An interactive triangle approach to student learning

Report of a CELT project on enhancing learning and teaching through innovation and research.Discusses the findings of a research project designed to improve student performance through innovative learning and teaching methods. The traditional format of the Human Physiology module (a core module in the Biomedical Science portfolio) comprising a weekly programme of two lectures and one tutorial was replaced by converting lectures into an on-line form and hosting them on the University's virtual learning environment (WOLF), linking these to key texts, on-line resources and computer software packages. Workshops and drop-in sessions provided additional support and an opportunity for lecturers to diagnose areas of difficulty and provide strategies for resolving them

A secondary monitor unit calculation algorithm using superposition of symmetric, open fields for IMRT plans

Purpose: To perform a secondary dose calculation for intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans to a point on or off axis within 2% using open field data. Methods: An independent dose calculation algorithm has been developed for complex fields with multiple segments. The algorithm subdivides dose into the contributions from each opposing leaf pair for a given multileaf collimator (MLC) configuration. Leaf pair dose is determined by drawing four rectangular fields based on leaf positions, which are symmetric about the point of calculation. Superposition of these fields yields the dose from the leaf pair to the point. VMAT plans are approximated by a static MLC configuration at four degree intervals. The algorithm requires standard open field data (e.g., head and phantom scatter factors, Scps and tissue phantom ratios, TPRs), and the MLC control point information. Calculations were done with additional measured small field output factors down to a 1.5x1.5-cm² field. Algorithm doses to the isocenter or center of the planning target volume (PTV) were compared with heterogeneous Pinnacle calculations of a series of prostate, head and neck, and chest wall treatment plans. Delivery techniques included fixed gantry IMRT and VMAT. Results: Good agreement was obtained between doses calculated by the algorithm and the Pinnacle3 treatment planning system. Percent errors were -0.2% ± 3.8% (mean and 95% confidence interval) for algorithm calculations. Systematic offsets were observed as a function of calculation site, with prostate doses being underestimated and chest wall doses being overestimated. Errors are likely the result of patient geometry deviations from the infinite slab, flat phantom assumption of monitor unit calculations. Conclusion: Results demonstrate that clinically acceptable agreement is obtained using this method. Further improvement could be made with more accurate heterogeneity correction factors and/or a better estimation of small field output factors

Perceptions and Actions Regarding Parent Involvement in a Small Northeast Tennessee School District.

The purpose of this study was to compare the perception scores and action scores of teachers in a northeast Tennessee school system in terms of parent involvement. Also, this study examined the relationship between perception scores and action scores of administrators and teachers across the district. Lastly, this study determined if significant differences existed in the perception scores and action scores between elementary, middle, and high school teachers. Data were collected by questionnaires containing sections for demographic information, perceptions of parent involvement, and actions involving parent involvement. The population consisted of 437 certified teachers and 24 building level administrators. From that population, 298 teachers and 18 administrators responded. Independent-samples t tests were used to compare the action scores of teachers in a high perception group and a low perception group. As a whole, teachers in the low perception group tended to have lower action scores than those in the high perception group. However, when analyzed by grade level, no significant differences were noted between the high perception and low perception groups. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing was used to test for differences in the perception scores and action scores of teachers by grade level. Significant differences were noted in the perception scores and action scores between the elementary, middle, and high school groups. A post hoc Tukey procedure clearly indicated that elementary school action scores were significantly different from middle action scores, and middle school action scores were significantly different from high school action scores. A post hoc LSD procedure clearly indicated that elementary school perception scores were significantly different from middle perception scores, and middle school perception scores were significantly different from high school perception scores. Single-sample t tests revealed a significant difference in the perception scores and action scores of teachers and administrators across the district. In each single-sample t test, the mean administrator score was used as the test value. Each test confirmed that the sample mean was significantly lower than the test value. This study was important in uncovering information about the perception scores and action scores of teachers and administrators in the area of parent involvement. Parent involvement has been consistently shown to have positive benefits on students but is still an underused resource. Recommendations are made with the intention of helping schools better understand how to serve their students and communities more effectively

