Exploring problem solving patterns and their impact on learning achievement in a blended learning environment

Blended learning, thoughtfully combining the best elements of online and face-to-face education, is likely to emerge as the predominant teaching model of the future. In this paper, we present a blended learning environment combining mobile learning, web-based learning, and classroom teaching to provide realistic, practical opportunities for learners and teachers to engage in problem solving activities. The purpose of this study was to explore problem solving patterns and their impact on learning achievement in a blended learning environment. Through quasi-experimental instruction, we collected all of the data of the learning processes from 34 students in a blended learning environment using classroom instruction, mobile and web scenarios. By combining cluster analysis and content analysis, we were able to identify three groups with distinct characteristics: the hybrid-oriented group, the technology-oriented group, and the efficiency-oriented group. Learners in the hybrid-oriented group used the classroom, mobile and web scenario almost equally. They displayed a regular manner in following the instructor’s teaching procedure, and tended to passively accept whatever the teacher said. Students in the technology-oriented group spent most of their time using mobile and web technologies but they revealed superficial problem solving abilities such as a lack of understanding and planning. The efficiency-oriented group was characterized by the efficient monitoring of learning processes. It was more task-oriented and performed better than the other two groups.     

Intelligent patent recommendation system for innovative design collaboration

Patents' search is increasingly critical for a company's technological advancement and sustainable marketing strategy. When most innovative designs are created collaboratively by a diverse team of researchers and technologists, patent knowledge management becomes time consuming with repeated efforts creating additional task conflicts. This research develops an intelligent recommendation methodology and system to enable timely and effective patent search prior, during, and after design collaboration to prevent potential infringement of existing intellectual property rights (IPR) and to secure new IPR for market advantage. The research develops an algorithm to dynamically search related patents in global patent databases. The system clusters users with similar patent search behaviors and, subsequently, infers new patent recommendations based on inter-cluster group member behaviors and characteristics. First, the methodology evaluates the filtered information obtained from collaborative patent searches. Second, the system clusters existing users and identifies users' neighbors based on the collaborative filtering algorithm. Using the clusters of users and their behaviors, the system recommends related patents. When collaborative design teams are planning R&D policies or searching patents and prior art claims to create new IP and prevent or settles IP legal disputes, the intelligent recommendation system identifies and recommends patents with greater efficiency and accuracy than previous systems and methods described in the literature.     

Designing dynamic English: a creative reading system in a context-aware fitness centre using a smart phone and QR codes

Abstract

This article describes the design and development of a context-aware ubiquitous learning (u-learning) system for users to increase fitness-related reading comprehension in a fitness centre. With the use of mobile devices and sensing technologies, practitioners and researchers of ICT and ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) are paying attention to the planning and use of u-learning components to provide users more interactions with authentic learning objects in a real context. Meanwhile, English for specific purposes (ESP) with interaction design has been a focus in recent years; however, few ESP practitioners and researchers have explored fitness-related English with ubicomp. All of the users were satisfied with the use of the smart phones and scanning of QR codes on the machines in the fitness centre to develop their reading comprehension of fitness-related English. Finally, a learning design model for Fitness English reading with u-learning components was developed and elaborated from designers' perspectives.     

Adaptive control of a class of nonlinear systems with nonlinearlyparameterized fuzzy approximators

Recently, through the use of parameterized fuzzy approximators, various adaptive fuzzy control schemes have been developed to deal with nonlinear systems whose dynamics are poorly understood. An important class of parameterized fuzzy approximators is constructed using radial basis function (RBF) as a membership function. However, some tuneable parameters in RBF appear nonlinearly and the determination of the adaptive law for such parameters is a nontrivial task. In this paper, we propose a new adaptive control method in an effort to tune all the RBF parameters thereby reducing the approximation error and improving control performance. Global boundedness of the overall adaptive system and tracking to within a desired precision are established with the new adaptive controller. Simulations performed on a simple nonlinear system illustrate the approach     

给定限界要求的联盟结构生成

联盟形成是多Agent系统中的一个关键问题,目的是通过寻找使联盟值的总和最大的联盟结构来使系统得到最大的效益。但通常可能的联盟结构的数目太大,不允许穷尽搜索来找出最优解。当实际问题提出最坏情况的具体限界要求时,如何以最小的搜索达到这个要求是需要解决的。文中给出的算法对给定的限界要求K*≥2以最少的搜索层数解决了这个问题。Sandholm等人已经证明,要建立最坏情况下的限界K（n),搜索联盟结构图的最底两层是必要且是充分的,此时限界是n(系统的Agent 数）。以此为基础,文中给出了算法,在搜索最底两层之后,只要搜索一层就能保证K(n)≤3;而在搜索最底两层之后,最多搜索两层就能保证K(n)≤2。与Samdholm等人给出的算法相比,文中给出的算法达到指定限界的搜索量显著减少。     

