Understanding Learning Progressions via Automatic Scoring of Visual Models

The modern reliance on technological advances has spurred a focus on improving scientific education. Fueled by this interest, novel methods of testing students’ understanding of scientific concepts have been developed. One of these is visual modeling, an assessment method which allows for non-textual evaluation that incorporates previously difficult factors to test,such as complexity and creativity. Although visual models have been shown to effectively measure conceptual understanding, there has been a logistical barrier of scaling due to the infeasibility of grading large amounts of them by hand. This thesis proposes a system that can solve this issue by automatically grading visual models. A host of unsupervised and supervised computer vision techniques are utilized in order to classify shapes in visual models, extract relevant features, and, ultimately, assign a Learning Progression score to each model. Examples of the techniques used are a novel way to determine the orientation of Arrows and a Cascaded Voting System for shape classification. The results of the automatic grading system proposed in this thesis outperform previous methods and lay the foundation for future improvements. The resulting findings show great promise for directly solving the scaling issue, thereby making visual model assessments a practical tool for widespread use.Master of ScienceData Science, College of Engineering and Computer ScienceUniversity of Michigan-Dearbornhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154796/1/Ari Sagherian Final Thesis.pdfDescription of Ari Sagherian Final Thesis.pdf : Thesi

Putting theory into peaceful practice: insights and reflections on the process of coproducing a school-based intergroup relations intervention with teachers

With the increasing ethnic diversity in school classrooms globally, understanding how best to harness intergroup contact and promote social cohesion is a timely challenge for science, policy, and practice alike. There is an urgent need, therefore, for applied social psychological research that bridges theory and practice in the pursuit of peace. The present article reflects on the process of working with teachers in ethnically diverse secondary schools in England to coproduce an intervention that aimed to promote better intergroup relations among 11-year-old school students. Through a series of workshops, we cocreated a theoretically informed intervention that was then implemented and evaluated in schools. In this article, we discuss our approach to the development of our intervention. We then conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis of our research process and approach to coproduction and offer recommendations for researchers aiming to carry out applied research in the pursuit of peace. The appropriateness of social psychological frameworks for promoting intergroup relations, and in turn, peace in real-world contexts and implications for future research and practice are discussed

Peer inclusion and school equality norm associations with intergroup contact, and academic self‐efficacy amongst ethnic majority and ethnic minority youth

Social norms are important predictors of youth attitudes and behaviours. There is substantial evidence that positive and meaningful intergroup contact supported by inclusive norms can have a range of benefits beyond prejudice reduction. The present research explores whether perceived peer inclusion norms and perceived norms of equality in school are associated with better quality and more frequent intergroup contact and in turn, whether these are associated with better academic self-efficacy. To test these assertions, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with ethnic majority and ethnic minority youth aged 11–12 (n = 629, 48% female, 43% minority ethnic) attending one of four ethnically diverse secondary schools in England. In support of our hypotheses, we found that both perceived inclusive peer norms and perceived school equality norms were associated with higher quantity and quality of contact for both ethnic majority and minority group youth. An indirect effect was observed whereby perceived peer norms of inclusion and school norms of equality were associated with higher academic self-efficacy through higher quality outgroup contact for both groups. No indirect effect was observed for contact quantity. Findings evidence the importance of perceived peer and school equality norms as well as intergroup contact effects for outcomes that go beyond prejudice reduction, in this case academic self-efficacy

The impact of accreditation of primary healthcare centers: successes, challenges and policy implications as perceived by healthcare providers and directors in Lebanon

BACKGROUND: In 2009, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) launched the Primary Healthcare (PHC) accreditation program to improve quality across the continuum of care. The MOPH, with the support of Accreditation Canada, conducted the accreditation survey in 25 PHC centers in 2012. This paper aims to gain a better understanding of the impact of accreditation on quality of care as perceived by PHC staff members and directors; how accreditation affected staff and patient satisfaction; key enablers, challenges and strategies to improve implementation of accreditation in PHC. METHODS: The study was conducted in 25 PHC centers using a cross-sectional mixed methods approach; all staff members were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire whereas semi-structured interviews were conducted with directors. RESULTS: The scales measuring Management and Leadership had the highest mean score followed by Accreditation Impact, Human Resource Utilization, and Customer Satisfaction. Regression analysis showed that Strategic Quality Planning, Customer Satisfaction and Staff Involvement were associated with a perception of higher Quality Results. Directors emphasized the benefits of accreditation with regards to documentation, reinforcement of quality standards, strengthened relationships between PHC centers and multiple stakeholders and improved staff and patient satisfaction. Challenges encountered included limited financial resources, poor infrastructure, and staff shortages. CONCLUSIONS: To better respond to population health needs, accreditation is an important first step towards improving the quality of PHC delivery arrangement system. While there is a need to expand the implementation of accreditation to cover all PHC centers in Lebanon, considerations should be given to strengthening their financial arrangements as well

Sleep problems during COVID-19 pandemic and its’ association to psychological distress: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The emerging novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become one of the leading cause of deaths worldwide in 2020. The present systematic review and meta-analysis estimated the magnitude of sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with psychological distress. Methods: Five academic databases (Scopus, PubMed Central, ProQuest, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Embase) were searched. Observational studies including case-control studies and cross-sectional studies were included if relevant data relationships were reported (i.e., sleep assessed utilizing the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index or Insomnia Severity Index). All the studies were English, peer-reviewed papers published between December 2019 and February 2021. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020181644. Findings: 168 cross-sectional, four case-control, and five longitudinal design papers comprising 345,270 participants from 39 countries were identified. The corrected pooled estimated prevalence of sleep problems were 31% among healthcare professionals, 18% among the general population, and 57% among COVID-19 patients (all p-values < 0.05). Sleep problems were associated with depression among healthcare professionals, the general population, and COVID-19 patients, with Fisher's Z scores of -0.28, -0.30, and -0.36, respectively. Sleep problems were positively (and moderately) associated with anxiety among healthcare professionals, the general population, and COVID-19 patients, with Fisher's z scores of 0.55, 0.48, and 0.49, respectively. Interpretation: Sleep problems appear to have been common during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, sleep problems were found to be associated with higher levels of psychological distress. With the use of effective programs treating sleep problems, psychological distress may be reduced. Vice versa, the use of effective programs treating psychological distress, sleep problems may be reduced

Territoriality and migration in a divided society: Lay theories of citizenship and place in Northern Ireland.

The study of citizenship has increasingly focused on the ways in which spatialized understandings of the concept can be used to marginalise and exclude social groups: exclusive constructions of national boundaries, local neighbourhoods and public spaces can deny marginalised groups their social and political rights. Less attention has been paid to how constructions of place can accommodate different groups’ rights and promote peaceful coexistence. This is particularly important in locations where migration disrupts existing understandings (‘lay theories’) of the relationship between residency, identity and collective rights. The present research examines how spatialized understandings of citizenship shape perceptions of intergroup mixing in previously segregated areas of a post-conflict society. Critical Discursive Social Psychological (CDSP) analysis of 30 interviews with long-term residents and recent migrants to increasingly mixed areas of Belfast shows that, while all participants acknowledged Northern Ireland’s territorialisation, different lay theories of citizenship underpin the possibility and desirability of intergroup coexistence. Long-term residents drew upon understandings of the negative citizenry of the outgroup to argue against the possibility of peaceful coexistence within their locale, while recent incomers gave evidence of their own experiences of good citizenship within the shared spaces of neighbourhood to demonstrate that this could and should be achieved. The implications of lay theories of citizenship for the study of residential migration and mixing are discussed