Using online collaboration applications for group assignments: The interplay between design and human characteristics

In recent years, educators and students are increasingly employing online collaboration applications such as Google Docs™ and PBWorks™ for group projects and assignments. Yet, the effectiveness of these emerging technologies has not been rigorously examined. Anchoring upon and informed by the existing literature, two design characteristics – sociability and visibility, and two human characteristics – gender and age, are focused on, which are salient in online collaboration applications. A field experiment was conducted to examine the direct and moderating effects of design and human characteristics on learning outcomes. The research found that sociability improved process satisfaction and positive social environment while visibility enhanced academic performance and solution satisfaction of learners. Males had higher solution satisfaction while older learners had higher academic performance. Moderating effects were also found. Both theoretical and practical implications are drawn. In particular, a rubric for online collaboration application selection for academic performance is conceived. This study provides empirical support for online collaboration application effectiveness in education which will augur well for future adoption, use and evolution.     

The effect of action video game experience on task-switching

There is now a substantial body of work demonstrating that action video game experience results in enhancements in a wide variety of perceptual skills. More recently, several groups have also demonstrated improvements in abilities that are more cognitive in nature, in particular, the ability to efficiently switch between tasks. In a series of four experiments, we add to this body of work, demonstrating that the action video game player advantage is not exclusively due to an ability to map manual responses onto arbitrary buttons, but rather generalizes to vocal responses, is not restricted to tasks that are perceptual in nature (e.g. respond to a physical dimension of the stimulus such as its color), but generalizes to more cognitive tasks (e.g. is a number odd or even), and is present whether the switch requires a goal-switch or only a motor switch. Finally, a training study establishes that the relationship between the reduction in switch cost and action game playing is causal.     

Estimating postprandial glucose fluxes using hierarchical Bayes modelling

A new stochastic computational method was developed to estimate the endogenous glucose production, the meal-related glucose appearance rate (R(a meal)), and the glucose disposal (R(d)) during the meal tolerance test. A prior probability distribution was adopted which assumes smooth glucose fluxes with individualized smoothness level within the context of a Bayes hierarchical model. The new method was contrasted with the maximum likelihood method using data collected in 18 subjects with type 2 diabetes who ingested a mixed meal containing [U-(13)C]glucose. Primed [6,6-(2)H(2)]glucose was infused in a manner that mimicked the expected endogenous glucose production. The mean endogenous glucose production, R(a meal), and R(d) calculated by the new method and maximum likelihood method were nearly identical. However, the maximum likelihood gave constant, nonphysiological postprandial endogenous glucose production in two subjects whilst the new method gave plausible estimates of endogenous glucose production in all subjects. Additionally, the two methods were compared using a simulated triple-tracer experiment in 12 virtual subjects. The accuracy of the estimates of the endogenous glucose production and R(a meal) profiles was similar [root mean square error (RMSE) 1.0±0.3 vs. 1.4±0.7μmol/kg/min for EGP and 2.6±1.0 vs. 2.9±0.9μmol/kg/min for R(a meal); new method vs. maximum likelihood method; P=NS, paired t-test]. The accuracy of R(d) estimates was significantly increased by the new method (RMSE 5.3±1.9 vs. 4.2±1.3; new method vs. ML method; P<0.01, paired t-test). We conclude that the new method increases plausibility of the endogenous glucose production and improves accuracy of glucose disposal compared to the maximum likelihood method.     

Probabilistic assessment of loss in revenue generation in demand-driven production

In Demand-driven Production with Just-in-Time inputs, there are several sources of uncertainty which impact on the manufacturer??s ability to meet the required customer??s demand within the given time frame. This can result in a loss of revenue and customers, which will have undesirable impacts on the financial aspects and on the viability of the manufacturer. Hence, a key concern for manufacturers in just-in-time production is to determine whether they can meet a specific level of demand within a given time frame, to meet the customers?? orders and also to achieve the required revenue target for that period of time. In this paper, we propose a methodology by which a manufacturer can ascertain the probability of not meeting the required demand within a given period by considering the uncertainties in the availability of production units and raw materials, and the loss of financial revenue that it would experience as a result.     

When does generation enhance memory for location?

Generation is thought to enhance both item-specific and relational processing of generated targets as compared with read words (M. A. McDaniel & P. J. Waddill, 1990). Generation facilitates encoding of the cue-target relation and sometimes boosts encoding of relations across list items. Of interest is whether generation can also increase the encoding of target-location associations. Because the literature on this point is mixed, 3 procedural differences between 2 studies (E. J. Marsh, G. Edelman, & G. H. Bower, 2001; N. W. Mulligan, 2004) were identified and manipulated. A positive generation effect was found for location memory, but this effect was reduced when subjects wrote down the study words and when the filler task involved generation. Generation can enhance location memory in addition to item memory but only if the experimental parameters do not interfere with the processing benefits of generation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Morning After: Limit Violations and the Self-Regulation of Alcohol Consumption.

