are needed even though acceptable radiation-hardened versions have not yet been released. CALIPSO's single board computer payload controller processor is actually a set of four (4) voting non-radiation hardened COTS Power PC 603r's built on a single width VME card by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS). Significant radiation concerns for CALIPSO and other Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites include the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), the north and south poles and strong solar events. Over much of South America and extending into the South Atlantic Ocean the Van Allen radiation belts dip to just 200-800km and spacecraft entering this area are subjected to high energy protons and experience higher than normal Single Event Upset (SEU) and Single Event Latch-up (SEL) rates. Although less significant, spacecraft flying in the area around the poles experience similar upsets. Finally, powerful solar proton events in the range of 10MeV/10pfu to 100MeV/1pfu as are forecasted and tracked by NOAA's Space Environment Center in Colorado can result in Single Event Upset (SEU), Single Event Latch-up (SEL) and permanent failures such as Single Event Gate Rupture (SEGR) in some technologies. (Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) are another source, especially for gate rupture) CALIPSO mitigates common radiation concerns in its data handling through the use of redundant processors, radiation-hardened Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), hardware-based Error Detection and Correction (EDAC), processor and memory scrubbing, redundant boot code and mirrored files. After presenting a system overview this paper will expand on each of these strategies. Where applicable, related on-orbit data collected since the CALIPSO initial boot on May 4, 2006 will be noted

A Qualitative Study of Stressors, Stress Symptoms, and Coping Mechanisms Among College Students Using Nominal Group Process

Background: Stress is part of the college experience; however, how students deal with stress can greatly impact their behaviors and health status. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to qualitatively assess sources of stress, types of stressors, and coping mechanisms employed among undergraduate students. Methods: Nominal group process was utilized to obtain information related to study variables and help prioritize the accounts provided by study participants (n = 173). Results: Participants gave insight into the unique stress faced by this generation (grades, GPA, multitasking, parental expectations), stress symptoms (more psychological in nature), and coping strategies (prayer, talking to mom, surfing the net, and social networking). The top stressors included: schoolwork, money, time management, parents, and friends. Moodiness/irritability, anxiety, and sleep problems were the highest-ranked symptoms of stress cited by study participants. The three most-reported coping mechanisms were: working out, prayer, and talking to mom. Conclusions: Although the themes of stressors, symptoms, and coping mechanisms for college students might not have changed through the years, the sources that underlie these themes have changed as compared to past generations

The Relationship of Gender and Self-Efficacy on Social Physique Anxiety among College Students

International Journal of Exercise Science 8(3): 234-242, 2015. The anxiety or fear associated with physique evaluation is defined as Social Physique Anxiety (SPA). Numerous studies have examined this construct, yet a gap exists exploring this phenomenon among current college students with SPA, self-efficacy, and gender concurrently. Therefore, the purposes of this study included quantitatively analyzing the association between SPA, gender, and self-efficacy. Participants included 237 students at a Southeastern university participating in jogging, body conditioning, or weight training courses. Analysis of Variance yielded a significant main effect for self-efficacy as well, as those with lower self-efficacy displayed higher levels of SPA (p\u3c 0.001). Stepwise regression analysis indicated self-efficacy and gender were both significant predictors of SPA. This information could aid in creating interventions designed to decrease the prevalence of SPA and increase levels of self-efficacy among the current college student population