Meaningful Academic Work as Praxis in Emergence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keijo Räsänen

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The managerial form of university governance has changed the conditions of academic work in many countries. While some academics consider this a welcome development, others experience it as a threat to their autonomy and to the meaningfulness of their work. This essay suggests a stance in response to the current conditions that should serve especially the latter group of academics. The claim is that by approaching academic work as a potential praxis in emergence, it is possible to appreciate local, autonomous activity in renewing academic work. Even if such efforts remain difficult, dispersed in space, discontinuous in time, and incomplete, they may provide a sense of direction and keep up hope. The conception of praxis is a way of articulating the mission of such efforts; simultaneously, it is also a way of defining an epistemic object for research on academic work.

Two-way and three-way negativities of three-qubit entangled states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, S. Shelly; Sharma, N. K.

2007-01-01

We propose to quantify three-qubit entanglement using global negativity along with K-way negativities, where K=2 and 3. The principle underlying the definition of K-way negativity for pure and mixed states of N subsystems is a positive partial transpose sufficient condition. However, K-way partial transpose with respect to a subsystem is defined so as to shift the focus to K-way coherences instead of K subsystems of the composite system. A quantum state of a three-qubit system is characterized by the coherences measured by global, two-way, and three-way negativities. For a canonical state of three-qubit system, entanglement measures for genuine tripartite entanglement, W-like entanglement, and bipartite entanglement can be related to two-way and three-way negativities

Meaningful Human Control over Autonomous Systems: A Philosophical Account

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Filippo Santoni de Sio

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Debates on lethal autonomous weapon systems have proliferated in the past 5 years. Ethical concerns have been voiced about a possible raise in the number of wrongs and crimes in military operations and about the creation of a “responsibility gap” for harms caused by these systems. To address these concerns, the principle of “meaningful human control” has been introduced in the legal–political debate; according to this principle, humans not computers and their algorithms should ultimately remain in control of, and thus morally responsible for, relevant decisions about (lethal military operations. However, policy-makers and technical designers lack a detailed theory of what “meaningful human control” exactly means. In this paper, we lay the foundation of a philosophical account of meaningful human control, based on the concept of “guidance control” as elaborated in the philosophical debate on free will and moral responsibility. Following the ideals of “Responsible Innovation” and “Value-sensitive Design,” our account of meaningful human control is cast in the form of design requirements. We identify two general necessary conditions to be satisfied for an autonomous system to remain under meaningful human control: first, a “tracking” condition, according to which the system should be able to respond to both the relevant moral reasons of the humans designing and deploying the system and the relevant facts in the environment in which the system operates; second, a “tracing” condition, according to which the system should be designed in such a way as to grant the possibility to always trace back the outcome of its operations to at least one human along the chain of design and operation. As we think that meaningful human control can be one of the central notions in ethics of robotics and AI, in the last part of the paper, we start exploring the implications of our account for the design and use of non

Effect of Community-Based Occupational Therapy on Health-Related Quality of Life and Engagement in Meaningful Activities of Women with Breast Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daiva Petruseviciene

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of community-based occupational therapy on health-related quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities among women with breast cancer. An open label randomized controlled trial study design was applied. The participants were members of various societies of women with cancer. In total, 22 women have participated in the study. Participants of the experimental group (n=11 participated in a 6-week community-based occupational therapy program and the usual activities of various societies, whereas the control group (n=11 women participated in the usual activities of the societies only. 1 of the participants withdrew during the course; therefore 21 completed the study successfully. Participants of both groups were assessed for health-related quality of life and the participants of the experimental group were assessed for engagement in meaningful activities. The evaluation was carried out during the nonacute period of the disease—at the beginning of the study and after 6 weeks. Women of the experimental group demonstrated statistically significantly better scores in the global quality of life, role functions, physical, emotional, cognitive, and social functions, fatigue, insomnia, financial impact, systemic therapy side effects, and breast symptoms scales compared to the control group participants (p<0.05 after the 6 weeks, as measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and its breast cancer module QLQ-BR23. Furthermore, women of the experimental group demonstrated significant greater engagement in meaningful activities when applying community-based occupational therapy (p<0.05, as measured by using the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey (EMAS. The evaluation of the associations between the women’s engagement in meaningful activities and changes in health-related quality of life showed that greater engagement in meaningful activities was associated with better emotional functions and a

Meaningful learning: The essential factor for conceptual change in limited or inappropriate propositional hierarchies leading to empowerment of learners

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Joseph D.

2002-07-01

The construction and reconstruction of meanings by learners requires that they actively seek to integrate new knowledge with knowledge already in their cognitive structure. Ausubel's assimilation theory of cognitive learning has been shown to be effective in guiding research and instructional design to facilitate meaningful learning (Ausubel, The psychology of meaningful verbal learning, New York: Grune and Stratton, 1963; Educational psychology: A cognitive view, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968; The acquisition and retention of knowledge, Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2000). Gowin's Vee heuristic has been employed effectively to aid teachers and students in understanding the constructed nature of knowledge (Gowin, Educating, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1981). Situated learning occurs when learning is by rote or at a lower level of meaningful learning. Concept mapping has been used effectively to aid meaningful learning with resulting modification of student's knowledge structures. When these knowledge structures are limited or faulty in some way, they may be referred to as Limited or Inappropriate Propositional Hierarchies (LIPH's). Conceptual change, or more accurately conceptual reconstrution, requires meaningful learning to modify LIPH's. Collaborative group learning facilitates meaningful learning and new knowledge construction. World-wide economic changes are forcing major changes in business and industry placing a premium on the power and value of knowledge and new knowledge production. These changes require changes in school and university education that centers on the nature and power of meaningful learning. New computer tools are available to facilitate teaching activities targeted at modifying LIPH's, and aiding meaningful learning in general.

Beyond meaningful use: getting meaningful value from IT.

Science.gov (United States)

Fortin, Jason; Zywiak, Walt

2010-02-01

The HITECH provisions of ARRA include financial incentives for providers to demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology. However, to maximize the value of IT under new payment models, provider organizations will need to go beyond meaningful use criteria in three key areas: Delivering high-quality care. Ensuring coordinated care. Integrating financial systems.

FVCOM one-way and two-way nesting using ESMF: Development and validation

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Jianhua; Chen, Changsheng; Beardsley, Robert C.

2018-04-01

Built on the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF), the one-way and two-way nesting methods were implemented into the unstructured-grid Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM). These methods help utilize the unstructured-grid multi-domain nesting of FVCOM with an aim at resolving the multi-scale physical and ecosystem processes. A detail of procedures on implementing FVCOM into ESMF was described. The experiments were made to validate and evaluate the performance of the nested-grid FVCOM system. The first was made for a wave-current interaction case with a two-domain nesting with an emphasis on qualifying a critical need of nesting to resolve a high-resolution feature near the coast and harbor with little loss in computational efficiency. The second was conducted for the pseudo river plume cases to examine the differences in the model-simulated salinity between one-way and two-way nesting approaches and evaluate the performance of mass conservative two-way nesting method. The third was carried out for the river plume case in the realistic geometric domain in Mass Bay, supporting the importance for having the two-way nesting for coastal-estuarine integrated modeling. The nesting method described in this paper has been used in the Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System (NECOFS)-a global-regional-coastal nesting FVCOM system that has been placed into the end-to-end forecast and hindcast operations since 2007.

The Retention of Meaningful Understanding of Meiosis and Genetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallo, Ann Liberatore

This study investigated the retention of meaningful understanding of the biological topics of meiosis, the Punnett square method and the relations between these two topics. This study also explored the predictive influence of students' general tendency to learn meaningfully or by rote (meaningful learning orientation), prior knowledge of meiosis,…

Identifying meaningful activities among elderly people with demenitia: the developing process of an observation taxonomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andresen, Mette

2014-01-01

, values and beliefs in the center formed the base in the development of the tool. Aim: To develop an observational tool which can identify meaningful activities among elderly demented nursing home residents and thereby provide staff with more knowledge and possibilities for inviting and engaging residents...

On Determinism and Unambiguity of Weighted Two-way Automata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincent Carnino

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we first study the conversion of weighted two-way automata to one-way automata. We show that this conversion preserves the unambiguity but does not preserve the determinism. Yet, we prove that the conversion of an unambiguous weighted one-way automaton into a two-way automaton leads to a deterministic two-way automaton. As a consequence, we prove that unambiguous weighted two-way automata are equivalent to deterministic weighted two-way automata in commutative semirings.

Relativity on a two-way moving sidewalk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaccarini, Antoine

1989-01-01

Some classical thought experiments in Special Relativity are performed on a two-way moving sidewalk. Since each of the two sides moves at constant speed, this device provides a simple, intuitive way to illustrate relative velocity, time dilation, and length contraction. It should, therefore allow for a better understanding of the basic concepts of the theory. Furthermore, being a closed system the two-way sidewalk exhibits some of the characteristics of a rotating disc, and might therefore be helpful in an introduction to General Relativity. (author)

A two-way regularization method for MEG source reconstruction

KAUST Repository

Tian, Tian Siva; Huang, Jianhua Z.; Shen, Haipeng; Li, Zhimin

2012-01-01

The MEG inverse problem refers to the reconstruction of the neural activity of the brain from magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurements. We propose a two-way regularization (TWR) method to solve the MEG inverse problem under the assumptions that only a small number of locations in space are responsible for the measured signals (focality), and each source time course is smooth in time (smoothness). The focality and smoothness of the reconstructed signals are ensured respectively by imposing a sparsity-inducing penalty and a roughness penalty in the data fitting criterion. A two-stage algorithm is developed for fast computation, where a raw estimate of the source time course is obtained in the first stage and then refined in the second stage by the two-way regularization. The proposed method is shown to be effective on both synthetic and real-world examples. © Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2012.

A two-way regularization method for MEG source reconstruction

KAUST Repository

Tian, Tian Siva

2012-09-01

The MEG inverse problem refers to the reconstruction of the neural activity of the brain from magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurements. We propose a two-way regularization (TWR) method to solve the MEG inverse problem under the assumptions that only a small number of locations in space are responsible for the measured signals (focality), and each source time course is smooth in time (smoothness). The focality and smoothness of the reconstructed signals are ensured respectively by imposing a sparsity-inducing penalty and a roughness penalty in the data fitting criterion. A two-stage algorithm is developed for fast computation, where a raw estimate of the source time course is obtained in the first stage and then refined in the second stage by the two-way regularization. The proposed method is shown to be effective on both synthetic and real-world examples. © Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2012.

Can pain and function be distinguished in the Oxford Hip Score in a meaningful way? : an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.

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Harris, K K; Price, A J; Beard, D J; Fitzpatrick, R; Jenkinson, C; Dawson, J

2014-11-01

The objective of this study was to explore dimensionality of the Oxford Hip Score (OHS) and examine whether self-reported pain and functioning can be distinguished in the form of subscales. This was a secondary data analysis of the UK NHS hospital episode statistics/patient-reported outcome measures dataset containing pre-operative OHS scores on 97 487 patients who were undergoing hip replacement surgery. The proposed number of factors to extract depended on the method of extraction employed. Velicer's Minimum Average Partial test and the Parallel Analysis suggested one factor, the Cattell's scree test and Kaiser-over-1 rule suggested two factors. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the two-factor OHS had most of the items saliently loading either of the two factors. These factors were named 'Pain' and 'Function' and their respective subscales were created. There was some cross-loading of items: 8 (pain on standing up from a chair) and 11 (pain during work). These items were assigned to the 'Pain' subscale. The final 'Pain' subscale consisted of items 1, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. The 'Function' subscale consisted of items 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, with the recommended scoring of the subscales being from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). Cronbach's alpha was 0.855 for the 'Pain' subscale and 0.861 for the 'Function' subscale. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the two-factor model of the OHS had a better fit. However, none of the one-factor or two-factor models was rejected. Factor analyses demonstrated that, in addition to current usage as a single summary scale, separate information on pain and self-reported function can be extracted from the OHS in a meaningful way in the form of subscales. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2014;3:305-9. ©2014 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Comparative analysis of the performance of One-Way and Two-Way urban road networks

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Gheorghe, Carmen

2017-10-01

The fact that the number of vehicles is increasing year after year represents a challenge in road traffic management because it is necessary to adjust the road traffic, in order to prevent any incidents, using mostly the same road infrastructure. At this moment one-way road network provides efficient traffic flow for vehicles but it is not ideal for pedestrians. Therefore, a proper solution must be found and applied when and where it is necessary. Replacing one-way road network with two-way road network may be a viable solution especially if in the area is high pedestrian traffic. The paper aims to highlight the influence of both, one-way and two-way urban road networks through an experimental research which was performed by using traffic data collected in the field. Each of the two scenarios analyzed were based on the same traffic data, the same geometrical conditions of the road (lane width, total road segment width, road slopes, total length of the road network) and also the same signaling conditions (signalised intersection or roundabout). The analysis which involves two-way scenario reveals changes in the performance parameters like delay average, stops average, delay stop average and vehicle speed average. Based on the values obtained, it was possible to perform a comparative analysis between the real, one-way, scenario and the theoretical, two-way, scenario.

Moments Based Framework for Performance Analysis of One-Way/Two-Way CSI-Assisted AF Relaying

KAUST Repository

Xia, Minghua

2012-09-01

When analyzing system performance of conventional one-way relaying or advanced two-way relaying, these two techniques are always dealt with separately and, thus, their performance cannot be compared efficiently. Moreover, for ease of mathematical tractability, channels considered in such studies are generally assumed to be subject to Rayleigh fading or to be Nakagami-$m$ channels with integer fading parameters, which is impractical in typical urban environments. In this paper, we propose a unified moments-based framework for general performance analysis of channel-state-information (CSI) assisted amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying systems. The framework is applicable to both one-way and two-way relaying over arbitrary Nakagami-$m$ fading channels, and it includes previously reported results as special cases. Specifically, the mathematical framework is firstly developed under the umbrella of the weighted harmonic mean of two Gamma-distributed variables in conjunction with the theory of Pad\\\\\\'e approximants. Then, general expressions for the received signal-to-noise ratios of the users in one-way/two-way relaying systems and the corresponding moments, moment generation function, and cumulative density function are established. Subsequently, the mathematical framework is applied to analyze, compare, and gain insights into system performance of one-way and two-way relaying techniques, in terms of outage probability, average symbol error probability, and achievable data rate. All analytical results are corroborated by simulation results as well as previously reported results whenever available, and they are shown to be efficient tools to evaluate and compare system performance of one-way and two-way relaying.

Relay Selection and Resource Allocation in One-Way and Two-Way Cognitive Relay Networks

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2013-05-08

In this work, the problem of relay selection and resource power allocation in one- way and two-way cognitive relay networks using half duplex channels with different relaying protocols is investigated. Optimization problems for both single and multiple relay selection that maximize the sum rate of the secondary network without degrading the quality of service of the primary network by respecting a tolerated interference threshold were formulated. Single relay selection and optimal power allocation for two-way relaying cognitive radio networks using decode-and-forward and amplify-and-forward protocols were studied. Dual decomposition and subgradient methods were used to find the optimal power allocation. The transmission process to exchange two different messages between two transceivers for two-way relaying technique takes place in two time slots. In the first slot, the transceivers transmit their signals simultaneously to the relay. Then, during the second slot the relay broadcasts its signal to the terminals. Moreover, improvement of both spectral and energy efficiency can be achieved compared with the one-way relaying technique. As an extension, a multiple relay selection for both one-way and two-way relaying under cognitive radio scenario using amplify-and-forward were discussed. A strong optimization tool based on genetic and iterative algorithms was employed to solve the 
formulated optimization problems for both single and multiple relay selection, where discrete relay power levels were considered. Simulation results show that the practical and low-complexity heuristic approaches achieve almost the same performance of the optimal relay selection schemes either with discrete or continuous power distributions while providing a considerable saving in terms of computational complexity.

Two-way regularization for MEG source reconstruction via multilevel coordinate descent

KAUST Repository

Siva Tian, Tian

2013-12-01

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) source reconstruction refers to the inverse problem of recovering the neural activity from the MEG time course measurements. A spatiotemporal two-way regularization (TWR) method was recently proposed by Tian et al. to solve this inverse problem and was shown to outperform several one-way regularization methods and spatiotemporal methods. This TWR method is a two-stage procedure that first obtains a raw estimate of the source signals and then refines the raw estimate to ensure spatial focality and temporal smoothness using spatiotemporal regularized matrix decomposition. Although proven to be effective, the performance of two-stage TWR depends on the quality of the raw estimate. In this paper we directly solve the MEG source reconstruction problem using a multivariate penalized regression where the number of variables is much larger than the number of cases. A special feature of this regression is that the regression coefficient matrix has a spatiotemporal two-way structure that naturally invites a two-way penalty. Making use of this structure, we develop a computationally efficient multilevel coordinate descent algorithm to implement the method. This new one-stage TWR method has shown its superiority to the two-stage TWR method in three simulation studies with different levels of complexity and a real-world MEG data analysis. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Deterministic one-way simulation of two-way, real-time cellular automata and its related problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Umeo, H; Morita, K; Sugata, K

1982-06-13

The authors show that for any deterministic two-way, real-time cellular automaton, m, there exists a deterministic one-way cellular automation which can simulate m in twice real-time. Moreover the authors present a new type of deterministic one-way cellular automata, called circular cellular automata, which are computationally equivalent to deterministic two-way cellular automata. 7 references.

Two-way radios and scanners for dummies

CERN Document Server

Silver, H Ward

2013-01-01

Discover a fun new hobby with helpful possibilities Get directions, talk to folks overseas, or find out whether the fish are biting Want to check out the morning news in London, help out in emergencies, or tune in to the big race? Two-way radios open up a world of possibilities - literally. This handy guide tells you about the equipment you need, fills you in on radio etiquette, shows you how to stay legal, and gives you lots of cool ideas for family-friendly radio activities. Discover how to * Use the right radio lingo * Choose and operate different types of radios * Get a license if you n

Making Social Studies Meaningful to Elementary Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Susan

1982-01-01

Describes a unit on Ancient Greece designed to make social studies meaningful to fourth and fifth graders. Individual projects and group activities helped students learn about ancient Greek culture. (AM)

Meaningful community involvement in protected area issues: a dialogue session

Science.gov (United States)

Laurie Yung

2000-01-01

The current effort to rethink public involvement in decision-making processes for federal lands is gaining momentum. Advocates of alternative decision-making processes seek to involve communities in more meaningful ways than traditional NEPA-style public participation. These new processes take the form of citizen monitoring, partnerships, and most often, collaboration...

Separating variables in two-way diffusion equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisch, N.J.; Kruskal, M.D.

1979-10-01

It is shown that solutions to a class of diffusion equations of the two-way type may be found by a method akin to separation of variables. The difficulty with such equations is that the boundary data must be specified partly as initial and partly as final conditions. In contrast to the one-way diffusion equation, where the solution separates only into decaying eigenfunctions, the two-way equations separate into both decaying and growing eigenfunctions. Criteria are set forth for the existence of linear eigenfunctions, which may not be found directly by separating variables. A speculation with interesting ramifications is that the growing and decaying eigenfunctions are separately complete in an appropriate half of the problem domain

Life is pretty meaningful.

Science.gov (United States)

Heintzelman, Samantha J; King, Laura A

2014-09-01

The human experience of meaning in life is widely viewed as a cornerstone of well-being and a central human motivation. Self-reports of meaning in life relate to a host of important functional outcomes. Psychologists have portrayed meaning in life as simultaneously chronically lacking in human life as well as playing an important role in survival. Examining the growing literature on meaning in life, we address the question "How meaningful is life, in general?" We review possible answers from various psychological sources, some of which anticipate that meaning in life should be low and others that it should be high. Summaries of epidemiological data and research using two self-report measures of meaning in life suggest that life is pretty meaningful. Diverse samples rate themselves significantly above the midpoint on self-reports of meaning in life. We suggest that if meaning in life plays a role in adaptation, it must be commonplace, as our analysis suggests. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Students' Meaningful Learning Orientation and Their Meaningful Understandings of Meiosis and Genetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavallo, Ann Liberatore

This 1-week study explored the extent to which high school students (n=140) acquired meaningful understanding of selected biological topics (meiosis and the Punnett square method) and the relationship between these topics. This study: (1) examined "mental modeling" as a technique for measuring students' meaningful understanding of the…

Relay Selection and Resource Allocation in One-Way and Two-Way Cognitive Relay Networks

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2013-01-01

In this work, the problem of relay selection and resource power allocation in one- way and two-way cognitive relay networks using half duplex channels with different relaying protocols is investigated. Optimization problems for both single

Improve the teaching quality by two-way education mode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongyan Shi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Teaching activities contain teaching and learning, and both teachers and students have to work hard to improve the quality of teaching. This essay introduced the basic conception of “two-way and five-ring” mode first, and expatiated on the structure of this mode. The author used her own experiences to combine the teaching mode with the real situation of military school, emphasized teaching itself and talked about some spe-cific plans. This will give a certain extend help in improving the quality of teaching in military school.

Meaningful Share Generation for Increased Number of Secrets in Visual Secret-Sharing Scheme

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Mustafa Ulutas

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new scheme for hiding two halftone secret images into two meaningful shares created from halftone cover images. Meaningful shares are more desirable than noise-like (meaningless shares in Visual Secret Sharing because they look natural and do not attract eavesdroppers' attention. Previous works in the field focus on either increasing number of secrets or creating meaningful shares for one secret image. The method outlined in this paper both increases the number of secrets and creates meaningful shares at the same time. While the contrast ratio of shares is equal to that of Extended Visual Cryptography, two secrets are encoded into two shares as opposed to one secret in the Extended Visual Cryptography. Any two natural-looking images can be used as cover unlike the Halftone Visual Cryptography method where one cover should be the negative of the other cover image and can only encode one secret. Effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by an experiment.

Two-way digital communications

Science.gov (United States)

Glenn, William E.; Daly, Ed

1996-03-01

The communications industry has been rapidly converting from analog to digital communications for audio, video, and data. The initial applications have been concentrating on point-to-multipoint transmission. Currently, a new revolution is occurring in which two-way point-to-point transmission is a rapidly growing market. The system designs for video compression developed for point-to-multipoint transmission are unsuitable for this new market as well as for satellite based video encoding. A new system developed by the Space Communications Technology Center has been designed to address both of these newer applications. An update on the system performance and design will be given.

Modulation of brain activity during action observation: influence of perspective, transitivity and meaningfulness.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sébastien Hétu

Full Text Available The coupling process between observed and performed actions is thought to be performed by a fronto-parietal perception-action system including regions of the inferior frontal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobule. When investigating the influence of the movements' characteristics on this process, most research on action observation has focused on only one particular variable even though the type of movements we observe can vary on several levels. By manipulating the visual perspective, transitivity and meaningfulness of observed movements in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study we aimed at investigating how the type of movements and the visual perspective can modulate brain activity during action observation in healthy individuals. Importantly, we used an active observation task where participants had to subsequently execute or imagine the observed movements. Our results show that the fronto-parietal regions of the perception action system were mostly recruited during the observation of meaningless actions while visual perspective had little influence on the activity within the perception-action system. Simultaneous investigation of several sources of modulation during active action observation is probably an approach that could lead to a greater ecological comprehension of this important sensorimotor process.

Two-Way Gene Interaction From Microarray Data Based on Correlation Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Alavi Majd, Hamid; Talebi, Atefeh; Gilany, Kambiz; Khayyer, Nasibeh

2016-06-01

Gene networks have generated a massive explosion in the development of high-throughput techniques for monitoring various aspects of gene activity. Networks offer a natural way to model interactions between genes, and extracting gene network information from high-throughput genomic data is an important and difficult task. The purpose of this study is to construct a two-way gene network based on parametric and nonparametric correlation coefficients. The first step in constructing a Gene Co-expression Network is to score all pairs of gene vectors. The second step is to select a score threshold and connect all gene pairs whose scores exceed this value. In the foundation-application study, we constructed two-way gene networks using nonparametric methods, such as Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and Blomqvist's measure, and compared them with Pearson's correlation coefficient. We surveyed six genes of venous thrombosis disease, made a matrix entry representing the score for the corresponding gene pair, and obtained two-way interactions using Pearson's correlation, Spearman's rank correlation, and Blomqvist's coefficient. Finally, these methods were compared with Cytoscape, based on BIND, and Gene Ontology, based on molecular function visual methods; R software version 3.2 and Bioconductor were used to perform these methods. Based on the Pearson and Spearman correlations, the results were the same and were confirmed by Cytoscape and GO visual methods; however, Blomqvist's coefficient was not confirmed by visual methods. Some results of the correlation coefficients are not the same with visualization. The reason may be due to the small number of data.

Secrecy in Wireless Information and Power Transfer for One-Way and Two-Way Untrusted Relaying with Friendly Jamming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Xiao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available An untrusted relay system combined with a simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT scheme is considered in one-way and two-way relaying transmission strategies. In the system, two source nodes can only communicate with each other via an untrusted energy harvesting relay node, which sends the message by using its harvested energy from the source nodes. Specifically, we classify the intermediate relay as an eavesdropper into two modes: active eavesdropper and nonactive eavesdropper, depending on whether it has sufficient energy of its own to transmit the message or not. Under a simplified three-node fading wiretap channel setup, the transmit power allocation and power splitting ratio are jointly optimized to minimize the outage probability in the delay-sensitive case and to maximize the average rate in the delay-insensitive case, subject to the average and peak total power constraints. Applying the dual-decomposition method, the optimization problem can be efficiently solved in the delay-sensitive scenario. Moreover, an iterative algorithm is proposed to derive the solution to maximize the average rate in the delay-insensitive scenario. Numerical results demonstrate the performance of system outage probability in the two modes versus different rates and how efficiently the secrecy rate is improved compared with traditional schemes.

Two-Way Regularized Fuzzy Clustering of Multiple Correspondence Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sunmee; Choi, Ji Yeh; Hwang, Heungsun

2017-01-01

Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) is a useful tool for investigating the interrelationships among dummy-coded categorical variables. MCA has been combined with clustering methods to examine whether there exist heterogeneous subclusters of a population, which exhibit cluster-level heterogeneity. These combined approaches aim to classify either observations only (one-way clustering of MCA) or both observations and variable categories (two-way clustering of MCA). The latter approach is favored because its solutions are easier to interpret by providing explicitly which subgroup of observations is associated with which subset of variable categories. Nonetheless, the two-way approach has been built on hard classification that assumes observations and/or variable categories to belong to only one cluster. To relax this assumption, we propose two-way fuzzy clustering of MCA. Specifically, we combine MCA with fuzzy k-means simultaneously to classify a subgroup of observations and a subset of variable categories into a common cluster, while allowing both observations and variable categories to belong partially to multiple clusters. Importantly, we adopt regularized fuzzy k-means, thereby enabling us to decide the degree of fuzziness in cluster memberships automatically. We evaluate the performance of the proposed approach through the analysis of simulated and real data, in comparison with existing two-way clustering approaches.

General immunity and superadditivity of two-way Gaussian quantum cryptography.

Science.gov (United States)

Ottaviani, Carlo; Pirandola, Stefano

2016-03-01

We consider two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution, studying its security against general eavesdropping strategies. Assuming the asymptotic limit of many signals exchanged, we prove that two-way Gaussian protocols are immune to coherent attacks. More precisely we show the general superadditivity of the two-way security thresholds, which are proven to be higher than the corresponding one-way counterparts in all cases. We perform the security analysis first reducing the general eavesdropping to a two-mode coherent Gaussian attack, and then showing that the superadditivity is achieved by exploiting the random on/off switching of the two-way quantum communication. This allows the parties to choose the appropriate communication instances to prepare the key, accordingly to the tomography of the quantum channel. The random opening and closing of the circuit represents, in fact, an additional degree of freedom allowing the parties to convert, a posteriori, the two-mode correlations of the eavesdropping into noise. The eavesdropper is assumed to have no access to the on/off switching and, indeed, cannot adapt her attack. We explicitly prove that this mechanism enhances the security performance, no matter if the eavesdropper performs collective or coherent attacks.

Behavioral meaningful opioidergic stimulation activates kappa receptor gene expression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teodorov, E.; Ferrari, M.F.R.; Fior-Chadi, D.R.; Camarini, R.; Felício, L.F.

2012-01-01

The periaqueductal gray (PAG) has been reported to be a location for opioid regulation of pain and a potential site for behavioral selection in females. Opioid-mediated behavioral and physiological responses differ according to the activity of opioid receptor subtypes. The present study investigated the effects of the peripheral injection of the kappa-opioid receptor agonist U69593 into the dorsal subcutaneous region of animals on maternal behavior and on Oprk1 gene activity in the PAG of female rats. Female Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g at the beginning of the study were randomly divided into 2 groups for maternal behavior and gene expression experiments. On day 5, pups were removed at 7:00 am and placed in another home cage that was distant from their mother. Thirty minutes after removing the pups, the dams were treated with U69593 (0.15 mg/kg, sc) or 0.9% saline (up to 1 mL/kg) and after 30 min were evaluated in the maternal behavior test. Latencies in seconds for pup retrieval, grouping, crouching, and full maternal behavior were scored. The results showed that U69593 administration inhibited maternal behavior (P < 0.05) because a lower percentage of U69593 group dams showed retrieval of first pup, retrieving all pups, grouping, crouching and displaying full maternal behavior compared to the saline group. Opioid gene expression was evaluated using real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A single injection of U69593 increased Oprk1 PAG expression in both virgin (P < 0.05) and lactating female rats (P < 0.01), with no significant effect on Oprm1 or Oprd1 gene activity. Thus, the expression of kappa-opioid receptors in the PAG may be modulated by single opioid receptor stimulation and behavioral meaningful opioidergic transmission in the adult female might occur simultaneously to specific changes in gene expression of kappa-opioid receptor subtype. This is yet another alert for the complex role of the opioid system in female

Behavioral meaningful opioidergic stimulation activates kappa receptor gene expression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teodorov, E. [Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Ferrari, M.F.R. [Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Fior-Chadi, D.R. [Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Camarini, R. [Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Felício, L.F. [Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2012-06-01

The periaqueductal gray (PAG) has been reported to be a location for opioid regulation of pain and a potential site for behavioral selection in females. Opioid-mediated behavioral and physiological responses differ according to the activity of opioid receptor subtypes. The present study investigated the effects of the peripheral injection of the kappa-opioid receptor agonist U69593 into the dorsal subcutaneous region of animals on maternal behavior and on Oprk1 gene activity in the PAG of female rats. Female Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g at the beginning of the study were randomly divided into 2 groups for maternal behavior and gene expression experiments. On day 5, pups were removed at 7:00 am and placed in another home cage that was distant from their mother. Thirty minutes after removing the pups, the dams were treated with U69593 (0.15 mg/kg, sc) or 0.9% saline (up to 1 mL/kg) and after 30 min were evaluated in the maternal behavior test. Latencies in seconds for pup retrieval, grouping, crouching, and full maternal behavior were scored. The results showed that U69593 administration inhibited maternal behavior (P < 0.05) because a lower percentage of U69593 group dams showed retrieval of first pup, retrieving all pups, grouping, crouching and displaying full maternal behavior compared to the saline group. Opioid gene expression was evaluated using real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A single injection of U69593 increased Oprk1 PAG expression in both virgin (P < 0.05) and lactating female rats (P < 0.01), with no significant effect on Oprm1 or Oprd1 gene activity. Thus, the expression of kappa-opioid receptors in the PAG may be modulated by single opioid receptor stimulation and behavioral meaningful opioidergic transmission in the adult female might occur simultaneously to specific changes in gene expression of kappa-opioid receptor subtype. This is yet another alert for the complex role of the opioid system in female

Behavioral meaningful opioidergic stimulation activates kappa receptor gene expression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Teodorov

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The periaqueductal gray (PAG has been reported to be a location for opioid regulation of pain and a potential site for behavioral selection in females. Opioid-mediated behavioral and physiological responses differ according to the activity of opioid receptor subtypes. The present study investigated the effects of the peripheral injection of the kappa-opioid receptor agonist U69593 into the dorsal subcutaneous region of animals on maternal behavior and on Oprk1 gene activity in the PAG of female rats. Female Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g at the beginning of the study were randomly divided into 2 groups for maternal behavior and gene expression experiments. On day 5, pups were removed at 7:00 am and placed in another home cage that was distant from their mother. Thirty minutes after removing the pups, the dams were treated with U69593 (0.15 mg/kg, sc or 0.9% saline (up to 1 mL/kg and after 30 min were evaluated in the maternal behavior test. Latencies in seconds for pup retrieval, grouping, crouching, and full maternal behavior were scored. The results showed that U69593 administration inhibited maternal behavior (P < 0.05 because a lower percentage of kappa group dams showed retrieval of first pup, retrieving all pups, grouping, crouching and displaying full maternal behavior compared to the saline group. Opioid gene expression was evaluated using real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR. A single injection of U69593 increased Oprk1 PAG expression in both virgin (P < 0.05 and lactating female rats (P < 0.01, with no significant effect on Oprm1 or Oprd1 gene activity. Thus, the expression of kappa-opioid receptors in the PAG may be modulated by single opioid receptor stimulation and behavioral meaningful opioidergic transmission in the adult female might occur simultaneously to specific changes in gene expression of kappa-opioid receptor subtype. This is yet another alert for the complex role of the opioid system in

Annotating spatio-temporal datasets for meaningful analysis in the Web

Science.gov (United States)

Stasch, Christoph; Pebesma, Edzer; Scheider, Simon

2014-05-01

More and more environmental datasets that vary in space and time are available in the Web. This comes along with an advantage of using the data for other purposes than originally foreseen, but also with the danger that users may apply inappropriate analysis procedures due to lack of important assumptions made during the data collection process. In order to guide towards a meaningful (statistical) analysis of spatio-temporal datasets available in the Web, we have developed a Higher-Order-Logic formalism that captures some relevant assumptions in our previous work [1]. It allows to proof on meaningful spatial prediction and aggregation in a semi-automated fashion. In this poster presentation, we will present a concept for annotating spatio-temporal datasets available in the Web with concepts defined in our formalism. Therefore, we have defined a subset of the formalism as a Web Ontology Language (OWL) pattern. It allows capturing the distinction between the different spatio-temporal variable types, i.e. point patterns, fields, lattices and trajectories, that in turn determine whether a particular dataset can be interpolated or aggregated in a meaningful way using a certain procedure. The actual annotations that link spatio-temporal datasets with the concepts in the ontology pattern are provided as Linked Data. In order to allow data producers to add the annotations to their datasets, we have implemented a Web portal that uses a triple store at the backend to store the annotations and to make them available in the Linked Data cloud. Furthermore, we have implemented functions in the statistical environment R to retrieve the RDF annotations and, based on these annotations, to support a stronger typing of spatio-temporal datatypes guiding towards a meaningful analysis in R. [1] Stasch, C., Scheider, S., Pebesma, E., Kuhn, W. (2014): "Meaningful spatial prediction and aggregation", Environmental Modelling & Software, 51, 149-165.

Assessing Assessment: In Pursuit of Meaningful Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Rootman-le Grange, Ilse; Blackie, Margaret A. L.

2018-01-01

The challenge of supporting the development of meaningful learning is prevalent in chemistry education research. One of the core activities used in the learning process is assessments. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how the semantics dimension of Legitimation Code Theory can be a helpful tool to critique the quality of assessments and…

Probability representations of a class of two-way diffusions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clifford, P.; Green, N.J.P. [Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom); Feng, J.F. [COGS, Sussex University, Brighton (United Kingdom); Wei, G. [Department of Mathematics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)

2002-07-19

There has been little progress in the analysis of two-way diffusion in the last few decades due to the difficulties brought by the interface section similar to a free boundary condition. In this paper, however, the equivalent probability model is considered and the interface section is precisely described by an integral equation. The solution of two-way diffusion is then expressed in an integral form with the integrand being the solution of a classical first passage time model and the solution of a one-dimensional integral equation which is relatively easier to solve. The exact expression of the two-way diffusion enables us to find the explicit solution of the model with infinite horizontal boundaries and without drifting. (author)

If meaningfulness is not always fulfilling, why then does it matter?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Note

2014-12-01

Full Text Available We start from a quandary in the field of meaningfulness introduced by Susan Wolf, who attempts to make clear why meaning in life would matter. In common sense terms, fulfilment is considered to play a main role in the conceptualisation of meaningfulness. While initially taking this also for granted Wolf gradually comprehends that fulfilment is not the overall reason why meaning in life matters. She leaves however open the paramount question of what would make it then so particular. In this article, we explore this query to a fuller extent, and maintain that a promising road to an answer lays in the understanding that meaning in life is directive in an ineffable way. In order to fathom what this entails, a distinction between meaningfulness’ and ‘meaning in life’ will prove helpful. Both have often been considered synonyms, but we argue that they are quite distinct, yet intrinsically related. Starting from a subject that is mainly discussed in analytic philosophy, we build a bridge to phenomenological praxis, indicating that we can only understand its core function - its ineffable way of being directive - through phenomenology.

Two types of mental fatigue affect spontaneous oscillatory brain activities in different ways

OpenAIRE

Shigihara, Yoshihito; Tanaka, Masaaki; Ishii, Akira; Kanai, Etsuko; Funakura, Masami; Watanabe, Yasuyoshi

2013-01-01

Abstract Background Fatigue has a multi-factorial nature. We examined the effects of two types of mental fatigue on spontaneous oscillatory brain activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Methods Participants were randomly assigned to two groups in a single-blinded, crossover fashion to perform two types of mental fatigue-inducing experiments. Each experiment consisted of a 30-min fatigue-inducing 0- or 2-back test session and two evaluation sessions performed just before and after the fat...

In search of meaningfulness: nostalgia as an antidote to boredom.

Science.gov (United States)

van Tilburg, Wijnand A P; Igou, Eric R; Sedikides, Constantine

2013-06-01

We formulated, tested, and supported, in 6 studies, a theoretical model according to which individuals use nostalgia as a way to reinject meaningfulness in their lives when they experience boredom. Studies 1-3 established that induced boredom causes increases in nostalgia when participants have the opportunity to revert to their past. Studies 4 and 5 examined search for meaning as a mediator of the effect of boredom on nostalgia. Specifically, Study 4 showed that search for meaning mediates the effect of state boredom on nostalgic memory content, whereas Study 5 demonstrated that search for meaning mediates the effect of dispositional boredom on dispositional nostalgia. Finally, Study 6 examined the meaning reestablishment potential of nostalgia during boredom: Nostalgia mediates the effect of boredom on sense of meaningfulness and presence of meaning in one's life. Nostalgia counteracts the meaninglessness that individuals experience when they are bored.

Representing and Practising Meaningful Differences in a Well-Structured but Complex Art Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Cunliffe, Leslie

2010-01-01

This paper conceptualizes the secondary art curriculum as a well-structured but complex knowledge-domain, with the aim of emphasizing meaningful differences in the way creative grammar operates in the following gatherings of art practices: Pre-historic and non-European cultures; Ancient and European cultures before c. 1800; Romantic and Modern…

Meaningful coping with chronic pain: Exploring the interplay between goal violation, meaningful coping strategies and life satisfaction in chronic pain patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Dezutter, Jessie; Dewitte, Laura; Thauvoye, Evalyne; Vanhooren, Siebrecht

2017-02-01

Trying to cope with chronic pain is a highly demanding and challenging task and pain patients often need to reformulate goals or aspirations due to their pain condition. This goal violation is often related with experienced distress and requires coping processes in order to decrease the distress and stimulate a healthy adaptation. Some scholars, however, argued that in so-called unsolvable or irreparable stressors such as chronic pain, conventional coping strategies like problem-focused coping might not be the most adaptive option. In these situations, meaningful coping strategies attempting to transform the meaning of the stressful experience would be more accurate. In this study, we aim to test if goal violation triggers meaningful coping strategies over time and whether engagement in these meaningful coping strategies result in improved life satisfaction, as an indicator of adaptation. A longitudinal three wave study in a sample of paint patients (n = 125) tests whether goal violation triggers positive reappraisal and downward comparison, two possible meaningful coping strategies. The study furthermore tests if engagement in these strategies results in a better adaptation to the pain condition, reflected in higher life satisfaction. Results partially supported our hypotheses by pointing to the benevolent role of downward comparison on life satisfaction via decreased goal violation of pain patients. Our findings however did also show that positive reappraisal predicted lower life satisfaction via increased levels of appraised goal violation which questions the role of positive reappraisal as a genuine meaningful coping strategy. Implications and limitations are discussed. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Meaningful Engagement in Scientific Practices: How Classroom Communities Develop Authentic Epistemologies for Science

Science.gov (United States)

Krist, Christina Rae

Recent reforms in science education, based on decades of learning research, emphasize engaging students in science and engineering practices as the means to develop and refine disciplinary ideas. These reforms advocate an epistemic shift in how school science is done: from students learning about science ideas to students figuring out core science ideas. This shift is challenging to implement: how do we bring the goals and practices of a discipline into classroom communities in meaningful ways that go beyond simply following rote scientific procedures? In this dissertation, I investigate how classroom communities learn to engage meaningfully in scientific practices, characterizing their engagement as a process of epistemic learning. I take a situated perspective that defines learning as shifts in how members engage in communities of practice. I examine students' epistemic learning as a function of their participation in a classroom community of scientific practice along two dimensions: what they do, or the practical epistemic heuristics they use to guide how they build knowledge; and who they are, or how ownership and authorship of ideas is negotiated and affectively marked through interaction. I focus on a cohort of students as they move from 6th to 8 th grade. I analyze three science units, one from each grade level, to look at the epistemic heuristics implicit in student and teacher talk and how the use of those heuristics shifts over time. In addition, I examine one anomalous 8th grade class to look at how students and the teacher position themselves and each other with respect to the ideas in their classroom and how that positioning supports epistemic learning. Taken together, these analyses demonstrate how students' engagement in scientific practices evolves in terms of what they do and who they are in relation to the knowledge and ideas in their classroom over time. I propose a model for epistemic learning that articulates how classroom communities develop

Numerical simulation of the optimal two-mode attacks for two-way continuous-variable quantum cryptography in reverse reconciliation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yichen; Zhao, Yijia; Yu, Song; Li, Zhengyu; Guo, Hong

2017-01-01

We analyze the security of the two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol in reverse reconciliation against general two-mode attacks, which represent all accessible attacks at fixed channel parameters. Rather than against one specific attack model, the expression of secret key rates of the two-way protocol are derived against all accessible attack models. It is found that there is an optimal two-mode attack to minimize the performance of the protocol in terms of both secret key rates and maximal transmission distances. We identify the optimal two-mode attack, give the specific attack model of the optimal two-mode attack and show the performance of the two-way protocol against the optimal two-mode attack. Even under the optimal two-mode attack, the performances of two-way protocol are still better than the corresponding one-way protocol, which shows the advantage of making double use of the quantum channel and the potential of long-distance secure communication using a two-way protocol. (paper)

Mutually Beneficial Foreign Language Learning: Creating Meaningful Interactions through Video-Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Fumie; Spring, Ryan; Mori, Chikako

2016-01-01

Providing learners of a foreign language with meaningful opportunities for interactions, specifically with native speakers, is especially challenging for instructors. One way to overcome this obstacle is through video-synchronous computer-mediated communication tools such as Skype software. This study reports quantitative and qualitative data from…

Decoy-state quantum key distribution with two-way classical postprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Xiongfeng; Fung, C.-H.F.; Chen Kai; Lo, H.-K.; Dupuis, Frederic; Tamaki, Kiyoshi

2006-01-01

Decoy states have recently been proposed as a useful method for substantially improving the performance of quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols when a coherent-state source is used. Previously, data postprocessing schemes based on one-way classical communications were considered for use with decoy states. In this paper, we develop two data postprocessing schemes for the decoy-state method using two-way classical communications. Our numerical simulation (using parameters from a specific QKD experiment as an example) results show that our scheme is able to extend the maximal secure distance from 142 km (using only one-way classical communications with decoy states) to 181 km. The second scheme is able to achieve a 10% greater key generation rate in the whole regime of distances. We conclude that decoy-state QKD with two-way classical postprocessing is of practical interest

Wonderful Life : Exploring Wonder in Meaningful Moments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Goor, Marie Jacqueline; Sools, Anna Maria; Westerhof, Gerben Johan; Bohlmeijer, Ernst Thomas

In this article, we bring the study of meaning together with the emerging field of study focusing on the emotions of wonder: wonder, enchantment, awe, and being moved. It is in meaningful moments that these two meet, and in our empirical study, we used the emotions of wonder as a lens to investigate

Self-Determination and Meaningful Work: Exploring Socioeconomic Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blake A Allan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study examined a model of meaningful work among a diverse sample of working adults. From the perspectives of Self-Determination Theory and the Psychology of Working Framework, we tested a structural model with social class and work volition predicting SDT motivation variables, which in turn predicted meaningful work. Partially supporting hypotheses, work volition was positively related to internal regulation and negatively related to amotivation, whereas social class was positively related to external regulation and amotivation. In turn, internal regulation was positively related to meaningful work, whereas external regulation and amotivation were negatively related to meaningful work. Indirect effects from work volition to meaningful work via internal regulation and amotivation were significant, and indirect effects from social class to meaningful work via external regulation and amotivaiton were significant. This study highlights the important relations between SDT motivation variables and meaningful work, especially the large positive relation between internal regulation and meaningful work. However, results also reveal that work volition and social class may play critical roles in predicting internal regulation, external regulation, and amotivation.

