Scaffolding Problem Solving with Embedded Examples to Promote Deep Learning

This study compared the relative utility of an intelligent tutoring system that uses procedure-based hints to a version that uses worked-out examples. The system, Andes, taught college level physics. In order to test which strategy produced better gains in competence, two versions of Andes were used: one offered participants graded hints and the other offered annotated, worked-out examples in response to their help requests. We found that providing examples was at least as effective as the hintsequences and was more efficient in terms of the number of problems it took to obtain the same level of mastery

Dimensionality in Congressional Voting: The Role of Issues and Agendas

Congressional preferences are frequently categorized by a liberal to conservative dimension that splits the two-party system in the modern period. However, recent studies of voting in Congress have challenged that conception (Roberts et al. 2007, Crespin and Rohde 2010, Dougherty et al. 2010). Scholarship that relies exclusively on the roll call record to explain congressional preferences may not account for other dimensions that exist in the legislative process. Partisan agenda control may further lower the dimensionality suggested by roll call voting. In this paper, the strength of the unidimensional model is tested. First, issue areas that should theoretically be poorly accounted for by the unidimensional model are examined. These issues are based on Aage Clausen's "law of categorization" which argues that members of Congress have consistent issue preferences that vary based on the policy considered (Clausen 1974). Policy areas that vary by region are examined, as the economic benefit of a constituency (Fenno 1978) or the political culture of a district should affect voting preferences in Congress (Elazar 1994). The results of this analysis suggest that the unidimensional model performs poorly on many of these issue areas. Second, this paper demonstrates how the changing nature of the congressional agenda affects the importance of extra-dimensional preferences. By creating models using a subset of each Congress, this study shows that issues like abortion have risen on the agenda while a civil rights issue dimension is no longer active. Finally, using the evidence gathered in the previous sections, this paper examines the importance of issue areas on procedural votes as compared with roll calls which change the ideological content of a bill. The results suggest that parties during the Clinton years have overcome these issue dimensions during procedural votes, but votes that affect policy legislators may revert to issue based preferences. Overall, the results of this paper suggest that within specific issue areas, meetings of Congress, and types of roll calls, there is a systematic under-performance of the unidimensional model of preferences

Baculovirus erinnyis para o Controle Biológico do Mandarová da Mandioca.

O que é. Dentre as várias espécies de insetos associados à cultura da mandioca e que causam danos econômicos, destaca-se o mandarová da mandioca (Erinnyis ello L.) ou ?gervão?, que pode provocar completo desfolhamento e redução de até 64%, principalmente quando o ataque ocorre em plantas jovens (até 5 meses)

Issue Voting in a Polarized Era: Ideology, Constituencies and Policy-Making in Congress

Polarization in the modern Congress creates an atmosphere in which the liberal to conservative ideological structure dominates political conflict. Members of Congress (MCs) vote principally based on their own ideological preferences with relative stability, and there is evidence that preferences are diverging between the two major parties. But in a system of district-based representation, MCs must consider the implications of their voting behavior on their electoral fortunes. In a geographically vast multicultural and multiethnic democracy like the United States, regional variety in economic incentives and cultural perspectives means that each legislator faces unique concerns. In previous eras, regional disputes like slavery, "free silver," or civil rights provided the dominant divisions within parties. In the contemporary Congress, marked by its evident and growing polarization, can issue politics still provide an important dimension in congressional decision-making? Or should ideological models that incorporate issue politics guide our understanding? This research considers issue voting in an era of polarization and explores the impact of these diverse interests on policy voting in Congress. The results suggest that dimensionality, or the appearance of multiple dimensions of preferences beyond the typical liberal-conservative continuum, are evident in the modern Congress. In looking at salient policy issue areas like environmental, immigration and abortion policy, there is evidence of a voting calculus that incorporates the concerns of district economic and cultural interests. Since some MCs may prioritize their primary constituency above general election interests, these issue dimensions can be suppressed. These findings help shape an understanding of voting behavior within Congress and our understanding of representation in American democracy