Adaptive Control for the Systems Preceded by Hysteresis

Hysteresis hinders the effectiveness of smart materials in sensors and actuators. It is a challenging task to control the systems with hysteresis. This note discusses the adaptive control for discrete time linear dynamical systems preceded with hysteresis described by the Prandtl-Ishlinskii model. The time delay and the order of the linear dynamical system are assumed to be known. The contribution of the note is the fusion of the hysteresis model with adaptive control techniques without constructing the inverse hysteresis nonlinearity. Only the parameters (which are generated from the parameters of the linear system and the density function of the hysteresis) directly needed in the formulation of the controller are adaptively estimated online. The proposed control law ensures the global stability of the closed-loop system, and the output tracking error can be controlled to be as small as required by choosing the design parameters. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.     

程序规范自动检测与修正系统ADRS的研究

文中介绍了一个程序规范自动检测与修正系统ＡＤＲＳ的理论模型,在开放逻辑的思想基础上,文中提出了一种自动修正模型,并试图对李未提出的３个问题给出解决方案。作为对第１个问题的解决,作者提出了一种刻画程序规范重要性程度的全序结构,克服了加标记的二分法地粗糙性。作为对第２个问题的解决,作者提出了修正函数的定义和Ｒ－计算模型,并证明了该模型满足修正函数的要求。作为对第３个问题的解决,作者提出了Ｔ－修正函数的     

Complicated phase behavior and ionic conductivities of PVP-co-PMMA-based polymer electrolytes

We have used DSC, FTIR spectroscopy, and ac impedance techniques to investigate the interactions that occur within complexes of poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-methyl methacrylate) (PVP-co-PMMA) and lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄) as well as these systems' phase behavior and ionic conductivities. The presence of MMA moieties in the PVP-co-PMMA random copolymer has an inert diluent effect that reduces the degree of self-association of the PVP molecules and causes a negative deviation in the glass transition temperature (T_g). In the binary LiClO₄/PVP blends, the presence of a small amount of LiClO₄ reduces the strong dipole-dipole interactions within PVP and leads to a lower T_g. Further addition of LiClO₄ increases T_g as a result of ion-dipole interactions between LiClO₄ and PVP. In LiClO₄/PVP-co-PMMA blend systems, for which the three individual systems—the PVP-co-PMMA copolymer and the LiClO₄/PVP and LiClO₄/PMMA blends—are miscible at all compositional ratios, a phase-separated loop exists at certain compositions due to a complicated series of interactions among the LiClO₄, PVP and PMMA units. The PMMA-rich component in the PVP-co-PMMA copolymer tends to be excluded, and this phenomenon results in phase separation. At a LiClO₄ content of 20 wt% salt, the maximum ionic conductivity occurred for a LiClO₄/VP57 blend (i.e., 57 mol% VP units in the PVP-co-PMMA copolymer).     

A spur-reduction technique for a 5-GHz frequency synthesizer

A spur-reduction technique is presented to achieve low reference spurs for a 5-GHz frequency synthesizer. A dual-path control scheme incorporated with a pair of the proposed smoothed varactors reduces the gain of voltage-controlled oscillator to less than 15 MHz/V, attenuates the spurious tones, and shortens the simulated settling time by 56%. In, addition, a digital frequency-calibration circuit is used to enlarge the tuning range to overcome process variations. A 5-GHz frequency synthesizer has been fabricated for verification in a 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process. It exhibits phase noise of -79 and -113 dBc/Hz at 10-kHz and 1-MHz offset, respectively. The reference spur level of -74 dBc is achieved by using a second-order loop filter. The overall tuning range is 16.3% and power consumption is 36 mW from a 1.8-V supply. The total switching time including digital frequency calibration takes no more than 110 /spl mu/s.     

Macropterons, micropterons and similarity reductions for the regularized Ostrovsky-Grimshaw model for fluids and plasmas with symbolic computation

Summary The Ostrovsky model is widely used to describe mechanical and physical problems such as internal or surface waves in the oceans and magnetic sounds in plasmas. This model has recently been Grimshaw-regularized for certain continuity in the mass field, while computerized symbolic computation becomes a branch of artificial intelligence. In this paper, some similarity reductions are found for the regularized Ostrovsky-Grimshaw model with symbolic computation, to a coupled set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The micropterons and macropterons are analytically presented and discussed, and have been found to contain certain solitonic cores plus a number of sinusoidal ``wings'. Examples are the micropterons and macropterons for fluid velocities in the wave propagation direction and transverse direction, respectively.