Multimedia Computer-based Training And Learning: The Role Of Referential Connections In Supporting Cognitive Learning Outcomes

Multimedia theory has generated a number of principles and guidelines to support computer-based training (CBT) design. However, the cognitive processes responsible for learning, from which these principles and guidelines stem from, are only indirectly derived by focusing on cognitive learning outcome differences. Unfortunately, the effects that cognitive processes have on learning are based on the assumption that cognitive learning outcomes are indicative of certain cognitive processes. Such circular reasoning is what prompted this dissertation. Specifically, this dissertation looked at the notion of referential connections, which is a prevalent cognitive process that is thought to support knowledge acquisition in a multimedia CBT environment. Referential connections, and the related cognitive mechanisms supporting them, are responsible for creating associations between verbal and visual information; as a result, their impact on multimedia learning is theorized to be far reaching. Therefore, one of the main goals of this dissertation was to address the issue of indirectly assessing cognitive processes by directly measuring referential connections to (a) verify the presence of referential connections, and (b) to measure the extent to which referential connections affect cognitive learning outcomes. To achieve this goal, a complete review of the prevalent multimedia theories was brought fourth. The most important factors thought to be influencing referential connections were extracted and cataloged into variables that were manipulated, fixed, covaried, or randomized to empirically examine the link between referential connections and learning. Specifically, this dissertation manipulated referential connections by varying the temporal presentation of modalities and the color coding of instructional material. Manipulating the temporal presentation of modalities was achieved by either presenting modalities simultaneously or sequentially. Color coding manipulations capitalized on pre-attentive highlighting and pairing of elements (i.e., pairing text with corresponding visuals). As such, the computer-based training varied color coding on three levels: absence of color coding, color coding without pairing text and corresponding visual aids, and color coding that also paired text and corresponding visual aids. The modalities employed in the experiment were written text and static visual aids, and the computer-based training taught the principles of flight to naive participants. Furthermore, verbal and spatial aptitudes were used as covariates, as they consistently showed to affect learning. Overall, the manipulations were hypothesized to differentially affect referential connections and cognitive learning outcomes, thereby altering cognitive learning outcomes. Specifically, training with simultaneously presented modalities was hypothesized to be superior, in terms of referential connections and learning performance, to a successive presentation, and color coding modalities with pairing of verbal and visual correspondents was hypothesized to be superior to other forms of color coding. Finally, it was also hypothesized that referential connections would positively correlate with cognitive learning outcomes and, indeed, mediate the effects of temporal contiguity and color coding on learning. A total of 96 were randomly assigned to one of the six experimental groups, and were trained on the principles of flight. The key construct of referential connections was successfully measured with three methods. Cognitive learning outcomes were captured by a traditional declarative test and by two integrative (i.e., knowledge application) tests. Results showed that the two multimedia manipulation impacted cognitive learning outcomes and did so through corresponding changes of related referential connections (i.e., through mediation). Specifically, as predicted, referential connections mediated the impact of both temporal contiguity and color coding on lower- and higher-level cognitive learning outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed in relation to computer-based training design principles and guidelines. Specifically, theoretical implications focus on the contribution that referential connections have on multimedia learning theory, and practical implications are brought forth in terms of instructional design issues. Future research considerations are described as they relate to further exploring the role of referential connections within multimedia CBT paradigms

Notes on Translating Russian Fairy Tales

Notes and Querie

Measurement of \u3cem\u3eγ\u3c/em\u3e-emission Branching Ratios for \u3csup\u3e154,156,158\u3c/sup\u3eGd Compound Nuclei: Tests of Surrogate Nuclear Reaction Approximations for (\u3cem\u3en,γ\u3c/em\u3e) Cross Sections

