113 research outputs found
Scenario Evaluation with Relevance and Interest (SERI): Development and Validation of a Scenario Measurement Tool for Context-Based Learning
Context-based learning (CBL) approaches have been recommended and expanded in science education to make science more relevant to students by connecting science content with studentsâ daily life. Subsequently, in order to implement CBL at school, a group of scenarios has been produced by several stakeholders. However, there is a lack of resources to measure effectively what makes a good scenario. Thus, this study aims to develop and validate a scenario evaluation instrument to examine studentsâ perspectives on science career-related scenarios through the lens of relevance and interest. For this purpose, 25 science career-related scenarios and a measurement tool, Scenario Evaluation with Relevance and Interest (SERI), were developed by a team of researchers for the EU funded MultiCO project. Then, lower secondary school students from three different countries, Estonia, Finland, and the UK, were asked to respond to the newly developed instrument after reading the scenarios, and their responses were analyzed by factor analyses and multivariate analysis of variance. According to the result, this instrument has good construct validity and reliability. However, it indicates one issue of discriminant validity between two factors, individual dimension and societal dimension. Also, significant gender differences were found in the Estonian sample regarding studentsâ perspectives on the scenarios. Possible interpretations of the results and implications of the suggested measurement tool are discussed
Learning Impact of a Virtual Brain Electrical Activity Simulator Among Neurophysiology Students: Mixed-Methods Intervention Study
Background:Virtual simulation is the re-creation of reality depicted on a computer screen. It offers the possibility to exercise motor and psychomotor skills. In biomedical and medical education, there is an attempt to find new ways to support studentsâ learning in neurophysiology. Traditionally, recording electroencephalography (EEG) has been learned through practical hands-on exercises. To date, virtual simulations of EEG measurements have not been used.Objective:This study aimed to examine the development of studentsâ theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the EEG measurement when using a virtual EEG simulator in biomedical laboratory science in the context of a neurophysiology course.Methods:A computer-based EEG simulator was created. The simulator allowed virtual electrode placement and EEG graph interpretation. The usefulness of the simulator for learning EEG measurement was tested with 35 participants randomly divided into three equal groups. Group 1 (experimental group 1) used the simulator with fuzzy feedback, group 2 (experimental group 2) used the simulator with exact feedback, and group 3 (control group) did not use a simulator. The study comprised pre- and posttests on theoretical knowledge and practical hands-on evaluation of EEG electrode placement.Results:The Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that the two groups that utilized a computer-based electrode placement simulator showed significant improvement in both theoretical knowledge (Z=1.79, P=.074) and observed practical skills compared with the group that studied without a simulator.Conclusions:Learning electrode placement using a simulator enhances studentsâ ability to place electrodes and, in combination with practical hands-on training, increases their understanding of EEG measurement.</p
Transition rates and nuclear structure changes in mirror nuclei 47Cr and 47V
Lifetime measurements in the mirror nuclei 47Cr and 47V were performed by
means of the Doppler-shift attenuation method using the multidetector array
EUROBALL, in conjunction with the ancillary detectors ISIS and the Neutron
Wall. The determined transition strengths in the yrast cascades are well
described by full pf shell model calculations.Comment: Latex2e, 11 pages, 3 figure
Creating Sources of Inspiration through eCollage, the FEA Model, and a Future Visioning Concept Design Project
This article presents an approach to creating sources of inspiration through a collabora-tive concept design that was developed and observed during a future visioning concept design project concerning the theme of âperformance wear,â which was conducted at the University of Helsinki for second-year textile student teachers. During the project, the stu-dents created future scenarios; used the functional, expressive, and aesthetic (FEA) con-sumer needs model for apparel design (Lamb and Kallal in Cloth Text Res J 10(2):42â47, 1992) when considering what performance wear could be like in a future scenario; and cre-ated digital collages (eCollages) to present their concepts. In the course that followed the concept design project, the students designed and made actual clothes using the concepts developed during the concept design project as one of their sources of inspiration. The outcomes of the process are described in this article through four research questions: (1) What type of future scenarios did the teams create, what types of eCollages did the teams make, and how did the teams use information and communication technologies (ICT) in their collages? (2) How did the use of eCollages enrich the concept presentations? (3) How were the three dimensions of the FEA model utilized and presented in the eCollages and team presentations? (4) How did the future visions of the concepts and the eCollages act as sources of inspiration in the studentsâ clothing designs? Five of the six teams studied created a global future scenario that envisioned the world as a dystopia. The high level of technical and visual executions of all the eCollages was surprising. The ECollages played an important role in every team presentation and enriched them considerably. The FEA model, on the other hand, both provided a supporting framework for the concepts and guided the students to direct their attention to apparel within their future scenarios, as well as to consider different dimensions of it. The concepts especially inspired students to create aesthetic elements to their design and to consider the expressiveness and functionality of the garments from the conceptâs perspective. The students also challenged themselves to find technical solutions to design ideas they created through being inspired by the concepts. Furthermore, the students often described gaining inspiration from the story or atmosphere of the concept or other non-visual elements of it, and thereby it seems that our approach indeed succeeded in promoting multi-sensory inspiration.Peer reviewe