Self-Determination and Meaningful Work: Exploring Socioeconomic Constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Allan, Blake A; Autin, Kelsey L; Duffy, Ryan D

2016-01-01

This study examined a model of meaningful work among a diverse sample of working adults. From the perspectives of Self-Determination Theory and the Psychology of Working Framework, we tested a structural model with social class and work volition predicting SDT motivation variables, which in turn predicted meaningful work. Partially supporting hypotheses, work volition was positively related to internal regulation and negatively related to amotivation, whereas social class was positively related to external regulation and amotivation. In turn, internal regulation was positively related to meaningful work, whereas external regulation and amotivation were negatively related to meaningful work. Indirect effects from work volition to meaningful work via internal regulation and amotivation were significant, and indirect effects from social class to meaningful work via external regulation and amotivation were significant. This study highlights the important relations between SDT motivation variables and meaningful work, especially the large positive relation between internal regulation and meaningful work. However, results also reveal that work volition and social class may play critical roles in predicting internal regulation, external regulation, and amotivation.

Designing Meaningful Game Experiences for Rehabilitation and Sustainable Mobility Settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Gabrielli

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the approach followed in two ongoing research projects aimed to designing meaningful game-based experiences to support home rehabilitation, eco-sustainable mobility goals and more in general better daily lifestyles. We first introduce the need for designing meaningful game-based experiences that are well-connected to the relevant non-game settings and can be customized by/for users, then, we show examples of how this approach can be realized in the rehabilitation and sustainable mobility contexts.

A Continuum of Learning: From Rote Memorization to Meaningful Learning in Organic Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Grove, Nathaniel P.; Bretz, Stacey Lowery

2012-01-01

The Assimilation Theory of Ausubel and Novak has typically been used in the research literature to describe two extremes to learning chemistry: meaningful learning "versus" rote memorization. It is unlikely, however, that such discrete categories of learning exist. Rote and meaningful learning, rather, are endpoints along a continuum of…

Two-way against one-way nesting for climate downscaling in Europe and the Mediterranean region using LMDZ4

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shan; Li, Laurent; Le Treut, Hervé

2016-04-01

In the 21st century, the estimated surface temperature warming projected by General Circulation Models (GCMs) is between 0.3 and 4.8 °C, depending on the scenario considered. GCMs exhibit a good representation of climate on a global scale, but they are not able to reproduce regional climate processes with the same level of accuracy. Society and policymakers need model projections to define climate change adaptation and mitigation policies on a global, regional and local scale. Climate downscaling is mostly conducted with a regional model nested into the outputs of a global model. This one-way nesting approach is generally used in the climate community without feedbacks from Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to GCMs. This lack of interaction between the two models may affect regional modes of variability, in particular those with a boundary conflict. The objective of this study is to evaluate a two-way nesting configuration that makes an interactive coupling between the RCM and the GCM, an approach against the traditional configuration of one-way nesting system. An additional aim of this work is to examine if the two-way nesting system can improve the RCM performance. The atmospheric component of the IPSL integrated climate model (LMDZ) is configured at both regional (LMDZ-regional) and global (LMDZ-global) scales. The two models have the same configuration for the dynamical framework and the physical forcings. The climatology values of sea surface temperature (SST) are prescribed for the two models. The stretched-grid of LMDZ-global is applied to a region defined by Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa and Western North Atlantic. To ensure a good statistical significance of results, all simulations last at least 80 years. The nesting process of models is performed by a relaxation procedure of a time scale of 90 minutes. In the case of two-way nesting, the exchange between the two models is every two hours. The relaxation procedure induces a boundary conflict

Two-Way Satellite Time Transfer Between USNO and PTB

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Piester, D; Bauch, A; Becker, J; Polewka, T; McKinley, A; Breakiron, L; Smith, A; Fonville, B; Matsakis, D

2005-01-01

Two completely independent two-way time and frequency transfer (TWSTFT) links have been established between the institutions of USNO and PTB, with transponder frequencies in the Ku-band and X-band, respectively...

Measuring meaningful learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Galloway, Kelli R.

The undergraduate chemistry laboratory has been an essential component in chemistry education for over a century. The literature includes reports on investigations of singular aspects laboratory learning and attempts to measure the efficacy of reformed laboratory curriculum as well as faculty goals for laboratory learning which found common goals among instructors for students to learn laboratory skills, techniques, experimental design, and to develop critical thinking skills. These findings are important for improving teaching and learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory, but research is needed to connect the faculty goals to student perceptions. This study was designed to explore students' ideas about learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Novak's Theory of Meaningful Learning was used as a guide for the data collection and analysis choices for this research. Novak's theory states that in order for meaningful learning to occur the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains must be integrated. The psychomotor domain is inherent in the chemistry laboratory, but the extent to which the cognitive and affective domains are integrated is unknown. For meaningful learning to occur in the laboratory, students must actively integrate both the cognitive domain and the affective domains into the "doing" of their laboratory work. The Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) was designed to measure students' cognitive and affective expectations and experiences within the context of conducting experiments in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Evidence for the validity and reliability of the data generated by the MLLI were collected from multiple quantitative studies: a one semester study at one university, a one semester study at 15 colleges and universities across the United States, and a longitudinal study where the MLLI was administered 6 times during two years of general and organic chemistry laboratory courses. Results from

Two-way and three-way approaches to ultra high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array dataset for the quantitative resolution of a two-component mixture containing ciprofloxacin and ornidazole.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinç, Erdal; Ertekin, Zehra Ceren; Büker, Eda

2016-09-01

Two-way and three-way calibration models were applied to ultra high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array data with coeluted peaks in the same wavelength and time regions for the simultaneous quantitation of ciprofloxacin and ornidazole in tablets. The chromatographic data cube (tensor) was obtained by recording chromatographic spectra of the standard and sample solutions containing ciprofloxacin and ornidazole with sulfadiazine as an internal standard as a function of time and wavelength. Parallel factor analysis and trilinear partial least squares were used as three-way calibrations for the decomposition of the tensor, whereas three-way unfolded partial least squares was applied as a two-way calibration to the unfolded dataset obtained from the data array of ultra high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection. The validity and ability of two-way and three-way analysis methods were tested by analyzing validation samples: synthetic mixture, interday and intraday samples, and standard addition samples. Results obtained from two-way and three-way calibrations were compared to those provided by traditional ultra high performance liquid chromatography. The proposed methods, parallel factor analysis, trilinear partial least squares, unfolded partial least squares, and traditional ultra high performance liquid chromatography were successfully applied to the quantitative estimation of the solid dosage form containing ciprofloxacin and ornidazole. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Doing the Project and Learning the Content: Designing Project-Based Science Curricula for Meaningful Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Kanter, David E.

2010-01-01

Project-based science curricula can improve students' usable or meaningful understanding of the science content underlying a project. However, such curricula designed around "performances" wherein students design or make something do not always do this. We researched ways to design performance project-based science curricula (pPBSc) to better…

Social networking for language learners: Creating meaningful output with Web 2.0 tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Chartrand

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The Internet has the potential to provide language learners with vast resources of authentic written, audio, and video materials to supplement lessons. Educators can find a wide assortment of materials for learners to study in class or after class for independent learning and to encourage learner autonomy. More recently, however, the immense popularity of social networking websites has created new opportunities for language learners to interact in authentic ways that were previously difficult to achieve. Advances in technology mean that today, learners of a language can easily interact with their peers in meaningful practice that helps foster language acquisition and motivation. That is, tasks that make use of Web 2.0 interactivity can significantly raise students’ potential to generate meaningful output and stimulate their interest in language learning.

Meaningfulness of Service and Marital Satisfaction in Army Couples

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, Jeffrey S.; Renshaw, Keith D.; Allen, Elizabeth S.; Markman, Howard J.; Stanley, Scott M.

2015-01-01

The vast numbers of military service members who have been deployed since 2001 highlights the need to better understand relationships of military couples. A unique consideration in military couples is the concept of meaningfulness of service, or the value service members and their partners place on military service in spite of the sacrifices it requires. In a sample of 606 Army couples, we used path analysis to examine how male service members’ and female spouses’ perceived meaningfulness of service added to the prediction of marital satisfaction in both members of the couple, when accounting for service members’ PTSD symptoms. Spouses’ perceived meaningfulness of service was linked with higher marital satisfaction in spouses, regardless of service member’s perceived meaningfulness of service. Service members’ perceived meaningfulness of service was also associated with increased marital satisfaction in service members, but only when their spouses also perceived higher meaningfulness. There were no significant interactions between service members’ PTSD and either partner’s perceived meaningfulness. Implications for enhanced attention to spousal perceptions of meaningfulness of service are discussed. PMID:25046347

Meaningfulness of service and marital satisfaction in Army couples.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, Jeffrey S; Renshaw, Keith D; Allen, Elizabeth S; Markman, Howard J; Stanley, Scott M

2014-10-01

The vast numbers of military service members who have been deployed since 2001 highlights the need to better understand relationships of military couples. A unique consideration in military couples is the concept of meaningfulness of service, or the value service members and their partners place on military service in spite of the sacrifices it requires. In a sample of 606 Army couples, the authors used path analysis to examine how male service members' and female spouses' perceived meaningfulness of service added to the prediction of marital satisfaction in both members of the couple, when accounting for service members' PTSD symptoms. Spouses' perceived meaningfulness of service was linked with higher marital satisfaction in spouses, regardless of service member's perceived meaningfulness of service. Service members' perceived meaningfulness of service was also associated with increased marital satisfaction in service members, but only when their spouses also perceived higher meaningfulness. There were no significant interactions between service members' PTSD and either partner's perceived meaningfulness. Implications for enhanced attention to spousal perceptions of meaningfulness of service are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationship between meaningful work and job performance in nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Ling

2018-04-01

The present study was designed to determine the relationship between meaningful work and job performance, and the impact of meaningful work on nursing care quality. Meaningful work has been suggested as a significant factor affecting job performance, but the relationship has never been studied in nurses in China. A descriptive correlational study was designed to assess the level of meaningful work, tasks, and contextual performance as well as their relationships. We used a stratified random-sampling approach to enrol nurses from hospitals. Multivariate regression analysis was applied to determine the relationship between meaningful work and their demographic data. There were significant, positive relationships between meaningful work and task performance and contextual performance. Education level, work unit, and employment type influenced meaningful work. The work motivation score of the nurses was lower than that of the other 2 dimensions, and a negative work motivation score negatively influenced job performance. Improving meaningful work and providing more support and assistance could improve nurse performance, thereby improving the quality of nursing care. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

One-way versus two-way text messaging on improving medication adherence: meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Wald, David S; Butt, Shahena; Bestwick, Jonathan P

2015-10-01

Mobile telephone text messaging is a simple potential solution to the failure to take medications as directed. There is uncertainty over the effectiveness of 1-way text messaging (sending text message reminders only) compared with 2-way text messaging (sending reminders and receiving replies confirming whether medication has been taken) as a means of improving medication adherence. A meta-analysis of 8 randomized trials (1994 patients) that tested the effectiveness of text messaging on medication adherence was performed. The trials were divided into 2 groups: trials using 1-way text messaging versus no text messaging and trials using 2-way text messaging versus no text messaging. The summary estimates of the effect of the 2 methods of text messaging (1-way or 2-way) were compared. The summary relative risk estimate was 1.04 (95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.11) for 1-way text messaging and 1.23 (95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.35) for 2-way text messaging. The difference in effect between the 2 methods was statistically significant (P = .007). Two-way text messaging is associated with substantially improved medication adherence compared with 1-way text messaging. This has important implications in the provision of mobile-based messaging in the management of patients taking medication for the prevention of chronic disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigation of pedestrian crashes on two-way two-lane rural roads in Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tulu, Getu Segni; Washington, Simon; Haque, Md Mazharul; King, Mark J

2015-05-01

Understanding pedestrian crash causes and contributing factors in developing countries is critically important as they account for about 55% of all traffic crashes. Not surprisingly, considerable attention in the literature has been paid to road traffic crash prediction models and methodologies in developing countries of late. Despite this interest, there are significant challenges confronting safety managers in developing countries. For example, in spite of the prominence of pedestrian crashes occurring on two-way two-lane rural roads, it has proven difficult to develop pedestrian crash prediction models due to a lack of both traffic and pedestrian exposure data. This general lack of available data has further hampered identification of pedestrian crash causes and subsequent estimation of pedestrian safety performance functions. The challenges are similar across developing nations, where little is known about the relationship between pedestrian crashes, traffic flow, and road environment variables on rural two-way roads, and where unique predictor variables may be needed to capture the unique crash risk circumstances. This paper describes pedestrian crash safety performance functions for two-way two-lane rural roads in Ethiopia as a function of traffic flow, pedestrian flows, and road geometry characteristics. In particular, random parameter negative binomial model was used to investigate pedestrian crashes. The models and their interpretations make important contributions to road crash analysis and prevention in developing countries. They also assist in the identification of the contributing factors to pedestrian crashes, with the intent to identify potential design and operational improvements. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Two-way visible light communication and illumination with LEDs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, S.; Pandharipande, A.; Willems, F.M.J.

2017-01-01

Visible light communications (VLC) with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has attracted applications, such as data communications, lighting control, and light interaction. In this paper, we propose a system by which two LED devices are used for two-way VLC while also providing illumination. We consider

Reaping the benefits of meaningful work: The mediating versus moderating role of work engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Matthew J; Jiang, Lixin

2017-08-01

This study examined whether meaningful work may improve one's quality of life outside of the workplace (i.e., work-to-life enrichment). More importantly, we proposed and tested competing hypotheses regarding the role of work engagement in the relationship between meaningful work and work-to-life enrichment. Specifically, we investigated whether work engagement served as a mediator of this relationship, as suggested by the job demands-resources model, or instead a moderator, as suggested by conservation of resources theory. Two-wave survey data were collected from 194 respondents recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Analyses showed that meaningful work was positively related to work-to-life enrichment over time (i.e., 3 months later). Additionally, work engagement mediated but did not moderate the relationship between meaningful work at Time 1 and work-to-life enrichment at Time 2. We suggest that organizations foster a sense of meaningfulness in employees to facilitate engagement and in turn enrich employees' lives beyond the workplace. Therefore, not only organizations, but individuals as well may reap the benefits of meaningful work. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Two-way text messaging: an interactive mobile learning environment in higher education

OpenAIRE

Premadasa, H. K. Salinda; Meegama, R. G. N.

2016-01-01

Short messaging service (SMS) is perhaps the most popular mobile technology prevalent among students in higher education due to its ubiquitous nature and the capability of two-way communication. However, a major limitation in two-way text messaging is sending back a part of received data with the reply message. This limitation results in users of a mobile learning environment being unable to reply back to the correct destination. This article presents a two-way text messaging system that can ...

Audio-Visual and Meaningful Semantic Context Enhancements in Older and Younger Adults.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten E Smayda

Full Text Available Speech perception is critical to everyday life. Oftentimes noise can degrade a speech signal; however, because of the cues available to the listener, such as visual and semantic cues, noise rarely prevents conversations from continuing. The interaction of visual and semantic cues in aiding speech perception has been studied in young adults, but the extent to which these two cues interact for older adults has not been studied. To investigate the effect of visual and semantic cues on speech perception in older and younger adults, we recruited forty-five young adults (ages 18-35 and thirty-three older adults (ages 60-90 to participate in a speech perception task. Participants were presented with semantically meaningful and anomalous sentences in audio-only and audio-visual conditions. We hypothesized that young adults would outperform older adults across SNRs, modalities, and semantic contexts. In addition, we hypothesized that both young and older adults would receive a greater benefit from a semantically meaningful context in the audio-visual relative to audio-only modality. We predicted that young adults would receive greater visual benefit in semantically meaningful contexts relative to anomalous contexts. However, we predicted that older adults could receive a greater visual benefit in either semantically meaningful or anomalous contexts. Results suggested that in the most supportive context, that is, semantically meaningful sentences presented in the audiovisual modality, older adults performed similarly to young adults. In addition, both groups received the same amount of visual and meaningful benefit. Lastly, across groups, a semantically meaningful context provided more benefit in the audio-visual modality relative to the audio-only modality, and the presence of visual cues provided more benefit in semantically meaningful contexts relative to anomalous contexts. These results suggest that older adults can perceive speech as well as younger

Dealing with Activism in Canada: An Ideal Cultural Fit for the Two-Way Symmetrical Public Relations Model.

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Guiniven, John E.

2002-01-01

Notes that disputes are seen as much less confrontational, much less zero-sum games in Canada than in the United States. Interviews 15 communications and public relations practitioners and professors with experiences on both sides of the 49th parallel and reviews relevant literature. Concludes that the greater acceptance of two-way symmetrical…

Two-way quantum key distribution at telecommunication wavelength

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Rupesh; Lucamarini, Marco; Di Giuseppe, Giovanni; Natali, Riccardo; Mancini, Giorgio; Tombesi, Paolo

2008-01-01

We report on a quantum key distribution effected with a two-way deterministic protocol over a standard telecommunication fiber. Despite the common belief of a prohibitive loss rate for such a scheme, our results show its feasibility on distances of few tenths of kilometers

The meaningfulness of participating in support groups for informal caregivers of older adults with dementia: a systematic review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauritzen, Jette; Pedersen, Preben Ulrich; Sørensen, Erik Elgaard

2015-01-01

of participants: Informal caregivers of older adults aged 65 years and over with dementia. The informal caregiver was a family member, and care was performed at home. Phenomena of interest: How the informal caregivers perceived the meaningfulness of participating in support groups. The setting was all locations......BACKGROUND Informal caregivers who perform at-home care of older people with dementia might have feelings of a meaningless existence, burden, anxiety, stress and fatigue. Support groups are considered an especially effective and economical way to relieve informal caregivers’ stress and burden......, although it is unclear if participating in group meetings produces a meaningful outcome for the informal caregiver. OBJECTIVES To identify the meaningfulness of participating in support groups for informal caregivers of older adults with dementia living in their own home. INCLUSION CRITERIA Types...

The Multicultural Science Framework: Research on Innovative Two-Way Immersion Science Classrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadi-Tabassum, Samina

2000-01-01

Reviews the different approaches to multicultural science teaching that have emerged in the past decade, focusing on the Spanish-English two-way immersion classroom, which meets the needs of Spanish speakers learning English and introduces students to the idea of collaboration across languages and cultures. Two urban two-way immersion classrooms…

Benchmarking road safety performance: Identifying a meaningful reference (best-in-class).

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Faan; Wu, Jiaorong; Chen, Xiaohong; Wang, Jianjun; Wang, Di

2016-01-01

For road safety improvement, comparing and benchmarking performance are widely advocated as the emerging and preferred approaches. However, there is currently no universally agreed upon approach for the process of road safety benchmarking, and performing the practice successfully is by no means easy. This is especially true for the two core activities of which: (1) developing a set of road safety performance indicators (SPIs) and combining them into a composite index; and (2) identifying a meaningful reference (best-in-class), one which has already obtained outstanding road safety practices. To this end, a scientific technique that can combine the multi-dimensional safety performance indicators (SPIs) into an overall index, and subsequently can identify the 'best-in-class' is urgently required. In this paper, the Entropy-embedded RSR (Rank-sum ratio), an innovative, scientific and systematic methodology is investigated with the aim of conducting the above two core tasks in an integrative and concise procedure, more specifically in a 'one-stop' way. Using a combination of results from other methods (e.g. the SUNflower approach) and other measures (e.g. Human Development Index) as a relevant reference, a given set of European countries are robustly ranked and grouped into several classes based on the composite Road Safety Index. Within each class the 'best-in-class' is then identified. By benchmarking road safety performance, the results serve to promote best practice, encourage the adoption of successful road safety strategies and measures and, more importantly, inspire the kind of political leadership needed to create a road transport system that maximizes safety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of occupational meaningfulness on occupational commitment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Itai Ivtzan

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Existing research lacks a scholarly consensus on how to define and validly measure ‘meaningful work’ (e.g., Rosso, Dekas & Wrzesniewski, 2010. The following correlational study highlights the value of investigating meaningfulness in the context of occupational commitment. The study hypothesizes that occupational commitment is positively correlated with occupational meaningfulness, where meaningfulness is defined as the extent to which people’s occupations contribute to personal meaning in life. One-hundred and fifty-six full-time office based UK workers completed an online questionnaire including 18 questions measuring levels of occupational commitment (Meyer, Allen & Smith, 1993, in addition to six novel items measuring occupational meaningfulness. The results supported the hypothesis and also showed that the affective sub-type of occupational commitment had the highest correlation with occupational meaningfulness. Such results exhibit the importance of finding meaning at work, as well as the relevance of this to one’s level of commitment to his or her job. This paper argues that individuals should consider OM before choosing to take a specific role, whereas organizations ought to consider the OM of their potential candidates before recruiting them into a role. Possible directions for future research directions are also discussed.

Perspective: The missing link in academic career planning and development: pursuit of meaningful and aligned work.

Science.gov (United States)

Lieff, Susan J

2009-10-01

Retention of faculty in academic medicine is a growing challenge. It has been suggested that inattention to the humanistic values of the faculty is contributing to this problem. Professional development should consider faculty members' search for meaning, purpose, and professional fulfillment and should support the development of an ability to reflect on these issues. Ensuring the alignment of academic physicians' inner direction with their outer context is critical to professional fulfillment and effectiveness. Personal reflection on the synergy of one's strengths, passions, and values can help faculty members define meaningful work so as to enable clearer career decision making. The premise of this article is that an awareness of and the pursuit of meaningful work and its alignment with the academic context are important considerations in the professional fulfillment and retention of academic faculty. A conceptual framework for understanding meaningful work and alignment and ways in which that framework can be applied and taught in development programs are presented and discussed.

Visual attention to meaningful stimuli by 1- to 3-year olds: implications for the measurement of memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayne, Harlene; Jaeger, Katja; Sonne, Trine; Gross, Julien

2016-11-01

The visual recognition memory (VRM) paradigm has been widely used to measure memory during infancy and early childhood; it has also been used to study memory in human and nonhuman adults. Typically, participants are familiarized with stimuli that have no special significance to them. Under these conditions, greater attention to the novel stimulus during the test (i.e., novelty preference) is used as the primary index of memory. Here, we took a novel approach to the VRM paradigm and tested 1-, 2-, and 3-year olds using photos of meaningful stimuli that were drawn from the participants' own environment (e.g., photos of their mother, father, siblings, house). We also compared their performance to that of participants of the same age who were tested in an explicit pointing version of the VRM task. Two- and 3-year olds exhibited a strong familiarity preference for some, but not all, of the meaningful stimuli; 1-year olds did not. At no age did participants exhibit the kind of novelty preference that is commonly used to define memory in the VRM task. Furthermore, when compared to pointing, looking measures provided a rough approximation of recognition memory, but in some instances, the looking measure underestimated retention. The use of meaningful stimuli raise important questions about the way in which visual attention is interpreted in the VRM paradigm, and may provide new opportunities to measure memory during infancy and early childhood. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Distributed cognitive two-way relay beamformer designs under perfect and imperfect CSI

KAUST Repository

Pandarakkottilil, Ubaidulla; Aissa, Sonia

2011-01-01

In this paper, we present distributed two-way relay beamformer designs for a cognitive radio network (CRN) in which a pair of cognitive (or secondary) transceiver nodes communicate with each other assisted by a set of cognitive two-way relay nodes

Effect of a timebase mismatch in two-way optical frequency transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Tampellini, Anna; Clivati, Cecilia; Levi, Filippo; Mura, Alberto; Calonico, Davide

2017-12-01

Two-way frequency transfer on optical fibers is a powerful technique for the comparison of distant clocks over long and ultra-long hauls. In contrast to traditional Doppler noise cancellation, it is capable of sustaining higher link attenuation, mitigating the need of optical amplification and regeneration and thus reducing the setup complexity. We investigate the ultimate limitations of the two-way approach on a 300 km multiplexed fiber haul, considering fully independent setups and acquisition systems at the two link ends. We derive a theoretical model to predict the performance deterioration due to a bad synchronisation of the measurements, which is confirmed by experimental results. This study demonstrates that two-way optical frequency transfer is a reliable and performing technique, capable of sustaining remote clocks comparisons at the 10-19 resolution, and is relevant for the development of a fiber network of continental scale for frequency metrology in Europe.

The effects of meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise on teachers' attention, episodic and semantic memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Enmarker, Ingela

2004-11-01

The aim of the present experiment was to examine the effects of meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise on attention, episodic and semantic memory, and also to examine whether the noise effects were age-dependent. A total of 96 male and female teachers in the age range of 35-45 and 55-65 years were randomly assigned to a silent or the two noise conditions. Noise effects found in episodic memory were limited to a meaningful text, where cued recall contrary to expectations was equally impaired by the two types of noise. However, meaningful irrelevant speech also deteriorated recognition of the text, whereas road traffic noise caused no decrement. Retrieval from two word fluency tests in semantic memory showed strong effects of noise exposure, one affected by meaningful irrelevant speech and the other by road traffic noise. The results implied that both acoustic variation and the semantic interference could be of importance for noise impairments. The expected age-dependent noise effects did not show up.

Two-way shape memory effect induced by repetitive compressive loading cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyun-Chul; Yoo, Young-Ik; Lee, Jung-Ju

2009-01-01

The NiTi alloy can be trained by repetitive loading or heating cycles. As a result of the training, a two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) can be induced. Considerable research has been reported regarding the TWSME trained by tensile loading. However, the TWSME trained by compressive loading has not been investigated nearly as much. In this paper, the TWSME is induced by compressive loading cycles and the two-way shape memory strain is evaluated by using two types of specimen: a solid cylinder type and a tube type. The TWSME trained by compressive loading is different from that trained by tensile loading owing to the severe tension/compression asymmetry as described in previous research. After repetitive compressive loading cycles, strain variation upon cooling is observed, and this result proves that the TWSME is induced by compressive loading cycles. By performing compressive loading cycles, plastic deformation in NiTi alloy occurs more than for tensile loading cycles, which brings about the appearance of TWSME. It can be said that the TWSME is induced by compressive loading cycles more easily. The two-way shape memory strain increases linearly as the maximum strain of compressive loading cycles increases, regardless of the shape and the size of the NiTi alloy; this two-way shape memory strain then shows a tendency towards saturation after some repeated cycles

Improvement of two-way continuous variable quantum cryptography by using additional noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Minjie; Pan Wei

2010-01-01

The performance of quantum key distribution such as one-way continuous variable protocols, can be increased by adding some noise on the reference side of error correction in the error-correction phase. For this reason, we here study this possibility in the case of two-way continuous variable system. Finally, the numerical results show that the using of additional noise gives two-way schemes better security performance in terms of secret key rates and resistance to channel excess noise.

WHATSAPP CONTRIBUTIONS IN SPANISH TEACHING: A PERSPECTIVE OF MEANINGFUL AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iandra Maria Weirich da Silva Coelho

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This article describes a didactic proposal, mediated by the use of WhatsApp as a potential tool for the teaching of Spanish as an additional language. Activities are drawn from collaborative and meaningful practice with authentic situations of the language usage, taking by reference the theoretical construct of the Theory of Meaningful Learning (AUSUBEL, 2003 and Collaborative Practice of Writing. The results identify positive contributions about the increased interest and motivation of students, promotion of discursive competence, interactivity, autonomy, about actions involving the authorship and collaborative construction in information network for knowledge sharing.

Sweeping the Floor or Putting a Man on the Moon: How to Define and Measure Meaningful Work.

Science.gov (United States)

Both-Nwabuwe, Jitske M C; Dijkstra, Maria T M; Beersma, Bianca

2017-01-01

Meaningful work is integral to well-being and a flourishing life. The construct of "meaningful work" is, however, consistently affected by conceptual ambiguity. Although there is substantial support for arguments to maintain the status of conceptual ambiguity, we make a case for the benefits of having consensus on a definition and scale of meaningful work in the context of paid work. The objective of this article, therefore, was twofold. Firstly, we wanted to develop a more integrative definition of meaningful work. Secondly, we wanted to establish a corresponding operationalization. We reviewed the literature on the existing definitions of meaningful work and the scales designed to measure it. We found 14 definitions of meaningful work. Based on these definitions, we identified four categories of definitions, which led us to propose an integrative and comprehensive definition of meaningful work. We identified two validated scales that were partly aligned with the proposed definition. Based on our review, we conclude that scholars in this field should coalesce rather than diverge their efforts to conceptualize and measure meaningful work.

[Effectively communicate active listening : Comparison of two concepts].

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, O; Rockenbauch, K; Kleinert, E; Stöbel-Richter, Y

2017-09-01

Communication between physicians and patients has a great influence on patient adherence, patient satisfaction and the success of treatment. In this context, patient centered care and emotional support have a high positive impact; however, it is unclear how physicians can be motivated to communicate with patients in an appreciative and empathetic way. The implementation of such behavior requires a multitude of communicative skills. One of them is active listening, which is very important in two respects. On the one hand active listening provides the basis for several conversational contexts as a special communication technique and on the other hand active listening is presented in current textbooks in different ways: as an attitude or as a technique. In light of this, the question arises how active listening should be taught in order to be not only applicable in concrete conversations but also to lead to the highest possible level of patient satisfaction. The aim of this pilot study was to examine some variations in simulated doctor-patient conversations, which are the result of the different approaches to active listening. For this purpose three groups of first semester medical students were recruited, two of which were schooled in active listening in different ways (two groups of six students), i.e. attitude versus technique oriented. The third group (seven students) acted as the control group. In a pre-post design interviews with standardized simulation patients were conducted and subsequently evaluated. The analysis of these interviews was considered from the perspectives of participants and observers as well as the quantitative aspects. This study revealed some interesting tendencies despite its status as a pilot study: in general, the two interventional groups performed significantly better than the control group in which no relevant changes occurred. In a direct comparison, the group in which active listening was taught from an attitude approach achieved

Reflections on Meaningfulness and its Social Relevance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Note

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Philosophers who write about the meaning of life are few nowadays. Thesubject has lost its attractiveness. Perceived from a viewpoint of logical positivism or language philosophy, the whole issue of meaningfulness seems rather pointless. It is often considered to be related to metaphysics, making it less suitable for philosophical inquiry. The topic of meaningfulness seems too intangible. Indeed, the few philosophers that have embarked on examining meaningfulness have proven to be well aware of the challenges this poses. At times they acknowledge that the more they concentrate on the subject, the more it seems to fall apart into unintelligible pieces about whichnothing of philosophical value can be said.

Antecedents and outcomes of meaningful work among school teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elmari Fouché

2017-03-01

Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate antecedents and outcomes of meaningful work among school teachers. Motivation for the study: Meaningful work underpins people’s motivation and affects their well-being and job satisfaction. Furthermore, it is a significant pathway to healthy and authentic organisations. However, a research gap exists regarding the effects of different antecedents and outcomes of meaningful work. Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey was used with a convenience sample of 513 teachers. The Work-Life Questionnaire, Revised Job Diagnostic Survey, Co-worker Relations Scale, Work and Meaning Inventory, Personal Resources Scale, Work Engagement Scale, Turnover Intention Scale and a measure of self-rated performance were administered. Main findings: A calling orientation, job design and co-worker relations were associated with meaningful work. A low calling orientation and poor co-worker relationships predicted burnout. A calling orientation, a well-designed job, good co-worker relationships and meaningful work predicted work engagement. Job design was moderately associated with self-ratings of performance. The absence of a calling orientation predicted teachers’ intention to leave the organisation. Practical/managerial implications: Educational managers should consider implementing interventions to affect teachers’ calling orientation (through job crafting, perceptions of the nature of their jobs (by allowing autonomy and co-worker relations (through teambuilding to promote perceptions of meaningful work. Promoting perceptions of meaningful work might contribute to lower burnout, higher work engagement, better self-ratings of performance and retention of teachers. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to scientific knowledge regarding the effects of three antecedents, namely a calling orientation, job design and co-worker relationships on meaningful work. It also contributed to knowledge

Two-way CSI-assisted AF relaying with HPA nonlinearity

KAUST Repository

Qi, Jian; Aissa, Sonia; Alouiniz, Mohamed-Slim

2015-01-01

In this paper, we investigate half-duplex two-way dual-hop channel state information (CSI)-assisted amplify-andforward (AF) relaying in the presence of high-power amplifier (HPA) nonlinearity at relays. The expression for the end-toend signal

Frequency transfer via a two-way optical phase comparison on a multiplexed fiber network.

Science.gov (United States)

Calosso, C E; Bertacco, E; Calonico, D; Clivati, C; Costanzo, G A; Frittelli, M; Levi, F; Mura, A; Godone, A

2014-03-01

We performed a two-way remote optical phase comparison on optical fiber. Two optical frequency signals were launched in opposite directions in an optical fiber and their phases were simultaneously measured at the other end. In this technique, the fiber noise is passively canceled, and we compared two optical frequencies at the ultimate 10(-21) stability level. The experiment was performed on a 47 km fiber that is part of the metropolitan network for Internet traffic. The technique relies on the synchronous measurement of the optical phases at the two ends of the link, which is here performed by digital electronics. This scheme offers some advantages with respect to active noise cancellation schemes, as the light travels only once in the fiber.

Types of Meaningfulness of Life and Values of Future Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Salikhova, Nailia R.

2016-01-01

The leading role of meaning of life in regulation of human's activity of all types provides the relevance of the research. The goal of the paper is to identify and describe types of meaningfulness of life in future teachers, and to reveal the specificity of values hierarchy indicative of each type. The leading approach applied in the research was…

Job enrichment: creating meaningful career development opportunities for nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Duffield, Christine; Baldwin, Richard; Roche, Michael; Wise, Sarah

2014-09-01

This paper presents an evaluation of a career development policy in South Australia which increased the number of senior staff nurse positions and provided senior registered nurses with time away from clinical duties to undertake agreed projects. We use Kanter's model of structural power and commitment theory to understand the dimensions of this policy. Development strategies for experienced staff who wish to remain at the bedside are needed, especially in smaller health services with limited opportunities for horizontal or vertical mobility. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted with 54 senior staff nurses who participated in the career structure arrangements. The policy enhanced the structure of opportunity in three ways: by increasing the number of senior staff nurse positions, the ladder steps were improved; undertaking strategic projects developed new skills; and the job enrichment approach facilitated time out from the immediate pressures of ward work and challenged nurses in a different way. Through job enrichment, South Australia has found a novel way of providing meaningful career development opportunities for experienced nurses. Methods of job enrichment need to be considered as part of career development policy, especially where movement between clinical facilities is limited and staff wish to remain at the bedside. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Two-Way Multi-Antenna Relaying with Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thanaphat Srivantana

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose various kinds of two-way multi-antenna relaying with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT and investigate their performance. Specifically, we first consider a two-way relay network where two single-antenna end nodes communicate with each other through a multi-antenna relay node that is energy constrained. This relay node harvests energy from the two end nodes and use the harvested energy for forwarding their information. Six relaying schemes that support the considered network then build on the power splitting-based relaying and time switching-based relaying protocols. The average bit error rates of these schemes are evaluated and compared by computer simulations considering several network parameters, including the number of relay antennas, power splitting ratio, and energy harvesting time. Such evaluation and comparison provide useful insights into the performance of SWIPT-based two-way multi-antenna relaying.

Two-Way Text Messaging: An Interactive Mobile Learning Environment in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Premadasa, H. K. Salinda; Meegama, R. G. N.

2016-01-01

Short messaging service (SMS) is perhaps the most popular mobile technology prevalent among students in higher education due to its ubiquitous nature and the capability of two-way communication. However, a major limitation in two-way text messaging is sending back a part of received data with the reply message. This limitation results in users of…

Meaningful work and secondary school teachers' intention to leave

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Janik

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The study investigates the relations between secondary school teachers' work-role fit, job enrichment, supervisor relationships, co-worker relationships, psychological meaningfulness of work and intention to leave. A cross-sectional survey was used. The participants were 502 secondary school teachers in Namibia. The following measuring instruments were used: Work-role Fit Scale, Job Enrichment Scale, Co-worker and Supervisor Relationships Scales, Psychological Meaningfulness Scale and Turnover Intention Scale. Work-role fit and job enrichment both had direct positive effect on experiences of psychological meaningfulness at work, while poor work-role fit and low psychological meaningfulness both had a direct effect on teachers' intentions to leave. An analysis of the indirect effects showed that poor work-role fit and poor job enrichment affected intention to leave due to the concomitant experience of low psychological meaningfulness. These findings have implications for the retention of teachers in secondary schools.

78 FR 31576 - Enforcement Proceeding; Certain Two-Way Global Satellite Communication Devices, System and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-24

...-Way Global Satellite Communication Devices, System and Components Thereof; Notice of Institution of... importation of certain two-way global satellite communication devices, system and components thereof by reason... importation any two-way global satellite communication devices, system, and components thereof that infringe...

The influence of an atmospheric Two-Way coupled model system on the predictability of extratropical cyclones

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, Mareike; Thürkow, Markus; Weiher, Stefan; Kirchner, Ingo; Ulbrich, Uwe; Will, Andreas

2016-04-01

A general bias of global atmosphere ocean models, and also of the MPI-ESM, is an under-representation of the high latitude cyclone activity and an overestimation of the mid latitude cyclone activity in the North Atlantic, thus representing the extra-tropical storm track too zonal. We will show, that this effect can be antagonized by applying an atmospheric Two-Way Coupling (TWC). In this study we present a newly developed Two-Way Coupled model system, which is based on the MPI-ESM, and show that it is able to capture the mean storm track location more accurate. It also influences the sub-decadal deterministic predictability of extra-tropical cyclones and shows significantly enhanced skill compared to the "uncoupled" MPI-ESM standalone system. This study evaluates a set of hindcast experiments performed with said Two-Way Coupled model system. The regional model COSMO CLM is Two-Way Coupled to the atmosphere of the global Max-Plack-Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM) and therefore integrates and exchanges the state of the atmosphere every 10 minutes (MPI-TWC-ESM). In the coupled source region (North Atlantic), mesoscale processes which are relevant for the formation and early-stage development of cyclones are expected to be better represented, and therefore influence the large scale dynamics of the target region (Europe). The database covers 102 "uncoupled" years and 102 Two-Way Coupled years of the recent climate (1960-2010). Results are validated against the ERA-Interim reanalysis. Besides the climatological point of view, the design of this single model ensemble allows for an analysis of the predictability of the first and second leadyears of the hindcasts. As a first step to understand the improved predictability of cyclones, we will show a detailed analysis of climatologies for specific cyclone categories, sorted by season and region. Especially for cyclones affecting Europe, the TWC is capable to counteract the AOGCM's biases in the North Atlantic. Also

Merit-Based Incentive Payment System: Meaningful Changes in the Final Rule Brings Cautious Optimism.

Science.gov (United States)

Manchikanti, Laxmaiah; Helm Ii, Standiford; Calodney, Aaron K; Hirsch, Joshua A

2017-01-01

physicians to avoid penalties for non-reporting with reporting of just a single patient. In summary, CMS has provided substantial flexibility with mechanisms to avoid penalties, reporting for 90 continuous days, increasing the low volume threshold, changing the reporting burden and data thresholds and, finally, coordination between performance categories. The final rule has made MIPS more meaningful with bonuses for exceptional performance, the ability to report for 90 days, and to report on 50% of the patients in 2017 and 60% of the patients in 2018. The final rule also reduced the quality measures to 6, including only one outcome or high priority measure with elimination of cross cutting measure requirement. In addition, the final rule reduced the burden of ACI, improved the coordination of performance, reduced improvement activities burden from 60 points to 40 points, and finally improved coordination between performance categories. Multiple concerns remain regarding the reduction in scoring for quality improvement in future years, increase in proportion of MIPS scoring for resource use utilizing flawed, claims based methodology and the continuation of the disproportionate importance of ACI, an expensive program that can be onerous for providers which in many ways has not lived up to its promise. Key words: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, merit-based incentive payment system, quality performance measures, resource use, improvement activities, advancing care information performance category.

Two-Way Outsourcing, International Migration, and Wage Inequality

OpenAIRE

Morihiro Yomogida; Laixun Zhao

2009-01-01

This paper develops a general equilibrium model with a vertical production structure to examine the relationship between offshore outsourcing and international migration,especially emphasizing their effects on the wages of skilled and unskilled workers. Two-way outsourcing (simultaneous insourcing and outsourcing) in skilled-labor intensive services arises due to product differentiation and scale economies, and outsourcing in unskilled-labor intensive processing occurs because of factor endow...

Outage Analysis and Optimization of SWIPT in Network-Coded Two-Way Relay Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruihong Jiang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the outage performance of simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT in network-coded two-way relay systems, where a relay first harvests energy from the signals transmitted by two sources and then uses the harvested energy to forward the received information to the two sources. We consider two transmission protocols, power splitting two-way relay (PS-TWR and time switching two-way relay (TS-TWR protocols. We present two explicit expressions for the system outage probability of the two protocols and further derive approximate expressions for them in high and low SNR cases. To explore the system performance limits, two optimization problems are formulated to minimize the system outage probability. Since the problems are nonconvex and have no known solution methods, a genetic algorithm- (GA- based algorithm is designed. Numerical and simulation results validate our theoretical analysis. It is shown that, by jointly optimizing the time assignment and SWIPT receiver parameters, a great performance gain can be achieved for both PS-TWR and TS-TWR. Moreover, the optimized PS-TWR always outperforms the optimized TS-TWR in terms of outage performance. Additionally, the effects of parameters including relay location and transmit powers are also discussed, which provide some insights for the SWIPT-enabled two-way relay networks.

Meaningful Interaction in a Local Context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holck, Ulla

2006-01-01

This keynote is based on a Ph.D. thesis on development of socially meaningful interaction in music therapy with children with very poor communication skills (Holck 2002). The aim was to identify some of the conditions, whereby actions can be understood as meaningful - that is, whereby the child......’ Samspil i Musikterapi [Eng.: ’Commusical’ Interplay in Music Therapy. Qualitative Video Analyses of Musical and Gestural Interactions with Children with Severe Functional Limitations, including Children with Autism]. Unpubl. PhD thesis, Aalborg Universitet. Holck, U. (2004) Interaction Themes in Music...

Meaningful Words and Non-Words Repetitive Articulatory Rate (Oral Diadochokinesis) in Persian Speaking Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamani, Peyman; Rezai, Hossein; Garmatani, Neda Tahmasebi

2017-08-01

Repetitive articulatory rate or Oral Diadochokinesis (oral-DDK) shows a guideline for appraisal and diagnosis of subjects with oral-motor disorder. Traditionally, meaningless words repetition has been utilized in this task and preschool children have challenges with them. Therefore, we aimed to determine some meaningful words in order to test oral-DDK in Persian speaking preschool children. Participants were 142 normally developing children, (age range 4-6 years), who were asked to produce /motæka, golabi/ as two meaningful Persian words and /pa-ta-ka/ as non-word in conventional oral-DDK task. We compared the time taken for 10-times fast repetitions of two meaningful Persian words and the tri-syllabic nonsense word /pa-ta-ka/. Praat software was used to calculate the average time that subjects took to produce the target items. In 4-5 year old children, [Formula: see text] of time taken for 10-times repetitions of /pa-ta-ka, motæka, golabi/ were [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] seconds respectively, and in 5-6 year old children were [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] seconds respectively. Findings showed that the main effect of type of words on oral diadochokinesis was significant ([Formula: see text]). Children repeated meaningful words /motæka, golabi/ faster than the non-word /pa-ta-ka/. Sex and age factors had no effect on time taken for repetition of oral-DDK test. It is suggested that Speech Therapists can use meaningful words to facilitate oral-DDK test for children.

LCA of waste prevention activities: a case study for drinking water in Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nessi, Simone; Rigamonti, Lucia; Grosso, Mario

2012-10-15

The strategic relevance of waste prevention has considerably increased worldwide during recent years, such that the current European legislation requires the preparation of national waste prevention programmes in which reduction objectives and measures are identified. In such a context, it is possible to recognise how, in order to correctly evaluate the environmental consequences of a prevention activity, a life cycle perspective should be employed. This allows us to go beyond the simple reduction of the generated waste which, alone, does not automatically imply achieving better overall environmental performance, especially when this reduction is not pursued through the simple reduction of consumption. In this study, the energetic and environmental performance of two waste prevention activities considered particularly meaningful for the Italian context were evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The two activities were the utilisation of public network water (two scenarios) and of refillable bottled water (two scenarios) for drinking purposes, instead of one-way bottled water (three scenarios). The energy demand and specific potential impacts of the four waste prevention scenarios and of the three baseline scenarios were compared with the aim of evaluating whether, and under what conditions, the analysed prevention activities are actually associated with overall energetic and environmental benefits. In typical conditions, the use of public network water directly from the tap results in the best scenario, while if water is withdrawn from public fountains, its further transportation by private car can involve significant impacts. The use of refillable PET bottled water seems the preferable scenario for packaged water consumption, if refillable bottles are transported to local distributors along the same (or a lower) distance as one-way bottles to retailers. The use of refillable glass bottled water is preferable to one-way bottled water only if a

Meaningful and Purposeful Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Clementi, Donna

2014-01-01

This article describes a graphic, designed by Clementi and Terrill, the authors of "Keys to Planning for Learning" (2013), visually representing the components that contribute to meaningful and purposeful practice in learning a world language, practice that leads to greater proficiency. The entire graphic is centered around the letter…

Meaning Making and Translanguaging in a Two-Way Dual-Language Program on the U.S.-Mexico Border

Science.gov (United States)

Esquinca, Alberto; Araujo, Blanca; de la Piedra, María Teresa

2014-01-01

The article analyzes meaning-making practices in a two-way dual-language (TWDL) program on the U.S.-Mexico border among "transfronterizo" and Mexican-origin youth. In the article, we show that emergent bilingual learners and their teacher participate in activities that mediate understanding of science content knowledge. We show how the…

The Relationship between Psychological Meaningfulness and Employee Engagement: Moderating Effect of Age and Gender

OpenAIRE

Ruswahida Ibnu Ruslan; Md. Aminul Islam; Idris Mohd Noor

2014-01-01

There has been a great deal of interest in employee engagement over the years, and it has become a popular term. However, there is no one universally acceptable definition for employee engagement until now. Employee engagement has been defined in many ways, and its assessment also seems to be similar, as developed by scholars such as Kahn [1] who coins the term psychological meaningfulness. This paper reviews the literature surrounding employee engagement, especially in terms of psychological...

