Learner models in online personalized educational experiences: an infrastructure and some experim

Technologies are changing the world around us, and education is not immune from its influence: the field of teaching and learning supported by the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), also known as Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), has witnessed a huge expansion in recent years. This wide adoption happened thanks to the massive diffusion of broadband connections and to the pervasive needs for education, highly connected to the evolution in sciences and technologies. Therefore, it has pushed up the usage of online education (distance and blended methodologies for educational experiences) to, even in lately years, unexpected rates. Alongside with the well known potentialities, digital-based educational tools come with a number of downsides, such as possible disengagement on the part of the learner, absence of the social pressures that normally exist in a classroom environment, difficulty or even inability from the learners to self-regulate and, last but not least, depletion of the stimulus to actively participate and cooperate with lectures and peers. These difficulties impact the teaching process and the outcomes of the educational experience (i.e. learning process), being a serious limit and questioning the broader applicability of TEL solutions. To overcome these issues, there is a need of tools to support the learning process. In the literature, one of the known approach to improve the situation is to rely on a user profile, that collects data during the use of the eLearning platforms or tool. The created profile can be used to adapt the behaviour and the contents proposed to the learner. On top of this model, some researches stressed the positive effects stimulated by the disclosure of the model itself for inspection purposes by the learner. This disclosed model is known as Open Learner Model (OLM). The idea of opening learners' profile and eventually integrate them with external on-line resources is not new and it has the ultimate goal of creating global and long-run indicators of the learner's profile. Also the representation aspect of the learner model plays a role, moving from the more traditional approach based on the textual and analytic/extensive representation to the graphical indicators that are able to summarise and to present one or more of the model characteristics in a way that is considered more effective and natural for the user consumption. Relying on the same learner models, and stressing the different aggregation and representation capabilities, it is possible to either support self-reflection of the learner or to foster the tutoring process to allow proper supervision by the tutor/teacher. Both the objectives can be reached through the graphical representation of the relevant information, presented in different ways. Furthermore, with such an open approach for the learner model, the concepts of personalisation and adaptation acquire a central role in the TEL experience, overcoming the previous limits related to the impossibility to observe and explain to the learner the reasons for such an intervention from the tool itself. As a consequence, the introduction of different tools, platforms, widgets and devices in the learning process, together with the adaptation process based on the learner profiles, can create a personal space for a potential fruitful usage of the rich and widespread amount of resources available to the learner. This work aimed at analysing the way a learner model could be represented in visual presentation to the system users, exploring the effects and performances for learners and teachers. Subsequently, it concentrated in investigating how the adoption of adaptive and social visualisations of OLM could affect the student experience within a TEL context. The motivation was twofold. On one side was to show that the approach of mixing data from heterogeneous and not already related data sources could have a meaningful didactic interpretations, whether on the other one was to measure the perceived impact of the introduction on online experiences of the adaptivity (and of social aspects) in the graphical visualisations produced by such a tool. In order to achieve these objectives, the present work analysed and addressed them through an approach that merged user data in learning platforms, implementing a learner profile. This was accomplished by means of the creation of a tool, named GVIS, to elaborate on the collected user actions in platforms enabling remote teaching. A number of test cases were performed and analysed, adopting the developed tool as the provider to extract, to aggregate and to represent the data for the learners' model. The GVIS tool impact was then estimated with self- evaluation questionnaires, with the analysis of log files and with knowledge quiz results. Dimensions such as the perceived usefulness, the impact on motivation and commitment, the cognitive overload generated, and the impact of social data disclosure were taken into account. The main result found by the application of the developed tool in TEL experiences was to have an impact on the behaviour of online learners when used to provide them with indicators around their activities, especially when enhanced with social capabilities. The effects appear to be amplifies in those cases where the widget usage is as simplified as possible. From the learner side, the results suggested that the learners seem to appreciate the tool and recognise its value. For them the introduction as part of the online learning experience could act as a positive pressure factor, enhanced by the peer comparison functionality. This functionality could also be used to reinforce the student engagement and positive commitment to the educational experience, by transmitting a sense of community and stimulating healthy competition between learners. From the teacher/tutor side, they seemed to be better supported by the presentation of compact, intuitive and just-in-time information (i.e. actions that have an educational interpretation or impact) about the monitored user or group. This gave them a clearer picture of how the class is currently performing and enabled them to address performance issues by adapting the resources and the teaching (and learning) approach accordingly. Although a drawback was identified regarding the cognitive overload, the data collected showed that users generally considered this kind of support useful. There is also indications that further analyses can be interesting to explore the effects introduced in the teaching practices by the availability and usage of such a tool

