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Sample records for curiosity teaching hand-eye

  1. Eye movements reveal epistemic curiosity in human observers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baranes, Adrien; Oudeyer, Pierre-Yves; Gottlieb, Jacqueline

    2015-12-01

    Saccadic (rapid) eye movements are primary means by which humans and non-human primates sample visual information. However, while saccadic decisions are intensively investigated in instrumental contexts where saccades guide subsequent actions, it is largely unknown how they may be influenced by curiosity - the intrinsic desire to learn. While saccades are sensitive to visual novelty and visual surprise, no study has examined their relation to epistemic curiosity - interest in symbolic, semantic information. To investigate this question, we tracked the eye movements of human observers while they read trivia questions and, after a brief delay, were visually given the answer. We show that higher curiosity was associated with earlier anticipatory orienting of gaze toward the answer location without changes in other metrics of saccades or fixations, and that these influences were distinct from those produced by variations in confidence and surprise. Across subjects, the enhancement of anticipatory gaze was correlated with measures of trait curiosity from personality questionnaires. Finally, a machine learning algorithm could predict curiosity in a cross-subject manner, relying primarily on statistical features of the gaze position before the answer onset and independently of covariations in confidence or surprise, suggesting potential practical applications for educational technologies, recommender systems and research in cognitive sciences. With this article, we provide full access to the annotated database allowing readers to reproduce the results. Epistemic curiosity produces specific effects on oculomotor anticipation that can be used to read out curiosity states. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  2. Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): Inital Observations and Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edgett, K. S.; Yingst, R. A.; Minitti, M. E.; Robinson, M. L.; Kennedy, M. R.; Lipkaman, L. J.; Jensen, E. H.; Anderson, R. C.; Bean, K. M.; Beegle, L. W.; hide

    2013-01-01

    MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) is a 2-megapixel focusable macro lens color camera on the turret on Curiosity's robotic arm. The investigation centers on stratigraphy, grain-scale texture, structure, mineralogy, and morphology of geologic materials at Curiosity's Gale robotic field site. MAHLI acquires focused images at working distances of 2.1 cm to infinity; for reference, at 2.1 cm the scale is 14 microns/pixel; at 6.9 cm it is 31 microns/pixel, like the Spirit and Opportunity Microscopic Imager (MI) cameras.

  3. Teaching with Pensive Images: Rethinking Curiosity in Paulo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Tyson E.

    2012-01-01

    Often when the author is teaching philosophy of education, his students begin the process of inquiry by prefacing their questions with something along the lines of "I'm just curious, but ...." Why do teachers and students feel compelled to express their curiosity as "just" curiosity? Perhaps there is a slight embarrassment in proclaiming their…

  4. Positive Affect Relevant to Epistemic Curiosity to Reflect Continuance Intention to Join a Hands-On Making Contest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Jon-Chao; Hwang, Ming-Yueh; Szeto, Elson; Tai, Kai-Hsin; Tsai, Chi-Ruei

    2016-01-01

    Hands-on making (e.g., "Maker") has become prevalent in current educational settings. To understand the role that students' epistemic curiosity plays in hands-on making contests, this study explored its correlation to students' positive affect and continuance intention to participate in a hands-on making contest called…

  5. The analysis of student’s critical thinking ability on discovery learning by using hand on activity based on the curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulistiani, E.; Waluya, S. B.; Masrukan

    2018-03-01

    This study aims to determine (1) the effectiveness of Discovery Learning model by using Hand on Activity toward critical thinking abilities, and (2) to describe students’ critical thinking abilities in Discovery Learning by Hand on Activity based on curiosity. This study is mixed method research with concurrent embedded design. Sample of this study are students of VII A and VII B of SMP Daarul Qur’an Ungaran. While the subject in this study is based on the curiosity of the students groups are classified Epistemic Curiosity (EC) and Perceptual Curiosity (PC). The results showed that the learning of Discovery Learning by using Hand on Activity is effective toward mathematics critical thinking abilities. Students of the EC type are able to complete six indicators of mathematics critical thinking abilities, although there are still two indicators that the result is less than the maximum. While students of PC type have not fully been able to complete the indicator of mathematics critical thinking abilities. They are only strong on indicators formulating questions, while on the other five indicators they are still weak. The critical thinking abilities of EC’s students is better than the critical thinking abilities of the PC’s students.

  6. The Case for Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engel, Susan

    2013-01-01

    When the author and her colleague asked teachers to list which qualities were most important without giving them a list to choose from, almost none mentioned curiosity. Many teachers endorse curiosity when they are asked about it, but it is not uppermost on their minds--or shaping their teaching plans. Why is this disturbing? Because research…

  7. Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edgett, Kenneth S.; Yingst, R. Aileen; Ravine, Michael A.; Caplinger, Michael A.; Maki, Justin N.; Ghaemi, F. Tony; Schaffner, Jacob A.; Bell, James F.; Edwards, Laurence J.; Herkenhoff, Kenneth E.; Heydari, Ezat; Kah, Linda C.; Lemmon, Mark T.; Minitti, Michelle E.; Olson, Timothy S.; Parker, Timothy J.; Rowland, Scott K.; Schieber, Juergen; Sullivan, Robert J.; Sumner, Dawn Y.; Thomas, Peter C.; Jensen, Elsa H.; Simmonds, John J.; Sengstacken, Aaron J.; Wilson, Reg G.; Goetz, Walter

    2012-01-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) investigation will use a 2-megapixel color camera with a focusable macro lens aboard the rover, Curiosity, to investigate the stratigraphy and grain-scale texture, structure, mineralogy, and morphology of geologic materials in northwestern Gale crater. Of particular interest is the stratigraphic record of a ?5 km thick layered rock sequence exposed on the slopes of Aeolis Mons (also known as Mount Sharp). The instrument consists of three parts, a camera head mounted on the turret at the end of a robotic arm, an electronics and data storage assembly located inside the rover body, and a calibration target mounted on the robotic arm shoulder azimuth actuator housing. MAHLI can acquire in-focus images at working distances from ?2.1 cm to infinity. At the minimum working distance, image pixel scale is ?14 μm per pixel and very coarse silt grains can be resolved. At the working distance of the Mars Exploration Rover Microscopic Imager cameras aboard Spirit and Opportunity, MAHLI?s resolution is comparable at ?30 μm per pixel. Onboard capabilities include autofocus, auto-exposure, sub-framing, video imaging, Bayer pattern color interpolation, lossy and lossless compression, focus merging of up to 8 focus stack images, white light and longwave ultraviolet (365 nm) illumination of nearby subjects, and 8 gigabytes of non-volatile memory data storage.

  8. Eye-hand coupling during closed-loop drawing: evidence of shared motor planning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reina, G Anthony; Schwartz, Andrew B

    2003-04-01

    Previous paradigms have used reaching movements to study coupling of eye-hand kinematics. In the present study, we investigated eye-hand kinematics as curved trajectories were drawn at normal speeds. Eye and hand movements were tracked as a monkey traced ellipses and circles with the hand in free space while viewing the hand's position on a computer monitor. The results demonstrate that the movement of the hand was smooth and obeyed the 2/3 power law. Eye position, however, was restricted to 2-3 clusters along the hand's trajectory and fixed approximately 80% of the time in one of these clusters. The eye remained stationary as the hand moved away from the fixation for up to 200 ms and saccaded ahead of the hand position to the next fixation along the trajectory. The movement from one fixation cluster to another consistently occurred just after the tangential hand velocity had reached a local minimum, but before the next segment of the hand's trajectory began. The next fixation point was close to an area of high curvature along the hand's trajectory even though the hand had not reached that point along the path. A visuo-motor illusion of hand movement demonstrated that the eye movement was influenced by hand movement and not simply by visual input. During the task, neural activity of pre-motor cortex (area F4) was recorded using extracellular electrodes and used to construct a population vector of the hand's trajectory. The results suggest that the saccade onset is correlated in time with maximum curvature in the population vector trajectory for the hand movement. We hypothesize that eye and arm movements may have common, or shared, information in forming their motor plans.

  9. Celebrate Mathematical Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redford, Christine

    2011-01-01

    Children's mathematical questions are often based in real-world experiences, as they instinctively make connections to the world around them. In teaching math methods courses, this author recently started to emphasize the importance of fostering curiosity in, and activating the thinking of, the students. In this article, she describes how to tap…

  10. An Infant Development-inspired Approach to Robot Hand-eye Coordination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Chao

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel developmental learning approach for hand-eye coordination in an autonomous robotic system. Robotic hand-eye coordination plays an important role in dealing with real-time environments. Under the approach, infant developmental patterns are introduced to build our robot's learning system. The method works by first constructing a brain-like computational structure to control the robot, and then by using infant behavioural patterns to build a hand-eye coordination learning algorithm. This work is supported by an experimental evaluation, which shows that the control system is implemented simply, and that the learning approach provides fast and incremental learning of behavioural competence.

  11. Unilateral Keratoconus after Chronic Eye Rubbing by the Nondominant Hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathalie Bral

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: To report the development of unilateral keratoconus in a healthy male after persistent unilateral eye rubbing by the nondominant hand which was not needed for professional activities. Methods: Observational case report. Results: A 60-year-old male was first seen in our clinic due to decreased vision in his left eye. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy of the left eye revealed Vogt’s striae, stromal thinning, and a stromal scar. Corneal topography showed a stage 4 keratoconus. Clinical examination and corneal topography of the right eye were normal. Medical history revealed a habit of chronic eye rubbing only in the left eye because of the right hand being occupied for professional needs. During follow-up of 5 years, Scheimpflug images of the right eye stayed normal while the left eye showed a stable cone. Discussion: This case report supports the hypothesis of mechanical fatigue of the cornea due to repetitive shear stress on the surface caused by eye-rubbing.

  12. Eye-hand laterality and right thoracic idiopathic scoliosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catanzariti, Jean-François; Guyot, Marc-Alexandre; Agnani, Olivier; Demaille, Samantha; Kolanowski, Elisabeth; Donze, Cécile

    2014-06-01

    The adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) pathogenesis remains unknown. Certain studies have shown that there is a correlation between manual laterality and scoliotic deviation. A full study of manual laterality needs to be paired with one for visual dominance. With the aim of physiopathological research, we have evaluated the manual and visual laterality in AIS. A retrospective study from prospective data collection is used to evaluate the distribution of eye-hand laterality (homogeneous or crossed) of 65 right thoracic AIS (mean age 14.8 ± 1.8 years; mean Cobb angle: 32.8°) and a control group of 65 sex and age-matched (mean age 14.6 ± 1.8 years). The manual laterality was defined by the modified Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. The evaluation of the visual laterality is done using three tests (kaleidoscope test, hole-in-the-card test, distance-hole-in-the-card test). The group of right thoracic AIS presents a significantly higher frequency of crossed eye-hand laterality (63 %) than the control group (63 vs. 29.2 %; p laterality is "right hand dominant-left eye dominant" (82.9 %). There is no relationship with the Cobb angle. Those with right thoracic AIS show a higher occurrence of crossed eye-hand laterality. This could point physiopathological research of AIS towards functional abnormality of the optic chiasma through underuse of cross visual pathways, and in particular accessory optic pathways. It would be useful to explore this by carrying out research on AISs through neuroimaging and neurofunctional exploration.

  13. Hand-eye coordinative remote maintenance in a tokamak vessel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, Qiang, E-mail: qiu6401@sjtu.edu.cn; Gu, Kai, E-mail: gukai0707@sjtu.edu.cn; Wang, Pengfei, E-mail: wpf790714@163.com; Bai, Weibang, E-mail: 654253204@qq.com; Cao, Qixin, E-mail: qxcao@sjtu.edu.cn

    2016-03-15

    Highlights: • If there is not rotation between the visual coordinate frame (O{sub e}X{sub e}Y{sub e}) and hand coordinate frame (O{sub h}X{sub h}Y{sub h}), a person can coordinate the movement between hand and eye easily. • We establish an alignment between the movement of the operator's hand and the visual scene of the end-effector as displayed on the monitor. • A potential function is set up in a simplified vacuum vessel model to provide a fast collision checking, and the alignment between repulsive force and Omega 7 feedback force is accomplished. • We carry out an experiment to evaluate its performance in a remote handling task. - Abstract: The reliability is vitally important for the remote maintenance in a tokamak vessel. In order to establish a more accurate and safer remote handling system, a hand-eye coordination method and an artificial potential function based collision avoidance method were proposed in this paper. At the end of this paper, these methods were implemented to a bolts tightening maintenance task, which was carried out in our 1/10 scale tokamak model. Experiment results have verified the value of the hand-eye coordination method and the collision avoidance method.

  14. Hand-eye coordinative remote maintenance in a tokamak vessel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qiu, Qiang; Gu, Kai; Wang, Pengfei; Bai, Weibang; Cao, Qixin

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • If there is not rotation between the visual coordinate frame (O_eX_eY_e) and hand coordinate frame (O_hX_hY_h), a person can coordinate the movement between hand and eye easily. • We establish an alignment between the movement of the operator's hand and the visual scene of the end-effector as displayed on the monitor. • A potential function is set up in a simplified vacuum vessel model to provide a fast collision checking, and the alignment between repulsive force and Omega 7 feedback force is accomplished. • We carry out an experiment to evaluate its performance in a remote handling task. - Abstract: The reliability is vitally important for the remote maintenance in a tokamak vessel. In order to establish a more accurate and safer remote handling system, a hand-eye coordination method and an artificial potential function based collision avoidance method were proposed in this paper. At the end of this paper, these methods were implemented to a bolts tightening maintenance task, which was carried out in our 1/10 scale tokamak model. Experiment results have verified the value of the hand-eye coordination method and the collision avoidance method.

  15. Research on direct calibration method of eye-to-hand system of robot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Xiaoping; Xie, Ke; Peng, Tao

    2013-10-01

    In the position-based visual servoing control for robot, the hand-eye calibration is very important because it can affect the control precision of the system. According to the robot with eye-to-hand stereovision system, this paper proposes a direct method of hand-eye calibration. The method utilizes the triangle measuring principle to solve the coordinates in the camera coordinate system of scene point. It calculates the estimated coordinates by the hand-eye calibration equation set which indicates the transformational relation from the robot to the camera coordinate system, and then uses the error of actual and estimated coordinates to establish the objective function. Finally the method substitutes the parameters into the function repeatedly until it converged to optimize the result. The related experiment compared the measured coordinates with the actual coordinates, shows the efficiency and the precision of it.

  16. Eye tracking a self-moved target with complex hand-target dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landelle, Caroline; Montagnini, Anna; Madelain, Laurent

    2016-01-01

    Previous work has shown that the ability to track with the eye a moving target is substantially improved when the target is self-moved by the subject's hand compared with when being externally moved. Here, we explored a situation in which the mapping between hand movement and target motion was perturbed by simulating an elastic relationship between the hand and target. Our objective was to determine whether the predictive mechanisms driving eye-hand coordination could be updated to accommodate this complex hand-target dynamics. To fully appreciate the behavioral effects of this perturbation, we compared eye tracking performance when self-moving a target with a rigid mapping (simple) and a spring mapping as well as when the subject tracked target trajectories that he/she had previously generated when using the rigid or spring mapping. Concerning the rigid mapping, our results confirmed that smooth pursuit was more accurate when the target was self-moved than externally moved. In contrast, with the spring mapping, eye tracking had initially similar low spatial accuracy (though shorter temporal lag) in the self versus externally moved conditions. However, within ∼5 min of practice, smooth pursuit improved in the self-moved spring condition, up to a level similar to the self-moved rigid condition. Subsequently, when the mapping unexpectedly switched from spring to rigid, the eye initially followed the expected target trajectory and not the real one, thereby suggesting that subjects used an internal representation of the new hand-target dynamics. Overall, these results emphasize the stunning adaptability of smooth pursuit when self-maneuvering objects with complex dynamics. PMID:27466129

  17. Eye-hand exercise: new variant in amblyopia management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svĕrák, J; Peregrin, J; Juran, J

    1990-01-01

    A total of 50 children with unilateral amblyopia was treated by short term 10 minute-lasting weekly occlusions of visually well eye. During the occlusion the child is providing the intensive detailed activities under patient's supervision. After an approximately half-a-year lasting interval, the "eye-hand" exercise resulted in the mean improvement of visual acuity for 2.44 normalised lines. The visual motor factor is involved in amblyopia treatment.

  18. Parameterizations for reducing camera reprojection error for robot-world hand-eye calibration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accurate robot-world, hand-eye calibration is crucial to automation tasks. In this paper, we discuss the robot-world, hand-eye calibration problem which has been modeled as the linear relationship AX equals ZB, where X and Z are the unknown calibration matrices composed of rotation and translation ...

  19. Teaching Inquiry with a Lens toward Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Renesse, Christine; Ecke, Volker

    2017-01-01

    This paper links educational psychology research about curiosity to teacher moves that are effective in an inquiry-based mathematics classroom. Three vignettes will show explicit teacher moves (staging disagreement, intriguing anecdotes, and creating a safe space) for different audiences (math majors, mathematics for liberal arts students, and…

  20. Hand-eye calibration using a target registration error model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Elvis C S; Morgan, Isabella; Jayarathne, Uditha; Ma, Burton; Peters, Terry M

    2017-10-01

    Surgical cameras are prevalent in modern operating theatres and are often used as a surrogate for direct vision. Visualisation techniques (e.g. image fusion) made possible by tracking the camera require accurate hand-eye calibration between the camera and the tracking system. The authors introduce the concept of 'guided hand-eye calibration', where calibration measurements are facilitated by a target registration error (TRE) model. They formulate hand-eye calibration as a registration problem between homologous point-line pairs. For each measurement, the position of a monochromatic ball-tip stylus (a point) and its projection onto the image (a line) is recorded, and the TRE of the resulting calibration is predicted using a TRE model. The TRE model is then used to guide the placement of the calibration tool, so that the subsequent measurement minimises the predicted TRE. Assessing TRE after each measurement produces accurate calibration using a minimal number of measurements. As a proof of principle, they evaluated guided calibration using a webcam and an endoscopic camera. Their endoscopic camera results suggest that millimetre TRE is achievable when at least 15 measurements are acquired with the tracker sensor ∼80 cm away on the laparoscope handle for a target ∼20 cm away from the camera.

  1. Changes to online control and eye-hand coordination with healthy ageing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Rielly, Jessica L; Ma-Wyatt, Anna

    2018-06-01

    Goal directed movements are typically accompanied by a saccade to the target location. Online control plays an important part in correction of a reach, especially if the target or goal of the reach moves during the reach. While there are notable changes to visual processing and motor control with healthy ageing, there is limited evidence about how eye-hand coordination during online updating changes with healthy ageing. We sought to quantify differences between older and younger people for eye-hand coordination during online updating. Participants completed a double step reaching task implemented under time pressure. The target perturbation could occur 200, 400 and 600 ms into a reach. We measured eye position and hand position throughout the trials to investigate changes to saccade latency, movement latency, movement time, reach characteristics and eye-hand latency and accuracy. Both groups were able to update their reach in response to a target perturbation that occurred at 200 or 400 ms into the reach. All participants demonstrated incomplete online updating for the 600 ms perturbation time. Saccade latencies, measured from the first target presentation, were generally longer for older participants. Older participants had significantly increased movement times but there was no significant difference between groups for touch accuracy. We speculate that the longer movement times enable the use of new visual information about the target location for online updating towards the end of the movement. Interestingly, older participants also produced a greater proportion of secondary saccades within the target perturbation condition and had generally shorter eye-hand latencies. This is perhaps a compensatory mechanism as there was no significant group effect on final saccade accuracy. Overall, the pattern of results suggests that online control of movements may be qualitatively different in older participants. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All

  2. A common control signal and a ballistic stage can explain the control of coordinated eye-hand movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopal, Atul; Murthy, Aditya

    2016-06-01

    Voluntary control has been extensively studied in the context of eye and hand movements made in isolation, yet little is known about the nature of control during eye-hand coordination. We probed this with a redirect task. Here subjects had to make reaching/pointing movements accompanied by coordinated eye movements but had to change their plans when the target occasionally changed its position during some trials. Using a race model framework, we found that separate effector-specific mechanisms may be recruited to control eye and hand movements when executed in isolation but when the same effectors are coordinated a unitary mechanism to control coordinated eye-hand movements is employed. Specifically, we found that performance curves were distinct for the eye and hand when these movements were executed in isolation but were comparable when they were executed together. Second, the time to switch motor plans, called the target step reaction time, was different in the eye-alone and hand-alone conditions but was similar in the coordinated condition under assumption of a ballistic stage of ∼40 ms, on average. Interestingly, the existence of this ballistic stage could predict the extent of eye-hand dissociations seen in individual subjects. Finally, when subjects were explicitly instructed to control specifically a single effector (eye or hand), redirecting one effector had a strong effect on the performance of the other effector. Taken together, these results suggest that a common control signal and a ballistic stage are recruited when coordinated eye-hand movement plans require alteration. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

  3. Drawing on Curiosity: Between Two Worlds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wigglesworth, Ron

    2017-01-01

    This narrative of my research on drawing shares my experience of relearning drawing by hand and how the act of drawing can stimulate curiosity. This article examines its potential to enhance learning/observation in science. It describes a kinaesthetic drawing methodology and addresses pedagogical solutions for overcoming a student's declaration…

  4. Anthropomorphic Robot Hand And Teaching Glove

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engler, Charles D., Jr.

    1991-01-01

    Robotic forearm-and-hand assembly manipulates objects by performing wrist and hand motions with nearly human grasping ability and dexterity. Imitates hand motions of human operator who controls robot in real time by programming via exoskeletal "teaching glove". Telemanipulator systems based on this robotic-hand concept useful where humanlike dexterity required. Underwater, high-radiation, vacuum, hot, cold, toxic, or inhospitable environments potential application sites. Particularly suited to assisting astronauts on space station in safely executing unexpected tasks requiring greater dexterity than standard gripper.

  5. Construct validity for eye-hand coordination skill on a virtual reality laparoscopic surgical simulator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Shohei; Konishi, Kozo; Yasunaga, Takefumi; Yoshida, Daisuke; Kinjo, Nao; Kobayashi, Kiichiro; Ieiri, Satoshi; Okazaki, Ken; Nakashima, Hideaki; Tanoue, Kazuo; Maehara, Yoshihiko; Hashizume, Makoto

    2007-12-01

    This study was carried out to investigate whether eye-hand coordination skill on a virtual reality laparoscopic surgical simulator (the LAP Mentor) was able to differentiate among subjects with different laparoscopic experience and thus confirm its construct validity. A total of 31 surgeons, who were all right-handed, were divided into the following two groups according to their experience as an operator in laparoscopic surgery: experienced surgeons (more than 50 laparoscopic procedures) and novice surgeons (fewer than 10 laparoscopic procedures). The subjects were tested using the eye-hand coordination task of the LAP Mentor, and performance was compared between the two groups. Assessment of the laparoscopic skills was based on parameters measured by the simulator. The experienced surgeons completed the task significantly faster than the novice surgeons. The experienced surgeons also achieved a lower number of movements (NOM), better economy of movement (EOM) and faster average speed of the left instrument than the novice surgeons, whereas there were no significant differences between the two groups for the NOM, EOM and average speed of the right instrument. Eye-hand coordination skill of the nondominant hand, but not the dominant hand, measured using the LAP Mentor was able to differentiate between subjects with different laparoscopic experience. This study also provides evidence of construct validity for eye-hand coordination skill on the LAP Mentor.

  6. Investigating the Relationship between Curiosity Level and Computer Self Efficacy Beliefs of Elementary Teachers Candidates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulten, Dilek Cagirgan; Yaman, Yavuz; Deringol, Yasemin; Ozsari, Ismail

    2011-01-01

    Nowadays, "lifelong learning individual" concept is gaining importance in which curiosity is one important feature that an individual should have as a requirement of learning. It is known that learning will naturally occur spontaneously when curiosity instinct is awakened during any learning-teaching process. Computer self-efficacy…

  7. Looking at eye dominance from a different angle: is sighting strength related to hand preference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, David P; Hutchinson, Claire V

    2013-10-01

    Sighting dominance (the behavioural preference for one eye over the other under monocular viewing conditions) has traditionally been thought of as a robust individual trait. However, Khan and Crawford (2001) have shown that, under certain viewing conditions, eye preference reverses as a function of horizontal gaze angle. Remarkably, the reversal of sighting from one eye to the other depends on which hand is used to reach out and grasp the target. Their procedure provides an ideal way to measure the strength of monocular preference for sighting, which may be related to other indicators of hemispheric specialisation for speech, language and motor function. Therefore, we hypothesised that individuals with consistent side preferences (e.g., right hand, right eye) should have more robust sighting dominance than those with crossed lateral preferences. To test this idea, we compared strength of eye dominance in individuals who are consistently right or left sided for hand and foot preference with those who are not. We also modified their procedure in order to minimise a potential image size confound, suggested by Banks et al. (2004) as an explanation of Khan and Crawford's results. We found that the sighting dominance switch occurred at similar eccentricities when we controlled for effects of hand occlusion and target size differences. We also found that sighting dominance thresholds change predictably with the hand used. However, we found no evidence for relationships between strength of hand preference as assessed by questionnaire or by pegboard performance and strength of sighting dominance. Similarly, participants with consistent hand and foot preferences did not show stronger eye preference as assessed using the Khan and Crawford procedure. These data are discussed in terms of indirect relationships between sighting dominance, hand preference and cerebral specialisation for language and motor control. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Do individual differences in children's curiosity relate to their inquiry-based learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Schijndel, Tessa J. P.; Jansen, Brenda R. J.; Raijmakers, Maartje E. J.

    2018-06-01

    This study investigates how individual differences in 7- to 9-year-olds' curiosity relate to the inquiry-learning process and outcomes in environments differing in structure. The focus on curiosity as individual differences variable was motivated by the importance of curiosity in science education, and uncertainty being central to both the definition of curiosity and the inquiry-learning environment. Curiosity was assessed with the Underwater Exploration game (Jirout, J., & Klahr, D. (2012). Children's scientific curiosity: In search of an operational definition of an elusive concept. Developmental Review, 32, 125-160. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2012.04.002), and inquiry-based learning with the newly developed Scientific Discovery task, which focuses on the principle of designing informative experiments. Structure of the inquiry-learning environment was manipulated by explaining this principle or not. As intelligence relates to learning and possibly curiosity, it was taken into account. Results showed that children's curiosity was positively related to their knowledge acquisition, but not to their quality of exploration. For low intelligent children, environment structure positively affected their quality of exploration, but not their knowledge acquisition. There was no interaction between curiosity and environment structure. These results support the existence of two distinct inquiry-based learning processes - the designing of experiments, on the one hand, and the reflection on performed experiments, on the other - and link children's curiosity to the latter process.

  9. The curious case of curiosity: unpleasant advertising and curiosity

    OpenAIRE

    Van den Driessche, Liesbet; Vermeir, Iris; Pandelaere, Mario

    2013-01-01

    Previous research demonstrated that advertisements that induce positive feelings are effective. However, unpleasant advertising are frequently used and can be effective as well. This research examines whether evoked curiosity can explain the effectiveness of unpleasant advertising. Our results indicate that although unpleasant advertising did not lead to behavioral intention with regard to the advertised product, unpleasant advertising did evoke curiosity. Curiosity itself proves to be a stro...

  10. Curiosity About People : The Development of a Social Curiosity Measure in Adults

    OpenAIRE

    Renner, Britta

    2006-01-01

    Curiosity refers to the desire for acquiring new information. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess social curiosity, that is, interest in how other people think, feel, and behave. The questionnaire was administered to 312 participants. Factor analyses of the 10-item Social Curiosity Scale (SCS) yielded 2 factors: General Social Curiosity and Covert Social Curiosity. Evidence of convergent validity was provided by moderately high correlations of the SCS with other mea...

  11. Verbal Prompting, Hand-over-Hand Instruction, and Passive Observation in Teaching Children with Developmental Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biederman, G. B.; Fairhall, J. L.; Raven, K. A.; Davey, V. A.

    1998-01-01

    A study involving six children (ages 5-13) with mental retardation found that overall passive modeling was significantly more effective than hand-over-hand modeling in teaching skills, and that passive modeling was significantly more effective than hand-over-hand modeling with response-contingent verbal prompting. (Author/CR)

  12. P1-20: The Relation of Eye and Hand Movement during Multimodal Recall Memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eun-Sol Kim

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Eye and hand movement tracking has been proven to be a successful tool and is widely used to figure out characteristics of human cognition in language or visual processing (Just & Carpenter, 1976 Cognitive Psychology 8441–480. Eye movement has proven to be a successful measure to figure out characteristics of human language and visual processing (Rayner, 1998 Psychological Bulletin 124(3 372–422. Recently, mouse tracking was used for social-cognition-like categorization of sex-atypical faces and studying spoken-language processes (Magnuson, 2005 PNAS 102(28 9995–9996; Spivey et al., 2005 PNAS 102 10393–10398. Here, we present a framework that uses both eye gaze and hand movement simultaneously for analyzing the relation of them during memory retrieval. We tracked eye and mouse movements when the subject was watching a drama and playing a multimodal memory game (MMG, a cognitive task designed to investigate the recall memory mechanisms in watching video dramas (Zhang, 2009 AAAI 2009 Spring Symposium: Agents that Learn from Human Teachers 144–149. Experimental results show that eye tracking and mouse tracking provide complementary information about underlying cognitive processes. Also, we found some interesting patterns in eye-hand movement during multimodal memory recall.

  13. Curiosity and Interaction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tieben, R.; Bekker, M.M.; Schouten, B.A.M.

    2011-01-01

    We explore the concepts of curiosity and interaction: how can we elicit curiosity in public spaces through interactive systems? We have developed a model consisting of five curiosity-evoking principles. In an iterative design research approach, we have explored the design implementations of these

  14. Drawing from Memory: Hand-Eye Coordination at Multiple Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spivey, Michael J.

    2013-01-01

    Eyes move to gather visual information for the purpose of guiding behavior. This guidance takes the form of perceptual-motor interactions on short timescales for behaviors like locomotion and hand-eye coordination. More complex behaviors require perceptual-motor interactions on longer timescales mediated by memory, such as navigation, or designing and building artifacts. In the present study, the task of sketching images of natural scenes from memory was used to examine and compare perceptual-motor interactions on shorter and longer timescales. Eye and pen trajectories were found to be coordinated in time on shorter timescales during drawing, and also on longer timescales spanning study and drawing periods. The latter type of coordination was found by developing a purely spatial analysis that yielded measures of similarity between images, eye trajectories, and pen trajectories. These results challenge the notion that coordination only unfolds on short timescales. Rather, the task of drawing from memory evokes perceptual-motor encodings of visual images that preserve coarse-grained spatial information over relatively long timescales as well. PMID:23554894

  15. The Effect of Teaching Strategies and Curiosity on Students' Achievement in Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurning, Busmin; Siregar, Aguslani

    2017-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to find out whether 1) students' achievement in reading comprehension taught by using INSERT strategy was higher than those taught by using SQ3R strategy, 2) Students' achievement in reading comprehension having high curiosity was higher than those having low curiosity, 3) there was an interaction between teaching…

  16. Interacting with mobile devices by fusion eye and hand gestures recognition systems based on decision tree approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elleuch, Hanene; Wali, Ali; Samet, Anis; Alimi, Adel M.

    2017-03-01

    Two systems of eyes and hand gestures recognition are used to control mobile devices. Based on a real-time video streaming captured from the device's camera, the first system recognizes the motion of user's eyes and the second one detects the static hand gestures. To avoid any confusion between natural and intentional movements we developed a system to fuse the decision coming from eyes and hands gesture recognition systems. The phase of fusion was based on decision tree approach. We conducted a study on 5 volunteers and the results that our system is robust and competitive.

  17. English Foreign Language Learners Kinesics on Teaching Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hajjah Zulianti

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This research entitle English foreign language learners kinesics on teaching performance aims to mention and to describe the forms and the function of kinesics used by EFL learners on teaching performance, and to describe the importance of kinesics in teaching activity. This research is descriptive qualitative research. The data of the research are taken from EFL learners’ teaching performance on sixth semester at STKIP PGRI Bandar Lampung. The researcher observes the learners’ kinesics in teaching activity by using observing method and noting technique. In analyzing the data, the researcher uses description method. The result shows that there are twenty kinds of kinesics acted by the trainee, those are sitting in relaxing, arms crossed in front of the chest, standing in relaxing, walking around the class, checking the time, stroking the chin or beard, smile, happily surprised, wrinkle forehead, nodding head, shaking head, thumbs up, pointing finger, counting hand, waving hand, looking up, eye following, squinting, look in eye and breaking or making eye contact. Keywords: Kinesics, EFL Learners, Teaching Performance

  18. Modeling and evaluation of hand-eye coordination of surgical robotic system on task performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Yuanqian; Wang, Shuxin; Li, Jianmin; Li, Aimin; Liu, Hongbin; Xing, Yuan

    2017-12-01

    Robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery changes the direct hand and eye coordination in traditional surgery to indirect instrument and camera coordination, which affects the ergonomics, operation performance, and safety. A camera, two instruments, and a target, as the descriptors, are used to construct the workspace correspondence and geometrical relationships in a surgical operation. A parametric model with a set of parameters is proposed to describe the hand-eye coordination of the surgical robot. From the results, optimal values and acceptable ranges of these parameters are identified from two tasks. A 90° viewing angle had the longest completion time; 60° instrument elevation angle and 0° deflection angle had better performance; there is no significant difference among manipulation angles and observing distances on task performance. This hand-eye coordination model provides evidence for robotic design, surgeon training, and robotic initialization to achieve dexterous and safe manipulation in surgery. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. The Relationship between Optimism, Pre-Entrepreneurial Curiosity and Entrepreneurial Curiosity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeraj Mitja

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs become more and more interesting fields for a scientific research. This paper addresses the relationship between optimism, pre-entrepreneurial curiosity and entrepreneurial curiosity as three determinants of entrepreneurial psychology. Literature review showed optimism is important for entrepreneurs and influence them mostly in a positive way. Although entrepreneurial curiosity is important determinant for entrepreneurs and it was connected with entrepreneurial self-efficacy, openness, and company's growth the connection with optimism remained unexplored until this research.

  20. The Case of Curiosity and the Night Sky: Relationship between Noctcaelador and Three Forms of Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, William E.; Daughtry, Don

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between noctcaelador (psychological attachment to the night sky) and curiosity. A measure of noctcaelador and three curiosity scales (perceptual curiosity, epistemic curiosity, and curiosity as a feeling of deprivation) were administered to 233 university students. Correlations indicated…

  1. Teaching Visual Arts - From the Innocent Eye to Immersiveness and Vice Versa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marijan Richter

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In the mid-19th century, John Ruskin, apologist for the poetics of the innocent eye, advocated a break with academic Realism. A century later, Gombrich and Goodman criticized Ruskin's Romantic subjectivism from the position of High Modernism. Consequently, the "Enlightenment" approach in teaching visual arts became stronger. Recently, some teaching specialists have been trying to inaugurate the term, immersiveness, in place of visual arts language for the purpose of introducing contemporary art into the syllabus. This paper examines the relation between "the innocent eye myth" and topical approach of "immersiveness" within the framework of educational objectives and methods in contemporary teaching.

  2. Assessment of eye, hand and male gonadal skin dose in radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pushap, M.P.S.

    1979-01-01

    An attempt has been made to gauge the dose to (1) the eye, (2) the skin of the hands and (3) the gonads from radiotherapy of other parts of the body. The study has been done on actual male patients at the Jorjani Medical Centre, Tehran. The study, indicated high dose to the eye lid i.e. about 3% of the tumour dose in the case of head irradiation. The eyes and gonads lie at unequal distances from thorax, so are their doses. It is further emphasised that a minimum dose of 400 rad in three weeks to one month has been reported to be cataractogenic in man. A 50% incidence of progressive loss of vision with a dose of 750 rad to 1000 rad in three weeks to three months time has been observed. If appropriate techniques are not employed to shield the eye, even from stray radiation, such limits may easily be reached. (K.B.)

  3. Hand-Eye LRF-Based Iterative Plane Detection Method for Autonomous Robotic Welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sungmin Lee

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a hand-eye LRF-based (laser range finder welding plane-detection method for autonomous robotic welding in the field of shipbuilding. The hand-eye LRF system consists of a 6 DOF manipulator and an LRF attached to the wrist of the manipulator. The welding plane is detected by the LRF with only the wrist's rotation to minimize a mechanical error caused by the manipulator's motion. A position on the plane is determined as an average position of the detected points on the plane, and a normal vector to the plane is determined by applying PCA (principal component analysis to the detected points. In this case, the accuracy of the detected plane is analysed by simulations with respect to the wrist's angle interval and the plane angle. As a result of the analysis, an iterative plane-detection method with the manipulator's alignment motion is proposed to improve the performance of plane detection. For verifying the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed plane-detection method, experiments are carried out with a prototype of the hand-eye LRF-based system, which consists of a 1 DOF wrist's joint, an LRF system and a rotatable plane. In addition, the experimental results of the PCA-based plane detection method are compared with those of the two representative plane-detection methods, based on RANSAC (RANdom SAmple Consensus and the 3D Hough transform in both accuracy and computation time's points of view.

  4. Science and Scientific Curiosity in Pre-school—The teacher's point of view

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spektor-Levy, Ornit; Kesner Baruch, Yael; Mevarech, Zemira

    2013-09-01

    Nowadays, early science education is well-accepted by researchers, education professionals and policy makers. Overall, teachers' attitudes and conceptions toward the science subject domain and science education influence their ways of teaching and engagement. However, there is a lack of research regarding factors that affect this engagement in pre-school years. The main assumption of this study is that teachers' attitudes regarding science in pre-school can shape children's engagement in science and develop their scientific curiosity. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are to investigate the attitudes of pre-school teachers toward engaging in science and to explore their views about the nature of curiosity: who is a curious child and how can a child's natural curiosity be fostered? An extensive survey was conducted among 146 pre-school teachers by employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Results indicate that most of the participants believe that scientific education should begin in early childhood; very young children can investigate and take part in a process of inquiry; and scientific activities in pre-school can influence children's long-term attitudes toward science. Despite these views, most participants felt they did not possess sufficient scientific knowledge. Furthermore, participants expressed diverse opinions when asked to identify what constitutes curiosity, how the curious child can be identified and how a child's curiosity can be fostered. The research findings carry significant implications regarding how to implement scientific activities in pre-school, and how to encourage pre-school teachers to engage children in scientific activities in a way that will nurture their natural curiosity.

  5. The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) aboard the Mars rover, Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edgett, K. S.; Ravine, M. A.; Caplinger, M. A.; Ghaemi, F. T.; Schaffner, J. A.; Malin, M. C.; Baker, J. M.; Dibiase, D. R.; Laramee, J.; Maki, J. N.; Willson, R. G.; Bell, J. F., III; Cameron, J. F.; Dietrich, W. E.; Edwards, L. J.; Hallet, B.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Heydari, E.; Kah, L. C.; Lemmon, M. T.; Minitti, M. E.; Olson, T. S.; Parker, T. J.; Rowland, S. K.; Schieber, J.; Sullivan, R. J.; Sumner, D. Y.; Thomas, P. C.; Yingst, R. A.

    2009-08-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, is expected to land on Mars in 2012. The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) will be used to document martian rocks and regolith with a 2-megapixel RGB color CCD camera with a focusable macro lens mounted on an instrument-bearing turret on the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. The flight MAHLI can focus on targets at working distances of 20.4 mm to infinity. At 20.4 mm, images have a pixel scale of 13.9 μm/pixel. The pixel scale at 66 mm working distance is about the same (31 μm/pixel) as that of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Microscopic Imager (MI). MAHLI camera head placement is dependent on the capabilities of the MSL robotic arm, the design for which presently has a placement uncertainty of ~20 mm in 3 dimensions; hence, acquisition of images at the minimum working distance may be challenging. The MAHLI consists of 3 parts: a camera head, a Digital Electronics Assembly (DEA), and a calibration target. The camera head and DEA are connected by a JPL-provided cable which transmits data, commands, and power. JPL is also providing a contact sensor. The camera head will be mounted on the rover's robotic arm turret, the DEA will be inside the rover body, and the calibration target will be mounted on the robotic arm azimuth motor housing. Camera Head. MAHLI uses a Kodak KAI-2020CM interline transfer CCD (1600 x 1200 active 7.4 μm square pixels with RGB filtered microlenses arranged in a Bayer pattern). The optics consist of a group of 6 fixed lens elements, a movable group of 3 elements, and a fixed sapphire window front element. Undesired near-infrared radiation is blocked using a coating deposited on the inside surface of the sapphire window. The lens is protected by a dust cover with a Lexan window through which imaging can be ac-complished if necessary, and targets can be illuminated by sunlight or two banks of two white light LEDs. Two 365 nm UV LEDs are included to search for fluores-cent materials at night. DEA

  6. Assessing Weather Curiosity in University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, A. E.

    2017-12-01

    This research focuses upon measuring an individual's level of trait curiosity about the weather using the Weather Curiosity Scale (WCS). The measure consists of 15 self-report items that describe weather preferences and/or behaviors that people may perform more or less frequently. The author reports on two initial studies of the WCS that have used the responses of 710 undergraduate students from a large university in the southeastern United States. In the first study, factor analysis of the 15 items indicated that the measure was unidimensional - suggesting that its items singularly assessed weather curiosity. The WCS also was internally consistent as evidenced by an acceptable Cronbach's alpha, a = .81). The second study sought to identify other personality variables that may relate with the WCS scores and thus illuminate the nature of weather curiosity. Several clusters of personality variables appear to underlie the curiosity levels people exhibited, the first of which related to perceptual curiosity (r = .59). Being curious about sights, sounds, smells, and textures generally related somewhat to curiosity about weather. Two measures of trait sensitivity to environmental stimulation, the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (r = .47) and the Orientation Sensitivity Scale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (r = .43), also predicted weather curiosity levels. Finally, possessing extraverted personality traits (r = .34) and an intense style of experiencing one's emotions (r = .33) related to weather curiosity. How can this measure be used in K-12 or post-secondary settings to further climate literacy? First, the WCS can identify students with natural curiosities about weather and climate so these students may be given more challenging instruction that will leverage their natural interests. Second, high-WCS students may function as weather and climate ambassadors during inquiry-based learning activities and thus help other students who are not as oriented to the

  7. Hand-Eye Calibration and Inverse Kinematics of Robot Arm using Neural Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, Haiyan; Tizzano, Walter; Andersen, Thomas Timm

    2013-01-01

    Traditional technologies for solving hand-eye calibration and inverse kinematics are cumbersome and time consuming due to the high nonlinearity in the models. An alternative to the traditional approaches is the articial neural network inspired by the remarkable abilities of the animals in dierent...

  8. The Epistemic Value of Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Frederick F.; Lahroodi, Reza

    2008-01-01

    In this essay, Frederick Schmitt and Reza Lahroodi explore the value of curiosity for inquiry and knowledge. They defend an appetitive account of curiosity, viewing curiosity as a motivationally original desire to know that arises from having one's attention drawn to the object and that in turn sustains one's attention to it. Distinguishing…

  9. The relationship between temperamental traits and the level of performance of an eye-hand co-ordination task in jet pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biernacki, Marcin; Tarnowski, Adam

    2008-01-01

    When assessing the psychological suitability for the profession of a pilot, it is important to consider personality traits and psychomotor abilities. Our study aimed at estimating the role of temperamental traits as components of pilots' personality in eye-hand co-ordination. The assumption was that differences in the escalation of the level of temperamental traits, as measured with the Formal Characteristic of Behaviour-Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI), will significantly influence eye-hand co-ordination. At the level of general scores, enhanced briskness proved to be the most important trait for eye-hand co-ordination. An analysis of partial scores additionally underlined the importance of sensory sensitivity, endurance and activity. The application of eye-hand co-ordination tasks, which involve energetic and temporal dimensions of performance, helped to disclose the role of biologically-based personality traits in psychomotor performance. The implication of these findings for selecting pilots is discussed.

  10. Learning robotic eye-arm-hand coordination from human demonstration: a coupled dynamical systems approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukic, Luka; Santos-Victor, José; Billard, Aude

    2014-04-01

    We investigate the role of obstacle avoidance in visually guided reaching and grasping movements. We report on a human study in which subjects performed prehensile motion with obstacle avoidance where the position of the obstacle was systematically varied across trials. These experiments suggest that reaching with obstacle avoidance is organized in a sequential manner, where the obstacle acts as an intermediary target. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the notion of workspace travelled by the hand is embedded explicitly in a forward planning scheme, which is actively involved in detecting obstacles on the way when performing reaching. We find that the gaze proactively coordinates the pattern of eye-arm motion during obstacle avoidance. This study provides also a quantitative assessment of the coupling between the eye-arm-hand motion. We show that the coupling follows regular phase dependencies and is unaltered during obstacle avoidance. These observations provide a basis for the design of a computational model. Our controller extends the coupled dynamical systems framework and provides fast and synchronous control of the eyes, the arm and the hand within a single and compact framework, mimicking similar control system found in humans. We validate our model for visuomotor control of a humanoid robot.

  11. Curiosity and Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, John H. Montagu

    2012-01-01

    Most people have an innate curiosity about things and ideas, people and events. When they read stories, especially those concerning crime, love, or adventure, they not only want to find out what is happening or has happened, but they generally make some kind of guess as to what is likely to happen next. Where there is no such curiosity on the part…

  12. Automated cross-modal mapping in robotic eye/hand systems using plastic radial basis function networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Qinggang; Lee, M. H.

    2007-03-01

    Advanced autonomous artificial systems will need incremental learning and adaptive abilities similar to those seen in humans. Knowledge from biology, psychology and neuroscience is now inspiring new approaches for systems that have sensory-motor capabilities and operate in complex environments. Eye/hand coordination is an important cross-modal cognitive function, and is also typical of many of the other coordinations that must be involved in the control and operation of embodied intelligent systems. This paper examines a biologically inspired approach for incrementally constructing compact mapping networks for eye/hand coordination. We present a simplified node-decoupled extended Kalman filter for radial basis function networks, and compare this with other learning algorithms. An experimental system consisting of a robot arm and a pan-and-tilt head with a colour camera is used to produce results and test the algorithms in this paper. We also present three approaches for adapting to structural changes during eye/hand coordination tasks, and the robustness of the algorithms under noise are investigated. The learning and adaptation approaches in this paper have similarities with current ideas about neural growth in the brains of humans and animals during tool-use, and infants during early cognitive development.

  13. Solving the robot-world, hand-eye(s) calibration problem with iterative methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robot-world, hand-eye calibration is the problem of determining the transformation between the robot end effector and a camera, as well as the transformation between the robot base and the world coordinate system. This relationship has been modeled as AX = ZB, where X and Z are unknown homogeneous ...

  14. Teaching Hands-On Linux Host Computer Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shumba, Rose

    2006-01-01

    In the summer of 2003, a project to augment and improve the teaching of information assurance courses was started at IUP. Thus far, ten hands-on exercises have been developed. The exercises described in this article, and presented in the appendix, are based on actions required to secure a Linux host. Publicly available resources were used to…

  15. Robotic Eye-in-hand Calibration in an Uncalibrated Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Van Delden

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The optical flow of high interest points in images of an uncalibrated scene is used to recover the camera orientation of an eye-in-hand robotic manipulator. The system is completely automated, iteratively performing a sequence of rotations and translations until the camera frame is aligned with the manipulator's world frame. The manipulator must be able to translate and rotate its end-effector with respect to its world frame. The system is implemented and being tested on a Stäubli RX60 manipulator using an off-the-shelf Logitech USB camera.

  16. Optical coherence tomography based 1D to 6D eye-in-hand calibration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Antoni, Sven Thomas; Otte, Christoph; Savarimuthu, Thiusius Rajeeth

    2017-01-01

    and based on this introduce pivot+d, a new 1D to 6D eye-in-hand calibration. We provide detailed results on the convergence and accuracy of our method and use translational and rotational ground truth to show that our methods allow for submillimeter positioning accuracy of an OCT beam with a robot.......e., it can be easily integrated with instruments. However, to use OCT for intra-operative guidance its spatial alignment needs to be established. Hence, we consider eye-in-hand calibration between the 1D OCT imaging and a 6D robotic position system. We present a method to perform pivot calibration for OCT....... For pivot calibration we observe a mean translational error of 0.5161 ± 0.4549 mm while pivot+d shows 0.3772 ± 0.2383 mm. Additionally, pivot+d improves rotation detection by about 8° when compared to pivot calibration....

  17. The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidd, Celeste; Hayden, Benjamin Y

    2015-11-04

    Curiosity is a basic element of our cognition, but its biological function, mechanisms, and neural underpinning remain poorly understood. It is nonetheless a motivator for learning, influential in decision-making, and crucial for healthy development. One factor limiting our understanding of it is the lack of a widely agreed upon delineation of what is and is not curiosity. Another factor is the dearth of standardized laboratory tasks that manipulate curiosity in the lab. Despite these barriers, recent years have seen a major growth of interest in both the neuroscience and psychology of curiosity. In this Perspective, we advocate for the importance of the field, provide a selective overview of its current state, and describe tasks that are used to study curiosity and information-seeking. We propose that, rather than worry about defining curiosity, it is more helpful to consider the motivations for information-seeking behavior and to study it in its ethological context. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Did Curiosity Kill the Cat? Relationship Between Trait Curiosity, Creative Self-Efficacy and Creative Personal Identity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maciej Karwowski

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of the study presented in this article was to examine the relationship between trait curiosity and two self-concept constructs which are gaining popularity in the creativity literature – creative self-efficacy (CSE and creative personal identity (CPI. Although the role of curiosity in creativity seems well established, in fact there is little empirical evidence of the relationship between curiosity treated as a trait and both CSE and CPI. In a study conducted on a sample of middle and high school Polish students (N = 284; 55% female, aged 13–18, M = 14.74, SD = 1.14, curiosity was measured by the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI-II: Kashdan, Gallagher, Silvia, Winterstein, Breen, Terhar, & Steger, 2009 and CSE and CPI by the Short Scale of Creative Self (SSCS; Karwowski, Lebuda, & Wiśniewska, in press. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the existence of substantial correlations between measured constructs. Latent factor of CSE correlated strongly with a tendency to seek out new experiences (stretching, r = .72 and an acceptance of unpredictability (embracing, r = .67, while CPI correlated substantially with stretching (r = .62 and slightly less with embracing (r = .48 – all correlations were highly reliable (p < .001. Hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis showed the existence of a strong relationship between the higher-order factor of curiosity (composed of stretching and embracing and creative self (composed of CSE and CPI: r = .75, which may indicate common basis of creativity and curiosity. The consequences of curiosity for the development of CSE and CPI are discussed.

  19. A Concept Map of Curiosity Literature

    OpenAIRE

    Bai, Zhen

    2018-01-01

    Curiosity is a commonly studied topic in psychology. I produced the following mind map to categorize and understand key contributions to curiosity literature, to inform the design of technology-enhanced learning technologies to evoke curiosity that we are presently undertaking. Just as the mind map categorizes the literature, the literature de?fines the shape and nature of the mind map presented here-in.

  20. Value of curiosity-oriented research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbons, M; Greer, J R; Jevons, F R; Langrish, J; Watkins, D S

    1970-03-14

    Is the most profit to be had from research inspired by curiosity or by foresight of practical applications? A recent suggestion that the answer could be found by evaluating curiosity-oriented projects has proved hard to follow up.

  1. Eye and hand movements during reconstruction of spatial memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Melanie R; Allen, Richard J; Gonzalez, Claudia

    2012-01-01

    Recent behavioural and biological evidence indicates common mechanisms serving working memory and attention (e.g., Awh et al, 2006 Neuroscience 139 201-208). This study explored the role of spatial attention and visual search in an adapted Corsi spatial memory task. Eye movements and touch responses were recorded from participants who recalled locations (signalled by colour or shape change) from an array presented either simultaneously or sequentially. The time delay between target presentation and recall (0, 5, or 10 s) and the number of locations to be remembered (2-5) were also manipulated. Analysis of the response phase revealed subjects were less accurate (touch data) and fixated longer (eye data) when responding to sequentially presented targets suggesting higher cognitive effort. Fixation duration on target at recall was also influenced by whether spatial location was initially signalled by colour or shape change. Finally, we found that the sequence tasks encouraged longer fixations on the signalled targets than simultaneous viewing during encoding, but no difference was observed during recall. We conclude that the attentional manipulations (colour/shape) mainly affected the eye movement parameters, whereas the memory manipulation (sequential versus simultaneous, number of items) mainly affected the performance of the hand during recall, and thus the latter is more important for ascertaining if an item is remembered or forgotten. In summary, the nature of the stimuli that is used and how it is presented play key roles in determining subject performance and behaviour during spatial memory tasks.

  2. Uptake Of Eye Care Services In University Of Calabar Teaching ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was carried out to determine the importance of alternative sources of eye care services in delay in seeking ophthalmic treatment in University of Calabar teaching hospital (UCTH).Atotal of 580 patients who visited the hospital within 3 months of the study period October 2003 to December 2003, were examined ...

