Student experiences of virtual reality - a case study in learning special relativity

We present a study of student learning through the use of virtual reality. A software package is used to introduce concepts of special relativity to students in a game-like environment where users experience the effects of travelling at near light speeds. From this new perspective, space and time are significantly different to that experienced in everyday life. The study explores how students have worked with this environment and how these students have used this experience in their study of special relativity. A mixed method approach has been taken to evaluate the outcomes of separate implementations of the package at two universities. Students found the simulation to be a positive learning experience and described the subject area as being less abstract after its use. Also, students were more capable of correctly answering concept questions relating to special relativity, and a small but measurable improvement was observed in the final exam

Dynamic e-learning modules for student lecture preparation

We have developed and demonstrated the effectiveness of a set of online interactive learning modules to accompany physics courses at first- and second-year university levels. Students access the modules prior to attending lectures to familiarize themselves with content which is then discussed and reaffirmed in class. Student surveys and access data show that students were much more likely to use material presented in this form, rather than a textbook, when preparing for lectures given in an active learning format. The students found that interactive simulations, videos of problem-solving approaches prepared by course staff, and quick-check immediate feedback questions were all useful tools for lecture preparation–none of which are available when using a traditional textbook for lecture preparation

Medical school clinical placements – the optimal method for assessing the clinical educational environment from a graduate entry perspective

Background: Educational environment is a strong determinant of student satisfaction and achievement. The learning environments of medical students on clinical placements are busy workplaces, composed of many variables. There is no universally accepted method of evaluating the clinical learning environment, nor is there consensus on what concepts or aspects should be measured. The aims of this study were to compare the Dundee ready educational environment measure (DREEM - the current de facto standard) and the more recently developed Manchester clinical placement index (MCPI) for the assessment of the clinical learning environment in a graduate entry medical student cohort by correlating the scores of each and analysing free text comments. This study also explored student perceptionof how the clinical educational environment is assessed. Methods: An online, anonymous survey comprising of both the DREEM and MCPI instruments was delivered to students on clinical placement in a graduate entry medical school. Additional questions explored students’ perceptions of instruments for giving feedback. Numeric variables (DREEM score, MCPI score, ratings) were tested for normality and summarised. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of the association between total DREEM score and total MCPI scores. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the free text comments. Results: The overall response rate to the questionnaire was 67% (n = 180), with a completed response rate for the MCPI of 60% (n = 161) and for the DREEM of 58% (n = 154). There was a strong, positive correlation between total DREEM and MCPI scores (r = 0.71, p < 0.001). On a scale of 0 to 7, the mean rating for how worthwhile students found completing the DREEM was 3.27 (SD 1.41) and for the MCPI was 3.49 (SD 1.57). ‘Finding balance’ and ‘learning at work’ were among the themes to emerge from analysis of free text comments. Conclusions: The present study confirms that DREEM and MCPI total scores are strongly correlated. Graduate entry students tended to favour this method of evaluation over the DREEM with the MCPI prompting rich description of the clinical learning environment. Further study is warranted to determine if this finding is transferable to all clinical medical student cohorts. Keywords: Clinical education, DREEM, Manchester clinical placement inde

An Auto-Calibrating Knee Flexion-Extension Axis Estimator Using Principal Component Analysis with Inertial Sensors

Inertial measurement units (IMUs) have been demonstrated to reliably measure human joint angles—an essential quantity in the study of biomechanics. However, most previous literature proposed IMU-based joint angle measurement systems that required manual alignment or prescribed calibration motions. This paper presents a simple, physically-intuitive method for IMU-based measurement of the knee flexion/extension angle in gait without requiring alignment or discrete calibration, based on computationally-efficient and easy-to-implement Principle Component Analysis (PCA). The method is compared against an optical motion capture knee flexion/extension angle modeled through OpenSim. The method is evaluated using both measured and simulated IMU data in an observational study (n = 15) with an absolute root-mean-square-error (RMSE) of 9.24∘ and a zero-mean RMSE of 3.49∘. Variation in error across subjects was found, made emergent by the larger subject population than previous literature considers. Finally, the paper presents an explanatory model of RMSE on IMU mounting location. The observational data suggest that RMSE of the method is a function of thigh IMU perturbation and axis estimation quality. However, the effect size for these parameters is small in comparison to potential gains from improved IMU orientation estimations. Results also highlight the need to set relevant datums from which to interpret joint angles for both truth references and estimated data.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (GRFP)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (IIS-1453141

Procedure for the Economic Analysis of Work Measurement Techniques

Engineerin

Effect of concentrated loads on shallow buried polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene tubing.

