Expert system for problem solving in distance university education: The successful case of the subject “operations management”

Acquiring the skills needed to solve certain types of problems is one of the main challenges of distance university education, demanding extra motivation from students to tackle it. New technology should be one of our great allies in addressing these problems. This article proposes an expert system with a web‐based problem‐solving simulator for a multidevice environment in order to allow students to access an unlimited number of problems with their corresponding solutions, immediately, anytime and anywhere. The types of problems that can be used are those based on quantitative methods with a fixed methodology to be followed. A successful case study was carried out for the subject Operations Management at the Distance University of Madrid (UDIMA), with three different problem simulators having been developed. The results were very satisfactory compared with previous academic years in terms of motivation. A decrease in students that did not sit the final examination was observed, as was an increase in the number of visits to the Moodle classroom. Students also responded positively in their assessments of the initiative.     

Phenyl Ethylammonium Iodide introduction into inverted triple cation perovskite solar cells for improved VOC and stability

The efficiency of more than 25% in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells has made them very attractive in the pursuit of cheaper alternatives to Si-based devices. However, the stability of the perovskite solar cells was challenging, given their high susceptibility to moisture. Very few reports have emerged in this regard that investigated the influence of introducing large cations into a triple cation perovskite (TC-PVS), with several studies limited to single and dual cation perovskites. Further, the crystallization of TC-PVS on a polymer surface such as PEDOT is not straightforward, and their inclusion in inverted solar cell devices was limited. In this work, we investigated the impact of incorporating Phenyl ethyl ammonium cation into FAMACs triple cation composition. We demonstrated improvements in the crystallinity and more uniform coverage with little to no pinholes and smooth morphology for an optimum PEA amount of 1.67% in the precursor solution. The superior morphology, along with a passivation effect from a quasi 2D phase, led to increased photoluminescence and minority carrier lifetimes. Corresponding inverted photovoltaic devices prepared with PEA showed increased open-circuit voltage from 0.89 V for a control sample to 0.95 V for 1.67% PEA and 0.98 V for 5% PEA, doped devices in an inverted configuration. The efficiency, as a result, increased from 11.27% for a control device to 14.85% for a 1.67% PEA doped device. Further, PEA doped devices showed improved operational and thermal stability attributed to the higher moisture tolerance and light-soaking ability of the PEA doped TC-PVS compared to the undoped TC-PVS.     

A Reference Architecture to support the development of mobile applications based on self-adaptive services

Nowadays, most human daily tasks can be performed by means of Mobile Applications (MobApps). Devices running such applications have some limitations (e.g., processing and storage) compared to personal computers. Therefore, integration of MobApps into service-based systems has been a feasible alternative to overcome these limitations. Moreover, these applications must be prepared to deal with the changes at runtime (e.g., user’s new needs or modifications in their execution environment). In parallel, Reference Architectures (RA) have been used as an important way to support the development, standardization, and evolution of software systems. Although relevant, RA for the domain of MobApps based on services that require adaptation at runtime is still an issue to be explored in depth. This paper presents a RA for Self-MobApps (named RA4Self-MobApps), which aims to support the development of such applications. To show the applicability of our RA, a case study was conducted. As result, we observe our RA has good perspective to efficiently contribute to the Self-MobApps domain.     

以“互联网+”促进学前教育信息化建设

云计算、大数据、人工智能等技术的快速发展，有力地促进了“互联网+教育”的普及和应用。学前教育作为“互联网+”的重要应用领域，可以充分地利用人工智能、物联网、大数据等技术，实现学前教育硬件设备的互联互通，利用大数据搜索与推荐学前教育资源，基于人工智能开发可视化、虚拟化的学前教育课程，培养儿童的学习积极性和主动性，让学生养成一种良好的学习习惯，具有重要作用和意义。     