A Mixed-Methods Study of the Recovery Concept, "A Meaningful Day," in Community Mental Health Services for Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Neely A L; Smith, Kelly; Pope, Alicia; Alolayan, Yazeed; Broussard, Beth; Haynes, Nora; Compton, Michael T

2016-10-01

The recovery concept encompasses overcoming or managing one's illness, being physically and emotionally healthy, and finding meaningful purpose through work, school, or volunteering, which connects one to others in mutually fulfilling ways. Using a mixed-methods approach, we studied the emphasis on "a meaningful day" in the new Opening Doors to Recovery (ODR) program in southeast Georgia. Among 100 participants, we measured the meaningful day construct using three quantitative items at baseline (hospital discharge) and at 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-up, finding statistically significant linear trends over time for all three measures. Complementary qualitative interviews with 30 individuals (ODR participants, family members, and ODR's Community Navigation Specialists and program leaders) revealed themes pertaining to companionship, productivity, achieving stability, and autonomy, as well as the concern about insufficient resources. The concept of "a meaningful day" can be a focus of clinical attention and measured as a person-centered outcome for clients served by recovery-oriented community mental health services.

Meaningful call combinations and compositional processing in the southern pied babbler

Science.gov (United States)

Engesser, Sabrina; Ridley, Amanda R.; Townsend, Simon W.

2016-01-01

Language’s expressive power is largely attributable to its compositionality: meaningful words are combined into larger/higher-order structures with derived meaning. Despite its importance, little is known regarding the evolutionary origins and emergence of this syntactic ability. Although previous research has shown a rudimentary capability to combine meaningful calls in primates, because of a scarcity of comparative data, it is unclear to what extent analog forms might also exist outside of primates. Here, we address this ambiguity and provide evidence for rudimentary compositionality in the discrete vocal system of a social passerine, the pied babbler (Turdoides bicolor). Natural observations and predator presentations revealed that babblers produce acoustically distinct alert calls in response to close, low-urgency threats and recruitment calls when recruiting group members during locomotion. On encountering terrestrial predators, both vocalizations are combined into a “mobbing sequence,” potentially to recruit group members in a dangerous situation. To investigate whether babblers process the sequence in a compositional way, we conducted systematic experiments, playing back the individual calls in isolation as well as naturally occurring and artificial sequences. Babblers reacted most strongly to mobbing sequence playbacks, showing a greater attentiveness and a quicker approach to the loudspeaker, compared with individual calls or control sequences. We conclude that the sequence constitutes a compositional structure, communicating information on both the context and the requested action. Our work supports previous research suggesting combinatoriality as a viable mechanism to increase communicative output and indicates that the ability to combine and process meaningful vocal structures, a basic syntax, may be more widespread than previously thought. PMID:27155011

Sum-Rate Optimization in a Two-Way Relay Network with Buffering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Huaping; Popovski, Petar; De Carvalho, Elisabeth

2013-01-01

A Relay Station (RS) uses a buffer to store and process the received data packets before forwarding them. Recently, the buffer has been exploited in one-way relaying to opportunistically schedule the two different links according to their channel quality. The intuition is that, if the channel...... to the destination is poor, then RS stores more data from the source, in order to use it when the channel to the destination is good. We apply this intuition to the case of half-duplex two-way relaying, where the interactions among the buffers and links become more complex. We investigate the sum-rate maximization...

Developing Web literacy in collaborative inquiry activities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuiper, E.; Volman, M.L.L.; Terwel, J.

2009-01-01

Although many children are technically skilled in using the Web, their competences to use it in a critical and meaningful way are usually less well developed. In this article, we report on a multiple case study focusing on the possibilities and limitations of collaborative inquiry activities as an

The Volunteering-in-Place (VIP) Program: Providing meaningful volunteer activity to residents in assisted living with mild cognitive impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Klinedinst, N Jennifer; Resnick, Barbara

2016-01-01

The Volunteering-in-Place (VIP) Program was developed to provide individualized meaningful volunteer activities matched to interests and capabilities for older adults with MCI in assisted living. The purposes of this single-site pre-test/post-test pilot study were to (1) establish feasibility of the VIP Program based on treatment fidelity (design, treatment, delivery, enactment); and (2) evaluate preliminary efficacy via improvement in psychological health (depressive symptoms, usefulness, purpose, resilience, and life satisfaction) and decreased sedentary activity (survey and Fitbit) at 3 and 6 months. Ten residents participated. The majority was white, female and educated, and on average 88 years old. The VIP Program was feasible and most participants continued to volunteer at 6 months. There were non-significant improvements in depressive symptoms, usefulness, purpose, resilience and recreational physical activity. The results of this study provide support for the feasibility of the VIP Program. Further study is necessary to examine efficacy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Technology transfer, a two-way street

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, H.L.

1994-01-01

Technology transfer through the Pollution Prevention ampersand Control Conferences, which have been cosponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and by the professional societies of industry, greatly improved the environmental projects of the Department of Energy at Savannah River Site (SRS) in the mid-1980's. Those technologies, used in the liquid effluent treatment of the metal finishing liquid effluents from aluminum cleaning and nickel plating of fuel and targets for the nuclear production reactors, have been enhanced by the research and development of SRS engineers and scientists. The technology transfer has now become a two-way street to the benefit of our Nation's environment as these enhancements are being adopted in the metal finishing industry. These success stories are examples of the achievements anticipated in the 1990's as technology development in the federal facilities is shared with commercial industry

Work engagement and meaningful work across generational cohorts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crystal Hoole

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Engaging employees and providing employees with a sense of meaning at work is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Although research has shown that differences between work engagement and meaningful work amongst generational cohorts exist, results are still inconclusive. With age becoming increasingly more important as a diversity factor, a better understanding of the dynamics between work engagement and meaningful work across different generational cohorts is necessary to design the right strategy for each organisation’s unique parameters. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between work engagement and meaningful work and whether there are significant variances between the levels of work engagement and meaningful work between different generational cohorts. Motivation for study: Work engagement has consistently been highlighted by researchers and human resources experts as a recommended solution to provide companies with the upper hand when it comes to creating a competitive edge. Yet, levels of work engagement are far from ideal, requiring intensified efforts to identify solutions towards raising overall engagement levels. In recent years, much of the focus in terms of generating engagement has been aimed in the direction of financial rewards and other benefits; some organisational experts are of the opinion that a shift is occurring towards meaningful work instead of monetary rewards as the driver of engagement. The changing nature of the work landscape also suggests that generational cohorts experience work engagement and meaningful work differently. Understanding these complexities is mandatory in creating solutions towards improving levels of engagement and meaningful work. Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional quantitative research approach has been followed. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES and Psychological Meaningful Scale (PMS were administered

Demonstration of Multisetting One-Way Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Steering in Two-Qubit Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Ya; Ye, Xiang-Jun; Sun, Kai; Xu, Jin-Shi; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2017-04-01

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering describes the ability of one party to remotely affect another's state through local measurements. One of the most distinguishable properties of EPR steering is its asymmetric aspect. Steering can work in one direction but fail in the opposite direction. This type of one-way steering, which is different from the symmetry concepts of entanglement and Bell nonlocality, has garnered much interest. However, an experimental demonstration of genuine one-way EPR steering in the simplest scenario, i.e., one that employs two-qubit systems, is still lacking. In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate one-way EPR steering with multimeasurement settings for a class of two-qubit states, which are still one-way steerable even with infinite settings. The steerability is quantified by the steering radius, which represents a necessary and sufficient steering criterion. The demonstrated one-way steering in the simplest bipartite quantum system is of fundamental interest and may provide potential applications in one-way quantum information tasks.

Formation of two-way shape memory effect in rapid-quenched TiNiCu alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelyakov, A.V.; Bykovsky, Yu.A.; Matveeva, N.M.; Kovneristy, Yu.K.

1995-01-01

Recently we have developed a number of devices for an optical radiation control based on the shape memory effect. A blind of rapid-quenched TiNiCu alloy having a two-way shape memory in bending was used as a basic element. So far as the rapid quenched alloy used is amorphous in initial state, it needs thermal annealing to form shape memory. This paper describes procedure of thermo-mechanical treatment, that allows to form desired two-way shape memory immediately during thermal annealing of amorphous alloy without training. It was shown that degree of two-way shape recovery depends critically on initial strain, temperature and duration of the annealing. It was experimentally determined optimum parameters of thermo-mechanical treatment to achieve maximum two-way shape memory. (orig.)

Two-way communication promote value-added services

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-06-01

This article reviews a number of developments in the efforts of electric utilities to establish two-way communications with their customers in order to develop products and services to fit each customer`s needs. In their efforts, utilities are facing an array of technology, including broadband, radio frequency, cellular, satellite, dial inbound, and power line carrier current. Individual efforts with each technology are noted. In many cases, the utilities are finding that existing cable and telephone companies are powerful allies in their efforts. Finding that their technology is marketable, the electric utilities are also diversifying horizontally and marketing their communications tools to other, both inside and outside of the utility industry.

Two-dimensional models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroer, Bert; Freie Universitaet, Berlin

2005-02-01

It is not possible to compactly review the overwhelming literature on two-dimensional models in a meaningful way without a specific viewpoint; I have therefore tacitly added to the above title the words 'as theoretical laboratories for general quantum field theory'. I dedicate this contribution to the memory of J. A. Swieca with whom I have shared the passion of exploring 2-dimensional models for almost one decade. A shortened version of this article is intended as a contribution to the project 'Encyclopedia of mathematical physics' and comments, suggestions and critical remarks are welcome. (author)

Meaningful work and mental health: job satisfaction as a moderator.

Science.gov (United States)

Allan, Blake A; Dexter, Chelsea; Kinsey, Rebecca; Parker, Shelby

2018-02-01

Depression, anxiety and stress are common problems for modern workers. Although having meaningful work, or work that is significant, facilitates personal growth, and contributes to the greater good, has been linked to better mental health, people's work might also need to be satisfying or enjoyable to improve outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to examine meaningful work's relation to mental health (i.e. depression, anxiety and stress) and investigate job satisfaction as a moderator of this relation. The study hypotheses were tested with a large, diverse sample recruited from an online source. Partially supporting hypotheses, when controlling for job satisfaction, meaningful work negatively correlated with depression but did not have a significant relation with anxiety and stress. Similarly, job satisfaction negatively predicted depression and stress. Furthermore, the relations between meaningful work and both anxiety and stress were moderated by job satisfaction. Specifically, only people perceiving their work as meaningful and satisfying reported less anxiety and stress. Although continued research is needed, employers and employees may have to target both the meaningfulness and job satisfaction to address the issues of stress and anxiety among working adults.

Improved two-way six-state protocol for quantum key distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaari, J.S.; Bahari, Asma' Ahmad

2012-01-01

A generalized version for a qubit based two-way quantum key distribution scheme was first proposed in the paper [Phys. Lett. A 358 (2006) 85] capitalizing on the six quantum states derived from three mutually unbiased bases. While boasting of a higher level of security, the protocol was not designed for ease of practical implementation. In this work, we propose modifications to the protocol, resulting not only in improved security but also in a more efficient and practical setup. We provide comparisons for calculated secure key rates for the protocols in noisy and lossy channels. -- Highlights: ► Modification for efficient generalized two-way QKD is proposed. ► Calculations include secure key rates in noisy and lossy channels for selected attack scenario. ► Resulting proposal provides for higher secure key rate in selected attack scheme.

Improved two-way six-state protocol for quantum key distribution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaari, J.S., E-mail: jesni_shamsul@yahoo.com [Faculty of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Bandar Indera Mahkota, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang (Malaysia); Bahari, Asma' Ahmad [Faculty of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Bandar Indera Mahkota, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang (Malaysia)

2012-10-01

A generalized version for a qubit based two-way quantum key distribution scheme was first proposed in the paper [Phys. Lett. A 358 (2006) 85] capitalizing on the six quantum states derived from three mutually unbiased bases. While boasting of a higher level of security, the protocol was not designed for ease of practical implementation. In this work, we propose modifications to the protocol, resulting not only in improved security but also in a more efficient and practical setup. We provide comparisons for calculated secure key rates for the protocols in noisy and lossy channels. -- Highlights: ► Modification for efficient generalized two-way QKD is proposed. ► Calculations include secure key rates in noisy and lossy channels for selected attack scenario. ► Resulting proposal provides for higher secure key rate in selected attack scheme.

THE WAYS FOR ACTIVATING PUPILS’ COGNITIVE ACTIVITY AND MENTAL CAPACITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. V. Sukhorukov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses various methods promoting the cognitive activity of secondary school pupils, whose psycho-physical conditions are adversely affected by the changing realities of educational process: its acceleration, growing amount of the required information, increasing number of disciplines, declining moral of the educational environment, etc. The authors emphasize the need for the urgent systematic and complex measures for pupils’ health promotion and working capability restoration with the reference to the age profile and specificity of the particular educational environment. The definitions of the main categories and ways, activating the knowledge acquisition, are given along with the basic groups of methods facilitating the mental activity. They include traditional didactic methods; psycho-emotional methods, used for emotional adjustment and optimization of pupils’ perception; and pharmacological methods for increasing the mental work capacity by means of various medications. In conclusion, the authors demonstrate a project model of the complex method for activating the cognitive abilities of secondary school pupils. 

Overlay cognitive radio systems with adaptive two-way relaying

KAUST Repository

Hyadi, Amal

2013-12-01

In this paper, we propose a spectrum sharing mechanism with a two-phase two-way relaying protocol for an overlay cognitive network. The system comprises two primary users (PUs) and two secondary users (SUs). One of the SUs acts as a relay for the PUs and gains spectrum sharing as long as he respects outage probability constraints of the primary system. Moreover, we consider that the relaying node performs an optimal power allocation scheme that minimizes the outage performance of the secondary receiver. Closed form expressions for the outage probability are derived for the cases of Decode-and-Forward (DF), Amplify-and-Forward (AF), and adaptive relaying. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate and compare the obtained results. © 2013 IEEE.

An improved two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol with added noise in homodyne detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Maozhu; Peng Xiang; Guo Hong

2013-01-01

We propose an improved two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV QKD) protocol by adding proper random noise on the receiver’s homodyne detection, the security of which is analysed against general collective attacks. The simulation result under the collective entangling cloner attack indicates that despite the correlation between two-way channels decreasing the secret key rate relative to the uncorrelated channels slightly, the performance of the two-way protocol is still far beyond that of the one-way protocols. Importantly, the added noise in detection is beneficial for the secret key rate and the tolerable excess noise of this two-way protocol. With the reasonable reconciliation efficiency of 90%, the two-way CV QKD with added noise allows the distribution of secret keys over 60 km fibre distance. (paper)

The meaningfulness of participating in support groups for informal caregivers of older adults with dementia: a qualitative systematic review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauritzen, Jette; Pedersen, Preben Ulrich; Sørensen, Erik Elgaard

Introduction: Support groups are considered an effective and economical way to relieve informal caregivers stress and burden. Research shows, that participating in support groups seems to be beneficial for the informal caregivers, but there are no significant improvements in feelings of stress...... and burden. It is unclear how support groups can produce a meaningful and optimal outcome for the informal caregivers. Aim: To identify the meaningfulness of participating in support groups for informal caregivers of older adults with dementia living in their own home. Method: A systematic literature review...... that through comparison and sharing positive and negative emotions, the members of the support group are able to take on and maintain the role as caregiver....

Novel Study Guides for Biochemistry Meaningful Learning in Biology: a Design-Based Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Costa, C ; Galembeck, E. Costa, C ; Galembeck, E.

2017-07-01

Full Text Available One of the difficulties for biochemistry learning is the persistence of traditional teaching methods, based on transmission and memorization of abstract and detailed information, usually in a decontextualized way. Such scenario results in surface learning and content reproduction. In order to address these problems, three interventions in a discipline (Metabolism for Biology majors were applied, in the form of innovative teaching tools (study guides. OBJECTIVES: The main goal is to evaluate the impact of these interventions on interest, motivation, and learning of the metabolic pathways. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We describe the development, application, and evaluation of two study guides – one created from a problem used as a contextual connection for glycogen metabolism study and another embedding an integrative view based on glutamate metabolism. Both materials were guided by broad themes like evolution, metabolic adaptation, and comparative biochemistry. The development of the study guides combined submicroscopic (molecular and macroscopic (body, environment levels, aiming to motivate reading and discussion. A design-based research with cycles of application and assessment was carried out, by means of classroom observation, grade analysis in written exams, and students’ interviews. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In general, based on in-class student feedback to professors and to the researcher in the interviews, the study guides arouse curiosity and fostered peer discussion. Final average grades indicate a good global performance in all proposed activities. Whole data from study guides’ application in classroom evidenced their impact on interest, motivation, and learning. The strategy of developing problem or integrative situation linking molecular (micro and contextual (macro levels were helpful to foster critical thinking and to value topics of scientific literacy. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis and interpretation of the results point to benefits for

Response of stiff piles to random two-way lateral loading

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bakmar, Christian LeBlanc; Byrne, B.W.; Houlsby, G. T.

2010-01-01

A model for predicting the accumulated rotation of stiff piles under random two-way loading is presented. The model is based on a strain superposition rule similar to Miner's rule and uses rainflow-counting to decompose a random time-series of varying loads into a set of simple load reversals. Th....... The method is consistent with the work of LeBlanc et al. (2010) and is supported by 1g laboratory tests. An example is given for an offshore wind turbine indicating that accumulated pile rotation during the life of the turbine is dominated by the worst expected load.......A model for predicting the accumulated rotation of stiff piles under random two-way loading is presented. The model is based on a strain superposition rule similar to Miner's rule and uses rainflow-counting to decompose a random time-series of varying loads into a set of simple load reversals...

Meaningful work and secondary school teachers' intention to leave ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The following measuring instruments were used: Work-role Fit Scale, Job Enrichment Scale, Co-worker and Supervisor Relationships Scales, Psychological Meaningfulness Scale and Turnover Intention Scale. Work-role fit and job enrichment both had direct positive effect on experiences of psychological meaningfulness at ...

77 FR 58579 - Certain Two-Way Global Satellite Communication Devices, System and Components Thereof...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-21

... Communication Devices, System and Components Thereof; Institution of Investigation Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1337... certain two-way global satellite communication devices, system and components thereof that infringe one or... within the United States after importation of certain two-way global satellite communication devices...

Between order and chaos: The quest for meaningful information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adriaans, P.

2009-01-01

The notion of meaningful information seems to be associated with the sweet spot between order and chaos. This form of meaningfulness of information, which is primarily what science is interested in, is not captured by both Shannon information and Kolmogorov complexity. In this paper I develop a

Improvement of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution using optical amplifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yi-Chen; Yu, Song; Gu, Wanyi; Li, Zhengyu; Sun, Maozhu; Peng, Xiang; Guo, Hong; Weedbrook, Christian

2014-01-01

The imperfections of a receiver's detector affect the performance of two-way continuous-variable (CV) quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols and are difficult to adjust in practical situations. We propose a method to improve the performance of two-way CV-QKD by adding a parameter-adjustable optical amplifier at the receiver. A security analysis is derived against a two-mode collective entangling cloner attack. Our simulations show that the proposed method can improve the performance of protocols as long as the inherent noise of the amplifier is lower than a critical value, defined as the tolerable amplifier noise. Furthermore, the optimal performance can approach the scenario where a perfect detector is used. (paper)

Study on stress characteristics of Francis hydraulic turbine runner based on two-way FSI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, W R; Xiao, R F; Yang, W; Wang, F J; Liu, J

2012-01-01

In recent years, cracking phenomenon occurs in many large-sized turbines both nationally and internationally, which has threatened the stable operation of hydraulic turbines. Consequently, Stress characteristics calculation and analysis of a Francis hydraulic turbine runner by application of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) technology become significantly important. In order to introduce two-way coupling technology to hydraulic machinery, two-way FSI technology is applied in this article to calculate and analyze stress characteristics. Through coordinate system transformation, the continuity equations and Navier-Stokes equations in the Cartesian coordinates system are firstly transformed to ALE coordinates system. The fluid field control equations are then constructed and discrete equations can be obtained by using flow-condition-based interpolation (FBIC-C). The structure static mechanics equations used are established in rotation coordinate system, and modeled with the finite method. Two-way coupling is computed by using iteration method. The fluid equations and structure equations are iterated until coupling coefficients converge. According to structure result, the maximum stress, displacement as well as its location can be found. As a result, the most easily wear position can be discovered which provides valuable basis for optimized design and stable operation of Francis hydraulic turbines. After comparing the results with that of one-way coupling, it is discovered that displacements is the key factors which affects the results of one-way and two-way coupling.

Effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Travers, Catherine; Brooks, Deborah; Hines, Sonia; O'Reilly, Maria; McMaster, Mitchell; He, Wei; MacAndrew, Margaret; Fielding, Elaine; Karlsson, Lina; Beattie, Elizabeth

2016-12-01

The ability to participate in valued activities, whether for work, leisure or family, is an important aspect of personal identity. In dementia, progressive memory loss means that abilities developed over a lifetime begin to be lost as well, contributing to the loss of self and identity. Some studies have reported that activities or interventions tailored to be meaningful to the person with dementia (defined as any activity important to the individual) are more effective in addressing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and improving quality of life (QoL) than those that are not so tailored. However, the effectiveness of individualizing interventions or activities for this population is not known. In response to consumer feedback by the Consumer Dementia Research Network that this question ought to be addressed, this review was undertaken, the aim of which was to determine the effectiveness of meaningful occupation interventions for people living with dementia in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). People living with dementia in RACFs (nursing homes).Any intervention that was individualized to be meaningful to the participant, versus any active control condition or usual care.Experimental and observational studies. Quality of life, BPSD (such as agitation, aggression, depression, wandering and apathy), mood, function, cognition and sleep. The search strategy aimed to identify both published and unpublished studies, with the following 12 databases extensively searched: PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ISI Web of Science, OTSeeker, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, clinicaltrials.gov, Mednar, OpenSIGLE, New York Academy of Medicine Library Gray Literature Report, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. The search strategy was limited to papers published in English between 2004 and January 31, 2015. All studies were assessed independently by two reviewers for relevance, eligibility and methodological quality. Data from included papers were extracted using a

Self-Determination and Meaningful Work: Exploring Socioeconomic Constraints

OpenAIRE

Allan, Blake A.; Autin, Kelsey L.; Duffy, Ryan D.

2016-01-01

This study examined a model of meaningful work among a diverse sample of working adults. From the perspectives of Self-Determination Theory and the Psychology of Working Framework, we tested a structural model with social class and work volition predicting SDT motivation variables, which in turn predicted meaningful work. Partially supporting hypotheses, work volition was positively related to internal regulation and negatively related to amotivation, whereas social class was positively relat...

Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology by Rural Hospitals

Science.gov (United States)

McCullough, Jeffrey; Casey, Michelle; Moscovice, Ira; Burlew, Michele

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study examines the current status of meaningful use of health information technology (IT) in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), other rural, and urban US hospitals, and it discusses the potential role of Medicare payment incentives and disincentives in encouraging CAHs and other rural hospitals to achieve meaningful use. Methods: Data…

Towards an explanation of age-related difficulties in crossing a two-way street

OpenAIRE

Dommes , Aurélie; LE LAY , Tristan; Vienne , Fabrice; DANG , Nguyen-Thong; PERROT BEAUDOIN , Alexandra; Do , Manh Cuong

2015-01-01

Crossing a two-way street is a complex task that involves visual, cognitive and motor abilities, all of which are known to decline with ageing. In particular, older pedestrians may experience difficulties when crossing two-way streets because of incorrect gap acceptance choices and impossible or unperceived evasive actions. To understand the overrepresentation of older pedestrians in crash statistics, several experimental studies have sought to identify traffic-related factors as well as thos...

Concept maps and the meaningful learning of science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Antonio C. S. Valadares

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The foundations of the Meaningful Learning Theory (MLT were laid by David Ausubel. The MLT was highly valued by the contributions of Joseph Novak and D. B. Gowin. Unlike other learning theories, the MLT has an operational component, since there are some instruments based on it and with the meaningful learning facilitation as aim. These tools were designated graphic organizers by John Trowbridge and James Wandersee (2000, pp. 100-129. One of them is the concept map created by Novak to extract meanings from an amalgam of information, having currently many applications. The other one is the Vee diagram or knowledge Vee, also called epistemological Vee or heuristic Vee. It was created by Gowin, and is an excellent organizer, for example to unpack and make transparent the unclear information from an information source. Both instruments help us in processing and becoming conceptually transparent the information, to facilitate the cognitive process of new meanings construction. In this work, after a brief introduction, it will be developed the epistemological and psychological grounds of MLT, followed by a reference to constructivist learning environments facilitators of the meaningful learning, the characterization of concept maps and exemplification of its use in various applications that have proved to be very effective from the standpoint of meaningful learning.

Thermomechanical behavior of a two-way shape memory composite actuator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge, Qi; Westbrook, Kristofer K; Dunn, Martin L; Jerry Qi, H; Mather, Patrick T

2013-01-01

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a class of smart materials that can fix a temporary shape and recover to their permanent (original) shape in response to an environmental stimulus such as heat, electricity, or irradiation, among others. Most SMPs developed in the past can only demonstrate the so-called one-way shape memory effect; i.e., one programming step can only yield one shape memory cycle. Recently, one of the authors (Mather) developed a SMP that exhibits both one-way shape memory (1W-SM) and two-way shape memory (2W-SM) effects (with the assistance of an external load). This SMP was further used to develop a free-standing composite actuator with a nonlinear reversible actuation under thermal cycling. In this paper, a theoretical model for the PCO SMP based composite actuator was developed to investigate its thermomechanical behavior and the mechanisms for the observed phenomena during the actuation cycles, and to provide insight into how to improve the design. (paper)

Assessing Fan Flutter Stability in Presence of Inlet Distortion Using One-Way and Two-Way Coupled Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Herrick, Gregory P.

2014-01-01

Concerns regarding noise, propulsive efficiency, and fuel burn are inspiring aircraft designs wherein the propulsive turbomachines are partially (or fully) embedded within the airframe; such designs present serious concerns with regard to aerodynamic and aeromechanic performance of the compression system in response to inlet distortion. Previously, a preliminary design of a forward-swept high-speed fan exhibited flutter concerns in clean-inlet flows, and the present author then studied this fan further in the presence of off-design distorted in-flows. Continuing this research, a three-dimensional, unsteady, Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics code is again applied to analyze and corroborate fan performance with clean inlet flow and now with a simplified, sinusoidal distortion of total pressure at the aerodynamic interface plane. This code, already validated in its application to assess aerodynamic damping of vibrating blades at various flow conditions using a one-way coupled energy-exchange approach, is modified to include a two-way coupled timemarching aeroelastic simulation capability. The two coupling methods are compared in their evaluation of flutter stability in the presence of distorted in-flows.

Enhancing the Meaningfulness of Work for Astronauts on Long Duration Space Exploration Missions.

Science.gov (United States)

Britt, Thomas W; Sytine, Anton; Brady, Ashley; Wilkes, Russ; Pittman, Rebecca; Jennings, Kristen; Goguen, Kandice

2017-08-01

Numerous authors have identified the stressors likely to be encountered on long duration space exploration missions (e.g., to Mars), including the possibility of significant crises, separation from family, boredom/monotony, and interpersonal conflict. Although many authors have noted that meaningful work may be beneficial for astronauts on these missions, none have detailed the sources of meaningful work for astronauts and how these sources may differ between astronauts. The present article identifies how engagement in meaningful work during long duration missions may mitigate the adverse effects of demands and increase the potential for benefits resulting from the missions. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nine NASA personnel, including astronauts, flight directors, and flight surgeons. Questions addressed sources of meaning for astronauts, characteristics of tasks that enhance vs. detract from meaning, and recommendations for enhancing meaning. Personnel mentioned contributing to humanity and the next generation, contributing to the mission, and exploration as the most meaningful aspects of their work. Characteristics of tasks that enhanced meaning included using a variety of skills, feeling personal control over their schedule, autonomy in the execution of tasks, and understanding the importance of the experiments conducted on the mission. Top recommendations to sustain meaning were insuring social needs were met through such activities as the strategic use of social media, giving astronauts autonomy as well as structure, and conducting training during transit. Implications are addressed for tailoring meaning-based interventions for astronauts participating on long duration missions and assessing the effectiveness of these interventions.Britt TW, Sytine A, Brady A, Wilkes R, Pittman R, Jennings K, Goguen K. Enhancing the meaningfulness of work for astronauts on long duration space exploration missions. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(8):779-783.

Noninvasive brain stimulation can induce paradoxical facilitation . Are these neuroenhancements transferable and meaningful to security services?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean eLevasseur-Moreau

2013-08-01

Full Text Available For ages, we have been looking for ways to enhance our physical and cognitive capacities in order to augment our security. One potential way to achieve this goal may be to externally stimulate the brain. Methods of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial electrical stimulation, have been recently developed to modulate brain activity. Both techniques are relatively safe and can transiently modify motor and cognitive functions outlasting the stimulation period. The purpose of this paper is to review data suggesting that NIBS can enhance motor and cognitive performance in healthy volunteers. We frame these findings in the context of whether they may serve security purposes. Specifically, we review studies reporting that NIBS induces paradoxical facilitation in motor (precision, speed, strength, acceleration endurance, and execution of daily motor task and cognitive functions (attention, impulsive behaviour, risk-taking, working memory, planning, and deceptive capacities. Although transferability and meaningfulness of these NIBS-induced paradoxical facilitations into real life situations are not clear yet, NIBS may contribute at improving training of motor and cognitive functions relevant for military, civil and forensic security services. This is an enthusiastic perspective that also calls for fair and open debates on the ethics of using NIBS in healthy individuals to enhance normal functions.

Energy Efficient Design for Two-Way AF Relay Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Conventional designs on two-way relay networks mainly focus on the spectral efficiency (SE rather than energy efficiency (EE. In this paper, we consider a system where two source nodes communicate with each other via an amplify-and-forward (AF relay node and study the power allocation schemes to maximize EE while ensuring a certain data rate. We propose an optimal energy-efficient power allocation algorithm based on iterative search technique. In addition, a closed-form suboptimal solution is derived with reduced complexity and negligible performance degradation. Numerical results show that the proposed schemes can achieve considerable EE improvement compared with conventional designs.

EEG/MEG Source Reconstruction with Spatial-Temporal Two-Way Regularized Regression

KAUST Repository

Tian, Tian Siva; Huang, Jianhua Z.; Shen, Haipeng; Li, Zhimin

2013-01-01

In this work, we propose a spatial-temporal two-way regularized regression method for reconstructing neural source signals from EEG/MEG time course measurements. The proposed method estimates the dipole locations and amplitudes simultaneously

Energy efficient design for MIMO two-way AF multiple relay networks

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.; Ghazzai, Hakim; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2014-01-01

This paper studies the energy efficient transmission and the power allocation problem for multiple two-way relay networks equipped with multi-input multi-output antennas where each relay employs an amplify-and-forward strategy. The goal

Values-led Participatory Design as a pursuit of meaningful alternatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leong, Tuck Wah; Iversen, Ole Sejer

2015-01-01

Participatory Design (PD) is inherently concerned with inquiring into and supporting human values when designing IT. We argue that a PD approach that is led by a focus upon participants' values can allow participants to discover meaningful alternatives -- alternative uses and alternative...... conceptualizations for IT that are particularly meaningful to them. However, how PD works with values in the design process has not been made explicit. In this paper, we aim to (i) explicate this values-led PD approach, (ii) illustrate how this approach can lead to outcomes that are meaningful alternatives, and (iii...

CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO THE EDUCATION OF LIFE-MEANINGFUL VALUES OF TEENAGERS AND EARLY ADOLESCENCE IN UKRAINE

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Katherinа Zhurba

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The article presents the conceptual approaches to the upbringing in the education of life-meaningful values of teenagers and early adolescence in Ukraine. The definition of life-meaningful values has been given up. The major problems and contradictions in the upbringing of the Ukrainian children were paid attention to. The dependence of the result of upbringing, from the desire and the participation of all actors: children, parents, teachers is pointed out. Conceptual approaches to education of life values meaning are analyzed on the methodological, theoretical and practical levels. The aspects of the previous researches have been underlined. In this context, a systematic approach determines the integrity of the educational process in primary and high school. Synergetic approach combines the organization and self-organization of the growing personality. Humanistic approach recognizes each child's highest value at school, family, and society. Personal-centered approach provides individual attention to him, to free choice of that or other life-meaningful values. Activity approach provides practice and deed activity of children and shows how the value of the meaning of life affects the behavior of the individual. The theoretical level of substantiation of the concept of education of children of teenagers and early youth gives ability to define key points and concepts. Practical level implies the corresponding experimental activity, the determination of propriate pedagogical conditions, the selection of content, forms and methods of education of teenagers and early adolescence. Conceptual approaches offer the opportunity to develop a modern system of education of the values of the meaning of life of teenagers and early adolescence in Ukraine. Implementation of conceptual approaches aimed at qualitative changes in the education of life-meaningful values among of teenagers and early adolescence.

Characteristics of meaningful chemistry education - The case of water quality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westbroek, Hanna Barbara

2005-01-01

This thesis addresses the question of how to involve students in meaningful chemistry education by a proper implementation of three characteristics of meaningful: a context, a need-to-know approach and attention for student input. The characteristics were adopted as solution strategies for

Lexical need as a two-way reality cognition tool

OpenAIRE

Mark Kit; Elena Berg

2014-01-01

Lexical need as a two-way reality cognition tool In this paper a concept of lexical need is introduced and its application in research of cognitive aspects of translation is discussed. Further discussion elaborates mechanisms of development of translator’s lexical space in the course of translation. Authors discuss the importance and special nature of low-frequency lexical units and difficulties encountered when studying their usage and suggest that the lexical need concept help these stu...

On the Achievable Rate-Regions for the Gaussian Two-way Diamond Channels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Askarian

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this channel,we study rate region of a Gaussian two-way diamond channel which operates in half-duplex mode. In this channel, two transceiver (TR nodes exchange their messages with the help of two relay nodes. We consider a special case of the Gaussian two-way diamond channels which is called Compute-and-Forward Multiple Access Channel (CF-MAC. In the CF-MAC, the TR nodes transmit their messages to the relay nodes which are followed by a simultaneous communication from the relay nodes to the TRs. Adopting rate splitting method in the terminal encoders and then using Compute-and-Forward (CF relaying and decoding the sum of messages at the relay nodes, an achievable rate region for this channel is obtained. To this end, we use a superposition coding based on lattice codes. Using numerical results, we show that our proposed scheme has better performance than other similar methods and achieves a tighter gap to the outer bound.

Pre-Service Teachers' Modelling Processes through Engagement with Model Eliciting Activities with a Technological Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Daher, Wajeeh M.; Shahbari, Juhaina Awawdeh

2015-01-01

Engaging mathematics students with modelling activities helps them learn mathematics meaningfully. This engagement, in the case of model eliciting activities, helps the students elicit mathematical models by interpreting real-world situation in mathematical ways. This is especially true when the students utilize technology to build the models.…

Novel study guides for biochemistry meaningful learning in biology: a design-based research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caetano da Costa

2017-12-01

Full Text Available To address the usually decontextualized transmission of information in biochemistry teaching, three interventions in a discipline (Metabolism for Biology majors were applied as innovative study guides. We describe the development, application, and evaluation of two study guides, contextualized with a real problem or an integrative view, using broad themes like evolution and metabolic adaptation. In order to evaluate the impact of both interventions on interest, motivation, and learning of the metabolic pathways, a design-based research with cycles of application and assessment was carried out, by means of classroom observation, grade analysis in written exams, and students’ interviews. Analysis and interpretation of the results point to benefits for teaching and learning, with helpful information to guide elaboration and refinement of new teaching materials and to make active learning more meaningful.

Data Quality Assessment of In Situ and Altimeter Observations Through Two-Way Intercomparison Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Guinehut, Stephanie; Valladeau, Guillaume; Legeais, Jean-Francois; Rio, Marie-Helene; Ablain, Michael; Larnicol, Gilles

2013-09-01

This proceeding presents an overview of the two-way inter-comparison activities performed at CLS for both space and in situ observation agencies and why this activity is a required step to obtain accurate and homogenous data sets that can then be used together for climate studies or in assimilation/validation tools. We first describe the work performed in the frame of the SALP program to assess the stability of altimeter missions through SSH comparisons with tide gauges (GLOSS/CLIVAR network). Then, we show how the SSH comparison between the Argo array and altimeter time series allows the detection of drifts or jumps in altimeter (SALP program) but also for some Argo floats (Ifremer/Coriolis center). Lastly, we describe how the combine use of altimeter and wind observations helps the detection of drogue loss of surface drifting buoys (GDP network) and allow the computation of a correction term for wind slippage.

Measure of departure from marginal point-symmetry for two-way contingency tables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kouji Yamamoto

2013-05-01

Full Text Available For two-way contingency tables, Tomizawa (1985 considered the point-symmetry and marginal point-symmetry models, and Tomizawa, Yamamoto and Tahata (2007 proposed a measure to represent the degree of departure from point-symmetry. The present paper proposes a measure to represent the degree of departure from marginal pointsymmetry for two-way tables. The proposed measure is expressed by using Cressie-Read power-divergence or Patil-Taillie diversity index. This measure would be useful for comparing the degrees of departure from marginal point-symmetry in several tables. The relationship between the degree of departure from marginal point-symmetry and the measure is shown when it is reasonable to assume underlying bivariate normal distribution. Examples are shown.

Meaningful work and secondary school teachers' intention to leave

OpenAIRE

Janik, M.; Rothmann, S.

2015-01-01

The study investigates the relations between secondary school teachers' work-role fit, job enrichment, supervisor relationships, co-worker relationships, psychological meaningfulness of work and intention to leave. A cross-sectional survey was used. The participants were 502 secondary school teachers in Namibia. The following measuring instruments were used: Work-role Fit Scale, Job Enrichment Scale, Co-worker and Supervisor Relationships Scales, Psychological Meaningfulness Scale and Turnove...

Poignancy: Mixed Emotional Experience in the Face of Meaningful Endings

Science.gov (United States)

Ersner-Hershfield, Hal; Mikels, Joseph A.; Sullivan, Sarah J.; Carstensen, Laura L.

2009-01-01

The experience of mixed emotions increases with age. Socioemotional selectivity theory suggests that mixed emotions are associated with shifting time horizons. Theoretically, perceived constraints on future time increase appreciation for life, which, in turn, elicits positive emotions such as happiness. Yet, the very same temporal constraints heighten awareness that these positive experiences come to an end, thus yielding mixed emotional states. In 2 studies, the authors examined the link between the awareness of anticipated endings and mixed emotional experience. In Study 1, participants repeatedly imagined being in a meaningful location. Participants in the experimental condition imagined being in the meaningful location for the final time. Only participants who imagined “last times” at meaningful locations experienced more mixed emotions. In Study 2, college seniors reported their emotions on graduation day. Mixed emotions were higher when participants were reminded of the ending that they were experiencing. Findings suggest that poignancy is an emotional experience associated with meaningful endings. PMID:18179325

Two-way text messaging: an interactive mobile learning environment in higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H.K. Salinda Premadasa

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Short messaging service (SMS is perhaps the most popular mobile technology prevalent among students in higher education due to its ubiquitous nature and the capability of two-way communication. However, a major limitation in two-way text messaging is sending back a part of received data with the reply message. This limitation results in users of a mobile learning environment being unable to reply back to the correct destination. This article presents a two-way text messaging system that can be integrated into a learning management system (LMS to provide an interactive learning experience to the user community. Initially, a database is integrated into the LMS that holds message information such as recipient's phone number, message body and user data header. A specific port associated with the SMS is used to conceal and exchange data of a particular course unit. Subsequently, software in the student's mobile device captures this message and sends back the reply message to the appropriate course unit allowing both teachers and students to view messages sent and replies received pertaining to a particular course. Results indicate the educational impact of the proposed system in improving the learning environment and benefits it offers to the community in a campus-wide implementation.

"Meaningful use" of EHR in dental school clinics: how to benefit from the U.S. HITECH Act's financial and quality improvement incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalenderian, Elsbeth; Walji, Muhammad; Ramoni, Rachel B

2013-04-01

Through the 2009 HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act, the U.S. government committed $27 billion to incentivize the adoption and "meaningful use" of certified electronic health records (EHRs) by providers, including dentists. Given their patient profiles, dental school clinics are in a position to benefit from this time-delimited commitment to support the adoption and use of certified EHR technology under the Medicaid-based incentive. The benefits are not merely financial: rather, the meaningful use objectives and clinical quality measures can drive quality improvement initiatives within dental practices and help develop a community of medical and dental professionals focused on quality. This article describes how dentists can qualify as eligible providers and the set of activities that must be undertaken and attested to in order to obtain this incentive. Two case studies describe the approaches that can be used to meet the Medicaid threshold necessary to be eligible for the incentive. Dentists can and have successfully applied for meaningful use incentive payments. Given the diverse set of patients who are treated at dental schools, these dental practices are among those most likely to benefit from the incentive programs.

An integrative approach to inferring biologically meaningful gene modules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Kai

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The ability to construct biologically meaningful gene networks and modules is critical for contemporary systems biology. Though recent studies have demonstrated the power of using gene modules to shed light on the functioning of complex biological systems, most modules in these networks have shown little association with meaningful biological function. We have devised a method which directly incorporates gene ontology (GO annotation in construction of gene modules in order to gain better functional association. Results We have devised a method, Semantic Similarity-Integrated approach for Modularization (SSIM that integrates various gene-gene pairwise similarity values, including information obtained from gene expression, protein-protein interactions and GO annotations, in the construction of modules using affinity propagation clustering. We demonstrated the performance of the proposed method using data from two complex biological responses: 1. the osmotic shock response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and 2. the prion-induced pathogenic mouse model. In comparison with two previously reported algorithms, modules identified by SSIM showed significantly stronger association with biological functions. Conclusions The incorporation of semantic similarity based on GO annotation with gene expression and protein-protein interaction data can greatly enhance the functional relevance of inferred gene modules. In addition, the SSIM approach can also reveal the hierarchical structure of gene modules to gain a broader functional view of the biological system. Hence, the proposed method can facilitate comprehensive and in-depth analysis of high throughput experimental data at the gene network level.

Conservative adaptivity and two-way self-nesting using discrete wavelets

Science.gov (United States)

Dubos, Thomas

2010-05-01

In simulating atmosphere and oceans, multiscale modelling is desirable to track high-intensity weather patterns, to investigate the interactions between the various spatio-temporal scales of the climate system, and to perform assessments of climate change at scales small enough to derive impacts on society and ecosystems. The mainstream approach to multiscale modelling is to nest a fine, limited-area model into a coarse, global model. These models are then coupled, either one-way or two-way, in order to combine the global coverage of the global model and the fine details of the fine model. In the long simulations typical of climate studies, initial conditions are unimportant, except for the few quantities like mass that are exactly conserved. In this context it is crucial that numerical models conserve at least mass exactly at the discrete level. However even with elaborate strategies like adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) conservation is not straightforwardly achieved. Although the continuous wavelet transform has become a standard tool of geophysical data analysis, it is less known that discrete wavelets and the associated transforms provide the basis for spatially adaptive numerical methods. Such methods are now well-developed in the fluid dynamics community. Since they allow spatial adaptivity, they can also be seen as two-way self-nesting methods. However since they are not specifically designed for geophysical purposes they are usually not exactly conservative. I present a fairly general framework in which a wavelet-based layer is added to an existing conservative scheme (finite-volume or finite-difference) to make it spatially adaptive without breaking the exact conservation of linear invariants. Discrete wavelet transforms involve an upscaling operation by which fields are transferred from a fine grid to a coarser grid with half the resolution. The method requires that mass fluxes be upscaled in a way that is consistent with the upscaling of mass. This

The challenge of a meaningful job

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jepsen, Ingrid

and the feeling of doing high quality care generate job satisfaction. The obligation and pressure to perform well and the disadvantages on the midwives’ private lives is counterbalanced by the feeling of doing a meaningful and important job. Working in caseload midwifery creates a feeling of working in a self....... The methodology was inspired by ethnography, and applied methods were field observations followed by interviews. Participants: Thirteen out of eighteen midwives working in caseloads were observed during one or two days in the antenatal clinic and interviewed at a later occasion. Findings: The recognition......-governing model within the public hospital, without losing the technological benefits of a modern birth unit. For pregnant women with a challenging personality or attitude towards others, Caseload midwifery may provide an extra opportunity to feel recognized and respected. Key conclusions: Caseload midwifery...

Active aging as a way of keeping diseases at arm’s length

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Aske Juul

Active ageing has increasingly become the ideal of how to live later life. Concepts of activity, participation and independence are central to how elderly see themselves and practice aging (Katz 2000). The elderly are encouraged and expected to stay active and independent. This is believed...... to be good for their quality of life, health, functionality and the economy (Sundhedsstyrelsen 2008, EC 2006, WHO 2002). At the same time active aging is inscribed into a general health care focus, which individualizes the responsibility for health and disease. This requires subjects ready to self......-care, by paying attention to the signals of the body and leading healthy lives (Rose 2001). However, active aging seems to contain an ambiguity in this aspect, as the practice of active aging is often a way for elderly to keep diseases at arm’s length, and not a way to sense the possible abnormalities in the body...

Design democratization with communities: Drawing toward locally meaningful design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winschiers-Goagoses, Naska; Winschiers-Theophilus, Heike; Rodil, Kasper

2012-01-01

The authors present community drawing as meaningful representations to inform locally valid technology design. They investigate recognition within and across cultural borders, thereby exposing variances of localities. The study contributes to the still scarce body of empirical work on culturally...... meaningful development of visual representations and recognition, as part of a longitudinal research project in which we co-design a 3D visualization for a specific Namibian pilot site....