The surrogate nuclear reaction method can be used to determine neutron-induced reaction cross sections from measured decay properties of a compound nucleus created using a different reaction and calculated formation cross sections. The reliability of (n,γ) cross sections determined using the Weisskopf-Ewing and ratio approximations are explored for the 155, 157Gd(n,γ) reactions. Enriched gadolinium targets were bombarded with 22-MeV protons and γ rays were detected in coincidence with scattered protons using the Silicon Telescope Array for Reaction Studies/Livermore-Berkeley Array for Collaborative Experiments (STARS/LiBerACE) silicon and germanium detector arrays. The γ-emission probabilities for the 154, 156, 158Gd compound nuclei were measured at excitation energies up to 12 MeV. It is found that the approximations yield results that deviate from directly measured 155, 157Gd(n,γ) cross sections at low energies. To extract reliable cross sections, a more sophisticated analysis should be developed that takes into account angular-momentum differences between the neutron-induced and surrogate reactions

Banach LpL^p lattices with an automorphism

We study the theory of Banach $L^p$ lattices with a distinguished automorphism, in the framework of continuous logic. Using a functional version of the Rokhlin lemma, we prove that it admits a model companion, which is stable and has quantifier elimination. We show that the types of this theory that are not trivial cannot be isolated. We then use this result to obtain a proof of the absence of comeagre conjugacy classes in $\operatorname{Aut}^*({\mu})$, the Polish group of non-singular transformations of a standard probability space

Cosmogenic-neutron activation of TeO2 and implications for neutrinoless double- β decay experiments

Flux-averaged cross sections for cosmogenic-neutron activation of natural tellurium were measured using a neutron beam containing neutrons of kinetic energies up to ∼800 MeV and having an energy spectrum similar to that of cosmic-ray neutrons at sea level. Analysis of the radioisotopes produced reveals that Ag110m will be a dominant contributor to the cosmogenic-activation background in experiments searching for neutrinoless double-β decay of Te130, such as the Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Plus (SNO+). An estimate of the cosmogenic-activation background in the CUORE experiment has been obtained using the results of this measurement and cross-section measurements of proton activation of tellurium. Additionally, the measured cross sections in this work are also compared with results from semiempirical cross-section calculations

The Effects Of Training On Goal Orientation, Mentoring Relationship Processes, And Outcomes

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of preparatory training for mentors and proteges with respect to relationship processes and outcomes. Specifically, it was proposed that training provided to mentors and their proteges should foster a high learning goal orientation and a low avoid goal orientation. The former is associated with learning for the sake of continuous improvement and the latter is associated with a willingness to be perceived by others as having failed at a task. It was hypothesized that mentors and proteges who received goal orientation training prior to beginning their formal mentoring sessions would engage in greater feedback-seeking and would be more willing to self-disclose potentially ego-threatening information. Moreover, it was expected that training would also lead participants to expect such behaviors from their partners and as a result respond more positively when the desired behaviors were demonstrated. Eighty (i.e., first and second semester freshmen) were paired with eighty mentors (i.e., college juniors and seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0), resulting in a total of 160 study participants. All participants received one hour of preparatory training. A two by two factorial design was employed whereby mentors and proteges each received either goal orientation training or training simply designed to orient them to computer-mediated communication. After training, mentors and proteges met with one another using online chat for four, 30-minute weekly chat sessions. Results indicated that a) proteges in a high state of avoid goal orientation felt they received less psychosocial support the more their mentor disclosed his/her own personal downfalls, b) mentors who received goal orientation training felt they had provided greater career support the more their proteges sought feedback but the reverse was true for mentors who did not receive goal orientation training, c) mentor self-disclosure was more strongly related to their protege\u27s self-disclosure if the protege had received goal orientation training, and finally d) mentor and protege perceptions of the psychosocial and career support that had been provided/received during online sessions were more strongly correlated if the two had received the same type of preparatory training (especially if both received goal orientation training)

Calculation of energy levels and transition amplitudes for barium and radium

The radium atom is a promising system for studying parity and time invariance violating weak interactions. However, available experimental spectroscopic data for radium is insufficient for designing an optimal experimental setup. We calculate the energy levels and transition amplitudes for radium states of significant interest. Forty states corresponding to all possible configurations consisting of the $7s$, $7p$ and $6d$ single-electron states as well as the states of the $7s8s$, $7s8p$ and $7s7d$ configurations have been calculated. The energies of ten of these states corresponding to the $6d^2$, $7s8s$, $7p^2$, and $6d7p$ configurations are not known from experiment. Calculations for barium are used to control the accuracy.Comment: 12 pages, 4 table