1,354,254 research outputs found
Identifying Non-Sustainable Courses of Action: A Prerequisite for Decision-Making in Education for Sustainable Development
No full textStudents are faced with a multitude of decisions as consumers and in societal debates. Because of the scarcity of resources, the destruction of ecosystems and social injustice in a globalized world, it is vital that students are able to identify non-sustainable courses of action when involved in decision-making. The application of decision-making strategies is one approach to enhancing the quality of decisions. Options that do not meet ecological, social or economic standards should be excluded using non-compensatory strategies whereas other tasks may require a complete trade-off of all the evidence, following a compensatory approach. To enhance decision-making competence, a computer-based intervention study was conducted that focused on the use of decision-making strategies. While the results of the summative evaluation are reported by Gresch et al. (International Journal of Science Education, 2011), in-depth analyses of process-related data collected during the information processing are presented in this paper to reveal insights into the mechanisms of the intervention. The quality of high school students' (n = 120) metadecision skills when selecting a decision-making strategy was investigated using qualitative content analyses combined with inferential statistics. The results reveal that the students offered elaborate reflections on the sustainability of options. However, the characteristics that were declared non-sustainable differed among the students because societal norms and personal values were intertwined. One implication for education for sustainable development is that students are capable of reflecting on decision-making tasks and on corresponding favorable decision-making strategies at a metadecision level. From these results, we offer suggestions for improving learning environments and constructing test instruments for decision-making competence
Quantum walks of kicked Bose-Einstein condensates
No full textWe analytically investigate the recently proposed and implemented discrete-time quantum walk based on kicked ultra-cold atoms. We show how the internal level structure of the kicked atoms leads to the emergence of a relative lightshift phase immediately relevant for the experimental realization. Analytical solutions are provided for the momentum distribution for both the case of quantum resonance and the near-resonant quasimomenta
Training in Decision-making Strategies: An approach to enhance students’ competence to deal with socio-scientific issues
No full textDealing with socio-scientific issues in science classes enables students to participate productively in controversial discussions concerning ethical topics, such as sustainable development. In this respect, well-structured decision-making processes are essential for elaborate reasoning. To foster decision-making competence, a computer-based programme was developed that trains secondary school students (grades 11-13) in decision-making strategies. The main research question is: does training students to use these strategies foster decision-making competence? In addition, the influence of meta-decision aids was examined. Students conducted a task analysis to select an appropriate strategy prior to the decision-making process. Hence, the second research question is: does combining decision-making training with a task analysis enhance decision-making competence at a higher rate? To answer these questions, 386 students were tested in a pre-post-follow-up control-group design that included two training groups (decision-making strategies/decision-making strategies combined with a task analysis) and a control group (decision-making with additional ecological information instead of strategic training). An open-ended questionnaire was used to assess decision-making competence in situations related to sustainable development. The decision-making training led to a significant improvement in the post-test and the follow-up, which was administered three months after the training. Long-term effects on the quality of the students' decisions were evident for both training groups. Gains in competence when reflecting upon the decision-making processes of others were found, to a lesser extent, in the training group that received the additional meta-decision training. In conclusion, training in decision-making strategies is a promising approach to deal with socio-scientific issues related to sustainable development
Enhancing Decision-Making in STSE Education by Inducing Reflection and Self-Regulated Learning
No full textThoughtful decision-making to resolve socioscientific issues is central to science, technology, society, and environment (STSE) education. One approach for attaining this goal involves fostering students' decision-making processes. Thus, the present study explores whether the application of decision-making strategies, combined with reflections on the decision-making processes of others, enhances decision-making competence. In addition, this study examines whether this process is supported by elements of self-regulated learning, i.e., self-reflection regarding one's own performance and the setting of goals for subsequent tasks. A computer-based training program which involves the resolution of socioscientific issues related to sustainable development was developed in two versions: with and without elements of self-regulated learning. Its effects on decision-making competence were analyzed using a pre test-post test follow-up control-group design (N = 242 high school students). Decision-making competence was assessed using an open-ended questionnaire that focused on three facets: consideration of advantages and disadvantages, metadecision aspects, and reflection on the decision-making processes of others. The findings suggest that students in both training groups incorporated aspects of metadecision into their statements more often than students in the control group. Furthermore, both training groups were more successful in reflecting on the decision-making processes of others. The students who received additional training in self-regulated learning showed greater benefits in terms of metadecision aspects and reflection, and these effects remained significant two months later. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the application of decision-making strategies, combined with reflections on the decision-making process and elements of self-regulated learning, is a fruitful approach in STSE education.German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Experimental realization of a momentum-space quantum walk
No full textWe report on a discrete-time quantum walk that uses the momentum of ultra-cold rubidium-87 atoms as the walk space and two internal atomic states as the coin degree of freedom. Each step of the walk consists of a coin toss (a microwave pulse) followed by a unitary shift operator (a resonant ratchet pulse). We carry out a comprehensive experimental study on the effects of various parameters, including the strength of the shift operation, coin parameters, noise, and initialization of the system on the behavior of the walk. The walk dynamics can be well controlled in our experiment; potential applications include atom interferometry and engineering asymmetric walks
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Light-shift-induced behaviors observed in momentum-space quantum walks
No full textOver the last decade there have been many advances in studies of quantum walks (QWs) including a momentum-space QW recently realized in our spinor Bose-Einstein condensate system. This QW possessed behaviors that generally agreed with theoretical predictions; however, it also showed momentum distributions that were not adequately explained by the theory. We present a theoretical model which proves that the coherent dynamics of the spinor condensate is sufficient to explain the experimental data without invoking the presence of a thermal cloud of atoms as in the original theory. Our numerical findings are supported by an analytical prediction for the momentum distributions in the limit of zero-temperature condensates. This current model provides more complete explanations to the momentum-space QWs that can be applied to study quantum search algorithms and topological phases in Floquet-driven systems
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy employing a Vernier-effect distributed feedback-quantum cascade laser for multiple analytes detection
No full textHere we report on the multi-gas detection of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and water vapor (H2O) by using a quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) sensor exploiting a Vernier effect-based quantum cascade laser as excitation source. The device emission wavelengths ranged from 2100 cm(-1) to 2250 cm(-1). The achieved minimum detection limits were 6 ppb, 7 ppb, and 71 ppm for CO, N2O, and CO2, respectively, at 100 ms of integration time. Finally, QEPAS sensor performances were tested retrieving the concentrations of the target gases within laboratory air
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