343 research outputs found
Issues of partial credit in mathematical assessment by computer
No full textThe CALM Project for Computer Aided Learning in Mathematics has operated at Heriot‐Watt University since 1985. From the beginning CALM has featured assessment in its programs (Beevers, Cherry, Foster and McGuire, 1991), and enabled both students and teachers to view progress in formative assessment The computer can play a role in at least four types of assessment: diagnostic, self‐test, continuous and grading assessment. The TLTP project Mathwise employs the computer in three of these roles. In 1994 CALM reported on an educational experiment in which the computer was used for the first time to grade, in part, the learning of a large class of service mathematics students (Beevers, McGuire, Stirling and Wild ,1995), using the Mathwise assessment template. At that time the main issues identified were those of ‘partial credit’ and communication between the student and the computer. These educational points were addressed in the next phase of the CALM Project in which the commercial testing program Interactive PastPapers was developed. The main aim of this paper is to describe how Interactive Past Papers has been able to incorporate some approaches to partial credit which has helped to alleviate student worries on these issues. Background information on other features in Interactive Past Papers is also included to provide context for the discussion
On a theory for thermo-viscoelectric materials
No full textThis paper provides a sound thermodynamic foundation for the theory of thermoviscoelectricity. The work is based on a non-equilibrium theory of thermodynamics described by Bree & Beevers [1] which generalises classical thermodynamics as proposed by Carathéodory [2]. A simple constitutive approach is outlined which can be used to discuss the well-known effects of Peltier, Seebeck and Thomson. A number of stability results for classical solutions to a class of initial-boundary value problems are deduced. © 1985.</p
On the thermodynamics and stability of deformable dielectrics
No full textA brief derivation of the equations for deformable dielectrics is presented. The basic theory generalises that due to Toupin [1], for it contains thermomechanical interactions and viscous dissipation within a non-equilibrium thermodynamic framework recently constructed by Bree and Beevers [2]. Some asymptotic and Lyapounov stability results are established for initial-boundary value problems in the linearised theory using extended energy arguments. Similar arguments are then applied to produce analogous stability results for small electro-mechanical perturbations superimposed on a large static deformation and a strong magnetic field. © 1981 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.</p
Some Problems of Mathematical CAL
No full textThis paper describes briefly some problems of mathematical CAL and suggests ways to combat them. Within the context of the CALM Project for Computer Aided Learning in Mathematics we highlight three main areas of difficulty—mathematical display, input and evaluation. These problems are illustrated using examples from software developed at the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and at Southampton University; the examples are taken from both calculus and algebra
DFT-Assisted Spectroscopic Studies on the Coordination of Small Ligands to Palladium: From Isolated Ions to Nanoparticles
No full textA combination of experimental spectroscopies (UV-vis and Fourier-transform infrared) and computational modeling was used to investigate the coordination of small ligands (aminopropanol and propanediol) to Pd species during the metal nanoparticle formation process. Differences emerged between O- (propanediol) and N-containing (aminopropanol) ligands. In particular, a strong interaction between the NH amino group and Pd2+ ions could be inferred on the basis of spectroscopic evidences, which was corroborated by theoretical simulations, which confirmed the preferential coordination of aminopropanol through the NH group. This interaction seems to potentially cause the aminopropanol ligand to control the particle shape through a selective blocking of Pd(100) facets, which promote the growth on the Pd(111) facets
The Calm before the storm! CAL in University Mathematics
No full textA Computer Aided Learning project in Mathematics (the CALM Project) is based at the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. It is one of the projects currently in receipt of funding from the Computer Board of the United Kingdom as part of the Computers in Teaching Initiative in British Universities.The CALM Project seeks to produce computer enhanced teaching packages which will back-up the conventional teaching of Calculus to large groups of first year engineering undergraduates at a typical Scottish University. The project has been underway for just over one year and some of the software prepared by the CALM team has been tested by one section of the class. During this testing period we have embarked on a formative evaluation of the software and of its impact on student learning practices.In this article the writers present an outline of the evaluation procedure. In addition, details are given of the software tools used to produce the CALM programs
