2,557 research outputs found
On costs of good intentions: The effect of problem contextualisation on knowledge acquisition
In previous research it has been shown that a semantically familiar problem context can be detrimental to knowledge acquisition. The aim of this study was to test two competing explanations for this effect: goal adoption versus assumptions. Participants were asked to learn about the causal structure of a linear system presented on a computer through goal free exploration. Across four conditions the level of context familiarity was experimentally varied. Results lend no evidence for goal adoption as an explanation for poor knowledge acquisition under familiar conditions. Rather, it appears that a high number of a priori assumptions that tend not to be tested systematically are the main barrier to the acquisition of new knowledge. Implications for research in problem solving, knowledge acquisition and the design of computer-based learning environments are discussed
What makes a 'good group'? Exploring the characteristics and performance of undergraduate student groups
Group work forms the foundation for much of student learning within higher education, and has many educational, social and professional benefits. This study aimed to explore the determinants of success or failure for undergraduate student teams and to define a ‘good group’ through considering three aspects of group success: the task, the individuals, and the team. We employed a mixed methodology, combining demographic data with qualitative observations and task and peer evaluation scores. We determined associations between group dynamic and behaviour, demographic composition, member personalities and attitudes towards one another, and task success. We also employed a cluster analysis to create a model outlining the attributes of a good small group learning team in veterinary education. This model highlights that student groups differ in measures of their effectiveness as teams, independent of their task performance. On the basis of this, we suggest that groups who achieve high marks in tasks cannot be assumed to have acquired team working skills, and therefore if these are important as a learning outcome, they must be assessed directly alongside the task output
Beyond psychometrics: the difference between difficult problem solving and complex problem solving
In this paper we argue that a synthesis of findings across the various sub-areas of research in complex problem solving and consequently progress in theory building is hampered by an insufficient differentiation of complexity and difficulty. In the proposed framework of person, task, and situation (PTS), complexity is conceptualized as a quality that is determined by the cognitive demands that the characteristics of the task and the situation impose. Difficulty represents the quantifiable level of a person’s success in dealing with such demands. We use the well-documented “semantic effect” as an exemplar for testing some of the conceptual assumptions derived from the PTS framework. We demonstrate how a differentiation between complexity and difficulty can help take beyond a potentially too narrowly defined psychometric perspective and subsequently gain a better understanding of the cognitive mechanisms behind this effect. In an empirical study a total of 240 university students were randomly allocated to one of four conditions. The four conditions resulted from contrasting the semanticity level of the variable labels used in the CPS system (high vs. low) and two instruction conditions for how to explore the CPS system’s causal structure (starting with the assumption that all relationships between variables existed vs. starting with the assumption that none of the relationships existed). The variation in the instruction aimed at inducing knowledge acquisition processes of either (1) systematic elimination of presumptions, or (2) systematic compilation of a mental representation of the causal structure underpinning the system. Results indicate that (a) it is more complex to adopt a “blank slate” perspective under high semanticity as it requires processes of inhibiting prior assumptions, and (b) it seems more difficult to employ a systematic heuristic when testing against presumptions. In combination, situational characteristics, such as the semanticity of variable labels, have the potential to trigger qualitatively different tasks. Failing to differentiate between ‘task’ and ‘situation’ as independent sources of complexity and treating complexity and difficulty synonymously threaten the validity of performance scores obtained in CPS research
Are braneworlds born isotropic?
It has recently been suggested that an isotropic singularity may be a generic
feature of brane cosmologies, even in the inhomogeneous case. Using the
covariant and gauge-invariant approach we present a detailed analysis of linear
perturbations of the isotropic model which is a past attractor in
the phase space of homogeneous Bianchi models on the brane. We find that for
matter with an equation of state parameter , the dimensionless
variables representing generic anisotropic and inhomogeneous perturbations
decay as , showing that the model is asymptotically stable
in the past. We conclude that brane universes are born with isotropy naturally
built-in, contrary to standard cosmology. The observed large-scale homogeneity
and isotropy of the universe can therefore be explained as a consequence of the
initial conditions if the brane-world paradigm represents a description of the
very early universe.Comment: Changed to match published versio
Athlete's knowledge and views on OTC medication
A questionnaire was administered to elite athletes from Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA representing 10 Olympic sports in order to explore knowledge and understanding of overthe- counter (OTC) medication since the removal of many of these substances from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List, in 2004. Athletes demonstrated limited knowledge and understanding. Around half (50.5%) knew the penalty incurred following a doping violation involving a banned OTC stimulant. The terms
Monitoring Program and Specified Substance List
were understood by 43.3% and 67.5% of respondents,
respectively. Overall, the status of substances in relation to the Prohibited List was correctly identified in just 35.1% of cases. As a whole, athletes were of the opinion that OTC stimulants posed a risk to health, were performance enhancing and that their use was against the spirit of sport. They were undecided as to whether these
drugs should be returned to the Prohibited List. Elite athletes require targeted education programmes that will enable them to make informed decisions on the potential of OTC medications for therapeutic or performance enhancing purpose
OncoLog Volume 39, Number 04 October-December 1994
Looking for solutions to ethical problems in the clinic Interferon: the evolution of a biological therapy Colon cancer registry coordinates treatment, education, and researchhttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/oncolog/1048/thumbnail.jp
The Decay Amplitude from Lattice QCD
We report on the first realistic \emph{ab initio} calculation of a hadronic
weak decay, that of the amplitude for a kaon to decay into two \pi-mesons
with isospin 2. We find Re in good agreement with the
experimental result and for the hitherto unknown imaginary part we find
{Im}. Moreover combining our result for
Im\, with experimental values of Re\,, Re\, and
, we obtain the following value for the unknown ratio
Im\,/Re\, within the Standard Model:
.
One consequence of these results is that the contribution from Im\, to the
direct CP violation parameter (the so-called Electroweak
Penguin, EWP, contribution) is Re. We
explain why this calculation of represents a major milestone for lattice
QCD and discuss the exciting prospects for a full quantitative understanding of
CP-violation in kaon decays.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
Opening the Rome-Southampton window for operator mixing matrices
We show that the running of operators which mix under renormalization can be
computed fully non-perturbatively as a product of continuum step scaling
matrices. These step scaling matrices are obtained by taking the "ratio" of Z
matrices computed at different energies in an RI-MOM type scheme for which
twisted boundary conditions are an essential ingredient. Our method allows us
to relax the bounds of the Rome-Southampton window. We also explain why such a
method is important in view of the light quark physics program of the RBC-UKQCD
collaborations. To illustrate our method, using n_f=2+1 domain-wall fermions,
we compute the non-perturbative running matrix of four-quark operators needed
in K->pipi decay and neutral kaon mixing. Our results are then compared to
perturbation theory.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. v2: PRD version, minor changes and few references
adde
Trauma histories of men and women in residential drug treatment: The Scottish evidence
This article focuses on self-reported child neglect and abuse in residential drug treatment drawing on data from clients in Scotland collected 1996-1999. It notes the lack of adoption of regular screening using validated tools of childhood trauma in men and women. The authors’ findings suggest that the prevalence of childhood abuse histories are higher in female drug users than male drug users but recognises that even with standardised tools there is a wealth of diverse categories of severity of abuse that warn against broad treatment plans for ‘the traumatised’
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