Self-regulated learning in formal education: perceptions, challenges and opportunities

Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) is a term that can be used to describe an individual's ability to develop a skill set allowing him or her to learn in a number of different ways. SRL can also relate to new pedagogical theories that encourage teachers in formal education to motivate and support their students into achieving a high level of self-regulation. This paper reports on the findings of a number of surveys conducted with a wide variety of teachers in different countries, regarding their perceptions of SRL. The results and analysis of these surveys help inform not only the perceptions of SRL amongst teachers but also examine the challenges and opportunities that arise from taking this approach

Health risk from the use of roof-harvested rainwater in Southeast Queensland, Australia, as potable or nonpotable water, determined using quantitative microbiobial risk assessment

A total of 214 rainwater samples from 82 tanks were collected in urban Southeast Queensland (SEQ) in Australia and analyzed for the presence and numbers of zoonotic bacterial and protozoal pathogens using binary PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) analysis was used to quantify the risk of infection associated with the exposure to potential pathogens from roof-harvested rainwater used as potable or nonpotable water. Of the 214 samples tested, 10.7%, 9.8%, 5.6%, and 0.4% were positive for the Salmonella invA, Giardia lamblia β-giardin, Legionella pneumophila mip, and Campylobacter jejuni mapA genes, respectively. Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst wall protein (COWP) could not be detected. The estimated numbers of Salmonella, G. lamblia, and L. pneumophila organisms ranged from 6.5 × 101 to 3.8 × 102 cells, 0.6 × 10° to 3.6 × 10° cysts, and 6.0 × 101 to 1.7 × 102 cells per 1,000 ml of water, respectively. Six risk scenarios were considered for exposure to Salmonella spp., G. lamblia, and L. pneumophila. For Salmonella spp. and G. lamblia, these scenarios were (i) liquid ingestion due to drinking of rainwater on a daily basis, (ii) accidental liquid ingestion due to hosing twice a week, (iii) aerosol ingestion due to showering on a daily basis, and (iv) aerosol ingestion due to hosing twice a week. For L. pneumophila, these scenarios were (i) aerosol inhalation due to showering on a daily basis and (ii) aerosol inhalation due to hosing twice a week. The risk of infection from Salmonella spp., G. lamblia, and L. pneumophila associated with the use of rainwater for showering and garden hosing was calculated to be well below the threshold value of one extra infection per 10,000 persons per year in urban SEQ. However, the risk of infection from ingesting Salmonella spp. and G. lamblia via drinking exceeded this threshold value and indicated that if undisinfected rainwater is ingested by drinking, then the incidences of the gastrointestinal diseases salmonellosis and giardiasis are expected to range from 9.8 × 10° to 5.4 × 101 (with a mean of 1.2 × 101 from Monte Carlo analysis) and from 1.0 × 101 to 6.5 × 101 cases (with a mean of 1.6 × 101 from Monte Carlo analysis) per 10,000 persons per year, respectively, in urban SEQ. Since this health risk seems higher than that expected from the reported incidences of gastroenteritis, the assumptions used to estimate these infection risks are critically examined. Nonetheless, it would seem prudent to disinfect rainwater for use as potable water

Barrierefreiheit im virtuellen Raum - benutzungszentrierte und modellgetriebene Entwicklung von Weboberflächen

Since the 1990s, accessibility of Web applications plays an important role in the development of technology. Meanwhile, a web application requires a complex software development process with analysis, specification and design activities. Successful implementation of accessible user interfaces is based on their integration into early analysis and design activities. Since current accessibility guidelines address only runtime behavior, additional efforts are required to transform and integrate the requirements into analysis and design of Web applications. This research work investigates the requirements of accessibility for the user as well as the requirements of Web application design. A software process model for Web applications is defined that helps software architects and developers to meet the requirements of accessibility during analysis and design activities. The approach combines usage-centered design with model-driven development to bridge the gap between user and developer. The investigation starts with the analysis of accessible human-computer interaction and the state of the art in development of accessible Web applications. User’s tasks and workflow are taken as a starting point for user interface (UI) design based on the universal design paradigm. Current guidelines for accessible user interface behavior are refined for modeling. The relationship between software architecture and accessibility is examined to include complementary aspects of the software development process. The resulting software development process integrates the requirements of accessible interaction in early development activities. After investigating the Human-computer interaction (HCI) and software architecture for accessibility, a model-driven design approach for Web-based UI design is presented which overlaps the essential models in HCI including the task, dialog and presentation model. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is used as a meta model and for notation. An additional chapter examines alternative access to UML diagrams. Pre-implementation accessibility evaluation is investigated based on rapid prototyping and model-driven tests. As a case study, the concept is used and tested for an accessible Web interface in data and information integration. The combination of usage-centered and model-driven design supports user’s needs for accessible interaction as well as the integration into modern Web application development. To follow commons conditions of recent Web development, standard UI software architecture and a reference framework for model-driven UI design are used. Finally, the research work is completed with the transfer of the process model to other domains of application with focus on multiplatform-development