386 research outputs found
Online interactive assessment with short free-text questions and tailored feedback
A linguistically based authoring tool has been used to write e-assessment questions requiring short free-text answers of up to about 20 words in length (typically a single sentence). The answer matching is sophisticated and students are provided with instantaneous targeted feedback on incorrect and incomplete responses. They are able to use this feedback in reattempting the question. Seventy-five questions of this type have been offered to students on an entry-level interdisciplinary science module and they have been well received. Students have been observed attempting the questions and have been seen to respond in differing ways to both the questions themselves and the feedback provided. The answer matching has been demonstrated to be of similar or greater accuracy than specialist human markers.
The software described is all either open source or commercially available, but the purpose of this paper is not to advertise these products but rather to encourage reflection on e-assessment's potential to support student learning
On Secure Implementation of an IHE XUA-Based Protocol for Authenticating Healthcare Professionals
The importance of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) has been addressed in recent years by governments and institutions.Many large scale projects have been funded with the aim to allow healthcare professionals to consult patients data. Properties such as confidentiality, authentication and authorization are the key for the success for these projects. The Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) initiative promotes the coordinated use of established standards for authenticated and secure EHR exchanges among clinics and hospitals. In particular, the IHE integration profile named XUA permits to attest user identities by relying on SAML assertions, i.e. XML documents containing authentication statements. In this paper, we provide a formal model for the secure issuance of such an assertion. We first specify the scenario using the process calculus COWS and then analyse it using the model checker CMC. Our analysis reveals a potential flaw in the XUA profile when using a SAML assertion in an unprotected network. We then suggest a solution for this flaw, and model check and implement this solution to show that it is secure and feasible
Classroom assessment and education: challenging the assumptions of socialisation and instrumentality
The opportunity offered by the Umea Symposium to probe the intersection of quality and assessment immediately brings into focus a wider issue â that of the quality of education which assessment aspires to support. Prompted by recent research into formative assessment in Scottish primary school contexts, the paper explores how formative assessment has become associated with an overly benign understanding of learning which misrecognises the possibility of undesirable learning and does not seem to address the inherently political nature of education. Having illuminated the potential inequities of formative assessment practices, the paper then asks what role formative assessment might play to support an understanding of education that is not simply about the transmission of traditional social norms, but also aspires to illuminate their social construction and their political nature
Far Ultraviolet Spectra of B Stars near the Ecliptic
Spectra of B stars in the wavelength range of 911-1100 A have been obtained
with the EURD spectrograph onboard the Spanish satellite MINISAT-01 with ~5 A
spectral resolution. IUE spectra of the same stars have been used to normalize
Kurucz models to the distance, reddening and spectral type of the corresponding
star. The comparison of 8 main-sequence stars studied in detail (alpha Vir,
epsilon Tau, lambda Tau, tau Tau, alpha Leo, zeta Lib, theta Oph, and sigma
Sgr) shows agreement with Kurucz models, but observed fluxes are 10-40% higher
than the models in most cases. The difference in flux between observations and
models is higher in the wavelength range between Lyman alpha and Lyman beta. We
suggest that Kurucz models underestimate the FUV flux of main-sequence B stars
between these two Lyman lines. Computation of flux distributions of
line-blanketed model atmospheres including non-LTE effects suggests that this
flux underestimate could be due to departures from LTE, although other causes
cannot be ruled out. We found the common assumption of solar metallicity for
young disk stars should be made with care, since small deviations can have a
significant impact on FUV model fluxes. Two peculiar stars (rho Leo and epsilon
Aqr), and two emission line stars (epsilon Cap and pi Aqr) were also studied.
Of these, only epsilon Aqr has a flux in agreement with the models. The rest
have strong variability in the IUE range and/or uncertain reddening, which
makes the comparison with models difficult.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journa
Managing Dynamic User Communities in a Grid of Autonomous Resources
One of the fundamental concepts in Grid computing is the creation of Virtual
Organizations (VO's): a set of resource consumers and providers that join
forces to solve a common problem. Typical examples of Virtual Organizations
include collaborations formed around the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
experiments. To date, Grid computing has been applied on a relatively small
scale, linking dozens of users to a dozen resources, and management of these
VO's was a largely manual operation. With the advance of large collaboration,
linking more than 10000 users with a 1000 sites in 150 counties, a
comprehensive, automated management system is required. It should be simple
enough not to deter users, while at the same time ensuring local site autonomy.
