A Comprehensive Evaluation Model for Cumputer Based Educaton

As opportunities to use computers in learning laboratory settings increase,directors will be faced with the problem of assisting faculty to select and evaluate themost appropriate courseware for their needs. This article presents a comprehensiveevaluation model that could be applied for computer based education programs in avariety of arts and sciences areas. The model includes a pre-implementation stage.This stage determines program compatibility, content evaluation and hardwareconsiderations. A second stage considers formative evaluation, continued availabilityof equipment and the recording of time records. Finally, the last phase, summativeevaluation, includes collecting student attitudes, assessing cost effectiveness,determining external influences and finally, suggesting ways of reaching a decision ofworth. The implementation of this model should provide a system where studentscould work with computer programs of a proven quality. Also, learning laboratorydirectors and faculty could show a certain level of accountability towards spendingmoney on computer software or courseware

Information and Communication Technology Literacy Here and Abroad: A Comparison of College Students in the US and the British Vigin Islands

Information technology literacy has become a global imperative. This paper compares perceptions of ICT competency of freshmen enrolled in a public US university with students attending a community college in the British Virgin Islands. Participants completed a self-assessment instrument that addresses three broad areas of IT competency: computer hardware, networking and systems software; application/productivity software; and the Internet and information literacy. While there were significant differences between the two student groups on some individual items, the basic ranking of skill levels was remarkably similar. The findings, some intuitive and others unexpected, create starting points for further investigation. More importantly, the findings underscore the need for educational institutions around the globe to implement standardized assessment of IT literacy

A Market Analysis for Nebraska City

The Center for Applied Urban Research presents this report to the Nebraska City Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement District Board as the product of the market area analysis conducted for Nebraska City. The analysis took the form of a survey of residents in the Nebraska City market area to determine residents\u27 shopping patterns, motives for and perceptions of shopping, and market area configuration and leakage. The survey was administered to a random-stratified sample of 500 residents living within a 45 mile radius of Nebraska City

Stochastic Gene Expression in Single Gene Oscillator Variants

It is infeasible to understand all dynamics in cell, but we can aim to understand the impact of design choices under our control. Here we consider a single gene oscillator as a case study to understand the influence of DNA copy number and repressor choice on the resulting dynamics. We first switch the repressor in the oscillator from the originally published lacI to treRL, a chimeric repressor with a lacI DNA binding domain that is inducible by trehalose. This slightly modified system produces faster and more regular oscillations than the original lacI oscillator. We then compare the treRL oscillator at three different DNA copy numbers. The period and amplitude of oscillations increases as the copy number is decreased. We cannot explain the change in period with differential equation models without changing delays or degradation rates. The correlation and phase coherence between daughter cells after cell division also tend to fall off faster for the lower copy oscillator variants. These results suggest that lower copy number variants of our single gene oscillator produce more synchronized oscillations

Linear models for control of cavity flow oscillations

Models for understanding and controlling oscillations in the flow past a rectangular cavity are developed. These models may be used to guide control designs, to understand performance limits of feedback, and to interpret experimental results. Traditionally, cavity oscillations are assumed to be self-sustained: no external disturbances are necessary to maintain the oscillations, and amplitudes are limited by nonlinearities. We present experimental data which suggests that in some regimes, the oscillations may not be self-sustained, but lightly damped: oscillations are sustained by external forcing, such as boundary-layer turbulence. In these regimes, linear models suffice to describe the behaviour, and the final amplitude of oscillations depends on the characteristics of the external disturbances. These linear models are particularly appropriate for describing cavities in which feedback has been used for noise suppression, as the oscillations are small and nonlinearities are less likely to be important. It is shown that increasing the gain too much in such feedback control experiments can lead to a peak-splitting phenomenon, which is explained by the linear models. Fundamental performance limits indicate that peak splitting is likely to occur for narrow-bandwidth actuators and controllers