  3. Male bisexual arousal: a matter of curiosity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieger, Gerulf; Rosenthal, Allen M; Cash, Brian M; Linsenmeier, Joan A W; Bailey, J Michael; Savin-Williams, Ritch C

    2013-12-01

    Conflicting evidence exists regarding whether bisexual-identified men are sexually aroused to both men and women. We hypothesized that a distinct characteristic, level of curiosity about sexually diverse acts, distinguishes bisexual-identified men with and without bisexual arousal. Study 1 assessed men's (n=277) sexual arousal via pupil dilation to male and female sexual stimuli. Bisexual men were, on average, higher in their sexual curiosity than other men. Despite this general difference, only bisexual-identified men with elevated sexual curiosity showed bisexual arousal. Those lower in curiosity had responses resembling those of homosexual men. Study 2 assessed men's (n=72) sexual arousal via genital responses and replicated findings of Study 1. Study 3 provided information on the validity on our measure of sexual curiosity by relating it to general curiosity and sexual sensation seeking (n=83). Based on their sexual arousal and personality, at least two groups of men identify as bisexual. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Virtual Reality Glasses and "Eye-Hands Blind Technique" for Microsurgical Training in Neurosurgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choque-Velasquez, Joham; Colasanti, Roberto; Collan, Juhani; Kinnunen, Riina; Rezai Jahromi, Behnam; Hernesniemi, Juha

    2018-04-01

    Microsurgical skills and eye-hand coordination need continuous training to be developed and refined. However, well-equipped microsurgical laboratories are not so widespread as their setup is expensive. Herein, we present a novel microsurgical training system that requires a high-resolution personal computer screen, smartphones, and virtual reality glasses. A smartphone placed on a holder at a height of about 15-20 cm from the surgical target field is used as the webcam of the computer. A specific software is used to duplicate the video camera image. The video may be transferred from the computer to another smartphone, which may be connected to virtual reality glasses. Using the previously described training model, we progressively performed more and more complex microsurgical exercises. It did not take long to set up our system, thus saving time for the training sessions. Our proposed training model may represent an affordable and efficient system to improve eye-hand coordination and dexterity in using not only the operating microscope but also endoscopes and exoscopes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Tracing Curiosity with a Value Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soern F. Menning

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Several have challenged the idea that the act of educating is a neutral endeavour. Following this line of thought, this article intends to examine a common concept often taken for granted: curiosity. The aim of this article is to explore the notion of curiosity in an early-childhood-education-and-care (ECEC context in Norway in order to provide new perspectives on how value aspects of curiosity are communicated in official documents. Four ECEC documents from different organisational levels will be analysed. Informed by qualitative content analysis with a concept-driven strategy, this document analysis seeks to explore connections between the notion of curiosity and prominent value fields in ECEC, such as competence, democracy and care. Analysis of the documents suggests that curiosity is a value-loaded notion here, one which often has a competence-related value and which is frequently understood as a tool for gaining knowledge, especially in natural science and mathematics. Other value aspects, such as nurturing democracy, are represented to a minor degree. At the same time, the documents do not include possible ethical aspects of curiosity, such as connections to interpersonal caring, nor do they mention any existential or intrinsic value. In the final discussion, the article therefore explores these possible alternatives.

  6. DISABILITIES OF HANDS, FEET AND EYES IN NEWLY-DIAGNOSED LEPROSY PATIENTS IN EASTERN NEPAL

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    SCHIPPER, A; LUBBERS, WJ; HOGEWEG, M; DESOLDENHOFF, R

    The objective of the study was to determine the magnitude of hand/feet/eye disabilities in newly diagnosed leprosy patients by examining all newly diagnosed leprosy patients who presented at the Eastern Leprosy Control Project (supported by The Netherlands Leprosy Relief Association), made up of a

  7. Research Says/Curiosity Is Fleeting, but Teachable

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Bryan

    2014-01-01

    Psychologists and researchers have long puzzled over questions regarding "curiosity" and have more or less settled on a two-pronged definition as: (1) trait curiosity (an intrinsic drive for exploration and learning); and (2) state curiosity (an interest sparked by external conditions). Many studies have shown that human beings are…

  8. Hand-assisted Approach as a Model to Teach Complex Laparoscopic Hepatectomies: Preliminary Results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makdissi, Fabio F; Jeismann, Vagner B; Kruger, Jaime A P; Coelho, Fabricio F; Ribeiro-Junior, Ulysses; Cecconello, Ivan; Herman, Paulo

    2017-08-01

    Currently, there are limited and scarce models to teach complex liver resections by laparoscopy. The aim of this study is to present a hand-assisted technique to teach complex laparoscopic hepatectomies for fellows in liver surgery. Laparoscopic hand-assisted approach for resections of liver lesions located in posterosuperior segments (7, 6/7, 7/8, 8) was performed by the trainees with guidance and intermittent intervention of a senior surgeon. Data as: (1) percentage of time that the senior surgeon takes the surgery as main surgeon, (2) need for the senior surgeon to finish the procedure, (3) necessity of conversion, (4) bleeding with hemodynamic instability, (5) need for transfusion, (6) oncological surgical margins, were evaluated. In total, 12 cases of complex laparoscopic liver resections were performed by the trainee. All cases included deep lesions situated on liver segments 7 or 8. The senior surgeon intervention occurred in a mean of 20% of the total surgical time (range, 0% to 50%). A senior intervention >20% was necessary in 2 cases. There was no need for conversion or reoperation. Neither major bleeding nor complications resulted from the teaching program. All surgical margins were clear. This preliminary report shows that hand-assistance is a safe way to teach complex liver resections without compromising patient safety or oncological results. More cases are still necessary to draw definitive conclusions about this teaching method.

  9. Curiosity analyzes Martian soil samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy; Balcerak, Ernie

    2012-12-01

    NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has conducted its first analysis of Martian soil samples using multiple instruments, the agency announced at a 3 December news briefing at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco. "These results are an unprecedented look at the chemical diversity in the area," said NASA's Michael Meyer, program scientist for Curiosity.

  10. Sequence for the Training of Eye-Hand Coordination Needed for the Organization of Handwriting Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trester, Mary Fran

    1971-01-01

    Suggested is a sequence of 11 class activities, progressing from gross to fine motor skills, to assist the development of skills required to perform handwriting tasks successfully, for use particularly with children who lack fine motor control and eye-hand coordination. (KW)

  11. Curiosity and the end of discrimination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda

    2017-06-01

    Systemic discrimination on the basis of gender and race, among other ascribed identities, harms minoritized people. This is a structural problem in society, and astronomy is not immune to it. Although we talk about the challenges faced by 'women and minorities', it is all too rare to acknowledge intersecting realities: some of us are minority women and our experiences are different from both white women and minority men, with sexism and racism compounding in nonlinear ways. Confronting the challenges associated with invoking an intersectional analysis can be daunting if the mainstream community continues to ignore helpful work from the social sciences, which can teach us new ways of understanding how we produce scientific knowledge. Rather than failing to question how science is done, we should let curiosity be our guide.

  12. Eye and hand motor interactions with the Symbol Digit Modalities Test in early multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nygaard, Gro O; de Rodez Benavent, Sigrid A; Harbo, Hanne F; Laeng, Bruno; Sowa, Piotr; Damangir, Soheil; Bernhard Nilsen, Kristian; Etholm, Lars; Tønnesen, Siren; Kerty, Emilia; Drolsum, Liv; Inge Landrø, Nils; Celius, Elisabeth G

    2015-11-01

    Eye and hand motor dysfunction may be present early in the disease course of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and can affect the results on visual and written cognitive tests. We aimed to test for differences in saccadic initiation time (SI time) between RRMS patients and healthy controls, and whether SI time and hand motor speed interacted with the written version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (wSDMT). Patients with RRMS (N = 44, age 35.1 ± 7.3 years), time since diagnosis < 3 years and matched controls (N = 41, age 33.2 ± 6.8 years) were examined with ophthalmological, neurological and neuropsychological tests, as well as structural MRI (white matter lesion load (WMLL) and brainstem lesions), visual evoked potentials (VEP) and eye-tracker examinations of saccades. SI time was longer in RRMS than controls (p < 0.05). SI time was not related to the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), WMLL or to the presence of brainstem lesions. 9 hole peg test (9HP) correlated significantly with WMLL (r = 0.58, p < 0.01). Both SI time and 9HP correlated negatively with the results of wSDMT (r = -0.32, p < 0.05, r = -0.47, p < 0.01), but none correlated with the results of PASAT. RRMS patients have an increased SI time compared to controls. Cognitive tests results, exemplified by the wSDMT, may be confounded by eye and hand motor function. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Curiosity Is Not Good--But It's Not Bad, Either

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, David

    2012-01-01

    Curiosity is vital quality of the creative work. However, in the classroom, educators seem to view curiosity as alternately amoral, virtuous, or dangerous. Education's stance towards curiosity is, in a word, curious. Conversely, the author says, curiosity is inherently amoral--neither good nor bad--and the subject is ripe for an exploration of the…

  14. Children's Question Asking and Curiosity: A Training Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jirout, Jamie; Klahr, David

    2011-01-01

    A primary instructional objective of most early science programs is to foster children's scientific curiosity and question-asking skills (Jirout & Klahr, 2011). However, little is known about the relationship between curiosity, question-asking behavior, and general inquiry skills. While curiosity and question asking are invariably mentioned in…

  15. The effects of curiosity-evoking events on activity enjoyment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isikman, Elif; MacInnis, Deborah J; Ülkümen, Gülden; Cavanaugh, Lisa A

    2016-09-01

    Whereas prior literature has studied the positive effects of curiosity-evoking events that are integral to focal activities, we explore whether and how a curiosity-evoking event that is incidental to a focal activity induces negative outcomes for enjoyment. Four experiments and 1 field study demonstrate that curiosity about an event that is incidental to an activity in which individuals are engaged, significantly affects enjoyment of a concurrent activity. The reason why is that curiosity diverts attention away from the concurrent activity and focuses attention on the curiosity-evoking event. Thus, curiosity regarding an incidental event decreases enjoyment of a positive focal activity but increases enjoyment of a negative focal activity. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

  16. Neural mechanisms underlying the induction and relief of perceptual curiosity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marieke eJepma

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Curiosity is one of the most basic biological drives in both animals and humans, and has been identified as a key motive for learning and discovery. Despite the importance of curiosity and related behaviors, the topic has been largely neglected in human neuroscience; hence little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying curiosity. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to investigate what happens in our brain during the induction and subsequent relief of perceptual curiosity. Our core findings were that (i the induction of perceptual curiosity, through the presentation of ambiguous visual input, activated the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, brain regions sensitive to conflict and arousal; (ii the relief of perceptual curiosity, through visual disambiguation, activated regions of the striatum that have been related to reward processing; and (iii the relief of perceptual curiosity was associated with hippocampal activation and enhanced incidental memory. These findings provide the first demonstration of the neural basis of human perceptual curiosity. Our results provide neurobiological support for a classic psychological theory of curiosity, which holds that curiosity is an aversive condition of increased arousal whose termination is rewarding and facilitates memory.

  17. Hand-eye calibration for rigid laparoscopes using an invariant point.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Stephen; Stoyanov, Danail; Schneider, Crispin; Gurusamy, Kurinchi; Ourselin, Sébastien; Davidson, Brian; Hawkes, David; Clarkson, Matthew J

    2016-06-01

    Laparoscopic liver resection has significant advantages over open surgery due to less patient trauma and faster recovery times, yet it can be difficult due to the restricted field of view and lack of haptic feedback. Image guidance provides a potential solution but one current challenge is in accurate "hand-eye" calibration, which determines the position and orientation of the laparoscope camera relative to the tracking markers. In this paper, we propose a simple and clinically feasible calibration method based on a single invariant point. The method requires no additional hardware, can be constructed by theatre staff during surgical setup, requires minimal image processing and can be visualised in real time. Real-time visualisation allows the surgical team to assess the calibration accuracy before use in surgery. In addition, in the laboratory, we have developed a laparoscope with an electromagnetic tracking sensor attached to the camera end and an optical tracking marker attached to the distal end. This enables a comparison of tracking performance. We have evaluated our method in the laboratory and compared it to two widely used methods, "Tsai's method" and "direct" calibration. The new method is of comparable accuracy to existing methods, and we show RMS projected error due to calibration of 1.95 mm for optical tracking and 0.85 mm for EM tracking, versus 4.13 and 1.00 mm respectively, using existing methods. The new method has also been shown to be workable under sterile conditions in the operating room. We have proposed a new method of hand-eye calibration, based on a single invariant point. Initial experience has shown that the method provides visual feedback, satisfactory accuracy and can be performed during surgery. We also show that an EM sensor placed near the camera would provide significantly improved image overlay accuracy.

  18. Effects of conventional neurological treatment and a virtual reality training program on eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Ji-Won; Song, Gui-Bin; Hwangbo, Gak

    2015-07-01

    [Purpose] The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of conventional neurological treatment and a virtual reality training program on eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy. [Subjects] Sixteen children (9 males, 7 females) with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy were recruited and randomly assigned to the conventional neurological physical therapy group (CG) and virtual reality training group (VRG). [Methods] Eight children in the control group performed 45 minutes of therapeutic exercise twice a week for eight weeks. In the experimental group, the other eight children performed 30 minutes of therapeutic exercise and 15 minutes of a training program using virtual reality twice a week during the experimental period. [Results] After eight weeks of the training program, there were significant differences in eye-hand coordination and visual motor speed in the comparison of the virtual reality training group with the conventional neurological physical therapy group. [Conclusion] We conclude that a well-designed training program using virtual reality can improve eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy.

  19. From the Voices of Kindergarten Teachers: Factors That Impact Decisions about When to Engage the Natural Curiosities of Their Students in Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Frances A.

    Students enter kindergarten as natural-born scientists, curious about the world around them. They enter middle school disliking science. Although implementing science in kindergarten has the potential to improve learning in other subjects in addition to science, it is not taught much in kindergarten. There are many reasons for this according to the literature. The purpose of the study is to gain insight into teachers' thinking as they decide when and how to engage their students in science, to better understand why student enjoyment of science fades in early grades; to contribute teachers' voices to the existing literature on teaching science in the early grades; and to investigate how teachers' science teaching methods align with current research regarding how students learn best. The key research question is "What are the factors that impact teachers' decisions about when to engage the natural curiosities of their students?" Broken down, the supporting research questions include: 1. What factors impact teacher decisions about when to teach science? 2. Under what conditions do teachers engage students' natural curiosities in science? 3. How do teachers describe engagement in their classrooms? This was a participatory action research study that used autoethnography, case studies, and grounded theory methods. Five co-researchers took part in the process. Purposeful sampling was used to select a range of kindergarten teachers in Tennessee and Alabama with different perspectives on teaching science--some from county systems and some from city systems; some using Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) kits and some not using kits. Co-researchers were selected during initial meetings, interviewed, collected journal entry data, and interviewed again at the culmination of the study. Interviews were transcribed and coded. Analysis included individual cases, each co-researcher, as well as across-case analysis. Results indicated that co-researchers did not

  20. Development of an evaluation function for eye-hand coordination robotic therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pernalete, N; Tang, F; Chang, S M; Cheng, F Y; Vetter, P; Stegemann, M; Grantner, J

    2011-01-01

    This paper is the continuation of a work presented at ICORR 07, in which we discussed the possibility of improving eye-hand coordination in children diagnosed with this problem, using a robotic mapping from a haptic user interface to a virtual environment. Our goal is to develop, implement and refine a system that will assess and improve the eye-hand coordination and grip strength in children diagnosed with poor graphomotor skills. A detailed analysis of patters (e.g., labyrinths, letters and angles) was conducted in order to select three very distinguishable levels of difficulty that could be included in the system, and which would yield the greatest benefit in terms of assessment of coordination and strength issues as well as in training. Support algorithms (position, force, velocity, inertia and viscosity) were also developed and incorporated into the tasks in order to introduce general computer assistance to the mapping of the user's movements to the computer screen without overriding the user's commands to the robotic device. In order to evaluate performance (given by %accuracy and time) of the executed tasks, a sophisticated evaluation function was designed based on image analysis and edge detection algorithms. This paper presents the development of the haptic tasks, the various assistance algorithms, the description of the evaluation function and the results of a study implemented at the Motor Development Clinic at Cal Poly Pomona. The results (Accuracy and Time) of this function are currently being used as inputs to an Intelligent Decision Support System (described in), which in turn, suggests the next task to be executed by the subject based on his/her performance. © 2011 IEEE

  1. Design of an eye-in-hand sensing and servo control framework for harvesting robotics in dense vegetation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barth, Ruud; Hemming, Jochen; Henten, van E.J.

    2016-01-01

    A modular software framework design that allows flexible implementation of eye-in-hand sensing and motion control for agricultural robotics in dense vegetation is reported. Harvesting robots in cultivars with dense vegetation require multiple viewpoints and on-line trajectory adjustments in order

  2. Pilot Study: The Role of the Hemispheric Lateralization in Mental Disorders by Use of the Limb (Eye, Hand, Foot) Dominance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodarzi, Naser; Dabbaghi, Parviz; Valipour, Habib; Vafadari, Behnam

    2015-04-01

    Based on the previous studies, we know that the hemispheric lateralization defects, increase the probability of psychological disorders. We also know that dominant limb is controlled by dominant hemisphere and limb preference is used as an indicator for hemisphere dominance. In this study we attempted to explore the hemispheric dominance by the use of three limbs (hand, foot and eye). We performed this survey on two samples, psychiatric patients compared with normal population. For this purpose, knowing that the organ dominance is stabilized in adolescence, and age has no effect on the people above 15, we used 48 high school girls and 65 boys as the final samples of normal population. The patient group included 57 male and 26 female who were chronic psychiatric patients. The result shows that left-eye dominance is more in patients than the normal group (P=0.000) but the handedness and footedness differences are not significance. In psychotic, bipolar and depressive disorders, eye dominance had significant difference (P=0.018). But this is not true about hand and foot dominance. Our findings proved that generally in psychiatric patients, left-eye dominance is more common, left-eye dominance is also more in psychotic and depressive disorders. It is less common in bipolar disorders.

  3. The Pandora Effect: The Power and Peril of Curiosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsee, Christopher K; Ruan, Bowen

    2016-05-01

    Curiosity-the desire for information-underlies many human activities, from reading celebrity gossip to developing nuclear science. Curiosity is well recognized as a human blessing. Is it also a human curse? Tales about such things as Pandora's box suggest that it is, but scientific evidence is lacking. In four controlled experiments, we demonstrated that curiosity could lead humans to expose themselves to aversive stimuli (even electric shocks) for no apparent benefits. The research suggests that humans possess an inherent desire, independent of consequentialist considerations, to resolve uncertainty; when facing something uncertain and feeling curious, they will act to resolve the uncertainty even if they expect negative consequences. This research reveals the potential perverse side of curiosity, and is particularly relevant to the current epoch, the epoch of information, and to the scientific community, a community with high curiosity. © The Author(s) 2016.

  4. Describing medical student curiosity across a four year curriculum: An exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sternszus, Robert; Saroyan, Alenoush; Steinert, Yvonne

    2017-04-01

    Intellectual curiosity can be defined as a desire for knowledge that leads to exploratory behavior and consists of an inherent and stable trait (i.e. trait curiosity) and a variable context-dependent state (i.e. state curiosity). Although intellectual curiosity has been considered an important aspect of medical education and practice, its relationship to medical education has not been empirically investigated. The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe medical students' intellectual curiosity across a four-year undergraduate program. We employed a cross-sectional design in which medical students, across a four-year undergraduate program at McGill University, completed the Melbourne Curiosity Inventory as a measure of their state and trait intellectual curiosity. A Mixed Models ANOVA was used to compare students across year of training. Four hundred and two out of 751 students completed the inventory (53.5%). Trait curiosity was significantly higher than state curiosity (M = 64.5, SD = 8.5 versus M = 58.5, SD = 11.6) overall, and within each year of training. This study is the first to describe state and trait intellectual curiosity in undergraduate medical education. Findings suggest that medical students' state curiosity may not be optimally supported and highlight avenues for further research.

  5. The Role of the Curiosity in Interviews with Drug Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jozsef Racz

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available In studies with questionnaires the main reason reported for trying drugs is the curiosity. However, curiosity does not have an unambiguous meaning. The word itself (in English as well as in Hungarian has more, sometimes contradictory meanings. In my own research I examined the usage of the term curiosity among injecting and non-injecting drug users in qualitative interviews, conducted in Hungary. I encountered different functions of curiosity: in accounts it appeared as an excuse or, less frequently, as justification of drug use behaviour. Contrary to dominant contemporary drug policy literature, drug users themselves rarely used curiosity as the cause of their drug use in the context of its risk or dangers. The results of this research on curiosity demonstrate that the normalisation of drug use, which is already in progress in Western countries, has not yet taken place in Hungary. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0802166

  6. Integration of ICT Methods for Teaching Science and Astronomy to Students and Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Sumit; Chary, Naveen; Raghavender, G.; Aslam, Syed

    All children start out as scientist, full of curiosity and questions about the world, but schools eventually destroy their curiosity. In an effective teaching and learning process, the most challenging task is to motivate the students. As the science subjects are more abstract and complex, the job of teachers become even more daunting. We have devised an innovative idea of integrating ICT methods for teaching space science to students and teachers. In a third world country like India, practical demonstrations are given less importance and much emphasis is on theoretical aspects. Even the teachers are not trained or aware of the basic concepts. With the intention of providing the students and as well as the teachers more practical, real-time situations, we have incorporated innovative techniques like video presentation, animations, experimental models, do-yourself-kits etc. In addition to these we provide hands on experience on some scientific instruments like telescope, Laser. ICT has the potential to teach complex science topics to students and teachers in a safe environment and cost effective manner. The students are provided with a sense of adventure, wherein now they can manipulate parameters, contexts and environment and can try different scenarios and in the process they not only learn science but also the content and also the reasoning behind the content. The response we have obtained is very encouraging and students as well as teachers have acknowledged that they have learnt new things, which up to now they were ignorant of.

  7. Curiosity Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelsen, Jane; DeLorenzo, Chip

    2010-01-01

    Have you ever found yourself lecturing a child, with the best of intentions, in an attempt to help him or her learn a lesson or process a situation in a manner that you feel will be productive? Curiosity questions, which the authors also call What and How questions, help children process an experience, event, or natural consequence so that they…

  8. Eye-in-Hand Manipulation for Remote Handling: Experimental Setup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Longchuan; Suominen, Olli; Aref, Mohammad M.; Mattila, Jouni; Ruiz, Emilio; Esque, Salvador

    2018-03-01

    A prototype for eye-in-hand manipulation in the context of remote handling in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)1 is presented in this paper. The setup consists of an industrial robot manipulator with a modified open control architecture and equipped with a pair of stereoscopic cameras, a force/torque sensor, and pneumatic tools. It is controlled through a haptic device in a mock-up environment. The industrial robot controller has been replaced by a single industrial PC running Xenomai that has a real-time connection to both the robot controller and another Linux PC running as the controller for the haptic device. The new remote handling control environment enables further development of advanced control schemes for autonomous and semi-autonomous manipulation tasks. This setup benefits from a stereovision system for accurate tracking of the target objects with irregular shapes. The overall environmental setup successfully demonstrates the required robustness and precision that remote handling tasks need.

  9. Teaching genetics using hands-on models, problem solving, and inquiry-based methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoppe, Stephanie Ann

    Teaching genetics can be challenging because of the difficulty of the content and misconceptions students might hold. This thesis focused on using hands-on model activities, problem solving, and inquiry-based teaching/learning methods in order to increase student understanding in an introductory biology class in the area of genetics. Various activities using these three methods were implemented into the classes to address any misconceptions and increase student learning of the difficult concepts. The activities that were implemented were shown to be successful based on pre-post assessment score comparison. The students were assessed on the subjects of inheritance patterns, meiosis, and protein synthesis and demonstrated growth in all of the areas. It was found that hands-on models, problem solving, and inquiry-based activities were more successful in learning concepts in genetics and the students were more engaged than tradition styles of lecture.

  10. Curiositas and Studiositas: Investigating Student Curiosity and the Design Studio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Korydon

    2011-01-01

    Curiosity is often considered the foundation of learning. There is, however, little understanding of how (or if) pedagogy in higher education affects student curiosity, especially in the studio setting of architecture, interior design and landscape architecture. This article provides a brief cultural history of curiosity and its role in the design…

  11. A novel educational outreach approach to teach Hands-Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation to the public.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Mary P; Gent, Lana M; Sweet, Merrilee; Potts, Jerry; Ahtone, Jeral; Idris, Ahamed H

    2017-07-01

    The American Heart Association set goals in 2010 to train 20 million people annually in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and to double bystander response by 2020. These ambitious goals are difficult to achieve without new approaches. The main objective is to evaluate a new approach to cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction using a self-instructional kiosk to teach Hands-Only CPR to people at a busy international airport. This is a prospective, observational study evaluating a new approach to teach Hands-Only CPR to the public from July 2013 to February 2016. The American Heart Association developed a Hands-Only CPR Kiosk for this project. We assessed the number of participants who viewed the instructional video and practiced chest compressions as well as the quality metrics of the chest compressions. In a 32-month period, there were 23478 visits to the Hands-Only CPR Kiosk and 9006 test sessions; of those practice sessions, 26.2% achieved correct chest compression rate, 60.2% achieved correct chest compression depth, and 63.5% had the correct hand position. There is noticeable public interest in learning Hands-Only CPR by using an airport kiosk and an airport is an opportune place to engage a layperson in learning Hands-Only CPR. The average quality of Hands-Only CPR by the public needs improvement and adding kiosks to other locations in the airport could reach more people and could be replicated in other major airports in the United States. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. The Curiosity Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Kimberly Ennico

    2017-01-01

    This conference aims to improve how we learn through integrative project and discovery-based methods. My talk highlights areas in my experience as a scientist, and most recently working for our national space agency, NASA, where we work in teams with a "discovery-based" mindset. When you demonstrate broad curiosity, you become open to different viewpoints and ways to approach and manage situations. Sometimes working only from "what you have been trained to do" or "what you know" is not enough, especially when the rules may be changing. Increasing our openness in our learning, and sharing what we know, can lead to a more diverse and innovative community, solving problems in new ways, overcoming resistance to new ideas, and hopefully creating a dynamic and faring-forward society. Let us not kill curiosity, at any age, in any situation. Let us remind ourselves, at any time, in any circumstance, to continue to learn, to mentor, to stimulate, to engage and reconnect with that "open sense of possibility."

  13. FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING WITH AUGMENTED REALITY APPLICATION

    OpenAIRE

    GÜNDOĞMUŞ, Niyazi; ORHAN, Gökhan; ŞAHIN, İsmail

    2016-01-01

    One of the main aims in Foreign Language Teaching is to actualize naturaland entertaining educational environment. Foreign Language Teaching Activitiesshould stress on motivational goals furthering interests and motivation oflearners and minimizing their anxiety in language teaching activities. So as toadopt that, these activities should be designed to incite students’ interests,curiosity and include some diverse alternatives from school textbooks tohandheld technological devices and other el...

  14. A novel integrative method for analyzing eye and hand behaviour during reaching and grasping in an MRI environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, Jane M; Abhari, Kamyar; Prime, Steven L; Meek, Benjamin P; Desanghere, Loni; Baugh, Lee A; Marotta, Jonathan J

    2011-06-01

    The development of noninvasive neuroimaging techniques, such as fMRI, has rapidly advanced our understanding of the neural systems underlying the integration of visual and motor information. However, the fMRI experimental design is restricted by several environmental elements, such as the presence of the magnetic field and the restricted view of the participant, making it difficult to monitor and measure behaviour. The present article describes a novel, specialized software package developed in our laboratory called Biometric Integration Recording and Analysis (BIRA). BIRA integrates video with kinematic data derived from the hand and eye, acquired using MRI-compatible equipment. The present article demonstrates the acquisition and analysis of eye and hand data using BIRA in a mock (0 Tesla) scanner. A method for collecting and integrating gaze and kinematic data in fMRI studies on visuomotor behaviour has several advantages: Specifically, it will allow for more sophisticated, behaviourally driven analyses and eliminate potential confounds of gaze or kinematic data.

  15. Sparking Curiosity – Librarians’ Role in Encouraging Exploration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne-Marie Deitering

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In Brief Students often struggle to approach research in an open-minded, exploratory way and instead rely on safe topics and strategies. Traditional research assignments often emphasize and reward information-seeking behaviors that are highly prescribed and grounded in disciplinary practices new college students don’t yet have the skills to navigate. Librarians understand that the barriers to research are multidimensional and usually involve affective, cognitive, and technical concerns. In this article we discuss how a deeper understanding of curiosity can inspire instructional strategies and classroom-based activities that provide learners with a new view of the research process. We share strategies we have implemented at Oregon State University, and we propose that working with teaching faculty and instructors to advocate for different approaches to helping students solve information problems is a crucial role for librarians to embrace.

  16. Youth curiosity about cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars: prevalence and associations with advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portnoy, David B; Wu, Charles C; Tworek, Cindy; Chen, Jiping; Borek, Nicolette

    2014-08-01

    Curiosity about cigarettes is a reliable predictor of susceptibility to smoking and established use among youth. Related research has been limited to cigarettes, and lacks national-level estimates. Factors associated with curiosity about tobacco products, such as advertising, have been postulated but rarely tested. To describe the prevalence of curiosity about cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars among youth and explore the association between curiosity and self-reported tobacco advertising exposure. Data from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey, a nationally representative survey of 24,658 students, were used. In 2013, estimates weighted to the national youth school population were calculated for curiosity about cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars among never users of any tobacco product. Associations between tobacco advertising and curiosity were explored using multivariable regressions. Curiosity about cigarettes (28.8%); cigars (19.5%); and smokeless tobacco (9.7%) was found, and many youth were curious about more than one product. Exposure to point-of-sale advertising (e.g., OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.19, 1.54 for cigarette curiosity); tobacco company communications (e.g., OR=1.70, 95% CI=1.38, 2.09 for cigarette curiosity); and tobacco products, as well as viewing tobacco use in TV/movies (e.g., OR=1.37, 95% CI=1.20, 1.58 for cigarette curiosity) were associated with curiosity about each examined tobacco product. Despite decreasing use of tobacco products, youth remain curious about them. Curiosity is associated with various forms of tobacco advertising. These findings suggest the importance of measuring curiosity as an early warning signal for potential future tobacco use and evaluating continued efforts to limit exposure to tobacco marketing among youth. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  17. A proposal of decontamination robot using 3D hand-eye-dual-cameras solid recognition and accuracy validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minami, Mamoru; Nishimura, Kenta; Sunami, Yusuke; Yanou, Akira; Yu, Cui; Yamashita, Manabu; Ishiyama, Shintaro

    2015-01-01

    New robotic system that uses three dimensional measurement with solid object recognition —3D-MOS (Three Dimensional Move on Sensing)— based on visual servoing technology was designed and the on-board hand-eye-dual-cameras robot system has been developed to reduce risks of radiation exposure during decontamination processes by filter press machine that solidifies and reduces the volume of irradiation contaminated soil. The feature of 3D-MoS includes; (1) the both hand-eye-dual-cameras take the images of target object near the intersection of both lenses' centerlines, (2) the observation at intersection enables both cameras can see target object almost at the center of both images, (3) then it brings benefits as reducing the effect of lens aberration and improving the detection accuracy of three dimensional position. In this study, accuracy validation test of interdigitation of the robot's hand into filter cloth rod of the filter press —the task is crucial for the robot to remove the contaminated cloth from the filter press machine automatically and for preventing workers from exposing to radiation—, was performed. Then the following results were derived; (1) the 3D-MoS controlled robot could recognize the rod at arbitrary position within designated space, and all of insertion test were carried out successfully and, (2) test results also demonstrated that the proposed control guarantees that interdigitation clearance between the rod and robot hand can be kept within 1.875[mm] with standard deviation being 0.6[mm] or less. (author)

  18. A Potential Way of Enquiry into Human Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Shesen; Zhang, Ganzhou; Zhai, Run

    2010-01-01

    A powerful search for "curiosity" or its related topics at the online American Psychological Association PsycNET database will produce comparatively disappointing meagreness of resource. This reflects our scanty knowledge in this field though curiosity is widely recognised as one of the most important factors that contribute to motivation and…

  19. States of curiosity modulate hippocampus-dependent learning via the dopaminergic circuit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruber, Matthias J.; Gelman, Bernard D.; Ranganath, Charan

    2014-01-01

    Summary People find it easier to learn about topics that interest them, but little is known about the mechanisms by which intrinsic motivational states affect learning. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how curiosity (intrinsic motivation to learn) influences memory. In both immediate and one-day delayed memory tests, participants showed improved memory for information that they were curious about, and also for incidental material learned during states of high curiosity. FMRI results revealed that activity in the midbrain and the nucleus accumbens was enhanced during states of high curiosity. Importantly, individual variability in curiosity-driven memory benefits for incidental material was supported by anticipatory activity in the midbrain and hippocampus and by functional connectivity between these regions. These findings suggest a link between the mechanisms supporting extrinsic reward motivation and intrinsic curiosity and highlight the importance of stimulating curiosity in order to create more effective learning experiences. PMID:25284006

  20. States of curiosity modulate hippocampus-dependent learning via the dopaminergic circuit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruber, Matthias J; Gelman, Bernard D; Ranganath, Charan

    2014-10-22

    People find it easier to learn about topics that interest them, but little is known about the mechanisms by which intrinsic motivational states affect learning. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how curiosity (intrinsic motivation to learn) influences memory. In both immediate and one-day-delayed memory tests, participants showed improved memory for information that they were curious about and for incidental material learned during states of high curiosity. Functional magnetic resonance imaging results revealed that activity in the midbrain and the nucleus accumbens was enhanced during states of high curiosity. Importantly, individual variability in curiosity-driven memory benefits for incidental material was supported by anticipatory activity in the midbrain and hippocampus and by functional connectivity between these regions. These findings suggest a link between the mechanisms supporting extrinsic reward motivation and intrinsic curiosity and highlight the importance of stimulating curiosity to create more effective learning experiences. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Teaching Literature and Literacy in the Eye of Reform: A Dilemma in Three Acts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florio-Ruane, Susan; Berne, Jennifer; Raphael, Taffy E.

    2001-01-01

    Tells a story of crossing borders in support of dilemma management in the teaching of literature. Discusses working together to manage dilemmas in literacy and teacher education. Sketches the genealogy of a network of teachers from across the southeast region of Michigan. Focuses on the teachers working in the "eye of reform" at an…

  2. Compassion and Curiosity - TCGA

    Science.gov (United States)

    William Kim, M.D., is motivated by two things: compassion and curiosity. Dr. Kim has taken these dual motivations and created a career in which he cares directly for patients and spearheads research that may lead to improved treatment options.

  3. A Low-Tech, Hands-On Approach To Teaching Sorting Algorithms to Working Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dios, R.; Geller, J.

    1998-01-01

    Focuses on identifying the educational effects of "activity oriented" instructional techniques. Examines which instructional methods produce enhanced learning and comprehension. Discusses the problem of learning "sorting algorithms," a major topic in every Computer Science curriculum. Presents a low-tech, hands-on teaching method for sorting…

  4. Intrinsic motivation, curiosity, and learning: Theory and applications in educational technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oudeyer, P-Y; Gottlieb, J; Lopes, M

    2016-01-01

    This chapter studies the bidirectional causal interactions between curiosity and learning and discusses how understanding these interactions can be leveraged in educational technology applications. First, we review recent results showing how state curiosity, and more generally the experience of novelty and surprise, can enhance learning and memory retention. Then, we discuss how psychology and neuroscience have conceptualized curiosity and intrinsic motivation, studying how the brain can be intrinsically rewarded by novelty, complexity, or other measures of information. We explain how the framework of computational reinforcement learning can be used to model such mechanisms of curiosity. Then, we discuss the learning progress (LP) hypothesis, which posits a positive feedback loop between curiosity and learning. We outline experiments with robots that show how LP-driven attention and exploration can self-organize a developmental learning curriculum scaffolding efficient acquisition of multiple skills/tasks. Finally, we discuss recent work exploiting these conceptual and computational models in educational technologies, showing in particular how intelligent tutoring systems can be designed to foster curiosity and learning. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Contribution of Leg Muscle Explosive Power and Eye-Hand Coordination to The Accuracy Smash of Athletes in Volleyball Club of Universitas Islam Riau

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mimi Yulianti

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of leg muscle explosive power and eye-hand coordination. The type of research was correlational. The population in this study was all athletes who actively follow the training as many as 20 people and using total sampling technique. Thus the sample in this study amounted to 20 men athletes. The data were collected using the measurement test on the three variables: the leg muscle explosive power data was using vertical jump test, eyehand coordination was using ballwerfen und fangen test and smash accuracy was using smash accuracy test. The data were analyzed by product moment correlation and double correlation and then continued with contribution of the determinant formula. Based on data analysis found that there was contribution of leg muscle explosive power equal to 35,52%, eye-hand coordination equal to 20,79%, and both equal to 40,70% regarding to the accuracy smash of volleyball atletes of Universitas Islam Riau. It was concluded that there was contribution of leg muscle explosive power and eye-hand coordination to the smash accuracy of volleyball athlete of Universitas Islam Riau.

  6. Eye Movements During Everyday Behavior Predict Personality Traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoppe, Sabrina; Loetscher, Tobias; Morey, Stephanie A; Bulling, Andreas

    2018-01-01

    Besides allowing us to perceive our surroundings, eye movements are also a window into our mind and a rich source of information on who we are, how we feel, and what we do. Here we show that eye movements during an everyday task predict aspects of our personality. We tracked eye movements of 42 participants while they ran an errand on a university campus and subsequently assessed their personality traits using well-established questionnaires. Using a state-of-the-art machine learning method and a rich set of features encoding different eye movement characteristics, we were able to reliably predict four of the Big Five personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness) as well as perceptual curiosity only from eye movements. Further analysis revealed new relations between previously neglected eye movement characteristics and personality. Our findings demonstrate a considerable influence of personality on everyday eye movement control, thereby complementing earlier studies in laboratory settings. Improving automatic recognition and interpretation of human social signals is an important endeavor, enabling innovative design of human-computer systems capable of sensing spontaneous natural user behavior to facilitate efficient interaction and personalization.

  7. Eye Movements During Everyday Behavior Predict Personality Traits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Hoppe

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Besides allowing us to perceive our surroundings, eye movements are also a window into our mind and a rich source of information on who we are, how we feel, and what we do. Here we show that eye movements during an everyday task predict aspects of our personality. We tracked eye movements of 42 participants while they ran an errand on a university campus and subsequently assessed their personality traits using well-established questionnaires. Using a state-of-the-art machine learning method and a rich set of features encoding different eye movement characteristics, we were able to reliably predict four of the Big Five personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness as well as perceptual curiosity only from eye movements. Further analysis revealed new relations between previously neglected eye movement characteristics and personality. Our findings demonstrate a considerable influence of personality on everyday eye movement control, thereby complementing earlier studies in laboratory settings. Improving automatic recognition and interpretation of human social signals is an important endeavor, enabling innovative design of human–computer systems capable of sensing spontaneous natural user behavior to facilitate efficient interaction and personalization.

  8. TH-E-201-02: Hands-On Physics Teaching of Residents in Diagnostic Radiology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, J. [University of Kentucky (United States)

    2016-06-15

    The ABR Core Examination stresses integrating physics into real-world clinical practice and, accordingly, has shifted its focus from passive recall of facts to active application of physics principles. Physics education of radiology residents poses a challenge. The traditional method of didactic lectures alone is insufficient, yet it is difficult to incorporate physics teaching consistently into clinical rotations due to time constraints. Faced with this challenge, diagnostic medical physicists who teach radiology residents, have been thinking about how to adapt their teaching to the new paradigm, what to teach and meet expectation of the radiology resident and the radiology residency program. The proposed lecture attempts to discuss above questions. Newly developed diagnostic radiology residents physics curriculum by the AAPM Imaging Physics Curricula Subcommittee will be reviewed. Initial experience on hands-on physics teaching will be discussed. Radiology resident who will have taken the BAR Core Examination will share the expectation of physics teaching from a resident perspective. The lecture will help develop robust educational approaches to prepare radiology residents for safer and more effective lifelong practice. Learning Objectives: Learn updated physics requirements for radiology residents Pursue effective approaches to teach physics to radiology residents Learn expectation of physics teaching from resident perspective J. Zhang, This topic is partially supported by RSNA Education Scholar Grant.

  9. TH-E-201-02: Hands-On Physics Teaching of Residents in Diagnostic Radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, J.

    2016-01-01

    The ABR Core Examination stresses integrating physics into real-world clinical practice and, accordingly, has shifted its focus from passive recall of facts to active application of physics principles. Physics education of radiology residents poses a challenge. The traditional method of didactic lectures alone is insufficient, yet it is difficult to incorporate physics teaching consistently into clinical rotations due to time constraints. Faced with this challenge, diagnostic medical physicists who teach radiology residents, have been thinking about how to adapt their teaching to the new paradigm, what to teach and meet expectation of the radiology resident and the radiology residency program. The proposed lecture attempts to discuss above questions. Newly developed diagnostic radiology residents physics curriculum by the AAPM Imaging Physics Curricula Subcommittee will be reviewed. Initial experience on hands-on physics teaching will be discussed. Radiology resident who will have taken the BAR Core Examination will share the expectation of physics teaching from a resident perspective. The lecture will help develop robust educational approaches to prepare radiology residents for safer and more effective lifelong practice. Learning Objectives: Learn updated physics requirements for radiology residents Pursue effective approaches to teach physics to radiology residents Learn expectation of physics teaching from resident perspective J. Zhang, This topic is partially supported by RSNA Education Scholar Grant

  10. Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) Efforts and Observations at the Rocknest Eolian Sand Shadow in Curiosity's Gale Crater Field Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edgett, K. S.; Yingst, R. A.; Minitti, M. E.; Goetz, W.; Kah, L. C.; Kennedy, M. R.; Lipkaman, L. J.; Jensen, E. H.; Anderson, R. C.; Beegle, L. W.; hide

    2013-01-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission is focused on assessing the past or present habitability of Mars, through interrogation of environment and environmental records at the Curiosity rover field site in Gale crater. The MSL team has two methods available to collect, process and deliver samples to onboard analytical laboratories, the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin) and the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite. One approach obtains samples by drilling into a rock, the other uses a scoop to collect loose regolith fines. Scooping was planned to be first method performed on Mars because materials could be readily scooped multiple times and used to remove any remaining, minute terrestrial contaminants from the sample processing system, the Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA). Because of this cleaning effort, the ideal first material to be scooped would consist of fine to very fine sand, like the interior of the Serpent Dune studied by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit team in 2004 [1]. The MSL team selected a linear eolian deposit in the lee of a group of cobbles they named Rocknest (Fig. 1) as likely to be similar to Serpent Dune. Following the definitions in Chapter 13 of Bagnold [2], the deposit is termed a sand shadow. The scooping campaign occurred over approximately 6 weeks in October and November 2012. To support these activities, the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) acquired images for engineering support/assessment and scientific inquiry.

  11. Curiosity: How to Boldly Go...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pyrzak, Guy

    2013-01-01

    Operating a one-ton rover on the surface of Mars requires more than just a joystick and an experiment. With 10 science instruments, 17 cameras, a radioisotope thermoelectric generator and lasers, Curiosity is the largest and most complex rover NASA has sent to Mars. Combined with a 1 way light time of 4 to 20 minutes and a distributed international science and engineering team, it takes a lot of work to operate this mega-rover. The Mars Science Lab's operations team has developed an organization and process that maximizes science return and safety of the spacecraft. These are the voyages of the rover Curiosity, its 2 year mission, to determine the habitability of Gale Crater, to understand the role of water, to study the climate and geology of Mars.

  12. Effect of combined teaching method (role playing and storytelling ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Effect of combined teaching method (role playing and storytelling) on creative ... Remember me ... Background and Purpose: Storytelling promotes imagination and satisfies curiosity in children and creates learning opportunities in them.

  13. "Sharks in Your Hands"--A Case Study on Effects of Teaching Strategies to Change Knowledge and Attitudes towards Sharks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hung-Shan; Liu, Shiang-Yao; Yeh, Ting-Kuang

    2016-01-01

    This study was designed to exemplify how hands-on based teaching strategies enhanced students' knowledge and positive attitudes towards sharks. Hands-on activities for sharks' biological and morphological features were carried out. Eleven elementary school students from a remote area in Taiwan were recruited and assigned to the hands-on condition.…

  14. Magic SEED? A New Approach to Teaching Math Produces Some Eye-Popping Results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shore, Debra

    1991-01-01

    Project SEED is a successful program that teaches elementary school students advanced math. Specialists conduct 45-minute lessons, asking questions designed to help students discover mathematical logic. Students respond with a system of SEED hand signals which allow everyone to participate and be monitored at once. (SM)

  15. The relative timing between eye and hand rapid sequential pointing is affected by time pressure, but not by advance knowledge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deconinck, F.; van Polanen, V.; Savelsbergh, G.J.P.; Bennett, S.

    2011-01-01

    The present study examined the effect of timing constraints and advance knowledge on eye-hand coordination strategy in a sequential pointing task. Participants were required to point at two successively appearing targets on a screen while the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) and the trial order were

  16. Reflections on curiosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Bemmel, J H

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to show that curiosity is the driving force behind all scientific endeavors. The second purpose is to show that all science is constrained on its underlying assumptions. Three examples are used to illustrate the above theses: one from cosmology, the second from biomedical research, and the third from the formalization of human reasoning in a computer. The three examples are supported by quotes from Albert Einstein. Research in cosmology shows that the horizon of our knowledge is continuously expanding but that major scientific questions remain to be solved. The second example from biomedicine explains that the more we discover of the details of living phenomena, the more complex they appear to be. The example involving human reasoning makes clear that the brain is still largely unknown territory. Like Einstein, who said he held 'humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind', I have a deep admiration for the Architect who reveals himself in the details that we are privileged to study in our research. As Albert Einstein said: The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

  17. The Development of Motivational Thought in the Study of Curiosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidler, Derek C.

    1981-01-01

    Presents an overview of the development of motivational thought in the study of exploratory behavior and curiosity. Traces the way in which concepts of curiosity were considered from the perspectives of instinct and drive-reduction theories to the more recent notions of optimal stimulation. (Author)

  18. Effects of Ving Tsun Chinese Martial Art Training on Upper Extremity Muscle Strength and Eye-Hand Coordination in Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Shamay S. M.; Cheng, Yoyo T. Y.; Yu, Esther Y. T.; Chow, Gary C. C.; Chak, Yvonne T. C.; Chan, Ivy K. Y.; Zhang, Joni; Macfarlane, Duncan

    2016-01-01

    Objectives. To evaluate the effects of Ving Tsun (VT) martial art training on the upper extremity muscle strength and eye-hand coordination of middle-aged and older adults. Methods. This study used a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design. Forty-two community-dwelling healthy adults participated in the study; 24 (mean age ± SD = 68.5 ± 6.7 years) underwent VT training for 4 weeks (a supervised VT session twice a week, plus daily home practice), and 18 (mean age ± SD = 72.0 ± 6.7 years) received no VT training and acted as controls. Shoulder and elbow isometric muscle strength and eye-hand coordination were evaluated using the Lafayette Manual Muscle Test System and a computerized finger-pointing test, respectively. Results. Elbow extensor peak force increased by 13.9% (P = 0.007) in the VT group and the time to reach peak force decreased (9.9%) differentially in the VT group compared to the control group (P = 0.033). For the eye-hand coordination assessment outcomes, reaction time increased by 2.9% in the VT group and decreased by 5.3% in the control group (P = 0.002). Conclusions. Four weeks of VT training could improve elbow extensor isometric peak force and the time to reach peak force but not eye-hand coordination in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. PMID:27525020

  19. Effects of Ving Tsun Chinese Martial Art Training on Upper Extremity Muscle Strength and Eye-Hand Coordination in Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, Shirley S M; Ng, Shamay S M; Cheng, Yoyo T Y; Wong, Janet Y H; Yu, Esther Y T; Chow, Gary C C; Chak, Yvonne T C; Chan, Ivy K Y; Zhang, Joni; Macfarlane, Duncan; Chung, Louisa M Y

    2016-01-01

    Objectives. To evaluate the effects of Ving Tsun (VT) martial art training on the upper extremity muscle strength and eye-hand coordination of middle-aged and older adults. Methods. This study used a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design. Forty-two community-dwelling healthy adults participated in the study; 24 (mean age ± SD = 68.5 ± 6.7 years) underwent VT training for 4 weeks (a supervised VT session twice a week, plus daily home practice), and 18 (mean age ± SD = 72.0 ± 6.7 years) received no VT training and acted as controls. Shoulder and elbow isometric muscle strength and eye-hand coordination were evaluated using the Lafayette Manual Muscle Test System and a computerized finger-pointing test, respectively. Results. Elbow extensor peak force increased by 13.9% (P = 0.007) in the VT group and the time to reach peak force decreased (9.9%) differentially in the VT group compared to the control group (P = 0.033). For the eye-hand coordination assessment outcomes, reaction time increased by 2.9% in the VT group and decreased by 5.3% in the control group (P = 0.002). Conclusions. Four weeks of VT training could improve elbow extensor isometric peak force and the time to reach peak force but not eye-hand coordination in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults.

  20. Effects of Ving Tsun Chinese Martial Art Training on Upper Extremity Muscle Strength and Eye-Hand Coordination in Community-Dwelling Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shirley S. M. Fong

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. To evaluate the effects of Ving Tsun (VT martial art training on the upper extremity muscle strength and eye-hand coordination of middle-aged and older adults. Methods. This study used a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design. Forty-two community-dwelling healthy adults participated in the study; 24 (mean age ± SD = 68.5±6.7 years underwent VT training for 4 weeks (a supervised VT session twice a week, plus daily home practice, and 18 (mean age ± SD = 72.0±6.7 years received no VT training and acted as controls. Shoulder and elbow isometric muscle strength and eye-hand coordination were evaluated using the Lafayette Manual Muscle Test System and a computerized finger-pointing test, respectively. Results. Elbow extensor peak force increased by 13.9% (P=0.007 in the VT group and the time to reach peak force decreased (9.9% differentially in the VT group compared to the control group (P=0.033. For the eye-hand coordination assessment outcomes, reaction time increased by 2.9% in the VT group and decreased by 5.3% in the control group (P=0.002. Conclusions. Four weeks of VT training could improve elbow extensor isometric peak force and the time to reach peak force but not eye-hand coordination in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults.

  1. Children's Scientific Curiosity: In Search of an Operational Definition of an Elusive Concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jirout, Jamie; Klahr, David

    2012-01-01

    Although curiosity is an undeniably important aspect of children's cognitive development, a universally accepted operational definition of children's curiosity does not exist. Almost all of the research on measuring curiosity has focused on adults, and has used predominately questionnaire-type measures that are not appropriate for young children.…

  2. Does an eye-hand coordination test have added value as part of talent identification in table tennis? A validity and reproducibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faber, Irene R; Oosterveld, Frits G J; Nijhuis-Van der Sanden, Maria W G

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the added value, i.e. discriminative and concurrent validity and reproducibility, of an eye-hand coordination test relevant to table tennis as part of talent identification. Forty-three table tennis players (7-12 years) from national (n = 13), regional (n = 11) and local training centres (n = 19) participated. During the eye-hand coordination test, children needed to throw a ball against a vertical positioned table tennis table with one hand and to catch the ball correctly with the other hand as frequently as possible in 30 seconds. Four different test versions were assessed varying the distance to the table (1 or 2 meter) and using a tennis or table tennis ball. 'Within session' reproducibility was estimated for the two attempts of the initial tests and ten youngsters were retested after 4 weeks to estimate 'between sessions' reproducibility. Validity analyses using age as covariate showed that players from the national and regional centres scored significantly higher than players from the local centre in all test versions (ptalent identification appears to be the version with a table tennis ball at 1 meter regarding the psychometric characteristics evaluated. Longitudinal studies are necessary to evaluate the predictive value of this test.

  3. Dry eye syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000426.htm Dry eye syndrome To use the sharing features on this page, ... second-hand smoke exposure Cold or allergy medicines Dry eye can also be caused by: Heat or ... Symptoms may include: Blurred vision Burning, itching, ...

  4. Curiosity, Interest and Engagement in Technology-Pervasive Learning Environments: A New Research Agenda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnone, Marilyn P.; Small, Ruth V.; Chauncey, Sarah A.; McKenna, H. Patricia

    2011-01-01

    This paper identifies the need for developing new ways to study curiosity in the context of today's pervasive technologies and unprecedented information access. Curiosity is defined in this paper in a way which incorporates the concomitant constructs of interest and engagement. A theoretical model for curiosity, interest and engagement in new…

  5. Engineering Encounters: Designing Healthy Ice Pops. A STEM Enrichment Project for Second Graders Incorporates Nutrition and Design Principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bubnick, Laura; Enneking, Katie; Egbers, Julie

    2016-01-01

    Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education piques students' innate curiosity and opens their eyes to hundreds of career possibilities. This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month's issue shares information about a STEM enrichment project for second graders that incorporates nutrition and…

  6. A Conceptualization of Entrepreneurial Curiosity and Construct Development: A Multi-Country Empirical Validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeraj, Mitja; Antoncic, Bostjan

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article was to fill a gap in the literature regarding the conceptualization and measurement of entrepreneurial curiosity. Although research in other fields suggest that different types of curiosity exist, no conceptualization research has yet been done in the field of entrepreneurial curiosity. This research aimed to develop a…

  7. Teaching radio astrophysics the hand-on way

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, Bhal Chandra

    Astronomy and space sciences have always been instrumental in attracting young students to physical sciences. While the lectures/demonstrations and exhibitions pertaining to space sci-ences capture the imagination of young students, these alone are not sufficient to induce them to join scientific research. In countries like India, where a large number of students take to physical sciences for under-graduate education, complex sociological factors are key issues in translating this large body of students to potential researchers. While lectures and exhibition lead to an increase in scientific awareness for these students, these do not give a feel for scien-tific research and bridge the gap between high school/college science education and high end research. In this context, a hands-on approach to astronomy education, in science research environments or closely connected to scientific institutions, offers a promising alternative. This approach has been used in optical astronomy, where inexpensive small telescopes are available, often coupling a vast network of amateur astronomy clubs to leading astronomy institutes. The non-visual and relatively more technical nature of radio astronomy has limited a similar approach in past for connecting students to space sciences using radio waveband. The tech-nological explosion in communication industry and radio connectivity in the last decade along with an expansion in engineering education makes this possible now using a hands-on approach in teaching radio astrophysics. In this presentation, the sociological factors affecting the student choice are discussed followed by a review of the efforts to bridge the above mentioned gap by various groups in the world in the last decade with a view to enumerate the best practices in a hands-on approach. A program using this approach at National Center for Radio Astrophysics is described, where the students are exposed to simple hands-on radio astronomy experiments such as spectral line

  8. The Hands with Eyes and Nose in the Palm: As Effective Communication Alternatives for Profoundly Deaf People in Zimbabwe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mutswanga, Phillipa

    2017-01-01

    Drawing from the experiences and testimonies of people with profound deafness, the study qualitatively explored the use of the hands with eyes and nose in the palm as communication alternatives in the field of deafness. The study was prompted by the 27 year old lady, Leah Katz-Hernandez who is deaf who got engaged in March 2015 as the 2016…

  9. An Interactive Method for Teaching Anatomy of the Human Eye for Medical Students in Ophthalmology Clinical Rotations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kivell, Tracy L.; Doyle, Sara K.; Madden, Richard H.; Mitchell, Terry L.; Sims, Ershela L.

