Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg

https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/mclp/1013/thumbnail.jp

Cooking… Organized Opportunities for Kids

The utilization of cooking experiences in the elementary school can increase student involvement and participation. In addition, when carefully planned cooking experiences are presented, a wide variety of learning opportunities is possible. This project is intended to assist teachers wishing to incorporate cooking experiences into the classroom. Cooking lessons, teaching suggestions, additional recipes, and enrichment ideas are included. A list of cooking terms and definitions and additional sources of information are also given

Self-Instructional Units for Mastery Learning in Drafting

Most teachers would like to provide more help and individualized instruction for their students. The implementation of mastery learning in the classroom can help accomplish this. Use of the mastery learning technique may also reduce the high level of predictability in student achievement, All students should be able to experience some degree of success. The materials in this project are designed to allow students to progress at a pace they set for themselves, and to achieve mastery of all units covered

Effects of Pedagogical Agent Design on Training Evaluation Measures: A Meta-Analysis

Pedagogical agents are, conversational virtual characters employed in electronic learning environments to serve various instructional functions (Veletsianos & Miller, 2008). They can take a variety of forms, and have been designed to serve various instructional roles, such as mentors, experts, motivators, and others. Given the increased availability and sophistication of technology in recent decades, these agents have become increasingly common as facilitators to training in educational settings, private institutions, and the military. Software to aid in the creation of pedagogical agents is widely available. Additionally, software use and agent creation often requires little formal training, affording nearly anyone the opportunity to create content and digital trainers to deliver it. While the popularity of these instructional agents has increased rapidly in practice, it has outpaced research into best practices for agent design and instructional methods. The personas programmed into pedagogical agents are recognizable by the people interacting with them, and have been shown to impact various learning outcomes. The form and realism of training agents have also been shown to have substantial impacts on people\u27s perceptions and relationships with these beings. Additionally, agents can be designed in environments that utilize different methods of content delivery (e.g., spoken words versus text), resulting in varying levels of cognitive load (and thus, varying learning outcomes). In an educational setting, agent perceptions and interactions could impact the effectiveness of a training program. This meta-analysis uses the Integrated Model of Training Evaluation and Effectiveness (IMTEE) as an over-arching framework to examine the effects of training characteristics on training evaluation measures (Alvarez, Salas, & Garofano, 2004). Training characteristics refer to any training-specific qualities that may impact learning outcomes compared to other training programs that offer the same or similar content. Training evaluation refers to the practice of measuring important training outcomes to determine whether or not a training initiative meets its stated objectives. The pedagogical agent training characteristics evaluated in this study include agent iconicity (level of detail and realism), agent roles, and agent instructional modalities. The evaluation measures being examined include post-training self-efficacy, cognitive learning, training performance, and transfer performance. The Uncanny Valley Theory (Mori, 1970) suggests that agent iconicity (level of detail and realism) is expected to relate to training evaluation measures differently for human-like and non-human-like agents, such that low levels of iconicity (high realism) in non-human-like agents and moderate levels of iconicity in human-like agents would result in optimal training outcomes. These hypotheses were partially supported in that trainees achieved the highest levels of performance on transfer tasks when working with moderately realistic human-like trainers. No significant effects were seen for non-human-like trainers. Additionally, it was expected that the relationship between instructional modality and all training evaluation measures would be positive and stronger for modalities that produce deeper cognitive processing (Explaining and Questioning) than the modalities that produce shallower processing (Executing and Showing). This hypothesis was not supported. The relationship between agent role and all training evaluation measures was expected to be positive and stronger for modalities that produce deeper cognitive processing (Coaching and Testing) than the roles that produce shallower processing (Supplanting and Demonstrating). This hypothesis was not supported. Additionally, agents that minimize extraneous cognitive processing were also expected to outperform those that require excess cognitive demands. Agents that utilize speech, personalized messages, facial expressions, and gestures were expected to lead to improved training outcomes compared to those that primarily utilize text, speak in monologue, are expressionless, and/or are devoid of gestures. This hypothesis was partially supported in that agents who were merely present on-screen (physically directing learner attention) resulted in the lowest transfer task performance compared to more active agents who delivered actual content (via speech or text). Learner control (versus trainer control) over support delivery was expected to contribute to improved training outcomes, and support that is delayed in its delivery was expected to hinder performance on training evaluation measures. These hypotheses were not supported. This meta-analysis, backed by an integration of theories from computer science and multiple disciplines within psychology, contributes to the field of employee training by informing decisions regarding when and how pedagogical agents can best be used in applied setting as viable training tools

Trust me, I have a PhD: the effects of religion, political conservatism, and exposure to science feature stories on trust in science

Master of ScienceJournalism and Mass CommunicationsJoye C. GordonWidespread debates about scientific issues, from global warming to vaccinations, have raised questions about public trust in science and scientists. Many studies have attempted to determine the cause of observed declines in public trust. This project employs framing theory, suggesting that the way science frames research might improve public trust. Research questions explore whether political conservatism, public religiosity, and exposure to a feature story about a scientist affects trust in science and scientists. A between-subjects quasi-experiment exposed participants to feature articles about scientists in either controversial or non-controversial fields, and asked a series of questions in order to measure the participant’s trust in science and scientists. Results indicated that participants who were male or participants who had some college education and who read the non-controversial feature story were statistically more likely to have a higher level of trust in science and scientists than any other group. Suggestions for future studies are discussed

