376 research outputs found
Peer Instruction method in introductory math courses
Learning is not a spectator’s sport. Students do not learn much by just sitting in class listening
their teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments and spitting out answers.
The teaching-learning process has been a constant target of studies, particularly in Higher
Education, in consequence of the annual increase of new students. The concern with
maintaining a desired quality level in the training of these students, conjugated with the will to
widen the access to all of those who finish Secondary School Education, has triggered a greater
intervention from the education specialists, in partnership with the teachers of all Higher
Education areas, in the analysis of this problem.
Considering the particular case of Engineering, it has been witnessed a rising concern with the
active learning strategies and forms of assessment.
Research has demonstrated that students learn more if they are actively engaged with the
material they are studying. In this presentation we describe, present and discuss the techniques
and the results of Peer Instruction method in an introductory Calculus courses of an Engineering
Bac
A Quantitative Model for Decomposing & Assessing the Value for the Customer
The research presented in this paper proposes a novel quantitative
model for decomposing and assessing the Value for the Customer. The
proposed approach builds on the different dimensions of the Value Network
analysis proposed by Verna Allee having as background the concept of Value
for the Customer proposed by Woodall. In this context, the Value for the
Customer is modelled as a relationship established between the exchanged
deliverables and a combination of tangible and intangible assets projected into
their endogenous or exogenous dimensions. The Value Network Analysis of
the deliverables exchange enables an in-depth understanding of this frontier
and the implicit modelling of co-creation scenarios. The proposed Conceptual
Model for Decomposing Value for the Customer combines several concepts:
from the marketing area we have the concept of Value for the Customer; from
the area of intellectual capital the concept of Value Network Analysis; from the
collaborative networks area we have the perspective of the enterprise life cycle
and the endogenous and exogenous perspectives; at last, the proposed model is
supported by a mathematical formal description that stems from the area of
Multi-Criteria Decision Making. The whole concept is illustrated in the context
of a case study of an enterprise in the footwear industry (Pontechem). The
merits of this approach seem evident from the contact with Pontechem as it
provides a structured approach for the enterprises to assess the adequacy of
their value proposition to the client/customer needs and how these relate to
their endogenous and/or exogenous tangible or intangible assets. The proposed
model, as a tool, may therefore be a useful instrument in supporting the
commercialisation of new products and/or services
Impact of territorial constraints on the optimization of forest accessibility. GIS Spatial Analysis for Quercus forests in National Park of Peneda-Gerês, northwest Portugal
ArcGIS software was used for timber harvesting planning in four (4) different
mountainous forest areas of Peneda-Gerês National Park (PNPG), located in Northwest
Portugal.
Orographic characteristics, such as slope and watershed systems features were considered.
The different manual and mechanical timber extraction and concentration methods were
also considered.
The different typologies of roads network to access forests were also introduced in the
models.
The analysis allowed identifying forest areas with different accessibilities and orographic
restrictions. Performed analysis also allowed the planning of additional roads necessary
for timber extraction optimization, considering optimized site-by-site timber extraction
methods. The proposal of accessibility improvement through new roads construction was
also considered important for forest fire prevention and for fire direct combat. However,
the present proposal of accessibility improvement is merely an academic exercise because
nature conservation restrictions severely limit the construction of new forest roads.