Thermoelectric efficiency of three-terminal quantum thermal machines

The efficiency of a thermal engine working in linear response regime in a multi-terminals configuration is discussed. For the generic three-terminal case, we provide a general definition of local and non-local transport coefficients: electrical and thermal conductances, and thermoelectric powers. Within the Onsager formalism, we derive analytical expressions for the efficiency at maximum power, which can be written in terms of generalized figures of merit. Also, using two examples, we investigate numerically how a third terminal could improve the performance of a quantum system, and under which conditions non-local thermoelectric effects can be observed.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures. Final versio

Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) for Market Analysis of FP7 CHOReOS Products

AbstractThe European 7th Framework FP7-ICT-2009-5 project CHOReOS No. 257178 (2010-2013) “Large Scale Choreographies for the Future Internet (IP)” is aimed to elaborate on new methods and tools related to Future Internet ultra-large-scale (ULS) solution development based on the use of choreographies. The purpose of this research is to identify exploitable CHOReOS products and approaches and business market trends that may exploit them. The aim is to collect and assess early market inputs, thereby ensuring that market needs are addressed properly by the CHOReOS project. The market acceptance assessment is done using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), but the credibility of results is assessed using Cronbach's Alpha, Split-Half Reliability and Spearman–Brown testing methods

La “parlamentarizzazione” dell’emergenza Covid-19 tra norme e prassi

Il saggio intende indagare le procedure politico-parlamentari introdotte per la gestione dell’emergenza sanitaria da Covid-19, con lo scopo di verificare il grado di coinvolgimento delle Camere, dalla prima dichiarazione dello stato di emergenza sino ad oggi. A tal fine, l’elaborato si concentrerà sulla prassi applicativa delle modifiche apportate, in sede di conversione, all’art. 2 del decreto-legge n. 19 del 2020, ponendo l’accento, in particolare, sul rapporto intercorso tra Governo e Parlamento.The essay aims at investigating the parliamentary-political procedures introduced to menage the Covid-19 health emergency, with the purpose of verifying the level of involvement of the Chambers, from the first declaration of the state of emergency until today. To this end, the paper will focus on the application of the amendments made, during the parliamentary conversion, of art. 2 of decreto-legge n. 19 of 2020, with particular emphasis on the relationship between Government and Parliament

Il "peso" della salute collettiva e della solidarietà sociale nel bilanciamento dei valori costituzionali in tempi di Covid-19 (nota a sentenza n. 11/2021 del Collegio Garante della Costituzionalità delle Norme)

Il presente commento alla sentenza n. 11/2021 del Collegio Garante della Costituzionalità delle Norme di San Marino intende offrire una disamina dei passaggi fondamentali svolti dal Giudice delle leggi sammarinese ponendo l’attenzione sulle censure mosse dai ricorrenti e sulle motivazioni principali poste dal Collegio alla base della propria decisione. Sarà svolta poi una breve riflessione sul tema del bilanciamento dei valori costituzionali, ponendo particolare attenzione al ruolo rivestito dalla salute quale interesse collettivo e, in senso più ampio, dal valore della solidarietà sociale in relazione alla necessità di imporre misure limitative delle libertà fondamentali degli individui e al tema dell’obbligo vaccinale.The aim of this note on judgement n. 11/2022 adopted on 2 November 2021 is to provide an examination of the fundamental steps adopted by the Collegio Garante della Costituzionalità delle Norme of San Marino, focusing on the objections raised by the applicants and on the main reasons underlying the decision. A concise reflection will be made on the issue of balancing constitutional values, with particular attention to the role played by health as a collective concern and, in a broader sense, by the value of social solidarity in relation to the need to impose measures that restrict the individual’s fundamental rights and to the issue of mandatory vaccination