JISC Report on E-Assessment Quality (REAQ) in UK Higher Education
No full textCommissioned by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in 2008, the ‘Report on Summative e-Assessment Quality (REAQ)’ project surveyed quality assurance (QA) activities commonly undertaken in summative e-assessment by UK Higher Education (HE) practitioners and others. The project focused on what denotes high quality in summative e-assessment for the interviewees and the steps that they take to meet their own standards. An expert panel guided the project. What denotes high quality summative e-assessment Expert opinion focused, in this order of priority, on: • Psychometrics (reliability, validity), • Pedagogy (mapping to intended learning outcomes), and • Practical issues (security, accessibility). What ‘high quality’ meant to our interviewees depended on the role they played in the process of creating and using e-assessments. They listed the following matters, in this order of volume: • Using the medium to give an extra dimension to assessment, including creating e-assessments that are authentic to the skills being tested; • Issues around delivery including security, infrastructure reliability, and accessibility; • Fairness and ease of use; • Supporting academic, managerial, and organisational goals; • Addressing the intended learning outcomes; and • Validity and reliability, mainly in their ‘non-psychometric’ senses. Interviewees with the role of learning technologist (or similar roles designed to aid academics in the use of e-assessment) used these terms in their psychometric senses. Interviewees focused on the e-assessment issues that were foremost in their mind. As processes to deliver e-assessment are rarely embedded in institutions at present, interviewees described spending time and effort on practical issues ensuring that e-assessments would work effectively. Many of the quality characteristics identified by the interviewees as important in summative e-assessment are measured by psychometrics. Although some academics use these measures, the report suggests that more could benefit from using psychometric evaluation. Steps needed to produce high quality e-assessment Expert opinion focused on: • Establishing sets of steps to follow for both content and quality management; • Identifying, using, and developing relevant standards for both content and quality management; • Identifying metrics for both content and process; and • Capability maturity modelling as an encapsulation of these three essential elements of a quality management process. Interviewee comments fell under a variety of rules of thumb or suggestions for useful steps, such as: noting that the effort needed to write e-assessments, their marking Final Report, May 2009 ii schemes, and to construct feedback is front-loaded; starting with easier questions and making later questions more difficult; checking assessments with subject matter experts and high performers; identifying ‘weak’ questions and improving or eliminating them; reviewing question content to ensure syllabus coverage; getting help for academics who usually have very limited knowledge of psychometrics; attending to security; and using accessibility guidelines. In summary: • Heuristic steps for both content and quality management, and • Accessibility standards. Many interviewees assumed that e-assessments were: • Valid if they were created by the academics responsible for the course, and • Subject to the same quality assurance processes as traditional assessments as well as those required specifically for e-assessment. The report questions these assumptions. Recommendations The report makes a number of recommendations to support academics creating high quality summative e-assessments, including: • A toolkit for the end-to-end process of creating e-assessment should be developed. • A practical guide to the steps involved in creating and maintaining an e-assessment system. • Guidelines for the quality assurance of e-assessments. • Psychometric measures for assessing the quality of item banks rather than individual questions, for assessing, tracking, and reporting the quality of banked items during their lifecycle of use. • Development and extension of existing psychometric theory to include multi-staged and optional stepped constructed response questions. • Workshops and support materials to disseminate good practice in the use of psychometrics for selected response items and for questions employing constructed responses. • Workshops and support materials to disseminate good practice in question creation and meeting educational needs beyond simple selected response items, possibly subject based. • Accessibility and user interface guidelines for deploying e-assessment, in particular addressing the use of browsers. • Guidelines for the use and role of MathML for expression recognition in e-assessments. • A repository of exemplars of good practice for both selected response and constructed response questions. • JISC and other community calls for and sponsorship of e-assessment bids should consider where and how bidders should incorporate appropriate psychometric measures in their proposals. • Commercial vendors should improve the accessibility of their psychometric reports to all stakeholders, possibly simplifying them to encourage take-up of their contents