    2009-01-01

    Much research has shown the benefits of additional anatomical learning and dissection beyond the first year of medical school human gross anatomy, all the way through postgraduate medical training. We have developed an interactive method for teaching eye and orbit anatomy to medical students in their ophthalmology rotation at Duke University…

  10. Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Performing Eye-Hand Integration Tasks: Four Preliminary Studies with Children Showing Low-Functioning Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panerai, Simonetta; Tasca, Domenica; Lanuzza, Bartolo; Trubia, Grazia; Ferri, Raffaele; Musso, Sabrina; Alagona, Giovanna; Di Guardo, Giuseppe; Barone, Concetta; Gaglione, Maria P.; Elia, Maurizio

    2014-01-01

    This report, based on four studies with children with low-functioning autism, aimed at evaluating the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation delivered on the left and right premotor cortices on eye-hand integration tasks; defining the long-lasting effects of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; and…

  11. Hand-eye coordination of a robot for the automatic inspection of steam-generator tubes in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, D.H.; Song, Y.C.; Kim, J.H.; Kim, J.G.

    2004-01-01

    The inspection of steam-generator tubes in nuclear power plants needs to collect test signals in a highly radiated region that is not accessible by humans. In general, a robot equipped with a camera and a test probe is used to handle such a dangerous environment. The robot moves the probe to right below a tube to be inspected and then the probe is inserted into the tube. The inspection signals are acquired while the probe is pulling back. Currently, an operator in a control room controls all the process remotely. To make a fully automatic inspection system, first of all, a control mechanism is needed to position the probe to the proper location. This is so called a hand-eye coordination problem. In this paper, a hand-eye coordination method for a robot has been presented. The proposed method consists of the two consecutive control modes: rough positioning and fine-tuning. The rough positioning controller tries to position its probe near a target place using kinematics information and the known environments, and then the fine-tuning controller tries to adjust the probe to the target using the image acquired by the camera attached to the robot. The usefulness of the proposed method has been tested and verified through experiments. (orig.)

  12. Developing Critical Curiosity in Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Shelby; Seider, Scott

    2017-01-01

    Critical consciousness refers to the ways in which individuals come to understand and challenge oppressive social forces. Philosopher-educator Paulo Freire argued that critical curiosity--an eagerness to learn more about and develop a deep understanding of issues of social justice--serves as an important catalyst to critical consciousness…

  13. Die Sprache der Hande zu den Handen sprechen (Talking the Language of the Hands to the Hands). DB-LINK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Barbara

    This paper examines the importance of hands for the person who is deafblind, reviews hand development, and identifies specific teaching skills that facilitate hand development and expressiveness in persons who are deafblind. It notes that the hands of a deafblind individual serve not only as tools but also as sense organs (to compensate for their…

  14. Disentangling Curiosity: Dimensionality, Definitions, and Distinctions from Interest in Educational Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossnickle, Emily M.

    2016-01-01

    Curiosity has received increasing attention in the educational literature, yet empirical investigations have been limited by inconsistent conceptualizations and the use of curiosity synonymously with other constructs, particularly interest. The purpose of this review is to critically examine the dimensionality, definitions, and measures of…

  15. Curiosity and Pedagogy: A Mixed-Methods Study of Student Experiences in the Design Studio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Korydon H.

    2010-01-01

    Curiosity is often considered the foundation of learning. There is, however, little understanding of how (or if) pedagogy in higher education affects student curiosity, especially in the studio setting of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture. This study used mixed-methods to investigate curiosity among design students in the…

  16. What Can the Curiosity Rover Tell Us About the Climate of Mars?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haberle, Robert M.

    2013-01-01

    What Can the Curiosity Rover Tell Us About the Climate of Mars? Assessing the habitability of Gale Crater is the goal of the Curiosity Rover, which has been gathering data since landing on the Red Planet last August. To meet that goal, Curiosity brought with it a suite of instruments to measure the biological potential of the landing site, the geology and chemistry of its surface, and local environmental conditions. Some of these instruments illuminate the nature of the planet fs atmosphere and climate system, both for present day conditions as well as for conditions that existed billions of years ago. For present day conditions, Curiosity has a standard meteorology package that measures pressure, temperature, winds and humidity, plus a sensor the measures the UV flux. These data confirm what we learned from previous missions namely that today Mars is a cold, dry, and barren desert-like planet. For past conditions, however, wetter and probably warmer conditions are indicated. Curiosities cameras reveal gravel beds that must have formed by flowing rivers, and sedimentary deposits of layered sand and mudstones possibly associated with lakes. An ancient aqueous environment is further supported by the presence of sulfate veins coursing through some of the rocks in Yellowknife Bay where Curiosity is planning its first drilling activity. I will discuss these results and their implications in this lecture.

  17. Beyond the Sensible World: A Discussion of Mark Zuss' The Practice of Theoretical Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fellner, Gene; Pitts, Wesley; Zuss, Mark

    2012-01-01

    In this article, Gene Fellner reviews Mark Zuss's recently published "The practice of theoretical curiosity" (2012) and provides a synopsis of the book's structure. These two sections are followed by a metalogue in which Mark Zuss, Welsey Pitts, and Fellner discuss curiosity and the conundrum of establishing limits beyond which curiosity should…

  18. Curiosity's Autonomous Surface Safing Behavior Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neilson, Tracy A.; Manning, Robert M.

    2013-01-01

    The safing routines on all robotic deep-space vehicles are designed to put the vehicle in a power and thermally safe configuration, enabling communication with the mission operators on Earth. Achieving this goal is made a little more difficult on Curiosity because the power requirements for the core avionics and the telecommunication equipment exceed the capability of the single power source, the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator. This drove the system design to create an operational mode, called "sleep mode", where the vehicle turns off most of the loads in order to charge the two Li-ion batteries. The system must keep the vehicle safe from over-heat and under-heat conditions, battery cell failures, under-voltage conditions, and clock failures, both while the computer is running and while the system is sleeping. The other goal of a safing routine is to communicate. On most spacecraft, this simply involves turning on the receiver and transmitter continuously. For Curiosity, Earth is above the horizon only a part of the day for direct communication to the Earth, and the orbiter overpass opportunities only occur a few times a day. The design must robustly place the Rover in a communicable condition at the correct time. This paper discusses Curiosity's autonomous safing behavior and describes how the vehicle remains power and thermally safe while sleeping, as well as a description of how the Rover communicates with the orbiters and Earth at specific times.

  19. The Etymological Dictionary as a Teaching Device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Donald

    1977-01-01

    The etymological dictionary is a useful tool for language students; this article presents three series of homework problems whose solutions are to be found in a German etymological dictionary. Regular assignment of such problems will teach students both vocabulary skills and knowledge and curiosity about the German language. (CHK)

  20. Measuring epistemic curiosity in young children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Piotrowski, J.; Litman, J.A.; Valkenburg, P.

    2014-01-01

    Epistemic curiosity (EC) is the desire to obtain new knowledge capable of either producing positive experiences of intellectual interest (I-type) or of reducing undesirable conditions of informational deprivation (D-type). Although researchers acknowledge that there are individual differences in

  1. No One Even Has Eyes: The Decline of Hand-Painted Graphics in Mumbai

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron Fine

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available In this work of creative non-fiction, accompanied by coloring book plates of his own design, the author explores recent changes in Indian visual culture. An investigation of hand painted political graphics in Mumbai revealed very little painting and a great deal about the rapidly advancing digitalization of visual space in India. As idiosyncratic and individual creative efforts are replaced by mass-produced digital printing in what ways are India’s political networks enhanced; In what ways are India’s creative networks destroyed? Translators, police officers, political activists, and artists are presented through the eyes of an outsider whose own expectations about creative expression and political participation are challenged. The conclusion considers how once recycled visual culture artifacts are now junk destined for the landfill, and urges readers to color-in the whitewashed spaces of the city.

  2. Eye movement training is most effective when it involves a task-relevant sensorimotor decision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fooken, Jolande; Lalonde, Kathryn M; Mann, Gurkiran K; Spering, Miriam

    2018-04-01

    Eye and hand movements are closely linked when performing everyday actions. We conducted a perceptual-motor training study to investigate mutually beneficial effects of eye and hand movements, asking whether training in one modality benefits performance in the other. Observers had to predict the future trajectory of a briefly presented moving object, and intercept it at its assumed location as accurately as possible with their finger. Eye and hand movements were recorded simultaneously. Different training protocols either included eye movements or a combination of eye and hand movements with or without external performance feedback. Eye movement training did not transfer across modalities: Irrespective of feedback, finger interception accuracy and precision improved after training that involved the hand, but not after isolated eye movement training. Conversely, eye movements benefited from hand movement training or when external performance feedback was given, thus improving only when an active interceptive task component was involved. These findings indicate only limited transfer across modalities. However, they reveal the importance of creating a training task with an active sensorimotor decision to improve the accuracy and precision of eye and hand movements.

  3. Curiosity and time: from not knowing to almost knowing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noordewier, Marret K; van Dijk, Eric

    2017-04-01

    How does it feel to be curious? We reasoned that there are two sides to curiosity: not knowing something (i.e. information-gap) and almost knowing something (i.e. anticipation of resolution). In three experiments, we showed that time affects the relative impact of these two components: When people did not expect to close their information-gap soon (long time-to-resolution) not knowing affected the subjective experience of curiosity more strongly than when they expected to close their information-gap quickly (short time-to-resolution). As such, people experienced less positive affect, more discomfort, and more annoyance with lack of information in a long than a short time-to-resolution situation. Moreover, when time in the long time-to-resolution setting passed, the anticipation of the resolution became stronger, positive affect increased, and discomfort and annoyance with lack of information decreased. Time is thus a key factor in the experience of curiosity.

  4. Building effective learning experiences around visualizations: NASA Eyes on the Solar System and Infiniscope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamer, A. J. J.; Anbar, A. D.; Elkins-Tanton, L. T.; Klug Boonstra, S.; Mead, C.; Swann, J. L.; Hunsley, D.

    2017-12-01

    Advances in scientific visualization and public access to data have transformed science outreach and communication, but have yet to realize their potential impacts in the realm of education. Computer-based learning is a clear bridge between visualization and education, but creating high-quality learning experiences that leverage existing visualizations requires close partnerships among scientists, technologists, and educators. The Infiniscope project is working to foster such partnerships in order to produce exploration-driven learning experiences around NASA SMD data and images, leveraging the principles of ETX (Education Through eXploration). The visualizations inspire curiosity, while the learning design promotes improved reasoning skills and increases understanding of space science concepts. Infiniscope includes both a web portal to host these digital learning experiences, as well as a teaching network of educators using and modifying these experiences. Our initial efforts to enable student discovery through active exploration of the concepts associated with Small Worlds, Kepler's Laws, and Exoplanets led us to develop our own visualizations at Arizona State University. Other projects focused on Astrobiology and Mars geology led us to incorporate an immersive Virtual Field Trip platform into the Infiniscope portal in support of virtual exploration of scientifically significant locations. Looking to apply ETX design practices with other visualizations, our team at Arizona State partnered with the Jet Propulsion Lab to integrate the web-based version of NASA Eyes on the Eclipse within Smart Sparrow's digital learning platform in a proof-of-concept focused on the 2017 Eclipse. This goes a step beyond the standard features of "Eyes" by wrapping guided exploration, focused on a specific learning goal into standards-aligned lesson built around the visualization, as well as its distribution through Infiniscope and it's digital teaching network. Experience from this

  5. The Role of Curiosity-Triggering Events in Game-Based Learning for Mathematics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wouters, Pieter; van Oostendorp, Herre; ter Vrugte, Judith; Vandercruysse, Sylke; de Jong, Anthonius J.M.; Elen, Jan; Torbeyns, Joke; Lehtinen, Erno; Elen, Jan

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we investigate whether cognitive conflicts induced by curiosity-triggering events have a positive impact on learning and motivation. In two experiments, we tested a game about proportional reasoning for secondary prevocational students. Experiment 1 used a curiosity-triggering vs.

  6. Curiosity improves coping efficacy and reduces suicidal ideation severity among military veterans at risk for suicide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denneson, Lauren M; Smolenski, Derek J; Bush, Nigel E; Dobscha, Steven K

    2017-03-01

    Curiosity, the tendency to engage in novel and challenging opportunities, may be an important source of resilience for those at risk for suicide. We hypothesized that curiosity would have a buffering effect against risk conferred by multiple sources of distress, whereby curiosity would be associated with reduced suicidal ideation and increased coping efficacy. As part of a larger intervention trial designed to improve coping skills and reduce suicidal ideation, 117 military veterans with suicidal ideation completed measures of curiosity and distress (perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances) at baseline, and completed measures of suicidal ideation and coping efficacy (to stop negative thoughts, to enlist support from friends and family) at baseline and 3-, 6-, and 12-week follow up. Growth curve models showed that curiosity moderated the association between distress and suicidal ideation at baseline and that curiosity moderated the association between distress and increased coping efficacy to stop negative thoughts over time. Findings suggest that curiosity may buffer against the effect of heightened levels of distress on suicidal ideation and help facilitate stronger gains in coping efficacy over time. Additional work should further examine the role of curiosity as a protective factor for veterans with suicidal ideation. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. Guidelines for enhancing learning curiosity of non-formal student using daily life context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mongkondaw Ornwipa

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this study were: to study learning curiosity within student, teacher and administrators, and to suggest the student of non-formal education learning curiosity by using daily life context. A sample was selected from a group of student of non-formal education for 400 students, categorized to 184 students of secondary education, students of high school education 216, 40 teachers of non-formal education and 20 administrators with district level of the office of the Non - Formal and Informal Education by Multi - Stage Sampling. The research tools were surveyed by using questionnaire of students. The results of the study were as follows and the questionnaire as learning curiosity of the teacher and administrator from the Non - Formal and Informal Education awareness, and transcribing from focus group discussion. The quantitative analysis by the computer program (SPSS for statistical analysis and analyzing qualitative data by content analysis were included. The results of the study were as follows a student learning curiosity was in high level, a student supporting for learning curiosity in occupation was in high level, the teacher opinion for learning curiosity of student was in middle level. The supporting should be academic, Work and family consecutive. The administrator of the Non - Formal and Informal Education thought, learning curiosity of student was in middle level. The student should be gained occupation knowledge for the first, because of their lifestyle in the north eastern of Thailand; they needed to support their family. Almost citizens were agriculturist, gardener, farmer or merchandiser, and then to permit academic education, family and socialization, the occupation developing was given precedence.

  8. Curiosity rover LEGO® version could land soon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    2012-09-01

    Now that NASA's Curiosity rover has landed on Mars, a smaller LEGO® plastic brick construction version could be landing in toy stores. Less than 2 weeks after Curiosity set down on 5 August, a LEGO® set concept model designed by a mechanical and aerospace engineer who worked on the real rover garnered its 10,000th supporter on the Web site of CUUSOO, a Japanese partner of the LEGO® group. That milestone triggered a company review that began in September 2012 to test the model's “playability, safety, and ft with the LEGO® brand,” according to a congratulatory statement from the company to designer Stephen Pakbaz. Pakbaz told Eos that he has been an avid LEGO® and space exploration fan for most of his life. “For me, creating a LEGO® model of Curiosity using my firsthand knowledge of the rover was inevitable. What I enjoyed most was being able to faithfully replicate and subsequently demonstrate the rocker-bogie suspension system to friends, family, and coworkers,” he noted, referring to the suspension system that allows the rover to climb over obstacles while keeping its wheels on the ground. Pakbaz, who is currently with Orbital Sciences Corporation, was involved with aspects of the rover while working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2007 to 2011 as a mechanical engineer.

  9. Students' Level of Boredom, Boredom Coping Strategies, Epistemic Curiosity, and Graded Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eren, Altay; Coskun, Hamit

    2016-01-01

    The authors examined the relationships among students' levels of boredom, boredom coping strategies, epistemic curiosity, and graded performance regarding mathematics lessons, with the intention to explore the mediating roles of boredom coping strategies and epistemic curiosity in the relationship between the level of boredom and graded…

  10. Curiosity and reward: Valence predicts choice and information prediction errors enhance learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marvin, Caroline B; Shohamy, Daphna

    2016-03-01

    Curiosity drives many of our daily pursuits and interactions; yet, we know surprisingly little about how it works. Here, we harness an idea implied in many conceptualizations of curiosity: that information has value in and of itself. Reframing curiosity as the motivation to obtain reward-where the reward is information-allows one to leverage major advances in theoretical and computational mechanisms of reward-motivated learning. We provide new evidence supporting 2 predictions that emerge from this framework. First, we find an asymmetric effect of positive versus negative information, with positive information enhancing both curiosity and long-term memory for information. Second, we find that it is not the absolute value of information that drives learning but, rather, the gap between the reward expected and reward received, an "information prediction error." These results support the idea that information functions as a reward, much like money or food, guiding choices and driving learning in systematic ways. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Models to teach lung sonopathology and ultrasound-guided thoracentesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacek A. Wojtczak

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Lung sonography allows rapid diagnosis of lung emergencies such as pulmonary edema, hemothorax or pneumothorax. The ability to timely diagnose an intraoperative pneumothorax is an important skill for the anesthesiologist. However, lung ultrasound exams require an interpretation of not only real images but also complex acoustic artifacts such as A-lines and B-lines. Therefore, appropriate training to gain proficiency is important. Simulated environment using ultrasound phantom models allows controlled, supervised learning. We have developed hybrid models that combine dry or wet polyurethane foams, porcine rib cages and human hand simulating a rib cage. These models simulate fairly accurately pulmonary sonopathology and allow supervised teaching of lung sonography with the immediate feedback. In-vitro models can also facilitate learning of procedural skills, improving transducer and needle positioning and movement, rapid recognition of thoracic anatomy and handeye coordination skills. We described a new model to teach an ultrasound guided thoracentesis. This model consists of the experimenter’s hand placed on top of the water-filled container with a wet foam. Metacarpal bones of the human hand simulate a rib cage and a wet foam simulates a diseased lung immersed in the pleural fluid. Positive fluid flow offers users feedback when a simulated pleural effusion is accurately assessed.

  12. A Self-Study of a Thai Teacher Educator Developing a Better Understanding of PCK for Teaching about Teaching Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faikhamta, Chatree; Clarke, Anthony

    2013-01-01

    In this study, I, the first author as a Thai teacher educator employed self-study as a research methodology to investigate my own understandings, questions, and curiosities about pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching science student teachers and the ways I engaged student teachers in a field-based science methods course designed to help…

  13. Curiosity: the Mars Science Laboratory Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Richard A.

    2012-01-01

    The Curiosity rover landed successfully in Gale Crater, Mars on August 5, 2012. This event was a dramatic high point in the decade long effort to design, build, test and fly the most sophisticated scientific vehicle ever sent to Mars. The real achievements of the mission have only just begun, however, as Curiosity is now searching for signs that Mars once possessed habitable environments. The Mars Science Laboratory Project has been one of the most ambitious and challenging planetary projects that NASA has undertaken. It started in the successful aftermath of the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover project and was designed to take significant steps forward in both engineering and scientific capabilities. This included a new landing system capable of emplacing a large mobile vehicle over a wide range of potential landing sites, advanced sample acquisition and handling capabilities that can retrieve samples from both rocks and soil, and a high reliability avionics suite that is designed to permit long duration surface operations. It also includes a set of ten sophisticated scientific instruments that will investigate both the geological context of the landing site plus analyze samples to understand the chemical & organic composition of rocks & soil found there. The Gale Crater site has been specifically selected as a promising location where ancient habitable environments may have existed and for which evidence may be preserved. Curiosity will spend a minimum of one Mars year (about two Earth years) looking for this evidence. This paper will report on the progress of the mission over the first few months of surface operations, plus look retrospectively at lessons learned during both the development and cruise operations phase of the mission..

  14. Role of curiosity and openness to experience the big five traits on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Role of curiosity and openness to experience the big five traits on sport media consumption behaviours. Seong-Hee Park, Yukyoum Kim, Won-Jae Seo. Abstract. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediation effect of curiosity on the relationship between Openness to Experience (OE) and media consumption ...

  15. Dementia communication using empathic curiosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEvoy, Phil; Eden, John; Plant, Rachel

    Communication skills training materials in dementia care usually focus on reminiscence. This is important because talking about past events can help people with dementia to retain their sense of self. This article examines the use of an alternative set of communication skills known as empathic curiosity, which may help to promote meaningful communication in the here and now with people who are living with dementia.

  16. Questions, Curiosity and the Inquiry Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Leo

    2014-01-01

    This article discusses the conceptual relationship between questions, curiosity and learning as inquiry elaborated in the work of Chip Bruce and others as the Inquiry Cycle. The Inquiry Cycle describes learning in terms of a continuous dynamic of ask, investigate, create, discuss and reflect. Of these elements "ask" has a privileged…

  17. Teacher qualification and teaching techniques in nursery schools in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The scarcity of qualified teachers in Early Childhood Education in Rwanda in general, and in Kicukiro District in particular, raised interest and curiosity to conduct this study. Its main purpose was to examine the relationship between the qualification of teachers and their teaching techniques in preschools in Kicukiro District.

  18. Foreign Object in the Eye: First Aid

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... eye: First aid Foreign object in the eye: First aid By Mayo Clinic Staff If you get a foreign object in your eye Wash your hands ... et al., eds. American Medical Association Handbook of First Aid and Emergency Care. New York, N.Y.: Random ...

  19. Bringing a Chemical Laboratory Named Sam to Mars on the 2011 Curiosity Rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahaffy, P. R.; Bleacher, L.; Jones, A.; Atreya, S. K.; Manning, H. L.; Cabane, M.; Webster, C. R.; Sam Team

    2010-12-01

    Introduction: An important goal of upcoming missions to Mars is to understand if life could have developed there. The task of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of instruments [1] and the other Curiosity investigations [2] is to move us steadily toward that goal with an assessment of the habitability of our neighboring planet through a series of chemical and geological measurements. SAM is designed to search for organic compounds and inorganic volatiles and measure isotope ratios. Other instruments on Curiosity will provide elemental analysis and identify minerals. SAM will analyze both atmospheric samples and gases evolved from powdered rocks that may have formed billions of years ago with Curiosity providing access to interesting sites scouted by orbiting cameras and spectrometers. SAM Instrument Suite: SAM’s instruments are a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), a 6-column Gas Chromatograph (GC), and a 2-channel Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS). SAM can identify organic compounds in Mars rocks to sub-ppb sensitivity and secure precise isotope ratios for C, H, and O in carbon dioxide and water and measure trace levels of methane and its carbon 13 isotope. The SAM gas processing system consists of valves, heaters, pressure sensors, gas scrubbers and getters, traps, and gas tanks used for calibration or combustion experiments [2]. A variety of calibrant compounds interior and exterior to SAM will allow the science and engineering teams to assess SAM’s performance. SAM has been calibrated and tested in a Mars-like environment. Keeping Educators and the Public Informed: The Education and Public Outreach (EPO) goals of the SAM team are to make this complex chemical laboratory and its data widely available to educators, students, and the public. Formal education activities include developing templates for professional development workshops for educators to teach them about SAM and Curiosity, incorporating data into Mars Student Data Teams, and writing articles

  20. Effects of conventional neurological treatment and a virtual reality training program on eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy

    OpenAIRE

    Shin, Ji-won; Song, Gui-bin; Hwangbo, Gak

    2015-01-01

    [Purpose] The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of conventional neurological treatment and a virtual reality training program on eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy. [Subjects] Sixteen children (9 males, 7 females) with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy were recruited and randomly assigned to the conventional neurological physical therapy group (CG) and virtual reality training group (VRG). [Methods] Eight children in the control group performed 45 minutes of th...

  1. Social Curiosity and Gossip: Related but Different Drives of Social Functioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartung, Freda-Marie; Renner, Britta

    2013-01-01

    The present online-questionnaire study examined two fundamental social behaviors, social curiosity and gossip, and their interrelations in an English (n = 218) and a German sample (n = 152). Analyses showed that both samples believed that they are less gossipy but more curious than their peers. Multidimensional SEM of self and trait conceptions indicated that social curiosity and gossip are related constructs but with different patterns of social functions. Gossip appears to serve predominantly entertainment purposes whereas social curiosity appears to be more driven by a general interest in gathering information about how other people feel, think, and behave and the need to belong. Relationships to other personality traits (N, E, O) provided additional evidence for divergent validity. The needs for gathering and disseminating social information might represent two interlinked but different drives of cultural learning. PMID:23936130

  2. Dreaming on Mars: How Curiosity Performs Actuator Warm-Up While Sleeping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Gene Y.; Donaldson, James A.

    2013-01-01

    Before the Curiosity rover can perform its science activities for the day, such as driving, moving its robotic arm, or drilling, it first has to ensure that its actuators are within their allowable flight temperatures (AFTs). When the rover is awake, flight software uses heaters to warm up and maintain thermal zones at operational temperatures. However, Curiosity spends about 70% of its time sleeping, with the flight computer off, in order to conserve energy. Dream Mode is a special behavior that allows the rover to execute warm-up activities while sleeping. Using Dream Mode, actuators can be warmed up to their AFTs before the flight computer wakes up and uses them - saving power and improving operational efficiency. This paper describes the motivation behind Dream Mode, how it was implemented and tested on Curiosity, and the challenges and lessons learned along the way.

  3. Social curiosity and gossip: related but different drives of social functioning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Freda-Marie Hartung

    Full Text Available The present online-questionnaire study examined two fundamental social behaviors, social curiosity and gossip, and their interrelations in an English (n = 218 and a German sample (n = 152. Analyses showed that both samples believed that they are less gossipy but more curious than their peers. Multidimensional SEM of self and trait conceptions indicated that social curiosity and gossip are related constructs but with different patterns of social functions. Gossip appears to serve predominantly entertainment purposes whereas social curiosity appears to be more driven by a general interest in gathering information about how other people feel, think, and behave and the need to belong. Relationships to other personality traits (N, E, O provided additional evidence for divergent validity. The needs for gathering and disseminating social information might represent two interlinked but different drives of cultural learning.

  4. Social curiosity and gossip: related but different drives of social functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartung, Freda-Marie; Renner, Britta

    2013-01-01

    The present online-questionnaire study examined two fundamental social behaviors, social curiosity and gossip, and their interrelations in an English (n = 218) and a German sample (n = 152). Analyses showed that both samples believed that they are less gossipy but more curious than their peers. Multidimensional SEM of self and trait conceptions indicated that social curiosity and gossip are related constructs but with different patterns of social functions. Gossip appears to serve predominantly entertainment purposes whereas social curiosity appears to be more driven by a general interest in gathering information about how other people feel, think, and behave and the need to belong. Relationships to other personality traits (N, E, O) provided additional evidence for divergent validity. The needs for gathering and disseminating social information might represent two interlinked but different drives of cultural learning.

  5. A teaching resource using the GUIDE environment: simplified model of the eye for secondary school students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Varela, A. I.; Salvado-Vara, F.; Bao-Varela, C.

    2014-07-01

    Nowadays, new technologies have great influence on our lives and how we access to the information. The new generations have never known a world without them and make use of these new technologies in practically all facets of their day-to-day. Education systems have also evolved rapidly and frequently make use of learning strategies based on interactive tools. In this work we have created a graphical user interface with GUIDE, a development environment of MATLAB, to show, in a simple way, how the eye works. This interactive program is addressed to the first courses of secondary education and designed to introduce them to the basic concepts of the normal refractive condition of the eye and the most common refractive errors, as myopia and hyperopia. The graphic interface makes use of the simplified model of the eye, where the optic system of the visual organ is represented by a converging lens (cornea and crystalline) and a screen (retina). Emmetropic, myopic and hyperopic eye operation is shown graphically to the students, as well as how these focusing errors can be solved with a diverging and converging lens, respectively. This teaching tool was used this academic course in the Colegio Hogar de Santa Margarita (A Coruña) for a better understanding of the students in this matter and to catch their attention to the world of Optics and its importance.

  6. Project first and eye on the sky: strategies for teaching space science in the early grades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paglierani, R.; Hawkins, I.

    Elementary educators typically have only limited opportunity to teach substantive science units. This is due, in great part, to the current primary focus on literacy and mathematics instruction in the early grades. It is not surprising then, that the time and resources allocated to science teaching are significantly less than those allocated to language arts and mathematics. The integration of elementary science curricula with language arts provides one means of addressing the challenge of maintaining a robust science presence in the elementary classroom. Project FIRST's Eye on the Sky suggests a model for the successful integration of science instruction with language arts through inquiry-based learning. The model has been adopted by other Education/Public Outreach efforts, most recently, the Cassini- Huygens Mission and the Space Telescope Institute. We will present Eye on the Sky: Our Star the Sun, a suite of integrated, inquiry-based lessons designed specifically for K-4 students and discuss data showing the program's impact on the user audience. These materials offer an exciting opportunity to explore the dynamic Sun and share research discoveries of NASA's Sun-Earth Connection with the elementary education community. The lessons were developed and tested by UC Berkeley educators and NASA scientists in partnership with classroom teachers. We will review the program components and examine the benefits and challenges inherent in implementing such a program in the elementary school setting.

  7. Toward an Epistemology of the Hand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brinkmann, Svend; Tanggaard, Lene

    2010-01-01

    ‘epistemology of the eye' has been at work, which has had significant practical implications, not least in educational contexts. One way to characterize John Dewey's pragmatism is to see it as an attempt to replace the epistemology of the eye with an epistemology of the hand. This article develops...

  8. Uncertainty in the classroom—teaching quantum physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johansson, K E; Milstead, D

    2008-01-01

    The teaching of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle provides one of those rare moments when science appears to contradict everyday life experiences, sparking the curiosity of the interested student. Written at a level appropriate for an able high school student, this article provides ideas for introducing the uncertainty principle and showing how it can be used to elucidate many topics in modern physics

  9. Science curiosity in learning environments: developing an attitudinal scale for research in schools, homes, museums, and the community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weible, Jennifer L.; Toomey Zimmerman, Heather

    2016-05-01

    Although curiosity is considered an integral aspect of science learning, researchers have debated how to define, measure, and support its development in individuals. Prior measures of curiosity include questionnaire type scales (primarily for adults) and behavioral measures. To address the need to measure scientific curiosity, the Science Curiosity in Learning Environments (SCILE) scale was created and validated as a 12-item scale to measure scientific curiosity in youth. The scale was developed through (a) adapting the language of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II [Kashdan, T. B., Gallagher, M. W., Silvia, P. J., Winterstein, B. P., Breen, W. E., Terhar, D., & Steger, M. F. (2009). The curiosity and exploration inventory-II: Development, factor structure, and psychometrics. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(6), 987-998] for youth and (b) crafting new items based on scientific practices drawn from U.S. science standards documents. We administered a preliminary set of 30 items to 663 youth ages 8-18 in the U.S.A. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a three-factor model: stretching, embracing, and science practices. The findings indicate that the SCILE scale is a valid measure of youth's scientific curiosity for boys and girls as well as elementary, middle school, and high school learners.

  10. Students' Hands-on Experimental Work vs Lecture Demonstration in Teaching Elementary School Chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logar, Ana; Ferk-Savec, Vesna

    2011-12-01

    Science educators have suggested many benefits that accrue from engaging students in experimental activities, therefore, experimental work has a long and distinctive role in chemistry curriculum since. The presented empirical study focuses on the valuation of effectiveness of different forms of experimental work - students' hands-on experimental work vs teacher's lecture demonstration - from the viewpoint of the quality of content knowledge acquisition and knowledge retention in teaching primary school chemistry. 106 primary school students (age 14-15 years) participated in the study. The data was collected via pre- and post- test protocol and two delayed post tests. Additionally 16 students selected from the sample were interviewed. The results indicate that students' content knowledge gained through teacher's demonstration of experiment is better and better knowledge retention takes place in comparison to students' knowledge gained through students' hands-on experimental work. However, most of the inteviewed students stated that they prefered conducting of experiments by themselves in comparison to observation of teacher's demonstration.

  11. A combined hands-on teaching programme and clinical pathway focused on pleural ultrasound and procedure supervision transforms pleural procedure outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Timothy; Cook, Alistair; Salamonsen, Matthew; Bashirzadeh, Farzad; Fielding, David

    2017-11-01

    Management of pleural effusions is a common diagnostic and management problem. We reviewed the outcomes from pleural procedures after the instigation of pleural effusion management guidelines, focusing on pleural ultrasound and a hands-on teaching programme followed by procedure supervision that enabled many operators to perform such procedures. This is a retrospective analysis of all procedures performed for pleural effusions on medical patients. Outcomes were assessed prior to the instigation of pleural effusion management guidelines (pleural pathway) and hands-on teaching (January 2010 to June 2011) and following these interventions (January 2012 to June 2013). A total of 171 procedures involving 129 patients (pre-pathway group) and 146 procedures involving 115 patients (post-pathway group) was analysed. The rate of complications prior to the pleural pathway was 22.2% (38 of 171 procedures). Following the pathway, the rate of complications declined to 7.5% (11 of 146 procedures, P < 0.003). The use of pleural ultrasound increased dramatically (72.5 vs 90.2%). The number of patients who underwent repeated procedures (defined as ≥3) reduced dramatically (21 vs 7, P < 0.01). This improvement occurred using many supervised operators who completed the hands-on teaching programme (n = 32) and followed the pleural pathway (127 of 146 procedures). The instigation of a clinical pathway focused on the use of bedside pleural ultrasound, and teaching of drainage techniques with procedure supervision vastly improved patient outcomes. This not only allowed better quality of care for patients, it also provided the acquisition of new skills to medical staff, not limiting these skills to specialised staff. © 2017 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

  12. Science Curiosity in Learning Environments: Developing an Attitudinal Scale for Research in Schools, Homes, Museums, and the Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weible, Jennifer L.; Zimmerman, Heather Toomey

    2016-01-01

    Although curiosity is considered an integral aspect of science learning, researchers have debated how to define, measure, and support its development in individuals. Prior measures of curiosity include questionnaire type scales (primarily for adults) and behavioral measures. To address the need to measure scientific curiosity, the Science…

  13. Leibniz on the unicorn and various other curiosities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ariew, R

    1998-11-01

    I discuss some of Leibniz's pronouncements about fringe phenomena--various monsters; talking dogs; genies and prophets; unicorns, glossopetrae, and other games of nature--in order to understand better Leibniz's views on science and the role these curiosities play in his plans for scientific academies and societies. However, given that Leibniz's sincerity has been called into question in twentieth-century secondary literature, I begin with a few historiographical remarks so as to situate these pronouncements within the Leibnizian corpus. What emerges is an image of Leibniz as a sober, cautious interpreter, a skeptic one might say but one who is prepared to concede the possibility of many strange phenomena. Leibniz expects these fringe phenomena to take their place among the natural curiosities catalogued as part of a hoped for empirical database intended as means toward the perfection of the sciences.

  14. Children's Need to Know: Curiosity in Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engel, Susan

    2011-01-01

    In this essay, Susan Engel argues that curiosity is both intrinsic to children's development and unfolds through social interactions. Thus, it should be cultivated in schools, even though it is often almost completely absent from classrooms. Calling on well-established research and more recent studies, Engel argues that interactions between…

  15. Curiosity predicts smoking experimentation independent of susceptibility in a US national sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nodora, Jesse; Hartman, Sheri J; Strong, David R; Messer, Karen; Vera, Lisa E; White, Martha M; Portnoy, David B; Choiniere, Conrad J; Vullo, Genevieve C; Pierce, John P

    2014-12-01

    To improve smoking prevention efforts, better methods for identifying at-risk youth are needed. The widely used measure of susceptibility to smoking identifies at-risk adolescents; however, it correctly identifies only about one third of future smokers. Adding curiosity about smoking to this susceptibility index may allow us to identify a greater proportion of future smokers while they are still pre-teens. We use longitudinal data from a recent national study on parenting to prevent problem behaviors. Only oldest children between 10 and 13years of age were eligible. Participants were identified by RDD survey and followed for 6years. All baseline never smokers with at least one follow-up assessment were included (n=878). The association of curiosity about smoking with future smoking behavior was assessed. Then, curiosity was added to form an enhanced susceptibility index and sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were calculated. Among committed never smokers at baseline, those who were 'definitely not curious' were less likely to progress toward smoking than both those who were 'probably not curious' (ORadj=1.89; 95% CI=1.03-3.47) or 'probably/definitely curious' (ORadj=2.88; 95% CI=1.11-7.45). Incorporating curiosity into the susceptibility index increased the proportion identified as at-risk to smoke from 25.1% to 46.9%. The sensitivity (true positives) for this enhanced susceptibility index for both experimentation and established smoking increased from 37-40% to over 50%, although the positive predictive value did not improve. The addition of curiosity significantly improves the identification and classification of which adolescents will experiment with smoking or become established smokers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Pathways from parental stimulation of children's curiosity to high school science course accomplishments and science career interest and skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eskeles Gottfried, Adele; Johnson Preston, Kathleen Suzanne; Gottfried, Allen W.; Oliver, Pamella H.; Delany, Danielle E.; Ibrahim, Sirena M.

    2016-08-01

    Curiosity is fundamental to scientific inquiry and pursuance. Parents are important in encouraging children's involvement in science. This longitudinal study examined pathways from parental stimulation of children's curiosity per se to their science acquisition (SA). A latent variable of SA was indicated by the inter-related variables of high school science course accomplishments, career interest, and skill. A conceptual model investigated parental stimulation of children's curiosity as related to SA via science intrinsic motivation and science achievement. The Fullerton Longitudinal Study provided data spanning school entry through high school (N = 118). Parental stimulation of curiosity at age 8 years comprised exposing children to new experiences, promoting curiosity, encouraging asking questions, and taking children to a museum. Intrinsic motivation was measured at ages 9, 10, and 13 years, and achievement at ages 9, 10, and 11 years. Structural equation modelling was used for analyses. Controlling for socio-economic status, parental stimulation of curiosity bore positive and significant relations to science intrinsic motivation and achievement, which in turn related to SA. Gender neither related to stimulation of curiosity nor contributed to the model. Findings highlight the importance of parental stimulation of children's curiosity in facilitating trajectories into science, and relevance to science education is discussed.

  17. NASA's "Eyes On The Solar System:" A Real-time, 3D-Interactive Tool to Teach the Wonder of Planetary Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussey, K.

    2014-12-01

    NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is using video game technology to immerse students, the general public and mission personnel in our solar system and beyond. "Eyes on the Solar System," a cross-platform, real-time, 3D-interactive application that can run on-line or as a stand-alone "video game," is of particular interest to educators looking for inviting tools to capture students interest in a format they like and understand. (eyes.nasa.gov). It gives users an extraordinary view of our solar system by virtually transporting them across space and time to make first-person observations of spacecraft, planetary bodies and NASA/ESA missions in action. Key scientific results illustrated with video presentations, supporting imagery and web links are imbedded contextually into the solar system. Educators who want an interactive, game-based approach to engage students in learning Planetary Science will see how "Eyes" can be effectively used to teach its principles to grades 3 through 14.The presentation will include a detailed demonstration of the software along with a description/demonstration of how this technology is being adapted for education. There will also be a preview of coming attractions. This work is being conducted by the Visualization Technology Applications and Development Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the same team responsible for "Eyes on the Earth 3D," and "Eyes on Exoplanets," which can be viewed at eyes.nasa.gov/earth and eyes.nasa.gov/exoplanets.

  18. Bringing a Chemical Laboratory Named Sam to Mars on the 2011 Curiosity Rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahaffy, P. R.; Bleacher, L.; Jones, A.; Conrad, P. G.; Cabane, M.; Webster, C. R.; Atreya, S. A.; Manning, H.

    2010-01-01

    An important goal of upcoming missions to Mars is to understand if life could have developed there. The task of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of instruments [1] and the other Curiosity investigations [2] is to move us steadily toward that goal with an assessment of the habitability of our neighboring planet through a series of chemical and geological measurements. SAM is designed to search for organic compounds and inorganic volatiles and measure isotope ratios. Other instruments on Curiosity will provide elemental analysis and identify minerals. SAM will analyze both atmospheric samples and gases evolved from powdered rocks that may have formed billions of years ago with Curiosity providing access to interesting sites scouted by orbiting cameras and spectrometers.

  19. Martian Surface Mineralogy from Rovers with Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Richard V.

    2016-01-01

    Beginning in 2004, NASA has landed three well-instrumented rovers on the equatorial martian surface. The Spirit rover landed in Gusev crater in early January, 2004, and the Opportunity rover landed on the opposite side of Mars at Meridian Planum 21 days later. The Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater to the west of Gusev crater in August, 2012. Both Opportunity and Curiosity are currently operational. The twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity carried Mossbauer spectrometers to determine the oxidation state of iron and its mineralogical composition. The Curiosity rover has an X-ray diffraction instrument for identification and quantification of crystalline materials including clay minerals. Instrument suites on all three rovers are capable of distinguishing primary rock-forming minerals like olivine, pyroxene and magnetite and products of aqueous alteration in including amorphous iron oxides, hematite, goethite, sulfates, and clay minerals. The oxidation state of iron ranges from that typical for unweathered rocks and soils to nearly completely oxidized (weathered) rocks and soils as products of aqueous and acid-sulfate alteration. The in situ rover mineralogy also serves as ground-truth for orbital observations, and orbital mineralogical inferences are used for evaluating and planning rover exploration.

  20. The good, the bad (and the ugly): The role of curiosity in subjective well-being and risky behaviors among adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jovanović, Veljko; Gavrilov-Jerković, Vesna

    2014-02-01

    Previous studies have shown that enhanced trait curiosity has positive influence on well-being. It remains an open question, however, whether curiosity has any detrimental effects on behavioral outcomes in adolescence. The main aim of this research was to investigate the role of trait curiosity in the prediction of risky behavior engagement and subjective well-being (SWB) among adolescents. A total of 371 Serbian adolescents (mean age 15.5, SD = 0.57) participated in the 5-month follow up study. The results showed that the embracing component of curiosity (but not stretching) predicted risky behavior engagement, while the stretching component of curiosity (but not embracing) predicted positive affect. In addition, neither embracing nor stretching was a significant predictor of negative affect and life satisfaction. The results of this study call into question the conceptualization of curiosity as a completely positive emotional-motivational system, and suggest that curiosity can contribute to negative outcomes in adolescence.

  1. Calcium Sulfate Characterized by ChemCam/Curiosity at Gale Crater, Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nachon, M.; Clegg, S. N.; Mangold, N.; Schroeder, S.; Kah, L. C.; Dromart, G.; Ollila, A.; Johnson, J. R.; Oehler, D. Z.; Bridges, J. C.; hide

    2014-01-01

    Onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover, the ChemCam instrument consists of :(1) a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) for elemental analysis of the targets [1;2] and (2) a Remote Micro Imager (RMI), for the imaging context of laser analysis [3]. Within the Gale crater, Curiosity traveled from Bradbury Landing through the Rocknest region and into Yellowknife Bay (YB). In the latter, abundant light-toned fracture-fill material were seen [4;5]. ChemCam analysis demonstrate that those fracture fills consist of calcium sulfates [6].

  2. E-cigarette curiosity among U.S. middle and high school students: Findings from the 2014 national youth tobacco survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margolis, Katherine A; Nguyen, Anh B; Slavit, Wendy I; King, Brian A

    2016-08-01

    Curiosity is a potential risk factor for electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, which has increased considerably among US youth in recent years. We examined the relationship between curiosity about e-cigarettes and perceived harm, comparative addictiveness, and e-cigarette advertisement exposure. Data came from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey, a nationally representative survey of U.S. middle and high school students. In 2014, 2.5% of middle school and 9.2% of high school students currently used cigarettes, while 3.9% of middle school and 13.4% of high school students reported current e-cigarette use. Among never e-cigarette users (n=17,286), descriptive statistics assessed curiosity about e-cigarettes by combustible tobacco use, sex, race/ethnicity, and school level. Associations between curiosity and perceived harm (absolute and comparative to cigarettes), comparative addictiveness, and e-cigarette advertising exposure were explored using multivariate models in 2015. Among youth who never used e-cigarettes, 25.8% reported curiosity about e-cigarettes. Higher levels of perceived absolute harm and comparative harm were associated with lower levels of curiosity, while no association was observed between comparative addictiveness and curiosity. Among never combustible tobacco users, the odds of high curiosity were greater among non-Hispanic blacks (odds ratio (OR): 1.39; 95% confidence interval (CI):1.02-1.88), Hispanics (OR=1.79; 95% CI:1.48-2.16), and non-Hispanic 'Other' (OR=1.47; 95% CI:1.15-1.89) race/ethnicities than non-Hispanic whites. One-quarter of middle and high school students who have never used e-cigarettes are curious about the products, with greater curiosity among those with lower perceptions of harm from these products. These findings may help inform future strategies aimed at reducing curiosity about e-cigarettes among youth. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. Cooperation, curiosity and creativity as virtues in participatory design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steen, M.G.D.

    2011-01-01

    In this essay, I explore how virtue ethics can help to better understand design processes. Three virtues are discussed that people need in order to become participatory design virtuosos: cooperation, curiosity and creativity.

  4. Using videos, apps and hands-on experience in undergraduate hydrology teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Loon, Anne

    2016-04-01

    Hydrological sciences teaching always needs to make a link between the classroom and the outside world. This can be done with fieldwork and excursions, but the increasing availability of open educational resources gives more-and-more other options to make theory more understandable and applicable. In the undergraduate teaching of hydrology at the University of Birmingham we make use of a number of tools to enhance the hydrology 'experience' of students. Firstly, we add hydrological science videos available in the public domain to our explanations of theory. These are both visualisations of concepts and recorded demonstrations in the field or the lab. One example is the concept of catchments and travel times which has been excellently visualised by MetEd. Secondly, we use a number of mobile phone apps, which provide virtual reality information and real-time monitoring information. We use the MySoil App (by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), British Geological Survey (BGS) and Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH)) and iGeology / iGeology3D (by BGS) to let students explore soil properties and hydrogeology of an area of interest. And we use the River Levels App (by OGL based on Environment Agency real time data) for exploring real time river levels and investigating spatial variability. Finally, we developed small hands-on projects for students to apply the theory outside the classroom. We for instance let them do simple infiltration experiments and ask them to them design a measurement plan. Evaluations have shown that students enjoy these activities and that it helps their learning. In this presentation we hope to share our experience so that the options for using open (educational) resources for hydrology teaching become more used in linking the classroom to the outside world.

  5. The Scallop's Eye--A Concave Mirror in the Context of Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colicchia, Giuseppe; Waltner, Christine; Hopf, Martin; Wiesner, Hartmut

    2009-01-01

    Teaching physics in the context of medicine or biology is a way to generate students' interest in physics. A more uncommon type of eye, the scallop's eye (an eye with a spherical concave mirror, which is similar to a Newtonian or Schmidt telescope) and the image-forming mechanism in this eye are described. Also, a simple eye model, which can…

  6. The Curiosity Mars Rover's Fault Protection Engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benowitz, Ed

    2014-01-01

    The Curiosity Rover, currently operating on Mars, contains flight software onboard to autonomously handle aspects of system fault protection. Over 1000 monitors and 39 responses are present in the flight software. Orchestrating these behaviors is the flight software's fault protection engine. In this paper, we discuss the engine's design, responsibilities, and present some lessons learned for future missions.

  7. Teaching Ecology to Children of Preschool Education to Instill Environmentally Friendly Behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Maria Eduarda; Cruz, Catarina; Pitarma, Rui

    2016-01-01

    This qualitative study analyzes the results of a pedagogical and didactic experiment which was focused on the problem of teaching environmentally-friendly behaviours to young kindergarten children. It is essential to awaken children's curiosity and desire to know more about environmental issues in their regions so that children develop their own…

  8. Physics curiosities, oddities, and novelties

    CERN Document Server

    Kimball, John

    2015-01-01

    An Enlightening Way to Navigate through Mind-Boggling Physics ConceptsPhysics Curiosities, Oddities, and Novelties highlights unusual aspects of physics and gives a new twist to some fundamental concepts. The book covers both classical and modern physics in an engaging, straightforward style.The author presents perplexing questions that often lack satisfying answers. He also delves into the stories of famous and eccentric past scientists. Many examples reveal interesting ideas, including how:Newton had trouble determining the mass of the moonAn electric motor is an electric generator run in re

  9. "The Eye of the Cyclone" - Teaching Natural Hazards in Schools by Using M-Learning and Augmented Reality Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortwein, Annette; Schultz, Johannes; Rienow, Andreas

    2017-04-01

    Earth observation from space enables scientists and decision makers to forecast and react on the impacts of tropical storms. The project "Columbus Eye - Live-Imagery from the ISS in School Lessons" teaches pupils the implications of the coupled human-environment systems by applying remote sensing and digital image processing. Recently, Columbus Eye launched its first Android App featuring ISS videos. Generating a smartphone-based learning environment for working with ISS imagery introduces m-learning to the classrooms. The learning unit "The Eye of the Cyclone" addresses the formation and path of Philippine typhoon Maysak by using a multi-media approach. Based on a traditional work sheet, the diagrams of typhoon Maysak come alive when viewed through the smartphone's camera. A diagram of the typhoon's secret interior mechanics turns into a video of typhoon Maysak as seen from the ISS on 31st of March 2015, holding additional information on its unique specifications. The second diagram of air masses suddenly moves and shows the path of typhoon Maysak over time. But before those interactive parts are explored, the background information is presented in the work sheet by means of written scientific learning materials, including information on the occurrence, formation and inner structure of typhoons. Thus, fostering the reading competence, the pupils' understanding on the topic is assessed by several tasks on the work sheet's final page. The oral presentation explains how the haptic experience of writing the solutions on a sheet of paper makes the knowledge paperbound and "real", literally lifting pens & papers into space. In the light of the Copernicus services, it will be explained how Sentinel-based teaching units can be developed in order to communicating the knowledge and the handling of natural hazards in times of global change.

  10. Virtues in participatory design: cooperation, curiosity, creativity, empowerment and reflexivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steen, Marc

    2013-09-01

    In this essay several virtues are discussed that are needed in people who work in participatory design (PD). The term PD is used here to refer specifically to an approach in designing information systems with its roots in Scandinavia in the 1970s and 1980s. Through the lens of virtue ethics and based on key texts in PD, the virtues of cooperation, curiosity, creativity, empowerment and reflexivity are discussed. Cooperation helps people in PD projects to engage in cooperative curiosity and cooperative creativity. Curiosity helps them to empathize with others and their experiences, and to engage in joint learning. Creativity helps them to envision, try out and materialize ideas, and to jointly create new products and services. Empowerment helps them to share power and to enable other people to flourish. Moreover, reflexivity helps them to perceive and to modify their own thoughts, feelings and actions. In the spirit of virtue ethics-which focuses on specific people in concrete situations-several examples from one PD project are provided. Virtue ethics is likely to appeal to people in PD projects because it is practice-oriented, provides room for exploration and experimentation, and promotes professional and personal development. In closing, some ideas for practical application, for education and for further research are discussed.

  11. Does an eye-hand coordination test have added value as part of talent identification in table tennis? A validity and reproducibility study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irene R Faber

    Full Text Available This study investigated the added value, i.e. discriminative and concurrent validity and reproducibility, of an eye-hand coordination test relevant to table tennis as part of talent identification. Forty-three table tennis players (7-12 years from national (n = 13, regional (n = 11 and local training centres (n = 19 participated. During the eye-hand coordination test, children needed to throw a ball against a vertical positioned table tennis table with one hand and to catch the ball correctly with the other hand as frequently as possible in 30 seconds. Four different test versions were assessed varying the distance to the table (1 or 2 meter and using a tennis or table tennis ball. 'Within session' reproducibility was estimated for the two attempts of the initial tests and ten youngsters were retested after 4 weeks to estimate 'between sessions' reproducibility. Validity analyses using age as covariate showed that players from the national and regional centres scored significantly higher than players from the local centre in all test versions (p<0.05. The tests at 1 meter demonstrated better discriminative ability than those at 2 meter. While all tests but one had a positive significant association with competition outcome, which were corrected for age influences, the version with a table tennis ball at 1 meter showed the highest association (r = 0.54; p = 0.001. Differences between the first and second attempts were comparable for all test versions (between -8 and +7 repetitions with ICC's ranging from 0.72 to 0.87. The smallest differences were found for the test with a table tennis ball at 1 meter (between -3 and +3 repetitions. Best test version as part of talent identification appears to be the version with a table tennis ball at 1 meter regarding the psychometric characteristics evaluated. Longitudinal studies are necessary to evaluate the predictive value of this test.

