Distributed learning in designing curriculum in a one-to-one computing environment

This qualitative study examined the access to, and use of, online resources, such as primary sources, lesson plans linked to standards, and participation in professional organizations and communities. The goal of this study was to examine how teachers have taken up the task of designing curriculum for delivery in classes where students have their own computers 24/7. It queried teachers about their theory of change linked to the implementation of one to one computing, the methods used to create and apply their own curriculum, and their orientation in general towards the use of technology in learning. It examined teachers\u27 views on student achievement in the use of teacher-made curriculum, and teachers\u27 impressions about the effectiveness of teacher-created curriculum as opposed to textbook centered curriculum. The primary focus was to examine the process and the effectiveness of teachers making their own curriculum for use in a one-to-one computing environment. While replacing textbooks with computers provided the context of this study, the goal was to examine how distributed learning and cognition affected the pedagogy of teachers in a technology-rich environment. The study revealed that teachers in a one-to-one environment are taking advantage of the technology to enhance their teaching, and thereby their students\u27 learning. It also showed that, even though this school is immersed in technology, the technology was not finally the point. Teachers did not feel the need to use the computers constantly, with a few teachers opting to use them very little. Teachers at the school combined traditional lesson planning and curriculum design techniques with state of the art digital tools. Teachers generally found that the formula was working, that students\u27 achievement was going up, and that the school was a more effective learning environment. Teachers were able to create their own curriculum, using Internet resources, receiving critical support from the school, plan in collaborative groups, believe that use of Internet resources is as good or better than that provided by state-approved textbooks. Technology was generally viewed as a positive influence on students, and student outcomes were positively influenced by the use of technology

DEVELOPMENT OF A TL-3 F-SHAPE TEMPORARY CONCRETE MEDIAN BARRIER

A temporary concrete median barrier (CMB) was designed and tested for compliance under the Test Level 3 (TL-3) guidelines specified in the Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features, National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report No. 350. The barrier is built to the new metric standards and has a traditional pin and loop configuration for interconnection. The objective of this research project was to develop and evaluate a standardized, temporary concrete barrier design while addressing the concerns for safety, economy, structural integrity, constructability, ease of installation, and maintenance. The resulting F-shape barrier segment is 3,800-mm long, a length that reduced the number of connections while limiting the weight of the barriers to ease handling. Full-scale crash testing demonstrated several critical design features. First, the connections need to be tight initially as practicable to limit deformation and rotation of the barriers,. Secondly, the pin needs to restrain the longitudinal barrier forces. Full-scale compliance testing of the final design demonstrated that the barrier was capable of successfully redirecting the 2000-kg vehicle. The vehicle demonstrated significant roll after contact with the barrier, which is evidenced in a majority of other concrete barrier tests. This barrier provides economical work zone protection applicable in a variety of situations, where TL-3 test criteria is warranted

Individual differences in infant fixation duration relate to attention and behavioral control in childhood

Individual differences in fixation duration are considered a reliable measure of attentional control in adults. However, the degree to which individual differences in fixation duration in infancy (0–12 months) relate to temperament and behavior in childhood is largely unknown. In the present study, data were examined from 120 infants (mean age = 7.69 months, SD = 1.90) who previously participated in an eye-tracking study. At follow-up, parents completed age-appropriate questionnaires about their child’s temperament and behavior (mean age of children = 41.59 months, SD = 9.83). Mean fixation duration in infancy was positively associated with effortful control (β = 0.20, R2 = .02, p = .04) and negatively with surgency (β = −0.37, R2 = .07, p = .003) and hyperactivity-inattention (β = −0.35, R2 = .06, p = .005) in childhood. These findings suggest that individual differences in mean fixation duration in infancy are linked to attentional and behavioral control in childhood

Isolation and Fusion of Cotton Protoplasts

Protoplasts were isolated from five species of Gossypium. Protoplast yield and viability were affected by incubation conditions, osmolarity, purification procedures, and cell source. Using an optimized procedure, highly viable protoplasts were isolated from cell suspensions, callus cultures, and leaf tissue of G. hirsutum, G. arboreum, G. klotzschianum, G. harknessii, and G. herbaceum. Protoplasts of G. harknessii were enucleated and successfully fused with protoplasts of G. hirsutum

