Enhancing community of inquiry and reflective thinking skills of undergraduates through using learning analytics-based process feedback

This research aims to investigate into the effect of using learning analytics (LA)-based process feedback on students' perceptions of community of inquiry (teaching, social and cognitive presence) and their reflective thinking skills. By using a mixed-method research approach (QUAN + qual), this study was conducted as an experimental design with the pretest–posttest control group. A total of 104 university students who were randomly assigned to the experiment group (EG) and control group (CG) were recruited in this study. The procedure was conducted within the scope of the computing course based on the flipped classroom (FC) model. While the participants in the EG received LA-based process feedback which shows their LA results in a weekly manner, those in the CG did not get any LA-based process feedback. The data were collected through the Community of Inquiry Scale, the Reflective Thinking Scale and a semi-structured student opinion form. The findings indicated that sending feedback including the students' LA results had a statistically significant effect on the students' perceptions of community of inquiry and reflective thinking skills. Based on the findings of the study, several recommendations for teachers, instructional designers and researchers have been made.     

Ferromagnetic Resonance Study of Fe/Cu Multilayer Thin Film

Fe/Cu/Fe multilayer thin film was grown on Si (100) substrate by using magnetron sputtering technique at room temperature. Dynamic and static magnetisations of the film have been investigated using ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques in the temperature range of 10–300 K. From the room-temperature in-plane FMR measurements, a growth-induced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy was observed. Out-of-plane FMR measurements exhibited a large magnetic anisotropy due to a large saturation magnetisation of Fe. A computer code was written to simulate the experimental FMR data and to obtain the magnetic parameters of the Fe/Cu/Fe multilayer thin film. g value, effective magnetisation, uniaxial anisotropy field and perpendicular anisotropy constant from the fitting of the angular dependence of the resonance field at both the in-plane and out-of plane geometries were determined. The exchange bias effect was observed from the low-temperature VSM measurements. The saturation magnetisation and coercive field decrease with increasing temperature due to the increase of the thermal fluctuations.     

Semi fractal three leaf clover‐shaped CPW antenna for triple band operation

This article presents a unique and compact coplanar waveguide (CPW) antenna that exhibits triband operation with circular polarization. The single antenna was designed to operate simultaneously in the following bands: WiMAX (3.3–3.6 GHz), wireless local area network (WLAN) (5.15–5.825 GHz), ITS (5.795–6.400 GHz), and ITU‐R (7.725–8.5 GHz). The realization of the triband antenna was achieved by using two semi fractal ring patches resembling the shape of a three leaf clover, and by introducing a pair of symmetrical L‐shaped slits in its ground plane. The antenna's physical parameters were investigated to fully understand their affect on the antenna's performance. The salient parameters obtained from this analysis enabled the optimization of the antenna's overall characteristics. The design concept was confirmed by fabricating the antenna prototype and measuring its characteristics. The proposed antenna has dimensions of 20 × 20 × 1 mm³. Measured results show the antenna exhibits circular polarization in WiMAX and ITU‐R bands, and linear polarization in the WLAN band. The antenna radiates omnidirectionally in the H‐plane, and approximately bidirectionally in the E‐plane. In addition, the antenna presents stable gain over the triband. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:413–418, 2015.     

Mobile robot localization based on PSO estimator

Localization is fundamental to autonomous operation of the mobile robot. A particle filter (PF) is widely used in mobile robot localization. However, the robot localization based PF has several limitations, such as sample impoverishment and a degeneracy problem, which reduce significantly its performance. Evolutionary algorithms, and more specifically their optimization capabilities, can be used in order to overcome PF based on localization weaknesses. In this paper, mobile robot localization based on a particle swarm optimization (PSO) estimator is proposed. In the proposed method, the robot localization converts dynamic optimization to find the best robot pose estimate, recursively. Unlike the localization based on PF, the resampling step is not required in the proposed method. Moreover, it does not require noise distribution. It searches stochastically along the state space for the best robot pose estimate. The results show that the proposed method is effective in terms of accuracy, consistency, and computational cost compared with localization based on PF and EKF.     

Metamaterial‐based antennas for integration in UWB transceivers and portable microwave handsets

Two planar antennas based on metamaterial unit‐cells are designed, fabricated, and tested. The unit‐cell configuration consists of H‐shaped or T‐shaped slits and a grounded spiral. The slits essentially behave as series left‐handed capacitance and the spiral as a shunt left‐handed inductance. The unit‐cell was modeled and optimized using commercial 3D full‐wave electromagnetic simulation tools. Both antennas employ two unit‐cells, which are constructed on the Rogers RO4003 substrate with thickness of 0.8 mm and ε_r = 3.38. The size of H‐shaped and T‐shaped unit cell antennas are 0.06λ₀ × 0.02λ₀ × 0.003λ₀ and 0.05λ₀ × 0.02λ₀ × 0.002λ₀, respectively, where λ₀ is the free–space wavelength. The measurements confirm the H–shaped and T–shaped unit‐cell antennas operate across 1.2–6.7 GHz and 1.1–6.85 GHz, respectively, for voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) < 2, which correspond to fractional bandwidth of ～140% and ～ 145%, respectively. The H‐shaped unit‐cell antenna has gain and efficiency of 2–6.8 dBi and 50–86%, respectively, over its operational range. The T‐shaped unit‐cell antenna exhibits gain and efficiency of 2–7.1 dBi and 48–91%, respectively. The proposed antennas have specifications applicable for integration in UWB wireless communication systems and microwave portable devices. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 26:88–96, 2016.     