Thesis. 1975. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil Engineering.Includes bibliographical references.M.S

Behaving Like Animals: Human Cruelty, Animal Suffering, and American Culture, 1900-present

What does it mean to be cruel to an animal? What does it mean for an animal to suffer? These are the questions embedded in the term "cruelty to animals," which has seemed, at first glance, a well defined term in modern America, in so far as it has been codified in anti-cruelty statutes. Cruelty to animals has been a disputed notion, though. What some groups call cruel, others call business, science, culture, worship, and art. Contests over the humane treatment of animals have therefore been contests over history, ideology, culture, and knowledge in which a variety of social actors-- animal scientists, cockfighters, filmmakers, FBI agents, members of Congress, members of PETA, and many, many others--try to decide which harms against animals and which forms of animal suffering are justifiable. Behaving Like Animals examines these contests in the United States from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, focusing on four practices that modern American animal advocates have labeled cruel: malicious animal abuse, cockfighting, intensive animal agriculture, and the harming of animals on film. These case studies broadly trace the contours of American attitudes toward human cruelty and animal suffering over the last century. They also trace the historical evolution of the ideas embedded in the term “cruelty to animals.” Cruelty to animals has been the structuring logic of animal advocacy for two centuries, and historians have followed its development through the nineteenth century as a constellation of ideas about human and animal natures, about cruelty and kindness, and about suffering and sentience—very old ideas rooted in western intellectual thought and given shape by nineteenth-century sentimental culture. Behaving Like Animals follows this historical and intellectual thread into the twenty-first century, and reveals how these old ideas adapted to modern and evolving regimes of knowledge, science, and law, as they became thickly knotted in America’s varied and transforming social, cultural, intellectual, political, and legal contexts. That process has had varied and far-reaching implications in modern American culture, structuring social relations among Americans while shaping understandings of the place of animals in American society. Behaving Like Animals tells this history

Morphologies of low-redshift AGN host galaxies: what role does AGN luminosity play?

Mergers of galaxies have been suspected to be a major trigger of AGN activity for many years. However, when compared to carefully matched control samples, AGN host galaxies often show no enhanced signs of interaction. A common explanation for this lack of observed association between AGN and mergers has often been that while mergers are of importance for triggering AGN, they only dominate at the very high luminosity end of the AGN population. In this study, we compare the morphologies of AGN hosts to a carefully matched control sample and particularly study the role of AGN luminosity. We find no enhanced merger rates in AGN hosts and also find no trend for stronger signs of disturbance at higher AGN luminosities. While this study does not cover very high luminosity AGN, we can exclude a strong connection between AGN and mergers over a wide range of AGN luminosities and therefore for a large part of the AGN population.Comment: Proceedings of the conference "Nuclei of Seyfert galaxies and QSOs - Central engine & conditions of star formation" held in Bonn, Germany, 201

Antimicrobial and micronutrient interventions for the management of infants under 6 months of age identified with severe malnutrition: a literature review.

BACKGROUND: Infants under 6 months (U6M) contribute a significant proportion of the burden and mortality of severe malnutrition globally. Evidence of underlying aetiology in this population is sparse, but it is known that the group includes ex-preterm and low birthweight (LBW) infants. They represent a unique population given their dependence on breastmilk or a safe, secure alternative. Nutrition agencies and health providers struggle to make programming decisions on which interventions should be provided to this group based upon the 2013 WHO Guidelines for the 'Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition in Infants and Young Children' since there are no published interventional trial data focussed on this population. Interim guidance for this group might be informed by evidence of safety and efficacy in adjacent population groups. METHODOLOGY: A narrative literature review was performed of systematic reviews, meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials of antimicrobial and micronutrient interventions (antibiotics, deworming, vitamin A, vitamin D, iron, zinc, folic acid and oral rehydration solution (ORS) for malnutrition) across the population groups of low birthweight/preterm infants, infants under 6 months, infants and children over 6 months with acute malnutrition or through supplementation to breastfeeding mothers. Outcomes of interest were safety and efficacy, in terms of mortality and morbidity. RESULTS: Ninety-four articles were identified for inclusion within this review. None of these studied interventions exclusively in severely malnourished infants U6M. 64% reported on the safety of studied interventions. Significant heterogeneity was identified in definitions of study populations, interventions provided, and outcomes studied. The evidence for efficacy and safety across population groups is reviewed and presented for the interventions listed. CONCLUSIONS: The direct evidence base for medical interventions for severely malnourished infants U6M is sparse. Our review identifies a specific need for accurate micronutrient profiling and interventional studies of micronutrients and oral fluid management of diarrhoea amongst infants U6M meeting anthropometric criteria for severe malnutrition. Indirect evidence presented in this review may help shape interim policy and programming decisions as well as the future research agenda for the management of infants U6M identified as malnourished