Transnational Mexican-Origin Families' Ways of Knowing: A Framework toward Bridging Understandings in U.S. Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Kasun, G. Sue

2016-01-01

Transnational students and families are those who cross real and metaphoric borders, spanning countries, to engage family and community in meaningful ways. Based on a three-year, multi-sited ethnographic study, I show the distinct ways of knowing of four Mexican-origin, working class families and how the U.S. schools where the children from these…

Towards Efficient Wireless Body Area Network Using Two-Way Relay Cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Waheed, Maham; Ahmad, Rizwan; Ahmed, Waqas; Drieberg, Micheal; Alam, Muhammad Mahtab

2018-02-13

The fabrication of lightweight, ultra-thin, low power and intelligent body-borne sensors leads to novel advances in wireless body area networks (WBANs). Depending on the placement of the nodes, it is characterized as in/on body WBAN; thus, the channel is largely affected by body posture, clothing, muscle movement, body temperature and climatic conditions. The energy resources are limited and it is not feasible to replace the sensor's battery frequently. In order to keep the sensor in working condition, the channel resources should be reserved. The lifetime of the sensor is very crucial and it highly depends on transmission among sensor nodes and energy consumption. The reliability and energy efficiency in WBAN applications play a vital role. In this paper, the analytical expressions for energy efficiency (EE) and packet error rate (PER) are formulated for two-way relay cooperative communication. The results depict better reliability and efficiency compared to direct and one-way relay communication. The effective performance range of direct vs. cooperative communication is separated by a threshold distance. Based on EE calculations, an optimal packet size is observed that provides maximum efficiency over a certain link length. A smart and energy efficient system is articulated that utilizes all three communication modes, namely direct, one-way relay and two-way relay, as the direct link performs better for a certain range, but the cooperative communication gives better results for increased distance in terms of EE. The efficacy of the proposed hybrid scheme is also demonstrated over a practical quasi-static channel. Furthermore, link length extension and diversity is achieved by joint network-channel (JNC) coding the cooperative link.

Towards Efficient Wireless Body Area Network Using Two-Way Relay Cooperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maham Waheed

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The fabrication of lightweight, ultra-thin, low power and intelligent body-borne sensors leads to novel advances in wireless body area networks (WBANs. Depending on the placement of the nodes, it is characterized as in/on body WBAN; thus, the channel is largely affected by body posture, clothing, muscle movement, body temperature and climatic conditions. The energy resources are limited and it is not feasible to replace the sensor’s battery frequently. In order to keep the sensor in working condition, the channel resources should be reserved. The lifetime of the sensor is very crucial and it highly depends on transmission among sensor nodes and energy consumption. The reliability and energy efficiency in WBAN applications play a vital role. In this paper, the analytical expressions for energy efficiency (EE and packet error rate (PER are formulated for two-way relay cooperative communication. The results depict better reliability and efficiency compared to direct and one-way relay communication. The effective performance range of direct vs. cooperative communication is separated by a threshold distance. Based on EE calculations, an optimal packet size is observed that provides maximum efficiency over a certain link length. A smart and energy efficient system is articulated that utilizes all three communication modes, namely direct, one-way relay and two-way relay, as the direct link performs better for a certain range, but the cooperative communication gives better results for increased distance in terms of EE. The efficacy of the proposed hybrid scheme is also demonstrated over a practical quasi-static channel. Furthermore, link length extension and diversity is achieved by joint network-channel (JNC coding the cooperative link.

Patient Centred Systems: Techno-Anthropological reflections on the challenges of 'meaningfully engaging' patients within health informatics research.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Ming-Chao; Almond, Helen; Cummings, Elizabeth; Roehrer, Erin; Showell, Chris; Turner, Paul

2015-01-01

This chapter explores how Techno-Anthropology can contribute to more explicitly professional and ethically responsible reflections on the socio-technical practices involved in meaningfully engaging patients in health informatics research. The chapter draws on insights from health informatics research projects focused on chronic disease and self-management conducted in Tasmania during the last 10 years. Through these projects the paper explores three topics of relevance to 'meaningful engagement' with patients: (i) Patient Self-Management and Chronic Disease (ii) Patients as Users in Health Informatics research, and, (iii) Evaluations of outcomes in Health and Health Informatics Interventions. Techno-Anthropological reflections are then discussed through the concepts of liminality, polyphony and power. This chapter argues that beyond its contribution to methodology, an important role for Techno-Anthropology in patient centred health informatics research may be its capacity to support new ways of conceptualising and critically reflecting on the construction and mediation of patients' needs, values and perspectives.

Taking a leap of faith: Meaningful participation of people with experiences of homelessness in solutions to address homelessness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trudy Laura Norman

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Participation of people with experiences of homelessness is critical to the development of meaningful strategies to end homelessness. The purpose of this study was to gain insights from people who have been homeless in a mid-sized Canadian city, as to strategies that facilitate meaningful participation in solutions to end homelessness. Within an overarching framework of collaborative research, we collected data through seven focus groups and employed interpretive description as our approach to data analysis. In our analysis, we identified both exclusionary and inclusionary forces that impact participation. Exclusionary forces included being ‘caught in the homelessness industry’, ‘homelessness is a full time job’ and facing stigma/discrimination that make participation a ‘leap of faith’. Inclusionary forces included earning respect and building trust to address unequal power relations, and restoring often ‘taken for granted’ social relations. Specific strategies to enhance participation include listening, valuing skills and stories, and supporting advocacy efforts. The study findings illuminate ways in which power imbalances are lived out in the daily lives of people who experience homelessness, as well as mitigating forces that provide direction as to strategies for addressing power inequities that seek to make participation and social inclusion meaningful. Keywords: homelessness, social policy, social exclusion, social inclusion, advocacy

Towards an explanation of age-related difficulties in crossing a two-way street.

Science.gov (United States)

Dommes, Aurélie; Lay, Tristan Le; Vienne, Fabrice; Dang, Nguyen-Thong; Beaudoin, Alexandra Perrot; Do, Manh Cuong

2015-12-01

Crossing a two-way street is a complex task that involves visual, cognitive and motor abilities, all of which are known to decline with ageing. In particular, older pedestrians may experience difficulties when crossing two-way streets because of incorrect gap acceptance choices and impossible or unperceived evasive actions. To understand the overrepresentation of older pedestrians in crash statistics, several experimental studies have sought to identify traffic-related factors as well as those related to the abilities of the individuals themselves. However, none of these studies has required participants to actually walk across an experimental two-way street with curbs, which is a particularly challenging situation for older pedestrians. To fill this research gap, a quasi-experiment was conducted in a simulator including a total of 58 healthy aged participants (25 younger-old [age 60-72] and 33 older-old [age 72-92]) and 25 young adults (aged 18-25 years). Participants carried out a street-crossing task in a simulated two-way traffic environment; curbs were present on both sides of the experimental street. Participants also undertook a battery of tests to assess their visual and cognitive abilities. In addition, during the experiment, the participants' gait parameters were recorded. In line with earlier findings, the older-old group of participants made a higher number of decisions that led to collisions with approaching cars compared with the other groups. The two groups of older participants experienced specific difficulties when vehicles were in the far lane or when they approached rapidly. A regression analysis identified visual acuity, speed of processing (assessed using the UFOV(®) test), and step length as significant predictors of collisions. Our results have implications for understanding the difficulties experienced by older pedestrians and allow to draw up several recommendations for improving their safety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Students’ Expectations and Experiences of Meaningful Simulation-Based Medical Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuulikki Keskitalo

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This study aims to investigate students’ expectations and experiences of meaningful learning in simulation-based learning environments. We set the following research question: How do students’ experiences of meaningful simulation-based learning correspond to their expectations? The students’ (n = 87; male 51, female 36 pre- and post-questionnaires were analyzed using statistical methods. The results indicated that students’ expectations and experiences of meaningful learning were positive, and for most statements, there were statistically significant differences between the mean pre-questionnaire rating and the mean post-questionnaire rating, thereby indicating that students’ actual experiences of simulation-based learning were more positive than their expectations. Thus, students’ experiences exceeded their expectations.

77 FR 51045 - Certain Two-Way Global Satellite Communication Devices, System and Components Thereof; Notice of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-23

... Certain Two-Way Global Satellite Communication Devices, System and Components Thereof, DN 2907; the... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Docket No. 2907] Certain Two-Way Global Satellite Communication Devices, System and Components Thereof; Notice of Receipt of Complaint; Solicitation of Comments Relating...

Ka-Band Waveguide Two-Way Hybrid Combiner for MMIC Amplifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Simons, Rainee N.; Chevalier, Christine T.; Wintucky, Edwin G.; Freeman, Jon C.

2010-01-01

The design, simulation, and characterization of a novel Ka-band (32.05 0.25 GHz) rectangular waveguide two-way branch-line hybrid unequal power combiner (with port impedances matched to that of a standard WR-28 waveguide) has been created to combine input signals, which are in phase and with an amplitude ratio of two. The measured return loss and isolation of the branch-line hybrid are better than 22 and 27 dB, respectively. The measured combining efficiency is 92.9 percent at the center frequency of 32.05 GHz. This circuit is efficacious in combining the unequal output power from two Ka-band GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifiers (PAs) with high efficiency. The component parts include the branch-line hybrid-based power combiner and the MMIC-based PAs. A two-way branch-line hybrid is a four-port device with all ports matched; power entering port 1 is divided in phase, and into the ratio 2:1 between ports 3 and 4. No power is coupled to port 2. MMICs are a type of integrated circuit fabricated on GaAs that operates at microwave frequencies, and performs the function of signal amplification. The power combiner is designed to operate over the frequency band of 31.8 to 32.3 GHz, which is NASA's deep space frequency band. The power combiner would have an output return loss better than 20 dB. Isolation between the output port and the isolated port is greater than 25 dB. Isolation between the two input ports is greater than 25 dB. The combining efficiency would be greater than 90 percent when the ratio of the two input power levels is two. The power combiner is machined from aluminum with E-plane split-block arrangement, and has excellent reliability. The flexibility of this design allows the combiner to be customized for combining the power from MMIC PAs with an arbitrary power output ratio. In addition, it allows combining a low-power GaAs MMIC with a high-power GaN MMIC. The arbitrary

Meaningful Understanding and Systems Thinking in Organic Chemistry: Validating Measurement and Exploring Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Vachliotis, Theodoros; Salta, Katerina; Tzougraki, Chryssa

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was dual: First, to develop and validate assessment schemes for assessing 11th grade students' meaningful understanding of organic chemistry concepts, as well as their systems thinking skills in the domain. Second, to explore the relationship between the two constructs of interest based on students' performance…

Lightweight Privacy-Preserving Authentication Protocols Secure against Active Attack in an Asymmetric Way

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Yank; Kobara, Kazukuni; Matsuura, Kanta; Imai, Hideki

As pervasive computing technologies develop fast, the privacy protection becomes a crucial issue and needs to be coped with very carefully. Typically, it is difficult to efficiently identify and manage plenty of the low-cost pervasive devices like Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID), without leaking any privacy information. In particular, the attacker may not only eavesdrop the communication in a passive way, but also mount an active attack to ask queries adaptively, which is obviously more dangerous. Towards settling this problem, in this paper, we propose two lightweight authentication protocols which are privacy-preserving against active attack, in an asymmetric way. That asymmetric style with privacy-oriented simplification succeeds to reduce the load of low-cost devices and drastically decrease the computation cost for the management of server. This is because that, unlike the usual management of the identities, our approach does not require any synchronization nor exhaustive search in the database, which enjoys great convenience in case of a large-scale system. The protocols are based on a fast asymmetric encryption with specialized simplification and only one cryptographic hash function, which consequently assigns an easy work to pervasive devices. Besides, our results do not require the strong assumption of the random oracle.

Meaningful Learning in the Cooperative Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Sharan, Yael

2015-01-01

Meaningful learning is based on more than what teachers transmit; it promotes the construction of knowledge out of learners' experience, feelings and exchanges with other learners. This educational view is based on the constructivist approach to learning and the co-operative learning approach. Researchers and practitioners in various…

Perspektif Karyawan Perbankan pada Komunikasi Internal dengan Two-Way Symmetrical Communication dan Internal Marketing

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Mia Angeline

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The article investigates the internal communication in the two branches of foreign banks in Kelapa Gading from the perspectives of two-way symmetrical communication and internal marketing. The second problem investigated is the effectiveness of the use of email as a means of internal communication. Data were collected through interviews and literature. The results showed that the perception of employees not in accordance with the concept of two-way communication and internal marketing, but this policy has led the organization to these concepts. In the use of email, employee perceptions still see that the email is an effective internal communication media despite having many weaknesses.  

Two-Way Multiuser Mixed RF/FSO Relaying: Performance Analysis and Power Allocation

KAUST Repository

Al-Eryani, Yasser F.; Salhab, Anas; Zummo, Salam A.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2018-01-01

In this paper, the performance of two-way multiuser mixed radio frequency/free space optical (RF/FSO) relay networks with opportunistic user scheduling and asymmetric channel fading is studied. RF links are used to conduct data transmission between

Reading: A Meaningful Way to Promote Learning English in High School La lectura: Una forma significativa de promover el aprendizaje del inglés en la educación secundaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Milena Valcárcel Goyeneche

2005-10-01

Full Text Available This project involved three different groups of seventh grade, at the Luis López de Mesa state school in Bosa, Bogotá (Colombia. Thinking of a way to adapt the foreign language learning-teaching process to our real conditions, we found reading very useful to enable students to learn English more easily and accurately. We show how English language learning can be developed from reading processes involving the other language skills and can help students to develop individual and social skills. We conclude that reading becomes a meaningful way to learn a foreign language when teachers choose reading material according to learners’ interests, age and needs, and other content areas.Este proyecto involucró tres grupos diferentes de estudiantes de grado séptimo del colegio Distrital Luis López de Mesa en Bosa, Bogotá (Colombia. Pensando en una manera de adaptar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de un idioma extranjero a nuestras condiciones reales, encontramos que la lectura es muy útil para que los estudiantes aprendan inglés de manera más fácil y precisa. Mostramos cómo se puede desarrollar el aprendizaje del inglés a partir de la lectura involucrando las otras habilidades del lenguaje y ayudando a los estudiantes a desarrollar habilidades individuales y sociales. Concluimos que la lectura es una forma significativa de aprender una lengua extranjera cuando los profesores eligen el material de acuerdo con los intereses, edades y necesidades de los estudiantes, y otras áreas del conocimiento.

A meaningful workplace: Framework, space and context ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A meaningful workplace: Framework, space and context. ... PL Steenkamp, JS Basson ... The organisation experiences a loss of productivity, quality, innovation, et cetera ... This is what this article is about: to conceptualise the workplace as ...

Influence of compressive load conditions and thickness on the two-way shape memory behavior in tube-shaped NiTi alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Young Ik; Shin, Dong Kil; Lee, Jung Ju; Lee, Chang Ho

2012-01-01

The two-way shape memory behavior of Ni 55 Ti 45 was investigated to develop a tube-shaped NiTi actuator which could generate a large amount of force. The two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) was induced by thermal cycling under various amounts of constant compressive stress. Six specimens with the same outer diameter and different thickness were used to apply the TWSME to an actuator. A fast saturation tendency of the recovery strain was shown through training at each level of constant stress, after which the two-way shape memory strain was quantitatively measured during thermal cycling for each level of applied stress. From the results, the maximum two-way strain value was obtained after training at a constant level of stress and then decreased thereafter. In addition, the two-way strain was found to depend on the thickness of the tube-shaped specimen. All specimens could be divided into two groups depending on the rate of increase in the two-way strain. After two-way strain was obtained, the two-way recovery stress was measured to verify the performance of the sample as an actuator. The results showed that the two-way recovery stress behavior was similar to the two-way strain; if the optimal thickness of the specimen and the stress applied for training are used for the development of the TWSME, tube-shaped NiTi using the TWSME can replace one-way shape memory alloys. (paper)

Joint Preprocesser-Based Detectors for One-Way and Two-Way Cooperative Communication Networks

KAUST Repository

Abuzaid, Abdulrahman I.

2014-05-01

Efficient receiver designs for cooperative communication networks are becoming increasingly important. In previous work, cooperative networks communicated with the use of L relays. As the receiver is constrained, channel shortening and reduced-rank techniques were employed to design the preprocessing matrix that reduces the length of the received vector from L to U. In the first part of the work, a receiver structure is proposed which combines our proposed threshold selection criteria with the joint iterative optimization (JIO) algorithm that is based on the mean square error (MSE). Our receiver assists in determining the optimal U. Furthermore, this receiver provides the freedom to choose U for each frame depending on the tolerable difference allowed for MSE. Our study and simulation results show that by choosing an appropriate threshold, it is possible to gain in terms of complexity savings while having no or minimal effect on the BER performance of the system. Furthermore, the effect of channel estimation on the performance of the cooperative system is investigated. In the second part of the work, a joint preprocessor-based detector for cooperative communication networks is proposed for one-way and two-way relaying. This joint preprocessor-based detector operates on the principles of minimizing the symbol error rate (SER) instead of minimizing MSE. For a realistic assessment, pilot symbols are used to estimate the channel. From our simulations, it can be observed that our proposed detector achieves the same SER performance as that of the maximum likelihood (ML) detector with all participating relays. Additionally, our detector outperforms selection combining (SC), channel shortening (CS) scheme and reduced-rank techniques when using the same U. Finally, our proposed scheme has the lowest computational complexity.

An Inquiry Project: A Way to Develop a Meaningful Learning Context La indagación: un camino para desarrollar un contexto significativo de aprendizaje

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Norha Esperanza Pineda Torres

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this article is to share an inquiry experience from EFL (English as a Foreign Language classes, and the reflection that deals with the practical benefits participants have when they are involved in an inquiry proposal. Firstly, there is an introduction to this inquiry process describing the main question that guided this paper. Secondly, a theoretical framework and the authoring cycle description is presented considering the way the inquiry process took place within my classroom by means of meaningful actions and contexts. Thirdly, a data collection section by some reflective responses regarding participants’ learning during the process of developing the inquiry project; and the analysis of findings are explained with some samples. Finally, there are some pedagogical implications as well as some conclusions.El propósito principal de este artículo es comunicar una experiencia de indagación que desarrolló un grupo de estudiantes de inglés como lengua extranjera. Durante este proceso, los participantes lograron aprender varios aspectos educativos, de los cuales se obtuvieron muchos beneficios y enseñanzas. Este artículo consta de una introducción al tema central y las preguntas que generaron este trabajo. Después de esto, se presentan algunos aspectos teóricos importantes sobre el tema, así como una descripción del proceso significativo de indagación que se aplicó en el contexto de clase. Luego se describen y analizan la información y los datos recogidos durante el estudio. Por último, se presentan algunas implicaciones pedagógicas y conclusiones finales.

Optimal relay selection and power allocation for cognitive two-way relaying networks

KAUST Repository

Pandarakkottilil, Ubaidulla; Aï ssa, Sonia

2012-01-01

In this paper, we present an optimal scheme for power allocation and relay selection in a cognitive radio network where a pair of cognitive (or secondary) transceiver nodes communicate with each other assisted by a set of cognitive two-way relays

Myasthenia Gravis Impairment Index: Responsiveness, meaningful change, and relative efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, Carolina; Bril, Vera; Kapral, Moira; Kulkarni, Abhaya V; Davis, Aileen M

2017-12-05

To study responsiveness and meaningful change of the Myasthenia Gravis Impairment Index (MGII) and its relative efficiency compared to other measures. We enrolled 95 patients receiving prednisone, IV immunoglobulin (IVIg), or plasma exchange (PLEX) and 54 controls. Patients were assessed with the MGII and other measures-including the Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis Score, Myasthenia Gravis Composite, and Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living-at baseline and 3-4 weeks after treatment. Statistical markers of responsiveness included between-groups and within-group differences, and we estimated the relative efficiency of the MGII compared to other measures. Patient-meaningful change was assessed with an anchor-based method, using the patient's impression of change. We determined the minimal detectable change (MDC) and the minimal important difference (MID) at the group and individual level. Treated patients had a higher change in MGII scores than controls (analysis of covariance p 1 favoring the MGII. The MGII demonstrated responsiveness to prednisone, IVIg, and PLEX in patients with myasthenia. There is a differential response in ocular and generalized symptoms to type of therapy. The MGII has higher relative efficiency than comparison measures and is viable for use in clinical trials. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.

Discussing Difference: Color-Blind Collectivism and Dynamic Dissonance in Two-Way Immersion Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Stolte, Laurel

2017-01-01

This comparative case study (based on observational, interview, and picture-sort data) examines how teachers and students talk about cultural, linguistic, racial, and socioeconomic difference in two elementary Spanish-English two-way immersion programs. In addition, I analyze how those discourses are associated with both contextual conditions and…

Two-Way Communication with a Single Quantum Particle

Science.gov (United States)

Del Santo, Flavio; Dakić, Borivoje

2018-02-01

In this Letter we show that communication when restricted to a single information carrier (i.e., single particle) and finite speed of propagation is fundamentally limited for classical systems. On the other hand, quantum systems can surpass this limitation. We show that communication bounded to the exchange of a single quantum particle (in superposition of different spatial locations) can result in "two-way signaling," which is impossible in classical physics. We quantify the discrepancy between classical and quantum scenarios by the probability of winning a game played by distant players. We generalize our result to an arbitrary number of parties and we show that the probability of success is asymptotically decreasing to zero as the number of parties grows, for all classical strategies. In contrast, quantum strategy allows players to win the game with certainty.

Operating Room Delays: Meaningful Use in Electronic Health Record.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Winkle, Rachelle A; Champagne, Mary T; Gilman-Mays, Meri; Aucoin, Julia

2016-06-01

Perioperative areas are the most costly to operate and account for more than 40% of expenses. The high costs prompted one organization to analyze surgical delays through a retrospective review of their new electronic health record. Electronic health records have made it easier to access and aggregate clinical data; 2123 operating room cases were analyzed. Implementing a new electronic health record system is complex; inaccurate data and poor implementation can introduce new problems. Validating the electronic health record development processes determines the ease of use and the user interface, specifically related to user compliance with the intent of the electronic health record development. The revalidation process after implementation determines if the intent of the design was fulfilled and data can be meaningfully used. In this organization, the data fields completed through automation provided quantifiable, meaningful data. However, data fields completed by staff that required subjective decision making resulted in incomplete data nearly 24% of the time. The ease of use was further complicated by 490 permutations (combinations of delay types and reasons) that were built into the electronic health record. Operating room delay themes emerged notwithstanding the significant complexity of the electronic health record build; however, improved accuracy could improve meaningful data collection and a more accurate root cause analysis of operating room delays. Accurate and meaningful use of data affords a more reliable approach in quality, safety, and cost-effective initiatives.

Aging, culture, and memory for socially meaningful item-context associations: an East-West cross-cultural comparison study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lixia; Li, Juan; Spaniol, Julia; Hasher, Lynn; Wilkinson, Andrea J; Yu, Jing; Niu, Yanan

2013-01-01

Research suggests that people in Eastern interdependent cultures process information more holistically and attend more to contextual information than do people in Western independent cultures. The current study examined the effects of culture and age on memory for socially meaningful item-context associations in 71 Canadians of Western European descent (35 young and 36 older) and 72 native Chinese citizens (36 young and 36 older). All participants completed two blocks of context memory tasks. During encoding, participants rated pictures of familiar objects. In one block, objects were rated either for their meaningfulness in the independent living context or their typicality in daily life. In the other block, objects were rated for their meaningfulness in the context of fostering relationships with others or for their typicality in daily life. The encoding in each block was followed by a recognition test in which participants identified pictures and their associated contexts. The results showed that Chinese outperformed Canadians in context memory, though both culture groups showed similar age-related deficits in item and context memory. The results suggest that Chinese are at an advantage in memory for socially meaningful item-context associations, an advantage that continues from young adulthood into old age.

Two-way Fluid-Structure Interaction Simulation of a Micro Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-Bao Chen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A two-way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI analyses performed on a micro horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT which coupled the CFX solver with Structural solver in ANSYS Workbench was conducted in this paper. The partitioned approach-based non-conforming mesh methods and the k-ε turbulence model were adopted to perform the study. Both the results of one-way and two-way FSI analyses were presented and compared with each other, and discrepancy of the results, especially the mechanical properties, were analysed. Grid convergence which is crucial to the results was performed, and the relationship between the inner flow field domain (rotational domain and the number of grids (number of cells, elements was verified for the first time. Dynamical analyses of the wind turbine were conducted using the torque as a reference value, to verify the rationality of the model which dominates the accuracy of results. The optimal case was verified and used to conduct the study, thus, the results derived from the simulation of the FSI are accurate and credible.

Lexical need as a two-way reality cognition tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Kit

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Lexical need as a two-way reality cognition tool In this paper a concept of lexical need is introduced and its application in research of cognitive aspects of translation is discussed. Further discussion elaborates mechanisms of development of translator’s lexical space in the course of translation. Authors discuss the importance and special nature of low-frequency lexical units and difficulties encountered when studying their usage and suggest that the lexical need concept help these studies. Lexical need analysis can be also used to learn specifics of translator’s lexical space and then to take measures for selection of translators and improvement of their skills.

An investigation of meaningful understanding and effectiveness of the implementation of Piagetian and Ausubelian theories in physics instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Karen Ann

One section of college students (N = 25) enrolled in an algebra-based physics course was selected for a Piagetian-based learning cycle (LC) treatment while a second section (N = 25) studied in an Ausubelian-based meaningful verbal reception learning treatment (MVRL). This study examined the students' overall (concept + problem solving + mental model) meaningful understanding of force, density/Archimedes Principle, and heat. Also examined were students' meaningful understanding as measured by conceptual questions, problems, and mental models. In addition, students' learning orientations were examined. There were no significant posttest differences between the LC and MVRL groups for students' meaningful understanding or learning orientation. Piagetian and Ausubelian theories explain meaningful understanding for each treatment. Students from each treatment increased their meaningful understanding. However, neither group altered their learning orientation. The results of meaningful understanding as measured by conceptual questions, problem solving, and mental models were mixed. Differences were attributed to the weaknesses and strengths of each treatment. This research also examined four variables (treatment, reasoning ability, learning orientation, and prior knowledge) to find which best predicted students' overall meaningful understanding of physics concepts. None of these variables were significant predictors at the.05 level. However, when the same variables were used to predict students' specific understanding (i.e. concept, problem solving, or mental model understanding), the results were mixed. For forces and density/Archimedes Principle, prior knowledge and reasoning ability significantly predicted students' conceptual understanding. For heat, however, reasoning ability was the only significant predictor of concept understanding. Reasoning ability and treatment were significant predictors of students' problem solving for heat and forces. For density

Meaningful Use of School Health Data

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Kathleen Hoy; Bergren, Martha Dewey

2011-01-01

Meaningful use (MU) of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is an important development in the safety and security of health care delivery in the United States. Advancement in the use of EHRs occurred with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which provides incentives for providers to support adoption and use of EHRs.…

Inter-hospital communications and transport: turning one-way funnels into two-way networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Rokos, Ivan C; Sanddal, Nels D; Pancioli, Arthur M; Wolff, Catherine; Gaieski, David F

2010-12-01

The Inter-hospital Communications and Transport workgroup was charged with exploring the current status, barriers, and data necessary to optimize the initial destination and subsequent transfer of patients between and among acute care settings. The subtitle, "Turning Funnels Into Two-way Networks," is descriptive of the approach that the workgroup took by exploring how and when smaller facilities in suburban, rural, and frontier areas can contribute to the daily business of caring for emergency patients across the lower-acuity spectrum-in some instances with consultant support from academic medical centers. It also focused on the need to identify high-acuity patients and expedite triage and transfer of those patients to facilities with specialty resources. Draft research recommendations were developed through an iterative writing process and presented to a breakout session of Academic Emergency Medicine's 2010 consensus conference, "Beyond Regionalization: Integrated Networks of Emergency Care." Priority research areas were determined by informal consensus of the breakout group. A subsequent iterative writing process was undertaken to complete this article. A number of broad research questions are presented. 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Outage performance of two-way DF relaying systems with a new relay selection metric

KAUST Repository

Hyadi, Amal; Benjillali, Mustapha; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2012-01-01

This paper investigates a new constrained relay selection scheme for two-way relaying systems where two end terminals communicate simultaneously via a relay. The introduced technique is based on the maximization of the weighted sum rate of both

Developing an instrument to measure emotional behaviour abilities of meaningful learning through the Delphi technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Cadorin, Lucia; Bagnasco, Annamaria; Tolotti, Angela; Pagnucci, Nicola; Sasso, Loredana

2017-09-01

To identify items for a new instrument that measures emotional behaviour abilities of meaningful learning, according to Fink's Taxonomy. Meaningful learning is an active process that promotes a wider and deeper understanding of concepts. It is the result of an interaction between new and previous knowledge and produces a long-term change of knowledge and skills. To measure meaningful learning capability, it is very important in the education of health professionals to identify problems or special learning needs. For this reason, it is necessary to create valid instruments. A Delphi Study technique was implemented in four phases by means of e-mail. The study was conducted from April-September 2015. An expert panel consisting of ten researchers with experience in Fink's Taxonomy was established to identify the items of the instrument. Data were analysed for conceptual description and item characteristics and attributes were rated. Expert consensus was sought in each of these phases. An 87·5% consensus cut-off was established. After four rounds, consensus was obtained for validation of the content of the instrument 'Assessment of Meaningful learning Behavioural and Emotional Abilities'. This instrument consists of 56 items evaluated on a 6-point Likert-type scale. Foundational Knowledge, Application, Integration, Human Dimension, Caring and Learning How to Learn were the six major categories explored. This content validated tool can help educators (teachers, trainers and tutors) to identify and improve the strategies to support students' learning capability, which could increase their awareness of and/or responsibility in the learning process. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Interesting new two-way communication system between power supplier and customer; Spennende toveisteknologi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bakken, Stein Arne

2002-07-01

The Norwegian company Wireless Reading Systems (WRS) have developed a special solution for two-way communication, with relatively low costs of both investment and operation. This two-way technology is based on radio communication and so is wireless. What is unique lies in the small chip that is easily mounted on the electric meter. It reads the numbers on the electric meter optically and transmits the data to a server. The reader is a semiconductor in a very compact form and includes two processors, internal memory and a camera, with the optics directly on the electronics. The chip also includes a small radio. The device is called the Recaps Terminal. It has a serial input and can be connected directly to some kWh-meters. The Recaps can also be used to count pulses, it can be used as alarm monitor, to control relays etc. The data coming from the terminals at the customers are transmitted as radio signals to a so-called Cecaps base station. This is a concentrator that covers 500-2000 Recaps units in a geographic area. This concentrator communicates with C31 data centre by way of WLAN, LAN, GSM or other means. The supervising unit in the system is the C31 data centre, which is a central data system for receiving readings and controlling the radio network.

Improved simulation of tropospheric ozone by a global-multi-regional two-way coupling model system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Yan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Small-scale nonlinear chemical and physical processes over pollution source regions affect the tropospheric ozone (O3, but these processes are not captured by current global chemical transport models (CTMs and chemistry–climate models that are limited by coarse horizontal resolutions (100–500 km, typically 200 km. These models tend to contain large (and mostly positive tropospheric O3 biases in the Northern Hemisphere. Here we use the recently built two-way coupling system of the GEOS-Chem CTM to simulate the regional and global tropospheric O3 in 2009. The system couples the global model (at 2.5° long.  ×  2° lat. and its three nested models (at 0.667° long.  ×  0.5° lat. covering Asia, North America and Europe, respectively. Specifically, the nested models take lateral boundary conditions (LBCs from the global model, better capture small-scale processes and feed back to modify the global model simulation within the nested domains, with a subsequent effect on their LBCs. Compared to the global model alone, the two-way coupled system better simulates the tropospheric O3 both within and outside the nested domains, as found by evaluation against a suite of ground (1420 sites from the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Global Monitoring Division (GMD, the Chemical Coordination Centre of European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality System (AQS, aircraft (the High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO and Measurement of Ozone and Water Vapor by Airbus In- Service Aircraft (MOZAIC and satellite measurements (two Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI products. The two-way coupled simulation enhances the correlation in day-to-day variation of afternoon mean surface O3

Readiness for Meaningful Use of Health Information Tech...

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — According to findings reported in Readiness for Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology and Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition Survey Results,...

Sociolinguistic Variation and Acquisition in Two-Way Language Immersion: Negotiating the Standard

Science.gov (United States)

Starr, Rebecca Lurie

2016-01-01

This book investigates the acquisition of sociolinguistic knowledge in the early elementary school years of a Mandarin-English two-way immersion program in the United States. Using ethnographic observation and quantitative analysis of data, the author explores how input from teachers and classmates shapes students' language acquisition. The book…

Proposal for inclusion of topics of particle physics integrated electric charge through a potentially meaningful teaching units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisiane Barcellos Calheiro

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In this article the results of the analysis of free and concept maps produced are presented from the application and evaluation of a Potentially Meaningful Teaching Units – PMTU, which is a teaching sequence based on various learning theories and seeks to promote meaningful student learning. Presents, in this work, part of a research Masters in Science Education which deals with the inclusion of topics of particle physics integrated with traditional content of the third year of high school. It was implemented in a third grade high school class of a State School in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, and Brazil. The PMTU aimed to address in an integrated manner threads for Particle Physics and Electronics. A didactic sequence that integrated the topics of electric charge, atomic models, elementary particles, quantization and process electrification was applied. Such integration aimed at stimulating the interest on topics related to Modern and Contemporary Physics. It was developed using PMTU activities that aimed at promoting meaningful learning and knowledge construction in the classroom, Since the topics involved were quite complex, this made their integration a real challenge to the high school teachers, and resulted in changes in their teaching practices. Research showed that the inclusion of topics on physics of elementary particles the and electricity, through Potentially Meaningful Teaching Units, show satisfactory results in the students’ learning.

Incorporating Meaningful Gamification in a Blended Learning Research Methods Class: Examining Student Learning, Engagement, and Affective Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Meng; Hew, Khe Foon

2016-01-01

In this study, we investigated how the use of meaningful gamification affects student learning, engagement, and affective outcomes in a short, 3-day blended learning research methods class using a combination of experimental and qualitative research methods. Twenty-two postgraduates were randomly split into two groups taught by the same…

Quantum hacking of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution using Trojan-horse attack

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Hong-Xin; Bao Wan-Su; Li Hong-Wei; Chou Chun

2016-01-01

We present a Trojan-horse attack on the practical two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution system. Our attack mainly focuses on the imperfection of the practical system that the modulator has a redundancy of modulation pulse-width, which leaves a loophole for the eavesdropper inserting a Trojan-horse pulse. Utilizing the unique characteristics of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution that Alice only takes modulation operation on the received mode without any measurement, this attack allows the eavesdropper to render all of the final keys shared between the legitimate parties insecure without being detected. After analyzing the feasibility of the attack, the corresponding countermeasures are put forward. (paper)

Is the diagnostic threshold for bulimia nervosa clinically meaningful?

Science.gov (United States)

Chapa, Danielle A N; Bohrer, Brittany K; Forbush, Kelsie T

2018-01-01

The DSM-5 differentiates full- and sub-threshold bulimia nervosa (BN) according to average weekly frequencies of binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors. This study was the first to evaluate the modified frequency criterion for BN published in the DSM-5. The purpose of this study was to test whether community-recruited adults (N=125; 83.2% women) with current full-threshold (n=77) or sub-threshold BN (n=48) differed in comorbid psychopathology and eating disorder (ED) illness duration, symptom severity, and clinical impairment. Participants completed the Clinical Impairment Assessment and participated in semi-structured clinical interviews of ED- and non-ED psychopathology. Differences between the sub- and full-threshold BN groups were assessed using MANOVA and Chi-square analyses. ED illness duration, age-of-onset, body mass index (BMI), alcohol and drug misuse, and the presence of current and lifetime mood or anxiety disorders did not differ between participants with sub- and full-threshold BN. Participants with full-threshold BN had higher levels of clinical impairment and weight concern than those with sub-threshold BN. However, minimal clinically important difference analyses suggested that statistically significant differences between participants with sub- and full-threshold BN on clinical impairment and weight concern were not clinically significant. In conclusion, sub-threshold BN did not differ from full-threshold BN in clinically meaningful ways. Future studies are needed to identify an improved frequency criterion for BN that better distinguishes individuals in ways that will more validly inform prognosis and effective treatment planning for BN. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aging, Culture, and Memory for Socially Meaningful Item-Context Associations: An East-West Cross-Cultural Comparison Study

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lixia; Li, Juan; Spaniol, Julia; Hasher, Lynn; Wilkinson, Andrea J.; Yu, Jing; Niu, Yanan

2013-01-01

Research suggests that people in Eastern interdependent cultures process information more holistically and attend more to contextual information than do people in Western independent cultures. The current study examined the effects of culture and age on memory for socially meaningful item-context associations in 71 Canadians of Western European descent (35 young and 36 older) and 72 native Chinese citizens (36 young and 36 older). All participants completed two blocks of context memory tasks. During encoding, participants rated pictures of familiar objects. In one block, objects were rated either for their meaningfulness in the independent living context or their typicality in daily life. In the other block, objects were rated for their meaningfulness in the context of fostering relationships with others or for their typicality in daily life. The encoding in each block was followed by a recognition test in which participants identified pictures and their associated contexts. The results showed that Chinese outperformed Canadians in context memory, though both culture groups showed similar age-related deficits in item and context memory. The results suggest that Chinese are at an advantage in memory for socially meaningful item-context associations, an advantage that continues from young adulthood into old age. PMID:23593288

Aging, culture, and memory for socially meaningful item-context associations: an East-West cross-cultural comparison study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lixia Yang

Full Text Available Research suggests that people in Eastern interdependent cultures process information more holistically and attend more to contextual information than do people in Western independent cultures. The current study examined the effects of culture and age on memory for socially meaningful item-context associations in 71 Canadians of Western European descent (35 young and 36 older and 72 native Chinese citizens (36 young and 36 older. All participants completed two blocks of context memory tasks. During encoding, participants rated pictures of familiar objects. In one block, objects were rated either for their meaningfulness in the independent living context or their typicality in daily life. In the other block, objects were rated for their meaningfulness in the context of fostering relationships with others or for their typicality in daily life. The encoding in each block was followed by a recognition test in which participants identified pictures and their associated contexts. The results showed that Chinese outperformed Canadians in context memory, though both culture groups showed similar age-related deficits in item and context memory. The results suggest that Chinese are at an advantage in memory for socially meaningful item-context associations, an advantage that continues from young adulthood into old age.

Remedial principles and meaningful engagement in education ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article evaluates the meaningful engagement doctrine in the education rights jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court in the light of a set of normative principles developed by Susan Sturm for evaluating participatory public law remedies. It commences by identifying four principles for evaluating participatory remedies ...

Fishing for meaningful units in connected speech

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henrichsen, Peter Juel; Christiansen, Thomas Ulrich

2009-01-01

In many branches of spoken language analysis including ASR, the set of smallest meaningful units of speech is taken to coincide with the set of phones or phonemes. However, fishing for phones is difficult, error-prone, and computationally expensive. We present an experiment, based on machine...

Two-Way Communication between Scientists and the Public: A View from Science Communication Trainers in North America

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Shupei; Oshita, Tsuyoshi; AbiGhannam, Niveen; Dudo, Anthony; Besley, John C.; Koh, Hyeseung E.

2017-01-01

The current study explores the degree to which two-way communication is applied in science communication contexts in North America, based on the experiences of science communication trainers. Interviews with 24 science communication trainers suggest that scientists rarely focus on applying two-way communication tactics, such as listening to their…

COMPUTER ALGEBRA, VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND MEANINGFUL LEARNING: IS IT POSSIBLE?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Celina A. A. P. Abar

2011-03-01

Full Text Available A major challenge faced by teachers nowadays relates to the usage of proper educational technology to achieve a true and meaningful learning experience involving time for reflection. Teachers constantly seek new ways to improve instruction, but in virtual learning environments they often find themselves in a new role, interacting in a dynamic system with students and simultaneously acquiring new skills related to the tools in use. In this paper we address this question by conducting an online course aimed at primary and secondary school mathematics teachers, designed to investigate the effective use of GeoGebra and Moodle. The tools selected for the course are free and easy to use, an important factor for the new technology to be incorporated into teaching practice. The course results show that a well-constructed proposal is able to meet the expectations of teachers. Furthermore, the usage of new technologies involves, beyond technical issues, changes in the behavior and in the relationships between the actors involved.

Callings, work role fit, psychological meaningfulness and work ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

meaningful work experiences, which also impact individuals' work .... group 25 to 29 years. .... significant chi-squared difference tests, after these path deletions, indicated that .... Counseling Psychology, 59:479-485. doi: 10.1037/a0028949.

Meaningful metrics a 21st-century librarian's guide to bibliometrics, altmetrics, and research impact

CERN Document Server

Roemer, Robin Chin

2015-01-01

What does it mean to have meaningful metrics in today's complex higher education landscape? With a foreword by Heather Piwowar and Jason Priem, this highly engaging and activity-laden book serves to introduce readers to the fast-paced world of research metrics from the unique perspective of academic librarians and LIS practitioners. Starting with the essential histories of bibliometrics and altmetrics, and continuing with in-depth descriptions of the core tools and emerging issues at stake in the future of both fields, Meaningful Metrics is a convenient all-in-one resource that is designed to be used by a range of readers, from those with little to no background on the subject to those looking to become movers and shakers in the current scholarly metrics movement. Authors Borchardt and Roemer, offer tips, tricks, and real-world examples illustrate how librarians can support the successful adoption of research metrics, whether in their institutions or across academia as a whole.

Dissociating Neural Correlates of Meaningful Emblems from Meaningless Gestures in Deaf Signers and Hearing Non-Signers

Science.gov (United States)

Husain, Fatima T.; Patkin, Debra J.; Kim, Jieun; Braun, Allen R.; Horwitz, Barry

2012-01-01

Emblems are meaningful, culturally-specific hand gestures that are analogous to words. In this fMRI study, we contrasted the processing of emblematic gestures with meaningless gestures by pre-lingually Deaf and hearing participants. Deaf participants, who used American Sign Language, activated bilateral auditory processing and associative areas in the temporal cortex to a greater extent than the hearing participants while processing both types of gestures relative to rest. The hearing non-signers activated a diverse set of regions, including those implicated in the mirror neuron system, such as premotor cortex (BA 6) and inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) for the same contrast. Further, when contrasting the processing of meaningful to meaningless gestures (both relative to rest), the Deaf participants, but not the hearing, showed greater response in the left angular and supramarginal gyri, regions that play important roles in linguistic processing. These results suggest that whereas the signers interpreted emblems to be comparable to words, the non-signers treated emblems as similar to pictorial descriptions of the world and engaged the mirror neuron system. PMID:22968047

Mutual research capacity strengthening: a qualitative study of two-way partnerships in public health research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Redman-MacLaren Michelle

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Capacity building has been employed in international health and development sectors to describe the process of ‘experts’ from more resourced countries training people in less resourced countries. Hence the concept has an implicit power imbalance based on ‘expert’ knowledge. In 2011, a health research strengthening workshop was undertaken at Atoifi Adventist Hospital, Solomon Islands to further strengthen research skills of the Hospital and College of Nursing staff and East Kwaio community leaders through partnering in practical research projects. The workshop was based on participatory research frameworks underpinned by decolonising methodologies, which sought to challenge historical power imbalances and inequities. Our research question was, “Is research capacity strengthening a two-way process?” Methods In this qualitative study, five Solomon Islanders and five Australians each responded to four open-ended questions about their experience of the research capacity strengthening workshop and activities: five chose face to face interview, five chose to provide written responses. Written responses and interview transcripts were inductively analysed in NVivo 9. Results Six major themes emerged. These were: Respectful relationships; Increased knowledge and experience with research process; Participation at all stages in the research process; Contribution to public health action; Support and sustain research opportunities; and Managing challenges of capacity strengthening. All researchers identified benefits for themselves, their institution and/or community, regardless of their role or country of origin, indicating that the capacity strengthening had been a two-way process. Conclusions The flexible and responsive process we used to strengthen research capacity was identified as mutually beneficial. Using community-based participatory frameworks underpinned by decolonising methodologies is assisting to redress

The journey of primary care practices to meaningful use: a Colorado Beacon Consortium study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernald, Douglas H; Wearner, Robyn; Dickinson, W Perry

2013-01-01

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 provides for incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid for clinicians who implement electronic health records (EHRs) and use this technology meaningfully to improve patient care. There are few comprehensive descriptions of how primary care practices achieve the meaningful use of clinical data, including the formal stage 1 meaningful use requirements. Evaluation of the Colorado Beacon Consortium project included iterative qualitative analysis of practice narratives, provider and staff interviews, and separate focus groups with quality improvement (QI) advisors and staff from the regional health information exchange (HIE). Most practices described significant realignment of practice priorities and aims, which often required substantial education and training of physicians and staff. Re-engineering office processes, data collection protocols, EHRs, staff roles, and practice culture comprised the primary effort and commitment to attest to stage 1 meaningful use and subsequent meaningful use of clinical data. While realizing important benefits, practices bore a significant burden in learning the true capabilities of their EHRs with little effective support from vendors. Attestation was an important initial milestone in the process, but practices faced substantial ongoing work to use their data meaningfully for patient care and QI. Key resources were instrumental to these practices: local technical EHR expertise; collaborative learning mechanisms; and regular contact and support from QI advisors. Meeting the stage 1 requirements for incentives under Medicare and Medicaid meaningful use criteria is the first waypoint in a longer journey by primary care practices to the meaningful use of electronic data to continuously improve the care and health of their patients. The intensive re-engineering effort for stage 1 yielded practice changes consistent with larger practice aims and goals

Two-way CSI-assisted AF relaying with HPA nonlinearity

KAUST Repository

Qi, Jian

2015-09-11

In this paper, we investigate half-duplex two-way dual-hop channel state information (CSI)-assisted amplify-andforward (AF) relaying in the presence of high-power amplifier (HPA) nonlinearity at relays. The expression for the end-toend signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is derived as per the modified system model by taking into account the interference caused by relaying scheme and HPA nonlinearity. The system performance of the considered relaying network is evaluated in terms of average symbol error probability (SEP) in Nakagami-m fading channels, by making use of the moment-generating function (MGF) approach. Numerical results are provided and show the effects of several parameters, such as quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) order, number of relays, HPA parameters, and Nakagami parameter, on performance. © 2015 IEEE.