Nursery Origin and Connectivity of Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in the North Pacific Ocean

Trace elements in otolith cores of young-of-the-year (YOY) swordfish, Xiphias gladius, were used as natural tracers to predict the nursery origin of sub-adult and adult swordfish sampled from three foraging grounds in the North Pacific Ocean (NPO). First, otolith core chemistry (proxy for nursery origin) was used to evaluate nursery-specific elemental signatures in YOY swordfish. Sagittal otoliths from YOY swordfish were collected from 2000 to 2005 among four regional nurseries in the NPO including Central Equatorial North Pacific Ocean (CENPO), Central North Pacific Ocean (CNPO), Eastern Equatorial North Pacific Ocean (EENPO), and Western North Pacific Ocean (WNPO). Otolith core trace element concentrations of calcium (43Ca), magnesium (24Mg), strontium (88Sr), and barium (138Ba) were measured and quantified using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Univariate tests indicated that three element:Ca molar ratios (Mg:Ca, Sr:Ca, and Ba:Ca) were detectable and significantly different among nurseries. Sr:Ca ratios were higher in individuals collected from the CENPO while Mg:Ca ratios were higher in individuals from the CNPO. Overall nursery classification success from quadratic discriminant analysis of YOY swordfish to their nursery of collection was 72%. Next, otolith core chemistry of sub-adults and adults collected from three foraging grounds where targeted fisheries exist (Hawaii, California, and Mexico) was examined to calculate nursery-specific contribution estimates. Mixed-stock analysis indicated that the CENPO nursery contributed the majority of individuals to all three foraging grounds (Hawaii 45.6 ± iii 13.2%; California 84.6 ± 10.8%; Mexico 64.5 ± 15.9%). Results from this study highlight the importance of the CENPO nursery to the NPO and provides researchers and fisheries managers new information on connectivity of the Pacific swordfish population in the NPO

Contacting the spirits of the dead: paranormal belief and the teenage worldview

A number of previous studies have examined both the overall level of belief expressed by young people in the paranormal and the major demographic predictors of such belief. Building on this research tradition, the present study examines how one specific paranormal belief concerning contact with the spirits of the dead integrates with the wider teenage worldview. Data provided by 33,982 pupils age 13 to 15 years throughout England and Wales demonstrated that almost one in three young people (31%) believed that it is possible to contact the spirits of the dead. Compared with young people who did not share this belief, the young people who believed in the possibility of contacting the spirits of the dead displayed lower psychological wellbeing, higher anxiety, greater isolation, greater alienation, less positive social attitudes, and less socially conforming lifestyles. Overall, paranormal beliefs seem to be associated with a less healthy worldview, in both personal and social terms

Racial and ethnic differences in general health status and limiting health conditions among American children: parental reports in the 1999 National Survey of America's Families

Working PaperObjectives: This research investigates the association between race/ethnicity and child health and examines the role of family structure, family SES, and healthcare factors in this association. Five major racial/ethnic groups in the United States are studied. Two child health outcomes including parent-rated health and limiting health condition are examined. The analysis is stratified into three age groups: age 0 to 5, age 6 to 11, and age 12 to 17. Design: Cross-sectional study using data from a large nationally representative sample collected in 1999 in the United States. Results: For general health, older age groups tend to exhibit larger racial/ethnic disparities. With few exceptions, minority groups showed higher risk of poor health relative to Whites among children age 6 to 17. In the youngest group (age 0 to 5), only Latinos have significant health disadvantage. As to limiting health condition, black children prior to adolescence are slightly disadvantaged, Native American adolescents are significantly more likely to have limiting conditions, whereas Asian adolescents are better off than Whites. Family SES explains some black, Latino, and Native American effects but not all; and SES does not explain the Asian effects. Family structure and healthcare factors generally do not contribute much to the racial/ethnic differences but they can have significant effects on child health in their own right. We also find that economic resources play a more salient role in child health than parental education especially in younger children. And healthcare factors to some extent explain why children from higher SES family fare better. Conclusion: Racial/ethnic disparities in health start early in life. Except for Asians, class explains a substantial amount but not all of these disparities. Healthcare factors play a prominent role in explaining disparities by class. Structural solution is needed to reduce disparities by race and ethnicity particularly in younger children

The New Apocalypse Project

The New Apocalypse Project is my intensive and ever-changing printmaking study. It is inspired by the masterful prints of old and my own eclectic passion for creating modern-day interpretations of subjects that have long-plagued humanity. For this project, I was inspired by one artist in particular, the German printmaker Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). His Apocalypse woodcuts caught my interest. These centuries-old prints are religious in their nature, but even without their religious connotations, I find the subject of human destruction to be powerful. Rather than a supernaturally induced end to humankind, I seek to depict humans as their own cause for ruination. Enter, The New Apocalypse Project. From the beginning of the project in Spring of 2011, I have researched imagery, sketched compositions, and completed three of the nineteen plates. Sheer scale and tediously devoted labor are both areas that distinguish this project. Each 9”x12” linoleum plate takes about 100 hours to draw, carve, and print. Multiply this by 19, and I have a project that will take approximately 2,000 hours of labor to finish (if everything runs smoothly). I am ready to accept the challenge of creating a piece that will capture the attention of viewers, and hopefully inspire other art students to explore printmaking as a valuable addition to their art vocabulary