Ni+-irradiated InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells: picosecond carrier dynamics
Room-temperature carrier dynamics as functions of heavy-ion implantation and subsequent thermal annealing were investigated for technologically important InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) by means of a time-resolved up-conversion method. Sub-picosecond lifetimes were achieved at 10 MeV Ni+ doses of (20-50) x 1010 ions cm-2. The decay rates reached a maximum at the highest irradiation dose, yielding the shortest lifetime of the confined QW states of 600 fs. A simple theoretical model is proposed for the photodynamics of the carriers. The relaxation rate depended on the irradiation dose according to a power law of 1.2, while the irradiated and subsequently annealed samples exhibited a power law of 0.35. The results are qualitatively interpreted.Room-temperature carrier dynamics as functions of heavy-ion implantation and subsequent thermal annealing were investigated for technologically important InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) by means of a time-resolved up-conversion method. Sub-picosecond lifetimes were achieved at 10 MeV Ni+ doses of (20-50) x 1010 ions cm-2. The decay rates reached a maximum at the highest irradiation dose, yielding the shortest lifetime of the confined QW states of 600 fs. A simple theoretical model is proposed for the photodynamics of the carriers. The relaxation rate depended on the irradiation dose according to a power law of 1.2, while the irradiated and subsequently annealed samples exhibited a power law of 0.35. The results are qualitatively interpreted.Room-temperature carrier dynamics as functions of heavy-ion implantation and subsequent thermal annealing were investigated for technologically important InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) by means of a time-resolved up-conversion method. Sub-picosecond lifetimes were achieved at 10 MeV Ni+ doses of (20-50) x 1010 ions cm-2. The decay rates reached a maximum at the highest irradiation dose, yielding the shortest lifetime of the confined QW states of 600 fs. A simple theoretical model is proposed for the photodynamics of the carriers. The relaxation rate depended on the irradiation dose according to a power law of 1.2, while the irradiated and subsequently annealed samples exhibited a power law of 0.35. The results are qualitatively interpreted.Peer reviewe
Factors influencing the participation of gastroenterologists and hepatologists in clinical research
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although clinical research is integral to the advancement of medical knowledge, physicians face a variety of obstacles to their participation as investigators in clinical trials. We examined factors that influence the participation of gastroenterologists and hepatologists in clinical research.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We surveyed 1050 members of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases regarding their participation in clinical research. We compared the survey responses by specialty and level of clinical trial experience.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A majority of the respondents (71.6%) reported involvement in research activities. Factors most influential in clinical trial participation included funding and compensation (88.3%) and intellectual pursuit (87.8%). Barriers to participation were similar between gastroenterologists (n = 160) and hepatologists (n = 189) and between highly experienced (n = 62) and less experienced (n = 159) clinical researchers. These barriers included uncompensated research costs and lack of specialized support. Industry marketing was a greater influence among respondents with less trial experience, compared to those with extensive experience (15.7% vs 1.6%; <it>P </it>< .01). Hepatologists and respondents with extensive clinical trial experience tended to be more interested in phase 1 and 2 studies, whereas gastroenterologists and less experienced investigators were more interested in phase 4 studies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggests that the greatest barrier to participation in clinical research is lack of adequate resources. Respondents also favored industry-sponsored research with less complex trial protocols and studies of relatively short duration.</p
Spin-half paramagnetism in graphene induced by point defects
Using magnetization measurements, we show that point defects in graphene -
fluorine adatoms and irradiation defects (vacancies) - carry magnetic moments
with spin 1/2. Both types of defects lead to notable paramagnetism but no
magnetic ordering could be detected down to liquid helium temperatures. The
induced paramagnetism dominates graphene's low-temperature magnetic properties
despite the fact that maximum response we could achieve was limited to one
moment per approximately 1000 carbon atoms. This limitation is explained by
clustering of adatoms and, for the case of vacancies, by losing graphene's
structural stability.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figure
Research ethics committees: agents of research policy?
The purpose of this commentary is to describe the unintended effects ethics committees may have on research and to analyse the regulatory and administrative problems of clinical trials. DISCUSSION: The Finnish law makes an arbitrary distinction between medical research and other health research, and the European Union's directive for good clinical trials further differentiates drug trials. The starting point of current rules is that clinical trials are lesser in the interest of patients and society than routine health care. However, commercial interests are not considered unethical. The contrasting procedures in research and normal health care may tempt physicians to continue introducing innovations into practice by relying on unsystematic and uncontrolled observations. Tedious and bureaucratic rules may lead to the disappearance of trials initiated by researchers. Trying to accommodate the special legislative requirements for new drug trials into more complex interventions may result in poor designs with unreliable results and increased costs. Meanwhile, current legal requirements may undermine the morale of ethics committee members. CONCLUSION: The aims and the quality of the work of ethics committees should be evaluated, and a reformulation of the EU directive on good clinical trials is needed. Ethical judgement should consider the specific circumstance of each trial, and ethics committees should not foster poor research for legal reasons
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