Bandwidth and power allocation for two-way relaying in overlay cognitive radio systems

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.; Ghazzai, Hakim; Yaacoub, Elias E.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2014-01-01

In this paper, the problem of both bandwidth and power allocation for two-way multiple relay systems in overlay cognitive radio (CR) setup is investigated. In the CR overlay mode, primary users (PUs) cooperate with cognitive users (CUs) for mutual

Simulation of Two-Way Pushdown Automata Revisited

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Glück

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The linear-time simulation of 2-way deterministic pushdown automata (2DPDA by the Cook and Jones constructions is revisited. Following the semantics-based approach by Jones, an interpreter is given which, when extended with random-access memory, performs a linear-time simulation of 2DPDA. The recursive interpreter works without the dump list of the original constructions, which makes Cook's insight into linear-time simulation of exponential-time automata more intuitive and the complexity argument clearer. The simulation is then extended to 2-way nondeterministic pushdown automata (2NPDA to provide for a cubic-time recognition of context-free languages. The time required to run the final construction depends on the degree of nondeterminism. The key mechanism that enables the polynomial-time simulations is the sharing of computations by memoization.

Design considerations for computationally constrained two-way real-time video communication

Science.gov (United States)

Bivolarski, Lazar M.; Saunders, Steven E.; Ralston, John D.

2009-08-01

Today's video codecs have evolved primarily to meet the requirements of the motion picture and broadcast industries, where high-complexity studio encoding can be utilized to create highly-compressed master copies that are then broadcast one-way for playback using less-expensive, lower-complexity consumer devices for decoding and playback. Related standards activities have largely ignored the computational complexity and bandwidth constraints of wireless or Internet based real-time video communications using devices such as cell phones or webcams. Telecommunications industry efforts to develop and standardize video codecs for applications such as video telephony and video conferencing have not yielded image size, quality, and frame-rate performance that match today's consumer expectations and market requirements for Internet and mobile video services. This paper reviews the constraints and the corresponding video codec requirements imposed by real-time, 2-way mobile video applications. Several promising elements of a new mobile video codec architecture are identified, and more comprehensive computational complexity metrics and video quality metrics are proposed in order to support the design, testing, and standardization of these new mobile video codecs.

Demands–abilities fit, work beliefs, meaningful work and engagement in nature-based jobs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nellie de Crom

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Meaningful work and personal engagement are important dimensions of flourishing of employees, especially when individuals work in challenging jobs. Research purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between demands–abilities fit, work beliefs, meaningful work and engagement in individuals in nature-based jobs. Motivation for the study: Individuals working in nature often work under challenging circumstances without the necessary resources. A research gap exists regarding the effects of demands–abilities fit and work beliefs on meaningful work. It is also not clear how these antecedents and meaningful work will impact the engagement of individuals working in nature. Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey was used with a convenience sample of 161 nature-based employees. Data were collected using a structured online questionnaire consisting of items from the demands–abilities fit scale, work–life questionnaire, work and meaning Inventory, work engagement scale and a biographical questionnaire. Main findings: Work beliefs (calling, career and job and demands–abilities fit predicted a large percentage of the variance in meaning making. Work beliefs (calling and job and demands–abilities fit also predicted a large percentage of the variance in greater good motivations. Demands–abilities fit and a calling work orientation indirectly affected work engagement via meaningful work. The scales which measured calling and job orientations showed insufficient discriminant validity in relation to the scales which measured positive meaning and work engagement. Practical and managerial implications: Managers should consider implementing interventions to affect the demands–abilities fit (through human resource management interventions and work beliefs of individuals working in nature (through job crafting. Promoting perceptions of meaningful work might contribute to higher personal engagement

Obtaining local reflectivity at two-way travel time by filtering acoustic reflection data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slob, E.C.; Zhang, L.; Wapenaar, C.P.A.; Mihai Popovici, A.; Fomel, S.

2017-01-01

A modified implementation of Marchenko redatuming leads to a filter that removes internal multiples from reflection data. It produces local reflectivity at two-way travel time. The method creates new primary reflections resulting from emitted events that eliminate internal multiples. We call these

Unsupervised Two-Way Clustering of Metagenomic Sequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shruthi Prabhakara

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A major challenge facing metagenomics is the development of tools for the characterization of functional and taxonomic content of vast amounts of short metagenome reads. The efficacy of clustering methods depends on the number of reads in the dataset, the read length and relative abundances of source genomes in the microbial community. In this paper, we formulate an unsupervised naive Bayes multispecies, multidimensional mixture model for reads from a metagenome. We use the proposed model to cluster metagenomic reads by their species of origin and to characterize the abundance of each species. We model the distribution of word counts along a genome as a Gaussian for shorter, frequent words and as a Poisson for longer words that are rare. We employ either a mixture of Gaussians or mixture of Poissons to model reads within each bin. Further, we handle the high-dimensionality and sparsity associated with the data, by grouping the set of words comprising the reads, resulting in a two-way mixture model. Finally, we demonstrate the accuracy and applicability of this method on simulated and real metagenomes. Our method can accurately cluster reads as short as 100 bps and is robust to varying abundances, divergences and read lengths.

The Omaha system and meaningful use: applications for practice, education, and research.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Karen S; Monsen, Karen A; Bowles, Kathryn H

2011-01-01

Meaningful use has become ubiquitous in the vocabulary of health information technology. It suggests that better healthcare does not result from the adoption of technology and electronic health records, but by increasing interoperability and informing clinical decisions at the point of care. Although the initial application of meaningful use was limited to eligible professionals and hospitals, it incorporates complex processes and workflow that involve all nurses, other healthcare practitioners, and settings. The healthcare community will become more integrated, and interdisciplinary practitioners will provide enhanced patient-centered care if electronic health records adopt the priorities of meaningful use. Standardized terminologies are a necessary component of such electronic health records. The Omaha System is an exemplar of a standardized terminology that enables meaningful use of clinical data to support and improve patient-centered clinical practice, education, and research. It is user-friendly, generates data that can be shared with patients and their families, and enables healthcare providers to analyze and exchange patient-centered coded data. Use of the Omaha System is increasing steadily in diverse practice, education, and research settings nationally and internationally.

Using Mobile Tools to Support Meaningful Work-based Learning in Vocational Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna Vuojärvi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This case study focused on meaningful work-based learning (WBL and the pedagogical use of mobile information and communication technologies (ICTs in vocational tourism education. The aim was to reveal how teaching/tutoring and learning are realized and how the use of smartphones supports the realization of meaningful learning characteristics during WBL periods in highly versatile environments. Within a design-based research framework, the data was collected through learning journals written by students and qualitative interviews. The results of thematic analysis were used to develop a practice-oriented pedagogical model for meaningful WBL. The model visualizes the roles of students, teachers, and companies involved in WBL, the meaningful learning characteristics that can be amplified through the use of mobile ICTs, and the outcomes for each stakeholder. The model suggests structuring WBL through four negotiations involving a student, a teacher, and a company to assure that each student has clearly formulated learning goals and possibilities to pursue those goals regardless of the mobility of their work or facilities during their WBL period.

Meaningful Use of a Confidential Adolescent Patient Portal.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Lindsay A; Martinko, Thomas; Budd, Pamela; Mercado, Rebeccah; Schentrup, Anzeela M

2016-02-01

To design and evaluate the usage of an adolescent patient portal specifically adapted for adolescent health care needs that also satisfied institutional meaningful use guidelines regarding electronic health records. Key stakeholders at one academic health care center adopted an online portal and opted to designate a patient portal specifically for adolescents to maximize confidentiality in compliance with state privacy laws. This study analyzed aggregate electronic health record data of adolescents' (ages 12-17.9 years) uptake, usage, and functionality of this portal and compared it to parent portal usage for younger children (ages 0-11 years). Differences in means were calculated using paired t tests. The portal was used similarly between parents of young children and adolescents, with almost 1,000 enrollees in each group from September 1, 2012 to March 31, 2015. There were no gender differences in enrollment. Adolescents were less likely than parents of younger children to review appointments (73% vs. 85%), laboratory tests (67% vs. 79%), problem lists (40% vs. 78%), or allergies (45% vs. 77%, all p values adolescents sent 1,397 confidential messages. Institutional decisions for implementing meaningful use requirements can align with goals of adolescent health. Patient portals can enhance adolescent health care quality and adolescents readily use a confidential portal. Implementation of meaningful use requirements should be checked against adolescent health care needs to maximize confidentiality and promote health communication. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Meaningful Engagement of Organizational and Agency Partnerships to Enhance Diversity within the Earth System Science Community: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Pyrtle, A. J.; Whitney, V. W.; Powell, J. M.; Bailey, K. L.

2006-12-01

The Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science Initiative (MS PHD'S) was established by and for underrepresented minorities to facilitate increased and sustained participation in Earth system science community. The MS PHD'S launched its pilot program in 2003 with twenty professional organizations, agencies and institutions as partners. Each year partnership alliances have grown. In the second year or programming, thirty-one partnering agencies/institutions supported involvement of MS PHD'S student participants and for 2005-2006, representatives from forty-five agencies and institutions have provided similar support and exposure to the third cohort of student participants. Nineteen scientists served as meeting mentors during the MS PHD'S pilot program in 2003. By the following year, twenty-two additional scientists partnered with MS PHD'S mentees. During 2005-2006, twenty-one new scientists served as program mentors. Thus far, the MS PHD'S program has successfully engaged sixty-two minority and non-minority scientists as mentors to MS PHD'S student participants. AGU, AMS, ASLO, ESA, TOS, NAS OSB and JOI continue to serve as MS PHD'S Society Partners and hosts for MS PHD'S student activities in conjunction with their meetings. Each of the five professional society partners provided assistance in identifying mentors, provided complimentary memberships and meeting registrations for MS PHD'S student participants. AGU, AMS, ASLO, JOI and TOS have sponsored more than 90 conference registration and travel awards for the purpose of student participants engaging in MS PHD'S Professional Development Program Phase 2 activities at their international meetings. How did MS PHD'S establish meaningful engagement of organizational and agency partnerships to enhance diversity within the Earth system science community? This case study reveals replicable processes and constructs to enhance the quality of meaningful collaboration and engagement

Two-Way Interactive Television: An Emerging Technology for University Level Business School Instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Heiens, Richard A.; Hulse, Deborah B.

1996-01-01

An organizational behavior course was delivered via two-way interactive television to a campus site (71 students) and three remote locations (48 students). Remote students were slightly older and predominantly female. There were no significant differences in academic performance between on-campus and remote students. (SK)

Two-way quantum communication: Generalization of secure ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

states among the n nodes of a quantum network, with the aid of a special kind of ... replica of the information state, i.e., this process has one-way quantum ... with respect to increase in the number of qubits going towards the controller Charlie.

Relay selection and resource allocation for two-way DF-AF cognitive radio networks

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.; Bader, Faouzi; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2013-01-01

In this letter, the problem of relay selection and optimal resource allocation for two-way relaying cognitive radio networks using half duplex amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward protocols is investigated. The primary and secondary users are assumed to access the spectrum simultaneously, in a way that the interference introduced to the primary users should be below a certain tolerated limit. Dual decomposition and subgradient methods are used to find the optimal power allocation. A suboptimal approach based on a genetic algorithm is also presented. Simulation results show that the proposed suboptimal algorithm offers a performance close to the optimal performance with a considerable complexity saving. © 2013 IEEE.

Relay selection and resource allocation for two-way DF-AF cognitive radio networks

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2013-08-01

In this letter, the problem of relay selection and optimal resource allocation for two-way relaying cognitive radio networks using half duplex amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward protocols is investigated. The primary and secondary users are assumed to access the spectrum simultaneously, in a way that the interference introduced to the primary users should be below a certain tolerated limit. Dual decomposition and subgradient methods are used to find the optimal power allocation. A suboptimal approach based on a genetic algorithm is also presented. Simulation results show that the proposed suboptimal algorithm offers a performance close to the optimal performance with a considerable complexity saving. © 2013 IEEE.

Pengaruh Job Enrichment terhadap Employee Engagement melalui Psychological Meaningfulness sebagai Mediator

OpenAIRE

Sungkit, Flavia Norpina; Meiyanto, IJK Sito

2015-01-01

The purpose of the study is to investigate the influence of job enrichment toward employee engagement through psychological meaningfulness as the mediator. Research design used is a cross-sectional study of 112 employees. Data is analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Result shows job enrichment is able to influence employee engagement significantly through psychological meaningfulness as the mediator. The p=0,000 with significance level 0,05. The sig F change shows 0,006, which is

Protestant ethic: Contributing towards a meaningful workplace ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The article also indicates that the Protestant ethic can indeed contribute towards a meaningful experience whilst performing work-related tasks in workspace. The Protestant work ethic is more than a cultural norm that places a positive moral value on doing a good job. Based on a belief that work has intrinsic value for its own ...

ROTRAC electric shunters in two-way technology; ROTRAC-Elektro-Rangierfahrzeuge mit Zweiwege-Technik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manthey, Maik [Linde Material Handling GmbH, Aschaffenburg (Germany); Zwiehoff, Stephan [G. Zwiehoff GmbH, Rosenheim (Germany)

2013-03-15

In view of their relatively small size, the remote-controlled ROTRAC electric shunters generate an amazingly high pulling force which is brought about by components known from fork lift truck production. Thanks to the two-way technology applied, the shunters can be easily manoeuvred even between rails. (orig.)

Two-way pharmacokinetic interaction studies between saxagliptin and cytochrome P450 substrates or inhibitors: simvastatin, diltiazem extended-release, and ketoconazole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patel C

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Chirag G Patel, Li Li, Suzette Girgis, David M Kornhauser, Ernest U Frevert, David W BoultonBristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ, USABackground: Many medicines, including several cholesterol-lowering agents (eg, lovastatin, simvastatin, antihypertensives (eg, diltiazem, nifedipine, verapamil, and antifungals (eg, ketoconazole are metabolized by and/or inhibit the cytochrome P450 (CYP 3A4 metabolic pathway. These types of medicines are commonly coprescribed to treat comorbidities in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM and the potential for drug-drug interactions of these medicines with new medicines for T2DM must be carefully evaluated.Objective: To investigate the effects of CYP3A4 substrates or inhibitors, simvastatin (substrate, diltiazem (moderate inhibitor, and ketoconazole (strong inhibitor on the pharmacokinetics and safety of saxagliptin, a CYP3A4/5 substrate; and the effects of saxagliptin on these agents in three separate studies.Methods: Healthy subjects were administered saxagliptin 10 mg or 100 mg. Simvastatin, diltiazem extended-release, and ketoconazole doses of 40 mg once daily, 360 mg once daily, and 200 mg twice daily, respectively, were used to determine two-way pharmacokinetic interactions.Results: Coadministration of simvastatin, diltiazem extended-release, or ketoconazole increased mean area under the concentration-time curve values (AUC of saxagliptin by 12%, 109%, and 145%, respectively, versus saxagliptin alone. Mean exposure (AUC of the CYP3A4-generated active metabolite of saxagliptin, 5-hydroxy saxagliptin, decreased with coadministration of simvastatin, diltiazem, and ketoconazole by 2%, 34%, and 88%, respectively. All adverse events were considered mild or moderate in all three studies; there were no serious adverse events or deaths.Conclusion: Saxagliptin, when coadministered with simvastatin, diltiazem extended-release, or ketoconazole, was safe and generally well tolerated in healthy subjects. Clinically

Community-based medical education: is success a result of meaningful personal learning experiences?

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Len; Walters, Lucie; Rosenthal, David

2014-01-01

Community-based medical education (CBME) is the delivery of medical education in a specific social context. Learners become a part of social and medical communities where their learning occurs. Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) are year-long community-based placements where the curriculum and clinical experience is typically delivered by primary care physicians. These programs have proven to be robust learning environments, where learners develop strong communication skills and excellent clinical reasoning. To date, no learning model has been offered to describe CBME. The characteristics of CBME are explored by the authors who suggest that the social and professional context provided in small communities enhances medical education. The authors postulate that meaningfulness is engendered by the authentic context, which develops over time. These relationships with preceptors, patients and the community provide meaningfulness, which in turn enhances learning. The authors develop a novel learning model. They propose that the context-rich environment of CBME allows for meaningful relationships and experiences for students and that such meaningfulness enhances learning.

Sacrifice: an ethical dimension of caring that makes suffering meaningful.

Science.gov (United States)

Helin, Kaija; Lindström, Unni A

2003-07-01

transformation to achieve atonement and healing. Atonement then implies finding meaningfulness in one's suffering. The concept of sacrifice, understood in a novel way, opens up a deeper dimension in the understanding of suffering and makes caring in 'the patient's world' possible.

Two-Way Social Media Messaging in Postoperative Cataract Surgical Patients: Prospective Interventional Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanguansak, Thuss; Morley, Katharine E; Morley, Michael G; Thinkhamrop, Kavin; Thuanman, Jaruwan; Agarwal, Isha

2017-12-19

Social media offers a new way to provide education, reminders, and support for patients with a variety of health conditions. Most of these interventions use one-way, provider-patient communication. Incorporating social media tools to improve postoperative (postop) education and follow-up care has only been used in limited situations. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and efficacy of two-way social media messaging to deliver reminders and educational information about postop care to cataract patients. A total of 98 patients undergoing their first eye cataract surgery were divided into two groups: a no message group receiving usual pre- and postop care and a message group receiving usual care plus messages in a mobile social media format with standardized content and timing. Each patient in the message group received nine messages about hand and face hygiene, medication and postop visit adherence, and links to patient education videos about postop care. Patients could respond to messages as desired. Main outcome measures included medication adherence, postop visit adherence, clinical outcomes, and patients' subjective assessments of two-way messaging. The number, types, content, and timing of responses by patients to messages were recorded. Medication adherence was better in the message group at postop day 7, with high adherence in 47 patients (96%, 47/49) versus 36 patients (73%, 36/49) in the no message group (P=.004), but no statistically significant differences in medication adherence between the groups were noted at preop and postop day 30. Visit adherence was higher at postop day 30 in the message group (100%, 49/49) versus the no message group (88%, 43/49; P=.03) but was 100% (49/49) in both groups at postop day 1 and 7. Final visual outcomes were similar between groups. A total of 441 standardized messages were sent to the message group. Out of 270 responses generated, 188 (70%) were simple acknowledgments or "thank you," and 82 (30

ROW (Right-of-Way) interfering construction activities management program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosito, Roberta; Oliveira, Marisa; Lima, Shirley [TRANSPETRO - PETROBRAS Transporte S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2009-07-01

A significant portion of pipeline failures occurs due to external damage. This includes third party right of way (ROW) encroachment, which shall be identified and avoided. However, injuries caused by known and planned activities do happen. Construction of crossing or sharing ROW pipelines, crossing roads and bridges, neighboring buildings and excavations of any kind might put existing pipelines in risk. This paper presents how the TRANSPETRO ROW Interfering Construction Activities Management Program is implemented by a regional ROW maintenance department responsible for more than 3,000 km of pipelines, mostly in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states. This program is based on a TRANSPETRO procedure that was written after the publication of the Official Order number 125 of ANP (Oil, Gas and Biofuel Brazilian National Agency). Tasks from design review and approval to field construction supervision are performed by the staff responsible for the routine patrols and maintenance management. The ability of foreseeing risky activities is improved by expertise gained from day-to-day work on site. (author)

A genetic algorithm for multiple relay selection in two-way relaying cognitive radio networks

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.; Ghazzai, Hakim; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate a multiple relay selection scheme for two-way relaying cognitive radio networks where primary users and secondary users operate on the same frequency band. More specifically, cooperative relays using Amplifyand- Forward

Water Habitat Study: Prediction Makes It More Meaningful.

Science.gov (United States)

Glasgow, Dennis R.

1982-01-01

Suggests a teaching strategy for water habitat studies to help students make a meaningful connection between physiochemical data (dissolved oxygen content, pH, and water temperature) and biological specimens they collect. Involves constructing a poster and using it to make predictions. Provides sample poster. (DC)

Meaningful Gamification in an Industrial/Organizational Psychology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Stansbury, Jessica A.; Earnest, David R.

2017-01-01

Motivation and game research continue to demonstrate that the implementation of game design characteristics in the classroom can be engaging and intrinsically motivating. The present study assessed the extent to which an industrial organizational psychology course designed learning environment created with meaningful gamification elements can…

Dissociating neural correlates of meaningful emblems from meaningless gestures in deaf signers and hearing non-signers.

Science.gov (United States)

Husain, Fatima T; Patkin, Debra J; Kim, Jieun; Braun, Allen R; Horwitz, Barry

2012-10-10

Emblems are meaningful, culturally-specific hand gestures that are analogous to words. In this fMRI study, we contrasted the processing of emblematic gestures with meaningless gestures by pre-lingually Deaf and hearing participants. Deaf participants, who used American Sign Language, activated bilateral auditory processing and associative areas in the temporal cortex to a greater extent than the hearing participants while processing both types of gestures relative to rest. The hearing non-signers activated a diverse set of regions, including those implicated in the mirror neuron system, such as premotor cortex (BA 6) and inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) for the same contrast. Further, when contrasting the processing of meaningful to meaningless gestures (both relative to rest), the Deaf participants, but not the hearing, showed greater response in the left angular and supramarginal gyri, regions that play important roles in linguistic processing. These results suggest that whereas the signers interpreted emblems to be comparable to words, the non-signers treated emblems as similar to pictorial descriptions of the world and engaged the mirror neuron system. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Knowledge Comparison Environment for Supporting Meaningful Learning of E-Book Users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingyun Wang

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present an ontology-based visualization support system which can provide a meaningful learning environment to help e-book learners to effectively construct their knowledge frameworks. In this personalized visualization support system, learners are encouraged to actively locate new knowledge in their own knowledge framework and check the logical consistency of their ideas for clearing up misunderstandings; on the other hand, instructors will be able to decide the group distribution for collaborative learning activities based on the knowledge structure of learners. For facilitating those visualization supports, a method to semi-automatically construct a course-centered ontology to describe the required information in a map structure is presented. To automatically manipulate this course-centered ontology to provide visualization learning supports, a prototype system is designed and developed.

Influence of mature men way of life on highly intensive physical activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O.B. Pryshva

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Highly intensive physical activity is the most effective for men’s health protection. In modern life conditions its level is insufficient. It requires organism’s appropriate physical activity, which is determined by way of life. Especially important it is before trainings. Purpose: to study special aspects of different intensity’s physical activity; of eating special food and sleeping regime of mature men before their highly intensive physical trainings. Material: in experiment men (n=26, age - 35-53years, who practice healthy life style and independent physical activity of high intensity, participated. We used bio-register Basis B1. Every day we registered: Peak - physical activity of different intensity; duration and quality of sleep; relative weight of consumed food. Besides, we calculated body mass index and physical condition. The study was conducted during 30 days in winter period. The following results were compared: indicators before not planned physical activity and average-monthly indicators. Results: Before arbitrary physical functioning we found in men: confident weakening of average intensity (by 9-11% and low intensity (by 10% physical activity; confident increase of consumed food’s relative weight (by 6.82%, vegetarian food (by 10.64% and raw food (by 7.61%; confident reduction of animal origin food (by 8.7%. No changes were found in duration and quality of sleep before highly intensive physical functioning. Conclusions: specific features of mature men’s way of life before their not planned highly intensive physical functioning are as follows: reduction of general physical activity; increase of consumed food. These factors facilitate energy accumulation in organism for its realization in highly intensive physical functioning the next day.

Meaningful Experiences in Physical Education and Youth Sport: A Review of the Literature

Science.gov (United States)

Beni, Stephanie; Fletcher, Tim; Ní Chróinín, Déirdre

2017-01-01

The purpose of this research is to review the literature about young people's meaningful experiences in physical education and youth sport. We reviewed 50 empirical peer-reviewed articles published in English since 1987. Five themes were identified as central influences to young people's meaningful experiences in physical education and sport:…

Third Space Openings at a Two-Way Immersion Elementary School in North Carolina: Lessons from Parent Language Classes

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Turner, Alison M.

2016-01-01

Two-way immersion schools are growing in popularity throughout the United States. An emerging issue is to what extent these schools are able to connect with parents from multiple communities. This article describes an effort to connect parents with the school and one another through parent language classes at a Spanish/English two-way immersion…

Role-Playing in a Consumption Context: An Experiential Learning Activity Focused on the Consumer Decision-Making Process

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Veronica L.; Magnotta, Sarah R.; Chang, Hua; Steffes, Erin

2018-01-01

Instructors are faced with the challenge of teaching a significant amount of material covering a wide variety of topics in a Principles of Marketing course. In order to present the critical consumer decision-making process concept in a meaningful way while remaining mindful of time constraints, we propose a semi-structured classroom activity that…

Translanguaging and Positioning in Two-Way Dual Language Classrooms: A Case for Criticality

Science.gov (United States)

Hamman, Laura

2018-01-01

This article examines the role of translanguaging practices and pedagogies in two-way dual language classrooms. Much of the recent expansion of dual language programs across the US has occurred in mid-sized cities and rural communities where English monolingualism is the norm; however, the extant literature on flexible language practices in…

Eavesdropping on the two-way quantum communication protocols with invisible photons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cai Qingyu [State Key Laboratory of Magnetics Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institution of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071 (China)]. E-mail: qycai@wipm.ac.cn

2006-02-20

The crucial issue of quantum communication protocol is its security. In this Letter, we show that all the deterministic and direct two-way quantum communication protocols, sometimes called ping-pong (PP) protocols, are insecure when an eavesdropper uses the invisible photon to eavesdrop on the communication. With our invisible photon eavesdropping (IPE) scheme, the eavesdropper can obtain full information of the communication with zero risk of being detected. We show that this IPE scheme can be implemented experimentally with current technology. Finally, a possible improvement of PP communication protocols security is proposed00.

Eavesdropping on the two-way quantum communication protocols with invisible photons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Qingyu

2006-01-01

The crucial issue of quantum communication protocol is its security. In this Letter, we show that all the deterministic and direct two-way quantum communication protocols, sometimes called ping-pong (PP) protocols, are insecure when an eavesdropper uses the invisible photon to eavesdrop on the communication. With our invisible photon eavesdropping (IPE) scheme, the eavesdropper can obtain full information of the communication with zero risk of being detected. We show that this IPE scheme can be implemented experimentally with current technology. Finally, a possible improvement of PP communication protocols security is proposed

Quantum hacking of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution using Trojan-horse attack

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Hong-Xin; Bao, Wan-Su; Li, Hong-Wei; Chou, Chun

2016-08-01

We present a Trojan-horse attack on the practical two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution system. Our attack mainly focuses on the imperfection of the practical system that the modulator has a redundancy of modulation pulse-width, which leaves a loophole for the eavesdropper inserting a Trojan-horse pulse. Utilizing the unique characteristics of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution that Alice only takes modulation operation on the received mode without any measurement, this attack allows the eavesdropper to render all of the final keys shared between the legitimate parties insecure without being detected. After analyzing the feasibility of the attack, the corresponding countermeasures are put forward. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2013CB338002) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11304397 and 61505261).

Impact of I/Q imbalance on the performance of two-way CSI-assisted AF relaying

KAUST Repository

Qi, Jian; Aï ssa, Sonia; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate half-duplex two-way dual-hop channel state information (CSI)-assisted amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying in the presence of in-phase and quadrature-phase (I/Q) imbalance. A compensation approach for the I/Q imbalance is proposed, which employs the received signals together with their conjugations to detect the desired signal. We also derive the average symbol error probability of the considered half-duplex two-way dual-hop CSI-assisted AF relaying networks with and without compensation for I/Q imbalance in Rayleigh fading channels. Numerical results are provided and show that the proposed compensation method mitigates the impact of I/Q imbalance to a certain extent. © 2013 IEEE.

Impact of I/Q imbalance on the performance of two-way CSI-assisted AF relaying

KAUST Repository

Qi, Jian

2013-04-01

In this paper, we investigate half-duplex two-way dual-hop channel state information (CSI)-assisted amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying in the presence of in-phase and quadrature-phase (I/Q) imbalance. A compensation approach for the I/Q imbalance is proposed, which employs the received signals together with their conjugations to detect the desired signal. We also derive the average symbol error probability of the considered half-duplex two-way dual-hop CSI-assisted AF relaying networks with and without compensation for I/Q imbalance in Rayleigh fading channels. Numerical results are provided and show that the proposed compensation method mitigates the impact of I/Q imbalance to a certain extent. © 2013 IEEE.

Meaningful radiation worker training for temporary craftsmen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, S.L.

1976-01-01

The carefully organized Radiation Worker Training Program presented to permanently assigned personnel at a power reactor facility too often falls by the wayside when temporary craftsmen are brought in for an outage. Even though these temporary workers will frequently be assigned to outage jobs with high radiation and/or contamination exposures, their Radiation Worker Training is often squeezed into an already busy schedule, thus reducing its effectiveness. As an aid for evaluating the effectiveness of an existing Radiation Worker Training Program for temporary craftsmen or for setting up a new program, the following guides are presented and discussed in this paper: the training environment; the interest and meaningfulness of the presentation; the method or methods used for presentation of the training information; the use of demonstrations; trainee participation; and, measuring the amount and type of information retained by a trainee. Meaningful Radiation Worker Training for temporary craftsmen can pay big dividends. Craftsmen can be expected to make fewer mistakes, thus reducing radiation exposure and lessening the chance for the spread of contamination. The craftsmen will also benefit by being able to work longer and utility management will benefit by having lower outage costs

Distributed cognitive two-way relay beamformer designs under perfect and imperfect CSI

KAUST Repository

Pandarakkottilil, Ubaidulla

2011-09-01

In this paper, we present distributed two-way relay beamformer designs for a cognitive radio network (CRN) in which a pair of cognitive (or secondary) transceiver nodes communicate with each other assisted by a set of cognitive two-way relay nodes. The secondary nodes share the spectrum with a licensed primary user (PU) node, and each node is assumed to be equipped with a single transmit/receive antenna. The interference to the PU resulting from the transmission from the cognitive nodes is kept below a specified limit. First, we consider relay beamformer designs assuming the availability of perfect channel state information (CSI). For this case, a mean-square error (MSE)-constrained beamformer that minimizes the total relay transmit power, and an MSE-balancing beamformer with a constraint on the total relay transmit power are proposed. Next, we consider relay beamformer designs assuming that the available CSI is imperfect. For this case too, we consider the same problems as those in the case of perfect CSI, and propose beamformer designs that are robust to the errors in the CSI. We show that the proposed designs can be reformulated as convex optimization problems that can be solved efficiently. Through numerical simulations, we illustrate the performance of the proposed designs. © 2011 IEEE.

Adults surviving lung cancer two or more years: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhea, Deborah J; Lockwood, Suzy

of surviving lung cancer post two years. The central themes that emerged were existential issues, health and self-care, physical ability, adjustment, and support.Quantitative studies identified that distressed groups had less meaningful experiences related to lung cancer survival than not distressed groups. The studies also found that emotional states and style of coping were related to the meaningfulness of lung cancer survival. With less emotional distress, seeing the good in everything, adjusting life to fit the changes from lung cancer, and adding physical activity to the daily routine, the life of a lung cancer survivor can be more meaningful. Healthcare providers must assess lung cancer survivors for potential symptom clusters affecting key patient outcomes such as quality of life. Consider introducing interventions to promote light to moderate physical activity in older patients and moderate to vigorous physical activity in younger patients, and ceasing smoking. Teach active coping strategies. There is a need for qualitative research studies exploring the experiences of lung cancer survivors. Further research is recommended on symptom clusters that might impact outcomes such as quality of life.

Concept Mapping Using Cmap Tools to Enhance Meaningful Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Cañas, Alberto J.; Novak, Joseph D.

Concept maps are graphical tools that have been used in all facets of education and training for organizing and representing knowledge. When learners build concept maps, meaningful learning is facilitated. Computer-based concept mapping software such as CmapTools have further extended the use of concept mapping and greatly enhanced the potential of the tool, facilitating the implementation of a concept map-centered learning environment. In this chapter, we briefly present concept mapping and its theoretical foundation, and illustrate how it can lead to an improved learning environment when it is combined with CmapTools and the Internet. We present the nationwide “Proyecto Conéctate al Conocimiento” in Panama as an example of how concept mapping, together with technology, can be adopted by hundreds of schools as a means to enhance meaningful learning.

A novel two-way-controllable magneto-rheological fluid damper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aydar, Gokhan; Wang, Xiaojie; Gordaninejad, Faramarz

2010-01-01

In this paper, a disc type, radial flow-mode magneto-rheological (MR) fluid damper comprising a permanent magnet and an electromagnet is designed, built and tested. The proposed MR fluid damper has an MR valve with which two-way controllability through cancellation or enhancement of the magnetic field is obtained. This added feature provides damping forces less than or greater than that of a passive viscous original equipment manufacturer damper. A three-dimensional electromagnetic finite element analysis has been performed to realize this unique function in the proposed design. Experimental and theoretical studies have been conducted in order to demonstrate that this new design can provide softer damping properties by cancelling the effect of the permanent magnet, while at the same time enhancing the field effect, resulting in a harder damping device. Softer and harder damping refer to decrease and increase in the damping, respectively

Two-way shape memory behavior of shape memory polyurethanes with a bias load

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Seok Jin; Yu, Woong-Ryeol; Youk, Ji Ho

2010-01-01

Thermo-responsive shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) is a smart material that can respond to external heat by changing its macroscopic shape from a temporary configuration to a memorized permanent one. The temporary shape can be processed using mechanical forces above a certain temperature (the transition temperature) and can be maintained until the material acquires a certain thermal energy. Thereafter, the material will recover its memorized permanent shape. However, it is unclear what will occur if the thermal energy is then dissipated, i.e., the material temperature decreases. There are two possibilities: the material will respond to the dissipated energy, resulting in another macroscopic shape change; or nothing will happen beyond the thermal contraction. The former is called two-way shape memory (TWSM) behavior and the latter is called one-way shape memory behavior. This paper reports novel findings showing that TWSM behavior can be imparted to SMPUs using a thermo-mechanical treatment, i.e., imposing a constant stress on them after their temporary shaping. A series of experiments were carried out to characterize the TWSM behavior of SMPUs and to explain its mechanism

"Meaningful use" of electronic health records and its relevance to laboratories and pathologists

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walter H Henricks

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Electronic health records (EHRs have emerged as a major topic in health care and are central to the federal government′s strategy for transforming healthcare delivery in the United States. Recent federal actions that aim to promote the use of EHRs promise to have significant implications for laboratories and for pathology practices. Under the HITECH (Health Information Technology Economic and Clinical Health Act, an EHR incentive program has been established through which individual physicians and hospitals can qualify to receive incentive payments if they achieve "meaningful use" of "certified" EHR technology. The rule also establishes payment penalties in future years for eligible providers who have not met the requirements for meaningful use of EHRs. Meaningful use must be achieved using EHR technology that has been certified in accordance with functional and technical criteria that are set forth a regulation that parallels the meaningful use criteria in the incentive program. These actions and regulations are important to laboratories and pathologists for a number of reasons. Several of the criteria and requirements in the meaningful use rules and EHR certification criteria relate directly or indirectly to laboratory testing and laboratory information management, and future stage requirements are expected to impact the laboratory as well. Furthermore, as EHR uptake expands, there will be greater expectations for electronic interchange of laboratory information and laboratory information system (LIS-EHR interfaces. Laboratories will need to be aware of the technical, operational, and business challenges that they may face as expectations for LIS-EHR increase. This paper reviews the important recent federal efforts aimed at accelerating EHR use, including the incentive program for EHR meaningful use, provider eligibility, and EHR certification criteria, from a perspective of their relevance for laboratories and pathology practices.

Building Bridges Through Meaningful Occupation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Fortuna

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Mary Block, MS, OTR/L, an occupational therapist and artist based in Illinois, provided the cover art for the Summer 2017 issue of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT. Generations is a sculpture made from concrete that measures 240 x100 in. (6.096 x 2.54 m. The piece was commissioned by Mary’s home town, the Village of Deerfield, IL. Mary always knew she wanted to be an artist. When competing paradigms altered Mary’s career path, the field of occupational therapy helped her to shape a new worldview. In uncertain times, meaningful occupation empowered Mary to start over again where she originally began

Morality and a Meaningful Life | Thomas | Philosophical Papers

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... healthy dovetail with respect to leading a meaningful life. With this argument regarding psychological health I draw upon, and extend, P. F. Strawson's seminal essay “Freedom and Resentment”. Also in this regard, I extend Wittgenstein's argument against the possibility of a private language to social behavior generally.

What constitutes meaningful engagement for patients and families as partners on research teams?

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Agnes; Strain, Kimberly; Wallsworth, Christine; Charlton, Sara-Grey; Chang, Wilma; McNamee, Kate; Hamilton, Clayon

2018-01-01

Objective There is growing emphasis on health care organizations to ensure that lay people are meaningfully engaged as partners on research teams. Our aim was to explore the perspectives of patients, family members and informal caregivers who have been involved on health care research teams in Canada and elicit their recommendations for meaningful engagement. Methods We conducted a qualitative study guided by thematic analysis of transcripts of focus groups and interviews of 19 experienced patient research partners in Canada. Results We identified four main themes: research environment, expectations, support and value, which highlight participants' combined perspectives on important factors to ensure their engagement in research is meaningful. Conclusions Our findings add to the evolving evidence base on the perspectives of lay people involved in health care research and their recommendations for research leaders on meaningful engagement. Our study suggests that research leaders should provide a welcoming research environment, outline appropriate expectations for patient research partners on research teams, support patient research partners' engagement in projects and recognize the value patient research partners bring to health research.

Key rate of quantum key distribution with hashed two-way classical communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Shun; Matsumoto, Ryutaroh; Uyematsu, Tomohiko; Kawano, Yasuhito

2007-01-01

We propose an information reconciliation protocol that uses two-way classical communication. The key rates of quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols that use our protocol are higher than those using previously known protocols for a wide range of error rates for the Bennett-Brassard 1984 and six-state protocols. We also clarify the relation between the proposed and known QKD protocols, and the relation between the proposed protocol and entanglement distillation protocols

Youth Perspectives on Meaningful Participation in Community Based Programs: A Qualitative Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sherer W. Royce

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Allowing the voiceless to have a voice is a tenet of empowerment. This paper highlights research that employed a participatory action research framework to gain a better understanding of young people’s perceptions about youth empowerment and acquire their perspective (voice about the meaningfulness of participation in out-of-school advocacy and volunteer program activities. Using Photovoice, the research provides a missing point of view in youth empowerment model development. Results indicate that the quality of a youth’s participation in a community-based program is determined by 1 youth expressing themselves without censorship, 2 occasions for youth to expand their social networks with youth and adults, and 3 adults observing and valuing youth contributions. These findings raise implications for community-based, youth empowerment programs including program philosophy, program procedures, youth empowerment content and activities, and adult leadership style. The findings may assist practitioners when designing youth empowering activities and researchers when operationalizing youth empowerment.

Diabetes and hepatitis C : A two-way association

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Salehi Hammerstad

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Diabetes and hepatitis C infection are both prevalent diseases worldwide, and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Most studies, but not all, have shown that patients with chronic hepatitis C are more prone to develop type 2 diabetes compared to healthy controls, as well as when compared to patients with other liver diseases including hepatitis B. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have revealed that patients with type 2 diabetes may also be at higher risk for worse outcomes of their hepatitis C infection, including reduced rate of sustained virologic response, progression to fibrosis and cirrhosis, and higher risk for development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Moreover, hepatitis C infection and mainly its treatment, interferon α, can trigger the development of type 1 diabetes. In this review we discuss the existing data on this two-way association between diabetes and hepatitis C infection with emphasis on possible mechanisms. It remains to be determined whether the new curative therapies for chronic hepatitis C will improve outcomes in diabetic hepatitis C patients, and conversely whether treatment with Metformin will reduce complications from HCV infection. We propose an algorithm for diabetes screening and follow-up in hepatitis C patients.

Creating a meaningful infection control program: one home healthcare agency's lessons.

Science.gov (United States)

Poff, Renee McCoy; Browning, Sarah Via

2014-03-01

Creating a meaningful infection control program in the home care setting proved to be challenging for agency leaders of one hospital-based home healthcare agency. Challenges arose when agency leaders provided infection control (IC) data to the hospital's IC Committee. The IC Section Chief asked for national benchmark comparisons to align home healthcare reporting to that of the hospital level. At that point, it was evident that the home healthcare IC program lacked definition and structure. The purpose of this article is to share how one agency built a meaningful IC program.

Comparison of meaningful learning characteristics in simulated nursing practice after traditional versus computer-based simulation method: a qualitative videography study.

Science.gov (United States)

Poikela, Paula; Ruokamo, Heli; Teräs, Marianne

2015-02-01

Nursing educators must ensure that nursing students acquire the necessary competencies; finding the most purposeful teaching methods and encouraging learning through meaningful learning opportunities is necessary to meet this goal. We investigated student learning in a simulated nursing practice using videography. The purpose of this paper is to examine how two different teaching methods presented students' meaningful learning in a simulated nursing experience. The 6-hour study was divided into three parts: part I, general information; part II, training; and part III, simulated nursing practice. Part II was delivered by two different methods: a computer-based simulation and a lecture. The study was carried out in the simulated nursing practice in two universities of applied sciences, in Northern Finland. The participants in parts II and I were 40 first year nursing students; 12 student volunteers continued to part III. Qualitative analysis method was used. The data were collected using video recordings and analyzed by videography. The students who used a computer-based simulation program were more likely to report meaningful learning themes than those who were first exposed to lecture method. Educators should be encouraged to use computer-based simulation teaching in conjunction with other teaching methods to ensure that nursing students are able to receive the greatest educational benefits. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanical properties of two-way grid shells optimized considering roundness and elastic stiffness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, Toshiyuki; Yuta, Nishikawa; Rie, Tateishi; Ohsaki, Makoto

2002-01-01

A single-layer two-way grid shell defined by Bezier surface is optimized by coordinates of the control points as design variables. The purpose of this paper is to find optimal shapes considering roundness and elastic stiffness, and to investigate their mechanical properties. The distance of the center of curvature from the specified point is used for formulating the objective function for generating a round shape. Consider next a problem of minimizing the compliance as mechanical performance measure. The compliance is defined by the external work against the static loads applied to the nodes. The mechanically optimal shape is different from the round shape. Therefore, the multi objective optimization problem is formulated for optimizing the two objectives, which are roundness and the elastic stiffness defined by using the compliance. The constraint method is used for obtaining Pareto optimal solutions between the two objectives. We optimize single-layer two-way grid shells with square and rectangle plans. Mechanical properties of the optimal shapes are investigated by compliance and the distributions of axial force and bending moment. The round shape is significantly dominated by the bending moment and its compliance is large. The bending moment of the mechanically optimal shape is not very large, and the latticed shell has large stiffness through axial deformation. A trade-off shape is round enough, and the influence of the bending moment is smaller than that of the optimal round shape and the elastic stiffness is moderately large

Students' Ways of Thinking about Two-Variable Functions and Rate of Change in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Eric David

2012-01-01

This dissertation describes an investigation of four students' ways of thinking about functions of two variables and rate of change of those two-variable functions. Most secondary, introductory algebra, pre-calculus, and first and second semester calculus courses do not require students to think about functions of more than one variable. Yet…

Coping strategies to manage acculturative stress: Meaningful activity participation, social support, and positive emotion among Korean immigrant adolescents in the USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junhyoung Kim

2012-11-01

Full Text Available During acculturation, Asian immigrant adolescents have numerous challenges such as language barriers, cultural and ethnic differences, different school environments, discrimination experiences, and intergroup conflicts and tension. These challenges generate acculturative stress, which negatively affects the perception of health and well-being among Asian immigrant adolescents. This article explored how Asian immigrant adolescents perceive and cope with acculturative stress. In particular, this study examined the stress-coping strategies in the adaptation process as experienced by Korean immigrant adolescents. Three main themes associated with the stress-coping strategies were captured: (a engagement in meaningful activities; (b social support; and (c positive emotion. This finding implies that Asian immigrant adolescents create and develop their own strategies to deal with acculturative stress, which results in a sense of happiness and psychological well-being. This study discuss the future implications on how to improve the perception of health and well-being among Asian immigrant adolescents.

Secure Communication for Two-Way Relay Networks with Imperfect CSI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cong Sun

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper considers a two-way relay network, where two legitimate users exchange messages through several cooperative relays in the presence of an eavesdropper, and the Channel State Information (CSI of the eavesdropper is imperfectly known. The Amplify-and-Forward (AF relay protocol is used. We design the relay beamforming weights to minimize the total relay transmit power, while requiring the Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNRs of the legitimate users to be higher than the given thresholds and the achievable rate of the eavesdropper to be upper-bounded. Due to the imperfect CSI, a robust optimization problem is summarized. A novel iterative algorithm is proposed, where the line search technique is applied, and the feasibility is preserved during iterations. In each iteration, two Quadratically-Constrained Quadratic Programming (QCQP subproblems and a one-dimensional subproblem are optimally solved. The optimality property of the robust optimization problem is analyzed. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm performs very close to the non-robust model with perfect CSI, in terms of the obtained relay transmit power; it~achieves higher secrecy rate compared to the existing work. Numerically, the proposed algorithm converges very quickly, and more than 85% of the problems are solved optimally.