  12. The Geologic Exploration of the Bagnold Dune Field at Gale Crater by the Curiosity Rover.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chojnacki, Matthew; Fenton, Lori K

    2017-11-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity engaged in a monthlong campaign investigating the Bagnold dune field in Gale crater. What represents the first in situ investigation of a dune field on another planet has resulted in a number of discoveries. Collectively, the Curiosity rover team has compiled the most comprehensive survey of any extraterrestrial aeolian system visited to date with results that yield important insights into a number of processes, including sediment transport, bed form morphology and structure, chemical and physical composition of aeolian sand, and wind regime characteristics. These findings and more are provided in detail by the JGR-Planets Special Issue Curiosity's Bagnold Dunes Campaign, Phase I.

  13. Eyes To See and Ears To Hear: Teaching Math in the Childhood Years. Integrating Math in Children's Learning Centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guha, Smita

    The objective of preschool teachers should be to determine the mathematical ability of preschool children and improve their skills using meaningful teaching methods through pictorial demonstration and manipulative models. Children who receive number concept instruction through hands-on play models, activities, and discussion show greater…

  14. Spectrum Of Eye Diseases At The Ebonyi State University Teaching ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective To determine the pattern of eye disorders presenting at the eye clinic of EBSUTH, Abakaliki. Methodology: This is a prospective, descriptive, total population study. The sample size consists of all consecutive new patients seen at the eye clinic over a 7- month period. A proforma developed for the study was used to ...

  15. The science eye and scalpel in 21st century

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, I.

    2004-01-01

    Although the science in the 20th century accomplished remarkable development by discipline, such as science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, the starting point is man's intellectual appetite, and is the result of many people investigating the strange world by avaricious raw. Although the walk in the world and the help of research which utilize an accelerator and are not visible had been carried out until now, the play heart worked and the future was viewed by natural curiosity with whether it is interesting to see what from now on and to investigate what recently. It decided to arrange this and to tell as science of eye on lookers see more than players. (author)

  16. Head and eye movement as pointing modalities for eyewear computers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jalaliniya, Shahram; Mardanbeigi, Diako; Pederson, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    examined using head and eye movements to point on a graphical user interface of a wearable computer. The performance of users in head and eye pointing has been compared with mouse pointing as a baseline method. The result of our experiment showed that the eye pointing is significantly faster than head......While the new generation of eyewear computers have increased expectations of a wearable computer, providing input to these devices is still challenging. Hand-held devices, voice commands, and hand gestures have already been explored to provide input to the wearable devices. In this paper, we...

  17. Pre-Service Teachers Methods of Teaching Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Raquel C. Pambid

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The study described the teaching methods used by pre-service teachers in Science. It focused on the strategies, techniques, materials, innovative methods and pattern of teaching science used by the pre-service teachers as described in their lesson plans. The qualitative and quantitative design was used in the study. The books, teacher hand-outs from classroom lectures were the sources of methods, strategies and techniques. The chalkboard and self-made drawings and charts were the materials often used. Conventional methods like lecture, open class discussion and demonstration were commonly employed. The strategies included group discussion, use of motivating questions and stories to arouse the interest of students. The direct eye contact, body expressions, jokes and news/trivia were frequent techniques. Integration of values in the lesson became less as the year level increases. The pattern of teaching drawn followed the formal style: I Objectives, II Subject matter, III Learning Tasks, IV Synthesis of the lesson, V Assessment and VI Enrichment. The conventional method and pattern of teaching by the pre-service teachers of PSU suggest that students in the College of Teacher Education should be trained to be more innovative and open in trying out more advanced teaching methods. Furthermore, PSU science pre-service teachers should use methods which can develop higher order thinking skills among high school students.

  18. Development of a model of machine hand eye coordination and program specifications for a topological machine vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    1972-01-01

    A unified approach to computer vision and manipulation is developed which is called choreographic vision. In the model, objects to be viewed by a projected robot in the Viking missions to Mars are seen as objects to be manipulated within choreographic contexts controlled by a multimoded remote, supervisory control system on Earth. A new theory of context relations is introduced as a basis for choreographic programming languages. A topological vision model is developed for recognizing objects by shape and contour. This model is integrated with a projected vision system consisting of a multiaperture image dissector TV camera and a ranging laser system. System program specifications integrate eye-hand coordination and topological vision functions and an aerospace multiprocessor implementation is described.

  19. Understanding primary school science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge: The case of teaching global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chordnork, Boonliang; Yuenyong, Chokchai

    2018-01-01

    This aim of this research was to investigate primary school science teachers understanding and teaching practice as well as the influence on teaching and learning a topic like global warming. The participants were four primary science teachers, who were not graduated in science education. Methodology was the case study method, which was under the qualitative research regarded from interpretive paradigm. Data were collected by openended questionnaire, semi-structure interview, and document colleting. The questionnaire examined teachers' background, teachers' understanding of problems and threats of science teaching, desiring of development their PCK, sharing the teaching approaches, and their ideas of strength and weakness. a semi-structured interview was conducted based on the approach for capturing PCK of Loughran [23] content representation (CoRe). And, the document was collected to clarify what evidence which was invented to effect on students' learning. These document included lesson plan, students' task, and painting about global warming, science projects, the picture of activities of science learning, the exercise and test. Data analysis employed multiple approach of evidence looking an issue from each primary science teachers and used triangulation method to analyze the data with aiming to make meaning of teachers' representation of teaching practice. These included descriptive statistics, CoRe interpretation, and document analysis. The results show that teachers had misunderstanding of science teaching practice and they has articulated the pedagogical content knowledge in terms of assessment, goal of teaching and linking to the context of socio cultural. In contrast, knowledge and belief of curriculum, students' understanding of content global warming, and strategies of teaching were articulated indistinct by non-graduate science teacher. Constructing opportunities for personal development, the curiosity of the student learning center, and linking context

  20. Robotic set-up to quantify hand-eye behavior in motor execution and learning of children with autism spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casellato, Claudia; Gandolla, Marta; Crippa, Alessandro; Pedrocchi, Alessandra

    2017-07-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifaceted neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a persistence of social and communication impairment, and restricted and repetitive behaviors. However, motor disorders have also been described, but not objectively assessed. Most studies showed inefficient eye-hand coordination and motor learning in children with ASD; in other experiments, mechanisms of acquisition of internal models in self-generated movements appeared to be normal in autism. In this framework, we have developed a robotic protocol, recording gaze and hand data during upper limb tasks, in which a haptic pen-like handle is moved along specific trajectories displayed on the screen. The protocol includes trials of reaching under a perturbing force field and catching moving targets, with or without visual availability of the whole path. We acquired 16 typically-developing scholar-age children and one child with ASD as a case study. Speed-accuracy tradeoff, motor performance, and gaze-hand spatial coordination have been evaluated. Compared to typically developing peers, in the force field sequence, the child with ASD showed an intact but delayed learning, and more variable gazehand patterns. In the catching trials, he showed less efficient movements, but an intact capability of exploiting the available a-priori plan. The proposed protocol represents a powerful tool, easily tunable, for quantitative (longitudinal) assessment, and for subject-tailored training in ASD.

  1. Hablar el Lenguaje de las Manos Hacia las Manos (Talking the Language of the Hands to the Hands). DB-LINK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Barbara

    This paper examines the importance of hands for the person who is deafblind, reviews hand development, and identifies specific teaching skills that facilitate hand development and expressiveness in persons who are deafblind. It notes that the hands of a deafblind individual serve not only as tools but also as sense organs (to compensate for their…

  2. Lateralization for visual processes: eye preference in Campbell's monkeys (Cercopithecus c. campbelli).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapelain, Amandine S; Blois-Heulin, Catherine

    2009-01-01

    Brain lateralization has been the matter of extensive research over the last centuries, but it remains an unsolved issue. While hand preferences have been extensively studied, very few studies have investigated laterality of eye use in non-human primates. We examined eye preference in 14 Campbell's monkeys (Cercopithecus c. campbelli). We assessed eye preference to look at a seed placed inside a tube using monocular vision. Eye use was recorded for 100 independent and non-rewarded trials per individual. All of the 14 monkeys showed very strong preferences in the choice of the eye used to look inside the tube (mean preference: 97.6%). Eight subjects preferred the right eye and six subjects preferred the left eye. The results are discussed in light of previous data on eye preference in primates, and compared to data on hand preference from these subjects. Our findings would support the hypothesis for an early emergence of lateralization for perceptual processes compared to manual motor functions.

  3. Congenital eye and adneial anomalies in Kano, a 5 year review ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Knowledge of prevalence and types of congenital eye and adnexial anomalies is important as some of these anomalies can lead to childhood blindness. The aim of the study is to determine the types of congenital eye and adnexial anomalies seen in the eye clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, ...

  4. Pattern of Eye Disorders in Ogbodo: A Rural Community in Rivers ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Alasia Datonye

    Department of Internal Medicine * and Opthamology **, University of Port Harcourt Teaching. Hospital, Port ... eye care and prevention of blindness. Methods: The eye .... percent and age related macular degeneration (AMRD) in. 3.7 percent of ...

  5. Eye and Hand Movements during Reconstruction of Spatial Memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melanie Rose Burke

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Recent behavioural and biological evidence indicates common mechanisms serving working memory and attention (eg, Awh et al 2006, Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10, 124–130. This study explored the role of spatial attention and visual search in an adapted Corsi spatial memory task. Eye movements and touch responses were recorded from participants who recalled locations (signalled by colour or shape change from an array presented either simultaneously or sequentially. The time delay between target presentation and recall (0, 5, or 10s and the number of locations to be remembered (2–5 were also manipulated. Analysis of the response phase revealed subjects were less accurate (touch data and fixated longer (eye data when responding to sequentially presented targets. Fixation duration was also influenced by whether spatial location was initially signalled by colour or shape change. We conclude that attention and temporal delays during retention of a target play a minor role in motor behaviour during a corsi spatial memory task. In contrast, the type of memory required (ie, location and/or memory and number of items plays a key role on subject performance and behaviour.

  6. Curiosity Search: Producing Generalists by Encouraging Individuals to Continually Explore and Acquire Skills throughout Their Lifetime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanton, Christopher; Clune, Jeff

    2016-01-01

    Natural animals are renowned for their ability to acquire a diverse and general skill set over the course of their lifetime. However, research in artificial intelligence has yet to produce agents that acquire all or even most of the available skills in non-trivial environments. One candidate algorithm for encouraging the production of such individuals is Novelty Search, which pressures organisms to exhibit different behaviors from other individuals. However, we hypothesized that Novelty Search would produce sub-populations of specialists, in which each individual possesses a subset of skills, but no one organism acquires all or most of the skills. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm called Curiosity Search, which is designed to produce individuals that acquire as many skills as possible during their lifetime. We show that in a multiple-skill maze environment, Curiosity Search does produce individuals that explore their entire domain, while a traditional implementation of Novelty Search produces specialists. However, we reveal that when modified to encourage intra-life behavioral diversity, Novelty Search can produce organisms that explore almost as much of their environment as Curiosity Search, although Curiosity Search retains a significant performance edge. Finally, we show that Curiosity Search is a useful helper objective when combined with Novelty Search, producing individuals that acquire significantly more skills than either algorithm alone.

  7. Integrated Results from Analysis of the Rocknest Aeolian Deposit by the Curiosity Rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leshin, L. A.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Blake, D. F.; Edgett, K. S.; Gellert, R.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Malin, M. C.; Wiens, R. C.; Treiman, A. H.; Ming, D. W.; hide

    2013-01-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover spent 45 sols (from sol 56-101) at an area called Rocknest (Fig. 1), characterizing local geology and ingesting its aeolian fines into the analytical instruments CheMin and SAM for mineralogical and chemical analysis. Many abstracts at this meeting present the contextual information and detailed data on these first solid samples analyzed in detail by Curiosity at Rocknest. Here, we present an integrated view of the results from Rocknest - the general agreement from discussions among the entire MSL Science Team.

  8. Engaging non-Majors: Teaching From the Eye of Hurricane Katrina and the Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarmiento, S. E.

    2007-12-01

    Engaging non-majors to become interested in the geosciences college courses they take for a science requirement represents a challenge. These courses are most likely the only exposure they will ever have to a formal earth science curriculum. Experience shows a general lack of motivation and the need to find effective teaching methods to raise their interest. In the beginning of the fall 2005 semester, I participated in a research project to measure water vapor contents on the ground of the eye of hurricane Katrina in Slidell, Louisiana. Sharing this experience with my physical and environmental geology students made a significant difference (25 percentage final grade improvement) on their interest and course performance over previous semesters. Class presentations with data collected in Katrina contributed to build a general trust in the instructor and in the way, students viewed the role of geosciences in the mitigation of natural hazardous processes. The use of travel blogs and internet enhanced courses allows teaching real time from almost anywhere as it was recently done from the east pacific (360 miles NW from Guam). An interactive portfolio of the faculty field experiences presented at the beginning of the semester has the potential to build student interest and their trust on the faculty experience and passion for the subject.

  9. Height estimations based on eye measurements throughout a gait cycle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Sylvia X M; Larsen, Peter K; Alkjær, Tine

    2014-01-01

    (EH) measurement, on the other hand, is less prone to concealment. The purpose of the present study was to investigate: (1) how the eye height varies during the gait cycle, and (2) how the eye height changes with head position. The eyes were plotted manually in APAS for 16 test subjects during...

  10. EYE CONTROLLED SWITCHING USING CIRCULAR HOUGH TRANSFORM

    OpenAIRE

    Sagar Lakhmani

    2014-01-01

    The paper presents hands free interface between electrical appliances or devices. This technology is intended to replace conventional switching devices for the use of disabled. It is a new way to interact with the electrical or electronic devices that we use in our daily life. The paper illustrates how the movement of eye cornea and blinking can be used for switching the devices. The basic Circle Detection algorithm is used to determine the position of eye. Eye blinking is used...

  11. Teach and Touch the Earth and Sky

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florina Tendea, Camelia

    2017-04-01

    supplemented attitudes and behaviors that care for their health, for the health of others and to the natural environment, interest and appreciation of logical argument; curiosity and concern about environmental phenomena, independent thinking, creativity. I think that is very important, like teacher, to combine the two parts of teaching: theoretical one and practical one. TEACH means setting a bag of theoretical aspects and also who can provide us support?(ideas, resources, scientific competitions etc.) and TOUCH means practical aspects for teachers & students. Resoults: Participating of teachers and students at workshops, round table, scientific debates provide knowledge about Space in context of STEM disciplines, Hands-on experiences; Find different situations of learning; Ideas, methods and techniques for design new lessons; Real scientific data from ESA/ESERO/ROSA sites; Chance to be part of international projects. Conclusions:Teach and Touch the Earth and Sky - could be a great chance to benefit from the proposed programs of ESA, through which space can be brought into the classroom and used as a tool for teaching and learning, moreover access to actual scientific data and experiences shared by the scientists, or other specialists offers a new prespective in the study of STEM subjects by students.

  12. Line-feature-based calibration method of structured light plane parameters for robot hand-eye system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Yuhan; Jing, Fengshui; Tan, Min

    2013-03-01

    For monocular-structured light vision measurement, it is essential to calibrate the structured light plane parameters in addition to the camera intrinsic parameters. A line-feature-based calibration method of structured light plane parameters for a robot hand-eye system is proposed. Structured light stripes are selected as calibrating primitive elements, and the robot moves from one calibrating position to another with constraint in order that two misaligned stripe lines are generated. The images of stripe lines could then be captured by the camera fixed at the robot's end link. During calibration, the equations of two stripe lines in the camera coordinate system are calculated, and then the structured light plane could be determined. As the robot's motion may affect the effectiveness of calibration, so the robot's motion constraints are analyzed. A calibration experiment and two vision measurement experiments are implemented, and the results reveal that the calibration accuracy can meet the precision requirement of robot thick plate welding. Finally, analysis and discussion are provided to illustrate that the method has a high efficiency fit for industrial in-situ calibration.

  13. Curiosity and Its Role in Cross-Cultural Knowledge Creation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikhaylov, Natalie S.

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores the role of curiosity in promoting cross-cultural knowledge creation and competence development. It is based on a study with four international higher educational institutions, all of which offer management and business education for local and international students. The reality of multicultural and intercultural relationships…

  14. Adoptees' Curiosity and Information-Seeking about Birth Parents in Emerging Adulthood: Context, Motivation, and Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wrobel, Gretchen Miller; Grotevant, Harold D.; Samek, Diana R.; Von Korff, Lynn

    2013-01-01

    The Adoption Curiosity Pathway (ACP) model was used to test the potential mediating effect of curiosity on adoption information-seeking in a sample of 143 emerging adult adoptees (mean age = 25.0 years) who were adopted as infants within the United States by parents of the same race. Adoptees were interviewed about their intentions and actions…

  15. Eye and hand movements during reconstruction of spatial memory

    OpenAIRE

    Burke, MR; Allen, RJ; Gonzalez, C

    2012-01-01

    © 2012 a Pion publication Recent behavioural and biological evidence indicates common mechanisms serving working memory and attention (e.g., Awh et al, 2006 Neuroscience 139 201-208). This study explored the role of spatial attention and visual search in an adapted Corsi spatial memory task. Eye movements and touch responses were recorded from participants who recalled locations (signalled by colour or shape change) from an array presented either simultaneously or sequentially. The time de...

  16. Eye and Hand Movements during Reconstruction of Spatial Memory

    OpenAIRE

    Melanie Rose Burke; Richard Allen; Matilda Webster; Claudia Gonzalez

    2012-01-01

    Recent behavioural and biological evidence indicates common mechanisms serving working memory and attention (eg, Awh et al 2006, Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10, 124–130). This study explored the role of spatial attention and visual search in an adapted Corsi spatial memory task. Eye movements and touch responses were recorded from participants who recalled locations (signalled by colour or shape change) from an array presented either simultaneously or sequentially. The time delay between tar...

  17. Interventions for disorders of eye movement in patients with stroke

    OpenAIRE

    Pollock, A.; Hazelton, C.; Henderson, C.A.; Angilley, J.; Dhillon, B.; Langhorne, P.; Livingstone, K.; Munro, F.A.; Orr, H.; Rowe, F.J.; Shahani, U.

    2011-01-01

    Background Eye movement disorders may affect over 70% of stroke patients. These eye movement disorders can result in difficulty maintaining the normal ocular position and difficulty moving the eyes appropriately. The resulting functional disabilities include a loss of depth perception, reduced hand-to-eye co-ordination, marked difficulties with near tasks and reading and reduced ability to scan the visual environment. They can also impact on the effectiveness of rehabilitation therapy. There ...

  18. The fellow eye of patients with phakic lattice retinal detachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Folk, J C; Arrindell, E L; Klugman, M R

    1989-01-01

    A retrospective study was performed to determine whether the prophylactic treatment of areas of lattice degeneration, holes, or breaks reduced the risk of subsequent new breaks or detachment in the fellow undetached phakic eyes of patients with a phakic lattice retinal detachment (RD). Three hundred eighty-eight consecutive patients who presented to the University of Iowa between 1959 and 1984 were followed for a mean of 7.9 +/- 5.8 years after the detachment in the first eye. Fellow eyes which received no prophylactic treatment had a 2.5 times greater risk of a new break or RD over 7 years than eyes receiving full prophylactic treatment (19.4 versus 7.5%; P = 0.0002). Fellow eyes receiving no treatment also had a greater risk of a new RD over 7 years than eyes receiving full treatment (5.1 versus 1.8%; P = 0.0125). These results do not allow us to make recommendations concerning which fellow eyes, if any, should be prophylactically treated. On the one hand, prophylactic treatment did significantly reduce the risk of new breaks and detachments. On the other hand, however, prophylactic treatment reduced the risk of new RD alone in the fellow eye only from 5.1 to 1.8% over 7 years. In addition, prophylactic treatment did not reduce the risk of detachment in the higher risk eyes with high myopia or extensive lattice.

  19. Sequential Low Cost Interventions Double Hand Hygiene Rates ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sequential Low Cost Interventions Double Hand Hygiene Rates Among Medical Teams in a Resource Limited Setting. Results of a Hand Hygiene Quality Improvement Project Conducted At University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (Chuk), Kigali, Rwanda.

  20. The Perfect Eye A Novel Model for Teaching the Theory of Refraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurtz, Daniel

    1999-01-01

    The Perfect Eye model simplifies solutions to a wide variety of optometry instructional problems by facilitating student understanding of the interaction among lenses, objects, accommodation, and ametropia. The model is based on the premise that inside every eye is a perfect (emmetropic) eye, and that the physiological eye is a combination of the…

  1. Curiosity: A Prerequisite for the Attainment of Formal Operations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, Vincent J.

    1982-01-01

    Research on Piaget's four stages of cognitive development has shown that although nearly everyone passes through sensorimotor, preoperational, and concrete operational stages, most do not reach the stage of formal operations. Those people who do attain formal operations seem to have a curiosity factor not operative in those who don't. (Author/BRR)

  2. Traditional eye medicine use by newly presenting ophthalmic patients to a teaching hospital in south-eastern Nigeria: socio-demographic and clinical correlates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uche Judith

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study set out to determine the incidence, socio-demographic, and clinical correlates of Traditional Eye Medicine (TEM use in a population of newly presenting ophthalmic outpatients attending a tertiary eye care centre in south-eastern Nigeria. Methods In a comparative cross-sectional survey at the eye clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH, Enugu, between August 2004 - July 2006, all newly presenting ophthalmic outpatients were recruited. Participants' socio-demographic and clinical data and profile of TEM use were obtained from history and examination of each participant and entered into a pretested questionnaire and proforma. Participants were subsequently categorized into TEM- users and non-users; intra-group analysis yielded proportions, frequencies, and percentages while chi-square test was used for inter-group comparisons at P = 0.01, df = 1. Results Of the 2,542 (males, 48.1%; females, 51.9% participants, 149 (5.9% (males, 45%; females, 55% used TEM for their current eye disease. The TEMs used were chemical substances (57.7%, plant products (37.7%, and animal products (4.7%. They were more often prescribed by non-traditional (66.4% than traditional (36.9% medicine practitioners. TEMs were used on account of vision loss (58.5%, ocular itching (25.4% and eye discharge (3.8%. Reported efficacy from previous users (67.1% and belief in potency (28.2% were the main reasons for using TEM. Civil servants (20.1%, farmers (17.7%, and traders (14.1% were the leading users of TEM. TEM use was significantly associated with younger age (p Conclusion The incidence of TEM use among new ophthalmic outpatients at UNTH is low. The reasons for TEM use are amenable to positive change through enhanced delivery of promotive, preventive, and curative public eye care services. This has implications for eye care planners and implementers. To reverse the trend, we suggest strengthening of eye care programmes, even

  3. Exploration of Mars with the ChemCam LIBS Instrument and the Curiosity Rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newsom, Horton E.

    2016-01-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover landed on Mars in August 2012, and has been exploring the planet ever since. Dr. Horton E. Newsom will discuss the MSL's design and main goal, which is to characterize past environments that may have been conducive to the evolution and sustainability of life. He will also discuss Curiosity's science payload, and remote sensing, analytical capabilities, and direct discoveries of the Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) instrument, which is the first Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) to operate on another planetary surface and determine the chemistry of the rocks and soils.

  4. Empathic curiosity: resolving goal conflicts that generate emotional distress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEvoy, P; Baker, D; Plant, R; Hylton, K; Mansell, W

    2013-04-01

    The quality of the therapeutic alliance between therapist and client is consistently identified as a key component of cognitive behavioural interventions. However, relatively little is known about the causal mechanisms that generate the effects that are ascribed to the therapeutic alliance. This paper outlines how one such causal mechanism, empathic curiosity, may operate. The explanation is rooted in control theory, a theory that explains the link between our experiences and our goal-directed behaviour. Empathic curiosity is underpinned by the core skills of empathic listening and maintaining a curious attitude. From a control theory perspective, the value of this type of listening may be reinforced when speak to people about their salient concerns, as they perceive them in the current flow of their conscious thoughts. This can be facilitated by linking curious questions to the non-verbal disruptions in their body posture and conversational flow. The approach is illustrated using three case examples. In all three examples, the clients involved were able to reflect upon and re-organize conflicting goals that had been a source of significant emotional distress. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing.

  5. Effect of Putting Grip on Eye and Head Movements During the Golf Putting Stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George K. Hung

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this article is to determine the effect of three different putting grips (conventional, cross-hand, and one-handed on variations in eye and head movements during the putting stroke. Seven volunteer novice players, ranging in age from 21 to 22 years, participated in the study. During each experimental session, the subject stood on a specially designed platform covered with artificial turf and putted golf balls towards a standard golf hole. The three different types of grips were tested at two distances: 3 and 9 ft. For each condition, 20 putts were attempted. For each putt, data were recorded over a 3-s interval at a sampling rate of 100 Hz. Eye movements were recorded using a helmet-mounted eye movement monitor. Head rotation about an imaginary axis through the top of the head and its center-of-rotation was measured by means of a potentiometer mounted on a fixed frame and coupled to the helmet. Putter-head motion was measured using a linear array of infrared phototransistors embedded in the platform. The standard deviation (STD, relative to the initial level was calculated for eye and head movements over the duration of the putt (i.e., from the beginning of the backstroke, through the forward stroke, to impact. The averaged STD for the attempted putts was calculated for each subject. Then, the averaged STDs and other data for the seven subjects were statistically compared across the three grip conditions. The STD of eye movements were greater (p < 0.1 for conventional than cross-hand (9 ft and one-handed (3 and 9 ft grips. Also, the STD of head movements were greater (p < 0.1; 3 ft for conventional than cross-hand and one-handed grips. Vestibulo-ocular responses associated with head rotations could be observed in many 9 ft and some 3 ft putts. The duration of the putt was significantly longer (p < 0.05; 3 and 9 ft for the one-handed than conventional and cross-hand grips. Finally, performance, or percentage putts made, was

  6. The Pedagogy of the Heart and the Mind--Cultivating Curiosity and a Love of Learning, Part 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmichael, Patricia

    2009-01-01

    The cultivation of curiosity and interest in children for their own pleasure and for their place in the world around them is a significant factor in each student's well-being as well as the future of society. Many educators think that schools no longer provide a curriculum that develops curiosity, creativity, and personal interests in young…

  7. Patterns of Eye Diseases in Children Visiting a Tertiary Teaching ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: About 19 million children worldwide live with visual impairments resulting from different ocular morbidities. This study aimed to identify the different causes of eye diseases in children visiting a tertiary eye centre at Jimma University Hospital. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of charts of patients of ...

  8. Surgical Indications for Eye Removal in Enugu, South Eastern Nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: To determine the surgical indications for removal of the eye in Enugu in south eastern Nigeria. Method: Retrospective case series review. Results: At the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, between 1st January 1994 and 31st December 2003, 106 eyes of 106 patients, comprising 71 (67.0%) males ...

  9. Science &Language Teaching in Hands-on Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gehlert, Sylvia

    2002-01-01

    As announced in the paper presented in Toulouse, a trinational teacher training program addressing school teachers from France, Germany and Italy on teaching foreign languages together with science and history through Space related projects has been implemented and launched successfully. Supported by the French Ministry of Education (Académie de Nice), the bigovernmental French-German Youth Office (Office franco- allemand pour la Jeunesse) and the European Space Agency the first session was held in Cannes in October 2001 and brought together 36 language, science and history teachers, 12 from each country. Through different workshops, presentations and visits this five-day training encounter initiated the participants with Space activities and exploration as well as offering them back-up information on astronomy. It gave them furthermore the opportunity of improving their linguistic skills and of exchanging their teaching experience. The program was highly welcomed by all the participants who will meet this year in Germany for the second session devoted to establishing together bi- or trinational projects for future class encounters based on the same subjects. My paper will deal with the results of the program which have been beyond expectation and will encourage us to continue this pluridisciplinary approach of language &science teaching and extend it to other language combinations.

  10. Potential Cement Phases in Sedimentary Rocks Drilled by Curiosity at Gale Crater, Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rampe, E. B.; Morris, R. V.; Bish, D. L.; Chipera, S. J.; Ming, D. W.; Blake, D. F.; Vaniman, D. T.; Bristow, T. F.; Cavanagh, P.; Farmer, J. D.; hide

    2015-01-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has encountered a variety of sedimentary rocks in Gale crater with different grain sizes, diagenetic features, sedimentary structures, and varying degrees of resistance to erosion. Curiosity has drilled three rocks to date and has analyzed the mineralogy, chemical composition, and textures of the samples with the science payload. The drilled rocks are the Sheepbed mudstone at Yellowknife Bay on the plains of Gale crater (John Klein and Cumberland targets), the Dillinger sandstone at the Kimberley on the plains of Gale crater (Windjana target), and a sedimentary unit in the Pahrump Hills in the lowermost rocks at the base of Mt. Sharp (Confidence Hills target). CheMin is the Xray diffractometer on Curiosity, and its data are used to identify and determine the abundance of mineral phases. Secondary phases can tell us about aqueous alteration processes and, thus, can help to elucidate past aqueous environments. Here, we present the secondary mineralogy of the rocks drilled to date as seen by CheMin and discuss past aqueous environments in Gale crater, the potential cementing agents in each rock, and how amorphous materials may play a role in cementing the sediments.

  11. Science Curiosity as a Correlate of Academic Performance in Mathematics Education: Insights from Nigerian Higher Education

    OpenAIRE

    Abakpa , Benjamin ,; Abah , Joshua ,; Okoh Agbo-Egwu , Abel

    2018-01-01

    International audience; This study investigated the relationship between the science curiosity levels of undergraduate of mathematics education in a Nigerian higher educational institution and their academic grade point averages. The study employed a correlational survey research design on a random sample of 104 mathematics education students. The Science Curiosity Scale – Comparative Self Report was adapted to measure the students' distinctive appetite for consuming science-related media for...

  12. Routine monitoring of eye dose; and reply

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palmer, K; Jeans, S P; Faulkner, K; Bardsley, R A; Love, H G

    1985-12-01

    This letter briefly reports the assessment at Papworth Hospital of the feasibility of monitoring eye doses of staff using a film badge worn on the shoulder in addition to the badge worn under the lead apron. For three consecutive months hand and eye (forehead) dose were monitored using TLDs, while shoulder and body dose, recorded under the lead apron, were measured with film badges. For the four doctors monitored, (two radiologists and two cardiologists) the shoulder badge somewhat overestimated the eye dose. In the case of nurses, the dose recorded by the shoulder badge was of a similar order to the TLD-recorded eye dose. The reply from the Christie Hospital at Manchester comments on the use of the shoulder badge and contends that the use of forehead dosemeters to measure eye dose is to be preferred whenever possible.

  13. Journalism Curiosity and Story Telling Frame

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunwald, Ebbe; Rupar, Verica

    2009-01-01

    This comparative study of journalism practices in Australia and Denmark explores the interplay between two concepts relevant for journalism's meaning-making activity: a curiosity seen as an action meant to close an information gap, and a story telling frame seen as a form of structuring information...... the epistemological and organisational dimension of frames relates to the process of  meaning-making. We suggest refining the concept of frame in journalism studies by making a distinction between a frame (an epistemological category) and an angle (a textual organisation category). Our investigation shows...... that this distinction better serves the analysis and understanding of the mechanisms behind journalism in comparative contexts. Udgivelsesdato: December...

  14. Nitrogen on Mars: Insights from Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, J. C.; Sutter, B.; Jackson, W. A.; Navarro-Gonzalez, Rafael; McKay, Chrisopher P.; Ming, W.; Archer, P. Douglas; Glavin, D. P.; Fairen, A. G.; Mahaffy, Paul R.

    2017-01-01

    Recent detection of nitrate on Mars indicates that nitrogen fixation processes occurred in early martian history. Data collected by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on the Curiosity Rover can be integrated with Mars analog work in order to better understand the fixation and mobility of nitrogen on Mars, and thus its availability to putative biology. In particular, the relationship between nitrate and other soluble salts may help reveal the timing of nitrogen fixation and post-depositional behavior of nitrate on Mars. In addition, in situ measurements of nitrogen abundance and isotopic composition may be used to model atmospheric conditions on early Mars.

  15. Could hands-on activities and smartphone in science CLIL teaching foster motivation and positive attitudes in students?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ercolino, Immacolata; Maraffi, Sabina; Sacerdoti, Francesco M.

    2016-04-01

    Motivating students is one of the most challenging things we do as educators. We know that students need to be engaged to fully appreciate and learn what has been taught; the secret consists in nurturing student engagement. One of the newer ways to involve students and foster motivation in their Science learning consists in focusing on their usage and on applying knowledge and skills in their real-life. Students usually are engaged in authentic teaching pathway. Learning focusing on the experience helps teachers to improve classroom management by gathering students around a common organized activity. Hands-on activities support problem-based approaches to learning by focusing on the experience and process of investigating, proposing and creating solutions developing critical thinking skills and enlarge student's scientific glossary. We utilized in our classroom some lab activities that we learned at an ESA/GTTP Teacher training Workshop 2014 program at the Lorentz Center Leiden, Netherlands. "Cooking a comet - Ingredients for life" "Demonstration of the second Kepler's law using marbles" New media equipment, as student's own smartphones, can increase the teaching impact speaking the same language used by the students every day. They can measure magnetic fields, their GPS coordinates (longitude and latitude), and so on. In this way we can measure distances as parallax using mobile devices and simulating distance measurements in the classroom, on the school campus. The smartphone is the device with which the students answer questions, take decisions, and solve quests. Students infact can observe the Universe from their classroom and scientifically they can watch the Sun with "Google sky map" or "Star walk" are excellent tools to learn your way around the night sky .As teachers we used these apps in the classroom when Sun goes through the constellations so our students don't believe in horoscopes. This paper is focused on hands on activities and the effects of the

  16. What interests them in the pictures?--differences in eye-tracking between rhesus monkeys and humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Ying-Zhou; Jiang, Hui-Hui; Liu, Ci-Rong; Wang, Jian-Hong; Yu, Cheng-Yang; Carlson, Synnöve; Yang, Shang-Chuan; Saarinen, Veli-Matti; Rizak, Joshua D; Tian, Xiao-Guang; Tan, Hen; Chen, Zhu-Yue; Ma, Yuan-Ye; Hu, Xin-Tian

    2013-10-01

    Studies estimating eye movements have demonstrated that non-human primates have fixation patterns similar to humans at the first sight of a picture. In the current study, three sets of pictures containing monkeys, humans or both were presented to rhesus monkeys and humans. The eye movements on these pictures by the two species were recorded using a Tobii eye-tracking system. We found that monkeys paid more attention to the head and body in pictures containing monkeys, whereas both monkeys and humans paid more attention to the head in pictures containing humans. The humans always concentrated on the eyes and head in all the pictures, indicating the social role of facial cues in society. Although humans paid more attention to the hands than monkeys, both monkeys and humans were interested in the hands and what was being done with them in the pictures. This may suggest the importance and necessity of hands for survival. Finally, monkeys scored lower in eye-tracking when fixating on the pictures, as if they were less interested in looking at the screen than humans. The locations of fixation in monkeys may provide insight into the role of eye movements in an evolutionary context.

  17. EYE- RELATED TRAUMA AND INFECTION IN DENTISTRY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan EKMEKÇİOĞLU

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Despite numerous technological and medical developments achieved in recent years, a significant amount of occupational health problems still exist in modern dentistry. The risk of eye injury is mostly attributed to the use of high-speed hand pieces and ultrasonic devices. A dental clinic may be the source of eye-related infection and injury because of mechanical, chemical, microbiological and electromagnetic irritants. Accidents may cause facial injuries that involve eyes of the clinicians, patients as well as dental assistants. Eye injuries can vary from mild irritation to blindness. The use of eye protection tools, such as protective goggles and visors, reduces the risk of eye damage or complete loss of vision while working with dangerous and floating materials. Therefore, all precautions should be taken, even when performing common procedures for which the risk expectancy is relatively low. Clinicians should be aware that they are also responsible for providing adequate protection for their assistants and patients, as well as themselves.

  18. Dune and ripple migration along Curiosity's traverse in Gale Crater on Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvestro, S.; Vaz, D.; Ewing, R. C.; Fenton, L. K.; Michaels, T. I.; Ayoub, F.; Bridges, N. T.

    2013-12-01

    The NASA Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, has safely landed near a 35-km-long dark dune field in Gale Crater on Mars. This dune field lies along Curiosity's traverse to Aeolis Mons (Mt. Sharp). Here we present new evidence of aeolian activity and further estimate wind directions within the dune field through analysis of ripple migration with the COSI-Corr technique, which provides precise measurements of ripple displacement at the sub-pixel scale.The area analyzed is located ~10 km southwest of rover Curiosity's current position and ~4 km SW of its selected path through Aeolis Mons (Mt. Sharp) (Fig. 1a). Here barchan dunes with elongated horns and seif dunes coexist with more typical barchan and dome dunes (Fig. 1a, b), with slopes sculpted by two intersecting ripple crestline orientations trending at 45° and 330°. The range of dune types and ripple orientations indicate the dune field morphology is influenced by at least two winds from the NW and the NE. The direction of migration is toward the SW, suggesting the most recent sand transporting winds were from the NE (Fig. 1c). These results match previous predictions and can be used to forecast the wind conditions close to the entry point to Mt. Sharp. Fig. 1: a-b) Study area c) Ripple migration direction computed using the COSI-Corr technique

  19. How Evolution May Work Through Curiosity-Driven Developmental Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oudeyer, Pierre-Yves; Smith, Linda B

    2016-04-01

    Infants' own activities create and actively select their learning experiences. Here we review recent models of embodied information seeking and curiosity-driven learning and show that these mechanisms have deep implications for development and evolution. We discuss how these mechanisms yield self-organized epigenesis with emergent ordered behavioral and cognitive developmental stages. We describe a robotic experiment that explored the hypothesis that progress in learning, in and for itself, generates intrinsic rewards: The robot learners probabilistically selected experiences according to their potential for reducing uncertainty. In these experiments, curiosity-driven learning led the robot learner to successively discover object affordances and vocal interaction with its peers. We explain how a learning curriculum adapted to the current constraints of the learning system automatically formed, constraining learning and shaping the developmental trajectory. The observed trajectories in the robot experiment share many properties with those in infant development, including a mixture of regularities and diversities in the developmental patterns. Finally, we argue that such emergent developmental structures can guide and constrain evolution, in particular with regard to the origins of language. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  20. A Hands-On Approach To Teaching Microcontroller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Che Fai Yeong

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Practice and application-oriented approach in education is important, and some research on active learning and cooperative problem-solving have shown that a student will learn faster and develop communication skill, leadership and team work through these methods. This paper presents a study of student preference and performance while learning the microcontroller subject with a 2-day curriculum that emphasized on hands-on approach. The curriculum uses the PIC16F877A microcontroller and participants learned to develop basic circuits and several other applications. Programming was completed on the MPLAB platform. Results show that participants had better understanding in this subject after attending the hands-on course.

  1. Pathways from Parental Stimulation of Children's Curiosity to High School Science Course Accomplishments and Science Career Interest and Skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottfried, Adele Eskeles; Preston, Kathleen Suzanne Johnson; Gottfried, Allen W.; Oliver, Pamella H.; Delany, Danielle E.; Ibrahim, Sirena M.

    2016-01-01

    Curiosity is fundamental to scientific inquiry and pursuance. Parents are important in encouraging children's involvement in science. This longitudinal study examined pathways from parental stimulation of children's curiosity per se to their science acquisition (SA). A latent variable of SA was indicated by the inter-related variables of high…

  2. Diagenetic Features Analyzed by ChemCam/Curiosity at Pahrump Hills, Gale Crater, Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nachon, M.; Mangold, N.; Cousin, A.; Forni, O.; Anderson, R. B.; Blank, J. G.; Calef, F.; Clegg, S.; Fabre, C.; Fisk, M.; hide

    2015-01-01

    Onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover, the ChemCam instrument consists of : (1) a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) for elemental analysis of targets and (2) a Remote Micro Imager (RMI), which provides imaging context for the LIBS. The LIBS/ChemCam performs analysis typically of spot sizes 350-550 micrometers in diameter, up to 7 meters from the rover. Within Gale crater, Curiosity traveled from Bradbury Landing toward the base of Mount Sharp, reaching Pahrump Hills outcrop circa sol 750. This region, as seen from orbit, represents the first exposures of lower Mount Sharp. In this abstract we focus on two types of features present within the Pahrump Hills outcrop: concretion features and light-toned veins.

  3. The effectiveness of Family Science and Technology Workshops on parental involvement, student achievement, and student curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosten, Lora Bechard

    The literature suggests that parental involvement in schools results in positive changes in students and that schools need to provide opportunities for parents to share in the learning process. Workshops are an effective method of engaging parents in the education of their children. This dissertation studies the effects of voluntary Family Science and Technology Workshops on elementary children's science interest and achievement, as well as on parents' collaboration in their child's education. The study involved 35 second and third-grade students and their parents who volunteered to participate. The parental volunteers were randomly assigned to either the control group (children attending the workshops without a parent) or the treatment group (children attending the workshops with a parent). The study was conducted in the Fall of 1995 over a four-week period. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine the effects of the workshops on children's science achievement and science curiosity, as well as on parents' involvement with their child's education. The study revealed that there was no significant statistical difference at the.05 level between the treatment/control groups in children's science achievement or science curiosity, or in parent's involvement with their children's education. However, the study did focus parental attention on effective education and points the way to more extensive research in this critical learning area. This dual study, that is, the effects of teaching basic technology to young students with the support of their parents, reflects the focus of the Salve Regina University Ph.D. program in which technology is examined in its effects on humans. In essence, this program investigates what it means to be human in an age of advanced technology.

  4. Hands on Workshop on Teaching Forensic Engineering Teaching Students Critical Thinking by Investigative mindset

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Saunders, G.N.; Schuurman, M.J.; Rans, C.D.

    2016-01-01

    When teaching Engineering to students it is important that we not only teach about
    how to engineer new things but also look at the failures and performance problems
    from an engineering point-of-view. The field that studies this part of engineering is
    known as Forensic Engineering. The

  5. "Staying in Focus"--An Online Optics Tutorial on the Eye

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoeling, Barbara M.

    2011-01-01

    The human eye and its vision problems are often used as an entry subject and attention grabber in the teaching of geometrical optics. While this is a real-life application students can relate to, it is difficult to visualize how the eye forms images by studying the still pictures and drawings in a textbook. How to draw a principal ray diagram or…

  6. Hand Grasping Synergies As Biometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Vrajeshri; Thukral, Poojita; Burns, Martin K; Florescu, Ionut; Chandramouli, Rajarathnam; Vinjamuri, Ramana

    2017-01-01

    Recently, the need for more secure identity verification systems has driven researchers to explore other sources of biometrics. This includes iris patterns, palm print, hand geometry, facial recognition, and movement patterns (hand motion, gait, and eye movements). Identity verification systems may benefit from the complexity of human movement that integrates multiple levels of control (neural, muscular, and kinematic). Using principal component analysis, we extracted spatiotemporal hand synergies (movement synergies) from an object grasping dataset to explore their use as a potential biometric. These movement synergies are in the form of joint angular velocity profiles of 10 joints. We explored the effect of joint type, digit, number of objects, and grasp type. In its best configuration, movement synergies achieved an equal error rate of 8.19%. While movement synergies can be integrated into an identity verification system with motion capture ability, we also explored a camera-ready version of hand synergies-postural synergies. In this proof of concept system, postural synergies performed well, but only when specific postures were chosen. Based on these results, hand synergies show promise as a potential biometric that can be combined with other hand-based biometrics for improved security.

  7. Hand Grasping Synergies As Biometrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramana Vinjamuri

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Recently, the need for more secure identity verification systems has driven researchers to explore other sources of biometrics. This includes iris patterns, palm print, hand geometry, facial recognition, and movement patterns (hand motion, gait, and eye movements. Identity verification systems may benefit from the complexity of human movement that integrates multiple levels of control (neural, muscular, and kinematic. Using principal component analysis, we extracted spatiotemporal hand synergies (movement synergies from an object grasping dataset to explore their use as a potential biometric. These movement synergies are in the form of joint angular velocity profiles of 10 joints. We explored the effect of joint type, digit, number of objects, and grasp type. In its best configuration, movement synergies achieved an equal error rate of 8.19%. While movement synergies can be integrated into an identity verification system with motion capture ability, we also explored a camera-ready version of hand synergies—postural synergies. In this proof of concept system, postural synergies performed well, but only when specific postures were chosen. Based on these results, hand synergies show promise as a potential biometric that can be combined with other hand-based biometrics for improved security.

  8. Nuanced aesthetic emotions: emotion differentiation is related to knowledge of the arts and curiosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fayn, Kirill; Silvia, Paul J; Erbas, Yasemin; Tiliopoulos, Niko; Kuppens, Peter

    2018-05-01

    The ability to distinguish between emotions is considered indicative of well-being, but does emotion differentiation (ED) in an aesthetic context also reflect deeper and more knowledgeable aesthetic experiences? Here we examine whether positive and negative ED in response to artistic stimuli reflects higher fluency in an aesthetic domain. Particularly, we test whether knowledge of the arts and curiosity are associated with more fine-grained positive and negative aesthetic experiences. A sample of 214 people rated their positive and negative feelings in response to various artworks including positive and negative themes. Positive ED was associated with the embracing sub-trait of curiosity that reflects engagement and enjoyment of novelty and complexity, but was unrelated to artistic knowledge and perceived comprehension. Negative ED was associated with higher curiosity and particularly more knowledge of the arts. This relationship was mediated by appraised comprehension suggesting that deeper engagement with art, by those with more art knowledge, is associated with more fine-grained emotional experiences. This finding extends ED beyond well-being research and suggests that more nuanced emotional experiences are more likely for those with expertise in the arts and motivation for exploration.

  9. Coordination of hand shape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesyna, Colin; Pundi, Krishna; Flanders, Martha

    2011-03-09

    The neural control of hand movement involves coordination of the sensory, motor, and memory systems. Recent studies have documented the motor coordinates for hand shape, but less is known about the corresponding patterns of somatosensory activity. To initiate this line of investigation, the present study characterized the sense of hand shape by evaluating the influence of differences in the amount of grasping or twisting force, and differences in forearm orientation. Human subjects were asked to use the left hand to report the perceived shape of the right hand. In the first experiment, six commonly grasped items were arranged on the table in front of the subject: bottle, doorknob, egg, notebook, carton, and pan. With eyes closed, subjects used the right hand to lightly touch, forcefully support, or imagine holding each object, while 15 joint angles were measured in each hand with a pair of wired gloves. The forces introduced by supporting or twisting did not influence the perceptual report of hand shape, but for most objects, the report was distorted in a consistent manner by differences in forearm orientation. Subjects appeared to adjust the intrinsic joint angles of the left hand, as well as the left wrist posture, so as to maintain the imagined object in its proper spatial orientation. In a second experiment, this result was largely replicated with unfamiliar objects. Thus, somatosensory and motor information appear to be coordinated in an object-based, spatial-coordinate system, sensitive to orientation relative to gravitational forces, but invariant to grasp forcefulness.

  10. Parental Involvement and English Language Teaching to Young Learners: Parents' Experience in Aceh

    OpenAIRE

    Wati, Shafrida

    2015-01-01

    The interest of teaching English to young learners increased rapidly since the language has significant influence in the modern world. English is strongly associated with social and economic power in globalization's context. Introducing English earlier offers opportunities to awaken the learners' enthusiasm and curiosity about the language, to achieve native-like accent, and to enable them to learn the language easily at further levels. However, there are controversies, particularly, about th...

  11. The Search for Ammonia in Martian Soils with Curiosity's SAM Instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wray, James J.; Archer, P. D.; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Franz, H. B.; Freissinet, C.; Glavin, D. P.; Mahaffy, P. R.; McKay, C. P.; Navarro-Gonzalez, R.; hide

    2013-01-01

    Nitrogen is the second or third most abundant constituent of the Martian atmosphere [1,2]. It is a bioessential element, a component of all amino acids and nucleic acids that make up proteins, DNA and RNA, so assessing its availability is a key part of Curiosity's mission to characterize Martian habitability. In oxidizing desert environments it is found in nitrate salts that co-occur with perchlorates [e.g., 3], inferred to be widespread in Mars soils [4-6]. A Mars nitrogen cycle has been proposed [7], yet prior missions have not constrained the state of surface N. Here we explore Curiosity's ability to detect N compounds using data from the rover's first solid sample. Companion abstracts describe evidence for nitrates [8] and for nitriles (C(triple bond)N) [9]; we focus here on nonnitrile, reduced-N compounds as inferred from bonded N-H. The simplest such compound is ammonia (NH3), found in many carbonaceous chondrite meteorites in NH4(+) salts and organic compounds [e.g., 10].

  12. PBL, Hands-On/ Digital resources in Geology, (Teaching/ Learning)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Rosa; Santos, Cátia; Carvalho, Sara

    2015-04-01

    several instruments such as small questionnaires (Hot Potatoes), Gowin V, scientific report, a grid to evaluate group work and a grid to evaluate the development of competencies. This study intended to evaluate the success of a PBL intervention program when trying to improve students' outcomes. The positive impact obtained allowed us to advance some conclusions and instructional implications regarding teaching Rock Cycle through PBL and different digital and hands-on resources, obtained, especially in the students' questionnaires and Gowin V, allowed us to verify that students did learn about Rock Cycle and developed collaborative work skills.

  13. Pattern of Eye Problems of the Elderly in a Nigerian Tertiary Health ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The pattern of eye problems in 1,964 elderly Nigerians (972 males and 992 females) attending University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital over a 5-year period were reviewed and documented. This is aimed at determining the hospital incidence and pattern of eye problems among elderly Nigerians. retrospective case series ...

  14. Hands-On Nuclear Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittaker, Jeff

    2013-01-01

    Nuclear science is an important topic in terms of its application to power generation, medical diagnostics and treatment, and national defense. Unfortunately, the subatomic domain is far removed from daily experience, and few learning aids are available to teachers. What follows describes a low-tech, hands-on method to teach important concepts in…

  15. Task-irrelevant expectation violations in sequential manual actions: Evidence for a “check-after-surprise” mode of visual attention and eye-hand decoupling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Martina Foerster

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available When performing sequential manual actions (e.g., cooking, visual information is prioritized according to the task determining where and when to attend, look, and act. In well-practiced sequential actions, long-term memory (LTM-based expectations specify which action targets might be found where and when. We have previously demonstrated (Foerster and Schneider, 2015b that violations of such expectations that are task-relevant (e.g., target location change cause a regression from a memory-based mode of attentional selection to visual search. How might task-irrelevant expectation violations in such well-practiced sequential manual actions modify attentional selection? This question was investigated by a computerized version of the number-connection test. Participants clicked on nine spatially-distributed numbered target circles in ascending order while eye movements were recorded as proxy for covert attention. Target’s visual features and locations stayed constant for 65 prechange-trials, allowing practicing the manual action sequence. Consecutively, a task-irrelevant expectation violation occurred and stayed for 20 change-trials. Specifically, action target number 4 appeared in a different font. In 15 reversion-trials, number 4 returned to the original font. During the first task-irrelevant change trial, manual clicking was slower and eye scanpaths were larger and contained more fixations. The additional fixations were mainly checking fixations on the changed target while acting on later targets. Whereas the eyes repeatedly revisited the task-irrelevant change, cursor-paths remained completely unaffected. Effects lasted for 2-3 change trials and did not reappear during reversion. In conclusion, an unexpected task-irrelevant change on a task-defining feature of a well-practiced manual sequence leads to eye-hand decoupling and a check-after-surprise mode of attentional selection.

  16. Indications for Surgical Removal of the Eye in Irrua, Nigeria | Enock ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: To determine the reasons for removal of the eye at the. Irrua Specialist Teaching hospital, Irrua, Edo State, southern Nigeria. Method: A retrospective study of all cases of enucleation and evisceration carried out over a 10-year period – July 1997 to June 2007 – at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital. Data

  17. An eleventh-century Egyptian guide to the universe the book of curiosities

    CERN Document Server

    Rapoport, Yossef

    2013-01-01

    The Book of Curiosities is an eleventh-century Arabic account of the heavens and the Earth, illustrated by remarkable maps and astronomical diagrams. This authoritative edition and translation opens a unique window onto the geographical and astrological knowledge of medieval Islam.

