HOW DO UNIVERSITY STUDENTS SELECT AND USE THEIR LEARNING TOOLS? A MIXED-METHOD STUDY ON PERSONALISED LEARNING (21)

Universities often blend traditional learning and e-learning by providing software licenses, electronic learning materials, and access to Learning Management Systems. Following the idea of personalised learning in higher education, students are free to choose between a wide range of learning tools constructing their Personalised Learning Environment. However, the characteristics of the chosen tools need to match the characteristics of the learning tasks to support students adequately. In the present paper, a mixed-method approach is used to analyse which types of tools are used in practice and which types of learning tasks are performed using these learning tools. Furthermore, important factors influencing the decision to select learning tools are identified. This study shows that a wide array of learning tools is used in practice. Although students consider individual factors (such as perceived ease of use and task-technology fit) to be most important when selecting their tools, several exogenous factors such as the lecturers’ targeted pedagogy, social norm and the occurrence of higher order thinking skills limit the range of adequate learning tools

Visualization methods for multi-criteria portfolio selection: An empirical study

Vetschera R, Gettinger J, Kiesling E, Stummer C. Visualization methods for multi-criteria portfolio selection: An empirical study. In: Supplemental Proceedings of the 15th IFIP WG 8.3 International Conference on Decision Support Systems (DSS 2010). Frontiers in artificial intelligence and applications. 2010: 1-9

Integration of behavioral and analytic decision support in electronic negotiations

This paper presents the e-Nego-motion research project which attempts to enhance understanding of effects of and interaction between behavioral and analytic decision support in e-negotiations. Systems providing both kinds of decision support were used in a laboratory experiment. Analyses show that behavioral decision support is requested most often for issues where experienced conflict is high. When consulted early in the negotiation phase, the diagnosis, analysis and advice functions of behavioral support increase the efficiency of agreements. This effect is even stronger if analytic decision support is available to subjects. Additionally, communication patterns influence the quality of negotiations independent of decision support. The more formal offers and counteroffers are exchanged, the higher is the efficiency of outcomes measured by joint utility. Overall, there are no significant differences in the number and quality of agreements between support approaches. Nevertheless, the satisfaction of subjects with process and outcomes reflects the strengths of the support approaches: Subjects with behavioral support are most satisfied with outcomes while subjects with decision support are most satisfied with the negotiation process.8 page(s

Immuno-thermal ablations – boosting the anticancer immune response

Abstract The use of immunomodulation to treat malignancies has seen a recent explosion in interest. The therapeutic appeal of these treatments is far reaching, and many new applications continue to evolve. In particular, immune modulating drugs have the potential to enhance the systemic anticancer immune effects induced by locoregional thermal ablation. The immune responses induced by ablation monotherapy are well documented, but independently they tend to be incapable of evoking a robust antitumor response. By adding immunomodulators to traditional ablative techniques, several researchers have sought to amplify the induced immune response and trigger systemic antitumor activity. This paper summarizes the work done in animal models to investigate the immune effects induced by the combination of ablative therapy and immunomodulation. Combination therapy with radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, and microwave ablation are all reviewed, and special attention has been paid to the addition of checkpoint blockades

Oncolytic virus immunotherapy: future prospects for oncology

Abstract Background Immunotherapy is at the forefront of modern oncologic care. Various novel therapies have targeted all three layers of tumor biology: tumor, niche, and immune system with a range of promising results. One emerging class in both primary and salvage therapy is oncolytic viruses. This therapy offers a multimodal approach to specifically and effectively target and destroy malignant cells, though a barrier oncoviral therapies have faced is a limited therapeutic response to currently delivery techniques. Main body The ability to deliver therapy tailored to specific cellular targets at the precise locus in which it would have its greatest impact is a profound development in anti-cancer treatment. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have an improved tolerability profile relative to cytotoxic chemotherapy and whole beam radiation, severe immune-related adverse events have emerged as a potential limitation. These include pneumonitis, pancreatitis, and colitis, which are relatively infrequent but can limit therapeutic options for some patients. Intratumor injection of oncolytic viruses, in contrast, has a markedly lower rate of serious adverse effects and perhaps greater specificity to target tumor cells. Early stage clinical trials using oncolytic viruses show induction of effector anti-tumor immune responses and suggest that such therapies could also morph and redefine both the local target cells’ niche as well as impart distant effects on remote cells with a similar molecular profile. Conclusion It is imperative for the modern immuno-oncologist to understand the biological processes underlying the immune dysregulation in cancer as well as the effects, uses, and limitations of oncolytic viruses. It will be with this foundational understanding that the future of oncolytic viral therapies and their delivery can be refined to forge future horizons in the direct modulation of the tumor bed

An experimental comparison of two interactive visualization methods for multicriteria portfolio selection

Kiesling E, Gettinger J, Stummer C, Vetschera R. An experimental comparison of two interactive visualization methods for multicriteria portfolio selection. In: Ahti S, Jeffrey K, Alec M, eds. Portfolio Decision Analysis: Improved Methods for Resource Allocation. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science. Vol 162. Boston: Springer; 2011: 187-209

Cryotherapy for nodal metastasis in NSCLC with acquired resistance to immunotherapy

Abstract Novel approaches with checkpoint inhibitors in immunotherapy continue to be essential in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the low rate of primary response and the development of acquired resistance during the immunotherapy limit their long-term effectiveness. The underlying cause of acquired resistance is poorly understood; potential management strategies for patients with acquired resistance are even less clear. Here, we report the case of a 75-year-old female smoker with cough, fatigue, and weight loss that was found to have an 8.6 cm right upper lobe lung lesion with local invasion, adenopathy, and a malignant pericardial effusion. This lesion was biopsied and identified to be cT3N3M1b squamous cell cancer of the lung without any recognizable PD-L1 expression on tumor cells. For her metastatic NSCLC, the patient underwent two lines of conventional chemotherapy before initiation of combination immunotherapy with an anti-PD-L1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibody. Though she initially achieved a response, she thereafter progressed and developed immunotherapy resistant lymph nodal metastasis. While cervical lymph nodes could be surgically removed, another metastasis in an aortocaval area required a more sensitive therapy like thermal ablation. The aortocaval node was partially treated with a single treatment of cryotherapy and demonstrated durable complete response. Cryotherapy for checkpoint immunotherapy resistant metastasis appears to be a safe and feasible treatment for treating metastatic disease in non-small cell lung cancer. The prospect of cryotherapy adjuvancy may enable local control of metastatic disease after initial response to immune checkpoint immunotherapy and may impact on overall outcomes

A comparison of representations for discrete multi-criteria decision problems

Gettinger J, Kiesling E, Stummer C, Vetschera R. A comparison of representations for discrete multi-criteria decision problems. Decision Support Systems. 2013;54(2):976-985