Callings, work role fit, psychological meaningfulness and work ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Our aim in this study was to investigate the relationships among a calling orientation, work role fit, psychological meaningfulness and work engagement of teachers in Zambia. A quantitative approach was followed and a cross-sectional survey was used. The sample (n = 150) included 75 basic and 75 secondary school ...

Synonyms, Antonyms, and Retroactive Inhibition with Meaningful Material

Science.gov (United States)

Weisshed, Ethel

1973-01-01

The determination of the extent to which generalizations derived from studies of rote verbal learning, particularly paired-associate learning applied to highly meaningful materials, was the focus of this study. It was found that discriminating tags to synonyms and antonyms permitting the application of appropriate transfer rules may be attached.…

Contested Spaces. Meaningful Places. Contemporary Performances of Place and Belonging in Spain and Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria J. C. Krom

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This essay aims to contribute to current anthropological debate on space and place, analysing in two instances of festival performance how, on the one hand the politics of appropriation of space contributes to the configuration of power relations, and how on the other hand, participants in these festivals engage individually and collectively with physical space(s to create places which they experience as meaningful in terms of identity and belonging.

Relating two proposed methods for speedup of algorithms for fitting two- and three-way principal component and related multilinear models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kiers, Henk A.L.; Harshman, Richard A.

Multilinear analysis methods such as component (and three-way component) analysis of very large data sets can become very computationally demanding and even infeasible unless some method is used to compress the data and/or speed up the algorithms. We discuss two previously proposed speedup methods.

Meaningful work and work engagement : The mediating role of perceived opportunity to craft and job crafting behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Wingerden, Jessica; van der Stoep, Joost; Poell, R.F.

2018-01-01

This study examines the impact of meaningful work on employees’ level of work engagement as mediated by perceived opportunities to craft and job crafting. Based on the literature on meaningful work and job crafting, we hypothesize that meaningful work has a positive relationship with an employee’s

Effects of perceptual load and socially meaningful stimuli on crossmodal selective attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder and neurotypical samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyndall, Ian; Ragless, Liam; O'Hora, Denis

2018-04-01

The present study examined whether increasing visual perceptual load differentially affected both Socially Meaningful and Non-socially Meaningful auditory stimulus awareness in neurotypical (NT, n = 59) adults and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD, n = 57) adults. On a target trial, an unexpected critical auditory stimulus (CAS), either a Non-socially Meaningful ('beep' sound) or Socially Meaningful ('hi') stimulus, was played concurrently with the presentation of the visual task. Under conditions of low visual perceptual load both NT and ASD samples reliably noticed the CAS at similar rates (77-81%), whether the CAS was Socially Meaningful or Non-socially Meaningful. However, during high visual perceptual load NT and ASD participants reliably noticed the meaningful CAS (NT = 71%, ASD = 67%), but NT participants were unlikely to notice the Non-meaningful CAS (20%), whereas ASD participants reliably noticed it (80%), suggesting an inability to engage selective attention to ignore non-salient irrelevant distractor stimuli in ASD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Symmetric extension of bipartite quantum states and its use in quantum key distribution with two-way postprocessing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myhr, Geir Ove

2010-11-08

Just like we can divide the set of bipartite quantum states into separable states and entangled states, we can divide it into states with and without a symmetric extension. The states with a symmetric extension - which includes all the separable states - behave classically in many ways, while the states without a symmetric extension - which are all entangled - have the potential to exhibit quantum effects. The set of states with a symmetric extension is closed under local quantum operations assisted by one-way classical communication (1-LOCC) just like the set of separable states is closed under local operations assisted by two-way classical communication (LOCC). Because of this, states with a symmetric extension often play the same role in a one-way communication setting as the separable states play in a two-way communication setting. We show that any state with a symmetric extension can be decomposed into a convex combination of states that have a pure symmetric extension. A necessary condition for a state to have a pure symmetric extension is that the spectra of the local and global density matrices are equal. This condition is also sufficient for two qubits, but not for any larger systems. We present a conjectured necessary and sufficient condition for two-qubit states with a symmetric extension. Proofs are provided for some classes of states: rank-two states, states on the symmetric subspace, Bell-diagonal states and states that are invariant under S x S, where S is a phase gate. We also show how the symmetric extension problem for multi-qubit Bell-diagonal states can be simplified and the simplified problem implemented as a semidefinite program. Quantum key distribution protocols such as the six-state protocol and the BB84 protocol effectively gives Alice and Bob Bell-diagonal states that they measure in the standard basis to obtain a raw key which they may then process further to obtain a secret error-free key. When the raw key has a high error rate, the

Symmetric extension of bipartite quantum states and its use in quantum key distribution with two-way postprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myhr, Geir Ove

2010-01-01

Just like we can divide the set of bipartite quantum states into separable states and entangled states, we can divide it into states with and without a symmetric extension. The states with a symmetric extension - which includes all the separable states - behave classically in many ways, while the states without a symmetric extension - which are all entangled - have the potential to exhibit quantum effects. The set of states with a symmetric extension is closed under local quantum operations assisted by one-way classical communication (1-LOCC) just like the set of separable states is closed under local operations assisted by two-way classical communication (LOCC). Because of this, states with a symmetric extension often play the same role in a one-way communication setting as the separable states play in a two-way communication setting. We show that any state with a symmetric extension can be decomposed into a convex combination of states that have a pure symmetric extension. A necessary condition for a state to have a pure symmetric extension is that the spectra of the local and global density matrices are equal. This condition is also sufficient for two qubits, but not for any larger systems. We present a conjectured necessary and sufficient condition for two-qubit states with a symmetric extension. Proofs are provided for some classes of states: rank-two states, states on the symmetric subspace, Bell-diagonal states and states that are invariant under S x S, where S is a phase gate. We also show how the symmetric extension problem for multi-qubit Bell-diagonal states can be simplified and the simplified problem implemented as a semidefinite program. Quantum key distribution protocols such as the six-state protocol and the BB84 protocol effectively gives Alice and Bob Bell-diagonal states that they measure in the standard basis to obtain a raw key which they may then process further to obtain a secret error-free key. When the raw key has a high error rate, the

MIMO Four-Way Relaying

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Huaping; Sun, Fan; De Carvalho, Elisabeth

2013-01-01

Two-way relaying in wireless systems has initiated a large research effort during the past few years. Nevertheless, it represents only a specific traffic pattern and it is of interest to investigate other traffic patterns where such a simultaneous processing of information flows can bring...... performance advantage. In this paper we consider a \\emph{four-way relaying} multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) scenario, where each of the two Mobile Stations (MSs) has a two-way connection to the same Base Station (BS), while each connection is through a dedicated Relay Station (RS). The RSs are placed...... the sum-rate of the new scheme for Decode-and-Forward (DF) operational model for the RS. We compare the performance with state-of-the-art reference schemes, based on two-way relaying with DF. The results indicate that the sum-rate of the two-phase four-way relaying scheme largely outperforms the four...

Using Meaningful Contexts to Promote Understanding of Pronumerals

Science.gov (United States)

Linsell, Chris; Cavanagh, Michael; Tahir, Salma

2013-01-01

Developing a conceptual understanding of elementary algebra has been the focus of a number of recent articles in this journal. Baroudi (2006) advocated problem solving to assist students' transition from arithmetic to algebra, and Shield (2008) described the use of meaningful contexts for developing the concept of function. Samson (2011, 2012)…

Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Investigate Meaningful Prenatal Care Among African American Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Nypaver, Cynthia F; Shambley-Ebron, Donna

2016-11-01

In the United States, African American babies die more than twice as often as White babies. The cause for this difference remains elusive, yet is likely complex with one factor being inadequate cultural care of pregnant African American women. The purpose of this study was to explore African American women's perspectives of meaningful prenatal care. Community-based participatory research was employed for this study using photovoice. The sample included 11 African American mothers in an urban community in Midwestern United States. Five themes were abstracted from the data: (1) Access to Care; (2) Soul Nourishment; (3) Companionship; (4) Help Me, Teach Me; and (5) The Future. Meaningful prenatal care is influenced by culture. African American women need physical, social, and soulful support to enhance meaningfulness of care during pregnancy. The findings support that meaningfulness of prenatal care for African American women may be enhanced by accessible and uniquely designed, culturally congruent models of prenatal care. © The Author(s) 2015.

Are there meaningful individual differences in temporal inconsistency in self-reported personality?

Science.gov (United States)

Soubelet, Andrea; Salthouse, Timothy A; Oishi, Shigehiro

2014-11-01

The current project had three goals. The first was to examine whether it is meaningful to refer to across-time variability in self-reported personality as an individual differences characteristic. The second was to investigate whether negative affect was associated with variability in self-reported personality, while controlling for mean levels, and correcting for measurement errors. The third goal was to examine whether variability in self-reported personality would be larger among young adults than among older adults, and whether the relation of variability with negative affect would be stronger at older ages than at younger ages. Two moderately large samples of participants completed the International Item Pool Personality questionnaire assessing the Big Five personality dimensions either twice or thrice, in addition to several measures of negative affect. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that within-person variability in self-reported personality is a meaningful individual difference characteristic. Some people exhibited greater across-time variability than others after removing measurement error, and people who showed temporal instability in one trait also exhibited temporal instability across the other four traits. However, temporal variability was not related to negative affect, and there was no evidence that either temporal variability or its association with negative affect varied with age.

Bandwidth and power allocation for two-way relaying in overlay cognitive radio systems

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2014-12-01

In this paper, the problem of both bandwidth and power allocation for two-way multiple relay systems in overlay cognitive radio (CR) setup is investigated. In the CR overlay mode, primary users (PUs) cooperate with cognitive users (CUs) for mutual benefits. In our framework, we propose that the CUs are allowed to allocate a part of the PUs spectrum to perform their cognitive transmission. In return, acting as an amplify-and-forward two-way relays, they are used to support PUs to achieve their target data rates over the remaining bandwidth. More specifically, CUs acts as relays for the PUs and gain some spectrum as long as they respect a specific power budget and primary quality-of-service constraints. In this context, we first derive closed-form expressions for optimal transmit power allocated to PUs and CUs in order to maximize the cognitive objective. Then, we employ a strong optimization tool based on particle swarm optimization algorithm to find the optimal relay amplification gains and optimal cognitive released bandwidths as well. Our numerical results illustrate the performance of our proposed algorithm for different utility metrics and analyze the impact of some system parameters on the achieved performance.

Making Migration Meaningful

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Benwell, Ann Fenger

2013-01-01

a way to escape family patriarchy and conformity, and can contribute to loss, hardship, and uncertainty for family members left behind. Further, mobility provides opportunities and a means to escape the stigma of ‘laziness’ culturally associated with poverty and immobility. Postsocialist separation has...... of absence by migrant family members, as both men and women are culturally permitted to be separate from their families. Migration is understood to contribute to prosperity, and separations contribute to generate growth and hishig (good fortune) for the good of the family. However, such mobility is also......Mongolia has experienced two decades since the demise of the Soviet Union and has implemented strategies to strengthen its economy and its democratic practices. Transitions from being a nomadic society to a Soviet satellite state and onwards to liberal democracy have greatly impacted family life...

Hospital IT adoption strategies associated with implementation success: implications for achieving meaningful use.

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Eric W; Menachemi, Nir; Huerta, Timothy R; Yu, Feliciano

2010-01-01

Health systems are facing significant pressure to either implement health information technology (HIT) systems that have "certified" electronic health record applications and that fulfill the federal government's definition of "meaningful use" or risk substantial financial penalties in the near future. To this end, hospitals have adopted one of three strategies, described as "best of breed," "best of suite," and "single vendor," to meet organizational and regulatory demands. The single-vendor strategy is used by the simple majority of U.S. hospitals, but is it the most effective mode for achieving full implementation? Moreover, what are the implications of adopting this strategy for achieving meaningful use? The simple answer to the first question is that the hospitals using the hybrid best of suite strategy had fully implemented HIT systems in significantly greater proportions than did hospitals employing either of the other strategies. Nonprofit and system-affiliated hospitals were more likely to have fully implemented their HIT systems. In addition, increased health maintenance organization market penetration rates were positively correlated with complete implementation rates. These results have ongoing implications for achieving meaningful use in the near term. The federal government's rewards and incentives program related to the meaningful use of HIT in hospitals has created an organizational imperative to implement such systems. For hospitals that have not begun systemwide implementation, pursuing a best of suite strategy may provide the greatest chance for achieving all or some of the meaningful use targets in the near term or at least avoiding future penalties scheduled to begin in 2015.

COURSERA ONLINE COURSE: A PLATFORM FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS’ MEANINGFUL AND VIBRANT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnis Silvia

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This article reports on English teachers‘ attitudes towards a professional development program run by Coursera (coursera.org. These teachers were participants of Foundation of Teaching for Learning 1: Introduction online course. Using a survey case study, the findings reveal that most of the participants perceive the course as a well-organized and effective platform to engage in professional learning. Coursera is an online learning platform offering various courses for teacher educators which are meaningful (closely related to their daily teaching practice and vibrant (involves active collaboration among peer participants to review and assess their projects. Albeit this nature, another finding shows that the participants lament that their institutions do not provide professional development (PD support. In fact, PD programs are not constrained to face-to-face encounters, since it can be designed using online platforms such as Coursera, a massive open online course (MOOC. Accordingly, the contribution of the article is to show how online platforms make meaningful and vibrant teacher professional development (TPD possible. The implication of the study is that school administrators and policy makers should provide support for their teachers to take online PD programs. This professional learning should contribute to the best teaching practice and student learning attainment.

Contributions of meaningful experiences gatherings to artistic education field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernardo Bustamante Cardona

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This article shows a theoretical approach to and a description of some contributions of a work of transformation of educational and sociocultural reality carried out by a group of people and institutions, among which are San Buenaventura University, Antioquia Museum, Ediarte Inc. and Antioquia University. Such intervention aims at contributing to the improvement of Artistic Education quality in Antioquia and the nation. In order to understand the significance of these Gatherings, a short historical framework is explained in which global and regional processes of academic activities having an impact on the structure of the Artistic Education field are pointed out. Likewise, some perspectives in the definition of artistic education are tackled and then a definition of Pierre Bourdieu´s concept of fieldis presented. Therefore, Meaningful Experiences Gatherings in Artistic Education (MEGAE are presented and the three first gatherings are described. Finally, it is shown the panorama of the contributions of the gatherings both in the theoretical formulation and relational structure of the field.

One-way membrane trafficking of SOS in receptor-triggered Ras activation.

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Sune M; Tu, Hsiung-Lin; Jun, Jesse E; Alvarez, Steven; Triplet, Meredith G; Iwig, Jeffrey S; Yadav, Kamlesh K; Bar-Sagi, Dafna; Roose, Jeroen P; Groves, Jay T

2016-09-01

SOS is a key activator of the small GTPase Ras. In cells, SOS-Ras signaling is thought to be initiated predominantly by membrane recruitment of SOS via the adaptor Grb2 and balanced by rapidly reversible Grb2-SOS binding kinetics. However, SOS has multiple protein and lipid interactions that provide linkage to the membrane. In reconstituted-membrane experiments, these Grb2-independent interactions were sufficient to retain human SOS on the membrane for many minutes, during which a single SOS molecule could processively activate thousands of Ras molecules. These observations raised questions concerning how receptors maintain control of SOS in cells and how membrane-recruited SOS is ultimately released. We addressed these questions in quantitative assays of reconstituted SOS-deficient chicken B-cell signaling systems combined with single-molecule measurements in supported membranes. These studies revealed an essentially one-way trafficking process in which membrane-recruited SOS remains trapped on the membrane and continuously activates Ras until being actively removed via endocytosis.

A comparative study of reverse osmosis and activated charcoal, two inexpensive and very effective ways to remove waterborne radon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, K.T.; Mose, D.G.; Mushrush, G.W.

1994-01-01

A two year comparative study of waterborne radon removal reveals that reverse osmosis is consistently more effective than the use of activated charcoal. Reverse osmosis is a process by which water is forced under a pressure sufficient to overcome osmotic pressure through a semipermeable membrane, leaving behind impurities. Removal effectiveness for dissolved organic, dissolved ionic and suspended impurities are typically above 90%. Systems designed for home use to remove impurities from water dispensed at a convenient tap cost about $2000 and commonly consist of a sediment filter, a carbon prefilter, and a reverse osmosis container. A tank of activated charcoal can work equally well, and cost $500-$1000. However, the tank of charcoal becomes measurably enriched in gamma-emitters

Two-way portable radios: monitoring exposure to EMF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguiar Campos, Maria C.

2008-01-01

Full text: Hand-held two-way portable radios, also known as push-to-talk radios (PTT), radiate intense electromagnetic fields (EMF). Increasingly used for communications inside buildings, these devices should not be neglected as EMF sources in workplace environments. In contrast to mobile-phones, push-to-talk radios usually operate in a lower frequency range (450 < f < 470 MHz), where the reference levels, established by ICNIRP for human exposure, are more restrictive. The intrinsic hazard potential associated to these devices has motivated this assessment of occupational exposure to EMF. In spite of relatively low power levels, usually no more than a few watts, and the intermittency of transmissions, push-to-talk radios are operated close to the body, therefore exposure takes place in the near-field region. Measurements of electromagnetic field intensities were carried out for two push-to-talk models, operating at power levels of 2 W and 5 W, with a broad-band field monitor, EMR-300 (W and G), coupled to an E-field triaxial probe (type 8.0). Intensities were measured at various points surrounding the transmitter, to assess exposure levels of other workers sitting nearby during communications. Results show significant electric field intensities at points less than 10 cm away from the source. A personal monitor with triaxial E and H-field shaped probes, RadMan XT (Narda), was used as a dosimeter by workers operating both radio models, during 8 hours. This device measures E and H-field intensities and stores these values as a percentage of ICNIRP occupational limits, in a data logger. Results of both kind of measurements show that intense EMF are emitted during transmissions. Therefore, workers should be informed about possible EMF hazards and trained to properly operate these transmitters, in order to minimize exposure risks. (author)

A meaningful MESS (Medical Education Scholarship Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shari A. Whicker

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Graduate medical education faculty bear the responsibility of demonstrating active research and scholarship; however, faculty who choose education-focused careers may face unique obstacles related to the lack of promotion tracks, funding, career options, and research opportunities. Our objective was to address education research and scholarship barriers by providing a collaborative peer-mentoring environment and improve the production of research and scholarly outputs. Methods: We describe a Medical Education Scholarship Support (MESS group created in 2013. MESS is an interprofessional, multidisciplinary peer-mentoring education research community that now spans multiple institutions. This group meets monthly to address education research and scholarship challenges. Through this process, we develop new knowledge, research, and scholarly products, in addition to meaningful collaborations. Results: MESS originated with eight founding members, all of whom still actively participate. MESS has proven to be a sustainable unfunded local community of practice, encouraging faculty to pursue health professions education (HPE careers and fostering scholarship. We have met our original objectives that involved maintaining 100% participant retention; developing increased knowledge in at least seven content areas; and contributing to the development of 13 peer-reviewed publications, eight professional presentations, one Masters of Education project, and one educational curriculum. Discussion: The number of individuals engaged in HPE research continues to rise. The MESS model could be adapted for use at other institutions, thereby reducing barriers HPE researchers face, providing an effective framework for trainees interested in education-focused careers, and having a broader impact on the education research landscape.

Effect of indentation temperature on nickel-titanium indentation-induced two-way shape-memory surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brinckmann, Stephan A.; Frensemeier, Mareike; Laursen, Christopher M.; Maier, Hans J.; Britz, Dominik; Schneider, Andreas S.; Mücklich, Frank; Frick, Carl P.

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effect of temperature on indentation-induced one-way and two-way shape memory properties in Ti-50.3 at% Ni alloy. Indentation temperatures ranged from below the martensite finish temperature (M f ) to above the austenite finish temperature (A f ) with the explicit intent of varying the indented phase. Samples used in the study were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The topographical behavior of the shape memory effect was investigated through Vickers indentation and laser scanning 3D confocal measurements. The magnitudes of deformation recovery associated with the one-way and two-way shape-memory effect (OWSME, TWSME) decreased with increasing indentation temperatures, which is a reflection of the decreasing volume of material experiencing martensitic reorientation during indentation. Indented and subsequently planarized samples exhibited TWSME protrusions when thermally cycled. Laser scanning measurements were used to characterize the height of the protrusions as increasing depths of material were polished away, which provided insight into the overall affected volume beneath the indent. As indentation temperatures increased, both the height of the protrusions, and consequently the polish depth necessary to completely remove the effect, decreased. TEM investigations revealed that directly underneath a nanoindent the microstructure was very fine due to the high-strain deformation; this was contrasted with a much coarser grain size in the undeformed bulk material. Overall these results strongly imply that the deformation recovery associated with the OWSME and TWSME can be maximized by indenting at temperatures at M f or below because the volume of deformed microstructure beneath the indent is maximized. This finding has important practical value for any potential application that utilizes indentation-induced phase transformation deformation recovery in NiTi.

Effect of indentation temperature on nickel-titanium indentation-induced two-way shape-memory surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brinckmann, Stephan A. [University of Wyoming, Mechanical Engineering Department, Laramie (United States); Frensemeier, Mareike [INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Saarbrücken (Germany); Laursen, Christopher M. [University of Wyoming, Mechanical Engineering Department, Laramie (United States); Maier, Hans J. [Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institut für Werkstoffkunde (Materials Science), Garbsen (Germany); Britz, Dominik [Saarland University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarbrücken (Germany); Schneider, Andreas S. [AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke, Department for Research, Development and Plate-Design, Dillingen (Germany); Mücklich, Frank [Saarland University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Saarbrücken (Germany); Frick, Carl P., E-mail: cfrick@uwyo.edu [University of Wyoming, Mechanical Engineering Department, Laramie (United States)

2016-10-15

This study investigated the effect of temperature on indentation-induced one-way and two-way shape memory properties in Ti-50.3 at% Ni alloy. Indentation temperatures ranged from below the martensite finish temperature (M{sub f}) to above the austenite finish temperature (A{sub f}) with the explicit intent of varying the indented phase. Samples used in the study were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The topographical behavior of the shape memory effect was investigated through Vickers indentation and laser scanning 3D confocal measurements. The magnitudes of deformation recovery associated with the one-way and two-way shape-memory effect (OWSME, TWSME) decreased with increasing indentation temperatures, which is a reflection of the decreasing volume of material experiencing martensitic reorientation during indentation. Indented and subsequently planarized samples exhibited TWSME protrusions when thermally cycled. Laser scanning measurements were used to characterize the height of the protrusions as increasing depths of material were polished away, which provided insight into the overall affected volume beneath the indent. As indentation temperatures increased, both the height of the protrusions, and consequently the polish depth necessary to completely remove the effect, decreased. TEM investigations revealed that directly underneath a nanoindent the microstructure was very fine due to the high-strain deformation; this was contrasted with a much coarser grain size in the undeformed bulk material. Overall these results strongly imply that the deformation recovery associated with the OWSME and TWSME can be maximized by indenting at temperatures at M{sub f} or below because the volume of deformed microstructure beneath the indent is maximized. This finding has important practical value for any potential application that utilizes indentation-induced phase transformation deformation recovery in NiTi.

Modeling Meaningful Learning in Chemistry Using Structural Equation Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Brandriet, Alexandra R.; Ward, Rose Marie; Bretz, Stacey Lowery

2013-01-01

Ausubel and Novak's construct of "meaningful learning" stipulates that substantive connections between new knowledge and what is already known requires the integration of thinking, feeling, and performance (Novak J. D., (2010), "Learning, creating, and using knowledge: concept maps as facilitative tools in schools and…

Meaningfulness in work - experiences among employed individuals with persistent mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Leufstadius, Christel; Eklund, Mona; Erlandsson, Lena-Karin

2009-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate how people with persistent mental illness, with various types of work and employment conditions, experience and describe the meaningfulness of work. The study had a qualitative approach and twelve informants living in the community were purposefully selected and interviewed according to overarching themes. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis, and all of the authors were involved in the analysis process. The findings resulted in four main themes: 1) work per se has certain characteristics, 2) participation in different contexts gives a feeling of normality, acceptance, belonging and fulfilment of norms and values, 3) work affords structure, energy and a balanced daily life, and 4) work increases well-being and strengthens one's identity. A tentative model is described concerning perceived meaningfulness in work among individuals with persistent mental illness, in which the first three aspects of meaning are a prerequisite for meaning in terms of increased well-being and strengthened identity. Furthermore, it seems important that work has to bring the just right challenge to the individual in order for him or her to perceive the identified aspects of meaningfulness.

Development of a Portable Two-Way Communication and Information Device for Deafblind People.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozioko, Oliver; Hersh, Marion

2015-01-01

This paper presents research on the development of a wearable two-way communication and information device for deafblind people who use tactile communications methods, namely the British deafblind manual alphabet and/or Braille. The device has two components: a glove worn by the deafblind person and a handheld display with keypad to be used by their hearing and sighted communication partner. Users can send messages using pressure sensors embedded in the glove and receive them by means of vibration on the palm. The two components are linked by Bluetooth and the use of Bluetooth to communicate with computers, mobile phones and other Bluetooth enabled devices is being investigated. The design was informed by feedback obtained from a survey of deafblind people and interviews with staff in two organisations for deafblind people. Research and development of the device is still ongoing.

Outage performance of opportunistic two-way amplify-and-forward relaying with outdated channel state information

KAUST Repository

Hwang, Kyusung; Ju, Minchul; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2013-01-01

In this paper, we study the outage performance of an amplify-and-forward (AF)-based two-way relaying (TWR) system with multiple relays where a single relay selection is performed based on outdated channel state information (CSI). Specifically, we

Improving students' meaningful learning on the predictive nature of quantum mechanics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodolfo Alves de Carvalho Neto

2009-03-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with research about teaching quantum mechanics to 3rd year high school students and their meaningful learning of its predictive aspect; it is based on the Master’s dissertation of one of the authors (CARVALHO NETO, 2006. While teaching quantum mechanics, we emphasized its predictive and essentially probabilistic nature, based on Niels Bohr’s complementarity interpretation (BOHR, 1958. In this context, we have discussed the possibility of predicting measurement results in well-defined experimental contexts, even for individual events. Interviews with students reveal that they have used quantum mechanical ideas, suggesting their meaningful learning of the essentially probabilistic predictions of quantum mechanics.

Two-way QKD with single-photon-added coherent states

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda, Mario; Mundarain, Douglas

2017-12-01

In this work we present a two-way quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme that uses single-photon-added coherent states and displacement operations. The first party randomly sends coherent states (CS) or single-photon-added coherent states (SPACS) to the second party. The latter sends back the same state it received. Both parties decide which kind of states they are receiving by detecting or not a photon on the received signal after displacement operations. The first party must determine whether its sent and received states are equal; otherwise, the case must be discarded. We are going to show that an eavesdropper provided with a beam splitter gets the same information in any of the non-discarded cases. The key can be obtained by assigning 0 to CS and 1 to SPACS in the non-discarded cases. This protocol guarantees keys' security in the presence of a beam splitter attack even for states with a high number of photons in the sent signal. It also works in a lossy quantum channel, becoming a good bet for improving long-distance QKD.

Meaningful Work and Secondary School Teachers' Intention to Leave

Science.gov (United States)

Janik, M.; Rothmann, S.

2015-01-01

The study investigates the relations between secondary school teachers' work-role fit, job enrichment, supervisor relationships, co-worker relationships, psychological meaningfulness of work and intention to leave. A cross-sectional survey was used. The participants were 502 secondary school teachers in Namibia. The following measuring instruments…

Rate Optimization of Two-Way Relaying with Wireless Information and Power Transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thinh Phu Do

2017-11-01

Full Text Available We consider the simultaneous wireless information and power transfer in two-phase decode-and-forward two-way relaying networks, where a relay harvests the energy from the signal to be relayed through either power splitting or time splitting. Here, we formulate the resource allocation problems optimizing the time-phase and signal splitting ratios to maximize the sum rate of the two communicating devices. The joint optimization problems are shown to be convex for both the power splitting and time splitting approaches after some transformation if required to be solvable with an existing solver. To lower the computational complexity, we also present the suboptimal methods optimizing the splitting ratio for the fixed time-phase and derive a closed-form solution for the suboptimal method based on the power splitting. The results demonstrate that the power splitting approaches outperform their time splitting counterparts and the suboptimal power splitting approach provides a performance close to the optimal one while reducing the complexity significantly.

Development of an Assessment Tool to Measure Students' Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Galloway, Kelli R.; Bretz, Stacey Lowery

2015-01-01

Research on learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory necessitates an understanding of students' perspectives of learning. Novak's Theory of Meaningful Learning states that the cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling), and psychomotor (doing) domains must be integrated for meaningful learning to occur. The psychomotor domain is the…

Association between prepulse inhibition of the startle response and latent inhibition of two-way avoidance acquisition: A study with heterogeneous NIH-HS rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-González, Ana; Esnal, Aitor; Río-Álamos, Cristóbal; Oliveras, Ignasi; Cañete, Toni; Blázquez, Gloria; Tobeña, Adolf; Fernández-Teruel, Alberto

2016-03-01

This study presents the first evaluation of the associations between responses in two paradigms related to schizophrenia in the genetically heterogeneous NIH-HS rat stock. NIH-HS rats are a stock of genetically heterogeneous animals that have been derived from eight different inbred strains. A rotational breeding schedule has been followed for more than eighty generations, leading to a high level of genetic recombination that makes the NIH-HS rats a unique tool for studying the genetic basis of (biological, behavioral, disease-related) complex traits. Previous work has dealt with the characterization of coping styles, cognitive and anxiety/fear-related profiles of NIH-HS rats. In the present study we have completed their characterization in two behavioral models, prepulse inhibition (PPI) and latent inhibition (LI) of the two-way active avoidance response, that appear to be related to schizophrenia or to schizophrenia-relevant symptoms. We have found that these rats display PPI for each of the four prepulse intensities tested, allowing their stratification in high, medium and low PPI subgroups. When testing these three subgroups for LI of two-way active avoidance acquisition it has been observed that the LowPPI and MediumPPI subgroups present impaired LI, which, along with the fact that the HighPPI group presents significant LI, allows us to hypothesize that responses in these two paradigms are somehow related and that selection of NIH-HS rats for Low vs HighPPI could make a promising animal model for the study of clusters of schizophrenia-relevant symptoms and their underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

One-way quantum computation via manipulation of polarization and momentum qubits in two-photon cluster states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallone, G; Pomarico, E; De Martini, F; Mataloni, P

2008-01-01

Four-qubit cluster states of two photons entangled in polarization and linear momentum have been used to realize a complete set of single qubit rotations and the C-NOT gate for equatorial qubits with high values of fidelity. By the computational equivalence of the two degrees of freedom our result demonstrate the suitability of two photon cluster states for rapid and efficient one-way quantum computing

Distributed Role Selection With ANC and TDBC Protocols in Two-Way Relaying Systems

KAUST Repository

Ding, Haiyang

2015-09-28

This paper advocates a distributed role selection strategy to coordinate two-way relaying transmissions among three cooperative nodes. For such, the local channel state information comparison and decision feedback mechanism are merged into classical analog network coding (ANC) and time division broadcast (TDBC) protocols such that the cooperative role of each node can be designated in a distributed fashion. We refer to this distributed role selection rule as d-ROSE. In both ANC-based and TDBC-based two-way relaying scenarios, strict proof for the equivalence of d-ROSE and optimal ROSE is given, which indicates that albeit the different form, their final role decision is essentially the same. Outage analysis for the d-ROSE strategy is carried out and the scaling law of the system outage behavior at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is characterized, which manifests that d-ROSE can enhance the system diversity gain to one-order higher relative to the ANC and TDBC protocols. It is also shown that d-ROSE can reduce the signaling overhead upto 60% to perform the outage-optimal role selection. Finally, the impacts of node placement on the outage performance as well as the average signaling overhead of d-ROSE are numerically evaluated and some useful conclusions are drawn. © 2015 IEEE.

Are all certified EHRs created equal? Assessing the relationship between EHR vendor and hospital meaningful use performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmgren, A Jay; Adler-Milstein, Julia; McCullough, Jeffrey

2017-11-24

The federal electronic health record (EHR) certification process was intended to ensure a baseline level of system quality and the ability to support meaningful use criteria. We sought to assess whether there was variation across EHR vendors in the degree to which hospitals using products from those vendors were able to achieve high levels of performance on meaningful use criteria. We created a cross-sectional national hospital sample from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology EHR Products Used for Meaningful Use Attestation public use file and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Medicare EHR Incentive Program Eligible Hospitals public use file. We used regression models to assess the relationship between vendor and hospital performance on 6 Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria, controlling for hospital characteristics. We also calculated how much variation in performance is explained by vendor choice. We found significant associations between specific vendor and level of hospital performance for all 6 meaningful use criteria. Epic was associated with significantly higher performance on 5 of the 6 criteria; relationships for other vendors were mixed, with some associated with significantly worse performance on multiple criteria. EHR vendor choice accounted for between 7% and 34% of performance variation across the 6 criteria. A nontrivial proportion of variation in hospital meaningful use performance is explained by vendor choice, and certain vendors are more often associated with better meaningful use performance than others. Our results suggest that policy-makers should improve the certification process by including more "real-world" scenario testing and provider feedback or ratings to reduce this variation. Hospitals can use these results to guide interactions with vendors. Vendor choice accounts for a meaningful proportion of variation in hospital meaningful use performance, and specific vendors are consistently associated

Active Ways to Teach Health Concepts in the Elementary Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Julie

2015-01-01

This article provides three movement-based activities for teaching health concepts to elementary school students. Two activities focus on nutrition concepts and the other focuses on teaching body systems. Diagrams are provided to show the setup of activities, as well as links for accessing materials to help implement the activities.

Initial Development of the Meaningful Learning with Technology Scale (MeLTS) for High-School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chwee Beng

2018-01-01

With the rapid developments in emerging technologies and the emphasis on technologies in learning environments, the connection between technologies and meaningful learning has strengthened. Developing an understanding of the components of meaningful learning with technology is pivotal, as this may enable educators to make more informed decisions…

Energy efficient design for MIMO two-way AF multiple relay networks

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2014-04-01

This paper studies the energy efficient transmission and the power allocation problem for multiple two-way relay networks equipped with multi-input multi-output antennas where each relay employs an amplify-and-forward strategy. The goal is to minimize the total power consumption without degrading the quality of service of the terminals. In our analysis, we start by deriving closed-form expressions of the optimal powers allocated to terminals. We then employ a strong optimization tool based on the particle swarm optimization technique to find the optimal power allocated at each relay antenna. Our numerical results illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme and show that it achieves a sub-optimal solution very close to the optimal one.

Health activism: the way forward to improve health in difficult times.

Science.gov (United States)

Laverack, Glenn

2013-09-01

Health activism is an action on behalf of a cause, action that goes beyond what is conventional or routine in society. It involves a challenge to the existing order whenever it is perceived to lead to a social injustice or inequality. Today social injustice is killing people on a grand scale and it is timely for health activism to be used as a way forward to improve health during difficult economic and political times. Health activism is essential because it can create the necessary conditions for people to take control over their own lives when others cannot or will not act on their behalf. Health promotion agencies and the practitioners that they employ, professional organisations and researchers can also play an important role. What is clear is that if greedy corporations and complacent governments are not challenged, we will continue to have limited success in improving health.

Pedagogical Principles of Learning to Teach Meaningful Physical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Ní Chróinín, Déirdre; Fletcher, Tim; O'Sullivan, Mary

2018-01-01

Background: Concerns that current forms of physical education teacher education (PETE) are not adequately providing teachers with the tools necessary for working with the realities and challenges of teaching physical education in contemporary schools has led some scholars to advocate for an approach that prioritises meaningfulness in physical…

Simultaneous Two-Way Clustering of Multiple Correspondence Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Heungsun; Dillon, William R.

2010-01-01

A 2-way clustering approach to multiple correspondence analysis is proposed to account for cluster-level heterogeneity of both respondents and variable categories in multivariate categorical data. Specifically, in the proposed method, multiple correspondence analysis is combined with k-means in a unified framework in which "k"-means is…

Prevalence of active trachoma two years after control activities ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The prevalence of TF/TI showed significant reduction (p-value <0.001) in all five districts and overall in the two regions. Conclusion: Trachoma control activities over a two-year period in two regions in Ghana had led to significant reduction in the prevalence of active disease. Integrated surveillance and active monitoring will ...

Two-way cooperative AF relaying in spectrum-sharing systems: Enhancing cell-edge performance

KAUST Repository

Xia, Minghua

2012-09-01

In this contribution, two-way cooperative amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying technique is integrated into spectrumsharing wireless systems to improve spectral efficiency of secondary users (SUs). In order to share the available spectrum resources originally dedicated to primary users (PUs), the transmit power of a SU is optimized with respect to the average tolerable interference power at primary receivers. By analyzing outage probability and achievable data rate at the base station and at a cell-edge SU, our results reveal that the uplink performance is dominated by the average tolerable interference power at primary receivers, while the downlink always behaves like conventional one-way AF relaying and its performance is dominated by the average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). These important findings provide fresh perspectives for system designers to improve spectral efficiency of secondary users in next-generation broadband spectrum-sharing wireless systems. © 2012 IEEE.

Interactive Two-Way mHealth Interventions for Improving Medication Adherence: An Evaluation Using The Behaviour Change Wheel Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Amico, K Rivet; Atkins, Lou; Lester, Richard T

2018-01-01

potential mechanisms of action. Results Our evaluation of WelTel using the Behavior Change Wheel suggests that most of its impact is delivered primarily through its personalized communication component, in which 8 different behavior change techniques were identified and linked with 5 intervention functions (environmental restructuring, enablement, education, persuasion, and training). Its mechanisms of action in promoting antiretroviral therapy adherence may involve addressing all Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behavior influences on behavior (physical and psychological capability, physical and social opportunity, reflective and automatic motivation). Conclusions Systematically unpacking the potential active ingredients of effective interventions facilitates the creation and implementation of more parsimonious, tailored, and targeted approaches. Evaluating WelTel using the Behavior Change Wheel has provided valuable insights into how and why such interactive two-way mHealth interventions may produce greater impact than one-way in addressing both nonintentional and intentional forms of nonadherence. The application of the Behavior Change Wheel for evidence synthesis across mHealth interventions targeting various conditions would contribute to strengthening the knowledge base regarding how they may work to impact medication adherence behavior. PMID:29650504

Extinction maps toward the Milky Way bulge: Two-dimensional and three-dimensional tests with apogee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schultheis, M. [Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de Côte d' Azur, Laboratoire Lagrange, 06304 Nice Cedex 4 (France); Zasowski, G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Allende Prieto, C. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Vía Láctea s/n, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Anders, F.; Chiappini, C. [Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), D-14482 Potsdam (Germany); Beaton, R. L.; García Pérez, A. E.; Majewski, S. R. [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States); Beers, T. C. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Bizyaev, D. [Apache Point Observatory, Sunspot, NM 88349 (United States); Frinchaboy, P. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 298840, Fort Worth, TX 76129 (United States); Ge, J. [Astronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Hearty, F.; Schneider, D. P. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Holtzman, J. [New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States); Muna, D. [Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Nidever, D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Shetrone, M., E-mail: mathias.schultheis@oca.eu, E-mail: gail.zasowski@gmail.com [McDonald Observatory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)

2014-07-01

Galactic interstellar extinction maps are powerful and necessary tools for Milky Way structure and stellar population analyses, particularly toward the heavily reddened bulge and in the midplane. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable extinction measures and distances for a large number of stars that are independent of these maps, tests of their accuracy and systematics have been limited. Our goal is to assess a variety of photometric stellar extinction estimates, including both two-dimensional and three-dimensional extinction maps, using independent extinction measures based on a large spectroscopic sample of stars toward the Milky Way bulge. We employ stellar atmospheric parameters derived from high-resolution H-band Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) spectra, combined with theoretical stellar isochrones, to calculate line-of-sight extinction and distances for a sample of more than 2400 giants toward the Milky Way bulge. We compare these extinction values to those predicted by individual near-IR and near+mid-IR stellar colors, two-dimensional bulge extinction maps, and three-dimensional extinction maps. The long baseline, near+mid-IR stellar colors are, on average, the most accurate predictors of the APOGEE extinction estimates, and the two-dimensional and three-dimensional extinction maps derived from different stellar populations along different sightlines show varying degrees of reliability. We present the results of all of the comparisons and discuss reasons for the observed discrepancies. We also demonstrate how the particular stellar atmospheric models adopted can have a strong impact on this type of analysis, and discuss related caveats.

Extinction maps toward the Milky Way bulge: Two-dimensional and three-dimensional tests with apogee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultheis, M.; Zasowski, G.; Allende Prieto, C.; Anders, F.; Chiappini, C.; Beaton, R. L.; García Pérez, A. E.; Majewski, S. R.; Beers, T. C.; Bizyaev, D.; Frinchaboy, P. M.; Ge, J.; Hearty, F.; Schneider, D. P.; Holtzman, J.; Muna, D.; Nidever, D.; Shetrone, M.

2014-01-01

Galactic interstellar extinction maps are powerful and necessary tools for Milky Way structure and stellar population analyses, particularly toward the heavily reddened bulge and in the midplane. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable extinction measures and distances for a large number of stars that are independent of these maps, tests of their accuracy and systematics have been limited. Our goal is to assess a variety of photometric stellar extinction estimates, including both two-dimensional and three-dimensional extinction maps, using independent extinction measures based on a large spectroscopic sample of stars toward the Milky Way bulge. We employ stellar atmospheric parameters derived from high-resolution H-band Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) spectra, combined with theoretical stellar isochrones, to calculate line-of-sight extinction and distances for a sample of more than 2400 giants toward the Milky Way bulge. We compare these extinction values to those predicted by individual near-IR and near+mid-IR stellar colors, two-dimensional bulge extinction maps, and three-dimensional extinction maps. The long baseline, near+mid-IR stellar colors are, on average, the most accurate predictors of the APOGEE extinction estimates, and the two-dimensional and three-dimensional extinction maps derived from different stellar populations along different sightlines show varying degrees of reliability. We present the results of all of the comparisons and discuss reasons for the observed discrepancies. We also demonstrate how the particular stellar atmospheric models adopted can have a strong impact on this type of analysis, and discuss related caveats.

A technology training protocol for meeting QSEN goals: Focusing on meaningful learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Shuhong; Kalman, Melanie

2018-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss how we designed and developed a 12-step technology training protocol. The protocol is meant to improve meaningful learning in technology education so that nursing students are able to meet the informatics requirements of Quality and Safety Education in Nursing competencies. When designing and developing the training protocol, we used a simplified experiential learning model that addressed the core features of meaningful learning: to connect new knowledge with students' prior knowledge and real-world workflow. Before training, we identified students' prior knowledge and workflow tasks. During training, students learned by doing, reflected on their prior computer skills and workflow, designed individualized procedures for integration into their workflow, and practiced the self-designed procedures in real-world settings. The trainer was a facilitator who provided a meaningful learning environment, asked the right questions to guide reflective conversation, and offered scaffoldings at critical moments. This training protocol could significantly improve nurses' competencies in using technologies and increase their desire to adopt new technologies. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Standardizing information exchange towards the end user. Present data models with two way communication over the Internet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saele, Hanne; Graabak, Ingeborg; Tangen, Grethe

2000-01-01

The two-way communication towards the end consumer is in little use so far. There are probably several reasons for this but one important reason may be the lack of standardized interfaces for the information exchange towards the end user. The lack of such standards results in substantial system investment risks for the network companies because the systems may not be developed further and maintained should the deliverer leave the market. The communication channel Internet has expanded quickly and in Norway of today (1999) 25 to 30 % of the households have an Internet connection. The use of existing infrastructure and already tried out technology for information transferrals may contribute to making two-way communication more reasonable and functional. In the report various alternatives of standardized information exchange towards the end users are evaluated. Various formats are discussed with the following demands in mind: 1) Shall be suited for all types of communication media. 2) An international standard followed by everyone. 3) Reliable information transferral and flexible. The focus is on what kind of information is being transferred and how this is organized, and not on how the information is transferred. The discussed alternatives are evaluated both regarding traditional solutions for two- way communication and the use of the Internet. The following format alternatives are discussed: EDIEL/EDIFACT, ODEL(GS2), LonWorks/Echelon, UCA, DLMS/COSEM, COBRA and DCOM. The formats represent communication at various levels but they are mentioned in the report because they are often mentioned as possible standard formats towards the end user: ODEL, DLSM/COSEM and UCA. EDIEL is not suited for this interface. The market for two-way communication systems is international and it does not seem to be practical to establish a joint Norwegian/Swedish standard. The work with establishing one standard should therefore be continued through international standardization

Outage performance of two-way DF relaying systems with a new relay selection metric

KAUST Repository

Hyadi, Amal

2012-04-01

This paper investigates a new constrained relay selection scheme for two-way relaying systems where two end terminals communicate simultaneously via a relay. The introduced technique is based on the maximization of the weighted sum rate of both users. To evaluate the performance of the proposed system, the outage probability is derived in a general case (where an arbitrary channel is considered), and then over independently but not necessarily identically distributed (i.n.i.d.) Rayleigh fading channels. The analytical results are verified through simulations. © 2012 IEEE.

