A conceptualization of intended learning outcomes supporting self‐regulated learners in indicating learning paths

Intended learning outcomes (ILOs) indicate what learners will be able to achieve after they are taught. Traditionally, ILOs are expressed as plain text or unstructured documents. What if all ILOs of a specific course of study can be conceptualized through a structured diagrammatic technique? It was hypothesized that learners can benefit from this conceptualization in learning, especially in self‐regulated learning. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the ILOs represented in unstructured or structured formats can facilitate learners to identify learning paths. The results revealed that the mean ratings of all learning paths were statistically significantly higher with structured ILOs.     

An integrative conceptual framework of disability: New directions for research.

Advances in research on disability and rehabilitation are essential to creating equal opportunity, economic self-sufficiency, and full participation for persons with disabilities. Historically, such initiatives have focused on separate and specific areas, including neuroscience, molecular biology and genetics, gerontology, engineering and physical sciences, and social and behavioral sciences. Research on persons with disabilities should examine the broader context and trends of society that affect the total environment of persons with disabilities. This article examines the various disability paradigms across time, assessing the relative contribution of the socioecological perspective in guiding research designed to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. The authors recommend new research directions that include a focus on life span issues, biomedicine, biotechnology, the efficacy and effectiveness of current interventions, an emphasis on consumer-driven investigations within a socioecological perspective of disability, and the implications for research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experiment for showing some kind of artificial understanding

In this paper we design an experiment which can be depicted as a simple scenario, a very limited 'world'. In this world, there are an actor that can pursue a project and an observer that is keeping its eyes on the actor. We try to show in the experiment that the observer can to some degree understand the actor based on its knowledge and some metaphors, i.e. understand what the actor is doing and why. As the conclusion of this experiment, we try to show some features of 'understanding'. These are (1) that 'understanding' has to be based on some preliminary knowledge; (2) that 'understanding' is a process of incremental learning; (3) that, as for symbolic systems, some metaphors are necessary for mapping real entities into concepts in mind.     

Review of Forms of feeling: The heart of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Forms of feeling: The heart of psychotherapy by Robert F. Hobson. Robert Hobson calls this book his autobiography as a therapist. As such it provides interesting glimpses into some of his more meaningful sessions with clients, illuminating his approach to therapy and enabling the reader to see a master therapist at work. Hobson also presents a new method of therapy, which he calls the conversational model. On this level, his book is considerably less satisfying. Hobson succinctly outlines the general principles of the conversational model and basic skills required of the therapist, but in so doing offers essentially little new information, however valid the points may be. According to Hobson, the conversational model is designed for clients whose problems arise from disturbances in their significant relationships, and those problems are best solved not by talking about them but by being in a relationship such as therapy that provides "a special kind of friendship." Hobson puts great stress on the use of metaphorical language in therapy and learning how to use the language of art as well as of science. He relies heavily on literary quotations, prefacing each section with one or two, and liberally interspersing many more within the pages of text. The net result is not so much illuminating as it is wearisome, and the general tone is slightly pretentious and, when Hobson addresses his "dear Reader" directly, somewhat condescending. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinctiveness and Correlation in Conceptual Structure: Behavioral and Computational Studies.

Patients with category-specific deficits have motivated a range of hypotheses about the structure of the conceptual system. One class of models claims that apparent category dissociations emerge from the internal structure of concepts rather than fractionation of the system into separate substores. This account claims that distinctive properties of concepts in the living domain are vulnerable because of their weak correlation with other features. Given the assumption that mutual activation among correlated properties produces faster activation in the normal system, the authors predicted a disadvantage for the distinctive features of living things for unimpaired adults. Results of a speeded feature verification study supported this prediction, as did a computational simulation in which networks mapped from orthography to semantics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

磁悬浮列车造型仿生设计研究

以仿生设计的理论为基础来指导磁悬浮列车造型设计,以期为列车车型概念提供灵感,提高列车造型品质,并满足车体气动性能的基本要求。首先,通过文献研究归纳了国内外以磁悬浮列车为主的轨道列车造型仿生的研究动向;其次,通过案例研究解析典型仿生设计系列车型案例,探究列车仿生对象的应用形式;再次,综合仿生设计与轨道列车设计的方法要素,构建磁悬浮列车仿生设计的一般程序,并基于车体线性趋势的仿生规律,以平鳍旗鱼为仿生对象,设计具有仿生特征的磁悬浮列车概念性设计造型方案;最后,通过初步的仿真模拟,得到该方案的空气阻力系数。通过将本方案与相关案例数据的对比,证明运用仿生设计可以满足磁悬浮列车造型对美学价值和气动性能的要求。     

基于“概念悬架”的某微型车的建模与仿真

在ADAMS/Car下,基于"概念悬架"模块搭建了14自由度整车动力学模型,模型的动力学仿真结果与实车试验数据有较好的一致性。利用该模型分析了前悬架中的各项特性对该车不足转向度的贡献;该车的前悬架的C特性对不足转向特性的影响最为突出。最后文章进行了前悬架KC特性改变对整车操纵稳定性影响的分析,介绍了一种由整车性能分解到悬架性能的思路。