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Academic Achievement in Fluid Flow Physics in Mt Elgon Sub-county, Kenya
No full textAbstract Physics is one of the sciences that are applicable in day to day life activities. Physics ideas are also required in other science subjects such as biology and chemistry. It is evident that Physics related courses from tertiary level are very marketable. Despite of this importance and value of Physics, performance at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination has remain dismal, hindering students from doing Physics related courses at tertiary level. This paper reports findings of a study that investigated the effect of Composite Instructional Method in comparison with Conventional Instructional Method on students' academic achievement in fluid flow physics. The study was done in Mt Elgon Sub-county of Bungoma County. A sample of 300 participants was selected through simple random sampling The adopted a Pre-test, Post-test non Equivalent Quasi experimental design. Achievement tests were used to collect data of students' academic achievement. Reliability of the instruments was determined using the test and retest method while their validity was established from experts' comments and advice. The collected data were analyzed using independent samples-t-test to determine the effect of Composite Instructional Method on students' academic achievement in fluid flow physics. The research finding has implications on physics curriculum reforms by the Ministry of Education
2003, Detection of gene duplications and block duplications in eukaryotic genomes
No full textAbstract Several eukaryotic genomes have been completely sequenced and this provides an opportunity to investigate the extent and characteristics (e.g., single gene duplication, block duplication, etc.) of gene duplication in a genome. Detecting duplicate genes in a genome, however, is not a simple problem because of several complications such as domain shuffling, the existence of isoforms derived from alternative splicing, and annotational errors in the databases. We describe a method for overcoming these difficulties and the extents of gene duplication in the genomes of Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and yeast inferred from this method. We also describe a method for detecting block duplications in a genome. Application of this method showed that block duplication is a common phenomenon in both yeast and nematode. The patterns of block duplication in the two species are, however, markedly different. Yeast shows much more extensive block duplication than nematode, with some chromosomes having more than 40% of the duplications derived from block duplications. Moreover, in yeast the majority of block duplications occurred between chromosomes, while in nematode most block duplications occurred within chromosomes
Health Smart Home (HSH): Home Sounds Classification Based on DTW
No full textAbstract-This work is part of CNEPRU ( University research project i
A simple route to Ohmic contacts on low boron-doped CVD diamond
No full textAbstract Formation and characterisation of titanium underlayer contacts (TiUL) for polycrystalline diamond grown on silicon substrates are described. The TiUL contacts are advantageous that they are easy to fabricate and permit direct probing of the electronic and electrochemical properties of the as-grown polycrystalline diamond surface. The TiUL contacts show nearly Ohmic behaviour over a wide potential range.
mRNA Expression of EgCHI1, EgCHI2, and EgCHI3 in Oil Palm Leaves (Elaeis guineesis Jacq.) after Treatment with Ganoderma boninense Pat. and Trichoderma harzianum Rifai
No full textOnline Graduate Students' Preferences of Discussion Modality: Does Gender Matter?
No full textAbstract Audio/video discussion has been used increasingly in online courses due to its affordances in enhancing online communication. However, whether learners of different characteristics can benefit from this discussion modality has not been investigated extensively. This study examined whether gender plays a role in learners' preferences and perceptions of audio/video discussion as compared to text discussion. The survey data of thirty-six participants' perceptions were collected and studied after they participated in an audio/video discussion activity. The findings show that females preferred audio/video discussion more than males did, and more females reported that audio/video discussion strengthened their connection with peers. The top three benefits of audio/video discussion perceived by females and males are presented in this paper. Overall, using audio/video discussion to augment online communication and to connect learners is likely to be more effective and perceived more positively by female students than male students. The findings in this study could provide implications for sound pedagogical decisions that satisfy student preferences
Children Seen But Not Heard: When Parents Compromise Children's Online Privacy
No full textABSTRACT Children's online privacy has garnered much attention in media, legislation, and industry. Adults are concerned that children may not adequately protect themselves online. However, relatively little discussion has focused on the privacy breaches that may occur to children at the hands of others, namely, their parents and relatives. When adults post information online, they may reveal personal information about their children to other people, online services, data brokers, or surveillant authorities. This information can be gathered in an automated fashion and then linked with other online and offline sources, creating detailed profiles which can be continually enhanced throughout the children's lives. In this paper, we conduct a study to see how widespread these behaviors are among adults on Facebook and Instagram. We use a number of methods. Firstly, we automate a process to examine 2,383 adult users on Facebook for evidence of children in their public photo albums. Using the associated comments in combination with publicly available voter registration records, we are able to infer children's names, faces, birth dates, and addresses. Secondly, in order to understand what additional information is available to Facebook and the users' friends, we survey 357 adult Facebook users about their behaviors and attitudes with regard to posting their children's information online. Thirdly, we analyze 1,089 users on Instagram to infer facts about their children. Finally, we make recommendations for privacy-conscious parents and suggest an interface change through which Facebook can nudge parents towards better stewardship of their children's privacy
Mobile Underwater Sensor Networks for Protection and Security: Field Experience at the UAN11 Experiment • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
No full textThe EU-funded project UAN (Underwater Acoustic Network) was aimed at conceiving, developing, and testing at sea an innovative and operational concept for integrating underwater and above-water sensors in a unique communication system to protect offshore and coastline critical infrastructures. This work gives details on the underwater part of the project. It introduces a set of original security features and gives details on the integration of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) as mobile nodes of the network and as surveillance assets, acoustically controlled by the command and control center to respond against intrusions. Field results are given of the final UAN project sea trial, UAN11, held in May 2011 in Norway. During the experimental activities, a UAN composed of four fixed nodes, two AUVs, and one mobile node mounted on the supporting research vessel was operated continuously and integrated into a global protection system. In this article, the communication performance of the network is reported in terms of round-trip time, packet loss, and average delivery ratio. The major results of the experiment can be thus summarized: the implemented network structure was successful in continuously operating over five days with nodes seamlessly entering and exiting the network; the performance of the network varied greatly with fluctuations in the acoustic channel; the addition of security features induced a minor degradation in network performance with respect to channel variation; the AUVs were successfully controlled from a remote station through acoustic signals routed by the network. C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Compan
Using avatars and virtual environments in learning: What do they have to offer? _991 108..122
Get PDFAbstract This paper explores and discusses arguments for the use of virtual environments and interactive avatars in supporting the achievement of student learning goals within conventional educational contexts. It describes and evaluates arguments promoted by some authors (eg, van den Brekel, 2007; It also introduces and discusses the avatar-based authoring program MARVIN, and identifies potential for its use as a digital storytelling tool to assist students in communicating outcomes from units of learning, and in supporting the development of a range of key learning competencies identified in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Education, 2007). It profiles a successful example of the classroom-based use of MARVIN within a community project undertaken by groups of year 7 and 8 students at two Hamilton intermediate schools, and identifies how the program supported student thinking and relating to others key competencies (Ministry of Education, 2007)