Environment-dealing with the data deluge

The problem of making a flood of remote sensing data readily accessible to a growing international community of global-change researchers and policy makers is discussed. The ambitious data and information system being built by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with assistance from other agencies, is described. Called the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), it will manage the mountains of EOS and Earth-science satellite data and will also handle the harvesting and sharing of information, the dissemination of ideas, and the establishment of a community of collaborators that will be professionally close-knit but geographically dispersed both in the United States and elsewhere     

Symbolic and Numeric Computation in Curve Interrogation

The control of shape of curves is of great importance in computer aided geometric design. Determination of planar curves' convexity, the detection of infection points, coincident regions, and self intersection points, the enclosed area of a closed curve, and the locations of extreme curvature are importantfeatures of curves that can affect the design, in modelling environments. In this paper, we investigate the ability to robustly answer the above queries and related questions using an approach which exploits both symbolic computation and numeric analysis.     

Validity of the guilty knowledge technique in a prisoner's sample.

Evaluated the guilty knowledge technique as a detector of knowledge held by 30 prisoners in a maximum security prison in Israel. In an initial interview, Ss responded to 20 questions designed to elicit personal responses or items. During a later interrogation, Ss were presented verbally with (a) the same 20 questions and (b) 5 alternative responses including their own personal response and 4 neutral control responses. During the interrogation, Ss listened quietly while their GSRs were monitored. On the basis of the GSR data, a significant proportion (p     

Rejection of abnormal strangers from Macaque monkey groups.

Host-group attacks on 5 rhesus monkeys that were strangers were not affected by the strangers being blind or sedated. Exploration by the host group (5 Ss) of these strange monkeys depended on the novelty of the stranger's behavioral state. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A packed bed dehumidifier/regenerator for solar air conditioning with liquid desiccants

A packed column air-liquid contactor has been studied in application to air dehumidification and regeneration in solar air conditioning with liquid desiccants. A theoretical model has been developed to predict the performance of the device under various operating conditions. Computer simulations based on the model are presented which indicate the practical range of air to liquid flux ratios and associated changes in air humidity and desiccant concentration. An experimental apparatus has been constructed and experiments performed with Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) and Lithium Bromide as desiccants. MEG experiments have yielded inaccurate results and have pointed out some practical problems associated with the use of Glycols. LiBr experiments show very good agreement with the theoretical model. Preheating of the air is shown to greatly enhance desiccant regeneration. The packed column yields good results as a dehumidifier/regenerator, provided pressure drop can be reduced with the use of suitable packing.     

Probabilistic silhouette based importance toward line-art non-photorealistic rendering

When pictorial information is presented, details of importance are typically emphasized. These include discontinuities in the geometry, highly curved regions, silhouettes, etc. This work analyzes the probability that certain smooth surface regions or polygonal edges possess silhouettes. This probability analysis is then associated with the visual importance of the local neighborhood, which is capable of capturing discontinuities and highly curved regions. A non-photorealistic rendering technique is subsequently proposed to take advantage of the silhouette-based importance. Based on this importance analysis, we present a completely automatic algorithm that creates line-art that captures visual features in the model in an appealing way.     

The effects of assessment design on academic dishonesty,learner engagement,and certification rates in MOOCs

Background

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have touted the idea of democratizing education, but soon enough, this utopian idea collided with the reality of finding sustainable business models. In addition, the promise of harnessing interactive and social web technologies to promote meaningful learning was only partially successful. And finally, studies demonstrated that many learners exploit the anonymity and feedback to earn certificates unethically. Thus, establishing MOOC pedagogical models that balance open access, meaningful learning, and trustworthy assessment remains a challenge that is crucial for the field to achieve its goals.

Objectives

This study analysed the influence of an MOOC assessment model, denoted the Competency Exam (CE), on learner engagement, the level of cheating, and certification rates. At its core, this model separates learning from for-credit assessment, and it was introduced by the MITx Biology course team in 2016.

Methods

We applied a learning analytics methodology to the clickstream data of the verified learners (N = 559) from four consecutive runs of an Introductory Biology MOOC offered through edX. The analysis used novel algorithms for measuring the level of cheating and learner engagement, which were developed in the previous studies.

Results and Conclusions

On the positive side, the CE model reduced cheating and did not reduce learner engagement with the main learning materials – videos and formative assessment items. On the negative side, it led to procrastination, and certification rates were lower.

Implications

First, the results shed light on the fundamental connection between incentive design and learner behaviour. Second, the CE provides MOOC designers with an ‘analytically verified’ model to reduce cheating without compromising on open access. Third, our methodology provides a novel means for measuring cheating and learner engagement in MOOCs.