  18. Strong rightward lateralization of the dorsal attentional network in left-handers with right sighting-eye: an evolutionary advantage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petit, Laurent; Zago, Laure; Mellet, Emmanuel; Jobard, Gaël; Crivello, Fabrice; Joliot, Marc; Mazoyer, Bernard; Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie

    2015-03-01

    Hemispheric lateralization for spatial attention and its relationships with manual preference strength and eye preference were studied in a sample of 293 healthy individuals balanced for manual preference. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to map this large sample while performing visually guided saccadic eye movements. This activated a bilateral distributed cortico-subcortical network in which dorsal and ventral attentional/saccadic pathways elicited rightward asymmetrical activation depending on manual preference strength and sighting eye. While the ventral pathway showed a strong rightward asymmetry irrespective of both manual preference strength and eye preference, the dorsal frontoparietal network showed a robust rightward asymmetry in strongly left-handers, even more pronounced in left-handed subjects with a right sighting-eye. Our findings brings support to the hypothesis that the origin of the rightward hemispheric dominance for spatial attention may have a manipulo-spatial origin neither perceptual nor motor per se but rather reflecting a mechanism by which a spatial context is mapped onto the perceptual and motor activities, including the exploration of the spatial environment with eyes and hands. Within this context, strongly left-handers with a right sighting-eye may benefit from the advantage of having the same right hemispheric control of their dominant hand and visuospatial attention processing. We suggest that this phenomenon explains why left-handed right sighting-eye athletes can outperform their competitors in sporting duels and that the prehistoric and historical constancy of the left-handers ratio over the general population may relate in part on the hemispheric specialization of spatial attention. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. E-cigarette openness, curiosity, harm perceptions and advertising exposure among U.S. middle and high school students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margolis, Katherine A; Donaldson, Elisabeth A; Portnoy, David B; Robinson, Joelle; Neff, Linda J; Jamal, Ahmed

    2018-07-01

    Understanding factors associated with youth e-cigarette openness and curiosity are important for assessing probability of future use. We examined how e-cigarette harm perceptions and advertising exposure are associated with openness and curiosity among tobacco naive youth. Findings from the 2015 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) were analyzed. The 2015 NYTS is a nationally representative survey of 17,711 U.S. middle and high school students. We calculated weighted prevalence estimates of never users of tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars/cigarillos/little cigars, waterpipe/hookah, smokeless tobacco, bidis, pipes, dissolvables, e-cigarettes) who were open to or curious about e-cigarette use, by demographics. Weighted regression models examined how e-cigarette harm perceptions and advertising exposure were associated with openness using e-cigarettes and curiosity about trying e-cigarettes. Among respondents who never used tobacco products, 23.8% were open to using e-cigarettes and 25.4% were curious. Respondents that perceived e-cigarettes cause a lot of harm had lower odds of both openness (OR = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.07, 0.15) and curiosity about e-cigarettes (OR = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.07, 0.13) compared to those with lower harm perception. Respondents who reported high exposure to e-cigarette advertising in stores had greater odds of being open to e-cigarette use (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.44) and highly curious (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.53) compared to those not highly exposed. These findings demonstrate that youth exposed to e-cigarette advertising are open and curious to e-cigarette use. These findings could help public health practitioners better understand the interplay of advertising exposure and harm perceptions with curiosity and openness to e-cigarette use in a rapidly changing marketplace. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  20. Factors influencing hand/eye synchronicity in the computer age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, A H

    1992-09-01

    In using a computer, the relation of vision to hand/finger actuated keyboard usage in performing fine motor-coordinated functions is influenced by the physical location, size, and collective placement of the keys. Traditional nonprehensile flat/rectangular keyboard applications usually require a high and nearly constant level of visual attention. Biometrically shaped keyboards would allow for prehensile hand-posturing, thus affording better tactile familiarity with the keys, requiring less intense and less constant level of visual attention to the task, and providing a greater measure of freedom from having to visualize the key(s). Workpace and related physiological changes, aging, onset of monocularization (intermittent lapsing of binocularity for near vision) that accompanies presbyopia, tool colors, and background contrast are factors affecting constancy of visual attention to task performance. Capitas extension, excessive excyclotorsion, and repetitive strain injuries (such as carpal tunnel syndrome) are common and debilitating concomitants to computer usage. These problems can be remedied by improved keyboard design. The salutary role of mnemonics in minimizing visual dependency is discussed.

  1. Comparison of online, hands-on, and a combined approach for teaching cautery disbudding technique to dairy producers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winder, Charlotte B; LeBlanc, Stephen J; Haley, Derek B; Lissemore, Kerry D; Godkin, M Ann; Duffield, Todd F

    2018-01-01

    The use of pain control for disbudding and dehorning is important from both an animal and industry perspective. Best practices include the use of local anesthetic, commonly given as a cornual nerve block (CNB), and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The proportion is decreasing, but many dairy producers do not use local anesthesia, perhaps in part due to lack of knowledge of the CNB technique. Although this skill is typically learned in person from a veterinarian, alternative methods may be useful. The objective of this trial was to determine if there were differences in the efficacy of online training (n = 23), hands-on training (n = 20), and a combined approach (n = 23) for teaching producers to successfully administer a CNB and disbud a calf. The primary outcome was block efficacy, defined as a lack of established pain behaviors during iron application. Secondary outcomes were background knowledge (assessed by a written quiz), CNB and disbudding technique (evaluated by rubric scoring), time taken, and self-confidence before and after evaluation. Associations between training group and outcome were assessed with logistic regression, ordered logistic regression, and Cox-proportional hazard models, with a random effect for workshop. Block efficacy was not different between training groups, with 91% successful in both combined and online groups, and 75% in the hands-on trained group. Online learners had poorer technical scores than hands-on trainees. The combined group was not different from hands-on. Time to block completion tended to be longer for the online group (62 ± 11 s), whereas time to disbudding completion was not different between hands-on (41 ± 5 s) or combined trainees (41 ± 5 s). The combined group had the highest pre-evaluation confidence score, and remained higher after evaluation than online but was not different than hands-on. Although we saw some statistical differences between groups, absolute differences were small and block efficacy was

  2. The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development applied to learning to teach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Francisco Santiago Martin

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a research about the development of interest in teaching. The subjects of study were students of a public University of Paraná, Brazil, who integrated the a project in initial training called PIBID in scientific areas (Biological Sciences, Physics and Chemistry. The methodological procedures were based on the discursive textual analysis, from which it was possible to organize the data according to the Four-Phases Model of Interest Development (MDI of Hidi and Renninger (2006. After analysis, it was possible to characterize the interest of these students in teaching, suggesting that this interest can be developed in students during initial training. Our data showed, moreover, that interest in teaching has two main characteristics: the desire to be a teacher and the curiosity of the students to know how is to be a teacher. In addition, it was found that the school teachers can directly influence the maintenance of student interest in following a teaching career.

  3. Learning to See: Guiding Students' Attention via a Model's Eye Movements Fosters Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarodzka, Halszka; van Gog, Tamara; Dorr, Michael; Scheiter, Katharina; Gerjets, Peter

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated how to teach perceptual tasks, that is, classifying fish locomotion, through eye movement modeling examples (EMME). EMME consisted of a replay of eye movements of a didactically behaving domain expert (model), which had been recorded while he executed the task, superimposed onto the video stimulus. Seventy-five students…

  4. Indentation and needle insertion properties of the human eye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, A; Hutnik, C; Hill, K; Newson, T; Chan, T; Campbell, G

    2014-07-01

    Characterization of the biomechanical properties of the human eye has a number of potential utilities. One novel purpose is to provide the basis for development of suitable tissue-mimicking material. The purpose of this study was to determine the indentation and needle insertion characteristics on human eye globes and tissue strips. An indenter assessed the elastic response of human eye globes and tissue strips under increasing compressive loads. Needle insertion determined the force (N) needed to penetrate various areas of the eye wall. The results demonstrated that globes underwent slightly greater indentation at the midline than at the central cornea, and corneal strips indented twofold more than scleral strips, although neither difference was significant (P=0.400 and P=0.100, respectively). Significant differences were observed among various areas of needle insertion (Phuman eye construct with potential utility as a model for use in ophthalmology research and surgical teaching.

  5. Unexpected Expectations The Curiosities of a Mathematical Crystal Ball

    CERN Document Server

    Wapner, Leonard M

    2012-01-01

    Unexpected Expectations: The Curiosities of a Mathematical Crystal Ball explores how paradoxical challenges involving mathematical expectation often necessitate a reexamination of basic premises. The author takes you through mathematical paradoxes associated with seemingly straightforward applications of mathematical expectation and shows how these unexpected contradictions may push you to reconsider the legitimacy of the applications. The book requires only an understanding of basic algebraic operations and includes supplemental mathematical background in chapter appendices. After a history o

  6. Hand-it-on”

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dieckmann, Gerhard Peter; Graae Zeltner, Louise; Helsø, Anne-Mette

    2016-01-01

    Non-technical skills (NTS) are an integral part of the abilities healthcare professionals need to optimally care for patients. Integrating NTS into the already complex tasks of healthcare can be a challenge for clinicians. Integrating NTS into simulation-based training increases the demands...... and where they can apply them in their work. It complements existing approaches to teaching NTS by limiting the complexity of the game and by removing medical content, allowing learners to concentrate on NTS. Hand-it-on is relevant for groups and teams working across the range of different healthcare...... and the replication of Hand-it-on by many simulation teams support its value....

  7. Mars' surface radiation environment measured with the Mars science laboratory's curiosity rover

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hassler, D.M.; Zeitlin, C.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R.F.; Ehresmann, B.; Rafkin, S.; Eigenbrode, J.L.; Brinza, D.E.; Weigle, G.; Böttcher, S.; Böhm, E.; Burmeister, S.; Guo, J.; Köhler, J.; Martin, C.; Reitz, G.; Cucinotta, F.A.; Kim, M.-H.; Grinspoon, D.; Bullock, M.A.; Posner, A.; Gómez-Elvira, J.; Vasavada, A.; Grotzinger, J.P.; MSL Science Team, the|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/292012217

    2014-01-01

    The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on the Mars Science Laboratory’s Curiosity rover began making detailed measurements of the cosmic ray and energetic particle radiation environment on the surface of Mars on 7 August 2012. We report and discuss measurements of the absorbed dose and dose

  8. The penultimate curiosity how science swims in the slipstream of ultimate questions

    CERN Document Server

    Wagner, Roger

    2016-01-01

    This book sets out to answer one of the most important, vexed, and profound questions about the development of human thought: What lies at the root of the long entanglement between science and religion? Why throughout our journey from cave painting to quantum physics have attempts to describe the physical world that we can see been so closely enmeshed with the aspiration to see beyond the rim of the visible world? The university cities of Oxford and Cambridge each contain a remarkable invocation with a fascinating history. Both are set in the seminal scientific buildings of the university, and both articulate a connection between science and faith. How did they come to be there, and what connects them? The curiosity that leads to the search for religious understanding and the curiosity that leads to the search for scientific understanding have common origins in aspects of the human mind that go back as far as the earliest records of human intellectual endeavour. Their relationship developed as the categories ...

  9. How surgical mentors teach: a classification of in vivo teaching behaviors part 2: physical teaching guidance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutkin, Gary; Littleton, Eliza B; Kanter, Steven L

    2015-01-01

    To study surgical teaching captured on film and analyze it at a fine level of detail to categorize physical teaching behaviors. We describe live, filmed, intraoperative nonverbal exchanges between surgical attending physicians and their trainees (residents and fellows). From the films, we chose key teaching moments and transcribed participants' utterances, actions, and gestures. In follow-up interviews, attending physicians and trainees watched videos of their teaching case and answered open-ended questions about their teaching methods. Using a grounded theory approach, we examined the videos and interviews for what might be construed as a teaching behavior and refined the physical teaching categories through constant comparison. We filmed 5 cases in the operating suite of a university teaching hospital that provides gynecologic surgical care. We included 5 attending gynecologic surgeons, 3 fellows, and 5 residents for this study. More than 6 hours of film and 3 hours of interviews were transcribed, and more than 250 physical teaching motions were captured. Attending surgeons relied on actions and gestures, sometimes wordlessly, to achieve pedagogical and surgical goals simultaneously. Physical teaching included attending physician-initiated actions that required immediate corollary actions from the trainee, gestures to illustrate a step or indicate which instrument to be used next, supporting or retracting tissues, repositioning the trainee's instruments, and placement of the attending physicians' hands on the trainees' hands to guide them. Attending physicians often voiced surprise at the range of their own teaching behaviors captured on film. Interrater reliability was high using the Cohen κ, which was 0.76 for the physical categories. Physical guidance is essential in educating a surgical trainee, may be tacit, and is not always accompanied by speech. Awareness of teaching behaviors may encourage deliberate teaching and reflection on how to innovate pedagogy

  10. Preliminary Geological Map of the Peace Vallis Fan Integrated with In Situ Mosaics From the Curiosity Rover, Gale Crater, Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumner, D. Y.; Palucis, M.; Dietrich, B.; Calef, F.; Stack, K. M.; Ehlmann, B.; Bridges, J.; Dromart, J.; Eigenbrode, J.; Farmer, J.; hide

    2013-01-01

    A geomorphically defined alluvial fan extends from Peace Vallis on the NW wall of Gale Crater, Mars into the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover landing ellipse. Prior to landing, the MSL team mapped the ellipse and surrounding areas, including the Peace Vallis fan. Map relationships suggest that bedded rocks east of the landing site are likely associated with the fan, which led to the decision to send Curiosity east. Curiosity's mast camera (Mastcam) color images are being used to refine local map relationships. Results from regional mapping and the first 100 sols of the mission demonstrate that the area has a rich geological history. Understanding this history will be critical for assessing ancient habitability and potential organic matter preservation at Gale Crater.

  11. Appreciation of Authenticity Promotes Curiosity: Implications for Object-Based Learning in Museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bunce, Louise

    2016-01-01

    Museum professionals suppose that interacting with authentic objects promotes curiosity and engagement, but this has not been tested. In this research, children and adults visiting the Oxford University Museum of Natural History were shown a taxidermied rabbit or rabbit skeleton. They were asked "Is it real?," "Why?" and were…

  12. Occupational Safety. Hand Tools. Pre-Apprenticeship Phase 1 Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane Community Coll., Eugene, OR.

    This self-paced student training module on safety when using hand tools is one of a number of modules developed for Pre-apprenticeship Phase 1 Training. Purpose of the module is to teach students the correct safety techniques for operating common hand- and arm-powered tools, including selection, maintenance, technique, and uses. The module may…

  13. On carrots and curiosity: eating fruit and vegetables is associated with greater flourishing in daily life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, Tamlin S; Brookie, Kate L; Richardson, Aimee C; Polak, Maria A

    2015-05-01

    Our aim was to determine whether eating fruit and vegetables (FV) is associated with other markers of well-being beyond happiness and life satisfaction. Towards this aim, we tested whether FV consumption is associated with greater eudaemonic well-being - a state of flourishing characterized by feelings of engagement, meaning, and purpose in life. We also tested associations with two eudaemonic behaviours - curiosity and creativity. Daily diary study across 13 days (micro-longitudinal, correlational design). A sample of 405 young adults (67% women; mean age 19.9 [SD 1.6] years) completed an Internet daily diary for 13 consecutive days. Each day, participants reported on their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweets, and chips, as well as their eudaemonic well-being, curiosity, creativity, positive affect (PA), and negative affect. Between-person associations were analysed on aggregated data. Within-person associations were analysed using multilevel models controlling for weekday and weekend patterns. Fruit and vegetables consumption predicted greater eudaemonic well-being, curiosity, and creativity at the between- and within-person levels. Young adults who ate more FV reported higher average eudaemonic well-being, more intense feelings of curiosity, and greater creativity compared with young adults who ate less FV. On days when young adults ate more FV, they reported greater eudaemonic well-being, curiosity, and creativity compared with days when they ate less FV. FV consumption also predicted higher PA, which mostly did not account for the associations between FV and the other well-being variables. Few unhealthy foods (sweets, chips) were related to well-being except that consumption of sweets was associated with greater curiosity and PA at the within-person level. Lagged data analyses showed no carry-over effects of FV consumption onto next-day well-being (or vice versa). Although these patterns are strictly correlational, this study provides the first evidence

  14. The Development of the Chemin Mineralogy Instrument and Its Deployment on Mars (and Latest Results from the Mars Science Laboratory Rover Curiosity)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake, David F.

    2014-01-01

    The CheMin instrument (short for "Chemistry and Mineralogy") on the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity is one of two "laboratory quality" instruments on board the Curiosity rover that is exploring Gale crater, Mars. CheMin is an X-ray diffractometer that has for the first time returned definitive and fully quantitative mineral identifications of Mars soil and drilled rock. I will describe CheMin's 23-year development from an idea to a spacecraft qualified instrument, and report on some of the discoveries that Curiosity has made since its entry, descent and landing on Aug. 6, 2012, including the discovery and characterization of the first habitable environment on Mars.

  15. Prevalência da dissociação óculo-manual em crianças com dislexia do desenvolvimento = Prevalence of eye-hand preference dissociation in childrens with development dyslexia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marielza Regina Ismael Martins

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A presente pesquisa caracterizou-se em determinar a prevalência da dissociação ocular e manual em crianças com dislexia do desenvolvimento em idade escolar comparadas com crianças normais, pertencentes a escolas públicas. Participaram do estudo crianças entre sete e 12 anos. O Grupo I foi constituído por crianças diagnosticadas com dislexia do desenvolvimento (n = 64 e o Grupo II constituído por crianças- padrão na mesma faixa etária (n = 80. Foi aplicada a Bateria Psicomotora. As crianças disléxicas obtiveram escores significativos de prevalência manual esquerda e ocular direita. Tais resultados sugerem que esta falta de especialização da lateralidade pode comprometer a execução motora.This research was characterized to determine the prevalence of dissociation eye and hand in children with developmental dyslexia at school age compared with normal children from public schools. Study participants were children between seven and 12 years. Group I consisted of children diagnosed with developmental dyslexia (n = 64 and Group II consists of standard children the same age (n = 80. Psychomotor Battery was applied. Dyslexic children scored significant prevalence of left hand and right eye. These results suggest that this lack of expertise of laterality may impair motor execution.

  16. Perceptions of eye health in schools in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qureshi Mohammad

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Research exploring children's and their teachers' perceptions of eye health is lacking. This paper reports for the first time on perceptions of primary schoolchildren and their teachers of healthy and diseased eyes, things that keep eyes healthy and damage them, and what actions to be taken in case of an eye injury. Methods Using draw and write technique, 160 boys and girls (9–12 years old attending four primary schools in Abbottabad district, northern Pakistan, were invited to draw pictures in response to a set of semi-structured questions and then label them. Sixteen teachers who were currently teaching the selected students were interviewed one-on-one. Results Analysis of text accompanying 800 drawings and of the interview scripts revealed that most children and teachers perceived healthy eyes to be those which could see well, and diseased eyes to be those which have redness, watering, dirty discharge, pain, and itching; or those which have "weak eyesight" and blindness. Among things that students and teachers thought damage the eyes included sun, television, and sharp pointed objects, particularly pencils. Teachers noted that children with eye problems "have difficulty seeing the blackboard well", "screw up their eyes", and "hold their books too close". Conclusion We conclude that schoolchildren and their teachers had a good knowledge of eye health, but many of them had serious misconceptions e.g., use of kohl, medicines and eye drops keeps eyes healthy. Kohl is an important source of lead and can reduce children's intelligence even at low blood levels. Health education in schools must take into account children's existing knowledge of and misconceptions about various aspects of eye health. Such steps if taken could improve the relevance of eye health education to schoolchildren.

  17. Tropical diabetic hand syndrome: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeika, Eugene Vernyuy; Tchoumi Tantchou, Jacques Cabral; Foryoung, Joyce Bei; Tolefac, Paul Nkemtendong; Efie, Derrick Tembi; Choukem, Siméon Pierre

    2017-02-13

    Tropical diabetic hand syndrome describes a complex hand sepsis affecting patients with diabetes across the tropics and often results from a trivial hand trauma. The clinical presentation of this syndrome is variable and ranges from localised swelling and cellulitis, with or without ulceration of the hand to progressive fulminant hand sepsis, and gangrene affecting the entire limb which may be fatal. Tropical diabetic hand syndrome could lead to permanent disability and death as a result of delay in presentation, late diagnosis and late medical and surgical intervention. This indexed case acts as an eye opener for physicians to the existence of this hand sepsis. We report the case of a 57 year-old black African female diabetic who was referred to our centre for the management of a suppurating ulcer and swelling of the left hand of two weeks duration. On examination and work-up, the patient was found to have Lawal Group III left diabetic hand syndrome and was managed with parenteral antibiotics, radical debridement and the hand was eventually amputated. She died 7 days following amputation from overwhelming sepsis. Though tropical diabetic hand syndrome is a relatively rare complication of diabetes, it can be fatal as in this case report. Early diagnosis and proper management would yield better outcome. Initial management should include aggressive intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics with anaerobic coverage. Classification of tropical diabetic hand syndrome will assist physicians and surgeons in decision making, proper management and easy communication.

  18. Rube Goldbergineering: Lessons In Teaching Engineering Design To Future Engineers

    OpenAIRE

    Jordan, Shawn; Pereira, Nielsen

    2009-01-01

    Hands-on learning experiences and interactive learning environments can be effective in teaching K-12 students. Design, in essence, is an interactive, hands-on experience. Engineering design can be taught in the classroom using innovative hands-on projects, such as designing and building serve to teach design, promote creativity, and provide opportunities for hands-on problem solving, in addition to giving students experience working in cooperative teams. In turn, these experiences could enco...

  19. Effect of pulsed laser light in patients with dry eye syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilloto Caballero, S; García Madrona, J L; Colmenero Reina, E

    2017-11-01

    The objective of this study was to determine the clinical benefits of pulsed light therapy for the treatment of Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) due to the decrease in aqueous tear production (aqueous deficient DES) and/or excessive tear evaporation (evaporative DES) due to Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD). A study was conducted on 72 eyes corresponding to 36 patients with DES. Out of these 72 eyes, 60 underwent refractive surgery (48 with femtosecond laser, 6 were operated with a mechanical microkeratome, and 6 with refractive photo-keratectomy[RPK], 6 treated with phacoemulsification, and 6 with no previous surgical treatment. Pulsed laser light (Intense Pulsed Light Regulated [IRPL ® ]) was use to stimulate the secretion of the Meibomian glands during 4 sessions, one every 15 days. Patients with aqueous deficient DES did not show any improvement. Eyes with no previous surgery and those treated with phacoemulsification and PRK had a favourable outcome. On the other hand, less conclusive results were observed in the eyes treated with excimer laser. This treatment could be very helpful to treat evaporative DES produced by MGD. On the other hand, it is not helpful for those cases related to an isolated damage in the aqueous phase, or the mucin phase. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  20. Effects of Handedness and Saccadic Bilateral Eye Movements on Components of Autobiographical Recollection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Andrew; Dagnall, Neil

    2010-01-01

    The effects of handedness and saccadic bilateral eye movements on autobiographical recollection were investigated. Recall of autobiographical memories was cued by the use of neutral and emotional words. Autobiographical recollection was assessed by the autobiographical memory questionnaire. Experiment 1 found that mixed-handed (vs. right handed)…

  1. Hand Hygiene Adherence Among Health Care Workers at Japanese Hospitals: A Multicenter Observational Study in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakihama, Tomoko; Honda, Hitoshi; Saint, Sanjay; Fowler, Karen E; Shimizu, Taro; Kamiya, Toru; Sato, Yumiko; Arakawa, Soichi; Lee, Jong Ja; Iwata, Kentaro; Mihashi, Mutsuko; Tokuda, Yasuharu

    2016-03-01

    Although proper hand hygiene among health care workers is an important component of efforts to prevent health care-associated infection, there are few data available on adherence to hand hygiene practices in Japan. The aim of this study was to examine hand hygiene adherence at teaching hospitals in Japan. An observational study was conducted from July to November 2011 in 4 units (internal medicine, surgery, intensive care, and/or emergency department) in 4 geographically diverse hospitals (1 university hospital and 3 community teaching hospitals) in Japan. Hand hygiene practice before patient contact was assessed by an external observer. In a total of 3545 health care worker-patient observations, appropriate hand hygiene practice was performed in 677 (overall adherence, 19%; 95% confidence interval, 18%-20%). Subgroup rates of hand hygiene adherence were 15% among physicians and 23% among nurses. The ranges of adherence were 11% to 25% between hospitals and 11% to 31% between units. Adherence of the nurses and the physicians to hand hygiene was correlated within each hospital. There was a trend toward higher hand hygiene adherence in hospitals with infection control nurses, compared with hospitals without them (29% versus 16%). The hand hygiene adherence in Japanese teaching hospitals in our sample was low, even lower than reported mean values from other international studies. Greater adherence to hand hygiene should be encouraged in Japan.

  2. Pattern of eye diseases among welders in a Nigeria community

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Administrator

    Department of Ophthalmology, University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti Ekiti state, ... Objective: To determine the prevalence and types of eye diseases amongst .... conducted in persons with reduced vision or hazy ... computer program, Statistical Package for Social ..... Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental.

  3. When curiosity breeds intimacy: Taking advantage of intimacy opportunities and transforming boring conversations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashdan, Todd B.; McKnight, Patrick E.; Fincham, Frank D.; Rose, Paul

    2012-01-01

    Curious people seek knowledge and new experiences. In three studies, we examined whether, when, and how curiosity contributes to positive social outcomes between unacquainted strangers. Study 1 showed that curious people expect to generate closeness during intimate conversations but not during small-talk; less curious people anticipated poor outcomes in both situations. We hypothesized that curious people underestimate their ability to bond with unacquainted strangers during mundane conversations. Studies 2 and 3 showed that curious people felt close to partners during intimate and small-talk conversations; less curious people only felt close when the situation offered relationship-building exercises. Surprise at the pleasure felt during this novel, uncertain situation partially mediated the benefits linked to curiosity. We found evidence of slight asymmetry between self and partner reactions. Results could not be attributed to physical attraction or positive affect. Collectively, results suggest that positive social interactions benefits from an open and curious mindset. PMID:22092143

  4. The design and engineering of curiosity how the Mars Rover performs its job

    CERN Document Server

    Lakdawalla, Emily

    2018-01-01

    This book describes the most complex machine ever sent to another planet: Curiosity. It is a one-ton robot with two brains, seventeen cameras, six wheels, nuclear power, and a laser beam on its head. No one human understands how all of its systems and instruments work. This essential reference to the Curiosity mission explains the engineering behind every system on the rover, from its rocket-powered jetpack to its radioisotope thermoelectric generator to its fiendishly complex sample handling system. Its lavishly illustrated text explains how all the instruments work -- its cameras, spectrometers, sample-cooking oven, and weather station -- and describes the instruments' abilities and limitations. It tells you how the systems have functioned on Mars, and how scientists and engineers have worked around problems developed on a faraway planet: holey wheels and broken focus lasers. And it explains the grueling mission operations schedule that keeps the rover working day in and day out.   .

  5. A Practitioner Model for Increasing Eye Contact in Children With Autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Jennifer L; Rapp, John T; Mann, Kathryn R; McHugh, Catherine; Burji, Carla; Nuta, Raluca

    2017-05-01

    Although many teaching techniques for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require the instructor to gain the child's eye contact prior to delivering an instructional demand, the literature contains notably few procedures that reliably produce this outcome. To address this problem, we evaluated the effects of a sequential model for increasing eye contact in children with ASD. The model included the following phases: contingent praise only (for eye contact), contingent edibles plus praise, stimulus prompts plus contingent edibles and praise, contingent video and praise, schedule thinning, and maintenance evaluations for up to 2 years. Results indicated that the procedures increased eye contact for 20 participants (one additional participant did not require consequences). For 16 participants, praise (alone) was not sufficient to support eye contact; however, high levels of eye contact were typically maintained with these participants when therapists used combined schedules of intermittent edibles or video and continuous praise. We discuss some limitations of this model and directions for future research on increasing eye contact for children with ASD.

  6. Pre-Schoolers' Verbal and Behavioral Responses as Indicators of Attitudes and Scientific Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baruch, Yael Kesner; Spektor-Levy, Ornit; Mashal, Nira

    2016-01-01

    Today, early science education is a well-accepted view. Enhancing children's curiosity about the natural world and fostering positive attitudes toward science are primary goals of science education. However, questions remain regarding the appropriate ways to identify, nurture, and study these emotional states in pre-schoolers. This study examines…

  7. Acanthamoeba Keratitis at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Mezaine, H.; Al-Muteb, M.; Al-Motowa, S.; Wagoner, M. D.

    2005-01-01

    To quantify the number of cases and clinical courses of Acanthamoeba keratitis treated at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) between December 1982 and May 2005, and to review their clinical course and response to medical and surgical therapy. Retrospective review of medical records of all patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis diagnosed by the KKESH Microbiology or Pathology or Pathology Laboratory since the opening of the hospital. During a period of over 22 years, only six cases of confirmed. Acanthamoeba keratitis were diagnosedand treated at KKESH. In two cases the diagnosis was made by corneal biopsy, while four cases required examination of a histopathology specimen obtained at the time of therapeutic keratoplasty to establish the diagnosis. One eye was cured by medical therapy, while five eyes required one (4eyes) or two (1 eye) therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) to achieve a clinical cure. Three eyes achieved good visual acuity (20/40, 20/50, 20/60), one eye achieved fair visual acuity (20/160), and two eyes suffered profound visual loss (hand motions). The incidence of Acanthamoeba keratitis may be less in Saudi Arabia than reported in Western countries although the clinical is similarly complicated, with most cases requiring therapeutic keratoplasty for definitive education of the organism. (author)

  8. Character Values and Their Internalization in Teaching and Learning English at Madrasah

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milad Islami

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Language is more than to express the ideas, believe, and thought or as intellectual based, it also expresses the norms, values, and even emotions. As the result, it is important to internalize the character values into the teaching and learning activity of English. Since the focus of this study was on the analysis of the internalization of character values without any experimental or manipulated settings involved, the design of this study was qualitative. The results showed that there were at least six character values performed by the students in learning English, they were independent, hardworking ethos, curiosity, democratic attitude, communicative manner, and reading interest. In addition, the character values were internalized by the English teacher into the process of teaching and learning even though she did not realize it.

  9. Neural-Network Control Of Prosthetic And Robotic Hands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckley, Theresa M.

    1991-01-01

    Electronic neural networks proposed for use in controlling robotic and prosthetic hands and exoskeletal or glovelike electromechanical devices aiding intact but nonfunctional hands. Specific to patient, who activates grasping motion by voice command, by mechanical switch, or by myoelectric impulse. Patient retains higher-level control, while lower-level control provided by neural network analogous to that of miniature brain. During training, patient teaches miniature brain to perform specialized, anthropomorphic movements unique to himself or herself.

  10. Postural And Eye-Positional Effects On Human Biting Force: An Experimental Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Altay Tabancacı

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Muscle groups affected on biting force are called temporal muscle as a major and masseter muscle as a minor. According to the human posture stability, forces of these muscles vary with the force directions. In this case, experimental investigation is strictly important such that biting force under different postural and eye- positional situations is changed. In this study, seven-male and seven-female within the age-range of 17-24 are considered corresponding to having with restorated molar tooth and without that type of tooth. With the help of specially designed biting fork, different posture- and eye-positions are investigated for experimental biting force analysis. Changes in eye-positions are not indicated significant difference for all postural positions. On one hand, it is obtained that biting force of no-filling tooth in men becomes maximum if facial muscles give full effort to biting. On the other hand, effect of facial muscles for women is not clearly noticed depending on the postural differences.

  11. The Challenges in Applying Magnetroesistive Sensors on the 'Curiosity' Rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Michael R.

    2013-01-01

    Magnetoresistive Sensors were selected for use on the motor encoders throughout the Curiosity Rover for motor position feedback devices. The Rover contains 28 acuators with a corresponding number of encoder assemblies. The environment on Mars provides opportunities for challenges to any hardware design. The encoder assemblies presented several barriers that had to be vaulted in order to say the rover was ready to fly. The environment and encoder specific design features provided challenges that had to be solved in time to fly.

  12. Teaching DNA Fingerprinting using a Hands-on Simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schug, Thatcher

    1998-01-01

    Presents an inexpensive hands-on lesson in DNA fingerprinting that can be completed in a single class period. Involves students in solving a murder in which a drop of blood is fingerprinted and matched with the blood of the murderer. (DDR)

  13. Using Smartphones as Experimental Tools—Effects on Interest, Curiosity, and Learning in Physics Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hochberg, Katrin; Kuhn, Jochen; Müller, Andreas

    2018-04-01

    Smartphones as experimental tools (SETs) offer inspiring possibilities for science education, as their built-in sensors allow many different measurements, but until now, there has been little research that studies this approach. Due to current interest in their development, it seems necessary to provide empirical evidence about potential effects of SETs by a well-controlled study. For the present investigation, experiments were developed that use the smartphones' acceleration sensors to investigate an important topic of classical mechanics (pendulum). A quasi-experimental repeated-measurement design, consisting of an experimental group using SETs (smartphone group, SG, N SG = 87) and a control group working with traditional experimental tools (CG, N CG = 67), was used to study the effects on interest, curiosity, and learning achievement. Moreover, various control variables were taken into account. With multiple-regression analyses and ANCOVA, we found significantly higher levels of interest in the SG (small to medium effect size). Pupils that were less interested at the beginning of the study profited most from implementing SETs. Moreover, the SG showed higher levels of topic-specific curiosity (small effect size). No differences were found for learning achievement. This means that the often-supposed cognitive disadvantage of distracting learners with technological devices did not lead to reduced learning, whereas interest and curiosity were apparently fostered. Moreover, the study contributes evidence that could reduce potential concerns related to classroom use of smartphones and similar devices (increased cognitive load, mere novelty effect). In sum, the study presents encouraging results for the under-researched topic of SET use in science classrooms.

  14. Eye movement accuracy determines natural interception strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fooken, Jolande; Yeo, Sang-Hoon; Pai, Dinesh K; Spering, Miriam

    2016-11-01

    Eye movements aid visual perception and guide actions such as reaching or grasping. Most previous work on eye-hand coordination has focused on saccadic eye movements. Here we show that smooth pursuit eye movement accuracy strongly predicts both interception accuracy and the strategy used to intercept a moving object. We developed a naturalistic task in which participants (n = 42 varsity baseball players) intercepted a moving dot (a "2D fly ball") with their index finger in a designated "hit zone." Participants were instructed to track the ball with their eyes, but were only shown its initial launch (100-300 ms). Better smooth pursuit resulted in more accurate interceptions and determined the strategy used for interception, i.e., whether interception was early or late in the hit zone. Even though early and late interceptors showed equally accurate interceptions, they may have relied on distinct tactics: early interceptors used cognitive heuristics, whereas late interceptors' performance was best predicted by pursuit accuracy. Late interception may be beneficial in real-world tasks as it provides more time for decision and adjustment. Supporting this view, baseball players who were more senior were more likely to be late interceptors. Our findings suggest that interception strategies are optimally adapted to the proficiency of the pursuit system.

  15. Extremity and eye lens dosimetry for medical staff performing vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Struelens, L; Schoonjans, W; Vanhavere, F; Schils, F; De Smedt, K

    2013-01-01

    Measurements of doses to hands, legs and eyes are reported for operators in four different hospitals performing vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty. The results confirm that occupational doses can be high for interventional spine procedures. Extremity and eye lens doses were measured with thermoluminescent dosimeters positioned on the ring fingers, wrists, legs and near the eyes of interventional radiologists and neurosurgeons, over a period of 15 months. Doses were generally larger on the left side for all positions monitored. The median dose to the left finger was 225 μSv per procedure, although a maximum of 7.3 mSv was found. The median dose to the right finger was 118 μSv, but with an even higher maximum of 7.7 mSv. A median left eye dose of 34 μSv (maximum 836 μSv) was found, while the legs received the lowest doses with a median of 13 μSv (maximum 332 μSv) to the left leg. Annual dose to the hand assessed by the cumulated doses almost reached the annual dose limit of 500 mSv, while annual dose to the eyes exceeded the eye lens dose limit of 20 mSv yr −1 . Different x-ray systems and radiation protection measures were tested, like the use of lead gloves and glasses, tweezers, cement delivery systems and a magnetic navigation system. These measurements showed that doses can be significantly reduced. The use of lead glasses is strongly recommended for protection of the eyes. (paper)

  16. Head-mounted eye tracking of a chimpanzee under naturalistic conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fumihiro Kano

    Full Text Available This study offers a new method for examining the bodily, manual, and eye movements of a chimpanzee at the micro-level. A female chimpanzee wore a lightweight head-mounted eye tracker (60 Hz on her head while engaging in daily interactions with the human experimenter. The eye tracker recorded her eye movements accurately while the chimpanzee freely moved her head, hands, and body. Three video cameras recorded the bodily and manual movements of the chimpanzee from multiple angles. We examined how the chimpanzee viewed the experimenter in this interactive setting and how the eye movements were related to the ongoing interactive contexts and actions. We prepared two experimentally defined contexts in each session: a face-to-face greeting phase upon the appearance of the experimenter in the experimental room, and a subsequent face-to-face task phase that included manual gestures and fruit rewards. Overall, the general viewing pattern of the chimpanzee, measured in terms of duration of individual fixations, length of individual saccades, and total viewing duration of the experimenter's face/body, was very similar to that observed in previous eye-tracking studies that used non-interactive situations, despite the differences in the experimental settings. However, the chimpanzee viewed the experimenter and the scene objects differently depending on the ongoing context and actions. The chimpanzee viewed the experimenter's face and body during the greeting phase, but viewed the experimenter's face and hands as well as the fruit reward during the task phase. These differences can be explained by the differential bodily/manual actions produced by the chimpanzee and the experimenter during each experimental phase (i.e., greeting gestures, task cueing. Additionally, the chimpanzee's viewing pattern varied depending on the identity of the experimenter (i.e., the chimpanzee's prior experience with the experimenter. These methods and results offer new

  17. Using satellite technology (global positioning system) to teach the spherical polar coordinate system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Brien, William P Jr

    2003-01-01

    Students discover the equivalence between plausible geographic variables (co-latitude and longitude) of the Earth and less-familiar geometric variables (polar and azimuthal angles) of spherical polar coordinates by collecting and analysing positional data recorded during field exercises with a handheld global positioning system (GPS) receiver. This pedagogical approach to teaching spherical geometry, based on field experience rather than classroom theory, uses GPS technology to capture the curiosity of contemporary students, technical or otherwise, who might not normally find the topic of the spherical polar coordinate system comprehensible, relevant or interesting

  18. WHERE THERE IS MOTIVATION, THERE IS A WAY IN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZhangJu; Danny

    2004-01-01

    A retrospective review of motivation in language learning and teaching shows that motivation is a complex phenomenon, which includes many components: the individual's drive, need for achievement and success, curiosity and desire for stimulation and new experience, communicative need, attitudes toward the second language community and teachers, sell-image and so on. All these factors play a key role in every kind of learning situation. One should pay great attention to the inspiration of motivation in language study no matter if he is a teacher or a student.

  19. Student Content Knowledge Increases after Participation in a Hands-on Biotechnology Intervention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigler, Amber M.; Hanegan, Nikki L.

    2011-01-01

    Implementing biotechnology education through hands-on teaching methods should be considered by secondary biology teachers. This study is an experimental research design to examine increased student content knowledge in biotechnology after a hands-on biotechnology intervention. The teachers from both school groups participated in, Project Crawfish,…

  20. Physical models for classroom teaching in hydrology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Rodhe

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Hydrology teaching benefits from the fact that many important processes can be illustrated and explained with simple physical models. A set of mobile physical models has been developed and used during many years of lecturing at basic university level teaching in hydrology. One model, with which many phenomena can be demonstrated, consists of a 1.0-m-long plexiglass container containing an about 0.25-m-deep open sand aquifer through which water is circulated. The model can be used for showing the groundwater table and its influence on the water content in the unsaturated zone and for quantitative determination of hydraulic properties such as the storage coefficient and the saturated hydraulic conductivity. It is also well suited for discussions on the runoff process and the significance of recharge and discharge areas for groundwater. The flow paths of water and contaminant dispersion can be illustrated in tracer experiments using fluorescent or colour dye. This and a few other physical models, with suggested demonstrations and experiments, are described in this article. The finding from using models in classroom teaching is that it creates curiosity among the students, promotes discussions and most likely deepens the understanding of the basic processes.

  1. Diagnosing a red eye: an allergy or an infection?

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    involvement, and such patients warrant emergent or urgent referral. By comparison, many patients report a “ ... Topical antibiotics are rarely necessary because secondary bacterial infections are uncommon.2 ... commonly spread through contaminated hand-to-eye contact.2. Based on the duration and severity of signs and ...

  2. Hawk-Eyes on Science and in Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durow, Lillie

    2017-08-01

    For more than ten years the successful and well received outreach programs, Hawk-Eyes On Science and Hawk-Eyes in Space, have brought the excitement of science demonstrations to Iowans of all ages. However, the creation of a successful, sustainable outreach program requires the coordination of many aspects. In many respects, the demonstrations and hands-on activities are of secondary importance when weighed against the problems of funding, transportation, staffing, etc. In addition to showing examples of demonstrations that we use, I will also focus on a few of the problems and some of the solutions that we have found while coordinating our long running outreach programs at the University of Iowa Department of Physics and Astronomy.

  3. Ever-Use and Curiosity About Cigarettes, Cigars, Smokeless Tobacco, and Electronic Cigarettes Among US Middle and High School Students, 2012?2014

    OpenAIRE

    Persoskie, Alexander; Donaldson, Elisabeth A.; King, Brian A.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Among young people, curiosity about tobacco products is a primary reason for tobacco experimentation and is a risk factor for future use. We examined whether curiosity about and ever-use of tobacco products among US middle and high school students changed from 2012 to 2014. Methods Data came from the 2012 and 2014 National Youth Tobacco Surveys, nationally representative surveys of US students in grades 6 through 12. For cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarettes (20...

  4. Acute burns of the hands – physiotherapy perspective.

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    University of KwaZulu-Natal, Occupational therapy Department. Abstract: ... trajectory of the trauma care continuum. Keywords: Burns ... challenges during their recovery process.1 Hand burn in- ... major teaching institutions situated within a metropolitan area and .... education and motivation and provide basic counselling.

  5. Ever-Use and Curiosity About Cigarettes, Cigars, Smokeless Tobacco, and Electronic Cigarettes Among US Middle and High School Students, 2012-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persoskie, Alexander; Donaldson, Elisabeth A; King, Brian A

    2016-09-22

    Among young people, curiosity about tobacco products is a primary reason for tobacco experimentation and is a risk factor for future use. We examined whether curiosity about and ever-use of tobacco products among US middle and high school students changed from 2012 to 2014. Data came from the 2012 and 2014 National Youth Tobacco Surveys, nationally representative surveys of US students in grades 6 through 12. For cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarettes (2014 only), students were classified as ever-users or never-users of each product. Among never-users, curiosity about using each product was assessed by asking participants if they had "definitely," "probably," "probably not," or "definitely not" been curious about using the product. From 2012 to 2014, there were declines in ever-use of cigarettes (26% to 22%; P = .005) and cigars (21% to 18%; P = .003) overall and among students who were Hispanic (cigarettes, P = .001; cigars, P = .001) or black (cigarettes, P = .004; cigars, P = .01). The proportion of never-users reporting they were "definitely not" curious increased for cigarettes (51% to 54%; P = .01) and cigars (60% to 63%; P = .03). Ever-use and curiosity about smokeless tobacco did not change significantly from 2012 to 2014. In 2014, the proportion of young people who were "definitely" or "probably" curious never-users of each product was as follows: cigarettes, 11.4%; e-cigarettes, 10.8%; cigars, 10.3%; and smokeless tobacco, 4.4%. The proportion of US students who are never users and are not curious about cigarettes and cigars increased. However, many young people remain curious about tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Understanding factors driving curiosity can inform tobacco use prevention for youth.

  6. Investigating Omani Science Teachers' Attitudes towards Teaching Science: The Role of Gender and Teaching Experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambusaidi, Abdullah; Al-Farei, Khalid

    2017-01-01

    A 30-item questionnaire was designed to determine Omani science teachers' attitudes toward teaching science and whether or not these attitudes differ according to gender and teaching experiences of teachers. The questionnaire items were divided into 3 domains: classroom preparation, managing hands-on science, and development appropriateness. The…

  7. Stereomicroscopic evaluation of defects caused by torsional fatigue in used hand and rotary nickel-titanium instruments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asthana, Geeta; Kapadwala, Marsrat I; Parmar, Girish J

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate defects caused by torsional fatigue in used hand and rotary nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) instruments by stereomicroscopic examination. One hundred five greater taper Ni-Ti instruments were used including Protaper universal hand (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), Protaper universal rotary (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), and Revo-S rotary (MicroMega, Besançon, France) files. Files were used on lower anterior teeth. After every use, the files were observed with both naked eyes and stereomicroscope at 20× magnification (Olympus, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan) to evaluate defects caused by torsional fatigue. Scoring was assigned to each file according to the degree of damage. The results were statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. A greater number of defects were seen under the stereomicroscope than on examining with naked eyes. However, the difference in methods of evaluation was not statistically significant. Revo-S files showed minimum defects, while Protaper universal hand showed maximum defects. The intergroup comparison of defects showed that the bend in Protaper universal hand instruments was statistically significant. Visible defects in Ni-Ti files due to torsional fatigue were seen by naked eyes as well as by stereomicroscope. This study emphasizes that all the files should be observed before and after every instrument cycle to minimize the risk of separation.

  8. Hand hygiene in reducing transient flora on the hands of healthcare workers: an educational intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapil, R; Bhavsar, H K; Madan, M

    2015-01-01

    Hand hygiene has now been recognised as one of the most effective intervention to control the transmission of infections in a hospital and education is an important tool to ensure its implementation. In order to convince the users and as a part of education, it is important to generate evidence on the role of hand hygiene in reducing the bacterial flora on their hands. The present study was undertaken in a tertiary care hospital to demonstrate the presence of bacterial flora on the hands of healthcare workers (HCW) in different categories, to teach them proper hand hygiene technique using alcohol-based hand rub and determine the outcome for reduction of bacteria. A total sample size of 60 subjects including resident doctors, medical students, nurses and hospital attendants were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. Each person was educated on the technique of hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub and hand impressions were cultured before and after hand hygiene. All the subjects were also given a questionnaire to assess their perception on hand hygiene. The WHO posters on proper hand hygiene were displayed in the appropriate areas of the hospital in addition, as an educational tool. Majority (42 out of 60) of the HCWs had bacterial count up to 100 colonies or more on both hands before the application of hand rub while working in the hospital. After use of alcohol hand rub with a proper hand hygiene technique, it was found that the percentage reduction was 95-99% among doctors and nurses, 70% among hospital attendants and 50% among sanitary attendants. Staphylococcus aureus was present on the hands of eight persons of which three were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The study demonstrates that transient bacteria are present on the hands of HCWs but majority could be removed by proper hand hygiene, which needs continuous education to be effective. It also shows that active education by demonstrating the proper hand hygiene technique

  9. How visual search relates to visual diagnostic performance: a narrative systematic review of eye-tracking research in radiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Gijp, A; Ravesloot, C J; Jarodzka, H; van der Schaaf, M F; van der Schaaf, I C; van Schaik, J P J; Ten Cate, Th J

    2017-08-01

    Eye tracking research has been conducted for decades to gain understanding of visual diagnosis such as in radiology. For educational purposes, it is important to identify visual search patterns that are related to high perceptual performance and to identify effective teaching strategies. This review of eye-tracking literature in the radiology domain aims to identify visual search patterns associated with high perceptual performance. Databases PubMed, EMBASE, ERIC, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science were searched using 'visual perception' OR 'eye tracking' AND 'radiology' and synonyms. Two authors independently screened search results and included eye tracking studies concerning visual skills in radiology published between January 1, 1994 and July 31, 2015. Two authors independently assessed study quality with the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument, and extracted study data with respect to design, participant and task characteristics, and variables. A thematic analysis was conducted to extract and arrange study results, and a textual narrative synthesis was applied for data integration and interpretation. The search resulted in 22 relevant full-text articles. Thematic analysis resulted in six themes that informed the relation between visual search and level of expertise: (1) time on task, (2) eye movement characteristics of experts, (3) differences in visual attention, (4) visual search patterns, (5) search patterns in cross sectional stack imaging, and (6) teaching visual search strategies. Expert search was found to be characterized by a global-focal search pattern, which represents an initial global impression, followed by a detailed, focal search-to-find mode. Specific task-related search patterns, like drilling through CT scans and systematic search in chest X-rays, were found to be related to high expert levels. One study investigated teaching of visual search strategies, and did not find a significant effect on perceptual performance. Eye

  10. Teaching Concurrency: Theory in Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aceto, Luca; Ingolfsdottir, Anna; Larsen, Kim Guldstrand

    2009-01-01

    Teaching courses that rely on sound mathematical principles is nowadays a challenging task at many universities. On the one hand there is an increased demand for educating students in these areas, on the other hand there are more and more students being accepted with less adequate skills in mathe...

  11. A proposed protocol for hand and table sanitizing in chiropractic clinics and education institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Marion Willard; Ramcharan, Michael; Floyd, Rod; Globe, Gary; Ndetan, Harrison; Williams, Ronald; Ivie, Ronald

    2009-01-01

    Abstract Objective By nature, chiropractic is a hands-on profession using manipulation applied to the joints with direct skin-to-skin contacts. Chiropractic tables are designed with a face piece to accommodate the prone patient's head in a neutral position and hand rests to allow for relaxed shoulders and upper spine so treatment is facilitated. The purpose of this article is to present a proposed guideline for hand and treatment table surface sanitizing for the chiropractic profession that is evidence-based and can easily be adopted by teaching institutions and doctors in the field. Methods A review of the chiropractic literature demonstrated that pathogenic microbes are present on treatment tables in teaching clinics at multiple facilities, yet no standardized protocols exist in the United States regarding table sanitizing and hand hygiene in chiropractic clinics or education institutions. This article reviews the scientific literature on the subject by using several search engines, databases, and specific reviews of documents pertaining to the topic including existing general guidelines. Results The literature has several existing guidelines that the authors used to develop a proposed protocol for hand and table sanitizing specific to the chiropractic profession. Recommendations were developed and are presented on hand hygiene and table sanitizing procedures that could lower the risk of infection for both clinical personnel and patients in chiropractic facilities. Conclusion This article offers a protocol for hand and table sanitizing in chiropractic clinics and education institutions. The chiropractic profession should consider adoption of these or similar measures and disseminate them to teaching clinics, institutions, and private practitioners. PMID:19646384

  12. Teaching Computer Security with a Hands-On Component

    OpenAIRE

    Murthy , Narayan

    2011-01-01

    Part 2: WISE 7; International audience; To address national needs for computer security education, many universities have incorporated computer and security courses into their undergraduate and graduate curricula. Our department has introduced computer security courses at both the undergraduate and the graduate level. This paper describes our approach, our experiences, and lessons learned in teaching a Computer Security Overview course.There are two key elements in the course: Studying comput...

  13. Promoting Learning Achievement, Problem Solving, and Learning Curiosity of High School Students: Empirical Thai Study of Self-directed Learning in Physics Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wittaya Worapun

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Three phases of this research were employed to study learning achievement, problem solving, and learning curiosity among 43 students in the 11th grade through self-directed learning in a Physics course. Research instruments included: a learning achievement test, a test of curiosity, observations using anecdotal evidence of curiosity, and a test of problem solving ability. The findings show that six components of self-directed learning were evident, i.e. principles and basic concepts, syntax, social system, principle of reaction, and support system. It was found that five main procedures of self-directed learning were applicable in a management model: diagnosis, strategies, growth in habit, taking action, and summarizing and assessing. Students gained in their learning achievement ; furthermore, their posttest scores in problem solving were greater than their pretest scores at .05 level of statistical significance.

  14. A Simple Laser Teaching Aid for Transverse Mode Structure Demonstration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Cheng; Zhang, Shulian

    2009-01-01

    A teaching aid for demonstrating the transverse mode structure in lasers is described. A novel device called "multi-dimension adjustable combined cat-eye reflector" has been constructed from easily available materials to form a He-Ne laser resonator. By finely adjusting the cat-eye, the boundary conditions of the laser cavity can be altered, which…

  15. How do adults and teens with self-declared Autism Spectrum Disorder experience eye contact? A qualitative analysis of first-hand accounts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dominic A Trevisan

    Full Text Available A tendency to avoid eye contact is an early indicator of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD, and difficulties with eye contact often persist throughout the lifespan. Eye contact difficulties may underlie social cognitive deficits in ASD, and can create significant social and occupational barriers. Thus, this topic has received substantial research and clinical attention. In this study, we used qualitative methods to analyze self-reported experiences with eye contact as described by teens and adults with self-declared ASD. Results suggest people with a self- declared ASD diagnosis experience adverse emotional and physiological reactions, feelings of being invaded, and sensory overload while making eye contact, in addition to difficulties understanding social nuances, and difficulties receiving and sending nonverbal information. Some data support existing mindblindness frameworks, and hyperarousal or hypoarousal theories of eye contact, but we also present novel findings unaccounted for by existing frameworks. Additionally, we highlight innovative strategies people with self-declared ASD have devised to overcome or cope with their eye contact difficulties.

  16. A survey of prosthetic eye wearers to investigate mucoid discharge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pine K

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Keith Pine1, Brian Sloan2, Joanna Stewart3, Robert J Jacobs11Department of Optometry and Vision Science, 2Department of Ophthalmology, New Zealand National Eye Centre, 3Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandBackground: This study aimed to better understand the causes and treatments of mucoid discharge associated with prosthetic eye wear by reviewing the literature and surveying anophthalmic patients.Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was completed by 429 prosthetic eye wearers who used visual analog scales to self-measure their discharge experience for four discharge characteristics: frequency, color, volume, and viscosity. These characteristics were analyzed with age, ethnicity, years wearing a prosthesis, eye loss cause, removal and cleaning regimes, hand-washing behavior, age of current prosthesis, and professional repolishing regimes as explanatory variables. Eighteen ocularists’ Web sites containing comments on the cause and treatment of discharge were surveyed.Results: Associations were found between discharge frequency and cleaning regimes with more frequent cleaning accompanying more frequent discharge. Color was associated with years of wearing and age, with more years of wearing and older people having less colored discharge. Volume was associated with cleaning regimes with more frequent cleaners having more volume. Viscosity was associated with cleaning regimes and years of wearing with more frequent cleaning and shorter wearing time accompanying more viscous discharge. No associations were found between discharge characteristics and ethnicity, eye loss cause, hand washing, age of current prosthesis, or repolishing regimes. Forty-seven percent of ocularists’ Web sites advised that discharge was caused by surface deposits on the prosthesis, 29% by excessive handling of the prosthesis, and 24% by other causes.Conclusions: A standardized treatment

  17. Patients' satisfaction with eye care services in a Nigerian Teaching ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... will recommend the hospital to others strongly, 145 (47.2%) will do so hesitantly. Conclusion: Majority of the patients were satisfied with the services received. The major dissatisfaction points were cost of services and inadequate toilet facilities. Key words: Developing country, eye care services, patient satisfaction ...

