161,604 research outputs found
The conventional versus a constructionist Scratch programming and first-year students' achievements in higher education classes: experimental data.
No full textGlobally, learning or teaching the first programming (popularly called CS1) remains a significant educational challenge. Indicators such as CS1 students' engagement, failure and attrition rates, and lack of diversity, continue to show the need for innovating the learning or teaching of novice computer science students. To ease initiating novices to programming, Scratch, a visual programming language, has become a staple of K-12 CS1 classes.
As outcomes of a research project aiming to explore a constructionist Scratch pedagogy with novice CS students in higher education, we present these datasets. In the research lasting two successive academic sessions, we conducted two quasi-experimental studies involving four intact CS1 classes in selected public polytechnic in the north central Nigeria. In each study, we randomly assigned the classes to the experimental and control groups, constituting the constructionist Scratch and the conventional CS1 classes, respectively.
Instruments for collecting data include a student profile questionnaire, a pretest, and posttest. Sequel to ethical clearance and permission from the selected schools, we conducted each study during the first semester of each academic session, in the first seven to eight weeks. During the first to second week, we administered students who consented to take part with the questionnaire and the pretest. Learning or teaching in the two classes lasted six weeks. Then both classes took the posttest. An independent CS educator who is not part of this research marked all the achievement tests, following a rubric prepared by the first author. To strengthen the research design and the possibility of arriving at valid causal evidence, we employed a Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) algorithm to generate matched samples of experimental and control data, which we used in the analysis.
Data presented here includes the raw, unmatched and matched experimental datasets from both studies. A researcher can make use of the data:
To explore if some background variables not addressed in the original research may moderate CS1 students' achievements. For instance, their prior achievements in mathematics, physics, or English.
To uncover some interesting patterns using machine learning algorithms.
To validate the outcome of the original experiment by using the unmatched, matched or newly generated matched samples.
The authors welcome further research collaborations in using the data or the accompanying research instruments.
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Impact of a Scratch Programming Intervention on Student Engagement in a Nigerian Polytechnic First-Year Class: Verdict From the Observers
No full textAn engaging, first programming class (CS1) often inspires students’ passion for computer science (CS). However, the evidence in the literature suggests that the average CS1 classes are anything but engaging for many students. The performance of CS compared to other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in international student engagement surveys seems to substantiate CS1 failure, attrition rates, and lack of diversity in most CS classes. Meanwhile, for its simplicity in introducing programming to beginners, primary and secondary schools use Scratch, an educational programming environment developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. For the same reason, higher institutions now include some forms of Scratch instruction in CS1. The question remains, to what extent is Scratch engaging, especially for students in higher education? This study addressed this gap by observing college computer science students exposed to a constructionist Scratch programming pedagogy. We adopted a descriptive design based on quantitative observations. To observe the class during a weekly 2-hour session, we employed five CS educators, one observer per week. Each observer, employing a 20-item observation protocol, rated the extent of affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement of first-year CS students in a polytechnic in North Central Nigeria. Most of the students were learning to program for the first time. Analysis of the data showed a significant agreement in the ratings of the five observers for overall student engagement, although the impact was moderate. However, while agreement in their ratings for affective engagement was significant, with a large effect, there was no significant concordance in their ratings for behavioral engagement. Observers also significantly agreed in their ratings for cognitive engagement; however, the impact was moderate. These findings suggest that employing Scratch in higher education can be engaging and useful, especially for students with no prior programming experience.