Differential sensitivity to the environment: contribution of cognitive biases and genes to psychological wellbeing
No full textNegative cognitive biases and genetic variation have been associated with risk of psychopathology in largely independent lines of research. Here, we discuss ways in which these dynamicfields of research might be fruitfully combined. We propose that gene by environment (G × E) interactions may be mediated by selective cognitive biases and that certain forms of genetic‘reactivity’ or ‘sensitivity’ may represent heightened sensitivity to the learning environment in a‘for better and for worse’ manner. To progress knowledge in thisfield, we recommend including assessments of cognitive processing biases; examining G × E interactions in ‘both’ negative and positive environments; experimentally manipulating the environment when possible; and moving beyond single-gene effects to assess polygenic sensitivity scores. We formulate a new methodological framework encapsulating cognitive and genetic factors in the development of both psychopathology and optimal wellbeing that holds long-term promise for the development of new personalized therapies
Hematodinium infection seasonality in the Firth of Clyde (Scotland) nephrops norvegicus population: a re-evaluation
No full textHematodinium infections in Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus from the Clyde Sea area (CSA) population, Scotland, UK, have previously been undetected in summer. This study aimed to establish if the CSA is actually devoid of infected N. norvegicus in this season. Two PCR assays, an ELISA and 2 tests that detect only patent infection (pleopod and body colour methods) were applied in a 21 mo study. Patent infection was seasonal, appearing predominantly in spring, while subpatent infection diagnosed by ELISA and PCR was highly prevalent in all seasons. Generalised linear modelling supported this assertion, as sampling in September and February significantly increased the probability of finding infected N. norvegicus (p < 0.01); infections were predominantly subpatent and patent respectively, at these times. Therefore, Hematodinium seasonality in N. norvegicus populations is likely to have been an artefact of insensitive diagnostic tests. Light Hematodinium infections were found using PCR assays when patent infections were at their most prevalent and intense, suggesting that infection develops at different rates in different N. norvegicus individuals and that only a portion of the total number of infected N. norvegicus die within a single year. These new data were added to a long-term data series for the CSA (1990 to 2008), which showed that after an initial 5 yr epidemic period, prevalence stabilised at 20 to 25%. Comparisons with ‘susceptible-infected-recovered/removed’ (SIR) models suggest that this high prevalence is maintained through high birth rates of susceptible host N. norvegicus
Traffic-related air pollution in relation to cognitive function in older adults.
No full textBACKGROUND: Few epidemiologic studies have investigated associations of air pollution with cognition in older adults, and none has specifically compared associations across particle sources. We investigated whether exposure to particulate air pollution, characterized by size and source, was associated with cognitive function and decline in cognitive function. METHODS: We included participants of the Whitehall II cohort who were residents of greater London and who attended the medical examination in study wave 2007-2009 (n = 2867). Annual average concentrations of particulate matter (PM) (PM10 and PM2.5 from all sources and from traffic exhaust) were modeled at resolution of 20 × 20 m for 2003-2009. We investigated the relationship between exposure to particles and a cognitive battery composed of tests of reasoning, memory, and phonemic and semantic fluency. We also investigated exposure in relation to decline in these tests over 5 years. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 66 (standard deviation = 6) years. All particle metrics were associated with lower scores in reasoning and memory measured in the 2007-2009 wave but not with lower verbal fluency. Higher PM2.5 of 1.1 μg/m (lag 4) was associated with a 0.03 (95% confidence interval = -0.06 to 0.002) 5-year decline in standardized memory score and a 0.04 (-0.07 to -0.01) decline when restricted to participants remaining in London between study waves. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides support for an association between particulate air pollution and some measures of cognitive function, as well as decline over time in cognition; however, it does not support the hypothesis that traffic-related particles are more strongly associated with cognitive function than particles from all sources
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