The effects of room design on computer-supported collaborative learning in a multi-touch classroom.

While research indicates that technology can be useful for supporting learning and collaboration, there is still relatively little uptake or widespread implementation of these technologies in classrooms. In this paper, we explore one aspect of the development of a multi-touch classroom, looking at two different designs of the classroom environment to explore how classroom layout may influence group interaction and learning. Three classes of students working in groups of four were taught in the traditional forward-facing room condition, while three classes worked in a centered room condition. Our results indicate that while the outcomes on tasks were similar across conditions, groups engaged in more talk (but not more off-task talk) in a centered room layout, than in a traditional forward-facing room. These results suggest that the use of technology in the classroom may be influenced by the location of the technology, both in terms of the learning outcomes and the interaction behaviors of students. The findings highlight the importance of considering the learning environment when designing technology to support learning, and ensuring that integration of technology into formal learning environments is done with attention to how the technology may disrupt, or contribute to, the classroom interaction practices

Analytical Rebridging Monte Carlo: Application to cis/trans Isomerization in Proline-Containing, Cyclic Peptides

We present a new method, the analytical rebridging scheme, for Monte Carlo simulation of proline-containing, cyclic peptides. The cis/trans isomerization is accommodated by allowing for two states of the amide bond. We apply our method to five peptides that have been previously characterized by NMR methods. Our simulations achieve effective equilibration and agree well with experimental data in all cases. We discuss the importance of effective equilibration and the role of bond flexibility and solvent effects on the predicted equilibrium properties.Comment: 29 pages, 8 PostScript figures, LaTeX source. to appear in J. Chem. Phys., 199

Nongame Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles, Fishes: Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, 1995-1996

The goal of this study was to conduct a nongame vertebrate survey at SLNWR by primary habitat types, with emphasis placed on nongame breeding birds and small mammals . Specific objectives were to determine: 1) avian and mammalian species composition by primary habitat types with special emphasis on nongame/neotropical avian species and nongame small mammals, 2) the presence of other vertebrate species (amphibians, reptiles , and fishes) by primary habitat type, 3) present vertebrate biota occurrence, as compared to pre-1940 occurence as found in the literature and other records or sources, 4) significant changes in habitat and/ or vegetation on SLNWR, based on current and historical literature and refuge files, and 5) to make recommendations for preserving/ enhancing populations of nongame vertebrate species on SLNWR

An Annotated Bibliography: Published Articles (1861-1998) About the Wild Mammals of South Dakota

Our goal in compiling this bibliography was to locate every published article with a connection to any wild South Dakota mammal. However, we understood from the start that this goal would be unattainable. Consequently, this collection can provide only a point of origin to readers interested in obtaining published studies (popular and scientific) about the wild mammals of South Dakota

The gatekeeper: individual differences are key in the chain from perception to behaviour

A basic assumption in mainstream social cognition is that the path from perception to behaviour is often automatic and direct, as supported for example by several experimental studies showing that priming can lead directly to a congruent behaviour without any need of conscious awareness of the process. However, we argue that the priming of a goal or an object activates individual differences in automatic evaluations at the associative level that in turn are the key predictors of action (gatekeeper model). A study (n = 90) on the American stereotype is presented to support the model. The results show that individual differences of the American stereotype as assessed with the IAT predicts a relevant action (essay evaluation) but only under condition of priming. Broader implications for predictive validity of implicit measures are also discussed

Breeding Yellow-flowered Alfalfa for Combined Wildlife Habitat and Forage Purposes

The objectives of our research were to: • evaluate a wide array of alfalfa germplasm containing varied levels of M. sativa ssp. falcata for traits related to suitability for stockpiling and nesting cover for game birds, •compare yellow-flowered cultivars and germplasms to conventional hay- and pasture-type cultivars for forage yield and quality in a delayed single-harvest / production system, and • develop, by phenotypic selection, one or more synthetic cultivars of yellow-flowered alfalfa that would have high forage yield, tolerance to potato leafhopper yellowing, prolonged flowering, and good leaf retention under a stockpiling management system until mid-July

Frustrated quantum-spin system on a triangle coupled with ege_g lattice vibrations - Correspondence to Longuet-Higgins et al.'s Jahn-Teller model -

We investigate the quantum three spin model $({\bf S_1},{\bf S_2},{\bf S_3})$ of spin$=1/2$ on a triangle, in which spins are coupled with lattice-vibrational modes through the exchange interaction depending on distances between spin sites. The present model corresponds to the dynamic Jahn-Teller system $E_g\otimes e_g$ proposed by Longuet-Higgins {\it et al.}, Proc.R.Soc.A.{\bf 244},1(1958). This correspondence is revealed by using the transformation to Nakamura-Bishop's bases proposed in Phys.Rev.Lett.{\bf 54},861(1985). Furthermore, we elucidate the relationship between the behavior of a chiral order parameter ${\hat \chi}={\bf S_1\cdot(S_2\times S_3)}$ and that of the electronic orbital angular momentum ${\hat \ell_z}$ in $E_g\otimes e_g$ vibronic model: The regular oscillatory behavior of the expectation value $$for vibronic structures with increasing energy can also be found in that of$$. The increase of the additional anharmonicity(chaoticity) is found to yield a rapidly decaying irregular oscillation of $$

Exploring metastability via the third harmonic measurements in single crystals of 2H2H-NbSe2NbSe_2 showing anomalous Peak effect

We explore the metastability effects across the order-disorder transition pertaining to the peak effect phenomenonon in critical current density ($J_c$) via the first and the third harmonic ac susceptibility measurements in the weakly pinned single crystals of $2H$-$NbSe_2$. An analysis of our data suggests that an imprint of the limiting (spinodal) temperature above which $J_c$ is path independent can be conveniently located in the third harmonic data ($\chi_{3\omega}^{\prime}$).Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.