Evaluation of the development and application of multimedia computer assisted learning in Higher Education.

This thesis deals with approaches to the evaluation of multimedia computer assisted learning in higher education. The thesis is presented in two parts. The first part consists mainly of a literature based review of the rationale and methods employed in the development of multimedia CAL systems focusing on the ability of such systems to deliver a variety of pedagogic aims and objectives which the literature on the subject generally attributes to them. This was done in order to identify and examine the important features which should be incorporated in the effective evaluation of such systems. 1) the pedagogical basis of multimedia learning environments with particular reference to the mechanism by which they claim to encourage an approach to learning which facilitates 'deep' rather than 'shallow' learning' (Chapters 3 and 4); 2) the basis on which multimedia CAL systems claim to provide interactive learning environments which allow the teaching materials to be tailored by learners to accommodate their own individual preferences for adopting particular learning strategies. In particular this focused on the importance of individual learning styles and learners' degree of computer confidence (Chapter 5); 3) the institutional/delivery factors which must be understood to explain fully the context in which evaluations are carried out and which may have important effects on the outcomes of evaluation (Chapter 6). This literature review, together with a practical survey of a range of existing CAL courseware and an e-mail survey of CAL developers provides the basis for presenting an approach to evaluation which differentiates systems on the basis of the pedagogic approach they adopt and the context in which they are implemented. Finally, a critical review of existing evaluation methods was undertaken and important elements within these methods were incorporated into a new framework for evaluation. The framework provides a tool for determining an evaluation strategy that encompasses all stages of development, formative and summative evaluation of CAL courseware. Evaluation is based on the explicit aims and objectives of the courseware being provided and is moderated by contextual factors that define the pedagogical approach being taken, any individual learner differences that must be taken into account, and the institutional/delivery context within which the courseware is used. An analysis of the implications of the framework when formulating an evaluation strategy demonstrates weaknesses in the assessment instruments currently being used in evaluation studies - particularly for providing reliable measures of 'learning effect' as part of summative evaluation and also with respect to accurate quantification of costs associated with development and use of CAL courseware. The second part of the thesis tests the framework. The approach taken was to develop and formatively and summatively assess a multimedia CAL system used to teach parts of a course on bibliographic classification to students at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Qualitative and quantitative tests to accomplish this are described and the result of statistical analyses of learner performance when using the system are presented. This empirical study provides further insights into the practical problems involved in developing and evaluating a multimedia CAL system and in particular highlights: 1) the influence which individual learning style (as measured by the Gregorc Style Delineator) has on student performance in a context in which postgraduate students were required to use the CAL courseware rather than attend lectures - results indicate that CAL does not serve all learners equally; 2) the importance of the delivery context in a study in which undergraduate students were provided with CAL materials to supplement the delivery of their course. The evaluation framework was found to be a robust framework for developing and testing didactic teaching packages which were developed in the context of improving the quality of the teaching and learning of bibliographic classification to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Recommendations are provided for future research based on using the framework to explore other contexts in which courseware is developed and implemented

'Insidious Pollen': Literature and Industrial Toxicity, 1935-Present

This dissertation tracks the entwined cultural and environmental histories of ‘legacy contaminants – enduring poisons from the past’. It focuses chiefly on literary texts about industrial toxicity written in Britain, or in response to British imperial projects, from 1935-present. Critically, it situates itself within the field of what I call ‘environmental justice scholarship’, and in Anthropocene studies. In 2011, Rob Nixon influentially coined the term ‘slow violence’ to describe ‘a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all’. Nixon’s term has since helped to shape an interdisciplinary discourse that enquires into toxic legacies, and the political systems that regulate their distribution. Often working in the social sciences, environmental justice scholars measure toxic pollution through an array of quantitative and qualitative methods. Literature too, I argue, can operate as a sensing technology for toxicity – but while environmental justice documents tend to serve defined political aims, many of the literary texts I discuss here are less direct in their intentions. They are preoccupied with how adequately to describe unsettling sensory experiences: tactile encounters with new synthetic materials, for example, or exposure to invisible toxicants. They also respond to difficult questions of systemic complicity and frustrated agency. While some of these texts overtly call their readers to political action, others voice how toxic legacies can leave people bewildered, frightened or jaded. As toxic materials have proliferated, writers have represented new kinds of political, affective and imaginative experience. The first half of the dissertation concerns 1930s and 1960s British literary texts about synthetic technology and its associated industrial systems. In chapters One and Two, I discuss how 1930s writers associated synthetic materials with distinctive moods, such as vertigo and paranoia. In chapters Three and Four, I trace how 1960s fears about agrichemical toxicity manifested in British science fiction and nonfiction. The second half of the dissertation turns to literature about British nuclear colonialism. Chapters Five and Six draw together hitherto-unconnected literary texts that give careful representation to the aftermaths of the United Kingdom’s nuclear weapons programme in South Australia and East Anglia, respectively. I conclude with a chapter on the legacy of Rachel Carson’s influential 1962 book Silent Spring, and contemporary American literary work on slow violence and cancer.Emmanuel College; Derek Brewer Research Studentship; Emmanuel College Late 80s Fun

Dada, Expressionism, and Some Modern Modes

Paper by Robert P. Newton, Assistant Professor of German at the University of Pennsylvani

The microstructure of some commercial nickel steels

In this thesis it was the author\u27s intention to take up the microstructure of such nickel steel as is generally employed for structural work --page 3

The evolution of glutathione metabolism in phototrophic microorganisms

The low molecular weight thiol composition of a variety of phototropic microorganisms is examined in order to ascertain how evolution of glutathione (GSH) production is related to the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. Cells were extracted in the presence of monobromobimane (mBBr) to convert thiols (RSH) to fluorescent derivatives (RSmB) which were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Significant levels of GSH were not found in green sulfur bacteria. Substantial levels were present in purple bacteria, cyanobacteria, and eukaryotic algae. Other thiols measured included cysteine, gamma-glutamylcysteine, thiosulfate, coenzyme A, and sulfide. Many of the organisms also exhibited a marked ability to reduce mBBr to syn-(methyl,methyl)bimane, an ability which was quenched by treatment with 2-pyridyl disulfide or 5,5 prime-bisdithio - (2-nitrobenzoic acid) prior to reaction with mBBr. These observations indicate the presence of a reducing system capable of electron transfer to mBBr and reduction of reactive disulfides. The distribution of GSH in phototropic eubacteria indicates that GSH synthesis evolved at or around the time that oxygenic photosynthesis evolved

Use of a student response system in Primary Schools — an empirical study

This paper reports a pilot study for a student response system (SRS) used in an English school. The technology used is the “Wireless Response System” – WRS developed at Huddersfield University, and the learning activities were conducted in Mathematics and English classes. The main concepts – activity based, problem based and opinion based learning – are adopted into the study. A case study was the method used in the investigation. The results show that the system is suitable for different sizes groups of users, who may choose their preferred question types. The school claims the use of WRS was successful, evidenced by the data collected, and the children and teachers were interested in using it. We conclude that the SRS can assist teachers in classroom teaching at primary school level, especially in the observations of engagement and effectiveness of students’ learning

Record-linkage of entrepreneurs in the England and Wales Censuses 1851-91 using BBCE and I-CeM

WP 24 uses a simple and efficient computational method for inter-census record linkage based on Jaro-Winkler, with fuzzy name matching and data blocking including birthplace and other standardisation. Entrepreneurs and a general population sample are derived from the BBCE and I-CeM England and Wales census datasets 1851-91. Matches are achieved with high precision (>0.9) for 10-30% of records in the candidate match pool, with recall rates of between >0.16 and >0.32