The effects of different cement dosages, slumps and pumice aggregate ratios on the compressive strength and densities of concrete

Compressive strengths of concretes made up of mixtures of pumice aggregate (PA) and normal aggregate were measured. To determine the effect of PA ratio, different cement dosage and slumps on the compressive strength of concrete, (1) 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% pumice ratios were used instead of normal aggregate by volume, (2) 200, 250, 350, 400 and 500 kg/m³ cement dosages were used and (3) 3±1, 5±1 and 7±1 cm slumps were also used in this study.The analysis of the test results leads to the conclusion that PA decreased the density of concretes up to 41.5% and reductions occurred due to the increase of the PA ratio in the mixes. With the increase of cement dosage in the mixes, both density and compressive strength of concretes increased up to 3.2% and 265%, respectively, when compared to the control sample that contain 200 kg/m³ cement dosage. The effect of the slump on the density and compressive strength was varied. Elasticity moduli were decreased with an increase of PA ratio and increased with an increase of cement dosage. Water absorption improved with an increase of cement content.     

An optimization based method for simultaneous localization and mapping

In this study, we present an optimization based solution to the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem. In the proposed algorithm, the SLAM problem is considered as two optimization problems. These problems are solved using forward dynamic programming. In the first problem, it is assumed that map is known perfectly and the robot path is estimated. In the second problem, the estimated robot path with their corresponding measurements is used to identify map. As optimization problem in each step of dynamic programming have high nonlinearity and also differential evolution (DE) tends to find the globally optimal solution without being trapped at local maxima, DE is developed to solve dynamic programming in each step of time. Some simulations and experiments are presented to illustrate the proposed algorithm and exhibit its performance.     

Hydrogenolysis and hydrocracking of the carbon-oxygen bond. 2. Thermal cleavage of the carbon-oxygen bond in guaiacol

Low-rank coals and their precursors contain, in addition to aromatic hydroxy groups, aromatic methoxy groups. In the present work a model compound, guaiacol, is used for the study of the behaviour of the carbon-oxygen bonds under thermolytic conditions. The thermolysis of guaiacol is studied in tetralin, naphthalene and without solvent under hydrogen or nitrogen pressure at 578–618 K. The compound is homolytically converted by first-order kinetics. The major product is pyrocatechol. Phenol, o-cresol, methyl catechols and methyl guaiacols are also formed. When tetralin is present it reacts in a molar ratio of 1:4 with guaiacol to form naphthalene. The source of hydrogen when tetralin is not present is guaiacol itself because molecular hydrogen does not participate in the reaction. The kinetics and reaction mechanism are discussed.     

A context layered locally recurrent neural network for dynamic system identification

This paper puts forward a novel recurrent neural network (RNN), referred to as the context layered locally recurrent neural network (CLLRNN) for dynamic system identification. The CLLRNN is a dynamic neural network which appears in effective in the input–output identification of both linear and nonlinear dynamic systems. The CLLRNN is composed of one input layer, one or more hidden layers, one output layer, and also one context layer improving the ability of the network to capture the linear characteristics of the system being identified. Dynamic memory is provided by means of feedback connections from nodes in the first hidden layer to nodes in the context layer and in case of being two or more hidden layers, from nodes in a hidden layer to nodes in the preceding hidden layer. In addition to feedback connections, there are self-recurrent connections in all nodes of the context and hidden layers. A dynamic backpropagation algorithm with adaptive learning rate is derived to train the CLLRNN. To demonstrate the superior properties of the proposed architecture, it is applied to identify not only linear but also nonlinear dynamic systems. The efficiency of the proposed architecture is demonstrated by comparing the results to some existing recurrent networks and design configurations. In addition, performance of the CLLRNN is analyzed through an experimental application to a dc motor connected to a load to show practicability and effectiveness of the proposed neural network. Results of the experimental application are presented to make a quantitative comparison with an existing recurrent network in the literature.     

Electrochemical deposition and characterization of NiFe coatings as electrocatalytic materials for alkaline water electrolysis

In this study, nickel (Cu/Ni), iron (Cu/Fe) and nickel-iron (Cu/NiFe) composite coatings with various chemical compositions were electrochemically deposited on a copper electrode and characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques in view of their possible applications as electrocatalytic materials for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an alkaline medium. The electrocatalytic activity of the coatings for the HER was studied in 1 M KOH solution using cathodic current-potential curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The presence of nickel along with iron increases the electrocatalytic activity of the electrode for the HER when compared to nickel and iron coatings individually. The HER activity of the composite coatings depends on the chemical composition of the alloys. The Cu/NiFe-3 electrode (with a molar concentration ratio of Ni²⁺:Fe²⁺ of 4:6 in the plating bath) was found to be the best suitable cathode material for the HER in an alkaline medium under the experimental conditions studied. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activity of the Cu/NiFe-3 electrode for the HER was tested for extended periods of time in order to evaluate the change in the electrocatalytic activity of the electrode with operation time. The HER was activation controlled and has not been changed after electrolysis. A constant current density of 100 mA cm⁻² was applied to the electrolysis system, and the corrosion behavior of the Cu/NiFe-3 electrode was investigated after different operation times using EIS and linear polarization resistance (LPR) techniques. For comparison, the corrosion behavior of a Cu/NiFe-3 electrode to which current was not applied was also investigated. The corrosion tests showed that the corrosion resistance of the Cu/NiFe-3 cathode changed when a cathodic current was applied to the electrolysis system.