Automated Scenario Generation Environment

Report describes IST\u27s investigation into the feasibility of automating the process of planning and scenario generation for large scale (joint level) simulation exercises and development of an architecture for that purpose

Magnetic field waves at Uranus

The proposed research efforts funded by the UDAP grant to the BRI involve the study of magnetic field waves associated with the Uranian bow shock. This is a collaborative venture bringing together investigators at the BRI, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In addition, other collaborations have been formed with investigators granted UDAP funds for similar studies and with investigators affiliated with other Voyager experiments. These investigations and the corresponding collaborations are included in the report. The proposed effort as originally conceived included an examination of waves downstream from the shock within the magnetosheath. However, the observations of unexpected complexity and diversity within the upstream region have necessitated that we confine our efforts to those observations recorded upstream of the bow shock on the inbound and outbound legs of the encounter by the Voyager 2 spacecraft

Beyond user acceptance: The determinants of the intention to produce user created contents on the internet

The advance in User Created Contents (UCCs) web sites like YouTube changed the role of Internet users from contents receivers to contents creators; a role which requires more pro-active user behaviour. However, the literature on user behaviour in information technology lacks theories that explain the pro-active user behaviour of producing and sharing UCCs with others on the Internet. This paper aims to reveal the major attributes of Internet users that have a positive impact on the intention to produce UCCs on the Internet. Extant related theories are reviewed to extract major factors of Internet users that lead to the production of UCCs. A questionnaire survey is administrated to 400 sampled respondents in South Korea to test the relationships among the identified factors. The results show that playfulness, self-expressiveness/sharing intention, innovativeness, computing skills and reward have a positive impact on the intention to produce UCCs. In particular, innovativeness turned out to have the biggest impact, while social participation is not a significant factor. Mediator variables such as age, gender and types of UCC also turned out to be playing a role in the causal relationships among the factors and the intention to produce UCCs. A model pertaining to the intention to produce UCCs online is developed and tested. The academic and practical implications of the study are also discussed in details

Architecture and Performance of the Mether Network Shared Memory

Mether is a Network Shared Memory (NSM). It allows applications on autonomous computers connected by a network to share a segment of memory. NSMs offer the attraction of a simple abstraction for shared state, i.e., shared memory. NSMs have a potential performance problem in the cost of remote references, which is typically solved by grouping memory into larger units such as pages, and caching pages. While Mether employs grouping and caching to reduce the average memory reference delay, it also removes the need for many remote references (page faults) by providing a facility with relaxed consistency requirements. Applications ported from a multiprocessor supercomputer with shared memory to a 16-workstation Mether configuration showed a cost/performance advantage of over 300 in favor of the Mether system. While Mether is currently implemented for Sun-3 and Sun-4 systems connected via Ethernet, other characteristics (such as a choice of page sizes and a semaphore-like access mode useful for process synchronization) should suit it to a wide variety of networks. A reimplementation for an alternate configuration employing packet-switched networks is in progress

The Dynamics of IT Project Status Reporting: A Self-Reinforcing Cycle of Distrust

Accurate project status reporting is important to avoid the problem of information technology (IT) project escalation and to successfully manage and deliver IT projects. One approach that some organizations have taken is to audit their IT projects to avoid surprises that are frequently associated with inaccurate status reporting. Little is known, however, about the effects that such auditing arrangements can have on the dynamics of project status reporting. To examine the process of IT project status reporting in this context, we followed a grounded theory inspired approach in which we investigated nine IT projects in one U.S. state’s government agencies. All of the projects we studied were subject to the state’s IT oversight board. Based on 118 interviews with a variety of stakeholders including technical personnel, managers, users, and contractors, we present a grounded theory of project status reporting dynamics in which the reporting process can best be characterized as a self-reinforcing cycle of distrust between the project team and the auditors. Specifically, in some projects, we observed a pattern whereby project teams interpreted the auditor’s scrutiny as unfair and as not adding value to their projects. As a result, they responded by embracing some defensive reporting tactics. The auditors interpreted the project team’s actions as indicating either deception or incompetence, and they then increased their scrutiny of the reports, thus exacerbating the situation and further fuelling the cycle of distrust. We discuss implications for both theory and practice