The VO Management Service (VOMS), developed by the EU DataGrid and DataTAG
projects[1, 2], is a secured system for managing authorization for users and
resources in virtual organizations. It extends the existing Grid Security
Infrastructure[3] architecture with embedded VO affiliation assertions that can
be independently verified by all VO members and resource providers. Within the
EU DataGrid project, Grid services for job submission, file- and database
access are being equipped with fine- grained authorization systems that take VO
membership into account. These also give resource owners the ability to ensure
site security and enforce local access policies. This paper will describe the
EU DataGrid security architecture, the VO membership service and the local site
enforcement mechanisms Local Centre Authorization Service (LCAS), Local
Credential Mapping Service(LCMAPS) and the Java Trust and Authorization
Manager.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 7 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures. PSN
TUBT00
Curricular orientations to real-world contexts in mathematics
A common claim about mathematics education is that it should equip students to use mathematics in the âreal worldâ. In this paper, we examine how relationships between mathematics education and the real world are materialised in the curriculum across a sample of eleven jurisdictions. In particular, we address the orientation of the curriculum towards application of mathematics, the ways that real-world contexts are positioned within the curriculum content, the ways in which different groups of students are expected to engage with real-world contexts, and the extent to which high-stakes assessments include real-world problem solving. The analysis reveals variation across jurisdictions and some lack of coherence between official orientations towards use of mathematics in the real world and the ways that this is materialised in the organisation of the content for students
Blaming the victim: assessment, examinations, and the responsibilisation of students and teachers in neo-liberal governance
Historically, for a period of a hundred years or more from the 1860s to the 1960s, assessment developed as an educational technology for selecting and certificating small numbers of individual students. This process was largely focused on excluding the majority. Over the last 30â40 years, the focus and purpose of assessment has changed. The emphasis is now on education for all and the development of a fit-for-purpose assessment system as a system, that is, as part of an integrated approach to national human resource development. These changes have been both driven by, and contributed to, the development of the knowledge economy and neo-liberalism. Students and teachers have been âresponsibilisedâ for the quality and outcomes of education, with assessment and examinations providing the quintessential vehicle for individualising and responsibilising success and failure in relation to achievement and social mobility
Far-ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Venus and Mars at 4 A Resolution with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope on Astro-2
Far-ultraviolet spectra of Venus and Mars in the range 820-1840 A at 4 A
resolution were obtained on 13 and 12 March 1995, respectively, by the Hopkins
Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), which was part of the Astro-2 observatory on the
Space Shuttle Endeavour. Longward of 1250 A, the spectra of both planets are
dominated by emission of the CO Fourth Positive band system and strong OI and
CI multiplets. In addition, CO Hopfield-Birge bands, B - X (0,0) at 1151 A and
C - X (0,0) at 1088 A, are detected for the first time, and there is a weak
indication of the E - X (0,0) band at 1076 A in the spectrum of Venus. The B -
X band is blended with emission from OI 1152. Modeling the relative intensities
of these bands suggests that resonance fluorescence of CO is the dominant
source of the emission, as it is for the Fourth Positive system. Shortward of
Lyman-alpha, other emission features detected include OII 834, OI lambda 989,
HI Lyman-beta, and NI 1134 and 1200. For Venus, the derived disk brightnesses
of the OI, OII, and HI features are about one-half of those reported by Hord et
al. (1991) from Galileo EUV measurements made in February 1990. This result is
consistent with the expected variation from solar maximum to solar minimum. The
ArI 1048, 1066 doublet is detected only in the spectrum of Mars and the derived
mixing ratio of Ar is of the order of 2%, consistent with previous
determinations.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, July 20, 200
Ten steps or climbing a mountain: A study of Australian health professionals' perceptions of implementing the baby friendly health initiative to protect, promote and support breastfeeding
Background: The Baby Friendly Hospital (Health) Initiative (BFHI) is a global initiative aimed at protecting,
promoting and supporting breastfeeding and is based on the ten steps to successful breastfeeding. Worldwide,
over 20,000 health facilities have attained BFHI accreditation but only 77 Australian hospitals (approximately 23%)
have received accreditation. Few studies have investigated the factors that facilitate or hinder implementation of
BFHI but it is acknowledged this is a major undertaking requiring strategic planning and change management
throughout an institution. This paper examines the perceptions of BFHI held by midwives and nurses working in
one Area Health Service in NSW, Australia.
Methods: The study used an interpretive, qualitative approach. A total of 132 health professionals, working across four maternity units, two neonatal intensive care units and related community services, participated in 10 focus groups. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results: Three main themes were identified: âBelief and Commitmentâ; âInterpreting BFHIâ and âClimbing a
Mountainâ. Participants considered the BFHI implementation a high priority; an essential set of practices that would
have positive benefits for babies and mothers both locally and globally as well as for health professionals. It was
considered achievable but would take commitment and hard work to overcome the numerous challenges including a number of organisational constraints. There were, however, differing interpretations of what was required to attain BFHI accreditation with the potential that misinterpretation could hinder implementation.
A model described by Greenhalgh and colleagues on adoption of innovation is drawn on to interpret the findings.
Conclusion: Despite strong support for BFHI, the principles of this global strategy are interpreted differently by
health professionals and further education and accurate information is required. It may be that the current
processes used to disseminate and implement BFHI need to be reviewed. The findings suggest that there is a
contradiction between the broad philosophical stance and best practice approach of this global strategy and the
tendency for health professionals to focus on the ten steps as a set of tasks or a checklist to be accomplished. The
perceived procedural approach to implementation may be contributing to lower rates of breastfeeding
continuation
A type reduction theory for systems with replicated components
The Parameterised Model Checking Problem asks whether an implementation
Impl(t) satisfies a specification Spec(t) for all instantiations of parameter
t. In general, t can determine numerous entities: the number of processes used
in a network, the type of data, the capacities of buffers, etc. The main theme
of this paper is automation of uniform verification of a subclass of PMCP with
the parameter of the first kind, i.e. the number of processes in the network.
We use CSP as our formalism. We present a type reduction theory, which, for a
given verification problem, establishes a function \phi that maps all
(sufficiently large) instantiations T of the parameter to some fixed type T^
and allows us to deduce that if Spec(T^) is refined by \phi(Impl(T)), then
(subject to certain assumptions) Spec(T) is refined by Impl(T). The theory can
be used in practice by combining it with a suitable abstraction method that
produces a t-independent process Abstr that is refined by {\phi}(Impl(T)) for
all sufficiently large T. Then, by testing (with a model checker) if the
abstract model Abstr refines Spec(T^), we can deduce a positive answer to the
original uniform verification problem. The type reduction theory relies on
symbolic representation of process behaviour. We develop a symbolic operational
semantics for CSP processes that satisfy certain normality requirements, and we
provide a set of translation rules that allow us to concretise symbolic
transition graphs. Based on this, we prove results that allow us to infer
behaviours of a process instantiated with uncollapsed types from known
behaviours of the same process instantiated with a reduced type. One of the
main advantages of our symbolic operational semantics and the type reduction
theory is their generality, which makes them applicable in a wide range of
settings
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