The Validity of Submaximal Exercise Testing in Obese Women

Background: Submaximal exercise tests use heart rate responses to low-to-moderate intensity activity in order to predict cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max). Currently used tests may be inappropriate for obese populations as obese women have altered heart rate responses to exercise. The purpose of this project is to test the validity of the Modified Bruce Protocol submaximal treadmill test in obese women. Methods: Normal-weight (NWG) and obese women (OBG) completed the Modified Bruce submaximal treadmill test (to predict VO2max using previously validated equations) and a maximal graded exercise test on a treadmill using the Standard Bruce Protocol (to obtain an actual VO2max) on two separate occasions. The relationships between actual and predicted VO2max values were analyzed using correlation coefficients. Results: 9 NWG (age: 23.1±8.0 y, body fat: 23.5±4.9%) and 9 OBG (age: 22.0±4.8 y, body fat: 36.9±4.4%) women participated. Actual and predicted VO2max values were not correlated among the OBG (r=0.48, p=0.23) but were positively correlated in the NWG (r=0.71, p=0.03). Conclusions: Protocols for predicting fitness in NWG women do not appear to be valid in obese women. Separate equations should be considered in order to maximize the accuracy of exercise testing in obese women, and thus improve health care providers’ ability to evaluate patients and tailor exercise prescriptions

Regulatory Barriers to Approval of New Technologies for Small Drinking Water Systems

Small drinking water systems face different challenges than large drinking water systems. Innovative technologies can provide cost and reliability benefits to small systems, but new technologies are not frequently considered. One important barrier to the implementation of new technologies is obtaining state drinking water agency approval. To identify specific state regulatory barriers, a survey including sixteen questions was sent to the 49 state agencies. The survey included questions regarding their acceptance programs, experiences with new technologies, barriers, data needs for technology approval, and interest in a shared approach for acceptance of new technologies. The survey was sent in 2015 and received an 82% response rate. The survey confirmed that new technologies are rarely considered for implementation in small systems. Key barriers encountered by states include an overall lack of state agency time, lack of training for their staff, lack of data from vendors (including appropriate pilot data), and lack of independent verification/certification. Regulatory and statute issues were found to be less important barriers. To overcome barriers, states are primarily interested in performance data from pilot studies, and the results of this survey show that states are willing to collaborate by sharing data. Since there is an interest in information sharing, the next step is to identify how to share information nationwide, according to this survey, past EPA programs like the Arsenic Demonstration Program were effective, so perhaps the arsenic program could be used as a template for the new information sharing program. Advisor: Bruce I. Dvora

Taylor University: The First 150 Years

It is difficult to see any need for Taylor during its first years, the author contends. The sparsely populated state of Indiana in 1846 already had several Protestant colleges and a state university, and each of these institutions professed a Christian philosophical orientation. But the need for the school up beyond the village border soon became clear. The intellectual revolution at the turn-of-the-century cracked the spiritual foundations of major universities and even many church-related colleges, and it caused the Christian world view to lose its place of dominance. The subsequent de-humanizing of education and the inability of secular higher education to guide students in their quest for meaning contrasted sharply with the spirit and campus life of Taylor with its emphasis upon whole person education. Though Taylor has always been faithful to its Christian mission, nevertheless it has been operated by mortals whose deeds--sometimes very admirable, sometimes otherwise--are chronicled with responsible candor. Since those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it, Dr. Ringenberg\u27s honest assessment of the past gives credence to the steadfast conviction that for Taylor, the best is yet to be.https://pillars.taylor.edu/history_books/1000/thumbnail.jp

Creating, testing and implementing a method for retrieving conversational inference with ontological semantics and defaults

Conversational inference refers to that information which is assumed to be understood by both speaker and listener in conversation. With conversational inference, a speaker makes the assumption that what is being omitted from the conversation is already known by the listener. In return, a listener assumes that the information that the listener perceives to be omitted is the same as what the speaker believes to be omitted. ^ Ontological Semantic defaults represent the information which is implied in a single event. Defaults are typically excluded from conversation unless new information is being presented or the speaker is purposefully emphasizing the default for some reason. ^ Little research has been done in the area of defaults. This thesis expands the research on defaults through the implementation and adjustment of an algorithm for default detection. ^ The investigation into default detection is broken into two phases. In the first phase, the original algorithm for default detection is implemented. This algorithm involves pulling defaults based on adjectival modifiers to an object associated with an event. Phase 2 expands the algorithm from Phase 1 to include several additional modifiers. The algorithm from Phase 2 is found to be more effective than that in Phase 1

Manuscript: A Short History of the Development of the Campus of Taylor University Upland, Indiana

https://pillars.taylor.edu/history_books/1002/thumbnail.jp