This methodological approach should be tested in other mountainous forest regions
throughout Europe
Conceptual model for decomposing the value for the customer
IEMS ’12 — 3rd Industrial Engineering and Management SymposiumValue has been defined in different theoretical contexts as need, desire, interest, standard /criteria, beliefs,
attitudes, and preferences. The creation of value is key to any business, and any business activity is about
exchanging some tangible and/or intangible good or service and having its value accepted and rewarded by
customers or clients, either inside the enterprise or collaborative network or outside. “Perhaps surprising
then is that firms often do not know how to define value, or how to measure it” (Anderson and Narus, 1998
cited by [1]). Woodruff echoed that we need “richer customer value theory” for providing an “important
tool for locking onto the critical things that managers need to know”. In addition, he emphasized, “we
need customer value theory that delves deeply into customer’s world of product use in their situations”
[2]. In this sense, we proposed and validated a novel “Conceptual Model for Decomposing the Value for
the Customer”. To this end, we were aware that time has a direct impact on customer perceived value,
and the suppliers’ and customers’ perceptions change from the pre-purchase to the post-purchase phases,
causing some uncertainty and doubts.We wanted to break down value into all its components, as well as every built and used assets (both endogenous and/or exogenous perspectives). This component analysis
was then transposed into a mathematical formulation using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP),
so that the uncertainty and vagueness of value perceptions could be embedded in this model that relates
used and built assets in the tangible and intangible deliverable exchange among the involved parties, with
their actual value perceptions
Temporal changes in the expression of the translocator protein TSPO and the steroidogenic enzyme 5a-reductase in the dorsal spinal cord of animals with neuropathic pain: effects of progesterone administration
Neuropathic pain is a frequent complication of spinal cord injury (SCI), still refractory to conventional treatment. The presence and biological activity of steroidogenic regulatory proteins and enzymes in the spinal cord suggests that neurosteroids locally generated could modulate pain messages. In this study we explored temporal changes in the spinal expression of the 18kDa translocator protein TSPO, the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAr) and the steroidogenic enzyme 5-reductase (5α-RI/II) in an experimental model of central chronic pain. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a SCI and sacrificed at different time points (1, 14 or 28 days). The development of mechanical and cold allodynia was assessed. Injured animals showed an early increase in the mRNA levels of TSPO and 5α-RII, whereas in the chronic phase a significant decrease in the expression of 5α-RI and 5α-RII was observed, coinciding with the presence of allodynic behaviors. Furthermore, since we have shown that progesterone (PG) administration may offer a promising perspective in pain modulation, we also evaluated the expression of steroidogenic proteins and enzymes in injured animals receiving daily injections of the steroid. PG-treated did not develop allodynia and showed a marked increase in the mRNA levels of TSPO, StAR, 5α-RI and 5α-RII 28 days after injury. Our results suggest that in the acute phase after SCI, the increased expression of TSPO and 5α-RII may represent a protective endogenous response against tissue injury, which is not maintained in the chronic allodynic phase. PG may favor local steroidogenesis and the production of its reduced metabolites, which could contribute to the antiallodynic effects observed after PG treatment. Fil: Coronel, Maria Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez Granel, María Luz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Raggio, María Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Adler, Natalia Sol. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: de Nicola, Alejandro Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Labombarda, Maria Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Bioquímica Humana; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Susana Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Bioquímica Humana; Argentin
Systematic coarse-graining of environments for the non-perturbative simulation of open quantum systems
Conducting precise electronic-vibrational dynamics simulations of molecular
systems poses significant challenges when dealing with an environment composed
of numerous vibrational modes. Here, we introduce novel techniques for the
construction of effective phonon spectral densities that capture accurately
open system dynamics over a finite time interval of interest. When combined
with existing non-perturbative simulation tools, our approach can reduce
significantly the computational costs associated with many-body open system
dynamics
Conjugated polymers for the optical control of the electrical activity of living cells
Different conjugated polymers are proposed as bio-optical interfaces. Selected polymers are capable to sustain thermal sterilization but provide different optical coupling with living cells
Cool white dwarfs as standards for infrared observations
In the era of modern digital sky surveys, uncertainties in the flux of stellar standards are commonly the dominant systematic error in photometric calibration and can often affect the results of higher level experiments. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectrophotometry, which is based on computed model atmospheres for three hot (Teff>30000 K) pure hydrogen (DA) white dwarfs, is currently considered the most reliable and internally consistent flux calibration. However, many next-generation facilities (e.g. Harmoni on E-ELT, Euclid, and JWST) will focus on IR observations, a regime in which white dwarf calibration has not yet been robustly tested. Cool DA white dwarfs have energy distributions that peak close to the optical or near-infrared, do not have shortcomings from UV metal line blanketing, and have a reasonably large sky density (≃4 deg−2 at G < 20), making them, potentially, excellent calibrators. Here, we present a pilot study based on STIS + WFC3 observations of two bright DA white dwarfs to test whether targets cooler than current hot primary standards (Teff<20000 K) are consistent with the HST flux scale. We also test the robustness of white dwarf models in the IR regime from an X-shooter analysis of Paschen lines and by cross-matching our previously derived Gaia white dwarf catalogue with observations obtained with 2MASS, UKIDSS, VHS, and WISE
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