Separation of heat and charge currents for boosted thermoelectric conversion

In a multi-terminal device the (electronic) heat and charge currents can follow different paths. In this paper we introduce and analyse a class of multi-terminal devices where this property is pushed to its extreme limits, with charge $and$ heat currents flowing in different reservoirs. After introducing the main characteristics of such $heat-charge$ $current$ $separation$ regime we show how to realise it in a multi-terminal device with normal and superconducting leads. We demonstrate that this regime allows to control independently heat and charge flows and to greatly enhance thermoelectric performances at low temperatures. We analyse in details a three-terminal setup involving a superconducting lead, a normal lead and a voltage probe. For a generic scattering region we show that in the regime of heat-charge current separation both the power factor and the figure of merit $ZT$ are highly increased with respect to a standard two-terminal system. These results are confirmed for the specific case of a system consisting of three coupled quantum dots.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Extra-articular tenodesis combined with an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in acute anterior cruciate ligament tear in elite female football players

PURPOSE: The growing popularity of elite soccer among female participants has led to increased incidents of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures. Many authors underline a positive glide after ACL reconstruction (ACLR), especially in women. In fact, an isolated intra-articular ACLR may be inadequate to control rotational instability after a combined injury of the ACL and the peripheral structures of the knee. Extra-articular procedures are sometimes used in primary cases displaying excessive antero-lateral rotatory instability. The purpose of this case series was to report subjective and objective outcomes after combined ACL and lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) with a minimum 4-year follow-up in a selected high-risk population of elite female football players. METHODS: Between January 2007 and December 2010, 16 elite Italian female football players were included in the study. All patients underwent the same surgical technique: anatomical ACLR with autogenous semitendinosus and gracilis tendons. After the intra-articular reconstruction was performed, an additional extra-articular MacIntosh modified Coker-Arnold procedure was carried out. Patients were assessed pre- and post-operatively with the subjective and objective International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) evaluation form, Tegner activity scale (TAS) and Lysholm score. Joint laxity was assessed with KT-1000 by measuring the side-to-side (S/S) differences in displacement at manual maximum (mm) testing. RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 72.6 ± 8.1 months, two independent examiners reviewed all players. All of the patients had a fully recovered range of motion. Lachman test was negative in all patients (100 %). The evaluation of joint laxity and clinical evaluation showed a statistically significant improvement. No patients experienced complication or a re-rupture. DISCUSSION: The rationale of combining extra-articular procedures with ACLR is to restrict the internal rotation of the reconstructed knee, taking advantage of its long lever arm and thus providing more stability in the rotational axis and preventing the ACL graft from undergoing further excessive strain. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of an LET with ACLR in elite female football players demonstrated excellent results in terms of subjective scales, post-operative residual laxity and re-rupture rate with no complication, and a complete return to sport activity

Editor’s Note

This special issue, Special Issue on Multisensor user tracking and analytics to improve education and other application fields, concentrates on the practical and experimental use of data mining and analytics techniques, specially focusing on the educational area. The selected papers deal with the most relevant issues in the field, such as the integration of data from different sources, the identification of data suitable for the problem analysis, and the validation of the analytics techniques as support in the decision making process. The application fields of the analytics techniques presented in this paper have a clear focus on the educational area (where Learning Analytics has emerged as a buzzword in the recent years) but not restricted to it. The result is a collection of use cases, experimental validations and analytics systems with a clear contribution to the state of the art