Head-on crashes on two-way interurban roads: a public health concern in road safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Olabarria, Marta; Santamariña-Rubio, Elena; Marí-Dell'Olmo, Marc; Gotsens, Mercè; Novoa, Ana M; Borrell, Carme; Pérez, Katherine

2015-09-01

To describe the magnitude and characteristics of crashes and drivers involved in head-on crashes on two-way interurban roads in Spain between 2007 and 2012, and to identify the factors associated with the likelihood of head-on crashes on these roads compared with other types of crash. A cross-sectional study was conducted using the National Crash Register. The dependent variables were head-on crashes with injury (yes/no) and drivers involved in head-on crashes (yes/no). Factors associated with head-on crashes and with being a driver involved in a head-on crash versus other types of crash were studied using a multivariate robust Poisson regression model to estimate proportion ratios (PR) and confidence intervals (95% CI). There were 9,192 head-on crashes on two-way Spanish interurban roads. A total of 15,412 men and 3,862 women drivers were involved. Compared with other types of crash, head-on collisions were more likely on roads 7 m or more wide, on road sections with curves, narrowings or drop changes, on wet or snowy surfaces, and in twilight conditions. Transgressions committed by drivers involved in head-on crashes were driving in the opposite direction and incorrectly overtaking another vehicle. Factors associated with a lower probability of head-on crashes were the existence of medians (PR=0.57; 95%CI: 0.48-0.68) and a paved shoulder of less than 1.5 meters (PR=0.81; 95%CI: 0.77-0.86) or from 1.5 to 2.45 meters (PR=0.90; 95%CI: 0.84-0.96). This study allowed the characterization of crashes and drivers involved in head-on crashes on two-way interurban roads. The lower probability observed on roads with median strips point to these measures as an effective way to reduce these collisions. Copyright © 2014 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Authentic Leadership and Altruism: The Mediating Role of Meaningfulness

Science.gov (United States)

Sagnak, Mesut; Kuruöz, Mehmet

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effects of meaningfulness on the relationship between authentic leadership and altruistic behavior. The participants consisted of 356 teachers randomly selected from 14 primary and secondary schools in Nigde. Three different instruments were used in this study. The scales were translated…

Establishing meaningful cut points for online user ratings.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirschfeld, Gerrit; Thielsch, Meinald T

2015-01-01

Subjective perceptions of websites can be reliably measured with questionnaires. But it is unclear how such scores should be interpreted in practice, e.g. is an aesthetics score of 4 points on a seven-point-scale satisfactory? The current paper introduces a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC)-based methodology to establish meaningful cut points for the VisAWI (visual aesthetics of websites inventory) and its short form the VisAWI-S. In two studies we use users' global ratings (UGRs) and website rankings as anchors. A total of 972 participants took part in the studies which yielded similar results. First, one-item UGRs correlate highly with the VisAWI. Second, cut points on the VisAWI reliably differentiate between sites that are perceived as attractive versus unattractive. Third, these cut points are variable, but only within a certain range. Together the research presented here establishes a score of 4.5 on the VisAWI which is a reasonable goal for website designers and highlights the utility of the ROC methodology to derive relevant scores for rating scales.

The Way of Representation of Ideology in Local and International Newspapers about Iran’s Nuclear Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gity Taki

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Ideology is a meaningful structure that involves in production, reproduction and changing unequal power relations. By means of meaning, ideology connects to discourse and language which is the device of meaning production. Ideologies are generated and transformed in actual discursive events. Press headlines are also discursive events. Based on critical discourse analysis and by using Van Leeuwen's theoretical framework (1996 and socio-semantic features of the framework like exclusion, inclusion, appraisement, association and differentiation, this study will try to analyze the way of representation of ideologies about Iran's nuclear program in a selection of national and international newspapers’ headlines during 2011-2012. By determining and comparing the frequency of the socio-semantic features during 2011- 2012, this question will be answered that how ideology is represented in national and international newspapers about Iran's nuclear program by using socio-semantic features during 2011- 2012, and whether the way of representation and the amount of these features are the same in both groups? To do this 242 headlines of two national newspapers, Keyhan and Iran, and two foreign newspapers, The Washington post and The Guardian were selected. Then the headlines were analyzed by using an analytical–descriptive method. The findings showed that both local and international newspapers use the same kind of features to reflect the news, but the amount of the features, especially in using of exclusion, and the way they are used, is different according to the newspaper's policy. In fact by utilizing specific features, the newspapers actually show the ideology they advocate. Actually having different ideologies have led to use the features in different ways.

End user programming with personally meaningful objects

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Smith, Andrew C

2016-09-01

Full Text Available (Kimchi et al., 2003). Perceptual organisation is a neuro-cognitive process that dictates how we perceive objects in physical space and how we interpret some objects as being distinct from others and yet other objects as part of a whole (Helm, 2014... called the designer-cum-user. Using this approach, the user creates a personally meaningful artefact that represents the target product. Although not confirmed, we anticipate that this approach reduces the initial cognitive load on the user when he uses...

[Comparison of physical activity and favourite ways of spending free time in preschool girls and boys from the Mazowsze region].

Science.gov (United States)

Merkiel, Sylwia; Chalcarz, Wojciech; Deptuła, Monika

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare physical activity of preschool girls and boys from the Mazowsze region and their favourite ways of spending free time. The studied population included 131 children aged 3 to 7 years. Parents filled in questionnaires about their children's physical activity and favourite ways of spending free time, as well as about general information on the children and their families. Gender had statistically significant influence on the children's birth weight, attending karate outside the preschool and on riding a bicycle, playing with a ball and playing with a dog as favourite ways of spending free time during sunny weather as well as playing on a computer and playing with dolls as favourite ways of spending free time during rainy weather. Gender had little influence on the studied preschoolers' physical activity. However favourite ways of spending free time turned out to be significantly different according to gender. Physical activity level in both girls and boys was low, similarly to their peers from the previous studies.

EEG/MEG Source Reconstruction with Spatial-Temporal Two-Way Regularized Regression

KAUST Repository

Tian, Tian Siva

2013-07-11

In this work, we propose a spatial-temporal two-way regularized regression method for reconstructing neural source signals from EEG/MEG time course measurements. The proposed method estimates the dipole locations and amplitudes simultaneously through minimizing a single penalized least squares criterion. The novelty of our methodology is the simultaneous consideration of three desirable properties of the reconstructed source signals, that is, spatial focality, spatial smoothness, and temporal smoothness. The desirable properties are achieved by using three separate penalty functions in the penalized regression framework. Specifically, we impose a roughness penalty in the temporal domain for temporal smoothness, and a sparsity-inducing penalty and a graph Laplacian penalty in the spatial domain for spatial focality and smoothness. We develop a computational efficient multilevel block coordinate descent algorithm to implement the method. Using a simulation study with several settings of different spatial complexity and two real MEG examples, we show that the proposed method outperforms existing methods that use only a subset of the three penalty functions. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Are estimates of meaningful decline in mobility performance consistent among clinically important subgroups? (Health ABC Study).

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Perera, S.; Studenski, S.; Newman, A.; Simonsick, E.; Harris, T.; Schwartz, A.; Visser, M.

2014-01-01

Background: Meaningful change criteria help determine if function has improved or declined, but their magnitudes may vary across clinically relevant subgroups. We estimate meaningful decline in four common measures of physical performance in subgroups of older adults based on initial performance,

Consciousness: a unique way of processing information.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchetti, Giorgio

2018-02-08

In this article, I argue that consciousness is a unique way of processing information, in that: it produces information, rather than purely transmitting it; the information it produces is meaningful for us; the meaning it has is always individuated. This uniqueness allows us to process information on the basis of our personal needs and ever-changing interactions with the environment, and consequently to act autonomously. Three main basic cognitive processes contribute to realize this unique way of information processing: the self, attention and working memory. The self, which is primarily expressed via the central and peripheral nervous systems, maps our body, the environment, and our relations with the environment. It is the primary means by which the complexity inherent to our composite structure is reduced into the "single voice" of a unique individual. It provides a reference system that (albeit evolving) is sufficiently stable to define the variations that will be used as the raw material for the construction of conscious information. Attention allows for the selection of those variations in the state of the self that are most relevant in the given situation. Attention originates and is deployed from a single locus inside our body, which represents the center of the self, around which all our conscious experiences are organized. Whatever is focused by attention appears in our consciousness as possessing a spatial quality defined by this center and the direction toward which attention is focused. In addition, attention determines two other features of conscious experience: periodicity and phenomenal quality. Self and attention are necessary but not sufficient for conscious information to be produced. Complex forms of conscious experiences, such as the various modes of givenness of conscious experience and the stream of consciousness, need a working memory mechanism to assemble the basic pieces of information selected by attention.

Concept mapping to promote meaningful learning, help relate theory to practice and improve learning self-efficacy in Asian mental health nursing students: A mixed-methods pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bressington, Daniel T; Wong, Wai-Kit; Lam, Kar Kei Claire; Chien, Wai Tong

2018-01-01

Student nurses are provided with a great deal of knowledge within university, but they can find it difficult to relate theory to nursing practice. This study aimed to test the appropriateness and feasibility of assessing Novak's concept mapping as an educational strategy to strengthen the theory-practice link, encourage meaningful learning and enhance learning self-efficacy in nursing students. This pilot study utilised a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design. The study was conducted in a University school of Nursing in Hong Kong. A total of 40 third-year pre-registration Asian mental health nursing students completed the study; 12 in the concept mapping (CM) group and 28 in the usual teaching methods (UTM) group. The impact of concept mapping was evaluated thorough analysis of quantitative changes in students' learning self-efficacy, analysis of the structure and contents of the concept maps (CM group), a quantitative measure of students' opinions about their reflective learning activities and content analysis of qualitative data from reflective written accounts (CM group). There were no significant differences in self-reported learning self-efficacy between the two groups (p=0.38). The concept mapping helped students identify their current level of understanding, but the increased awareness may cause an initial drop in learning self-efficacy. The results highlight that most CM students were able to demonstrate meaningful learning and perceived that concept mapping was a useful reflective learning strategy to help them to link theory and practice. The results provide preliminary evidence that the concept mapping approach can be useful to help mental health nursing students visualise their learning progress and encourage the integration of theoretical knowledge with clinical knowledge. Combining concept mapping data with quantitative measures and qualitative reflective journal data appears to be a useful way of assessing and understanding the effectiveness of

Independent attacks in imperfect settings: A case for a two-way quantum key distribution scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaari, J.S.; Bahari, Iskandar

2010-01-01

We review the study on a two-way quantum key distribution protocol given imperfect settings through a simple analysis of a toy model and show that it can outperform a BB84 setup. We provide the sufficient condition for this as a ratio of optimal intensities for the protocols.

Comprehension for What? Preparing Students for Their Meaningful Future

Science.gov (United States)

Conley, Mark W.; Wise, Antoinette

2011-01-01

Researchers, policymakers, and educators face a daunting task these days concerning literacy education for the here and now and literacy for the future. Even though one clings to the romantic notion that education provides the building blocks in a straight line to a meaningful future, the reality is that mixed goals and instructional messages…

Active control and sound synthesis--two different ways to investigate the influence of the modal parameters of a guitar on its sound.

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Benacchio, Simon; Mamou-Mani, Adrien; Chomette, Baptiste; Finel, Victor

2016-03-01

The vibrational behavior of musical instruments is usually studied using physical modeling and simulations. Recently, active control has proven its efficiency to experimentally modify the dynamical behavior of musical instruments. This approach could also be used as an experimental tool to systematically study fine physical phenomena. This paper proposes to use modal active control as an alternative to sound simulation to study the complex case of the coupling between classical guitar strings and soundboard. A comparison between modal active control and sound simulation investigates the advantages, the drawbacks, and the limits of these two approaches.

Teacher and Student Language Practices and Ideologies in a Third-Grade Two-Way Dual Language Program Implementation

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Henderson, Kathryn I.; Palmer, Deborah K.

2015-01-01

This article provides an in-depth exploration of the language ecologies of two classrooms attempting to implement a two-way dual language (TWDL) program and its mediating conditions. Drawing on ethnographic methods and a sociocultural understanding of language, we examined both teachers' and students' language ideologies and language practices,…

Creating Chicago History: Making Outreach Craft Activities Meaningful

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Karp, Madeline

2012-01-01

When it comes to having a traveling outreach activity for a museum, a craft can seem like the perfect solution. It can seemingly be all things at once--educational, quick and fun. But, if poorly constructed, crafts can also have serious fallbacks. Using the Chicago History Museum and the Millennium Park Family Fun Festival as a case study, this…

Relationship between attachment to God and meaningful life parents of mentally retarded children in Zahedan city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H Jenaabadi

2014-07-01

Conclusion: Given a significant positive correlation between appeal to God and meaningful life, it is suggested including spirituality therapy sessions and teaching religious coping methods to reduce stress and thus make meaningful life in these parents by welfare, education of exceptional children, and radio and television organizations.

Writing Autobiographies: A Meaningful Way to Sensitize Trainee Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Quintero, Josefina C.; López, Margarita M.; Zuluaga, Carmen T. C.

2013-01-01

This article discusses the final results from a research work which aimed to identify the pedagogical processes that emerge from the autobiographies that modern languages trainee teachers at the University of Caldas write. These autobiographies become a starting point to develop their teaching practicum, and are considered to be of great…

Interactive Two-Way mHealth Interventions for Improving Medication Adherence: An Evaluation Using The Behaviour Change Wheel Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, Nicole; Guo, Michael; Amico, K Rivet; Atkins, Lou; Lester, Richard T

2018-04-12

evaluation of WelTel using the Behavior Change Wheel suggests that most of its impact is delivered primarily through its personalized communication component, in which 8 different behavior change techniques were identified and linked with 5 intervention functions (environmental restructuring, enablement, education, persuasion, and training). Its mechanisms of action in promoting antiretroviral therapy adherence may involve addressing all Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behavior influences on behavior (physical and psychological capability, physical and social opportunity, reflective and automatic motivation). Systematically unpacking the potential active ingredients of effective interventions facilitates the creation and implementation of more parsimonious, tailored, and targeted approaches. Evaluating WelTel using the Behavior Change Wheel has provided valuable insights into how and why such interactive two-way mHealth interventions may produce greater impact than one-way in addressing both nonintentional and intentional forms of nonadherence. The application of the Behavior Change Wheel for evidence synthesis across mHealth interventions targeting various conditions would contribute to strengthening the knowledge base regarding how they may work to impact medication adherence behavior. ©Nicole Chiang, Michael Guo, K Rivet Amico, Lou Atkins, Richard T Lester. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 12.04.2018.

On achievable rate of two-way relaying cognitive radio with space alignment

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman

2015-09-11

We study a multiple-antenna two-way relaying (TWR) spectrum sharing system. A space alignment (SA) technique is adopted by the secondary users (SU\\'s) to avoid interference with the primary users (PU\\'s). We derive the optimal power allocation that maximizes the TWR achievable sum-rate of the SU while respecting the total power budget and the relay power constraints. In the numerical results, we quantify the sum-rate gain of using the SA in the TWR CR and we show that the SU sum-rate is very limited when the relay power is low or the PU\\'s power and its resulting interference is high. © 2015 IEEE.

"You Get More Than You Give": Experiences of Community Partners in Facilitating Active Recreation with Individuals who have Complex Communication Needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hajjar, David J; McCarthy, John W; Benigno, Joann P; Chabot, Jennifer

2016-06-01

Recreation is an essential part of life that provides enriching experiences that may define one's life course similar to careers or other interests. An understanding of the role of volunteers in active community-based recreational programs can help to generate ways to enhance participation and contribute to additional communication opportunities with people who have complex communication needs. Nine volunteers from two adaptive ski programs and one therapeutic horseback-riding program in the Northeast region of the United States participated in semi-structured interviews. Audio-recordings were transcribed and analyzed and resulted in five thematic areas: (a) benefits, (b) why individuals volunteer, (c) barriers, (d) successful program supports, and (e) who are the riders and skiers using AAC. The findings provided insight to support the notion that active community-based recreational activities foster an environment for communication, meaningful engagement, and social relationships between volunteers and people with complex communication needs.

Near-optimal power allocation with PSO algorithm for MIMO cognitive networks using multiple AF two-way relays

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2014-06-01

In this paper, the problem of power allocation for a multiple-input multiple-output two-way system is investigated in underlay Cognitive Radio (CR) set-up. In the CR underlay mode, secondary users are allowed to exploit the spectrum allocated to primary users in an opportunistic manner by respecting a tolerated temperature limit. The secondary networks employ an amplify-and-forward two-way relaying technique in order to maximize the sum rate under power budget and interference constraints. In this context, we formulate an optimization problem that is solved in two steps. First, we derive a closed-form expression of the optimal power allocated to terminals. Then, we employ a strong optimization tool based on particle swarm optimization algorithm to find the power allocated to secondary relays. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed solution and analyze the impact of some system parameters on the achieved performance. © 2014 IEEE.

Science literacy and meaningful learning: status of public high school students from Rio de Janeiro face to molecular biology concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Alves Escodino

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this work we aimed to determine the level of Molecular Biology (MB science literacy of students from two Brazilian public schools which do not consider the rogerian theory for class planning and from another institution, Cap UERJ, which favours this theory. We applied semiclosed questionnaires specific to the different groups of science literacy levels. Besides, we have asked them to perform conceptual maps with MB concepts in order to observe if they have experienced meaningful learning. Finally, we prepared MB classes for students of the three schools, considering their conceptual maps and tried to evaluate, through a second map execution, if the use of alternative didactics material, which consider meaningful learning process, would have any effect over the appropriation of new concepts. We observed that most students are placed at Functional literacy level. Nonetheless, several students from CAp were also settled at the higher Conceptual and Procedural levels. We found that most students have not experienced meaningful learning and that the employment of didactic material and implementation of proposals which consider the cognitive structure of the students had a significant effect on the appropriation of several concepts.

Two-Way Tables: Issues at the Heart of Statistics and Probability for Students and Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Jane; Callingham, Rosemary

2014-01-01

Some problems exist at the intersection of statistics and probability, creating a dilemma in relation to the best approach to assist student understanding. Such is the case with problems presented in two-way tables representing conditional information. The difficulty can be confounded if the context within which the problem is set is one where…

A Latent Class Multidimensional Scaling Model for Two-Way One-Mode Continuous Rating Dissimilarity Data

Science.gov (United States)

Vera, J. Fernando; Macias, Rodrigo; Heiser, Willem J.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we propose a cluster-MDS model for two-way one-mode continuous rating dissimilarity data. The model aims at partitioning the objects into classes and simultaneously representing the cluster centers in a low-dimensional space. Under the normal distribution assumption, a latent class model is developed in terms of the set of…

Environmental Movements, Institutions and Civil Society: A New Way to Preserve Common Goods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Massoli

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at studying environmental participative movements which have national/Eu­ro­pean/international relevance and use digital media, as well as local connections and conventional networks for interacting, socializing, mobilizing people and tackling civic and social issues. By using a comparative approach, this article focuses on Italian and European projects promoted by movements in order to support a culture of environmental security and a sustainable development for everybody. The analysis hi­gh­lights significant differences among movements in terms of capability of interacting with institutions and other stakeholders, establishing partnerships and cooperating for local development and community empowerment. The objective is to provide a first model of environmental socialization based on several pro­mi­sing features: networks and innovative forms of partnership; level of activism and capability of planning participative initiatives; intensity of civic cohesion that is the ability of creating connections beyond their own movement, rooting inside the territorial community in a meaningful and enduring way

Cross-Layer Design for Two-Way Relaying Networks with Multiple Antennas

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zhuo wu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we developed a cross-layer design for two-way relaying (TWR networks with multiple antennas, where two single antenna source nodes exchange information with the aid of one multiple antenna relay node. The proposed cross-layer design considers adaptive modulation (AM and space-time block coding (STBC at the physical layer with an automatic repeat request (ARQ protocol at the data link layer, in order to maximize the spectral efficiency under specific delay and packet error ratio (PER constraints. An MMSE-interference cancellation (IC receiver is employed at the relay node, to remove the interference in the fist phase of the TWR transmission. The transmission mode is updated for each phase of the TWR transmission on a frame-by-frame basis, to match the time-varying channel conditions and exploit the system performance and throughput gain. Simulation results show that retransmission at the data link layer could alleviate rigorous error-control requirements at the physical layer, and thereby allows higher data transmission. As a result, cross-layer design helps to achieve considerable system spectral efficiency gain for TWR networks, compared to those without cross-layer design.

Honor as Cultural Mindset: Activated Honor Mindset Affects Subsequent Judgment and Attention in Mindset-Congruent Ways

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheida Novin

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Honor values articulate gender roles, the importance of reputation in maintaining one’s place in society, and maintaining respect for the groups one belongs to. In that sense honor provides a template for organizing social interactions and hence may be functional even among people and societies that do not report valuing and endorsing honor. We test the prediction that honor influences judgment and attention when activated in two experiments (N=538. Using a culture-as-situated cognition perspective, we predicted that activating one aspect of honor would activate other aspects, even among individuals who do not much endorse honor values. We tested these predictions among European Americans, a group that is not typically associated with honor values. In each study, participants were randomly assigned to experimental or control groups, which differed in one way: the experimental group read statements about honor values as a first step and the control group did not. Participants then judged stick-figure pairs (judging which is male; Study 1, n = 130 or made lexical decisions (judging whether a letter-string formed a correctly spelled word; Study 2, n = 408. In Study 1, experimental group participants were more likely to choose the visually agentic figure as male. In Study 2, experimental group participants were more accurate at noticing that the letter-string formed a word if the word was an honor-relevant word (e.g., noble, but they did not differ from the control group if the word was irrelevant to honor (e.g., happy. Participants in both studies were just above the neutral point in their endorsement of honor values. Individual differences in honor values endorsement did not moderate the effects of activating an honor mindset. Though honor is often described as if it is located in space, we did not find clear effects of where our letter strings were located on the computer screen. Our findings suggest a new way to consider how honor functions

Meaningful experiences in science education: Engaging the space researcher in a cultural transformation to greater science literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Cherilynn A.

1993-01-01

The visceral appeal of space science and exploration is a very powerful emotional connection to a very large and diverse collection of people, most of whom have little or no perspective about what it means to do science and engineering. Therein lies the potential of space for a substantially enhanced positive impact on culture through education. This essay suggests that through engaging more of the space research and development community in enabling unique and 'meaningful educational experiences' for educators and students at the pre-collegiate levels, space science and exploration can amplify its positive feedback on society and act as an important medium for cultural transformation to greater science literacy. I discuss the impact of space achievements on people and define what is meant by a 'meaningful educational experience,' all of which points to the need for educators and students to be closer to the practice of real science. I offer descriptions of two nascent science education programs associated with NASA which have the needed characteristics for providing meaningful experiences that can cultivate greater science literacy. Expansion of these efforts and others like it will be needed to have the desired impact on culture, but I suggest that the potential for the needed resources is there in the scientific research communities. A society in which more people appreciate and understand science and science methods would be especially conducive to human progress in space and on Earth.

How Do Novice Art Teachers Define and Implement Meaningful Curriculum?

Science.gov (United States)

Bain, Christina; Newton, Connie; Kuster, Deborah; Milbrandt, Melody

2010-01-01

Four researchers collaborated on this qualitative case study that examined 11 first-year novice art teachers' understanding and implementation of meaningful curriculum. Participants were selected through a criterion method sampling strategy; the subjects were employed in rural, urban, and suburban public school districts. In order to conduct a…

Cultural study in design : In search of a meaningful approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Boeijen, A.G.C.

2014-01-01

Does the Circuit of Culture help design students to do a cultural study that is meaningful for their design project? Indeed, it provides a good view on the phenomenon culture, its complexity and how contemporary cultures can be studied, providing an overview and structure of the processes that

Two-Way Multiuser Mixed RF/FSO Relaying: Performance Analysis and Power Allocation

KAUST Repository

Al-Eryani, Yasser F.

2018-03-21

In this paper, the performance of two-way multiuser mixed radio frequency/free space optical (RF/FSO) relay networks with opportunistic user scheduling and asymmetric channel fading is studied. RF links are used to conduct data transmission between users and relay node, while a FSO link is used to conduct data transmission on the last-mile communication link between the relay node and base station. The RF links are assumed to follow a Rayleigh fading model, while the FSO links are assumed to follow a unified Gamma-Gamma atmospheric turbulence fading model with pointing error. First, closed-form expressions for the exact outage probability, asymptotic (high signal-to-noise ratio) outage probability, average symbol error rate, and average ergodic channel capacity are derived assuming a heterodyne detection scheme. The asymptotic results are used to conduct a power optimization algorithm where expressions for optimal transmission power values for the transmitting nodes are provided. Additionally, performance comparisons between the considered two-way-relaying (TWR) network and the oneway- relaying (OWR) network are provided and discussed. Also, the impact of several system parameters, including number of users, pointing errors, atmospheric turbulence conditions, and outage probability threshold on the overall network performance are investigated. All the theoretical results are validated by Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that the TWR scheme almost doubles the network ergodic capacity compared to that of the OWR scheme with the same outage performance. Additionally, it is shown that under weak-to-moderate weather turbulence conditions and small pointing error, the outage probability is dominated by the RF downlink with a neglected effect for the user selection process at the RF uplink transmission. However, for severe pointing error, the outage probability is dominated by the FSO uplink/downlink transmission.

Wireless Energy Harvesting Two-Way Relay Networks with Hardware Impairments.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Chunling; Li, Fangwei; Liu, Huaping

2017-11-13

This paper considers a wireless energy harvesting two-way relay (TWR) network where the relay has energy-harvesting abilities and the effects of practical hardware impairments are taken into consideration. In particular, power splitting (PS) receiver is adopted at relay to harvests the power it needs for relaying the information between the source nodes from the signals transmitted by the source nodes, and hardware impairments is assumed suffered by each node. We analyze the effect of hardware impairments [-20]on both decode-and-forward (DF) relaying and amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying networks. By utilizing the obtained new expressions of signal-to-noise-plus-distortion ratios, the exact analytical expressions of the achievable sum rate and ergodic capacities for both DF and AF relaying protocols are derived. Additionally, the optimal power splitting (OPS) ratio that maximizes the instantaneous achievable sum rate is formulated and solved for both protocols. The performances of DF and AF protocols are evaluated via numerical results, which also show the effects of various network parameters on the system performance and on the OPS ratio design.

Mechanical Design of Downhole Tractor Based on Two-Way Self-locking Mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Delei; Shang, Jianzhong; Luo, Zirong; Wu, Guoheng; Liu, Yiying

2018-03-01

Based on the technology of horizontal well tractor, a kind of downhole tractor was developed which can realize Two-Way self-locking function. Aiming at the needs of horizontal well logging to realize the target of small size, high traction and high reliability, the tractor selects unique heart-shaped CAM as the locking mechanism. The motion principle of telescopic downhole tractor, the design of mechanical structure and locking principle of the locking mechanism are all analyzed. The mathematical expressions of traction are obtained by mechanical analysis of parallel support rod in the locking mechanism. The force analysis and contour design of the heart-shaped CAM are performed, which can lay the foundation for the development of tractor prototype.

Collaboration or negotiation: two ways of interacting suggest how shared thinking develops.

Science.gov (United States)

Mejía-Arauz, Rebeca; Rogoff, Barbara; Dayton, Andrew; Henne-Ochoa, Richard

2018-03-09

This paper contrasts two ways that shared thinking can be conceptualized: as negotiation, where individuals join their separate ideas, or collaboration, as people mutually engage together in a unified process, as an ensemble. We argue that these paradigms are culturally based, with the negotiation model fitting within an assumption system of separate entities-an assumption system we believe to be common in psychology and in middle-class European American society-and the collaboration model fitting within a holistic worldview that appears to be common in Indigenous-heritage communities of the Americas. We discuss cultural differences in children's interactions-as negotiation or collaboration-that suggest how these distinct paradigms develop. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance analysis of two-way amplify and forward relaying with adaptive modulation

KAUST Repository

Hwang, Kyusung

2009-09-01

In this paper, we study two-way amplify-and-forward relaying in conjunction with adaptive modulation over a multiple relay network. In order to keep the diversity order equal to the number of relays and maintain a low complexity, we consider the best relay selection scheme in this work. Based on the proposed selection criterion for the best relay, we analyze the average spectral efficiency by its approximated upper bound. In addition, we extend the proposed scheme to the case where a direct path between source and destination exists. Our numerical examples show that the proposed system offers a considerable gain in the spectral efficiency while satisfying the error rates requirements. ©2009 IEEE.

Meaningful and efficient? Enduring challenges to Aboriginal participation in environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Udofia, Aniekan; Noble, Bram; Poelzer, Greg

2017-01-01

This paper explores the underlying practice-based challenges to meaningful and efficient Aboriginal participation in environmental assessment (EA) - participation that provides meaningful opportunities for Aboriginal communities to shape EA, yet assures a degree of efficiency for project proponents who need to obtain EA approvals in a timely and financially viable manner. We do so based on an analysis of the EA policy community's experience with uranium exploration and mining in Saskatchewan, Canada. Many of the challenges to meaningful and efficient Aboriginal participation that emerged are multi-dimensional, often concerning participation processes, decision-making, and relationships. Although scholars have explored many of these issues and have proposed numerous solutions, challenges persist in practice. Several other issues also emerged from our study that have received limited attention, including the non-commitment to early and ongoing participation by smaller project proponents, and the EA exemption of exploration projects; the limited availability of information to project developers on local right holders and Aboriginal interests; expectations about the integration of traditional knowledge and land use in EA not aligning with the information that is available to proponents; confusion about who is responsible for initiating early participation and consultation processes; the lack of early relationship building with potentially affected communities, particularly by governments; and the lack of other viable avenues, outside EA, for Aboriginal communities to raise more strategic issues of concern that affect traditional lands and treaty rights.

‘Killing Me Softly With His/Her Song’: How Leaders Dismantle Followers’ Sense of Work Meaningfulness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Kipfelsberger

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Leaders influence followers’ meaning and play a key role in shaping their employees’ experience of work meaningfulness. While the dominant perspective in theory and in empirical work focuses on the positive influence of leaders on followers’ work meaningfulness, our conceptual model explores conditions in which leaders may harm followers’ sense of meaning. We introduce six types of conditions: leaders’ personality traits, leaders’ behaviors, the relationship between leader and follower, followers’ attributions, followers’ characteristics, and job design under which leaders’ meaning making efforts might harm or ‘kill’ followers’ sense of work meaningfulness. Accordingly, we explore how these conditions may interact with leaders’ meaning making efforts to lower levels of followers’ sense of meaning, and in turn, lead to negative personal outcomes (cynicism, lower well-being, and disengagement, as well as negative organizational outcomes (corrosive organizational energy, higher turnover rates, and lower organizational productivity. By doing so, our research extends the current literature, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of leaders’ influence on followers’ work meaningfulness, while considering the dark side of meaning making.

Sweeping the floor or putting a man on the moon : How to define and measure meaningful work

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Both-Nwabuwe, Jitske M.C.; Dijkstra, Maria T.M.; Beersma, Bianca

2017-01-01

Meaningful work is integral to well-being and a flourishing life. The construct of "meaningful work" is, however, consistently affected by conceptual ambiguity. Although there is substantial support for arguments to maintain the status of conceptual ambiguity, we make a case for the benefits of

Health information technology: integration of clinical workflow into meaningful use of electronic health records.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowens, Felicia M; Frye, Patricia A; Jones, Warren A

2010-10-01

This article examines the role that clinical workflow plays in successful implementation and meaningful use of electronic health record (EHR) technology in ambulatory care. The benefits and barriers of implementing EHRs in ambulatory care settings are discussed. The researchers conclude that widespread adoption and meaningful use of EHR technology rely on the successful integration of health information technology (HIT) into clinical workflow. Without successful integration of HIT into clinical workflow, clinicians in today's ambulatory care settings will continue to resist adoption and implementation of EHR technology.

No-go theorem for one-way quantum computing on naturally occurring two-level systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Jianxin; Chen Xie; Duan Runyao; Ji Zhengfeng; Zeng Bei

2011-01-01

The ground states of some many-body quantum systems can serve as resource states for the one-way quantum computing model, achieving the full power of quantum computation. Such resource states are found, for example, in spin-(5/2) and spin-(3/2) systems. It is, of course, desirable to have a natural resource state in a spin-(1/2), that is, qubit system. Here, we give a negative answer to this question for frustration-free systems with two-body interactions. In fact, it is shown to be impossible for any genuinely entangled qubit state to be a nondegenerate ground state of any two-body frustration-free Hamiltonian. What is more, we also prove that every spin-(1/2) frustration-free Hamiltonian with two-body interaction always has a ground state that is a product of single- or two-qubit states. In other words, there cannot be any interesting entanglement features in the ground state of such a qubit Hamiltonian.

Channel Estimation and Optimal Training Design for Correlated MIMO Two-Way Relay Systems in Colored Environment

OpenAIRE

Wang, Rui; Tao, Meixia; Mehrpouyan, Hani; Hua, Yingbo

2014-01-01

In this paper, while considering the impact of antenna correlation and the interference from neighboring users, we analyze channel estimation and training sequence design for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) two-way relay (TWR) systems. To this end, we propose to decompose the bidirectional transmission links into two phases, i.e., the multiple access (MAC) phase and the broadcasting (BC) phase. By considering the Kronecker-structured channel model, we derive the optimal linear minimum mean-sq...

SME purchasing activity patterns delphi study : Recognizing patterns in the way Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) organize their procurement activities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vegter, Geert

2015-01-01

This survey is about recognizing patterns in the way Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) organize their procurement activities. The scope of the survey is limited to the key commodities of the SME. A key commodity is defined as the purchased product or service group which is essential for realizing

Joint Bandwidth and Power Allocation for MIMO Two-Way Relays-Assisted Overlay Cognitive Radio Systems

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad; Ghazzai, Hakim; Yaacoub, Elias; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Kamal, Ahmed

2015-01-01

This paper studies the achievable cognitive sum rate of an overlay cognitive radio (CR) system assisted with multiple antennas two-way relays in which primary users (PUs) cooperate with cognitive users (CUs) for mutual benefits. In this context, the problem of both bandwidth and power allocation is investigated. We propose that the CUs are allowed to allocate a part of the PUs spectrum to perform their cognitive transmission. In return, acting as amplify-and-forward two-way relays, they are exploited to support PUs to reach their target data rates over the remaining bandwidth. Power expressions for optimal transmit power allocated per PU and CU antenna are derived under primary quality-of-service constraint in addition to bandwidth and power budget constraints. More specifically, CUs act as relays for the PUs transmission and gain some spectrum as long as they respect these constraints. After deriving the optimal transmit powers, we employ a strong optimization tool based on swarm intelligence to optimize the full and complex relay amplification gain matrices in addition to the bandwidths released to primary and cognitive transmission. Furthermore, three different utility functions are considered in our optimization problems depending on the level of fairness among CUs.

Joint Bandwidth and Power Allocation for MIMO Two-Way Relays-Assisted Overlay Cognitive Radio Systems

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad

2015-10-08

This paper studies the achievable cognitive sum rate of an overlay cognitive radio (CR) system assisted with multiple antennas two-way relays in which primary users (PUs) cooperate with cognitive users (CUs) for mutual benefits. In this context, the problem of both bandwidth and power allocation is investigated. We propose that the CUs are allowed to allocate a part of the PUs spectrum to perform their cognitive transmission. In return, acting as amplify-and-forward two-way relays, they are exploited to support PUs to reach their target data rates over the remaining bandwidth. Power expressions for optimal transmit power allocated per PU and CU antenna are derived under primary quality-of-service constraint in addition to bandwidth and power budget constraints. More specifically, CUs act as relays for the PUs transmission and gain some spectrum as long as they respect these constraints. After deriving the optimal transmit powers, we employ a strong optimization tool based on swarm intelligence to optimize the full and complex relay amplification gain matrices in addition to the bandwidths released to primary and cognitive transmission. Furthermore, three different utility functions are considered in our optimization problems depending on the level of fairness among CUs.

Measuring the energy intensity of domestic activities from smart meter data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stankovic, L.; Stankovic, V.; Liao, J.; Wilson, C.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Innovative method linking appliance usage and energy use with domestic activities. • Inferring the energy and time use profile of activities based on smart meter data. • Standardised metrics quantifying energy intensity + temporal routines of activities. • Insights from analysing electricity consumption through the lens of activities. - Abstract: Household electricity consumption can be broken down to appliance end-use through a variety of methods such as modelling, sub-metering, load disaggregation or non-intrusive appliance load monitoring (NILM). We advance and complement this important field of energy research through an innovative methodology that characterises the energy consumption of domestic life by making the linkages between appliance end-use and activities through an ontology built from qualitative data about the household and NILM data. We use activities as a descriptive term for the common ways households spend their time at home. These activities, such as cooking or laundering, are meaningful to households’ own lived experience. Thus, besides strictly technical algorithmic approaches for processing quantitative smart meter data, we also draw on social science time use approaches and interview and ethnography data. Our method disaggregates a households total electricity load down to appliance level and provides the start time, duration, and total electricity consumption for each occurrence of appliance usage. We then make inferences about activities occurring in the home by combining these disaggregated data with an ontology that formally specifies the relationships between electricity-using appliances and activities. We also propose two novel standardised metrics to enable easy quantifiable comparison within and across households of the energy intensity and routine of activities of interest. Finally, we demonstrate our results over a sample of ten households with an in-depth analysis of which activities can be inferred with

Evaluating meaningful learning using concept mapping in dental hygiene education: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Canasi, Dina M; Amyot, Cynthia; Tira, Daniel

2014-02-01

Concept mapping, as a teaching strategy, has been shown to promote critical thinking and problem solving in educational settings. Dental clinicians must distinguish between critical and irrelevant characteristics in the delivery of care, thus necessitating reasoning skills to do so. One of the aims of the American Dental Education Association Commission on Change and Innovation (ADEA-CCI) is to identify deficiencies in curriculum which were meant to improve critical thinking and problem solving skills necessary in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to compare 2 teaching strategies, traditional lecture and lecture supported by concept mapping exercises within collaborative working groups, to determine if there is a beneficial effect on meaningful learning. For this pilot study, the study population consisted of students from 2 geographically separated associate level dental hygiene programs in the southeastern U.S. A quasi-experimental control group pre- and post-test design was used. The degree of meaningful learning achieved by both programs was assessed by comparing pre- and post-test results. Both programs experienced a significant degree of meaningful learning from pre- to post-test. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the programs on the post-test. These results were in direct contrast to research in other disciplines on concept mapping and its effect on promoting meaningful learning. Further investigation into the study's outcome was obtained through a follow-up focus group. In spite of careful attention to methodology in the development of this research project, the focus group illuminated methodological failings that potentially impacted the outcome of the study. Recommendations are underscored for future conduct of educational research of this kind.

Assessing clinically meaningful treatment effects in controlled trials: chronic migraine as an example.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodick, David W; Turkel, Catherine C; DeGryse, Ronald E; Diener, Hans-Christoph; Lipton, Richard B; Aurora, Sheena K; Nolan, Marissa E; Silberstein, Stephen D

2015-02-01

In addition to headache, persons with chronic migraine (CM) experience multiple symptoms, both ictal and interictal, that may contribute to their suffering. Translating clinical trial results into practice requires assessment of the results' clinical meaningfulness. When examining treatment benefit in this disabled patient population, multiple headache-symptom measures should be considered to fully reflect clinical relevance. Currently, only onabotulinumtoxinA is approved specifically for headache prophylaxis in adults with CM. Topiramate is the only other therapeutic agent with double-blind, placebo-controlled evidence in this population. Herein we evaluate the clinical meaningfulness of onabotulinumtoxinA and topiramate as headache prophylaxis in CM by comparing primary endpoints from the placebo-controlled, double-blind phase of the Phase 3 REsearch Evaluating Migraine Prophylaxis Therapy (PREEMPT) clinical program and the topiramate clinical trial (frequency of headache days [primary endpoint in PREEMPT; secondary in topiramate trial] and migraine/migrainous days [primary in topiramate trial, or "migraine/probable-migraine days"; secondary in PREEMPT]). Additionally, outcome measures such as responder rates, health-related quality of life, discontinuation rates, safety, and tolerability profiles are important clinical considerations. The clinical data indicate that statistically significant, clinically relevant treatment benefits exist for both onabotulinumtoxinA and topiramate. These data support these treatments as meaningful headache prophylaxis in adults with CM. CM is a chronic pain condition. We sought to determine the clinical relevance of recent trials in this disabled population. Clinical data indicate that statistically significant, clinically relevant treatment benefits exist for both onabotulinumtoxinA and topiramate, and support use of these treatments as meaningful headache prophylaxis in CM. Copyright © 2015 American Pain Society. Published

Optimal transmit power allocation for MIMO two-way cognitive relay networks with multiple relays using AF strategy

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.; Ghazzai, Hakim; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2014-01-01

In this letter, we consider a multiple-input multiple-output two-way cognitive radio system under a spectrum sharing scenario, where primary and secondary users operate on the same frequency band. The secondary terminals aims to exchange different

Examining Interior Grid Nudging Techniques Using Two-Way Nesting in the WRF Model for Regional Climate Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

This study evaluates interior nudging techniques using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for regional climate modeling over the conterminous United States (CONUS) using a two-way nested configuration. NCEP–Department of Energy Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Pro...

Two-way laser ranging and time transfer experiments between LOLA and an Earth-based satellite laser ranging station

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, D.; Sun, X.; Neumann, G. A.; Barker, M. K.; Mazarico, E. M.; Hoffman, E.; Zagwodzki, T. W.; Torrence, M. H.; Mcgarry, J.; Smith, D. E.; Zuber, M. T.

2017-12-01

Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) has established time-of-flight measurements with mm precision to targets orbiting the Earth and the Moon using single-ended round-trip laser ranging to passive optical retro-reflectors. These high-precision measurements enable advances in fundamental physics, solar system dynamics. However, the received signal strength suffers from a 1/R4 decay, which makes it impractical for measuring distances beyond the Moon's orbit. On the other hand, for a two-way laser transponder pair, where laser pulses are both transmitted to and received from each end of the laser links, the signal strength at both terminals only decreases by 1/R2, thus allowing a greater range of distances to be covered. The asynchronous transponder concept has been previously demonstrated by a test in 2005 between the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) aboard the MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, Geochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft and NASA's Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory (GGAO) at a distance of ˜0.16 AU. In October 2013, regular two-way transponder-type range measurements were obtained over 15 days between the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) aboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft and NASA's ground station at White Sands, NM. The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) provides us a unique capability to test time-transfer beyond near Earth orbit. Here we present results from two-way transponder-type experiments between LOLA and GGAO conducted in March 2014 and 2017. As in the time-transfer by laser link (T2L2) experiments between a ground station and an earth-orbiting satellite, LOLA and GGAO ranged to each other simultaneously in these two-way tests at lunar distance. We measured the time-of-flight while cross-referencing the spacecraft clock to the ground station time. On May 4th, 2017, about 20 minutes of two-way measurements were collected. The

Towards Understanding the Two Way Interaction Effects of Extraversion and Openness to Experience on Career Commitment

Science.gov (United States)

Arora, Ridhi; Rangnekar, Santosh

2016-01-01

In this study, we examined potential two-way interaction effects of the Big Five personality traits extraversion and openness to experience on career commitment measured in terms of three components of career identity, career resilience, and career planning. Participants included 450 managers from public and private sector organizations in North…

A study on relationship between no-interest based activities on performance of Iranian banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Daghighi Asl

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we study the effects of no-interest activities on return of some Iranian banks over the period of 2006-2011 using Pearson correlation as well as regression analysis. The paper uses two independent variables where the first one is obtained as a difference between other no-interest incomes with commission fee and the second one is the commission fee income. There are three dependent variables including return on investment, return of assets and risk, leading us to setup three regressions analysis. The result of our survey indicates that no-interest based activities have meaningful effects on the performances of banks. In addition, there are some meaningful relationships among interest free activities, which are mostly in terms of negative relations.

Association between clinically meaningful behavior problems and overweight in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lumeng, Julie C; Gannon, Kate; Cabral, Howard J; Frank, Deborah A; Zuckerman, Barry

2003-11-01

To determine whether there is a relationship between clinically meaningful behavior problems and concurrent and future overweight in 8- to 11-year-old children. 1998 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth interview data for 8- to 11-year-old children and their mothers were analyzed. A Behavior Problems Index score >90th percentile was considered clinically meaningful. Child overweight was defined as a body mass index (BMI) >or=95th percentile for age and sex. Multiple logistic regression was used to control for potential confounders (selected a priori): child's sex, race, use of behavior-modifying medication, history of academic retention, and hours of television per day; maternal obesity, smoking status, marital status, education, and depressive symptoms; family poverty status; and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment-Short Form (HOME-SF) cognitive stimulation score. In an attempt to elucidate temporal sequence, a second analysis was conducted with a subsample of normal-weight children who became overweight between 1996 and 1998 while controlling for BMI z score in 1996. The sample included 755 mother-child pairs. Of the potential confounding variables, race, maternal obesity, academic grade retention, maternal education, poverty status, and HOME-SF cognitive stimulation score acted as joint confounders, altering the relationship between behavior problems and overweight in the multiple logistic regression model. With these covariates in the final model, behavior problems were independently associated with concurrent child overweight (adjusted odds ratio: 2.95; 95% confidence interval: 1.34-6.49). The relationship was strengthened in the subsample of previously normal-weight children, with race, maternal obesity, HOME-SF cognitive stimulation score, and 1996 BMI z score acting as confounders (adjusted odds ratio: 5.23; 95% confidence interval: 1.37-19.9). Clinically meaningful behavior problems in 8- to 11-year-old children were independently

Finding pathways to more equitable and meaningful public-scientist partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Daniela Soleri; Jonathan W. Long; Monica D. Ramirez-Andreotta; Ruth Eitemiller; Rajul Pandyaǁ

2016-01-01

For many, citizen science is exciting because of the possibility for more diverse, equitable partnerships in scientific research with outcomes considered meaningful and useful by all, including public participants. This was the focus of a symposium we organized at the 2015 conference of the Citizen Science Association. Here we synthesize points made by symposium...