  18. Primary health eye care: evaluation of the competence of medical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2009-10-17

    Oct 17, 2009 ... The ability of fifth-year medical students to perform fundoscopy on ... Keywords: primary health eye care; teaching fundoscopy; essential basic ... treatment is implemented at an early stage in the disease.3-5. Such screening and early treatment can reduce the risk of ... Students with a refractive error were.

  19. All You Have to Do is Wash Your Hands

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2009-03-26

    This CDC Kidtastics podcast teaches children how and when to wash their hands properly.  Created: 3/26/2009 by National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED).   Date Released: 3/26/2009.

  20. How Visual Search Relates to Visual Diagnostic Performance: A Narrative Systematic Review of Eye-Tracking Research in Radiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Gijp, A.; Ravesloot, C. J.; Jarodzka, H.; van der Schaaf, M. F.; van der Schaaf, I. C.; van Schaik, J. P.; ten Cate, Th. J.

    2017-01-01

    Eye tracking research has been conducted for decades to gain understanding of visual diagnosis such as in radiology. For educational purposes, it is important to identify visual search patterns that are related to high perceptual performance and to identify effective teaching strategies. This review of eye-tracking literature in the radiology…

  1. Effects of Outdoor School Ground Lessons on Students' Science Process Skills and Scientific Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ting, Kan Lin; Siew, Nyet Moi

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of outdoor school ground lessons on Year Five students' science process skills and scientific curiosity. A quasi-experimental design was employed in this study. The participants in the study were divided into two groups, one subjected to the experimental treatment, defined as…

  2. Customization of stock eye prosthesis for a pediatric patient by a simplified technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurel, Sunit Kumar; Talwar, Naina; Chand, Pooran; Singh, Raghuwar D; Gupta, Durga Shanker

    2012-05-01

    The unfortunate loss or absence of an eye may be caused by congenital defect , irreparable trauma, tumor or blind eye. The role of the maxillofacial prosthodontist in fabricating an ocular prosthesis to restore facial symmetry and normal appearance for the anophthalmic patient becomes essential. A custom-made ocular prosthesis is an excellent alternative for the people who lose their eye especially in young age. It has acceptable fit, retention and esthetics but is technically difficult to fabricate. On the other hand the stock eye has compromised fit and poor esthetics. Our case report presents a simple technique of customization of stock eye prosthesis to provide accurate fit and acceptable esthetics. How to cite this article: Jurel SK, Talwar N, Chand P, Singh RD, Gupta DS. Customization of Stock Eye Prosthesis for a Pediatric Patient by a Simplified Technique. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2012;5(2):155-158.

  3. DIFFICULTIES TO LEARN AND TO TEACH MODERN PHYSICS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Antonowiski

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Physics is engaged in scientific and technological development in several areas, however, its learning in high school has high failure rates that demonstrate a low level of use. It is a science that allows us to understand the nature of the macroscopic and atomic matter, but it is taught in a disjointed manner, upon presentation of concepts, laws and mathematical sentences, repetitive exercises that have taken the preparatory character for college entrance. Thus, the student gets stuck sentences featuring a partial knowledge and disposable. This study aimed to analyze the main difficulties that undergraduate students in Physics have in Modern Physics learning. Point out the difficulties in teaching and learning Physics is not an easy task and to identify them comes the difficulty of how to solve them. After analysis of several hypotheses we can conclude that there is no single factor responsible for the difficulty of the teaching and learning of Modern Physics. The lack of time to work and developed since middle school, stimulating the curiosity of students, adequately trained teachers, lack of structure offered by the government, parents' responsibilities and students in learning, among others, constitute a major challenge for successful teaching and learning of Modern Physics

  4. Badminton Instruction for Students in Grades 7-12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nebraska State Dept. of Education, Lincoln.

    This booklet describes: 1) athletic facilities and equipment needed for badminton, 2) teaching objectives, 3) performance fundamentals, 4) drills that teach skills needed for playing badminton, and 5) lesson progression for high school students. There are also suggestions for working with students with below average eye-hand coordination. (CJ)

  5. Ever-Use and Curiosity About Cigarettes, Cigars, Smokeless Tobacco, and Electronic Cigarettes Among US Middle and High School Students, 2012–2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donaldson, Elisabeth A.; King, Brian A.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Among young people, curiosity about tobacco products is a primary reason for tobacco experimentation and is a risk factor for future use. We examined whether curiosity about and ever-use of tobacco products among US middle and high school students changed from 2012 to 2014. Methods Data came from the 2012 and 2014 National Youth Tobacco Surveys, nationally representative surveys of US students in grades 6 through 12. For cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarettes (2014 only), students were classified as ever-users or never-users of each product. Among never-users, curiosity about using each product was assessed by asking participants if they had “definitely,” “probably,” “probably not,” or “definitely not” been curious about using the product. Results From 2012 to 2014, there were declines in ever-use of cigarettes (26% to 22%; P = .005) and cigars (21% to 18%; P = .003) overall and among students who were Hispanic (cigarettes, P = .001; cigars, P = .001) or black (cigarettes, P = .004; cigars, P = .01). The proportion of never-users reporting they were “definitely not” curious increased for cigarettes (51% to 54%; P = .01) and cigars (60% to 63%; P = .03). Ever-use and curiosity about smokeless tobacco did not change significantly from 2012 to 2014. In 2014, the proportion of young people who were “definitely” or “probably” curious never-users of each product was as follows: cigarettes, 11.4%; e-cigarettes, 10.8%; cigars, 10.3%; and smokeless tobacco, 4.4%. Conclusion The proportion of US students who are never users and are not curious about cigarettes and cigars increased. However, many young people remain curious about tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Understanding factors driving curiosity can inform tobacco use prevention for youth. PMID:27657506

  6. 'Disaster day': global health simulation teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamed-Ahmed, Rayan; Daniels, Alex; Goodall, Jack; O'Kelly, Emily; Fisher, James

    2016-02-01

    As society diversifies and globalisation quickens, the importance of teaching global health to medical undergraduates increases. For undergraduates, the majority of exposure to 'hands-on' teaching on global health occurs during optional elective periods. This article describes an innovative student-led initiative, 'Disaster Day', which used simulation to teach global health to undergraduates. The teaching day began with an introduction outlining the work of Médecins Sans Frontières and the basic principles of resuscitation. Students then undertook four interactive simulation scenarios: Infectious Diseases in a Refugee Camp, Natural Disaster and Crush Injury, Obstetric Emergency in a Low-Income Country, and Warzone Gunshot Wound. Sessions were facilitated by experienced doctors and fourth-year students who had been trained in the delivery of the scenarios. Students completed pre- and post-session evaluation forms that included the self-rating of confidence in eight learning domains (using a five-point Likert scale). Twenty-seven students voluntarily attended the session, and all provided written feedback. Analysis of the pre- and post-session evaluations demonstrated statistically significant improvements in confidence across all but one domains (Wilcoxon signed rank test). Free-text feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with students appreciating the practical aspect of the scenarios. For undergraduates, the majority of exposure to 'hands-on' teaching on global health occurs during optional elective periods Simulation-based teaching can provide students with 'hands-on' exposure to global health in a controlled, reproducible fashion and appears to help develop their confidence in a variety of learning domains. The more widespread use of such teaching methods is encouraged: helping tomorrow's doctors develop insight into global health challenges may produce more rounded clinicians capable of caring for more culturally diverse populations. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons

  7. Comparative Analysis of Sociability and Intellectual Curiosity in Adults with Different Types of Character “Core”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A A Berdnikova

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the features of sociability and curiosity in people with different types of character “core”. It reveals the necessity to investigate the above mentioned features for studying the integral structure of the character.

  8. Dry Eye Disease: Concordance Between the Diagnostic Tests in African Eyes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onwubiko, Stella N; Eze, Boniface I; Udeh, Nnenma N; Onwasigwe, Ernest N; Umeh, Rich E

    2016-11-01

    To assess the concordance between the diagnostic tests for dry eye disease (DED) in a Nigerian hospital population. The study was a hospital-based cross-sectional survey of adults (≥18 years) presenting at the eye clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu; September-December, 2011. Participants' socio-demographic data were collected. Each subject was assessed for DED using the "Ocular Surface Disease Index" (OSDI) questionnaire, tear-film breakup time (TBUT), and Schirmer test. The intertest concordance was assessed using kappa statistic, correlation, and regression coefficients. The participants (n=402; men: 193) were aged 50.1±19.1 standard deviation years (range: 18-94 years). Dry eye disease was diagnosed in 203 by TBUT, 170 by Schirmer test, and 295 by OSDI; the concordance between the tests were OSDI versus TBUT (Kappa, κ=-0.194); OSDI versus Schirmer (κ=-0.276); and TBUT versus Schirmer (κ=0.082). Ocular Surface Disease Index was inversely correlated with Schirmer test (Spearman ρ=-0.231, P<0.001) and TBUT (ρ=-0.237, P<0.001). In the linear regression model, OSDI was poorly predicted by TBUT (β=-0.09; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.26 to -0.03, P=0.14) and Schirmer test (β=-0.35, 95% CI: -0.53 to -0.18, P=0.18). At UNTH, there is poor agreement, and almost equal correlation, between the subjective and objective tests for DED. Therefore, the selection of diagnostic test for DED should be informed by cost-effectiveness and diagnostic resource availability, not diagnostic efficiency or utility.

  9. CERN Library | Roy Calne presents: "The Ratchet of Science - Curiosity killed the cat" | 26 October

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Library

    2015-01-01

    Sir Roy Calne will discuss his most recent book: “The Ratchet of Science - Curiosity killed the cat. Can human nature cope with the rapid and accelerated advances of science?”   Monday, 26 October - 4.30 p.m. CERN Filtration plant, Room 222-R-001 There is a limited number of seats. Please register here. The book’s premise is that huge scientific advances throughout history occur in spurts or “ratchets”. It reflects on the good and the evil consequences of discoveries. Due to the worrying nature of human beings, each ratchet in our knowledge is too often accompanied by dangerous applications. Knowledge, once established by a reliable scientific method, cannot be unlearned. The cat is out of the bag and the curiosity may kill the cat – so to speak. Professor Roy Calne illustrates this with the example of the young physicist known to all at CERN: Lise Meitner, who discovered and named nucle...

  10. Teaching obstetric ultrasound at Mulago Hospital - Kampala, Uganda

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... basic obstetric ultrasound. Keywords: Ultrasound; obstetric; teaching; Uganda; low-resource; curriculum. .... tic and hands-on training were provided by one trainer. (HKA) who at the time .... any formal teaching session. Additionally, the study ...

  11. Hands-On and Kinesthetic Activities for Teaching Phonological Awareness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rule, Audrey C.; Dockstader, C. Jolene; Stewart, Roger A.

    2006-01-01

    Object box and environmental print card activities and kinesthetic/oral activities used in two before school programs for Title 1 students are presented for teaching phonological awareness concepts to students in primary grades. A small program evaluation study in which the two experimental groups made similar improvements and larger gains than a…

  12. Attitudes and practices of Irish hospital-based physicians towards hand hygiene and hand rubbing using alcohol-based hand rub: a comparison between 2007 and 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kingston, L M; Slevin, B L; O'Connell, N H; Dunne, C P

    2017-09-01

    Hand hygiene is the cornerstone of infection prevention and control practices, and reduces healthcare-associated infections significantly. However, international evidence suggests that medical doctors demonstrate poor compliance. To explore and compare practices and attitudes towards hand hygiene, particularly hand rubbing using alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR), among hospital-based physicians in Ireland between 2007 and 2015. In 2007, a random sample of doctors in a large teaching hospital was invited to complete a postal survey using a validated questionnaire. In 2015, the study was replicated among all doctors employed in a university hospital group, including the setting of the original study, using an online survey. Data were analysed using SPSS and Survey Monkey. Predominately positive and improving attitudes and practices were found, with 86% of doctors compliant with hand hygiene before patient contact in 2015, compared with 58% in 2007. Ninety-one percent of doctors were compliant after patient contact in 2015, compared with 76% in 2007. In 2015, only 39% of respondents reported that they 'almost always' used ABHR for hand hygiene. However, this represents 13.5% more than in 2007. Stated barriers to use of ABHR included dermatological issues, poor acceptance, tolerance and poor availability of ABHR products. Greater awareness of hand hygiene guidelines and greater governance appear to have had a positive impact on practice. However, despite this, practice remains suboptimal and there is scope for substantial improvement. Continued and sustained efforts are required in order to build on progress achieved since the World Health Organization hand hygiene guidelines were published in 2009. Copyright © 2017 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Hand sanitizer dispensers and associated hospital-acquired infections: friend or fomite?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eiref, Simon D; Leitman, I Michael; Riley, William

    2012-06-01

    Waterless alcohol-based hand sanitizers are an increasingly popular method of hand hygiene and help prevent hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Whether hand sanitizer dispensers (HSDs) may themselves harbor pathogens or act as fomites has not been reported. All HSDs in the surgical intensive care unit of an urban teaching hospital were cultured at three sites: The dispenser lever, the rear underside, and the area surrounding the dispensing nozzle. All HSDs yielded one or more bacterial species, including commensal skin flora and enteric gram-negative bacilli. Colonization was greatest on the lever, where there is direct hand contact. Hand sanitizer dispensers can become contaminated with pathogens that cause HAI and thus are potential fomites.

  14. Show and Sell: Teaching Sales through Hands-On Selling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rippé, Cindy B.

    2015-01-01

    There is a shortage of qualified salespeople, which creates a challenge for educators to prepare more students for a sales career. One of the most common teaching techniques used in preparing students is role playing, which mirrors real-world selling. However, role plays are not necessarily authentic because the players and conditions are not a…

  15. Capitalizing on Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devitt, Adam

    2011-01-01

    State and national standards have shifted what science learning should be from "plug and chug" formulas, to deep understanding of natural phenomena, competence developing ideas through the inquiry process, and even communicating scientific ideas among their communities (NRC 2007). By inquiring into his own teaching endeavors, the author continues…

  16. Satellite Eye for the Galathea 3 ship expedition: Global tour 2006-2007

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasager, Charlotte Bay; Badger, Merete; Sørensen, Peter

    2007-01-01

    Satellite Eye for Galathea 3 (www.satellitecye.dk contains education at the internet for secondary and upper secondary schools and the public. The Galathea 3 ship expedition circumnavigated the globe starting from Denmark 11 August 2006, visiting Greenland, Azores, South Africa, Australia, Solomon...... of the expedition and these classes in particular used the Satellite Eye teaching material. In Google Earth satellite images of many themes are shown. These include sea ice, sea surface temperature, ocean wind, wave height, sea surface level, ozone, clouds and radar images of ocean and land. Also high spatial...

  17. EyeMusic: Making Music with the Eyes

    OpenAIRE

    Hornof, Anthony J.; Sato, Linda

    2004-01-01

    Though musical performers routinely use eye movements to communicate with each other during musical performances, very few performers or composers have used eye tracking devices to direct musical compositions and performances. EyeMusic is a system that uses eye movements as an input to electronic music compositions. The eye movements can directly control the music, or the music can respond to the eyes moving around a visual scene. EyeMusic is implemented so that any composer using established...

  18. Can eye-tracking technology improve situational awareness in paramedic clinical education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Brett; Quested, Andrew; Cooper, Simon

    2013-01-01

    Human factors play a significant part in clinical error. Situational awareness (SA) means being aware of one's surroundings, comprehending the present situation, and being able to predict outcomes. It is a key human skill that, when properly applied, is associated with reducing medical error: eye-tracking technology can be used to provide an objective and qualitative measure of the initial perception component of SA. Feedback from eye-tracking technology can be used to improve the understanding and teaching of SA in clinical contexts, and consequently, has potential for reducing clinician error and the concomitant adverse events.

  19. Improved Medical Student Perception of Ultrasound Using a Paired Anatomy Teaching Assistant and Clinician Teaching Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jacob P.; Kendall, John L.; Royer, Danielle F.

    2018-01-01

    This study describes a new teaching model for ultrasound (US) training, and evaluates its effect on medical student attitudes toward US. First year medical students participated in hands-on US during human gross anatomy (2014 N = 183; 2015 N = 182). The sessions were facilitated by clinicians alone in 2014, and by anatomy teaching assistant…

  20. Axiological Significance of Historical Pedagogic Expertise of Foreign Language Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. V. Bulygina

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with one of the most urgent problems of language teaching in Russia – the need for raising the quality of foreign language and culture teaching in compulsory secondary school. By analyzing the current normative documents and perspectives of further development, the basic values of language teaching were highlighted, correlated with the teaching experience and achievements of the pre- revolutionary era. For the first time, the issue was discussed at the regional level of one of the remote Russian territories–to the south of the Urals. The basic research methods include the historical, logical and comparative analysis of language teaching in the pre-revolutionary era reflected in some previously unknown archives documents. The updating of the historic pedagogical experience emphasized in the paper could, on the one hand, preserve the national language teaching traditions, and on the other hand, give way to innovative regional projects facilitating the language teaching, multilingualism and multicultural trends in society. 

  1. Radionuclide migration in the geosphere: modelling of the natural analogue of needle's eye

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doublet, R.; Jamet, P.; Lachassagne, P.; Ledoux, E.

    1990-01-01

    The study of the natural analogue of Needle's Eye (Scotland) has covered a three years period. It involved an important field and laboratory work, though delicate considering the peculiar site constraints (which is a natural reserve). The collaboration between BGS and SURRC geologists and geochemists on the one hand, and the modelling team of CIG on the other hand made it possible to collate an adequate and consistent database prior to a fruiful modelling work. In conclusion, the work that has been carried out enlights the applicability of a coupled model to a real case. This approach could be extended to other case studies. However, an important work remains to be done in order to strenghten the first encouraging results of the Needle's Eye model. This work is part of the community programme Mirage

  2. A simple magic cup to inject excitement and curiosity in physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amir, Nazir

    2018-05-01

    This article highlights a simple demonstration kit that can be easily fabricated in Design & Technology (D&T) workshops to inject excitement and curiosity into students’ learning of physics concepts such as density and optics. Using an ice cream cup from a fast food restaurant and a transparent circular acrylic piece, students can be guided to make a ‘magic’ cup, while at the same time get inquisitive about the physics behind the magic. The project highlights a way of linking physics to D&T in a feasible manner which can motivate and engage students.

  3. Management of common eye conditions in a primary health care ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    treated by properly trained middle cadre eye health worker working with simple diagnostic tools in a primary health care setting or by referring to secondary care in a timely ... Personal and environmental hygiene: (regular hand and face washing, proper disposal of garbage, human and animal waste and maintenance of a.

  4. Chromatic and achromatic monocular deprivation produce separable changes of eye dominance in adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Jiawei; Reynaud, Alexandre; Kim, Yeon Jin; Mullen, Kathy T; Hess, Robert F

    2017-11-29

    Temporarily depriving one eye of its input, in whole or in part, results in a transient shift in eye dominance in human adults, with the patched eye becoming stronger and the unpatched eye weaker. However, little is known about the role of colour contrast in these behavioural changes. Here, we first show that the changes in eye dominance and contrast sensitivity induced by monocular eye patching affect colour and achromatic contrast sensitivity equally. We next use dichoptic movies, customized and filtered to stimulate the two eyes differentially. We show that a strong imbalance in achromatic contrast between the eyes, with no colour content, also produces similar, unselective shifts in eye dominance for both colour and achromatic contrast sensitivity. Interestingly, if this achromatic imbalance is paired with similar colour contrast in both eyes, the shift in eye dominance is selective, affecting achromatic but not chromatic contrast sensitivity and revealing a dissociation in eye dominance for colour and achromatic image content. On the other hand, a strong imbalance in chromatic contrast between the eyes, with no achromatic content, produces small, unselective changes in eye dominance, but if paired with similar achromatic contrast in both eyes, no changes occur. We conclude that perceptual changes in eye dominance are strongly driven by interocular imbalances in achromatic contrast, with colour contrast having a significant counter balancing effect. In the short term, eyes can have different dominances for achromatic and chromatic contrast, suggesting separate pathways at the site of these neuroplastic changes. © 2017 The Author(s).

  5. KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF THE DIABETIC EYE DISEASES AMONGST PERSONS WITH DIABETES- A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahuya Chattopadhyay

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND India is home to second most populous country with diabetes. As more and more people with diabetes are leading normal life with the help of drugs, the burden of diabetic retinopathy is increasing. The awareness about the problem is not keeping pace with the burden of the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a teaching hospital of West Bengal wherein diabetics attending the lifestyle and diabetic clinics were asked about the different aspects of diabetic retinopathy. RESULTS There were 307 females (58.4%. The mean (SD age of the respondent was 53.7 (11.5 years. 30% of the participants said that at least one of their first-degree relative (either parent or sibling is a known diabetic. The median duration of the diabetes of the respondents was 4 years. 79% of the participants were on any oral hypoglycaemic agent. 285 (54.2% participants knew that diabetes can affect eye. 134 (25.6% individuals have belief that diabetes can affect eye even if the blood sugar is under control. 82 (15.6% were not feeling the need to visit an eye doctor even if they are diabetic. 270 (51.3% did not know whether it is essential to visit an eye specialist for periodic checkups if a person has diabetes. Sex and occupation was not significantly associated with awareness about the eye diseases. More educated participants had better knowledge about diabetic retinopathy. CONCLUSION Though, the awareness about the diabetic retinopathy is average, the actual practice of visiting an eye specialist for regular eye checkups is very low in diabetic patients attending a teaching hospital of West Bengal.

  6. Essential hand surgery procedures for mastery by graduating plastic surgery residents: a survey of program directors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noland, Shelley S; Fischer, Lauren H; Lee, Gordon K; Friedrich, Jeffrey B; Hentz, Vincent R

    2013-12-01

    This study was designed to establish the essential hand surgery procedures that should be mastered by graduating plastic surgery residents. This framework can then be used as a guideline for developing Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill to teach technical skills in hand surgery. Ten expert hand surgeons were surveyed regarding the essential hand surgery procedures that should be mastered by graduating plastic surgery residents. The top 10 procedures from this survey were then used to survey all 89 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved plastic surgery program directors. There was a 69 percent response rate to the program director survey (n = 61). The top nine hand surgery procedures included open carpal tunnel release, open A1 pulley release, digital nerve repair with microscope, closed reduction and percutaneous pinning of metacarpal fracture, excision of dorsal or volar ganglion, zone II flexor tendon repair with multistrand technique, incision and drainage of the flexor tendon sheath for flexor tenosynovitis, flexor tendon sheath steroid injection, and open cubital tunnel release. Surgical educators need to develop objective methods to teach and document technical skill. The Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill is a valid method for accomplishing this task. There has been no consensus regarding which hand surgery procedures should be mastered by graduating plastic surgery residents. The authors have identified nine procedures that are overwhelmingly supported by plastic surgery program directors. These nine procedures can be used as a guideline for developing Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill to teach and document technical skills in hand surgery.

  7. Intellectual Curiosity in Action: A Framework to Assess First-Year Seminars in Liberal Arts Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolb, Kenneth H.; Longest, Kyle C.; Barnett, Jenna C.

    2014-01-01

    Fostering students' intellectual curiosity is a common goal of first-year seminar programs--especially in liberal arts settings. The authors propose an alternative method to assess this ambiguous, value-laden concept. Relying on data gathered from pre- and posttest in-depth interviews of 34 students enrolled in first-year seminars, they construct…

  8. [Eye contact effects: A therapeutic issue?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baltazar, M; Conty, L

    2016-12-01

    following the view that people with autism are not interested in processing social signals such as gaze but could do so efficiently if properly motivated. For each pathology we emphasize that eye contact could be used, for example, to enhance sensitivity to bodily states, thus improving emotional decision making (in autism); to lead to more positive appraisal of the self and others (in depression); to improve memory performances (in Alzheimer disease) and, more generally, to motivate the recipient to engage in the therapeutic process. (3) Finally we propose two concrete ways to employ eye contact effects as a therapeutic tool. The first is to develop cognitive-behavioral tools to learn and/or motivate the recipient to create frequent and prolonged eye contact periods. The second is to raise awareness among caregivers of the beneficial effects of eye contact and to teach them the way to use eye contact to reach its optimum effects. Future investigations are however needed to explore the ways in which eye contact effects can be efficiently integrated in therapeutic strategies, as well as to identify the clinical populations that can benefit from such therapeutic interventions. Copyright © 2016 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Connecting eye to eye

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dau, Susanne; Rask, Anders Bindslev

    2017-01-01

    Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is used a frame for supporting online and blended learning in educations. The online communication and collaboration are afforded by the social collaboration. However, the social collaboration is based on the establishment of direct eye contact...... (Khalid, Deska & Hugenberg, 2016), but direct eye contact is challenged by the position of the digital devices and thus CSCL. Lack of eye contact is the chief contributor to the negative effects of online disinhibition (Lapidot-Lefler & Barak, 2012) and the problem is the location of the web camera...... at the computer. Eye contact is challenged by the displacement between the senders´ and receivers´ focus on the screen picture and the camera's location at the top or bottom of screens on all digital devices. The aim of this paper is accordingly to investigate the influence of the displacement in eye contact...

  10. Hands-On Mathematics: Two Cases from Ancient Chinese Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Youjun

    2009-01-01

    In modern mathematical teaching, it has become increasingly emphasized that mathematical knowledge should be taught by problem-solving, hands-on activities, and interactive learning experiences. Comparing the ideas of modern mathematical education with the development of ancient Chinese mathematics, we find that the history of mathematics in…

  11. Eagle i-Bot: An Eye-controlled System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onindita Afrin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Hundreds of millions of people in the world are hand impaired in some way, and for many, there is no absolute solution. Operation of computers by physically disabled people; especially with hand impairment was quite impossible till now because use of hands plays a vital role in the use of mouse, touch pad and keyboard. We proposed a new system named as “Eagle i-Bot - An eye-controlled system” which has come with a feasible solution for this scenario. With this system, computers and robots can be controlled by the pair of eyes’ movement or iris movement and voice commands control all the mouse events. This system works with image processing system based on Voila-Jones algorithm and modified Ada-boost algorithms along with java robot class and sphinx-4 frameworks. In this paper, this system is described including software and hardware aspects, algorithms that are used and scopes where Eagle i-Bot can be used.

  12. Baseline evaluation of hand hygiene compliance in three major hospitals, Isfahan, Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ataei, B; Zahraei, S M; Pezeshki, Z; Babak, A; Nokhodian, Z; Mobasherizadeh, S; Hoseini, S G

    2013-09-01

    Hand hygiene is the mainstay of nosocomial infection prevention. This study was a baseline survey to assess hand hygiene compliance of healthcare workers by direct observation in three major hospitals of Isfahan, Iran. The use of different hand hygiene products was also evaluated. In 3078 potential opportunities hand hygiene products were available on 2653 occasions (86.2%). Overall compliance was 6.4% (teaching hospital: 7.4%; public hospital: 6.2%; private hospital: 1.4%). Nurses (8.4%) had the highest rates of compliance. Poor hand hygiene compliance in Isfahan hospitals necessitates urgent interventions to improve both hospital infrastructure and staff knowledge. © 2013 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Eye Allergies

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Español Eye Health / Eye Health A-Z Eye Allergies Sections What Are Eye Allergies? Eye Allergy Symptoms ... allergy diagnosis Eye allergy treatment What Are Eye Allergies? Leer en Español: ¿Qué son las alergias de ...

  14. Teaching Web Security Using Portable Virtual Labs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Li-Chiou; Tao, Lixin

    2012-01-01

    We have developed a tool called Secure WEb dEvelopment Teaching (SWEET) to introduce security concepts and practices for web application development. This tool provides introductory tutorials, teaching modules utilizing virtualized hands-on exercises, and project ideas in web application security. In addition, the tool provides pre-configured…

  15. Quiet eye training improves surgical knot tying more than traditional technical training: a randomized controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Causer, Joe; Harvey, Adrian; Snelgrove, Ryan; Arsenault, Gina; Vickers, Joan N

    2014-08-01

    We examined the effectiveness of technical training (TT) and quiet eye training (QE) on the performance of one-handed square knot tying in surgical residents. Twenty surgical residents were randomly assigned to the 2 groups and completed pretest, training, retention, and transfer tests. Participants wore a mobile eye tracker that simultaneously recorded their gaze and hand movements. Dependent variables were knot tying performance (%), QE duration (%), number of fixations, total movement time (s), and hand movement phase time (s). The QE training group had significantly higher performance scores, a longer QE duration, fewer fixations, faster total knot tying times, and faster movement phase times compared with the TT group. The QE group maintained performance in the transfer test, whereas the TT group significantly decreased performance from retention to transfer. QE training significantly improved learning, retention, and transfer of surgical knot tying compared with a traditional technical approach. Both performance effectiveness (performance outcome) and movement efficiency (hand movement times) were improved using QE modeling, instruction, and feedback. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. THE KNOWLEDGE OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND DOCTORS REGARDING HAND SCRUB

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahul Sanjeev Chaudhary

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND Hand hygiene practices of health care workers has been shown to be an effective measure in preventing hospital acquired infections. This concept has been aptly used to improve understanding, training, monitoring, and reporting hand hygiene among healthcare workers. We conducted this study to assess the knowledge of doctors and health care workers regarding hand scrub. METHODS A study was conducted among doctors and health care workers in a tertiary care hospital. Knowledge was evaluated by using self-structured questionnaire based on the guidelines of hand hygiene prescribed by WHO. RESULTS The awareness and knowledge of preoperative surgical hand scrubbing was moderate in doctors, but unfortunately poor in HCWs. CONCLUSION Our study highlights the need for introducing measures in order to increase the knowledge of preoperative hand scrub in teaching hospital which may translate into good practices.

  17. Understanding Healthcare Workers Self-Reported Practices, Knowledge and Attitude about Hand Hygiene in a Medical Setting in Rural India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diwan, Vishal; Gustafsson, Charlotte; Rosales Klintz, Senia; Joshi, Sudhir Chandra; Joshi, Rita; Sharma, Megha; Shah, Harshada; Pathak, Ashish; Tamhankar, Ashok J; Stålsby Lundborg, Cecilia

    2016-01-01

    To describe self-reported practices and assess knowledge and attitudes regarding hand hygiene among healthcare workers in a rural Indian teaching hospital. A rural teaching hospital and its associated medical and nursing colleges in the district of Ujjain, India. The study population consisted of physicians, nurses, teaching staff, clinical instructors and nursing students. Self-administered questionnaires based on the World Health Organization Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Healthcare were used. Out of 489 healthcare workers, 259 participated in the study (response rate = 53%). The proportion of healthcare workers that reported to 'always' practice hand hygiene in the selected situations varied from 40-96% amongst categories. Reported barriers to maintaining good hand hygiene were mainly related to high workload, scarcity of resources, lack of scientific information and the perception that priority is not given to hand hygiene, either on an individual or institutional level. Previous training on the topic had a statistically significant association with self-reported practice (p = 0.001). Ninety three per cent of the respondents were willing to attend training on hand hygiene in the near future. Self-reported knowledge and adherence varied between situations, but hand hygiene practices have the potential to improve if the identified constraints could be reduced. Future training should focus on enhancing healthcare workers' knowledge and understanding regarding the importance of persistent practice in all situations.

  18. How Do College/University Teacher Misbehaviors Influence Student Cognitive Learning, Academic Self-Efficacy, Motivation, and Curiosity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banfield, Sara R.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between teacher misbehaviors and a variety of outcome variables, including cognitive learning, motivation, curiosity, and academic self-efficacy. Research has yet to directly address how teacher misbehaviors affect cognitive learning. It is important to assess actual learning as opposed…

  19. Creative Approaches to Teaching Graduate Research Methods Workshops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Reilly

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Engagement and deeper learning were enhanced by developing several innovative teaching strategies delivered in Research Methods workshops to Graduate Business Students.  Focusing primarily on students adopting a creative approach to formulating a valid research question for undertaking a dissertation successfully. These techniques are applicable to most subject domains to ensure student engagement.  Addressing the various multiple intelligences and learning styles existing within groups while ensuring these sessions are student centred and conducive to a collaborative learning environment.  Blogs, interactive tutorials, online videos, games and posters, are used to develop student’s cognitive and metacognitive abilities.  Using novelty images appeals to a groups’ intellectual curiosity, acting as an interpretive device to explain  the value of adopting a holistic rather than analytic approach towards a topic.

  20. Further Evaluation of a Practitioner Model for Increasing Eye Contact in Children With Autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapp, John T; Cook, Jennifer L; Nuta, Raluca; Balagot, Carissa; Crouchman, Kayla; Jenkins, Claire; Karim, Sidrah; Watters-Wybrow, Chelsea

    2018-02-01

    Cook et al. recently described a progressive model for teaching children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to provide eye contact with an instructor following a name call. The model included the following phases: contingent praise only, contingent edibles plus praise, stimulus prompts plus contingent edibles and praise, contingent video and praise, schedule thinning, generalization assessments, and maintenance evaluations. In the present study, we evaluated the extent to which modifications to the model were needed to train 15 children with ASD to engage in eye contact. Results show that 11 of 15 participants acquired eye contact with the progressive model; however, eight participants required one or more procedural modifications to the model to acquire eye contact. In addition, the four participants who did not acquire eye contact received one or more modifications. Results also show that participants who acquired eye contact with or without modifications continued to display high levels of the behavior during follow-up probes. We discuss directions for future research with and limitations of this progressive model.

  1. Molecular genetics of inherited eye disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, I M; Sasi, R

    1994-10-01

    In the past 10 y, there have been considerable advances in the mapping, isolation, and characterization of many genes for important ocular conditions: retinitis pigmentosa, Norrie disease, Waardenburg syndrome, choroideremia, aniridia, retinoblastoma, and others. The candidate gene approach has now supplemented classical linkage studies and positional cloning in the investigation of ocular disorders. Developmentally expressed genes and animal models have provided insights as to the etiology of other disorders. With this knowledge at hand, genetic counselling for heritable eye diseases has been greatly improved.

  2. ASSOCIATION AMONG MATHEMATICAL CRITICAL THINKING SKILL, COMMUNICATION, AND CURIOSITY ATTITUDE AS THE IMPACT OF PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING AND COGNITIVE CONFLICT STRATEGY (PBLCCS) IN NUMBER THEORY COURSE

    OpenAIRE

    Zetriuslita Zetriuslita; Wahyudin Wahyudin; Jarnawi Afgani Dahlan

    2018-01-01

    This research aims to find out the association amongMathematical Critical Thinking (MCT) ability, Mathematical Communication, and Mathematical Curiosity Attitude (MCA) as the impact of applying Problem-Based Learning Cognitive Conflict Strategy(PBLCCS) in Number Theory course. The research method is correlative study. The instruments include a test for mathematical critical thinking skill and communication, and questionnaire to obtain the scores of mathematical curiosity attitude. The finding...

  3. Dry Eye

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Eye » Facts About Dry Eye Listen Facts About Dry Eye Fact Sheet Blurb The National Eye Institute (NEI) ... and their families search for general information about dry eye. An eye care professional who has examined the ...

  4. Eye-hand preference dissociation in obsessive-compulsive disorder and dyslexia Dissociação da preferência ocular e manual em pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo e dislexia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marilena Occhini Siviero

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available Dyslexia may be a development disturbance in which there are alterations in visual-spatial and visual-motor processing, while obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD is a psychiatric disease in which there are alterations in memory, executive function, and visual-spatial processing. Our hypothesis is that these disturbances may be, at least partially, the result of a crossed eye and hand preference. In the present study 16 controls, 20 OCD (DSM-IV criteria and 13 dyslexic adults (Brazilian Dyslexia Association criteria were included. All had a neurological examination, the Yale-Brown scale for obsessive-compulsive symptoms application and the Zazzó evaluation for laterality, abridged by Granjon. Results showed a right hand preference for 100% of controls, 84.6% of dyslexics, and 75% of OCD patients and a right eye preference for 73.3% of controls, 69.2% of dyslexics, and 35% of OCD patients. The left eye preference was significantly higher in OCD when compared with the two other groups (p = 0.01 and the left hand preference of OCD patients (25% was also significant when compared to Brazilian population (4% or British population (4.5%. It is possible that this crossed preference may be partially the reason for visual-spatial and constructive disturbances observed in OCD.A dislexia pode resultar de distúrbio do desenvolvimento e apresenta alterações no processamento visuo-espacial e visuo-motor, enquanto o transtorno obsessivo compulsivo (TOC é uma alteração psiquiátrica na qual podem ocorrer alterações de memória, função executiva e visuo-espacial. Nossa hipótese é que parte destes distúrbios pode decorrer da preferência ocular e manual cruzadas. Foram avaliados 16 indivíduos normais, 20 pacientes com TOC, (critérios da DSM-IV e 13 adultos disléxicos (critérios da Associação Brasileira de Dislexia. Todos passaram por exame neurológico, avaliação de sintomas obsessivos-compulsivos pela escala Yale-Brown e pela bateria para

  5. Compositional Variations in Sands of the Bagnold Dunes, Gale Crater, Mars, from Visible-Shortwave Infrared Spectroscopy and Comparison to Ground-Truth from the Curiosity Rover

    OpenAIRE

    Lapotre, M. G. A.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Minson, S. E.; Arvidson, R. E.; Ayoub, F.; Fraeman, A. A.; Ewing, R. C.; Bridges, N. T.

    2017-01-01

    During its ascent up Mount Sharp, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover traversed the Bagnold Dune Field. We model sand modal mineralogy and grain size at four locations near the rover traverse, using orbital shortwave infrared single-scattering albedo spectra and a Markov chain Monte Carlo implementation of Hapke's radiative transfer theory to fully constrain uncertainties and permitted solutions. These predictions, evaluated against in situ measurements at one site from the Curiosity ...

  6. Google Earth for Landowners: Insights from Hands-on Workshops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huff, Tristan

    2014-01-01

    Google Earth is an accessible, user-friendly GIS that can help landowners in their management planning. I offered hands-on Google Earth workshops to landowners to teach skills, including mapmaking, length and area measurement, and database management. Workshop participants were surveyed at least 6 months following workshop completion, and learning…

  7. In Situ Analysis of Mars Soil and Rocks Sample with the Sam Gcms Instrumentation Onboard Curiosity : Interpretation and Comparison of Measurements Done during the First Martian Year of Curiosity on Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szopa, C.; Coll, P. J.; Cabane, M.; Buch, A.; Coscia, D.; Millan, M.; Francois, P.; Belmahadi, I.; Teinturier, S.; Navarro-Gonzalez, R.; Glavin, D. P.; Freissinet, C.; Steele, A.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Mahaffy, P. R.

    2014-12-01

    The characterisation of the chemical and mineralogical composition of solid surface samples collected with the Curiosity rover is a primary objective of the SAM experiment. These data should provide essential clues on the past habitability of Gale crater. Amongst the SAM suite of instruments [1], SAM-GC (Gas Chromatograph) is devoted to identify and quantify volatiles evolved from the thermal (heating up to about 900°C)/chemical (derivatization procedure) treatment of any soil sample collected by the Curiosity rover. With the aim to search for potential organic molecules outgassed from the samples, SAM-GC analytical channels composed of thermal-desorption injector, and a MXT-CLP or a MXT-Q chromatographic column was chosen to achieve all the measurements done up today, with the aim to separate of a wide range of volatile inorganic and organic molecules. Four solid samples have been analyzed with GCMS, one sand sample collected at the Rocknest site, two rock samples (John Klein and Cumberland respectively) collected at the Yellowknife Bay site using the Curiosity driller, and one rock sample collected at the Kimberly site. All the measurements were successful and they produced complex chromatograms with both detectors used for SAM GC, i.e. a thermal conductivity detector and the SAM quandrupole mass spectrometer. Their interpretation already revealed the presence of an oxychlorine phase present in the sample which is at the origin of chlorohydrocarbons clearly identified [2] but this represents only a fraction of the GCMS signal recorded [3,4]. This work presents a systematic comparison of the GCMS measurements done for the different samples collected, supported by reference data obtained in laboratory with different spare models of the gas chromatograph, with the aim to bring new elements of interpretation of the SAM measurements. References: [1] Mahaffy, P. et al. (2012) Space Sci Rev, 170, 401-478. [2] Glavin, D. et al. (2013), JGR. [3] Leshin L. et al. (2013

  8. Aesthetic Refinements in Patients with Prominent Eyes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Dirk F; Schwaiger, Nina; Wiedner, Maria

    2015-12-01

    The treatment of prominent eyes is still a challenging task. As well as the surgery, proper preoperative diagnosis differentiating between patients with and without Graves ophthalmopathy plays an important role. In functionally asymptomatic patients with Graves disease suffering from the aesthetic impairment of prominent eyes, the transpalpebral decompression by intraorbital fat removal technique has been proved to be reliable, effective, safe, and easily performed by a trained and experienced oculoplastic surgeon. This technique provides long-lasting results, leading to improvement not only in visual function but also in personal well-being and in the patient's social life, with a high benefit-to-risk ratio. The most powerful tool to treat the lower lid deformity and malar bags in patients without Graves disease is the subperiosteal midface lift. It shortens the lid-cheek junction and blends the retaining periorbital ligaments. Furthermore, it adds volume to the lower lid and gives a stable support. By the nature of the procedure, it also turns a negative into a positive vector. In experienced hands, Olivari's orbital decompression and Hester's midface lift are ideal options for the treatment of prominent eyes. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  9. Teaching science in museums

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Lynn Uyen

    Museums are free-choice, non-threatening, non-evaluative learning and teaching environments. They enable learners to revisit contents, authentic objects, and experiences at their own leisure as they continually build an understanding and appreciation of the concepts. Schools in America have used museums as resources to supplement their curriculum since the 19 th century. Field trip research is predominantly from the teachers' and students' perspectives, and draws attention to the importance for classroom teachers and students to prepare prior to field trips, have tasks, goals, and objectives during their time at the museum, and follow up afterwards. Meanwhile, museum educators' contributions to field trip experiences have been scantily addressed. These educators develop and implement programs intended to help students' explore science concepts and make sense of their experiences, and despite their limited time with students, studies show they can be memorable. First, field trips are a break in the usual routine, and thus have curiosity and attention attracting power. Second, classroom science teaching literature suggests teachers' teaching knowledge and goals can affect their behaviors, and in turn influence student learning. Third, classroom teachers are novices at planning and implementing field trip planners, and museum educators can share this responsibility. But little is reported on how the educators teach, what guides their instruction, how classroom teachers use these lessons, and what is gained from these lessons. This study investigates two of these inquiries. The following research questions guided this investigation. (1) How do educators teaching one-hour, one-time lessons in museums adapt their instruction to the students that they teach? (2) How do time limitations affect instruction? (3) How does perceived variability in entering student knowledge affect instruction? Four educators from two museums took part in this participant observation study to

  10. How teacher education institutions cope with challenges of teaching and learning in the digital age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voogt, J.; Schols, M.; Bottema, J.; van Bergen, H.; van der Stap, N.; Tomson, A.; Nieweg, M.; Doornenbal, J.W.; Bakker, B.; Smits, A.; Thompson, A.; Searson, M.; Ochoa, M.

    2014-01-01

    The assumption underlying the symposium is that teacher education institutions have a dual challenge. At the one hand they need to prepare pre-service students for teaching and facilitating learning in the digital age, including the use of technology in teaching and learning. At the other hand

  11. Die saamspeel van hand, oog en passie: gedagtes oor erotiek en estetika

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DP Veldsman

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available In critical dismissal on the one hand of the viewpoint of Augustine on original sin, and on the other hand of a proposed viewpoint with regard to a theology of God�s good creation, this article explores the intimate interwoveness of aesthetics, erotism and religious experience. The basic communication structure of sender-message-receiver is taken as vantage point and translated into questions regarding the artist, the medium and� the enjoyer of art / art critic. Against a historical-terminological background of aesthetics and erotism from Plato and Aristotle to contemporary views, a theological viewpoint is developed� in playful metaphoric utilization of the concepts hand, eye and passion. Passion is acquitted in this viewpoint in which hamartological short-sightedness is replaced by loving far-sightedness.

  12. Hand hygiene amongst dental professionals in a tertiary dental clinic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: To evaluate hand washing attitude and practices among Dentists and Dental Students treating patients in a Nigerian Tertiary Dental Clinic. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey of Dentists and Dental Students treating patients in University of Benin Teaching Hospital was conducted between February ...

  13. Teaching undergraduate astrophysics with PIRATE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodeur, M. S.; Kolb, U.; Minocha, S.; Braithwaite, N.

    2014-12-01

    PIRATE is a 0.43m semi-autonomous research and teaching observatory owned by The Open University, UK. Since 2010, it has been reserved for several months of each year for teaching astronomy in the OU's undergraduate programme. As students in these courses operate PIRATE remotely rather than travelling to the observatory itself, we chose to investigate whether effective learning was adversely affected by the absence of a more traditional `hands on' experience. We discuss student perspectives on the technologies employed (i.e., remote and virtual investigations), the impact these had on perceived course outcomes, and consider implications for future teaching and outreach.

  14. Writing poetry through the eyes of science a teacher's guide to scientific literacy and poetic response

    CERN Document Server

    Gorrell, Nancy

    2012-01-01

    Writing Poetry Through the Eyes of Science: A Teacher's Guide to Scientific Literacy and Poetic Response presents a unique and effective interdisciplinary approach to teaching science poems and science poetry writing in secondary English and science classrooms.

  15. The Methods Applied by Pre-School Teachers to Raise the Curiosity of Children and Their Views

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buyuktaskapu Soydan, Sema; Erbay, Filiz

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the strategies used by pre-school teachers in order to raise curiosity in children. Based on this aim, sample is composed of 52 pre-school teachers working in kindergartens affiliated to Ministry of National Education. Study data were collected via qualitative research methods. Research data were gathered…

  16. Hand hygiene compliance in a universal gloving setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuruno, Noriko; Kasahara, Kei; Mikasa, Keiichi

    2017-08-01

    The use of gloves for every patient contact (ie, universal gloving) has been suggested as an infection prevention adjunct and alternative to contact precautions. However, gloves may carry organisms unless they are changed properly. In addition, hand hygiene is required before donning and after removing gloves, and there are scarce data regarding glove changing and hand hygiene in a universal gloving setting. This nonrandomized observational before-after study evaluated the effect of education and feedback regarding hand hygiene. Compliance with hand hygiene and glove use was directly observed in a universal gloving setting at a 10-bed intensive care unit in a Japanese tertiary care university teaching hospital. A total of 6,050 hand hygiene opportunities were identified. Overall, hand hygiene compliance steadily increased from study period 1 (16.1%) to period 5 (56.8%), although there were indication-specific differences in the baseline compliance, the degree of improvement, and the reasons for noncompliance. There were decreases in the compliance with universal gloving and the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It is difficult to properly perform glove use and hand hygiene in a universal gloving setting, given its complexity. Direct observation with specific feedback and education may be effective in improving compliance. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Assisting the Blind and Visually Impaired: Guidelines for Eye Health Workers and Other Helpers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sue Stevens

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available As eye health workers, we give much attention to learning and teaching the importance of health education and the prevention and treatment of eye disease. Despite our gained knowledge, sadly, our efforts are not always successful and we are presented with the responsibility and challenge of caring for people who have to cope with visual impairment, perhaps for the rest of their lives. We have to understand their difficulties, recognise their abilities and learn how to cooperate and communicate with them in a social as well as hospital environment. It is often within the eye hospital itself that the lack in education of health workers and their understanding of the assistance needs of blind and visually impaired patients is all too evident.

  18. Red rover: inside the story of robotic space exploration, from genesis to the mars rover curiosity

    CERN Document Server

    Wiens, Roger

    2013-01-01

    In its eerie likeness to Earth, Mars has long captured our imaginations—both as a destination for humankind and as a possible home to extraterrestrial life. It is our twenty-first century New World; its explorers robots, shipped 350 million miles from Earth to uncover the distant planet’s secrets.Its most recent scout is Curiosity—a one-ton, Jeep-sized nuclear-powered space laboratory—which is now roving the Martian surface to determine whether the red planet has ever been physically capable of supporting life. In Red Rover, geochemist Roger Wiens, the principal investigator for the ChemCam laser instrument on the rover and veteran of numerous robotic NASA missions, tells the unlikely story of his involvement in sending sophisticated hardware into space, culminating in the Curiosity rover's amazing journey to Mars.In so doing, Wiens paints the portrait of one of the most exciting scientific stories of our time: the new era of robotic space exploration. Starting with NASA’s introduction of the Discovery...

  19. MO-E-18C-02: Hands-On Monte Carlo Project Assignment as a Method to Teach Radiation Physics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pater, P; Vallieres, M; Seuntjens, J [McGill University, Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: To present a hands-on project on Monte Carlo methods (MC) recently added to the curriculum and to discuss the students' appreciation. Methods: Since 2012, a 1.5 hour lecture dedicated to MC fundamentals follows the detailed presentation of photon and electron interactions. Students also program all sampling steps (interaction length and type, scattering angle, energy deposit) of a MC photon transport code. A handout structured in a step-by-step fashion guides student in conducting consistency checks. For extra points, students can code a fully working MC simulation, that simulates a dose distribution for 50 keV photons. A kerma approximation to dose deposition is assumed. A survey was conducted to which 10 out of the 14 attending students responded. It compared MC knowledge prior to and after the project, questioned the usefulness of radiation physics teaching through MC and surveyed possible project improvements. Results: According to the survey, 76% of students had no or a basic knowledge of MC methods before the class and 65% estimate to have a good to very good understanding of MC methods after attending the class. 80% of students feel that the MC project helped them significantly to understand simulations of dose distributions. On average, students dedicated 12.5 hours to the project and appreciated the balance between hand-holding and questions/implications. Conclusion: A lecture on MC methods with a hands-on MC programming project requiring about 14 hours was added to the graduate study curriculum since 2012. MC methods produce “gold standard” dose distributions and slowly enter routine clinical work and a fundamental understanding of MC methods should be a requirement for future students. Overall, the lecture and project helped students relate crosssections to dose depositions and presented numerical sampling methods behind the simulation of these dose distributions. Research funding from governments of Canada and Quebec. PP acknowledges

  20. MO-E-18C-02: Hands-On Monte Carlo Project Assignment as a Method to Teach Radiation Physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pater, P; Vallieres, M; Seuntjens, J

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To present a hands-on project on Monte Carlo methods (MC) recently added to the curriculum and to discuss the students' appreciation. Methods: Since 2012, a 1.5 hour lecture dedicated to MC fundamentals follows the detailed presentation of photon and electron interactions. Students also program all sampling steps (interaction length and type, scattering angle, energy deposit) of a MC photon transport code. A handout structured in a step-by-step fashion guides student in conducting consistency checks. For extra points, students can code a fully working MC simulation, that simulates a dose distribution for 50 keV photons. A kerma approximation to dose deposition is assumed. A survey was conducted to which 10 out of the 14 attending students responded. It compared MC knowledge prior to and after the project, questioned the usefulness of radiation physics teaching through MC and surveyed possible project improvements. Results: According to the survey, 76% of students had no or a basic knowledge of MC methods before the class and 65% estimate to have a good to very good understanding of MC methods after attending the class. 80% of students feel that the MC project helped them significantly to understand simulations of dose distributions. On average, students dedicated 12.5 hours to the project and appreciated the balance between hand-holding and questions/implications. Conclusion: A lecture on MC methods with a hands-on MC programming project requiring about 14 hours was added to the graduate study curriculum since 2012. MC methods produce “gold standard” dose distributions and slowly enter routine clinical work and a fundamental understanding of MC methods should be a requirement for future students. Overall, the lecture and project helped students relate crosssections to dose depositions and presented numerical sampling methods behind the simulation of these dose distributions. Research funding from governments of Canada and Quebec. PP acknowledges

  1. TeachEnG: a Teaching Engine for Genomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Minji; Kim, Yeonsung; Qian, Lei; Song, Jun S

    2017-10-15

    Bioinformatics is a rapidly growing field that has emerged from the synergy of computer science, statistics and biology. Given the interdisciplinary nature of bioinformatics, many students from diverse fields struggle with grasping bioinformatic concepts only from classroom lectures. Interactive tools for helping students reinforce their learning would be thus desirable. Here, we present an interactive online educational tool called TeachEnG (acronym for Teaching Engine for Genomics) for reinforcing key concepts in sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree reconstruction. Our instructional games allow students to align sequences by hand, fill out the dynamic programming matrix in the Needleman-Wunsch global sequence alignment algorithm, and reconstruct phylogenetic trees via the maximum parsimony, Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and Neighbor-Joining algorithms. With an easily accessible interface and instant visual feedback, TeachEnG will help promote active learning in bioinformatics. TeachEnG is freely available at http://teacheng.illinois.edu. The source code is available from https://github.com/KnowEnG/TeachEnG under the Artistic License 2.0. It is written in JavaScript and compatible with Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Microsoft Edge. songj@illinois.edu. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  2. Countdown to Six Billion Teaching Kit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zero Population Growth, Inc., Washington, DC.