煤矿科室工作信息管理系统设计

为了提高了煤矿工作者的工作效率和矿井安全程度，设计了煤矿科室工作信息管理系统，分析了系统的关键技术，主要为J2EE技术和B/S和C/S的体系结构；根据现场调研，对系统需求进行了分析，然后设计了系统总体架构和系统功能模块。煤矿科室工作信息管理系统的应用，减少了人力资源的浪费，确保了信息的保存和查询的安全性。     

Adaptive retrieval practice with multiple-choice questions in the university classroom

Retrieval practice promotes retention more than restudying (i.e., the testing effect) and is applied to many educational settings. However, little research has investigated means to enhance this effect in educational settings. Theoretical accounts assume retrieval practice to be the most effective whenever retrieval is difficult but successful. Therefore, we developed a novel retrieval practice procedure, which adapts to learners' abilities and can be applied irrespective of learning content. This adaptive procedure aims to make retrieval gradually easier whenever students provide an incorrect answer. In a field experiment, students read book chapters as part of a weekly university course. In three consecutive weeks, they then practiced reading assignments by (a) adaptive testing, (b) non-adaptive testing and (c) restudy. In Week 4, a surprise criterial test took place. Restudy outperformed both testing conditions, whereas adaptive testing performed equally well as non-adaptive testing. However, exploratory analyses revealed that with increasing retention intervals, the superiority of restudy disappeared. Furthermore, whenever participants fully read the assignments and retention intervals increased, adaptive testing outperformed non-adaptive testing. In sum, adaptive retrieval practice did not prove to be generally superior, but retention interval and students' preparation for class might be conditions rendering adaptive retrieval useful in educational settings.     

Reality-based interaction affecting mental workload in virtual reality mental arithmetic training

ABSTRACT

The concept of digital game-based learning (DGBL) evolves rapidly together with technological enhancements of virtual reality (VR) and smart phones. However, the mental workload (MWL) that VR-training applications demand and motivational qualities originating from user experience (UX) should be identified in order to create effective and enjoyable training/learning challenges that fit with individual users’ capabilities. This study examined the effects of reality-based interaction (RBI) and VR on measures of student motivation and MWL, in a mental arithmetic game for secondary school pupils. In a randomised controlled trial with sixty school children, a mental arithmetic game was tested with three different interaction and two different presentation methods – VR RBI, VR head-mounted-display tapping and tablet flick-gesture. Results found a significant effect of RBI on MWL but no differences in enjoyment of training were found between VR-experience and tablet training-experience. In fact, adding the gaming-context to the mental arithmetic task created an enjoyable, motivating experience regardless of presentation or interaction-style.     

Collective reflection strategy for moderating conformity tendency and promoting reflective judgment performance

Reflective judgement is crucial for medical-related practitioners in dealing with controversial issues. However, the conformity phenomenon is likely to occur and interfere with reflective judgement learning during interactive activities. Effective strategies are required to moderate the conformity behaviour tendency (CBT) and improve reflective judgement performance (RJP). This study demonstrates two significant results: (a) Compared with the guided self-reflection learning strategy, the online collective reflection (OCR) learning strategy effectively weakened the learners' general CBT while dealing with professional controversial issues; and (b) a significantly negative correlation between the RJP achieved and the change of CBT in online environment was detected in the OCR group. The implications and potential applications in higher education were discussed. Further studies are needed to confirm the long-term effects and the extending application to other professional studies.     

中国菊花主题花展及其对行业发展的作用

中国的菊花主题花展(菊花展览)是最重要的赏菊形式,对我国3种主要类型的菊花展览,即综合性菊花展览(中国菊花展览会、国际博览会菊花专项展和各级城市菊花展)、菊花专类园和菊花花田花海的发展现状进行了研究,并分析了菊花展览在促进菊花产业发展、弘扬菊花文化、服务生态文明及美丽乡村建设、加强菊花非物质文化遗产保护中的重要作用,为推动我国菊花展览水平的提高提供借鉴。