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Linkage activities amongst researchers, extension agents, farmers, input dealers, and marketers towards agricultural innovation systems in the North West Province, South Africa
No full textThis paper examined the research- extension- farmer- input dealer and marketer linkage activities in the North West Province of South Africa. A simple random sampling technique was used to select researchers, extension agents, farmers, agricultural input dealers and marketers. Their responses in linkage activities were elicited through a structured questionnaire. The F value for linkage = 41.817(p< 0.05) shows that there is a significant difference among stakeholders with extension agents having the highest mean of 51.63. In contrast, the marketers have the lowest mean of 37.16. This indicates that extension agents were involved in more linkage activities than other stakeholders in the agricultural innovation systems covered in this study
Knowledge and attitude towards collaboration in agricultural innovation systems amongst stakeholders in the North West Province, South Africa
No full textThe current study examined the extent of knowledge concerning agricultural innovation systems amongst researchers, extension agents, farmers, input dealers, and marketers, while determining their attitude towards collaborating with agricultural innovation systems. Through using a simple random sampling technique; researchers, extension agents, farmers, input dealers, and marketers were selected as the study population. Information was gathered by distributing a structured questionnaire amongst the various participants and analysing the data gained concerning their wealth of knowledge and their corresponding willingness to collaborate. The results show that researchers, extension agents, farmers, input dealers, and marketers are aware of, and have adequate knowledge of, these systems available to them, to be able to utilise them effectively. However, they expressed different attitudes towards collaboration with agricultural innovation 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
Environmental proteomics: A long march in the pedosphere
No full textEnvironmental proteomics, the study of the expression profile of proteins extracted directly from living organisms and some stabilized extracellular proteins present in environmental samples, is a developing branch of soil science since the seminal papers appeared twenty years ago. Soil microbial communities hold the key to understanding terrestrial biodiversity; they are extremely complex and their physiological responses to dynamic environmental parameters are under-characterized. Therefore, the slow development of environment-related proteomic databases, and the high chemical reactivity of environmental matrices hamper the extraction, quantification, and characterization of proteins; and soil proteomics remains still in its infancy. We underscore the main achievements of environmental proteomics focusing on soil ecosystems, and we identify technical gaps that need to be bridged in the context of relevant ecological concepts that have received little attention in the development of proteomics methods. This analysis offers a new framework of research of soil proteomics toward improved understanding of the causal linkages between the structure and function of the soil microbiome, and a broader grasp of the sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystems to environmental change
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
Larry O. Spencer, Conference Author Presentation
No full textGen. Larry O. Spencer, USAF (Ret.), author of Dark Horse: A Journey from the Horseshoe to the Pentago
A systematic review on COVID-19 pandemic with special emphasis on curative potentials of Nigeria based medicinal plants
No full textDespite the frightening mortality rate associated with COVID-19, there is no known approved drug to effectively combat the pandemic. COVID-19 clinical manifestations include fever, fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, and other complications. At present, there is no known effective treatment or vaccine that can mitigate/inhibit SARS-CoV-2. Available clinical intervention for COVID-19 is only palliative and limited to support. Thus, there is an exigent need for effective and non-invasive treatment. This article evaluates the possible mechanism of actions of SARS-CoV-2 and present Nigeria based medicinal plants which have pharmacological and biological activities that can mitigate the hallmarks of the pathogenesis of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 mode of actions includes hyper-inflammation characterized by a severe and fatal hyper-cytokinaemia with multi-organ failure; immunosuppression; reduction of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enhance pulmonary vascular permeability causing damage to the alveoli; and further activated by open reading frame (ORF)3a, ORF3b, and ORF7a via c-Jun N- terminal kinase (JNK) pathway which induces lung damage. These mechanisms of action of SARS-CoV-2 can be mitigated by a combination therapy of medicinal herbs based on their pharmacological activities. Since the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are multifactorial with co-morbidities, we strongly recommend the use of combined therapy such that two or more herbs with specific therapeutic actions are administered to combat the mediators of the disease.Fil: Oladele, Johnson O.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Ajayi, Ebenezer Idowu O. Osun State University; Nigeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Oyeleke, Oyedotun M.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Oladele, Oluwaseun T.. Osun State University; NigeriaFil: Olowookere, Boyede D.. Kings University; NigeriaFil: Adeniyi, Boluwaji M.. Benue State University; NigeriaFil: Oyewole, Olu I.. Osun State University; NigeriaFil: Oladiji, Adenike T.. University Of Ilorin; Nigeri
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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