    This teaching kit features six activities focused on helping students understand the significance of the world population reaching six billion for our society and our environment. Featured activities include: (1) History of the World: Part Six Billion; (2) A Woman's Place; (3) Baby-O-Matic; (4) Earth: The Apple of Our Eye; (5) Needs vs. Wants; and…

  3. DIDACTIC MODEL AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL APPLIED IN TEACHING OF CELL ANATOMY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Artemisa Amorim da Silva

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The didactic models have a prominent role in the chemical and physical education. However, the use of this tool is still little explored in science teaching. In this article, we present a didactic proposal based on the use of representational didactic models to complement the teaching of cellular anatomy. The methodology was tested and evaluated by students of the seventh grade of elementary school in a public school in Tefe, Amazonas. Structured questionnaires were used to assess the perception of knowledge about cellular anatomy, difficulties in understanding the concepts and the importance of using didactic models for learning. The percentage of correct answers in the pre-test ranged from 15% to 54%, while the post-test, this rate was much higher, between 77% to 100%. The percentage of inadequate responses in the pretest demonstrates that traditional teaching activities are not efficient for the promotion of long-term knowledge. In contrast, high levels of correct answers in the post-test suggest that the incorporation of leisure activity - able to arouse curiosity, interest and active participation of students - complements effectively the teaching of anatomy Mobile. With this activity we observed that the educational model is a feasible strategy for effective understanding of the cytological aspects of plant and animal cells. Keywords: Alternative methods; Elementary School; cell anatomy.

  4. Alcohol badly affects eye movements linked to steering, providing for automatic in-car detection of drink driving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marple-Horvat, Dilwyn E; Cooper, Hannah L; Gilbey, Steven L; Watson, Jessica C; Mehta, Neena; Kaur-Mann, Daljit; Wilson, Mark; Keil, Damian

    2008-03-01

    Driving is a classic example of visually guided behavior in which the eyes move before some other action. When approaching a bend in the road, a driver looks across to the inside of the curve before turning the steering wheel. Eye and steering movements are tightly linked, with the eyes leading, which allows the parts of the brain that move the eyes to assist the parts of the brain that control the hands on the wheel. We show here that this optimal relationship deteriorates with levels of breath alcohol well within the current UK legal limit for driving. The eyes move later, and coordination reduces. These changes lead to bad performance and can be detected by an automated in-car system, which warns the driver is no longer fit to drive.

  5. An Emphasis on Perception: Teaching Image Formation Using a Mechanistic Model of Vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Sue; And Others

    An effective way to teach the concept of image is to give students a model of human vision which incorporates a simple mechanism of depth perception. In this study two almost identical versions of a curriculum in geometrical optics were created. One used a mechanistic, interpretive eye model, and in the other the eye was modeled as a passive,…

  6. Improved nondominant hand performance on a laparoscopic virtual reality simulator after playing the Nintendo Wii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Middleton, Kellie K; Hamilton, Travis; Tsai, Pei-Chien; Middleton, Dana B; Falcone, John L; Hamad, Giselle

    2013-11-01

    Video games have been shown to improve eye-hand coordination, spatial visualization, manual dexterity, and rapid mental processing, which are important in the acquisition of laparoscopic skills. This study investigated the relationship between playing Nintendo(®) Wii™ and virtual reality (VR) laparoscopic surgery simulator performance. We hypothesized that playing the Wii would improve surgical skills performance on a VR laparoscopic simulator and hoped to elucidate which tasks, in particular, would be most beneficial for nondominant hand training. This was a single-blinded, randomized, prospective study conducted with 23 student volunteers. VR laparoscopic skills were assessed at baseline on a Simbionix LapMentor™ Surgical Simulator (Simbionix Ltd., Israel) and after the gaming period of 2 weeks. Simulator performance metrics were compared between groups using nonparametric statistics and an alpha of 0.05. Compared with the control group, the Wii-playing group demonstrated greater improvement of six measures, including accuracy on the eye-hand coordination task (p = 0.04), faster completion time (p = 0.04), decreased number of left-handed movements (p = 0.03), decreased left handed total path length (p = 0.03), decreased total number of grasping attempts (p = 0.04), and improved left-handed economy of movement (p = 0.05) for the bimanual clipping and grasping task. When comparing the number of measures improved upon by the Wii-playing group and the control group for all three tasks, the Wii-playing group consistently outperformed the control group in 18 measures compared with the control group's improvement in 6. This study further characterizes the association between video game playing and surgical performance. Improvements following the intervention were made in the most basic of surgical skills, most notably with the nondominant hand, suggesting that short-term playing of the Wii could improve bimanual dexterity and expedite the acquisition of basic

  7. Monocular tool control, eye dominance, and laterality in New Caledonian crows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinho, Antone; Burns, Zackory T; von Bayern, Auguste M P; Kacelnik, Alex

    2014-12-15

    Tool use, though rare, is taxonomically widespread, but morphological adaptations for tool use are virtually unknown. We focus on the New Caledonian crow (NCC, Corvus moneduloides), which displays some of the most innovative tool-related behavior among nonhumans. One of their major food sources is larvae extracted from burrows with sticks held diagonally in the bill, oriented with individual, but not species-wide, laterality. Among possible behavioral and anatomical adaptations for tool use, NCCs possess unusually wide binocular visual fields (up to 60°), suggesting that extreme binocular vision may facilitate tool use. Here, we establish that during natural extractions, tool tips can only be viewed by the contralateral eye. Thus, maintaining binocular view of tool tips is unlikely to have selected for wide binocular fields; the selective factor is more likely to have been to allow each eye to see far enough across the midsagittal line to view the tool's tip monocularly. Consequently, we tested the hypothesis that tool side preference follows eye preference and found that eye dominance does predict tool laterality across individuals. This contrasts with humans' species-wide motor laterality and uncorrelated motor-visual laterality, possibly because bill-held tools are viewed monocularly and move in concert with eyes, whereas hand-held tools are visible to both eyes and allow independent combinations of eye preference and handedness. This difference may affect other models of coordination between vision and mechanical control, not necessarily involving tools. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The nonvisual illusion of self-touch: Misaligned hands and anatomical implausibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Rebekah C; Weinberg, Jennifer L; Aimola Davies, Anne M

    2015-01-01

    The self-touch illusion is elicited when the participant (with eyes closed) administers brushstrokes to a prosthetic hand while the examiner administers synchronous brushstrokes to the participant's other (receptive) hand. In three experiments we investigated the effects of misalignment on the self-touch illusion. In experiment 1 we manipulated alignment (0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 135 degrees, 180 degrees) of the prosthetic hand relative to the participant's receptive hand. The illusion was equally strong at 0 degrees and 45 degrees: the two conditions in which the prosthetic hand was in an anatomically plausible orientation. To investigate whether the illusion was diminished at 90 degrees (and beyond) by anatomical implausibility rather than by misalignment, in experiment 2 hand positioning was changed. The illusion was equally strong at 0 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees, but diminished at 135 degrees despite the prosthetic hand now being in an anatomically plausible orientation. Thus the illusion is diminished with misalignment of 135 degrees, irrespective of anatomical plausibility. Having demonstrated that the illusion was equally strong with the hands aligned (0 degrees) or misaligned by 45 degrees, in experiment 3 we demonstrated that participants did not detect a 45 degrees misalignment. Large degrees of misalignment prevent a compelling experience of the self-touch illusion, and the self-touch illusion prevents detection of small degrees of misalignment.

  9. Effects of reward on the accuracy and dynamics of smooth pursuit eye movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brielmann, Aenne A; Spering, Miriam

    2015-08-01

    Reward modulates behavioral choices and biases goal-oriented behavior, such as eye or hand movements, toward locations or stimuli associated with higher rewards. We investigated reward effects on the accuracy and timing of smooth pursuit eye movements in 4 experiments. Eye movements were recorded in participants tracking a moving visual target on a computer monitor. Before target motion onset, a monetary reward cue indicated whether participants could earn money by tracking accurately, or whether the trial was unrewarded (Experiments 1 and 2, n = 11 each). Reward significantly improved eye-movement accuracy across different levels of task difficulty. Improvements were seen even in the earliest phase of the eye movement, within 70 ms of tracking onset, indicating that reward impacts visual-motor processing at an early level. We obtained similar findings when reward was not precued but explicitly associated with the pursuit target (Experiment 3, n = 16); critically, these results were not driven by stimulus prevalence or other factors such as preparation or motivation. Numerical cues (Experiment 4, n = 9) were not effective. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. The Impact of Curiosity and External Regulation on Intrinsic Motivation: An Empirical Study in Hong Kong Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hon-keung, Yau; Man-shan, Kan; Lai-fong, Cheng Alison

    2012-01-01

    The purposes of this paper are to identify: (1) the factors affecting the intrinsic motivation of university students in Hong Kong; and (2) gender differences in the perception of intrinsic motivation in Hong Kong higher education environment. The factors of curiosity and external regulation with intrinsic motivation are taken into investigation…

  11. Awareness regarding eye donation among stakeholders in Srikakulam district in South India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronanki, Venkata Ramana; Sheeladevi, Sethu; Ramachandran, Brinda P; Jalbert, Isabelle

    2014-03-06

    There is a huge need for the availability of transplantable donor corneas worldwide to reduce the burden of corneal blindness due to corneal opacity. Voluntary eye donation depends on the awareness levels of various stakeholders in the community. This study aimed to assess the awareness level regarding eye donation among various stakeholders in Srikakulam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. 355 subjects were selected from the district using multi stage random sampling. A pre tested semi structured questionnaire was used to collect information regarding each individual's awareness, knowledge, and perception regarding eye donation. Each response was scored individually and a total score was calculated. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with willingness towards eye donation and increased awareness levels. Of the 355 subjects interviewed, 192 (54%) were male and 163 (46%) were female. The mean age of the stakeholders was 35.9 years (SD ±16.1) and all the study subjects were literate. Ninety-three percent of subjects were aware of the concept of eye donation. Knowledge levels were similar among the teaching community and persons engaged in social service, but lower among students (p stakeholders, there was considerable ambiguity regarding whether persons currently wearing spectacles or suffering from a chronic illnesses could donate their eyes. Older age group (p stakeholders in Srikakulam district in India. The services of stakeholders could be utilized, in conjunction with other community based eye donation counselors, to promote awareness regarding eye donation among the general population.

  12. The Cultivation of Cross-Cultural Communication Competence in Oral English Teaching Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Chunyan

    2015-01-01

    This paper analyzes the main problems and difficulties in current college English oral English teaching practice, illustrates the relationship between oral English teaching and cross-cultural communication competence. On the one hand, cross-cultural communication plays an essential role in oral English teaching; besides, oral English teaching…

  13. Defensive peripersonal space: the blink reflex evoked by hand stimulation is increased when the hand is near the face.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sambo, C F; Liang, M; Cruccu, G; Iannetti, G D

    2012-02-01

    Electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist may elicit a blink reflex [hand blink reflex (HBR)] mediated by a neural circuit at brain stem level. As, in a Sherringtonian sense, the blink reflex is a defensive response, in a series of experiments we tested, in healthy volunteers, whether and how the HBR is modulated by the proximity of the stimulated hand to the face. Electromyographic activity was recorded from the orbicularis oculi, bilaterally. We observed that the HBR is enhanced when the stimulated hand is inside the peripersonal space of the face, compared with when it is outside, irrespective of whether the proximity of the hand to the face is manipulated by changing the position of the arm (experiment 1) or by rotating the head while keeping the arm position constant (experiment 3). Experiment 2 showed that such HBR enhancement has similar magnitude when the participants have their eyes closed. Experiments 4 and 5 showed, respectively, that the blink reflex elicited by the electrical stimulation of the supraorbital nerve, as well as the N20 wave of the somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by the median nerve stimulation, are entirely unaffected by hand position. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that the brain stem circuits mediating the HBR in humans undergo tonic and selective top-down modulation from higher order cortical areas responsible for encoding the location of somatosensory stimuli in external space coordinates. These findings support the existence of a "defensive" peripersonal space, representing a safety margin advantageous for survival.

  14. Student laboratory experiments exploring optical fibre communication systems, eye diagrams, and bit error rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Douglas; Moodie, David; Mauchline, Iain; Conner, Steve; Johnstone, Walter; Culshaw, Brian

    2005-06-01

    Optical fibre communications has proved to be one of the key application areas, which created, and ultimately propelled the global growth of the photonics industry over the last twenty years. Consequently the teaching of the principles of optical fibre communications has become integral to many university courses covering photonics technology. However to reinforce the fundamental principles and key technical issues students examine in their lecture courses and to develop their experimental skills, it is critical that the students also obtain hands-on practical experience of photonics components, instruments and systems in an associated teaching laboratory. In recognition of this need OptoSci, in collaboration with university academics, commercially developed a fibre optic communications based educational package (ED-COM). This educator kit enables students to; investigate the characteristics of the individual communications system components (sources, transmitters, fibre, receiver), examine and interpret the overall system performance limitations imposed by attenuation and dispersion, conduct system design and performance analysis. To further enhance the experimental programme examined in the fibre optic communications kit, an extension module to ED-COM has recently been introduced examining one of the most significant performance parameters of digital communications systems, the bit error rate (BER). This add-on module, BER(COM), enables students to generate, evaluate and investigate signal quality trends by examining eye patterns, and explore the bit-rate limitations imposed on communication systems by noise, attenuation and dispersion. This paper will examine the educational objectives, background theory, and typical results for these educator kits, with particular emphasis on BER(COM).

  15. Adult Life Stage and Crisis as Predictors of Curiosity and Authenticity: Testing Inferences from Erikson's Lifespan Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Oliver C.; Demetre, James D.; Litman, Jordan A.

    2017-01-01

    During periods of developmental crisis, individuals experience uncomfortable internal incongruence and are motivated to reduce this through forms of exploration of self, other and world. Based on this, we inferred that being in a crisis would relate positively to curiosity and negatively to a felt sense of authenticity. A quasi-experimental design…

  16. Using NASA Space Imaging Technology to Teach Earth and Sun Topics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verner, E.; Bruhweiler, F. C.; Long, T.

    2011-12-01

    We teach an experimental college-level course, directed toward elementary education majors, emphasizing "hands-on" activities that can be easily applied to the elementary classroom. This course, Physics 240: "The Sun-Earth Connection" includes various ways to study selected topics in physics, earth science, and basic astronomy. Our lesson plans and EPO materials make extensive use of NASA imagery and cover topics about magnetism, the solar photospheric, chromospheric, coronal spectra, as well as earth science and climate. In addition we are developing and will cover topics on ecosystem structure, biomass and water on Earth. We strive to free the non-science undergraduate from the "fear of science" and replace it with the excitement of science such that these future teachers will carry this excitement to their future students. Hands-on experiments, computer simulations, analysis of real NASA data, and vigorous seminar discussions are blended in an inquiry-driven curriculum to instill confident understanding of basic physical science and modern, effective methods for teaching it. The course also demonstrates ways how scientific thinking and hands-on activities could be implemented in the classroom. We have designed this course to provide the non-science student a confident basic understanding of physical science and modern, effective methods for teaching it. Most of topics were selected using National Science Standards and National Mathematics Standards that are addressed in grades K-8. The course focuses on helping education majors: 1) Build knowledge of scientific concepts and processes; 2) Understand the measurable attributes of objects and the units and methods of measurements; 3) Conduct data analysis (collecting, organizing, presenting scientific data, and to predict the result); 4) Use hands-on approaches to teach science; 5) Be familiar with Internet science teaching resources. Here we share our experiences and challenges we face while teaching this course.

  17. Eye Protection

    OpenAIRE

    Pashby, Tom

    1986-01-01

    Eye injuries frequently occur in the home, at work and at play. Many result in legally blind eyes, and most are preventable. Awareness of potential hazards is essential to preventing eye injuries, particularly in children. In addition, protective devices must be used appropriately. We have developed eye protectors that have proved effective in reducing both the overall incidence and the severity of sports eye injuries.

  18. Diabetes eye exams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diabetic retinopathy - eye exams; Diabetes - eye exams; Glaucoma - diabetic eye exam; Macular edema - diabetic eye exam ... if the doctor who takes care of your diabetes checks your eyes, you need an eye exam ...

  19. Faculty Workshops for Teaching Information Assurance through Hands-On Exercises and Case Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Xiaohong; Williams, Kenneth; Yu, Huiming; Rorrer, Audrey; Chu, Bei-Tseng; Yang, Li; Winters, Kathy; Kizza, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    Though many Information Assurance (IA) educators agree that hands-on exercises and case studies improve student learning, hands-on exercises and case studies are not widely adopted due to the time needed to develop them and integrate them into curricula. Under the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarship for Service program, we…

  20. Teaching on ocean-wave-energy conversion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Falnes, J. [Norges teknisk-naturvitskaplege univ., Inst. for fysikk, Trondheim (Norway)

    2001-07-01

    Ocean-wave energy utilisation has for 27 years been a university research subject, in which the author has been active from the first year. In this paper he presents some information related to his teaching on the subject during many of these years. This includes teaching on the pre-university level and, in particular, development of the wave-energy module for an educational CD-ROM on sustainable technology and renewable energy. Education of the general public is very important. On the other hand teaching of doctor students and other wave-energy researchers is also a subject of the paper. (au)

  1. Biogenic iron mineralization at Iron Mountain, CA with implications for detection with the Mars Curiosity rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Amy J.; Sumner, Dawn Y.; Alpers, Charles N.; Campbell, Kate M.; Nordstrom, D. Kirk

    2014-01-01

    (Introduction) Microbe-mineral interactions and biosignature preservation in oxidized sulfidic ore bodies (gossans) are prime candidates for astrobiological study. Such oxidized iron systems have been proposed as analogs for some Martian environments. Recent studies identified microbial fossils preserved as mineral-coated filaments. This study documents microbially-mediated mineral biosignatures in hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) and ferric oxyhydroxysulfates (FOHS) in three environments at Iron Mountain, CA. We investigated microbial community preservation via HFO and FOHS precipitation and the formation of filamentous mineral biosignatures. These environments included 1) actively precipitating (1000's yrs), naturally weathered HFO from in situ gossan, and 3) remobilized iron deposits, which contained lithified clastics and zones of HFO precipitate. We used published biogenicity criteria as guidelines to characterize the biogenicity of mineral filaments. These criteria included A) an actively precipitating environment where microbes are known to be coated in minerals, B) presence of extant microbial communities with carbon signatures, C) structures observable as a part of the host rock, and D) biological morphology, including cellular lumina, multiple member population, numerous taxa, variable and 3-D preservation, biological size ranges, uniform diameter, and evidence of flexibility. This study explores the relevance and detection of these biosignatures to possible Martian biosignatures. Similar filamentous biosignatures are resolvable by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, and may be identifiable as biogenic if present on Mars.

  2. Effects of handedness & saccadic bilateral eye movements on the specificity of past autobiographical memory & episodic future thinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Andrew; Parkin, Adam; Dagnall, Neil

    2017-06-01

    The present research investigated the effects of personal handedness and saccadic eye movements on the specificity of past autobiographical memory and episodic future thinking. Handedness and saccadic eye movements have been hypothesised to share a common functional basis in that both influence cognition through hemispheric interaction. The technique used to elicit autobiographical memory and episodic future thought involved a cued sentence completion procedure that allowed for the production of memories spanning the highly specific to the very general. Experiment 1 found that mixed-handed (vs. right handed) individuals generated more specific past autobiographical memories, but equivalent numbers of specific future predictions. Experiment 2 demonstrated that following 30s of bilateral (horizontal) saccades, more specific cognitions about both the past and future were generated. These findings extend previous research by showing that more distinct and episodic-like information pertaining to the self can be elicited by either mixed-handedness or eye movements. The results are discussed in relation to hemispheric interaction and top-down influences in the control of memory retrieval. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Nuclear science teaching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1968-01-01

    A Panel of Experts on Nuclear Science Teaching met in Bangkok from 15 to 23 July 1968 to review the present status of an need for teaching of topics related to nuclear science at the secondary and early university level including teacher training, and to suggest appropriate ways of introducing these topics into the science curricula. This report contains the contributions of the members of the Panel, together with the general conclusions and recommendations for the development of school and early university curricula and training programs, for the improvement of teaching materials and for the safest possible handing of radioactive materials in school and university laboratories. It is hoped that the report will be of use to all nuclear scientists and science educators concerned with modernizing their science courses by introducing suitable topics and experiments in nuclear science

  4. Relationship of trait curiosity to the dynamics of coping and quality of life in myocardial infarction patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Włodarczyk Dorota

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study is a continuation of the work of Professor Kazimierz Wrześniewski. It concerns the role of curiositytrait in the dynamics of changes in coping and quality of life after a heart attack. The study was attended by 222 people after a heart attack (73% men, of whom 140 participated in the three stages of the study: at the beginning and at the end of cardiac rehabilitation and a year after leaving the resort. The participants aged 24-64 years (M = 54.19; SD = 6.51. Curiosity-trait was measured by Spielberger and Wrześniewski’s STPI questionnaire. To assess coping strategies a modified version of the COPE by Carver et al., was used. The specific and general quality of life were measured by the Polish adaptations of MacNew and NHP questionnaires. The level of curiosity-trait significantly differentiated changes in the dynamics of positive reinterpretation, problem solving and resignation, but did not affect the change in quality of life within the year after a heart attack.

  5. NASA Curiosity rover hits organic pay dirt on Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voosen, Paul

    2018-06-01

    Since NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars in 2012, it has sifted samples of soil and ground-up rock for signs of organic molecules—the complex carbon chains that on Earth form the building blocks of life. Past detections have been so faint that they could be just contamination. Now, samples taken from two different drill sites on an ancient lakebed have yielded complex organic macromolecules that look strikingly similar to kerogen, the goopy fossilized building blocks of oil and gas on Earth. At a few dozen parts per million, the detected levels are 100 times higher than previous finds, but scientists still cannot say whether they have origins in biology or geology. The discovery positions scientists to begin searching for direct evidence of past life on Mars and bolsters the case for returning rock samples from the planet, an effort that begins with the Mars 2020 rover.

  6. Eye Absence Does Not Regulate Planarian Stem Cells during Eye Regeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LoCascio, Samuel A; Lapan, Sylvain W; Reddien, Peter W

    2017-02-27

    Dividing cells called neoblasts contain pluripotent stem cells and drive planarian flatworm regeneration from diverse injuries. A long-standing question is whether neoblasts directly sense and respond to the identity of missing tissues during regeneration. We used the eye to investigate this question. Surprisingly, eye removal was neither sufficient nor necessary for neoblasts to increase eye progenitor production. Neoblasts normally increase eye progenitor production following decapitation, facilitating regeneration. Eye removal alone, however, did not induce this response. Eye regeneration following eye-specific resection resulted from homeostatic rates of eye progenitor production and less cell death in the regenerating eye. Conversely, large head injuries that left eyes intact increased eye progenitor production. Large injuries also non-specifically increased progenitor production for multiple uninjured tissues. We propose a model for eye regeneration in which eye tissue production by planarian stem cells is not directly regulated by the absence of the eye itself. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Using Scripting Languages to Teach Programming

    OpenAIRE

    Syropoulos, Apostolos; Stavrianos, Athanasios

    2014-01-01

    Nowadays, scripting programming languages like Python, Perl and Ruby are widely used in system programming, scientific computing, etc. Although solving a particular problem in these languages requires less time, less programming effort, and less concepts to be taught to achieve the desired goal, still they are not used as teaching tools. Therefore, the use of scripting languages as a teaching vehicle for programming course is very promising. On the other hand, GUI programming, when performed ...

  8. Operation Valuation: Teaching Pricing Concepts in an Experiential Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Adam J.; Treen, Emily

    2016-01-01

    Although marketing education has seen a dramatic shift toward hands-on, experiential learning in recent years, the teaching of pricing has fallen behind complementary elements of the marketing mix in pedagogical execution. Although the teaching of pricing has shifted focus from economic-based models to value-based pricing in theory, available…

  9. Predictive factors for final outcome of severely traumatized eyes with no light perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agrawal Rupesh

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background An eye injury that causes no light perception (NLP typically carries an unfavorable prognosis, and NLP because of trauma is a common indication for enucleation. With advances in vitreoretinal surgical techniques, however, the indication for enucleation is no longer determined by posttrauma NLP vision alone. There are limited studies in the literature to analyse the outcome of NLP eyes following open globe injury. The current study was aimed to evaluate the outcome of surgical repair of severely traumatized eyes with no light perception vision as preoperative visual acuity. Secondary objective was to possibly predict the factors affecting the final vision outcome in this eyes. Methods Retrospective case analysis of patients with surgical repair of open globe injury over last ten years at a tertiary referral eye care centre in Singapore. Results Out of one hundred and seventy two eyes with open globe injury 27 (15.7% eyes had no light perception (NLP. After surgical repair, final visual acuity remained NLP in 18 (66.7% eyes. Final vision improved to Light perception/ Hand movement (LP/HM in 2(7.4% eyes, 1/200 to 19/200(11.1% in 3 eyes and 20/50-20/200(14.8% in 4 eyes. The median follow up was 18.9 months (range: 4–60 months. The factors contributing to poor postoperative outcome were presence of RAPD (p = 0.014, wound extending into zone III (p = 0.023 and associated vitreoretinal trauma (p = 0.008. Conclusions One third of eyes had ambulatory vision or better though two third of eyes still remained NLP. Pre-operative visual acuity of NLP should not be an indication for primary enucleation or evisceration for severely traumatized eyes. Presence of afferent papillary defect, wound extending posterior to rectus insertion and associated vitreoretinal trauma can adversely affect the outcome in severely traumatized eyes with NLP. Timely intervention and state of art surgery may restore useful vision in severely

  10. Left, right, left, right, eyes to the front! Müller-Lyer bias in grasping is not a function of hand used, hand preferred or visual hemifield, but foveation does matter.

    OpenAIRE

    van der Kamp, J.; de Wit, M.M.; Masters, R.S.W.

    2012-01-01

    We investigated whether the control of movement of the left hand is more likely to involve the use of allocentric information than movements performed with the right hand. Previous studies (Gonzalez et al. in J Neurophys 95:3496-3501, 2006; De Grave et al. in Exp Br Res 193:421-427, 2009) have reported contradictory findings in this respect. In the present study, right-handed participants (N = 12) and left-handed participants (N = 12) made right- and left-handed grasps to foveated objects and...

  11. An unusual case of a serious blunt injury of the eye

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovanović Miloš

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Optic nerve avulsion is a serious injury of the eye. The objective of the paper was to present the peculiarity of the eye injury caused by a penetrating orbital wound with foreign body being retained in the orbit. Case report. A 15-year-old boy who sustained injury by chain link is presented. While he was turning the chain round in his hand, the last link broke off, piercing the lower lid, penetrated the left orbital cavity and remained behind the eyeball at the top of orbit. While passing towards the top of the orbit, the foreign body caused a blunt injury of the eyeball and avulsion of the ocular nerve. The accurate localization of the foreign body was verified by X-ray and CT imaging. The foreign body was removed through the entry wound. The eye injury resulted in amaurosis. Conclusion. This injury was one of those that could have been prevented.

  12. STEM Focused High School and University Partnership: Alternative Solution for Senioritis Issue and Creating Students' STEM Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Icel, Mustafa; Davis, Matthew

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate how the high school-college partnership reflects on "senioritis" and students' STEM curiosity. The term "senioritis" described in this paper refers to high school senior students who have completed most of their graduation requirement courses in their third year of studies. During the…

  13. Operations Management Teaching: Establishing Content and Relevance to Practitioners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doran, Desmond; Hill, Alex; Brown, Steve; Aktas, Emel; Kuula, Markku

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores the relevance to industry's needs of operations management (OM) teaching in higher education, by researching the content of OM modules delivered by UK academics and comparing the results of this research with the views of business practitioners having had first-hand experience of OM teaching on MBA programmes. To determine…

  14. Eyes Wide Open

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoi Manesi

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Research from evolutionary psychology suggests that the mere presence of eye images can promote prosocial behavior. However, the “eye images effect” is a source of considerable debate, and findings across studies have yielded somewhat inconsistent support. We suggest that one critical factor may be whether the eyes really need to be watching to effectively enhance prosocial behavior. In three experiments, we investigated the impact of eye images on prosocial behavior, assessed in a laboratory setting. Participants were randomly assigned to view an image of watching eyes (eyes with direct gaze, an image of nonwatching eyes (i.e., eyes closed for Study 1 and averted eyes for Studies 2 and 3, or an image of flowers (control condition. Upon exposure to the stimuli, participants decided whether or not to help another participant by completing a dull cognitive task. Three independent studies produced somewhat mixed results. However, combined analysis of all three studies, with a total of 612 participants, showed that the watching component of the eyes is important for decision-making in this context. Images of watching eyes led to significantly greater inclination to offer help as compared to images of nonwatching eyes (i.e., eyes closed and averted eyes or images of flowers. These findings suggest that eyes gazing at an individual, rather than any proxy to social presence (e.g., just the eyes, serve as a reminder of reputation. Taken together, we conclude that it is “eyes that pay attention” that can lift the veil of anonymity and potentially facilitate prosocial behavior.

  15. Reduction of Hand-Mouthing Behavior of a Profoundly Retarded, Multiply-Handicapped Student

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopper, Christine; And Others

    1976-01-01

    Describes a successful intervention procedure utilizing operant conditioning techniques that reduced the high frequency of inappropriate behavior of a retarded girl in a residential facility. Three teachers, in three different instructional settings, mildly punished each incident of hand-mouthing while concurrently teaching more functional…

  16. Teaching the Blue-Eyed Islanders Puzzle in a Liberal Arts Mathematics Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shea, Stephen

    2012-01-01

    The blue-eyed islanders puzzle is an old and challenging logic puzzle. This is a narrative of an experience introducing a variation of this puzzle on the first day of classes in a liberal arts mathematics course for non-majors. I describe an exercise that was used to facilitate the class's understanding of the puzzle.

  17. Left, right, left, right, eyes to the front! Müller-Lyer bias in grasping is not a function of hand used, hand preferred or visual hemifield, but foveation does matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Kamp, John; de Wit, Matthieu M; Masters, Rich S W

    2012-04-01

    We investigated whether the control of movement of the left hand is more likely to involve the use of allocentric information than movements performed with the right hand. Previous studies (Gonzalez et al. in J Neurophys 95:3496-3501, 2006; De Grave et al. in Exp Br Res 193:421-427, 2009) have reported contradictory findings in this respect. In the present study, right-handed participants (N = 12) and left-handed participants (N = 12) made right- and left-handed grasps to foveated objects and peripheral, non-foveated objects that were located in the right or left visual hemifield and embedded within a Müller-Lyer illusion. They were also asked to judge the size of the object by matching their hand aperture to its length. Hand apertures did not show significant differences in illusory bias as a function of hand used, handedness or visual hemifield. However, the illusory effect was significantly larger for perception than for action, and for the non-foveated compared to foveated objects. No significant illusory biases were found for reach movement times. These findings are consistent with the two-visual system model that holds that the use of allocentric information is more prominent in perception than in movement control. We propose that the increased involvement of allocentric information in movements toward peripheral, non-foveated objects may be a consequence of more awkward, less automatized grasps of nonfoveated than foveated objects. The current study does not support the conjecture that the control of left-handed and right-handed grasps is predicated on different sources of information.

  18. Problems of collegial learning in psychoanalysis: narcissism and curiosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poland, Warren S

    2009-04-01

    Despite clinical sensitivity when listening to patients, analysts have not fared well in hearing and talking to each other with respectful open-mindedness. Underlying factors are considered with particular focus on the interplay between self-aimed forces of narcissism and outward-aimed forces of curiosity. Included in examination of problems of collegial communication are limitations structurally inherent to the human mind (such as the need to abstract aspects of experience in order to focus attention plus the mind's tendency to categorical thinking), those derived from individual psychology (such as vulnerability of self-esteem), and those related to group dynamics (such as the problems attendant to new ideas and the allegiances they stir, parochialism and the development of radical schools, the competitiveness between schools). The contribution of cultural influences and the multiply determined uses of language are also highlighted. The core sense of smallness in the strangeness of the universe and in the presence of others is seen as a common thread.

  19. Does consolidation of visuospatial sequence knowledge depend on eye movements?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daphné Coomans

    Full Text Available In the current study, we assessed whether visuospatial sequence knowledge is retained over 24 hours and whether this retention is dependent on the occurrence of eye movements. Participants performed two sessions of a serial reaction time (SRT task in which they had to manually react to the identity of a target letter pair presented in one of four locations around a fixation cross. When the letter pair 'XO' was presented, a left response had to be given, when the letter pair 'OX' was presented, a right response was required. In the Eye Movements (EM condition, eye movements were necessary to perform the task since the fixation cross and the target were separated by at least 9° visual angle. In the No Eye Movements (NEM condition, on the other hand, eye movements were minimized by keeping the distance from the fixation cross to the target below 1° visual angle and by limiting the stimulus presentation to 100 ms. Since the target identity changed randomly in both conditions, no manual response sequence was present in the task. However, target location was structured according to a deterministic sequence in both the EM and NEM condition. Learning of the target location sequence was determined at the end of the first session and 24 hours after initial learning. Results indicated that the sequence learning effect in the SRT task diminished, yet remained significant, over the 24 hour interval in both conditions. Importantly, the difference in eye movements had no impact on the transfer of sequence knowledge. These results suggest that the retention of visuospatial sequence knowledge occurs alike, irrespective of whether this knowledge is supported by eye movements or not.

  20. Motorcycle related ocular injuries in Irrua Specialist Teaching ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This is a prospective study of all cases of motorcycle related accidents with involvement of the eyes seen at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital from January 2005 to December 2005. The study was conducted to assess the severity of ocular trauma, ocular structures mostly affected and initial effect on visual acuity in such ...

  1. Of Heart & Kidneys: Hands-On Activities for Demonstrating Organ Function & Repair

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Robert M.

    2014-01-01

    A major challenge in teaching organ development and disease is deconstructing a complex choreography of molecular and cellular changes over time into a linear stepwise process for students. As an entry toward learning developmental concepts, I propose two inexpensive hands-on activities to help facilitate learning of (1) how to identify defects in…

  2. EFFECTIVENESS OF ACTIVE TEACHING METHODS FOR THE RESIDENTS OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION

    OpenAIRE

    Mohan Raj Manjalavil; Reeba Mary Mani; Shehadad Kammili; Sreejith Kalathummarthu; Hemalta Viswan; Sooraj Rajagopal; Shervin Sheriff; Sreedevi Menon Parappil

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND Lecture is the most common teaching aid not only for medical undergraduates, but also specialty residents. There are many disadvantages for this type of teaching. Active teaching methods include didactic lectures followed by interactive sessions, problem-based teaching and hands on demonstration apart from the traditional didactic lecture. The aim of this project was to compare the effectiveness of active teaching method over the didactic lecture to the first year re...

  3. EyeGENE

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The eyeGENE® Biorepository and corresponding Database contain family history and clinical eye exam data from subjects enrolled in eyeGENE® Program coupled to...

  4. Teaching East and Southeast Asia through Asian Eyes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tracy C. Barrett

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Colonialism and indigenous responses to its varied forms dominate modern Asian historiography and imbue the history of the region with rich and multifaceted connections to world history. As a result, the histories of East and Southeast Asian nation-states since 1500 cannot be viewed outside of the context of global affairs. Imagining Asian peoples and cultures during this time is problematic for students, who typically approach colonialism from a western perspective. This presentation explores various means of incorporating into the classroom pedagogical materials and diverse media sources that facilitate a more grounded examination of East and Southeast Asian colonies, peoples, and nation-states.It pays special attention to teaching colonialism, anti-colonialism, nationalism, and transnationalism from the perspective of Southeast Asia’s indigenous peoples.

  5. Bags Under Eyes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bags under eyes Overview Bags under eyes — mild swelling or puffiness under the eyes — are common as you age. With aging, the tissues around your ... space below your eyes, adding to the swelling. Bags under eyes are usually a cosmetic concern and ...

  6. What Is Dry Eye?

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Español Eye Health / Eye Health A-Z Dry Eye Sections What Is Dry Eye? Dry Eye Symptoms ... Dry Eye Dry Eye Treatment What Is Dry Eye? Leer en Español: ¿Qué es el ojo seco? ...

  7. [Blast injuries of the hands in precarious health situation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allah, K C; Kossoko, H; Assi Djè Bi Djè, V; Yéo, S; Bonny, R; Richard Kadio, M

    2014-06-01

    The hands of "blast" resulting from the handling of unstable explosives. Their repercussion is functional and vital in trauma patients. The authors report their experience of care from the hands of blast in precarious health situation. Between 2001 and 2012, 33 hand blasts were supported in 30 injured civilians and military, received emergency, during and after armed conflict. Two women (6.7%) and 28 men (93.3%) were received, including four teenagers (13.3%) and 26 adults (86.7%). During the war, 15 officers weapon (50%) and three civilians (10%) underwent surgery, or 60% of hand injuries. In peacetime, civilians were mostly operated in 33.3% of cases, against 6.7% of cases of agents' weapon. Nineteen hands blast (57.6%) were observed during the war and 14 in peacetime, or 42.4% of cases. The average age was 25.2 years, with extremes of 12 and 50 years. Thirteen left hands (39.4%) and 20 right hands (60.6%) were operated. The lesion concerned all the anatomical structures of the hand. It was unilateral in 27 cases (81.9%) and bilateral in three cases (9.1%). Three types of hand trauma were observed and were as follows: trauma patients with injuries of the hand (18.2%), trauma of severe and isolated proximal hand or finger amputations (75.7%), and trauma of the hand without apparent seriousness (6.1%). The associated lesion was eye (one case), chest (one case), abdominal (five cases). Debridement was performed immediate emergency (93.9%) and delayed (6.1%). The treatment was surgical hemostasis, made mainly of amputations (69.7%) and regularization of digital stumps (12.1%). The repair was performed in 18.2% of cases. One death has been reported in a polytrauma patient with chest blast. Blast injuries of the hand are common in times of war in armed agents. The young people, manual workers and children are paying a heavy price in peacetime. As land mines which affect feet, instable hand grenades are left exposed in nature. In precarious health situation, instead of

  8. A Case Study for Comparing the Effectiveness of a Computer Simulation and a Hands-on Activity on Learning Electric Circuits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekmekci, Adem; Gulacar, Ozcan

    2015-01-01

    Science education reform emphasizes innovative and constructivist views of science teaching and learning that promotes active learning environments, dynamic instructions, and authentic science experiments. Technology-based and hands-on instructional designs are among innovative science teaching and learning methods. Research shows that these two…

  9. Curiosities of the sky

    CERN Document Server

    Serviss, Garrett P

    2012-01-01

    Long before figures like Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson simplified astronomy for popular consumption, Garrett P. Serviss was traveling the United States with an early version of a PowerPoint presentation to teach people about eclipses, the orbit of the planets, and other celestial concepts. This basic introduction to the subject is simple and enjoyable enough to ensure that science-phobes or young readers won't be turned off.

  10. What Is Dry Eye?

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Stories Español Eye Health / Eye Health A-Z Dry Eye Sections What Is Dry Eye? Dry Eye Symptoms ... of Dry Eye Dry Eye Treatment What Is Dry Eye? Leer en Español: ¿Qué es el ojo seco? ...

  11. About the Eye

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Ask a Scientist Video Series Glossary The Visual System Your Eyes’ Natural Defenses Eye Health and Safety First Aid Tips Healthy Vision Tips Protective Eyewear Sports and Your Eyes Fun Stuff Cool Eye Tricks Links to More Information Optical Illusions Printables About the Eye Your eyes ...

  12. Students teaching students: evaluation of a "near-peer" teaching experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naeger, David M; Conrad, Miles; Nguyen, Janet; Kohi, Maureen P; Webb, Emily M

    2013-09-01

    Teaching is an important skill. Academic physicians teach on a daily basis, and nearly all physicians occasionally teach colleagues and patients. There are generally few opportunities for medical students to learn teaching skills. We developed a novel "near-peer" teaching program in which fourth-year students cotaught first-year students. Eighteen fourth-year students enrolled in our institution's primary senior radiology elective learned the basics of ultrasound through a series of lectures and hands-on scanning sessions. Each fourth-year student, paired with a radiology resident or attending, then cotaught a first-year anatomy small group session. After instruction, voluntary surveys were administered to assess the perceived value of the "near-peer" teaching experience. Seventeen of 18 (94%) and 104 of 120 (87%) administered surveys were returned by fourth- and first-year students, respectively. Sixteen (94%) and 99 (95%) of the fourth- and first-year students reported they "enjoyed" or "really enjoyed" the near-peer teaching experience. Fourteen (82%) of the fourth years perceived improvement in their teaching skills and an increase in their knowledge. Only 8 (47%) of the fourth years thought they were "helpful" or "very helpful," though 92 (88%) of the first years identified their fourth-year co-instructors as "helpful" or "very helpful." We piloted a novel "near-peer" program. Both senior and freshman students enjoyed the experience, and fourth years thought the session was educational for them as well. Although most fourth years did not judge themselves as helpful, first-year students overwhelmingly considered them a useful addition to the session. Copyright © 2013 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Eye Care Professionals' Perspectives on Eye Donation and an Eye Donation Registry for Research: A Single-Institution, Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Andrew M; Allingham, R Rand; Stamer, W Daniel; Muir, Kelly W

    2016-06-01

    A centralized eye donation registry for research could help to bridge the gap between patients interested in donating their eyes to science and scientists who conduct research on human eye tissue. Previous research has demonstrated patient and family support for such a registry. In this study, we assessed the views that eye care professionals have toward an eye donation registry for research. Surveys were distributed to all 46 clinical faculty members of the Duke University Eye Center. In addition to collecting demographic information, the surveys assessed clinicians' experience with discussing eye donation with patients, described the proposed eye donation registry for research and asked how the registry would affect the clinicians' practice. A total of 21 eye care professionals returned the survey. Thirty-three percent reported discussing eye donation with patients, and 43% reported that a patient has asked about donating their eyes for research on their disease. Eighty-six percent of eye care professionals reported that a centralized registry would improve the way they work with patients who express a desire to donate their eyes for research. The majority of eye care professionals at our academic institution indicated that an eye donation registry for research would improve how they work with patients who are interested in donating their eyes for research on their disease. Future research should examine how best to communicate this registry to ophthalmic patients.

  14. Challenging Frameworks for Understanding Teaching Practices in Higher Education: The End or the Beginning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmán-­Valenzuela, Carolina

    2013-01-01

    Dominant conceptions of teaching in higher education imply that, essentially, there are two types of teaching approaches: the "content" and the "student-focused" approach. Against that background, this paper has a dual purpose. On the one hand, it initiates a critique of the contemporary teaching approaches framework. On the…

  15. Teaching Cybersecurity Using the Cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salah, Khaled; Hammoud, Mohammad; Zeadally, Sherali

    2015-01-01

    Cloud computing platforms can be highly attractive to conduct course assignments and empower students with valuable and indispensable hands-on experience. In particular, the cloud can offer teaching staff and students (whether local or remote) on-demand, elastic, dedicated, isolated, (virtually) unlimited, and easily configurable virtual machines.…

  16. Transcutaneous periorbital electrical stimulation in the treatment of dry eye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedrotti, Emilio; Bosello, Francesca; Fasolo, Adriano; Frigo, Anna C; Marchesoni, Ivan; Ruggeri, Alfredo; Marchini, Giorgio

    2017-06-01

    To evaluate efficacy and safety of transcutaneous application of electrical current on symptoms and clinical signs of dry eye (DE). 27 patients with DE underwent transcutaneous electrostimulation with electrodes placed onto the periorbital region of both eyes and manual stimulation with a hand-piece conductor moved by the operator. Each patient underwent 12 sessions of 22 min spread over 2 months, two sessions per week in the first month and one session per week in the second month. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, tear break-up time (TBUT), fluorescein staining of the cornea, Schirmer I test and adverse events were evaluated at baseline, at end of treatment and at 6 and 12 months. OSDI improved from 43.0±19.2 at baseline to 25.3±22.1 at end of treatment (mean±SD, p=0.001). These effects were substantially maintained at 6-month and 12-month follow-up evaluations. Improvement of the values of TBUT was recorded for the right eye at the end of treatment (p=0.003) and found in the left eye after 12 months (p=0.02). The Oxford scores changed in both eyes at the end of treatment and at the 6-month evaluation (peye at the 12-month evaluation (p=0.035). Schirmer I improved significantly at the end of treatment in the left eye (p=0.001) and in both eyes at the 12-month evaluation (p=0.004 and p=0.039 for the left and right eye, respectively). A significant reduction of the use of tear substitutes was found at the end of treatment (p=0.003), and was maintained during the follow-up (ptreatment satisfying. Transcutaneous electrical stimulation was shown to improve DE, both subjectively and objectively, without any adverse effects and has the potential to enlarge the armamentarium for treating DE. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  17. Evaluation of a simulation tool in ophthalmology: application in teaching funduscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joice Elise Androwiki

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the Eye Retinopathy Trainer® as a teaching tool for direct ophthalmoscopy examination by comparing it with the traditional method using volunteers. Methods: Fourth year medical students received training in direct ophthalmoscopy using a simulation tool and human volunteers. Ninety students were randomized into a Simulation Group or a Control Group by the inclusion or absence of the simulation model in classroom practice. Differences between the groups were analyzed using unpaired Student’s t-test. Results: The Simulation Group was superior to the Control Group, with 51.06% successful in performing fundus examination in both the anatomical model simulation and the human model in comparison with 21.15% in the Control Group. Conclusion: The Eye Retinopathy Trainer® appears to be an effective teaching tool for practice and improvement of ophthalmologic examination among fourth year medical students.

  18. An Innovative Methodology for Capturing Young Children's Curiosity, Imagination and Voices Using a Free App: Our Story

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canning, Natalie; Payler, Jane; Horsley, Karen; Gomez, Chris

    2017-01-01

    This study explores children's narratives of their curiosity and imagination through innovative use of an information technology app--Our Story. Novel use of the app allowed children to express and record their opinions they considered significant to them. The research captured children's approaches to everyday situations through their play.…

  19. Graphic Communications Teachers' Concerns and Beliefs Regarding Their Online Teaching of Graphic Communications Hands-On Classes

    OpenAIRE

    Carroll, Millicent Hope

    2016-01-01

    Previous literature has exposed the impact of concerns and beliefs on a teacher's decision to adopt online teaching methods, and in particular for Graphic Communications teachers, the extent to which their concerns and beliefs influence whether or not they decide to teach online. The potential problem that may exist is that of Graphic Communications teachers' concerns and beliefs are playing a role in impeding their transitioning to teaching in the online environment. The purpose of this stud...

  20. Intellectual curiosity or deception? an investigation into the practice ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The authors adopted Carl Rogers' Theory to answer four questions: 1) What drives academicians to teach outside their area of primary expertise? 2) What are the implications of teaching outside one's area of expertise? 3) What is the performance of those teaching outside their expertise? 4) What strategies are in place to ...

  1. Eye Movement Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... work properly. There are many kinds of eye movement disorders. Two common ones are Strabismus - a disorder ... in "crossed eyes" or "walleye." Nystagmus - fast, uncontrollable movements of the eyes, sometimes called "dancing eyes" Some ...

  2. Making Sense of Experienced Teachers’ Interactive Decisions: Implications for Expertise in Teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahar Gün

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Teachers’ decision making has always been an area of curiosity in many studies related to teachers and teaching. One approach to understanding teachers’ decisions is through the analysis of their reflection-in-action behaviours. This study, based on the premise that one can gain understanding from examining experienced teachers’ classroom performances, focuses on the interactive decisions made by ten experienced language teachers. The study presents the findings of an analysis of similarities in the motivations behind teachers’ interactive decisions, as demonstrated in their verbal reports following the video recorded lesson observations. These findings show that there are both shared pedagogical and affective attributes among participant teachers. These results, and the insight they give into experienced teachers’ decision making are potentially beneficial for all pre-service and practising teachers.

  3. Critical teaching as mutual learning through collective social design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chimirri, Niklas Alexander; Dupret, Katia

    How to sustainably implement Higher Education’s aim to teach for critical and societally relevant thinking and acting into its teaching formats? As part of a two-week intense workshop process developed at Roskilde University’s HumTek Bachelor Study Program for first-year students, the authors have......, given that the students are to test and challenge their initial design ideas with other stakeholders. This process-oriented collective teaching-designing framework, we argue, sustainably anchors critical thinking and acting in a hands-on educational setting. Teaching is – like social design...... that teaching as well as design can only be rendered sustainable by critically reflecting on its epistemic possibilities and limitations across diverse stakeholder perspectives....

  4. Visual perception and attention in acquisition of motor abilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    César Oliva Aravena

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available This article present a qualitative analysis, relating visual perception to attention in the acquisition of motor abilities process. Research shows that the visual system is already in an advanced stage, right from the moment the baby is born, and that normal eye sight is attained at the age of 5 and continues to improve. On the other hand, attention is an flexible process, subordinated to a cognitive strategy and its relation to eye sight is only functional. The understanfing of the capacity of selective attention is necessary to the teacher or coach for it will help him/her to take decisions on how to teach, which aspects of his/her teaching should be emphasized or inhibited, in the learning process, and wich teaching strategies he/she should use.

  5. Mathematical Critical Thinking and Curiosity Attitude in Problem Based Learning and Cognitive Conflict Strategy: A Study in Number Theory Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zetriuslita; Wahyudin; Jarnawi

    2017-01-01

    This research aims to describe and analyze result of applying Problem-Based Learning and Cognitive Conflict Strategy (PBLCCS) in increasing students' Mathematical Critical Thinking (MCT) ability and Mathematical Curiosity Attitude (MCA). Adopting a quasi-experimental method with pretest-posttest control group design and using mixed method with…

  6. About the Eye

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... for Kids >> About the Eye Listen All About Vision About the Eye Ask a Scientist Video Series ... Eye Health and Safety First Aid Tips Healthy Vision Tips Protective Eyewear Sports and Your Eyes Fun ...

  7. About the Eye

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... eye behind the iris that helps to focus light on the retina. It allows the eye to ... of the eye. It regulates the amount of light entering the eye through the pupil. Pupil (PYOO- ...

  8. Radiation exposure to the eye lens of orthopaedic surgeons during various orthopaedic procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romanova, K.; Alyakov, M.; Vassileva, J.

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to assess the radiation dose to the eye lens of orthopaedic surgeons during various orthopaedic procedures and to make efforts to ensure that radiation protection is optimised. The study was performed for Fractura femoris and Fractura cruris procedures performed in orthopaedic operating theatres, as well as for fractures of wrist, ankle and hand/ shoulder performed in the emergency trauma room. The highest mean value of the eye lens dose of 47.2 μSv and higher mean fluoroscopy time of 3 min, as well as the corresponding highest maximum values of 77.1 μSv and 5.0 min were observed for the Fractura femoris procedure performed with the Biplanar 500e fluoroscopy systems. At a normal workload, the estimated mean annual dose values do not exceed the annual occupational dose limit for the lens of eye, but at a heavy workload in the department, this dose limit could be achieved or exceeded. The use of protective lead glasses is recommended as they could reduce the radiation exposure of the lens of the eye. The phantom measurements demonstrated that the use of half-dose mode could additionally reduce dose to the operator's eye lens. (authors)

  9. How visual search relates to visual diagnostic performance : a narrative systematic review of eye-tracking research in radiology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Gijp, A; Ravesloot, C J; Jarodzka, H; van der Schaaf, M F; van der Schaaf, I C; van Schaik, J P J; ten Cate, Olle

    Eye tracking research has been conducted for decades to gain understanding of visual diagnosis such as in radiology. For educational purposes, it is important to identify visual search patterns that are related to high perceptual performance and to identify effective teaching strategies. This review

  10. Endodontic Shaping Performance Using Nickel–Titanium Hand and Motor ProTaper Systems by Novice Dental Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Gene Tu

    2008-05-01

    Conclusion: These findings show that the novice students prepared the simulated curved canal that deviated more outwardly from apical 1 mm to 4 mm using the hand ProTaper. The ability to maintain the original curvature was better in the motor rotary ProTaper group than in the hand ProTaper group. Undergraduate students, if following the preparation sequence carefully, could successfully perform canal shaping by motor ProTaper files and achieve better root canal geometry than by using hand ProTaper files within the same teaching and practicing sessions.

  11. Diabetic Eye Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Disease, & Other Dental Problems Diabetes & Sexual & Urologic Problems Diabetic Eye Disease What is diabetic eye disease? Diabetic eye disease is a group ... eye diseases that can threaten your sight are Diabetic retinopathy The retina is the inner lining at ...

  12. Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy for Hand and Arm Pain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vranceanu, Ana-Maria; Safren, Steve

    2016-01-01

    Cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychological treatment that emphasizes the interrelation among thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and sensations. CBT has been proved effective not only for treatment of psychological illness but also for teaching adaptive coping strategies in the context of chronic illnesses, including chronic pain. The present article provides general information on CBT, specific information on CBT for pain, as well as guidelines and strategies for using CBT for hand and arm pain patients, as part of multidisciplinary care models. PMID:21051204

  13. No One Even Has Eyes: The Decline of Hand-Painted Graphics in Mumbai

    OpenAIRE

    Aaron Fine

    2013-01-01

    In this work of creative non-fiction, accompanied by coloring book plates of his own design, the author explores recent changes in Indian visual culture. An investigation of hand painted political graphics in Mumbai revealed very little painting and a great deal about the rapidly advancing digitalization of visual space in India. As idiosyncratic and individual creative efforts are replaced by mass-produced digital printing in what ways are India’s political networks enhanced; In what ways ar...

  14. What Is Dry Eye?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Eye? Dry Eye Symptoms Causes of Dry Eye Dry Eye Treatment What Is Dry Eye? Leer en Español: ¿Qué ... Inside of Your Eyelid Nov 29, 2017 New Dry Eye Treatment is a Tear-Jerker Jul 21, 2017 Three ...

  15. What Is Dry Eye?

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Eye Health A-Z Symptoms Glasses & Contacts Tips & Prevention News Ask an Ophthalmologist Patient Stories Español Eye ... Eye Symptoms Causes of Dry Eye Dry Eye Treatment What Is Dry Eye? Leer en Español: ¿Qué ...