The authors examined whether the reciprocal relationship between alcohol consumption and distress unfolded over time in 2 samples of social drinkers. Participants monitored their alcohol intake and their cognitive and emotional responses to that drinking on hand-held computers. On mornings after drinking, those who had violated their self-imposed limits the day before reported more guilt, even after controlling for acute negative symptoms of drinking and amount consumed. Reciprocally, guilt led to poorer self-regulation of alcohol intake: Greater distress over alcohol consumption was linked to more intake, intoxication, and more limit violations. Individual differences moderated the relationships among limit violations, distress, and drinking. Consistent with the limit violation effect, violating a limit produced distress over consumption among social drinkers, and they responded to that distress by drinking more. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing Playground Bullying and Supporting Beliefs: An Experimental Trial of the Steps to Respect Program.

Six schools were randomly assigned to a multilevel bullying intervention or a control condition. Children in Grades 3-6 (N=1,023) completed pre- and posttest surveys of behaviors and beliefs and were rated by teachers. Observers coded playground behavior of a random subsample (n=544). Hierarchical analyses of changes in playground behavior revealed declines in bullying and argumentative behavior among intervention-group children relative to control-group children, increases in agreeable interactions, and a trend toward reduced destructive bystander behavior. Those in the intervention group reported enhanced bystander responsibility, greater perceived adult responsiveness, and less acceptance of bullying/aggression than those in the control group. Self-reported aggression did not differ between the groups. Implications for future research on the development and prevention of bullying are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maintenance of Response Readiness in Patients With Parkinson's Disease: Evidence From a Simple Reaction Time Task.

The authors explored the effect of Parkinson's disease (PD) on the generation and maintenance of response readiness in a simple reaction time task. They compared performance of idiopathic PD patients without dementia, age-matched controls, and younger controls over short (1-, 3-, and 6-s) and long (12- and 18-s) foreperiod intervals. After each trial, the authors probed memory for visual information that also had to be maintained during the trial interval. Patients and controls did not differ overall in their ability to maintain readiness over long delays. However, within the PD group only, errors in maintaining visual information were correlated with difficulty in maintaining readiness, suggesting that systems impaired in PD may facilitate the maintenance of processing in both motor and cognitive domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural, electrical and optical properties of Bi2Se3 and Bi2Se(3−x)Tex thin films

Thin films of Bi₂Se₃, Bi₂Se_2.9Te_0.1, Bi₂Se_2.7Te_0.3 and Bi₂Se_2.6Te_0.4 are prepared by compound evaporation. Micro structural, optical and electrical measurements are carried out on these films. X-ray diffraction pattern indicates that the as-prepared films are polycrystalline in nature with exact matching of standard pattern. The composition and morphology are determined using energy dispersive X-ray analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optical band gap, which is direct allowed, is 0.67 eV for Bi₂Se₃ thin films and the activation energy is 53 meV. Tellurium doped thin films also show strong optical absorption corresponding to a band gap of 0.70-0.78 eV. Absolute value of electrical conductivity in the case of tellurium doped thin film shows a decreasing trend with respect to parent structure.     

Coordinated dispatching of proximity sensors for the surveillance of manoeuvring targets

The surveillance of a manoeuvring target with multiple sensors in a coordinated manner requires a method for selecting and positioning groups of sensors in real time. Herein, the principles of dispatching, as used for the effective operation of service vehicles, are considered. The object trajectory is first discretized into a number of demand instants (data acquisition times), to which groups of sensors are assigned, respectively. Heuristic rules are used to determine the composition of each sensor group by evaluating the potential contribution of each sensor. In the case of dynamic sensors, the position of each sensor with respect to the target is also specified. Our proposed approach aims to improve the quality of the surveillance data in three ways: (1) The assigned sensors are manoeuvred into “optimal” sensing positions, (2) the uncertainty of the measured data is mitigated through sensor fusion, and (3) the poses of the unassigned sensors are adjusted to ensure that the surveillance system can react to future object manoeuvres. If a priori target trajectory information is available, the system performance may be further improved by optimizing the initial pose of each sensor off-line. The advantages of dispatching dynamic sensors over similar static-sensor systems are demonstrated through comprehensive simulations.