Geographical Analysis of Hub City Transit

This study assess Hub City Transit, the public bus system of Hattiesburg, MS. Statistical analysis is used to determine how well the transit system serves low income areas of the city. A 0.5 mile buffer was applied to the bus routes to determine the coverage of the transit system. Areas of disorder along the routes were also assessed to analyze the landscape routes pass through. Lastly, an analysis of ridership on each route was performed to determine the most heavily used areas, as well as to assess where riders are going on each route. The findings show that Hub City Transit is serving the low income demographic that they state they wish to serve. Also, ridership analysis suggests that the transit system is a truly needed service, as most riders seem to utilize it to get to health care facilities and grocery stores. An abundance of disorder in the landscape of the routes was found and in many areas these are the areas of highest ridership

Noncommutative Nullstellens\"atze and Perfect Games

The foundations of classical Algebraic Geometry and Real Algebraic Geometry are the Nullstellensatz and Positivstellensatz. Over the last two decades the basic analogous theorems for matrix and operator theory (noncommutative variables) have emerged. This paper concerns commuting operator strategies for nonlocal games, recalls NC Nullstellensatz which are helpful, extends these, and applies them to a very broad collection of games. In the process it brings together results spread over different literatures, hence rather than being terse, our style is fairly expository. The main results of this paper are two characterizations, based on Nullstellensatz, which apply to games with perfect commuting operator strategies. The first applies to all games and reduces the question of whether or not a game has a perfect commuting operator strategy to a question involving left ideals and sums of squares. Previously, Paulsen and others translated the study of perfect synchronous games to problems entirely involving a $*$-algebra.The characterization we present is analogous, but works for all games. The second characterization is based on a new Nullstellensatz we derive in this paper. It applies to a class of games we call torically determined games, special cases of which are XOR and linear system games. For these games we show the question of whether or not a game has a perfect commuting operator strategy reduces to instances of the subgroup membership problem and, for linear systems games, we further show this subgroup membership characterization is equivalent to the standard characterization of perfect commuting operator strategies in terms of solution groups. Both the general and torically determined games characterizations are amenable to computer algebra techniques, which we also develop.Comment: 58 page

Understanding interactive behaviour : a quantitative approach.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN029243 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Exponential separation between shallow quantum circuits and unbounded fan-in shallow classical circuits

Recently, Bravyi, Gosset, and K\"{o}nig (Science, 2018) exhibited a search problem called the 2D Hidden Linear Function (2D HLF) problem that can be solved exactly by a constant-depth quantum circuit using bounded fan-in gates (or QNC^0 circuits), but cannot be solved by any constant-depth classical circuit using bounded fan-in AND, OR, and NOT gates (or NC^0 circuits). In other words, they exhibited a search problem in QNC^0 that is not in NC^0. We strengthen their result by proving that the 2D HLF problem is not contained in AC^0, the class of classical, polynomial-size, constant-depth circuits over the gate set of unbounded fan-in AND and OR gates, and NOT gates. We also supplement this worst-case lower bound with an average-case result: There exists a simple distribution under which any AC^0 circuit (even of nearly exponential size) has exponentially small correlation with the 2D HLF problem. Our results are shown by constructing a new problem in QNC^0, which we call the Relaxed Parity Halving Problem, which is easier to work with. We prove our AC^0 lower bounds for this problem, and then show that it reduces to the 2D HLF problem. As a step towards even stronger lower bounds, we present a search problem that we call the Parity Bending Problem, which is in QNC^0/qpoly (QNC^0 circuits that are allowed to start with a quantum state of their choice that is independent of the input), but is not even in AC^0[2] (the class AC^0 with unbounded fan-in XOR gates). All the quantum circuits in our paper are simple, and the main difficulty lies in proving the classical lower bounds. For this we employ a host of techniques, including a refinement of H{\aa}stad's switching lemmas for multi-output circuits that may be of independent interest, the Razborov-Smolensky AC^0[2] lower bound, Vazirani's XOR lemma, and lower bounds for non-local games