  16. Effectiveness and limitations of hand hygiene promotion on decreasing healthcare-associated infections.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yee-Chun Chen

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Limited data describe the sustained impact of hand hygiene programs (HHPs implemented in teaching hospitals, where the burden of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs is high. We use a quasi-experimental, before and after, study design with prospective hospital-wide surveillance of HAIs to assess the cost effectiveness of HHPs. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A 4-year hospital-wide HHP, with particular emphasis on using an alcohol-based hand rub, was implemented in April 2004 at a 2,200-bed teaching hospital in Taiwan. Compliance was measured by direct observation and the use of hand rub products. Poisson regression analyses were employed to evaluate the densities and trends of HAIs during the preintervention (January 1999 to March 2004 and intervention (April 2004 to December 2007 periods. The economic impact was estimated based on a case-control study in Taiwan. We observed 8,420 opportunities for hand hygiene during the study period. Compliance improved from 43.3% in April 2004 to 95.6% in 2007 (p<.001, and was closely correlated with increased consumption of the alcohol-based hand rub (r = 0.9399. The disease severity score (Charlson comorbidity index increased (p = .002 during the intervention period. Nevertheless, we observed an 8.9% decrease in HAIs and a decline in the occurrence of bloodstream, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, and intensive care unit infections. The intervention had no discernable impact on HAI rates in the hematology/oncology wards. The net benefit of the HHP was US$5,289,364, and the benefit-cost ratio was 23.7 with a 3% discount rate. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a HHP reduces preventable HAIs and is cost effective.

  17. Treatment of Sjögren's syndrome-associated dry eye an evidence-based review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akpek, Esen Karamursel; Lindsley, Kristina B; Adyanthaya, Rohit S; Swamy, Ramya; Baer, Alan N; McDonnell, Peter J

    2011-07-01

    Outcomes-based review of reported treatment options for patients with dry eye secondary to Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Dry eye affects many individuals worldwide. Significant proportion of patients with dry eye has underlying SS, a progressive autoimmune condition. The few suggested guidelines for the treatment of dry eye are mostly based on severity of symptoms and/or clinical findings rather than on outcomes analysis, and do not differentiate SS from other causes of dry eye. METHODS AND LITERATURE REVIEW: A search strategy was developed to identify prospective, interventional studies of treatments for SS-associated dry eye from electronic databases. Eligible references were restricted to English-language articles published after 1975. These sources were augmented by hand searches of reference lists from accessed articles. Study selection, data extraction, and grading of evidence were completed independently by ≥4 review authors. The searches identified 3559 references as of August 10, 2010. After duplicate review of the titles and abstracts, 245 full-text papers were assessed, 62 of which were relevant for inclusion in the review. In the current literature on SS-associated dry eye, there is a paucity of rigorous clinical trials to support therapy recommendations. Nonetheless, the recommended treatments include topical lubricants, topical anti-inflammatory therapy, and tear-conserving strategies. The efficacy of oral secretagogues seems greater in the treatment of oral dryness than ocular dryness. Although oral hydroxychloroquine is commonly prescribed to patients with SS to alleviate fatigue and arthralgias, the literature lacks strong evidence for the efficacy of this treatment for dry eye. Copyright © 2011 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. WhatsApp for Teaching Pathology Postgraduates: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, Aditi; Tanveer, Nadeem; Sharma, Pooja

    2017-01-01

    Postgraduate students spend a sizeable proportion of their time on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook. This change in our social interaction needs to be accommodated in our teaching methods. To engage them and arouse their curiosity, WhatsApp is an ideal platform. Digital photography by cell phone cameras has made it possible to share cases and discuss them with students round the clock. The primary aim of the study was to develop sharing and discussion of images using WhatsApp. It also aimed at gathering feedback by means of a questionnaire from pathology residents about their views about the use of WhatsApp for teaching purpose. A WhatsApp group by the name "Pathology on the Go" was created with the authors of this study as group administrators and all junior and senior resident doctors (69) as members. The group was used to discuss interesting cases, quiz questions, and other pathology-related academic issues. At the end of 4 weeks, a questionnaire was distributed among the members, and feedback was sought regarding their experience in the group. Over a 4-week period, 16 cases were discussed with 647 posts. A total of 45 participants out of 69 were active participants, and they had an average of 14 posts over the 4-week period. Majority of the participants found the discussions very useful with minimal disruption of the daily routine. There is a need to incorporate Web 2.0 tools such as WhatsApp in our teaching methods to capture as much screen time of the students as possible.

  19. What Is Dry Eye?

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Eye? Dry Eye Symptoms Causes of Dry Eye Dry Eye Treatment What Is Dry Eye? Leer en Español: ¿Qué ... Inside of Your Eyelid Nov 29, 2017 New Dry Eye Treatment is a Tear-Jerker Jul 21, 2017 Three ...

  20. Hand surface area estimation formula using 3D anthropometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Yao-Wen; Yu, Chi-Yuang

    2010-11-01

    Hand surface area is an important reference in occupational hygiene and many other applications. This study derives a formula for the palm surface area (PSA) and hand surface area (HSA) based on three-dimensional (3D) scan data. Two-hundred and seventy subjects, 135 males and 135 females, were recruited for this study. The hand was measured using a high-resolution 3D hand scanner. Precision and accuracy of the scanner is within 0.67%. Both the PSA and HSA were computed using the triangular mesh summation method. A comparison between this study and previous textbook values (such as in the U.K. teaching text and Lund and Browder chart discussed in the article) was performed first to show that previous textbooks overestimated the PSA by 12.0% and HSA by 8.7% (for the male, PSA 8.5% and HSA 4.7%, and for the female, PSA 16.2% and HSA 13.4%). Six 1D measurements were then extracted semiautomatically for use as candidate estimators for the PSA and HSA estimation formula. Stepwise regressions on these six 1D measurements and variable dependency test were performed. Results show that a pair of measurements (hand length and hand breadth) were able to account for 96% of the HSA variance and up to 98% of the PSA variance. A test of the gender-specific formula indicated that gender is not a significant factor in either the PSA or HSA estimation.

  1. Your Eyes

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... away? If you guessed the eye, you're right! Your eyes are at work from the moment you wake up to the ... the eye is seeing. A Muscle Makes It Work The lens is suspended in ... of the lens. That's right — the lens actually changes shape right inside your ...

  2. Greek mythology: the eye, ophthalmology, eye disease, and blindness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trompoukis, Constantinos; Kourkoutas, Dimitrios

    2007-06-01

    In distant eras, mythology was a form of expression used by many peoples. A study of the Greek myths reveals concealed medical knowledge, in many cases relating to the eye. An analysis was made of the ancient Greek texts for mythological references relating to an understanding of vision, visual abilities, the eye, its congenital and acquired abnormalities, blindness, and eye injuries and their treatment. The Homeric epics contain anatomical descriptions of the eyes and the orbits, and an elementary knowledge of physiology is also apparent. The concept of the visual field can be seen in the myth of Argos Panoptes. Many myths describe external eye disease ("knyzosis"), visual disorders (amaurosis), and cases of blinding that, depending on the story, are ascribed to various causes. In addition, ocular motility abnormalities, congenital anomalies (cyclopia), injuries, and special treatments, such as the "licking" method, are mentioned. The study of mythological references to the eye reveals reliable medical observations of the ancient Greeks, which are concealed within the myths.

  3. The Impact of Hands-On Simulation Laboratories on Teaching of Wireless Communications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, Te-Shun; Vanderbye, Aaron

    2017-01-01

    Aim/Purpose: To prepare students with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field of wireless communications. Background: Teaching wireless communications and networking is not an easy task because it involves broad subjects and abstract content. Methodology: A pedagogical method that combined lectures, labs, assignments, exams,…

  4. Teaching psychosomatic medicine using problem-based learning and role-playing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heru, Alison M

    2011-01-01

    Problem-based learning (PBL) has been implemented in medical education world-wide. Despite its popularity, it has not been generally considered useful for residency programs. The author presents a model for the implementation of PBL in residency programs. The author presents a description of a PBL curriculum for teaching psychosomatic medicine to PGY 2 members in a psychiatry training program. The goals of PBL are to encourage self-directed learning; enhance curiosity, using case-based, contextualized learning; promote collaborative practice; and support patient-centered care. The addition of role-playing exercises helps PGY 2 residents to develop their skills from simply developing a differential diagnosis to being able to construct biopsychosocial formulations, and it provides these residents an opportunity to practice presenting case formulations to the patient and family. Residents and faculty enjoyed the PBL role-playing sessions. Residents wanted the learning objectives given to them rather than generating their own learning objectives, to move through the cases faster, and to receive more information and more cases. Teaching psychosomatic medicine, using PBL and role-playing, allows many of the proposed Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine residency core competencies to be met. However, further refinement of the PBL method needs to take place in order to adapt its use to residency programs.

  5. Choosing the negative: A behavioral demonstration of morbid curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    This paper examined, with a behavioral paradigm, to what extent people choose to view stimuli that portray death, violence or harm. Based on briefly presented visual cues, participants made choices between highly arousing, negative images and positive or negative alternatives. The negative images displayed social scenes that involved death, violence or harm (e.g., war scene), or decontextualized, close-ups of physical harm (e.g., mutilated face) or natural threat (e.g., attacking shark). The results demonstrated that social negative images were chosen significantly more often than other negative categories. Furthermore, participants preferred social negative images over neutral images. Physical harm images and natural threat images were not preferred over neutral images, but were chosen in about thirty-five percent of the trials. These results were replicated across three different studies, including a study that presented verbal descriptions of images as pre-choice cues. Together, these results show that people deliberately subject themselves to negative images. With this, the present paper demonstrates a dynamic relationship between negative information and behavior and advances new insights into the phenomenon of morbid curiosity. PMID:28683147

  6. Should we learn culture in chemistry classroom? Integration ethnochemistry in culturally responsive teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmawati, Yuli; Ridwan, Achmad; Nurbaity

    2017-08-01

    The papers report the first year of two-year longitudinal study of ethnochemistry integration in culturally responsive teaching in chemistry classrooms. The teaching approach is focusing on exploring the culture and indigenous knowledge in Indonesia from chemistry perspectives. Ethnochemistry looks at the culture from chemistry perspectives integrated into culturally responsive teaching has developed students' cultural identity and students' engagement in chemistry learning. There are limited research and data in exploring Indonesia culture, which has around 300 ethics, from chemistry perspectives. Students come to the chemistry classrooms from a different background; however, their chemistry learning disconnected with their background which leads to students' disengagement in chemistry learning. Therefore this approach focused on students' engagement within their differences. This research was conducted with year 10 and 11 from four classrooms in two secondary schools through qualitative methodology with observation, interviews, and reflective journals as data collection. The results showed that the integration of ethnochemistry in culturally responsive teaching approach can be implemented by involving 5 principles which are content integration, facilitating knowledge construction, prejudice reduction, social justice, and academic development. The culturally responsive teaching has engaged students in their chemistry learning and developed their cultural identity and soft skills. Students found that the learning experiences has helped to develop their chemistry knowledge and understand the culture from chemistry perspectives. The students developed the ability to work together, responsibility, curiosity, social awareness, creativity, empathy communication, and self-confidence which categorized into collaboration skills, student engagement, social and cultural awareness, and high order thinking skills. The ethnochemistry has helped them to develop the critical self

  7. Evaluation of head-free eye tracking as an input device for air traffic control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso, Roland; Causse, Mickaël; Vachon, François; Parise, Robert; Dehais, Frédéric; Terrier, Patrice

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility to integrate a free head motion eye-tracking system as input device in air traffic control (ATC) activity. Sixteen participants used an eye tracker to select targets displayed on a screen as quickly and accurately as possible. We assessed the impact of the presence of visual feedback about gaze position and the method of target selection on selection performance under different difficulty levels induced by variations in target size and target-to-target separation. We tend to consider that the combined use of gaze dwell-time selection and continuous eye-gaze feedback was the best condition as it suits naturally with gaze displacement over the ATC display and free the hands of the controller, despite a small cost in terms of selection speed. In addition, target size had a greater impact on accuracy and selection time than target distance. These findings provide guidelines on possible further implementation of eye tracking in ATC everyday activity. We investigated the possibility to integrate a free head motion eye-tracking system as input device in air traffic control (ATC). We found that the combined use of gaze dwell-time selection and continuous eye-gaze feedback allowed the best performance and that target size had a greater impact on performance than target distance.

  8. Hand hygiene compliance before and after wearing gloves among intensive care unit nurses in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghorbani, Azam; Sadeghi, Leila; Shahrokhi, Akram; Mohammadpour, Asghar; Addo, Mary; Khodadadi, Esmail

    2016-11-01

    Nosocomial infections are considered a major risk factor in hospital wards, and hand hygiene is the first step in their control. An observational study was conducted in 2015 with 200 nurses working in intensive care units in teaching hospitals of Tabriz, Iran. Data were collected by using the Hand Hygiene Observation Tool questionnaire. The researchers monitored nurses' opportunities for hand hygiene during the 8-week period from February 3-April 4, 2015. A total of 1,067 opportunities occurred for hand hygiene before and after wearing gloves. The results show that hand hygiene compliance before wearing gloves is poor among nurses who work in intensive care units (14.8%). Therefore it is necessary to conduct effective interventions through continuing education programs to improve hand hygiene compliance. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Wavefront Derived Refraction and Full Eye Biometry in Pseudophakic Eyes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinjie Mao

    Full Text Available To assess wavefront derived refraction and full eye biometry including ciliary muscle dimension and full eye axial geometry in pseudophakic eyes using spectral domain OCT equipped with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor.Twenty-eight adult subjects (32 pseudophakic eyes having recently undergone cataract surgery were enrolled in this study. A custom system combining two optical coherence tomography systems with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor was constructed to image and monitor changes in whole eye biometry, the ciliary muscle and ocular aberration in the pseudophakic eye. A Badal optical channel and a visual target aligning with the wavefront sensor were incorporated into the system for measuring the wavefront-derived refraction. The imaging acquisition was performed twice. The coefficients of repeatability (CoR and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC were calculated.Images were acquired and processed successfully in all patients. No significant difference was detected between repeated measurements of ciliary muscle dimension, full-eye biometry or defocus aberration. The CoR of full-eye biometry ranged from 0.36% to 3.04% and the ICC ranged from 0.981 to 0.999. The CoR for ciliary muscle dimensions ranged from 12.2% to 41.6% and the ICC ranged from 0.767 to 0.919. The defocus aberrations of the two measurements were 0.443 ± 0.534 D and 0.447 ± 0.586 D and the ICC was 0.951.The combined system is capable of measuring full eye biometry and refraction with good repeatability. The system is suitable for future investigation of pseudoaccommodation in the pseudophakic eye.

  10. [Ocular graft-versus-host disease: An often misdiagnosed etiology of dry eye syndrome].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyal, L; Adam, R; Akesbi, J; Rodallec, F T; Nordmann, J-P

    2017-02-01

    To report a case of severe ocular graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after cataract surgery. Observational case report. We describe the case of a 59-year-old man with postoperative corneal ulcer on his only functional eye. His past history reported allogenic bone marrow transplant. His visual acuity (VA) was limited to hand motions. Slit lamp examination revealed diffuse conjunctival hyperemia, severe blepharitis, Meibomian dysfunction, total corneal opacification with epithelial and stromal keratitis and neovascular invasion. Because of the severe dry eye symptoms and history of allogenic hematological stem cell transplantation, ocular GVHD was diagnosed. Functional and anatomical improvement occurred rapidly with topical cyclosporine 2%, with improved VA after treatment. With any severe dry eye syndrome in the context of allogenic bone marrow transplant, ocular GVHD must be considered. For planned ocular surgery, we recommend adding cyclosporine 0.1% treatment before and after surgery to prevent severe ocular GVHD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  11. Primary Motor Cortex Excitability Is Modulated During the Mental Simulation of Hand Movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyde, Christian; Fuelscher, Ian; Lum, Jarrad A G; Williams, Jacqueline; He, Jason; Enticott, Peter G

    2017-02-01

    It is unclear whether the primary motor cortex (PMC) is involved in the mental simulation of movement [i.e., motor imagery (MI)]. The present study aimed to clarify PMC involvement using a highly novel adaptation of the hand laterality task (HLT). Participants were administered single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the hand area of the left PMC (hPMC) at either 50 ms, 400 ms, or 650 ms post stimulus presentation. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the right first dorsal interosseous via electromyography. To avoid the confound of gross motor response, participant response (indicating left or right hand) was recorded via eye tracking. Participants were 22 healthy adults (18 to 36 years), 16 whose behavioral profile on the HLT was consistent with the use of a MI strategy (MI users). hPMC excitability increased significantly during HLT performance for MI users, evidenced by significantly larger right hand MEPs following single-pulse TMS 50 ms, 400 ms, and 650 ms post stimulus presentation relative to baseline. Subsequent analysis showed that hPMC excitability was greater for more complex simulated hand movements, where hand MEPs at 50 ms were larger for biomechanically awkward movements (i.e., hands requiring lateral rotation) compared to simpler movements (i.e., hands requiring medial rotation). These findings provide support for the modulation of PMC excitability during the HLT attributable to MI, and may indicate a role for the PMC during MI. (JINS, 2017, 23, 185-193).

  12. Teaching Transgender

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wentling, Tre; Windsor, Elroi; Schilt, Kristen; Lucal, Betsy

    2008-01-01

    The recent visibility of transgender lives demonstrates the dawning of a new period in the potential to include transgender topics in sociology courses. The focus on transgender individuals, communities, and inclusive initiatives are gaining momentum on many public and private college and university campuses, awakening old and new curiosities,…

  13. Mars' Surface Radiation Environment Measured with the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity Rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassler, Donald M.; Zeitlin, Cary; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Ehresmann, Bent; Rafkin, Scot; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L.; Brinza, David E.; Weigle, Gerald; Böttcher, Stephan; Böhm, Eckart; Burmeister, Soenke; Guo, Jingnan; Köhler, Jan; Martin, Cesar; Reitz, Guenther; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Kim, Myung-Hee; Grinspoon, David; Bullock, Mark A.; Posner, Arik; Gómez-Elvira, Javier; Vasavada, Ashwin; Grotzinger, John P.; MSL Science Team; Kemppinen, Osku; Cremers, David; Bell, James F.; Edgar, Lauren; Farmer, Jack; Godber, Austin; Wadhwa, Meenakshi; Wellington, Danika; McEwan, Ian; Newman, Claire; Richardson, Mark; Charpentier, Antoine; Peret, Laurent; King, Penelope; Blank, Jennifer; Schmidt, Mariek; Li, Shuai; Milliken, Ralph; Robertson, Kevin; Sun, Vivian; Baker, Michael; Edwards, Christopher; Ehlmann, Bethany; Farley, Kenneth; Griffes, Jennifer; Miller, Hayden; Newcombe, Megan; Pilorget, Cedric; Rice, Melissa; Siebach, Kirsten; Stack, Katie; Stolper, Edward; Brunet, Claude; Hipkin, Victoria; Léveillé, Richard; Marchand, Geneviève; Sánchez, Pablo Sobrón; Favot, Laurent; Cody, George; Steele, Andrew; Flückiger, Lorenzo; Lees, David; Nefian, Ara; Martin, Mildred; Gailhanou, Marc; Westall, Frances; Israël, Guy; Agard, Christophe; Baroukh, Julien; Donny, Christophe; Gaboriaud, Alain; Guillemot, Philippe; Lafaille, Vivian; Lorigny, Eric; Paillet, Alexis; Pérez, René; Saccoccio, Muriel; Yana, Charles; Armiens-Aparicio, Carlos; Rodríguez, Javier Caride; Blázquez, Isaías Carrasco; Gómez, Felipe Gómez; Hettrich, Sebastian; Malvitte, Alain Lepinette; Jiménez, Mercedes Marín; Martínez-Frías, Jesús; Martín-Soler, Javier; Martín-Torres, F. Javier; Jurado, Antonio Molina; Mora-Sotomayor, Luis; Caro, Guillermo Muñoz; López, Sara Navarro; Peinado-González, Verónica; Pla-García, Jorge; Manfredi, José Antonio Rodriguez; Romeral-Planelló, Julio José; Fuentes, Sara Alejandra Sans; Martinez, Eduardo Sebastian; Redondo, Josefina Torres; Urqui-O'Callaghan, Roser; Mier, María-Paz Zorzano; Chipera, Steve; Lacour, Jean-Luc; Mauchien, Patrick; Sirven, Jean-Baptiste; Manning, Heidi; Fairén, Alberto; Hayes, Alexander; Joseph, Jonathan; Squyres, Steven; Sullivan, Robert; Thomas, Peter; Dupont, Audrey; Lundberg, Angela; Melikechi, Noureddine; Mezzacappa, Alissa; Berger, Thomas; Matthia, Daniel; Prats, Benito; Atlaskin, Evgeny; Genzer, Maria; Harri, Ari-Matti; Haukka, Harri; Kahanpää, Henrik; Kauhanen, Janne; Kemppinen, Osku; Paton, Mark; Polkko, Jouni; Schmidt, Walter; Siili, Tero; Fabre, Cécile; Wray, James; Wilhelm, Mary Beth; Poitrasson, Franck; Patel, Kiran; Gorevan, Stephen; Indyk, Stephen; Paulsen, Gale; Gupta, Sanjeev; Bish, David; Schieber, Juergen; Gondet, Brigitte; Langevin, Yves; Geffroy, Claude; Baratoux, David; Berger, Gilles; Cros, Alain; d'Uston, Claude; Forni, Olivier; Gasnault, Olivier; Lasue, Jérémie; Lee, Qiu-Mei; Maurice, Sylvestre; Meslin, Pierre-Yves; Pallier, Etienne; Parot, Yann; Pinet, Patrick; Schröder, Susanne; Toplis, Mike; Lewin, Éric; Brunner, Will; Heydari, Ezat; Achilles, Cherie; Oehler, Dorothy; Sutter, Brad; Cabane, Michel; Coscia, David; Israël, Guy; Szopa, Cyril; Dromart, Gilles; Robert, François; Sautter, Violaine; Le Mouélic, Stéphane; Mangold, Nicolas; Nachon, Marion; Buch, Arnaud; Stalport, Fabien; Coll, Patrice; François, Pascaline; Raulin, François; Teinturier, Samuel; Cameron, James; Clegg, Sam; Cousin, Agnès; DeLapp, Dorothea; Dingler, Robert; Jackson, Ryan Steele; Johnstone, Stephen; Lanza, Nina; Little, Cynthia; Nelson, Tony; Wiens, Roger C.; Williams, Richard B.; Jones, Andrea; Kirkland, Laurel; Treiman, Allan; Baker, Burt; Cantor, Bruce; Caplinger, Michael; Davis, Scott; Duston, Brian; Edgett, Kenneth; Fay, Donald; Hardgrove, Craig; Harker, David; Herrera, Paul; Jensen, Elsa; Kennedy, Megan R.; Krezoski, Gillian; Krysak, Daniel; Lipkaman, Leslie; Malin, Michael; McCartney, Elaina; McNair, Sean; Nixon, Brian; Posiolova, Liliya; Ravine, Michael; Salamon, Andrew; Saper, Lee; Stoiber, Kevin; Supulver, Kimberley; Van Beek, Jason; Van Beek, Tessa; Zimdar, Robert; French, Katherine Louise; Iagnemma, Karl; Miller, Kristen; Summons, Roger; Goesmann, Fred; Goetz, Walter; Hviid, Stubbe; Johnson, Micah; Lefavor, Matthew; Lyness, Eric; Breves, Elly; Dyar, M. Darby; Fassett, Caleb; Blake, David F.; Bristow, Thomas; DesMarais, David; Edwards, Laurence; Haberle, Robert; Hoehler, Tori; Hollingsworth, Jeff; Kahre, Melinda; Keely, Leslie; McKay, Christopher; Wilhelm, Mary Beth; Bleacher, Lora; Brinckerhoff, William; Choi, David; Conrad, Pamela; Dworkin, Jason P.; Floyd, Melissa; Freissinet, Caroline; Garvin, James; Glavin, Daniel; Harpold, Daniel; Jones, Andrea; Mahaffy, Paul; Martin, David K.; McAdam, Amy; Pavlov, Alexander; Raaen, Eric; Smith, Michael D.; Stern, Jennifer; Tan, Florence; Trainer, Melissa; Meyer, Michael; Voytek, Mary; Anderson, Robert C.; Aubrey, Andrew; Beegle, Luther W.; Behar, Alberto; Blaney, Diana; Calef, Fred; Christensen, Lance; Crisp, Joy A.; DeFlores, Lauren; Ehlmann, Bethany; Feldman, Jason; Feldman, Sabrina; Flesch, Gregory; Hurowitz, Joel; Jun, Insoo; Keymeulen, Didier; Maki, Justin; Mischna, Michael; Morookian, John Michael; Parker, Timothy; Pavri, Betina; Schoppers, Marcel; Sengstacken, Aaron; Simmonds, John J.; Spanovich, Nicole; Juarez, Manuel de la Torre; Webster, Christopher R.; Yen, Albert; Archer, Paul Douglas; Jones, John H.; Ming, Douglas; Morris, Richard V.; Niles, Paul; Rampe, Elizabeth; Nolan, Thomas; Fisk, Martin; Radziemski, Leon; Barraclough, Bruce; Bender, Steve; Berman, Daniel; Dobrea, Eldar Noe; Tokar, Robert; Vaniman, David; Williams, Rebecca M. E.; Yingst, Aileen; Lewis, Kevin; Leshin, Laurie; Cleghorn, Timothy; Huntress, Wesley; Manhès, Gérard; Hudgins, Judy; Olson, Timothy; Stewart, Noel; Sarrazin, Philippe; Grant, John; Vicenzi, Edward; Wilson, Sharon A.; Hamilton, Victoria; Peterson, Joseph; Fedosov, Fedor; Golovin, Dmitry; Karpushkina, Natalya; Kozyrev, Alexander; Litvak, Maxim; Malakhov, Alexey; Mitrofanov, Igor; Mokrousov, Maxim; Nikiforov, Sergey; Prokhorov, Vasily; Sanin, Anton; Tretyakov, Vladislav; Varenikov, Alexey; Vostrukhin, Andrey; Kuzmin, Ruslan; Clark, Benton; Wolff, Michael; McLennan, Scott; Botta, Oliver; Drake, Darrell; Bean, Keri; Lemmon, Mark; Schwenzer, Susanne P.; Anderson, Ryan B.; Herkenhoff, Kenneth; Lee, Ella Mae; Sucharski, Robert; Hernández, Miguel Ángel de Pablo; Ávalos, Juan José Blanco; Ramos, Miguel; Malespin, Charles; Plante, Ianik; Muller, Jan-Peter; Navarro-González, Rafael; Ewing, Ryan; Boynton, William; Downs, Robert; Fitzgibbon, Mike; Harshman, Karl; Morrison, Shaunna; Dietrich, William; Kortmann, Onno; Palucis, Marisa; Sumner, Dawn Y.; Williams, Amy; Lugmair, Günter; Wilson, Michael A.; Rubin, David; Jakosky, Bruce; Balic-Zunic, Tonci; Frydenvang, Jens; Jensen, Jaqueline Kløvgaard; Kinch, Kjartan; Koefoed, Asmus; Madsen, Morten Bo; Stipp, Susan Louise Svane; Boyd, Nick; Campbell, John L.; Gellert, Ralf; Perrett, Glynis; Pradler, Irina; VanBommel, Scott; Jacob, Samantha; Owen, Tobias; Rowland, Scott; Atlaskin, Evgeny; Savijärvi, Hannu; García, César Martín; Mueller-Mellin, Reinhold; Bridges, John C.; McConnochie, Timothy; Benna, Mehdi; Franz, Heather; Bower, Hannah; Brunner, Anna; Blau, Hannah; Boucher, Thomas; Carmosino, Marco; Atreya, Sushil; Elliott, Harvey; Halleaux, Douglas; Rennó, Nilton; Wong, Michael; Pepin, Robert; Elliott, Beverley; Spray, John; Thompson, Lucy; Gordon, Suzanne; Newsom, Horton; Ollila, Ann; Williams, Joshua; Vasconcelos, Paulo; Bentz, Jennifer; Nealson, Kenneth; Popa, Radu; Kah, Linda C.; Moersch, Jeffrey; Tate, Christopher; Day, Mackenzie; Kocurek, Gary; Hallet, Bernard; Sletten, Ronald; Francis, Raymond; McCullough, Emily; Cloutis, Ed; ten Kate, Inge Loes; Kuzmin, Ruslan; Arvidson, Raymond; Fraeman, Abigail; Scholes, Daniel; Slavney, Susan; Stein, Thomas; Ward, Jennifer; Berger, Jeffrey; Moores, John E.

    2014-01-01

    The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover began making detailed measurements of the cosmic ray and energetic particle radiation environment on the surface of Mars on 7 August 2012. We report and discuss measurements of the absorbed dose and dose equivalent from galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles on the martian surface for ~300 days of observations during the current solar maximum. These measurements provide insight into the radiation hazards associated with a human mission to the surface of Mars and provide an anchor point with which to model the subsurface radiation environment, with implications for microbial survival times of any possible extant or past life, as well as for the preservation of potential organic biosignatures of the ancient martian environment.

  14. Mars' surface radiation environment measured with the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassler, Donald M; Zeitlin, Cary; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F; Ehresmann, Bent; Rafkin, Scot; Eigenbrode, Jennifer L; Brinza, David E; Weigle, Gerald; Böttcher, Stephan; Böhm, Eckart; Burmeister, Soenke; Guo, Jingnan; Köhler, Jan; Martin, Cesar; Reitz, Guenther; Cucinotta, Francis A; Kim, Myung-Hee; Grinspoon, David; Bullock, Mark A; Posner, Arik; Gómez-Elvira, Javier; Vasavada, Ashwin; Grotzinger, John P

    2014-01-24

    The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover began making detailed measurements of the cosmic ray and energetic particle radiation environment on the surface of Mars on 7 August 2012. We report and discuss measurements of the absorbed dose and dose equivalent from galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles on the martian surface for ~300 days of observations during the current solar maximum. These measurements provide insight into the radiation hazards associated with a human mission to the surface of Mars and provide an anchor point with which to model the subsurface radiation environment, with implications for microbial survival times of any possible extant or past life, as well as for the preservation of potential organic biosignatures of the ancient martian environment.

  15. Precut cornea for Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty: experience at a single eye bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamed, Ashik; Chaurasia, Sunita; Chandragiri, Venkataswamy; Kandhibanda, Srinivas; Gunnam, Srinivas; Garg, Prashant

    2017-06-01

    The aim of the study is to describe the experience with precut facility for endothelial keratoplasty at a single eye bank affiliated to a tertiary eye care center in India. Data on precut tissues from Nov 2012 to Dec 2014 were retrospectively reviewed from the electronic database of the eye bank of a tertiary eye care center in South India. Donor characteristic data including donor age, precut and postcut endothelial cell density (ECD), recipient age, and thickness of graft were collected. The number of precuts increased from 42 in 2012 (Nov and Dec) and 422 in 2013 to 584 in 2014. Of the total of 1048 precuts, seven (0.67 %) were miscut and could not be utilized for transplants. The donor age ranged from 2 to 89 years. A mean change of 43.6 ± 325.2 cells/mm 2 in ECD was noted after cut, proportional increase in mean being 1.9 %. The change in ECD after cut was negatively correlated with ECD before cut. The recipient age ranged from 1 to 89 years. The median thickness of donor lenticule after cut was 148 µm (interquartile range 131-166 µm). Analysis of precut donor corneas from a single eye bank shows that the ECD of the processed tissues was excellent for transplantation. The tissue wastage in the hands of eye bank personal was minimal.

  16. Eye Irritation Test of Bovis Calculus Pharmacopuncture Solutions for Eye Drop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyeong-sik Seo

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective : This study was done to investigate the safety of Bovis Calculus pharmacopuncture solution manufactured with freezing dryness method to use eye drop. Methods : The eye irritation test of this material was performed according to the Regulation of Korea Food & Drug Administration (2005. 10. 21, KFDA 2005-60. After Bovis Calculus pharmacopuncture solution was medicated in the left eye of the rabbits, the auther observed eye irritation of the cornea, iris, conjunctiva at 1, 2, 3, 4 & 7day. Results : 1. After Bovis Calculus pharmacopuncture solution was medicated in the left eye of the rabbits, there wasn’t physical problem at 9 rabbits. 2. After Bovis Calculus pharmacopuncture solutionwas medicated in the left eye of the rabbits, there wasn’t eye irritation of the cornea, iris, conjunctiva at 1, 2, 3, 4 & 7day. Conclusions : I suggested that Bovis Calculus pharmacopuncture solution didn’t induced eye irritation in rabbits.

  17. From Aristotle to Schrödinger the curiosity of physics

    CERN Document Server

    Modinos, Antonis

    2014-01-01

    From Aristotle to Schrödinger: The Curiosity of Physics offers a novel introduction to the topics commonly encountered in the first two years of an undergraduate physics course, including classical mechanics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, electromagnetism, relativity, quantum mechanics, atomic and molecular physics, and astrophysics. The book presents physics as it evolved historically; it covers in considerable depth the development of the subject from ancient Greece to the present day. Though the emphasis is on the observations, experiments, theories, and applications of physics, there are additionally short sections on the life and times of the main protagonists of physics. This book grew out of the author's long experience in giving undergraduate and graduate courses in classical physics and in quantum mechanics and its elementary applications. Although meant primarily for the student and teacher of physics, it will be of interest to other scientists and to historians of science, and to those...

  18. The role of hand drawing in basic design education in the digital age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Have, R.; Van den Toorn, M.W.M.

    2012-01-01

    In the last decennia, hand drawing has been slowly moved out of the curricula in architecture schools and the teaching of computer skills has taken over. It has also created an 'intellectual dichotomy of viewpoints'; the digital and analogues. The question now is how to find a new balance for

  19. The role of eye protection in work-related eye injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, L P; Taouk, Y

    1995-05-01

    A recent survey of general hospitals by the Victorian Injury Surveillance System found that ocular trauma represented 15% of work-related injuries. As circumstances surrounding occupational eye injuries have been poorly documented previously, their associations to occupation, industry and work-safety practices, including safety eyewear use, need to be identified to develop appropriate preventive strategies for high-risk groups. From a prospective cross-sectional survey of all eye injuries treated at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, work-related cases were analysed for demographic, occupational and safety eye-wear information. Hospital-based data were supplemented by information from WorkCover Authorities and Labour Force statistics to derive incidence and cost estimates. There were 9390 eye injuries during the 18-month survey period; 42% (n=3923) of total and 29% (n=52) of penetrating ocular injuries occurred at work. The most frequently injured were metal, automotive and building trades workers grinding and drilling (41% of outpatients) and hammering (53% of penetrating eye injuries). Automotive workers had the highest frequency for penetrating injuries, and most were exposed to hammering and were also the least likely to wear safety eye-wear. Eye injuries are frequent (10% of work-related injuries) and highly preventable by the correct use of safety eye-wear, a cost-effective intervention that may result in cost savings of $59 million for work-type activities in the occupational and domestic settings in Australia each year.

  20. What Is Dry Eye?

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Eye Symptoms Causes of Dry Eye Dry Eye Treatment What Is Dry Eye? Leer en Español: ¿Qué ... Your Eyelid Nov 29, 2017 New Dry Eye Treatment is a Tear-Jerker Jul 21, 2017 Three ...

  1. Back to basic: bio-burden on hands of health care personnel in tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, J L; Siti Azrin, A H; Narizan, M I; Norliah, Y; Noraida, M; Amanina, A; Nabilah, I; Habsah, H; Siti Asma, H

    2014-09-01

    Hands of Health Care Personnel (HCP) are one of the most common vehicles for the transmission of infection. Microorganisms can survive well on the hands of HCP for a certain duration. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to bring awareness to HCP that their hands can actually be contaminated with many microorganisms. These microbes on the hands of HCP can potentially infect their patients if they do not comply with the proper hand hygiene practice. This cross-sectional study was conducted at a randomly selected Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and general ward in a hospital. Twenty five HCP from each ward were randomly selected and their hands were imprinted on blood culture plates. Microorganism growth were quantified and identified. Data were analyzed and presented as descriptive analysis. One hundred blood agar plates were processed and analyzed. Majority (71%) of the samples had more than 50 colony-forming units (CFU) and only 17% of the samples had less than 25 CFU. Microorganisms identified include Staphylococcus spp., Acinetobacter spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., Moraxella, Delftiaacidovorans and fungi. All isolated microorganisms were antibiotic sensitive strain. This study showed that the hands of HCP were contaminated with many microorganisms. Therefore, it is imperative that HCP must practice proper hand hygiene when taking care of their patients in the wards.

  2. Volatiles and Isotopes and the Exploration of Ancient and Modern Martian Habitability with the Curiosity Rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mhaffy, P. R.

    2015-01-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory Mission was designed to pave the way for the study of life beyond Earth through a search for a habitable environment in a carefully selected landing site on Mars. Its ongoing exploration of Gale Crater with the Curiosity Rover has provided a rich data set that revealed such an environment in an ancient lakebed [1]. Volatile and isotope measurements of both the atmosphere and solids contribute to our growing understanding of both modern and ancient environments.

  3. EYE GAZE TRACKING

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2017-01-01

    This invention relates to a method of performing eye gaze tracking of at least one eye of a user, by determining the position of the center of the eye, said method comprising the steps of: detecting the position of at least three reflections on said eye, transforming said positions to spanning...... a normalized coordinate system spanning a frame of reference, wherein said transformation is performed based on a bilinear transformation or a non linear transformation e.g. a möbius transformation or a homographic transformation, detecting the position of said center of the eye relative to the position...... of said reflections and transforming this position to said normalized coordinate system, tracking the eye gaze by tracking the movement of said eye in said normalized coordinate system. Thereby calibration of a camera, such as knowledge of the exact position and zoom level of the camera, is avoided...

  4. A bio-inspired apposition compound eye machine vision sensor system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, J D; Barrett, S F; Wright, C H G; Wilcox, M

    2009-01-01

    The Wyoming Information, Signal Processing, and Robotics Laboratory is developing a wide variety of bio-inspired vision sensors. We are interested in exploring the vision system of various insects and adapting some of their features toward the development of specialized vision sensors. We do not attempt to supplant traditional digital imaging techniques but rather develop sensor systems tailor made for the application at hand. We envision that many applications may require a hybrid approach using conventional digital imaging techniques enhanced with bio-inspired analogue sensors. In this specific project, we investigated the apposition compound eye and its characteristics commonly found in diurnal insects and certain species of arthropods. We developed and characterized an array of apposition compound eye-type sensors and tested them on an autonomous robotic vehicle. The robot exhibits the ability to follow a pre-defined target and avoid specified obstacles using a simple control algorithm.

  5. What Is Dry Eye?

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Tips & Prevention News Ask an Ophthalmologist Patient Stories Español Eye Health / Eye Health A-Z Dry Eye ... Eye Treatment What Is Dry Eye? Leer en Español: ¿Qué es el ojo seco? Written By: Kierstan ...

  6. Dry eyes : a commonly missed eye condition

    OpenAIRE

    Vella, Mario;

    2014-01-01

    Tears are an important component in providing moisture and lubrication for the eyes, thereby maintaining vision and comfort. Dry eyes (keratoconjunctivitis sicca) result when there is either decreased production of tears or by poor tear quality which in turn lead to more rapid evaporation.

  7. Eye Tracker Accuracy: Quantitative Evaluation of the Invisible Eye Center Location

    OpenAIRE

    Wyder, Stephan; Cattin, Philippe C.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose. We present a new method to evaluate the accuracy of an eye tracker based eye localization system. Measuring the accuracy of an eye tracker's primary intention, the estimated point of gaze, is usually done with volunteers and a set of fixation points used as ground truth. However, verifying the accuracy of the location estimate of a volunteer's eye center in 3D space is not easily possible. This is because the eye center is an intangible point hidden by the iris. Methods. We evaluate ...

  8. Efficacy of topical cyclosporine 0.05% eye drops in the treatment of dry eyes

    OpenAIRE

    Haitham Y Al-Nashar

    2015-01-01

    Purpose The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cyclosporine 0.05% in the treatment of dry-eye disease. Patients and methods A total of 35 eyes of 20 patients with dry-eye disease were included in the present study. Ten patients (20 eyes) had dry eyes associated with systemic rheumatologic disease (Sjögren′s syndrome), five patients (10 eyes) had dry eyes after undergoing laser in-situ keratomileusis, and five patients (five eyes) had dry eyes after cataract...

  9. Science of Materials: A Case Study of Intentional Teaching in the Early Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hackling, Mark; Barratt-Pugh, Caroline

    2012-01-01

    Australia's Early Years Learning Framework and leading international researchers argue for more intentional and purposeful teaching of science in the early years. This case study of exemplary practice illustrates intentional teaching of science materials which opened-up learning opportunities in literacy and number. Student-led hands-on…

  10. Premotor neurons encode torsional eye velocity during smooth-pursuit eye movements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelaki, Dora E.; Dickman, J. David

    2003-01-01

    Responses to horizontal and vertical ocular pursuit and head and body rotation in multiple planes were recorded in eye movement-sensitive neurons in the rostral vestibular nuclei (VN) of two rhesus monkeys. When tested during pursuit through primary eye position, the majority of the cells preferred either horizontal or vertical target motion. During pursuit of targets that moved horizontally at different vertical eccentricities or vertically at different horizontal eccentricities, eye angular velocity has been shown to include a torsional component the amplitude of which is proportional to half the gaze angle ("half-angle rule" of Listing's law). Approximately half of the neurons, the majority of which were characterized as "vertical" during pursuit through primary position, exhibited significant changes in their response gain and/or phase as a function of gaze eccentricity during pursuit, as if they were also sensitive to torsional eye velocity. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant contribution of torsional eye movement sensitivity to the responsiveness of the cells. These findings suggest that many VN neurons encode three-dimensional angular velocity, rather than the two-dimensional derivative of eye position, during smooth-pursuit eye movements. Although no clear clustering of pursuit preferred-direction vectors along the semicircular canal axes was observed, the sensitivity of VN neurons to torsional eye movements might reflect a preservation of similar premotor coding of visual and vestibular-driven slow eye movements for both lateral-eyed and foveate species.

  11. Observations of teachers in Ilorin, Nigeria on their practices of corporal punishment that are potentially injurious to their pupils' eyes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmoud, Abdulraheem Olarongbe; Ayanniyi, Abdulkabir Ayansiji; Salman, Medinat Folorunso

    2011-01-01

    To document the observations of elementary school teachers (ESTs) in Ilorin, Nigeria on their practice of some types of corporal punishment (CP) that could result in eye injuries among their pupils. A short battery of questions that explored ESTs' observations on attitudes to, and knowledge of some commonly used CP practices was self-administered on 172 consenting teachers from six sampled schools. The potentials for their pupils to sustain eye injuries while receiving such CP practices were inferred from the usage of items with sharp and protruding ends to administer CP, and the application of CP onto pupils' body parts that are in close proximity to the eye such as the head and face. Only 50 of the 172 ESTs favored the practice of CP of pupils by their teachers. Analyses of several potentially moderating variables on this response such as ESTs' ages, years of EST teaching experience, school, and class or grade that EST teaches did not prove significant. Over three-quarters of ESTs (80.2%) had ever observed that pupils were being disciplined by ESTs with a cane. About a fifth of them had also observed that ESTs applied CP to the head (19.8%) and the face (16.3%) of pupils. Findings suggest that ESTs' commonly employed CP practices have significant injurious potential to their pupils' eyes. It is recommended that CP be abolished in elementary schools, and instead alternative nonabusive methods of disciplining erring pupils by teachers be introduced.

  12. The dependencies of fronto-parietal BOLD responses evoked by covert visual search suggest eye-centred coding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atabaki, A; Dicke, P W; Karnath, H-O; Thier, P

    2013-04-01

    Visual scenes explored covertly are initially represented in a retinal frame of reference (FOR). On the other hand, 'later' stages of the cortical network allocating spatial attention most probably use non-retinal or non-eye-centred representations as they may ease the integration of different sensory modalities for the formation of supramodal representations of space. We tested if the cortical areas involved in shifting covert attention are based on eye-centred or non-eye-centred coding by using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects were scanned while detecting a target item (a regularly oriented 'L') amidst a set of distractors (rotated 'L's). The array was centred either 5° right or left of the fixation point, independent of eye-gaze orientation, the latter varied in three steps: straight relative to the head, 10° left or 10° right. A quantitative comparison of the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses for the three eye-gaze orientations revealed stronger BOLD responses in the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the right frontal eye field (FEF) for search in the contralateral (i.e. left) eye-centred space, independent of whether the array was located in the right or left head-centred hemispace. The left IPS showed the reverse pattern, i.e. an activation by search in the right eye-centred hemispace. In other words, the IPS and the right FEF, members of the cortical network underlying covert search, operate in an eye-centred FOR. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  13. Development Instrument’s Learning of Physics Through Scientific Inquiry Model Based Batak Culture to Improve Science Process Skill and Student’s Curiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasution, Derlina; Syahreni Harahap, Putri; Harahap, Marabangun

    2018-03-01

    This research aims to: (1) developed a instrument’s learning (lesson plan, worksheet, student’s book, teacher’s guide book, and instrument test) of physics learning through scientific inquiry learning model based Batak culture to achieve skills improvement process of science students and the students’ curiosity; (2) describe the quality of the result of develop instrument’s learning in high school using scientific inquiry learning model based Batak culture (lesson plan, worksheet, student’s book, teacher’s guide book, and instrument test) to achieve the science process skill improvement of students and the student curiosity. This research is research development. This research developed a instrument’s learning of physics by using a development model that is adapted from the development model Thiagarajan, Semmel, and Semmel. The stages are traversed until retrieved a valid physics instrument’s learning, practical, and effective includes :(1) definition phase, (2) the planning phase, and (3) stages of development. Test performed include expert test/validation testing experts, small groups, and test classes is limited. Test classes are limited to do in SMAN 1 Padang Bolak alternating on a class X MIA. This research resulted in: 1) the learning of physics static fluid material specially for high school grade 10th consisted of (lesson plan, worksheet, student’s book, teacher’s guide book, and instrument test) and quality worthy of use in the learning process; 2) each component of the instrument’s learning meet the criteria have valid learning, practical, and effective way to reach the science process skill improvement and curiosity in students.

  14. Burning Eye Syndrome: Do Neuropathic Pain Mechanisms Underlie Chronic Dry Eye?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalangara, Jerry P; Galor, Anat; Levitt, Roy C; Felix, Elizabeth R; Alegret, Ramon; Sarantopoulos, Constantine D

    2016-04-01

    Dry eye is a multi-factorial disorder that manifests with painful ocular symptoms and visual disturbances, which can only be partly attributed to tear dysfunction. This disorder may also involve neuroplasticity in response to neuronal injury. This review will emphasize the key characteristics of dry eye pain and its pathologic mechanisms, making the argument that a subset of dry eye represents a neuropathic pain disorder of the eye, more appropriately called "burning eye syndrome." A literature review was conducted using a PubMed search focusing on dry eye, corneal nociception, and neuropathic pain. Articles were reviewed and those discussing clinical course, pathophysiology, and neuronal regulation of chronic ocular pain as related to dry eye were summarized. We found that there is a discordance between ocular pain and dryness on the ocular surface. Although tear dysfunction may be one of the initial insults, its persistence may be associated with repeated ocular sensory nerve injury leading to an acute-to-chronic pain transition associated with neuropathologic changes (peripheral and central sensitization), neuronal dysfunction, and spontaneous ocular pain. Dry eye is becoming a major health concern due to its increasing incidence, significant morbidity, and economic burden. Recent evidence suggests that a subset of dry eye may be better represented as a chronic neuropathic pain disorder due to its features of dysesthesia, spontaneous pain, allodynia, and hyperalgesia. Future therapies targeted at the underlying neuroplasticity may yield improved efficacy for patients with this subset of dry eye, which we term "burning eye syndrome." © 2015 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Fluorescein eye stain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abnormal results may point to: Abnormal tear production (dry eye) Blocked tear duct Corneal abrasion (a scratch on ... object in eye ) Infection Injury or trauma Severe dry eye associated with arthritis (keratoconjunctivitis sicca)

  16. The art and science of photography in hand surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Keming; Kowalski, Evan J; Chung, Kevin C

    2014-03-01

    High-quality medical photography plays an important role in teaching and demonstrating the functional capacity of the hands as well as in medicolegal documentation. Obtaining standardized, high-quality photographs is now an essential component of many surgery practices. The importance of standardized photography in facial and cosmetic surgery has been well documented in previous studies, but no studies have thoroughly addressed the details of photography for hand surgery. In this paper, we provide a set of guidelines and basic camera concepts for different scenarios to help hand surgeons obtain appropriate and informative high-quality photographs. A camera used for medical photography should come equipped with a large sensor size and an optical zoom lens with a focal length ranging anywhere from 14 to 75 mm. In a clinic or office setting, we recommend 6 standardized views of the hand and 4 views for the wrist; additional views should be taken for tendon ruptures, nerve injuries, or other deformities of the hand. For intraoperative pictures, the camera operator should understand the procedure and pertinent anatomy in order to properly obtain high-quality photographs. When digital radiographs are not available and radiographic film must be photographed, it is recommended to reduce the exposure and change the color mode to black and white to obtain the best possible pictures. The goal of medical photography is to present the subject in an accurate and precise fashion. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Prospective randomized study of contrast reaction management curricula: Computer-based interactive simulation versus high-fidelity hands-on simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Carolyn L., E-mail: wangcl@uw.edu [Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195-7115 (United States); Schopp, Jennifer G.; Kani, Kimia [Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195-7115 (United States); Petscavage-Thomas, Jonelle M. [Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Department of Radiology, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033 (United States); Zaidi, Sadaf; Hippe, Dan S.; Paladin, Angelisa M.; Bush, William H. [Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195-7115 (United States)

    2013-12-01

    Purpose: We developed a computer-based interactive simulation program for teaching contrast reaction management to radiology trainees and compared its effectiveness to high-fidelity hands-on simulation training. Materials and methods: IRB approved HIPAA compliant prospective study of 44 radiology residents, fellows and faculty who were randomized into either the high-fidelity hands-on simulation group or computer-based simulation group. All participants took separate written tests prior to and immediately after their intervention. Four months later participants took a delayed written test and a hands-on high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario performance test graded on predefined critical actions. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the computer and hands-on groups’ written pretest, immediate post-test, or delayed post-test scores (p > 0.6 for all). Both groups’ scores improved immediately following the intervention (p < 0.001). The delayed test scores 4 months later were still significantly higher than the pre-test scores (p ≤ 0.02). The computer group's performance was similar to the hands-on group on the severe contrast reaction simulation scenario test (p = 0.7). There were also no significant differences between the computer and hands-on groups in performance on the individual core competencies of contrast reaction management during the contrast reaction scenario. Conclusion: It is feasible to develop a computer-based interactive simulation program to teach contrast reaction management. Trainees that underwent computer-based simulation training scored similarly on written tests and on a hands-on high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario performance test as those trained with hands-on high-fidelity simulation.

  18. Prospective randomized study of contrast reaction management curricula: Computer-based interactive simulation versus high-fidelity hands-on simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Carolyn L.; Schopp, Jennifer G.; Kani, Kimia; Petscavage-Thomas, Jonelle M.; Zaidi, Sadaf; Hippe, Dan S.; Paladin, Angelisa M.; Bush, William H.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: We developed a computer-based interactive simulation program for teaching contrast reaction management to radiology trainees and compared its effectiveness to high-fidelity hands-on simulation training. Materials and methods: IRB approved HIPAA compliant prospective study of 44 radiology residents, fellows and faculty who were randomized into either the high-fidelity hands-on simulation group or computer-based simulation group. All participants took separate written tests prior to and immediately after their intervention. Four months later participants took a delayed written test and a hands-on high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario performance test graded on predefined critical actions. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the computer and hands-on groups’ written pretest, immediate post-test, or delayed post-test scores (p > 0.6 for all). Both groups’ scores improved immediately following the intervention (p < 0.001). The delayed test scores 4 months later were still significantly higher than the pre-test scores (p ≤ 0.02). The computer group's performance was similar to the hands-on group on the severe contrast reaction simulation scenario test (p = 0.7). There were also no significant differences between the computer and hands-on groups in performance on the individual core competencies of contrast reaction management during the contrast reaction scenario. Conclusion: It is feasible to develop a computer-based interactive simulation program to teach contrast reaction management. Trainees that underwent computer-based simulation training scored similarly on written tests and on a hands-on high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario performance test as those trained with hands-on high-fidelity simulation

  19. Glaucoma: Eye-to-Eye with Dr. Rachel Bishop

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of this page please turn JavaScript on. Feature: Glaucoma Eye-to-Eye with Dr. Rachel Bishop Past ... nerves are pale and cupped—signs of advanced glaucoma. Yet the patient wasn't aware of any ...

  20. Characteristics of mathematics teaching in Shanghai, China: Through the lens of a Malaysian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Chap Sam

    2007-06-01

    The mathematical performance of Chinese students, from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, is widely acclaimed in international comparisons of mathematics achievement. However, in the eyes of the Western educators, the environments established in Chinese schools are deemed relatively unfavourable for mathematics learning. This paper reports on a study that investigates the characteristics of effective mathematics teaching in five Shanghai schools. Findings reveal that those characteristics include (a) teaching with variation; (b) emphasis of precise and elegant mathematical language; (c) emphasis of logical reasoning, mathematical thinking and proofing during teaching; (d) order and serious classroom discipline; (e) strong and coherence teacher-student rapport, and (f) strong collaborative culture amongst mathematics teachers.