Statistical and Machine Learning forecasting methods: Concerns and ways forward

Science.gov (United States)

Makridakis, Spyros; Assimakopoulos, Vassilios

2018-01-01

Machine Learning (ML) methods have been proposed in the academic literature as alternatives to statistical ones for time series forecasting. Yet, scant evidence is available about their relative performance in terms of accuracy and computational requirements. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate such performance across multiple forecasting horizons using a large subset of 1045 monthly time series used in the M3 Competition. After comparing the post-sample accuracy of popular ML methods with that of eight traditional statistical ones, we found that the former are dominated across both accuracy measures used and for all forecasting horizons examined. Moreover, we observed that their computational requirements are considerably greater than those of statistical methods. The paper discusses the results, explains why the accuracy of ML models is below that of statistical ones and proposes some possible ways forward. The empirical results found in our research stress the need for objective and unbiased ways to test the performance of forecasting methods that can be achieved through sizable and open competitions allowing meaningful comparisons and definite conclusions. PMID:29584784

Statistical and Machine Learning forecasting methods: Concerns and ways forward.

Science.gov (United States)

Makridakis, Spyros; Spiliotis, Evangelos; Assimakopoulos, Vassilios

2018-01-01

Machine Learning (ML) methods have been proposed in the academic literature as alternatives to statistical ones for time series forecasting. Yet, scant evidence is available about their relative performance in terms of accuracy and computational requirements. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate such performance across multiple forecasting horizons using a large subset of 1045 monthly time series used in the M3 Competition. After comparing the post-sample accuracy of popular ML methods with that of eight traditional statistical ones, we found that the former are dominated across both accuracy measures used and for all forecasting horizons examined. Moreover, we observed that their computational requirements are considerably greater than those of statistical methods. The paper discusses the results, explains why the accuracy of ML models is below that of statistical ones and proposes some possible ways forward. The empirical results found in our research stress the need for objective and unbiased ways to test the performance of forecasting methods that can be achieved through sizable and open competitions allowing meaningful comparisons and definite conclusions.

Hospital budget increase for information technology during phase 1 meaningful use.

Science.gov (United States)

Neumeier, Harold; Berner, Eta S; Burke, Darrell E; Azuero, Andres

2015-01-01

Federal policies have a significant effect on how businesses spend money. The 2009 HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) authorized incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid to clinicians and hospitals when they use certified electronic health records privately and securely to achieve specified improvements in care delivery. Federal incentive payments were offered in 2011 for hospitals that had satisfied "meaningful use" criteria. A longitudinal study of nonfederal hospital information technology (IT) budgets (N = 493) during the years 2009 to 2011 found increases in the percentage of hospital annual operating budgets allocated to IT in the years leading up to these federal incentives. This increase was most pronounced among hospitals receiving high proportions of their reimbursements from Medicaid, followed by hospitals receiving high proportions of their reimbursements from Medicare, possibly indicating a budget shift during this period to more IT spending to achieve meaningful-use policy guidelines.

Designing meaningful educational spaces for the development of competencies in childhood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yenny Otálora Sevilla

2010-11-01

Full Text Available A meaningful educational space is a learning environment that promotes and strengthens the development of social and cognitive competencies in children. This article offers conceptual and methodological elements from Educational Psychology that facilitates the design of significant educational spaces for the development of child competencies, both in and out of school. On the one hand, the learning environment is defined as a dynamic and complex space of construction of knowledge. On the other it takes into account some considerations about child development which help set five criteria to characterize learning environments as meaningful educational spaces: They are structured, intensive, extensive, generative and interactive situations. Each of these criteria is illustrated through learning environments designed by educators in Colombia, based on the use of cultural practices inherent their communities of origin. Cultural practices were found to be relevant to the development of their children’s competencies.

Service Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education: Strategies to Facilitate Meaningful Reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Nola A; Brown, Janet M

2016-01-01

Service learning is recognized as a valuable pedagogy involving experiential learning, reflection, and reciprocal learning. Students develop critical thinking and social awareness by using the crucial activity of reflecting upon their experiential learning with community partners. The purpose of this paper is to demystify the process of reflection by identifying best practices to enhance reflection and offering suggestions for grading. By understanding "the what" and "the how" of reflection, educators can implement service learning experiences designed to include the essential component of reflection. Strategies for facilitating meaningful reflection are described including descriptions of what students should reflect upon and how to initiate reflection through writing, reading, doing, and telling. Grading rubrics are suggested to facilitate evaluation of student reflection. When properly implemented, service learning encourages students to be good citizens of the world. By using best practices associated with reflection, students can be challenged to think critically about the world and how their service can achieve community goals. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Are students ready for meaningful use?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary S. Ferenchick

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Background: The meaningful use (MU of electronic medical records (EMRs is being implemented in three stages. Key objectives of stage one include electronic analysis of data entered into structured fields, using decision-support tools (e.g., checking drug–drug interactions [DDI] and electronic information exchange. Objective: The authors assessed the performance of medical students on 10 stage-one MU tasks and measured the correlation between students’ MU performance and subsequent end-of-clerkship professionalism assessments and their grades on an end-of-year objective structured clinical examination. Participants: Two-hundred and twenty-two third-year medical students on the internal medicine (IM clerkship. Design/main measures: From July 2010 to February 2012, all students viewed 15 online tutorials covering MU competencies. The authors measured student MU documentation and performance in the chart of a virtual patient using a fully functional training EMR. Specific MU measurements included, adding: a new problem, a new medication, an advanced directive, smoking status, the results of screening tests; and performing a DDI (in which a major interaction was probable, and communicating a plan for this interaction. Key results: A total of 130 MU errors were identified. Sixty-eight (30.6% students had at least one error, and 30 (13.5% had more than one (range 2–6. Of the 130 errors, 90 (69.2% were errors in structured data entry. Errors occurred in medication dosing and instructions (18%, DDI identification (12%, documenting smoking status (15%, and colonoscopy results (23%. Students with MU errors demonstrated poorer performance on end-of-clerkship professionalism assessments (r=−0.112, p=0.048 and lower observed structured clinical examination (OSCE history-taking skills (r=−0.165, p=0.008 and communication scores (r=− 0.173, p=0.006. Conclusions: MU errors among medical students are common and correlate with subsequent poor

Gifts in Health Crisis: The Use of Health Coaching to Create Opportunity for a More Meaningful Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Nutt, Theresa

2018-02-01

The purpose of this article is to explore health coaching as an effective intervention in times of health crisis for patients, families, and health-care staff. The pause that a health crisis creates in the activities of normal life allows for deeper questions about a person's life to emerge. Health coaching provides a safe space for clients to engage with these life questions while facilitating a connection with their sense of personal empowerment and innate inner wisdom. The result is a more meaningful and resilient life despite the outcome of the health crisis.

Can Ausubel's Theory of Meaningful Learning Become an Alternative to Piagetian Psychology?

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Albert, Edna

1979-01-01

Discusses Novak's views that Ausubel's meaningful learning can become an alternative to Piagetian psychology and argues that Ausubel does not provide a theory that can be an alternative to Piaget's developmental psychology. (HM)

The development of the MIBBO : A measure of resident preferences for physical activity in long term care settings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Melanie Kleynen MSc; Susy M. Braun PhD; Kim van Vijven MSc; Erik van Rossum PhD; Anna J. Beurskens PhD

2015-01-01

Offering physical activities matching with the preferences of residents in long-term care facilities could increase compliance and contribute to client-centered care. A measure to investigate meaningful activities by using a photo-interview has been developed (“MIBBO”). In two pilot studies

The categorisation of dysthymic disorder: Can its constituents be meaningfully apportioned?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rhebergen, D.; Graham, R.; Hadzi-Pavlovic, D.; Stek, M.L.; Friend, P.; Barrett, M.; Parker, G.

2012-01-01

Background: Since its introduction in DSM-III, the validity of dysthymia has been debated. Our objective is to further examine the concept of dysthymia in an outpatient sample, and explore whether its constituents can be meaningfully apportioned. Methods: 318 patients attending the Black Dog

Two way assessment of other physical work demands while measuring the whole body vibration magnitude

Science.gov (United States)

Tiemessen, Ivo J. H.; Hulshof, Carel T. J.; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.

2008-03-01

Direct observation, instead of using self-administered questionnaires might give more reliable and specific information about physical work demands at the workplace. This information is of use in a population already at risk of developing low back pain (LBP) due to whole body vibration (WBV) exposure. The aims of this study are to assess the WBV exposure in an exposed population and to assess other physical work demands in two ways, by direct observation and with the use of a self-administered questionnaire. We therefore assessed the WBV magnitude and 5 WBV-related physical work demands by using the PalmTrac system and a self-administered questionnaire in a group of drivers ( N=10). The main findings are 7 out of 10 drivers are exceeding the EU action value. About 50% of the drivers under-estimated the time 'bending', 60% the time 'walking+standing' and 60% over-estimated the time when 'lifting.' We concluded that 7 drivers from this group are at risk of developing LBP and substantial differences exists for the 5 physical work demands comparing the PalmTrac method with the questionnaire. Direct observational assessment in WBV measurements yields extra information. This is useful for preventive activities necessary as drivers are exceeding the EU action value.

A Two-terminal Active Capacitor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Haoran; Wang, Huai

2017-01-01

This letter proposes a concept of two-terminal active capacitor implemented by power semiconductor switches and passive elements. The active capacitor has the same level of convenience as a passive one with two power terminals only. It is application independent and can be specified by rated...... voltage, ripple current, equivalent series resistance, and operational frequency range. The concept, control method, self-power scheme, and impedance characteristics of the active capacitor are presented. A case study of the proposed active capacitor for a capacitive DC-link application is discussed....... The results reveal a significantly lower overall energy storage of passive elements and a reduced cost to fulfill a specific reliability target, compared to a passive capacitor solution. Proof-of-concept experimental results are given to verify the functionality of the proposed capacitor....

Mediating role of meaningful work between resources and work engagement in Bangladesh’s private banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nawrin Rubaba

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Engaged employees are considered as the most desired assets for the organization. Although significant contributions have been observed in the engagement literature, a holistic approach is yet to be untouched in terms of developing relationship between various resources, work engagement and psychological mechanism such as meaningful work. The purpose of this study is to explore the mediating role of meaningful work between resources and work engagement in private banks in Bangladesh. This study followed the quantitative methodological approach and based on Bakker and Demerouti’s (2007 Job demand-resources model. A survey questionnaire was prepared and used to collect data. 440 respondents participated in this study, who is currently working in private banks in Bangladesh. Multiple regression analysis along with Sobel test was performed to analyze the data. The findings confirmed that the relationships between organizational, job, personal resources and work engagement were partially mediated through meaningful work. It has been observed that all determinates had a significant influence on work engagement. For practical implications, the organization can align various resources to uplift the engagement level of the employees. Since meaningful work was found to be a significant predictor, managers can develop jobs where employees can relate their purpose to their work. This study recommends that future research can apply this model to different contexts as well as to different groups of respondents.

Early- versus Late-Onset Dysthymia: A Meaningful Clinical Distinction?

OpenAIRE

Sansone, Randy A.; Sansone, Lori A.

2009-01-01

In the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, dysthymic disorder is categorized as either early-onset or late-onset, based upon the emergence of symptoms before or after the age of 21, respectively. Does this diagnostic distinction have any meaningful clinical implications? In this edition of The Interface, we present empirical studies that have, within a single study, compared individuals with early-versus late-onset dysthymia. In this review, we found that, compared ...

Practical Ways Internalization Tematik by Students in Learning Through Peer Teaching in PGSD FKIP at Tanjungpura University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tahmid Sabri

2017-03-01

Full Text Available A practical way internalize value on elementary school children is very strategic, this study aims to provide the best solution. The method used descriptive through class actions done by the students in a way peer teaching. The findings showed that the Internalization of learning design can practically be done well. Application of learning can be applied Effectively, seen from the way of practicality Internalization in learning and provide a significant positive impact on personality value on individual students toward the creation of Piety, noble, intelligent, skilled, creative, discipline, independence, responsibility and democratic, this achievement can not be separated from the various constraints experienced by teachers, but can be Overcome, so that the meaningfulness of students in learning remains created. This study is expected to be the authorized capital on the development of thematic learning in primary school.

Towards happiness: Experiences of work-role fit, meaningfulness and work engagement of industrial/organisational psychologists in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Llewellyn E. van Zyl

2010-10-01

Research purpose: The aim of this study was to determine how I/O psychologists experience the meaning of their work and to investigate the relationships between their experiences of work-role fit, meaning of work, psychological meaningfulness and work engagement, utilising the happiness framework proposed by Seligman (2002. Motivation for the study: I/O psychologists spend more than 88% of their working day with people, and they are primary role models for happiness in the workplace. Information about their work engagement and experiences of meaning is therefore needed. Research design, approach and method: A survey design was used. A convenience sample (n = 106 was taken of I/O psychologists in South Africa. A biographical questionnaire, the Work-Role Fit Scale, the Work-Life Questionnaire, the Psychological Meaningfulness Scale, the Work Engagement Scale and a survey measuring the actual and desired time spent on six broad categories of work were administered. Main findings: Work-role fit predicted psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. The calling orientation to work predicted both psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. Work-role fit mediated the relationship between the meaning of work and psychological meaningfulness. Work-role fit partially mediated the relationship between a calling orientation to work and work engagement. Practical implications: A calling orientation to work should be fostered in I/O psychologists because it contributes to experiences of work-role fit, psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. Contribution/value-add: The results of this study contribute to scientific knowledge about work-role fit, engagement and meaning as components of happiness of I/O psychologists.

The Right to Appropriate and Meaningful Education for Children with ASD

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, David; Goodall, Craig

2015-01-01

This paper will explore from a "child's rights perspective" the "right" of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) to appropriate and meaningful education. Human "rights" principles within international law will be evaluated in relation to how they have been interpreted and applied in relation to achieving this…

Excluded from School: Getting a Second Chance at a "Meaningful" Education

Science.gov (United States)

McGregor, Glenda; Mills, Martin; te Riele, Kitty; Hayes, Debra

2015-01-01

In this paper, we draw upon the experiences of a group of young people who have been excluded from mainstream schools in two Australian states to provide an account of the ways in which they have found their way to education in educational sites that are variously referred to as "flexible learning centres", "second chance…

The co-creation of meaningful action: bridging enaction and interactional sociology.

Science.gov (United States)

De Jaegher, Hanne; Peräkylä, Anssi; Stevanovic, Melisa

2016-05-05

What makes possible the co-creation of meaningful action? In this paper, we go in search of an answer to this question by combining insights from interactional sociology and enaction. Both research schools investigate social interactions as such, and conceptualize their organization in terms of autonomy. We ask what it could mean for an interaction to be autonomous, and discuss the structures and processes that contribute to and are maintained in the so-called interaction order. We also discuss the role played by individual vulnerability as well as the vulnerability of social interaction processes in the co-creation of meaningful action. Finally, we outline some implications of this interdisciplinary fraternization for the empirical study of social understanding, in particular in social neuroscience and psychology, pointing out the need for studies based on dynamic systems approaches on origins and references of coordination, and experimental designs to help understand human co-presence. © 2016 The Authors.

The co-creation of meaningful action: bridging enaction and interactional sociology

Science.gov (United States)

Peräkylä, Anssi; Stevanovic, Melisa

2016-01-01

What makes possible the co-creation of meaningful action? In this paper, we go in search of an answer to this question by combining insights from interactional sociology and enaction. Both research schools investigate social interactions as such, and conceptualize their organization in terms of autonomy. We ask what it could mean for an interaction to be autonomous, and discuss the structures and processes that contribute to and are maintained in the so-called interaction order. We also discuss the role played by individual vulnerability as well as the vulnerability of social interaction processes in the co-creation of meaningful action. Finally, we outline some implications of this interdisciplinary fraternization for the empirical study of social understanding, in particular in social neuroscience and psychology, pointing out the need for studies based on dynamic systems approaches on origins and references of coordination, and experimental designs to help understand human co-presence. PMID:27069055

Book review: Flight ways: Life and loss at the edge of extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Banko, Paul C.

2015-01-01

In less than 200 pages, Thom van Dooren aims in his ambitious book, Flight Ways, to reconnect humans empathetically with the rest of the planet's inhabitants, but especially vanishing species. This is asking a lot, but he succeeds—or at least makes great strides—using evocative storytelling and compelling discourse. A number of themes are carefully woven together with the goal of awakening sensitivities, building understanding, and motivating commitment to stopping the decline of populations and species. As one who works in the field of endangered Hawaiian bird research, I found this book illuminating, thought-provoking, and insightful. It probes deeply into the evolution, ecology, and ethics of our interactions with other species and offers useful lessons for thinking about endangered species and extinction in more meaningful ways. It will likely spur self-examination and further inquiry by readers, which can open new lines of communication with the general public about conservation.

Simulation and Analysis of Autonomous Time Synchronization Based on Asynchronism Two-way Inter-satellite Link

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, L.; Yang, X. H.; Sun, B. Q.; Qin, W. J.; Kong, Y.

2013-09-01

The measurement of the inter-satellite link is one of the key techniques in the autonomous operation of satellite navigation system. Based on the asynchronism inter-satellite two-way measurement mode in GPS constellation, the reduction formula of the inter-satellite time synchronization is built in this paper. Moreover, the corrective method of main systematic errors is proposed. Inter-satellite two-way time synchronization is simulated on the basis of IGS (International GNSS Service) precise ephemeris. The impacts of the epoch domestication of asynchronism inter-satellite link pseudo-range, the initial orbit, and the main systematic errors on satellite time synchronization are analyzed. Furthermore, the broadcast clock error of each satellite is calculated by the ``centralized'' inter-satellite autonomous time synchronization. Simulation results show that the epoch domestication of asynchronism inter-satellite link pseudo-range and the initial orbit have little impact on the satellite clock errors, and thus they needn't be taken into account. The errors caused by the relativistic effect and the asymmetry of path travel have large impact on the satellite clock errors. These should be corrected with theoretical formula. Compared with the IGS precise clock error, the root mean square of the broadcast clock error of each satellite is about 0.4 ns.

Two-way coupled simulation of a flow laden with metallic particulates in overexpanded TIC nozzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moshfegh, Abouzar; Shams, Mehrzad; Ebrahimi, Reza; Farnia, Mohammad Ali

2009-01-01

A simulation of non-reacting dilute gas-solid flow in a truncated ideal contour nozzle with consideration of external stream interactions is performed. The Eulerian-Lagrangian approach involving a two-way momentum and thermal coupling between gas and particles phases is also adopted. Of interests are to investigate the effects of particles diameter and mass flow fraction on the flow pattern, Mach number, pressure and temperature contours and their distributions along the nozzle centerline and wall. The main goal is to determine the separation point quantitatively when the particles characteristics change. Particles sample trajectories are illustrated throughout the flow field and a qualitative discussion on the way that physical properties of the nozzle exit flow and particles trajectories oscillate is prepared. The existence of solid particulates delays the separation prominently in the cases studied. The bigger particles and the higher particles mass flow fractions respectively advance and delay the separation occurrence. The particles trajectories oscillate when they expose to the crisscrossing (or diamond-shape) shock waves generated outside the nozzle to approach the exit jet conditions to the ambient. The simulation code is validated and verified, respectively, against a one-phase 2D convergent-divergent nozzle flow and a two-phase Jet Propulsion Laboratory nozzle flow, and acceptable agreements are achieved.

Thermomechanical cycling and two-way memory effect induced in Cu-Zn-Al

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pons, J.

1999-01-01

The two-way shape memory effect (TWME) has been induced by thermomechanical cycling in Cu-Zn-Al alloys using a dedicated hydraulic mechanical testing soft machine with complete computer control of force, elongation and temperature. The results concerning single crystals (composition Cu-16.9 wt.% Zn-7.7 wt.% Al, nominal M s of 273 K) and polycrystals (Cu-15.8 wt.% Zn-8.3 wt.% Al, nominal M s of 230 K, mean grain size of 1 mm) are reported for two training protocols (sequence of one thermomechanical cycle of education followed by one stress free thermal cycle to check the TWME or twenty consecutive thermomechanical cycles followed by one or two checking thermal cycles). The capacity of the trained specimen for producing work under an antagonist compressive stress is also studied and the behaviour of the deformation of the specimen under such a condition at different temperatures is analysed in terms of a competition between the contributions of the different variants: trained variants with an intrinsic deformation in the direction of the tensile stress of the training process, trained variants with an intrinsic deformation which is not well orientated with respect to this direction (in the polycrystal) and new variants with an intrinsic deformation in the direction of the compressive stress which can replace the educated variants. (orig.)

Accessibility to information and communications technology for the social participation of youths with disabilities: a two-way street.

Science.gov (United States)

Schreuer, Naomi; Keter, Ayala; Sachs, Dalia

2014-01-01

The current study examined by mixed method the effectiveness of an accessibility to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) program that provided computers, assistive technology, tutors, and internet connection to 65 youths with severe disabilities (aged 13.22 ± 3.4 years) in their homes. The quantitative evaluation included assessment of computer task performance, computer skills, and participation in social ICT leisure activities before and after the program. Findings revealed low baseline and significant progress on most outcome measures 6 months after the program, mostly among those youths who had tutors. Additional in-depth interviews were conducted 1 year later with 10 participants to explore their ICT use and its impact on their social participation. The analysis revealed a significant contribution of the ICT use, while critical thinking about its risks and some disappointment with the social needs that ICT does not address. Our findings raise awareness of 'two-way streets' policies and programs to ensure e-inclusion. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Application of high-precision two-way ranging to Galileo Earth-1 encounter navigation

Science.gov (United States)

Pollmeier, V. M.; Thurman, S. W.

1992-01-01

The application of precision two-way ranging to orbit determination with relatively short data arcs is investigated for the Galileo spacecraft's approach to its first Earth encounter (December 8, 1990). Analysis of previous S-band (2.3-GHz) ranging data acquired from Galileo indicated that under good signal conditions submeter precision and 10-m ranging accuracy were achieved. It is shown that ranging data of sufficient accuracy, when acquired from multiple stations, can sense the geocentric angular position of a distant spacecraft. A range data filtering technique, in which explicit modeling of range measurement bias parameters for each station pass is utilized, is shown to largely remove the systematic ground system calibration errors and transmission media effects from the Galileo range measurements, which would otherwise corrupt the angle-finding capabilities of the data. The accuracy of the Galileo orbit solutions obtained with S-band Doppler and precision ranging were found to be consistent with simple theoretical calculations, which predicted that angular accuracies of 0.26-0.34 microrad were achievable. In addition, the navigation accuracy achieved with precision ranging was marginally better than that obtained using delta-differenced one-way range (delta DOR), the principal data type that was previously used to obtain spacecraft angular position measurements operationally.

Evidence that the tri-cellular metabolism of N-acetylaspartate functions as the brain's "operating system": how NAA metabolism supports meaningful intercellular frequency-encoded communications.

Science.gov (United States)

Baslow, Morris H

2010-11-01

N-acetylaspartate (NAA), an acetylated derivative of L-aspartate (Asp), and N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), a derivative of NAA and L-glutamate (Glu), are synthesized by neurons in brain. However, neurons cannot catabolize either of these substances, and so their metabolism requires the participation of two other cell types. Neurons release both NAA and NAAG to extra-cellular fluid (ECF) upon stimulation, where astrocytes, the target cells for NAAG, hydrolyze it releasing NAA back into ECF, and oligodendrocytes, the target cells for NAA, hydrolyze it releasing Asp to ECF for recycling to neurons. This sequence is unique as it is the only known amino acid metabolic cycle in brain that requires three cell types for its completion. The results of this cycling are two-fold. First, neuronal metabolic water is transported to ECF for its removal from brain. Second, the rate of neuronal activity is coupled with focal hyperemia, providing stimulated neurons with the energy required for transmission of meaningful frequency-encoded messages. In this paper, it is proposed that the tri-cellular metabolism of NAA functions as the "operating system" of the brain, and is essential for normal cognitive and motor activities. Evidence in support of this hypothesis is provided by the outcomes of two human inborn errors in NAA metabolism.

Coaching "Callings" throughout the Adult Life Cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, Frederic M.

2001-01-01

The process of "callings" continues throughout life. Coaching can connect the present to the future in a meaningful way. Callings represent a value shift requiring revision of the nature and scope of one's central purpose in life and meaningful activities. (JOW)

An empirically based conceptual framework for fostering meaningful patient engagement in research.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Clayon B; Hoens, Alison M; Backman, Catherine L; McKinnon, Annette M; McQuitty, Shanon; English, Kelly; Li, Linda C

2018-02-01

Patient engagement in research (PEIR) is promoted to improve the relevance and quality of health research, but has little conceptualization derived from empirical data. To address this issue, we sought to develop an empirically based conceptual framework for meaningful PEIR founded on a patient perspective. We conducted a qualitative secondary analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 patient research partners from a research centre-affiliated patient advisory board. Data analysis involved three phases: identifying the themes, developing a framework and confirming the framework. We coded and organized the data, and abstracted, illustrated, described and explored the emergent themes using thematic analysis. Directed content analysis was conducted to derive concepts from 18 publications related to PEIR to supplement, confirm or refute, and extend the emergent conceptual framework. The framework was reviewed by four patient research partners on our research team. Participants' experiences of working with researchers were generally positive. Eight themes emerged: procedural requirements, convenience, contributions, support, team interaction, research environment, feel valued and benefits. These themes were interconnected and formed a conceptual framework to explain the phenomenon of meaningful PEIR from a patient perspective. This framework, the PEIR Framework, was endorsed by the patient research partners on our team. The PEIR Framework provides guidance on aspects of PEIR to address for meaningful PEIR. It could be particularly useful when patient-researcher partnerships are led by researchers with little experience of engaging patients in research. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Joint terminals and relay optimization for two-way power line information exchange systems with QoS constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xiaolin; Rong, Yue

2015-12-01

The quality-of-service (QoS) criteria (measured in terms of the minimum capacity requirement in this paper) are very important to practical indoor power line communication (PLC) applications as they greatly affect the user experience. With a two-way multicarrier relay configuration, in this paper we investigate the joint terminals and relay power optimization for the indoor broadband PLC environment, where the relay node works in the amplify-and-forward (AF) mode. As the QoS-constrained power allocation problem is highly non-convex, the globally optimal solution is computationally intractable to obtain. To overcome this challenge, we propose an alternating optimization (AO) method to decompose this problem into three convex/quasi-convex sub-problems. Simulation results demonstrate the fast convergence of the proposed algorithm under practical PLC channel conditions. Compared with the conventional bidirectional direct transmission (BDT) system, the relay-assisted two-way information exchange (R2WX) scheme can meet the same QoS requirement with less total power consumption.

Beyond tokenistic participation: using representational artefacts to enable meaningful public participation in health service design.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Cecily; Dearden, Andy

2013-10-01

A number of recent policies promote public participation in health service design. Yet, a growing literature has articulated a gap between policy aims and actual practice resulting in public participation becoming tokenistic. Drawing on theory from participatory design, we argue that choosing appropriate artefacts to act as representations can structure discussions between public participants and health professionals in ways that both groups find meaningful and valid. Through a case study of a service improvement project in outpatient services for older people, we describe three representational artefacts: emotion maps, stories, and tracing paper, and explain how they helped to mediate interactions between public participants and health professionals. We suggest that using such representational artefacts can provide an alternative approach to participation that stands in contrast to the current focus on the professionalisation of public participants. We conclude that including participatory designers in projects, to chose or design appropriate representational artefacts, can help to address the policy-practice gap of including public participants in health service design. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

78 FR 19491 - Walking as a Way for Americans To Get the Recommended Amount of Physical Activity for Health

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-01

...-2013-0003] Walking as a Way for Americans To Get the Recommended Amount of Physical Activity for Health...). ACTION: Request for information. SUMMARY: To address the public health problem of physical inactivity..., Physical Activity and Health Branch, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Centers for...

Meaningfulness for creation of growth in Small- and Medium-sized enterprises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brink, Tove; Neville, Mette

2016-01-01

The research in this paper reveals how meaningfulness of growth can be created in Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The research is conducted in a four-year period with 24 SMEs participating from different industry branches. The research is now in the late part of the 3rd. year starting...

Transforming City Schools through Art: Approaches to Meaningful K-12 Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Hutzel, Karen; Bastos, Flavia M. C.; Cozier, Kimberly J.

2012-01-01

This anthology places art at the center of meaningful urban education reform. Providing a fresh perspective on urban education, the contributors describe a positive, asset-based community development model designed to tap into the teaching/learning potential already available in urban cities. Rather than focusing on a lack of resources, this…

Influence of motive activity on forming of proof skills of healthy way of life of students of higher educational establishments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trotsenko V.V.

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The estimation and the analysis of impellent activity of students is considered. The importance of impellent activity in forming a healthy way of life of students is shown. In research the data of questionnaire of students are used. sports priorities of students are revealed should to undertake in attention by development of the program of physical training. The wide spectrum of the reasons which interfere with exercises is revealed. These reasons should be considered during individual work with each student. It is proved, that impellent activity influences forming of proof skills of a healthy way of life of students.

Do family physicians electronic health records support meaningful use?

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Lars E; Blackburn, Brenna; Ivins, Douglas; Mitchell, Jason; Matson, Christine; Phillips, Robert L

2015-03-01

Spurred by government incentives, the use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States has increased; however, whether these EHRs have the functionality necessary to meet meaningful use (MU) criteria remains unknown. Our objective was to characterize family physician access to MU functionality when using a MU-certified EHR. Data were obtained from a convenience survey of family physicians accessing their American Board of Family Medicine online portfolio in 2011. A brief survey queried MU functionality. We used descriptive statistics to characterize the responses and bivariate statistics to test associations between MU and patient communication functions by presence of a MU-certified EHR. Out of 3855 respondents, 60% reported having an EHR that supports MU. Physicians with MU-certified EHRs were more likely than physicians without MU-certified EHRs to report patient registry activities (49.7% vs. 32.3%, p-valuevs. 56.4%, p-valuecommunication abilities were low regardless of EHR capabilities. Family physicians with MU-certified EHRs are more likely to report MU functionality; however, a sizeable minority does not report MU functions. Many family physicians with MU-certified EHRs may not successfully meet the successively stringent MU criteria and may face significant upgrade costs to do so. Cross sectional survey. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research Advances: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Finds New Way to Detect Destructive Enzyme Activity--Hair Dye Relies on Nanotechnology--Ways to Increase Shelf Life of Milk

Science.gov (United States)

King, Angela G.

2007-01-01

Recent advances in various research fields are described. Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found a new way to detect destructive enzyme activity, scientists in France have found that an ancient hair dye used by ancient people in Greece and Rome relied on nanotechnology and in the U.S. scientists are developing new…

Robust distributed two-way relay beamforming in cognitive radio networks

KAUST Repository

Pandarakkottilil, Ubaidulla

2012-04-01

In this paper, we present distributed beamformer designs for a cognitive radio network (CRN) consisting of a pair of cognitive (or secondary) transceiver nodes communicating with each other through a set of secondary non-regenerative two-way relays. The secondary network shares the spectrum with a licensed primary user (PU), and operates under a constraint on the maximum interference to the PU, in addition to its own resource and quality of service (QoS) constraints. We propose beamformer designs assuming that the available channel state information (CSI) is imperfect, which reflects realistic scenarios. The performance of proposed designs is robust to the CSI errors. Such robustness is critical in CRNs given the difficulty in acquiring perfect CSI due to loose cooperation between the PUs and the secondary users (SUs), and the need for strict enforcement of PU interference limit. We consider a mean-square error (MSE)-constrained beamformer that minimizes the total relay transmit power and an MSE-balancing beamformer with a constraint on the total relay transmit power. We show that the proposed designs can be reformulated as convex optimization problems that can be solved efficiently. Through numerical simulations, we illustrate the improved performance of the proposed robust designs compared to non-robust designs. © 2012 IEEE.

A correction procedure for thermally two-way coupled point-particles

Science.gov (United States)

Horwitz, Jeremy; Ganguli, Swetava; Mani, Ali; Lele, Sanjiva

2017-11-01

Development of a robust procedure for the simulation of two-way coupled particle-laden flows remains a challenge. Such systems are characterized by O(1) or greater mass of particles relative to the fluid. The coupling of fluid and particle motion via a drag model means the undisturbed fluid velocity evaluated at the particle location (which is needed in the drag model) is no longer equal to the interpolated fluid velocity at the particle location. The same issue arises in problems of dispersed flows in the presence of heat transfer. The heat transfer rate to each particle depends on the difference between the particle's temperature and the undisturbed fluid temperature. We borrow ideas from the correction scheme we have developed for particle-fluid momentum coupling by developing a procedure to estimate the undisturbed fluid temperature given the disturbed temperature field created by a point-particle. The procedure is verified for the case of a particle settling under gravity and subject to radiation. The procedure is developed in the low Peclet, low Boussinesq number limit, but we will discuss the applicability of the same correction procedure outside of this regime when augmented by appropriate drag and heat exchange correlations. Supported by DOE, J. H. Supported by NSF GRF

A practical two-way system of quantum key distribution with untrusted source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Ming-Juan; Liu Xiang

2011-01-01

The most severe problem of a two-way 'plug-and-play' (p and p) quantum key distribution system is that the source can be controlled by the eavesdropper. This kind of source is defined as an “untrusted source . This paper discusses the effects of the fluctuation of internal transmittance on the final key generation rate and the transmission distance. The security of the standard BB84 protocol, one-decoy state protocol, and weak+vacuum decoy state protocol, with untrusted sources and the fluctuation of internal transmittance are studied. It is shown that the one-decoy state is sensitive to the statistical fluctuation but weak+vacuum decoy state is only slightly affected by the fluctuation. It is also shown that both the maximum secure transmission distance and final key generation rate are reduced when Alice's laboratory transmittance fluctuation is considered. (general)

Challenging the One-Way Paradigm for More Effective Science Communication: A Critical Review of Two Public Campaigns Addressing Contentious Environmental Issues

Science.gov (United States)

McEntee, Marie; Mortimer, Claire

2013-01-01

This article examines two large-scale public communication campaigns to explore the appropriateness and effectiveness of using one-way communication in contentious environmental issues. The findings show while one-way communication can be successfully employed in contentious issues, it is not appropriate for all contexts and may contribute to…

Meaningful real-life relationships in massively multiplayer online roleplaying games

OpenAIRE

Mansikkamäki, E. (Eetu)

2014-01-01

Abstract Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games are extremely popular with millions and millions of players spending large portions of their free time in these virtual environments. Still the social value and the meaningfulness of the relationships formed within them are questioned by most non-gamers and even some gamers. In the past even academia was mainly concentrating on the negative aspects of gaming but lately...

Local contextual processing of abstract and meaningful real-life images in professional athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Fogelson, Noa; Fernandez-Del-Olmo, Miguel; Acero, Rafael Martín

2012-05-01

We investigated the effect of abstract versus real-life meaningful images from sports on local contextual processing in two groups of professional athletes. Local context was defined as the occurrence of a short predictive series of stimuli occurring before delivery of a target event. EEG was recorded in 10 professional basketball players and 9 professional athletes of individual sports during three sessions. In each session, a different set of visual stimuli were presented: triangles facing left, up, right, or down; four images of a basketball player throwing a ball; four images of a baseball player pitching a baseball. Stimuli consisted of 15 % targets and 85 % of equal numbers of three types of standards. Recording blocks consisted of targets preceded by randomized sequences of standards and by sequences including a predictive sequence signaling the occurrence of a subsequent target event. Subjects pressed a button in response to targets. In all three sessions, reaction times and peak P3b latencies were shorter for predicted targets compared with random targets, the last most informative stimulus of the predictive sequence induced a robust P3b, and N2 amplitude was larger for random targets compared with predicted targets. P3b and N2 peak amplitudes were larger in the professional basketball group in comparison with professional athletes of individual sports, across the three sessions. The findings of this study suggest that local contextual information is processed similarly for abstract and for meaningful images and that professional basketball players seem to allocate more attentional resources in the processing of these visual stimuli.

Two Sides of the Same Coin: Effective Uses of Technology Today.

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Steven

2001-01-01

Presents an interview with Stanley Katz, President Emeritus of the American council of Learned Societies, and Sally Kuhlenschmidt, Director of the Office for Teaching and Learning at Western Kentucky University. Discusses issues surrounding technology in education, such as the meaningful ways to use the Internet, and the pros and cons of posting…

Natural gas in a D. I. diesel engine. A comparison of two different ways. [Direct injection diesel enginer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jun-ming, Qu; Sorenson, S.C.; Kofoed, E.

1987-01-01

A D.I. diesel engine was modified for natural gas operation with pilot injection and with spark ignition so that a comparative analysis of these two different ways of using natural gas could be made. The results of the experiments indicate that for a diesel engine, it is possible that the operating characteristics of a straight natural gas engine are comparable with those of a diesel/gas engine at the same compression ratio and speed. For a dual fuel engine with pilot injection the best diesel/gas ratio by energy content is approximately 20/80 at full load operation. For straight natural gas engine with spark ignition, quality governed natural gas operation has good efficiency but poor NOx emissions. This problem could be improved through throttle controlled operation. These two different ways of using natural gas are best suited to stationary engines.

Sentence Processing as a Function of Syntax, Short Term Memory Capacity, the Meaningfulness of the Stimulus and Age

Science.gov (United States)

Gamlin, Peter J.

1971-01-01

Examines the effects of short term memory (STM) capacity, meaningfulness of stimuli, and age upon listeners' structuring of sentences. Results show that the interaction between STM capacity and meaningfulness (1) approached significance when data were collapsed over both age levels, and (2) was significant for one age level. Tables and references.…

Two discrete components of the 20 Hz steady-state response are distinguished through the modulation of activation level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Griskova, Inga; Mørup, Morten; Parnas, Josef

2009-01-01

Objective: To investigate the modulation of amplitude and phase precision of the auditory steady-state response (SSR) to 20 Hz stimulation in two conditions varying in the level of activation. Methods: Click stimuli (20 Hz) were applied while subjects were sitting upright silently reading a book......-negative multi-way factorization (NMWF). Results: The NMWF decomposition of amplitude and phase precision measures resulted in the observation of two distinct components: a component at the frequency of stimulation – 20 Hz SSR and a component emerging at 40 Hz – 20 Hz SSR-related 40 Hz activity. Modulation...... by the activation level was observed only for 20 Hz SSR-related 40 Hz activity as increased amplitude and phase precision during low activation level. No such effects were observed for 20 Hz SSR. Conclusion: The discrete components of the 20 Hz SSR are distinguished through modulation of activation level, 20 Hz SSR...

Artificial muscles made of chiral two-way shape memory polymer fibers

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Qianxi; Fan, Jizhou; Li, Guoqiang

2016-10-01

In this work, we demonstrate the unusual improvement of the tensile actuation of hierarchically chiral structured artificial muscle made of two-way shape memory polymer (2W-SMP) fiber. Experimental results show that the chemically cross-linked poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) 2W-SMP fibers possess an average negative coefficient of thermal expansion (NCTE) that is at least one order higher than that of the polyethylene fiber used previously. As expected, the increase in axial thermal contraction of the precursor fiber leads to an increase in the recovered torque ( 4.4 Nmm ) of the chiral fiber and eventually in the tensile actuation of the twisted-then-coiled artificial muscle ( 67.81 ±1.82 % ). A mechanical model based on Castigliano's second theorem is proposed, and the calculated result is consistent with the experimental result (64.17% tensile stroke). The model proves the significance of the NCTE and the recovered torque on tensile actuation of the artificial muscle and can be used as a guidance for the future design.

Physiotherapy students and clinical educators perceive several ways in which incorporating peer-assisted learning could improve clinical placements: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sevenhuysen, Samantha; Farlie, Melanie K; Keating, Jennifer L; Haines, Terry P; Molloy, Elizabeth

2015-04-01

What are the experiences of students and clinical educators in a paired student placement model incorporating facilitated peer-assisted learning (PAL) activities, compared to a traditional paired teaching approach? Qualitative study utilising focus groups. Twenty-four physiotherapy students and 12 clinical educators. Participants in this study had experienced two models of physiotherapy clinical undergraduate education: a traditional paired model (usual clinical supervision and learning activities led by clinical educators supervising pairs of students) and a PAL model (a standardised series of learning activities undertaken by student pairs and clinical educators to facilitate peer interaction using guided strategies). Peer-assisted learning appears to reduce the students' anxiety, enhance their sense of safety in the learning environment, reduce educator burden, maximise the use of downtime, and build professional skills including collaboration and feedback. While PAL adds to the clinical learning experience, it is not considered to be a substitute for observation of the clinical educator, expert feedback and guidance, or hands-on immersive learning activities. Cohesion of the student-student relationship was seen as an enabler of successful PAL. Students and educators perceive that PAL can help to position students as active learners through reduced dependence on the clinical educator, heightened roles in observing practice, and making and communicating evaluative judgments about quality of practice. The role of the clinical educator is not diminished with PAL, but rather is central in designing flexible and meaningful peer-based experiences and in balancing PAL with independent learning opportunities. ACTRN12610000859088. [Sevenhuysen S, Farlie MK, Keating JL, Haines TP, Molloy E (2015) Physiotherapy students and clinical educators perceive several ways in which incorporating peer-assisted learning could improve clinical placements: a qualitative study

Expert estimation of ways of improvement of organization of motive activity of student young people

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anikeyev D. M.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Basic aspects are examined by perfection of organization of motive activity of students. Leading specialists - 13 doctors of sciences, 13 candidates of sciences took part in research. Cited data questioning of experts on key questions of this problem. The perspective ways of improvement of organization of motive activity of student young people are set. Specified on the necessity of in-plant training teachers of physical education. Possibilities of creation are rotined fitness of clubs on the base of Institutes of higher with bringing in of money, administrative and other resources of businessmen.

Bayesian inference – a way to combine statistical data and semantic analysis meaningfully

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eila Lindfors

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on presenting the possibilities of Bayesian modelling (Finite Mixture Modelling in the semantic analysis of statistically modelled data. The probability of a hypothesis in relation to the data available is an important question in inductive reasoning. Bayesian modelling allows the researcher to use many models at a time and provides tools to evaluate the goodness of different models. The researcher should always be aware that there is no such thing as the exact probability of an exact event. This is the reason for using probabilistic models. Each model presents a different perspective on the phenomenon in focus, and the researcher has to choose the most probable model with a view to previous research and the knowledge available.The idea of Bayesian modelling is illustrated here by presenting two different sets of data, one from craft science research (n=167 and the other (n=63 from educational research (Lindfors, 2007, 2002. The principles of how to build models and how to combine different profiles are described in the light of the research mentioned.Bayesian modelling is an analysis based on calculating probabilities in relation to a specific set of quantitative data. It is a tool for handling data and interpreting it semantically. The reliability of the analysis arises from an argumentation of which model can be selected from the model space as the basis for an interpretation, and on which arguments.Keywords: method, sloyd, Bayesian modelling, student teachersURN:NBN:no-29959

Does (Non-)Meaningful Sensori-Motor Engagement Promote Learning With Animated Physical Systems?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pouw, Wim T J L; Eielts, Charly; van Gog, Tamara; Zwaan, Rolf A.; Paas, Fred

2016-01-01

Previous research indicates that sensori-motor experience with physical systems can have a positive effect on learning. However, it is not clear whether this effect is caused by mere bodily engagement or the intrinsically meaningful information that such interaction affords in performing the

Qualitative Insights from a Canadian Multiinstitutional Research Study: In Search of Meaningful E-learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorraine M. Carter

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper reports the qualitative findings of a mixed methods research study conducted at three Canadian post-secondary institutions. Called the Meaningful E-learning or MEL project, the study was an exploration of the teaching and learning experiences of faculty and students as well as their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of e-learning. Importantly, e-learning was conceptualized as the integration of pedagogy, instructional technology, and the Internet into teaching and learning environments. Based on this definition, participants reflected on e-learning in relation to one or more of the following contexts: face-to-face (f2f classrooms in which instructional technologies (e.g. learning management systems, video and webconferencing, mobile devices, etc. are used; blended or web-enhanced learning environments; and fully online learning environments. Data collected for the study included survey data (n=1377 for students, n=187 for faculty; narrative comments (n=269 for students, n=74 for faculty; and focus groups (n=16 for students, n=33 for faculty. The latter two sets of data comprise the basis of this paper. Four major themes emerged based on the responses of students and faculty. Represented by the acronym HIDI, the themes include human connection (H, IT support (I, design (D, and institutional infrastructure (I. These themes and sub-themes are presented in the paper as well as recommendations for educators and administrators who aspire to make e-learning a pedagogically meaningful experience for both learners and their teachers.

On the performance of spectrum sharing systems with two-way relaying and multiuser diversity

KAUST Repository

Yang, Liang

2012-08-01

In this letter, we consider a spectrum sharing network with two-way relaying and multi-user diversity. More specifically, one secondary transmitter with the best channel quality is selected and splits its partial power to relay its received signals to the primary users by using the amplify-and-forward relaying protocol. We derive a tight approximation for the resulting outage probability. Based on this formula, the performance of the spectral sharing region and the cell coverage are analyzed. Numerical results are given to verify our analysis and are discussed to illustrate the advantages of our newly proposed scheme. © 1997-2012 IEEE.

Pedagogical Background for Technology Education--Meaningful Learning in Theory and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Autio, Ossi

2009-01-01

One important theme in technology education is the growing need to develop the type of pedagogies that encourage pupils in authentic and meaningful learning experiences. Often, the teaching strategies of technology education are only a matter of teaching the handling of materials and tools, and the production of mere objects does not consider how…

Using adaptive processes and adverse outcome pathways to develop meaningful, robust, and actionable environmental monitoring programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Arciszewski, Tim J; Munkittrick, Kelly R; Scrimgeour, Garry J; Dubé, Monique G; Wrona, Fred J; Hazewinkel, Rod R

2017-09-01

The primary goals of environmental monitoring are to indicate whether unexpected changes related to development are occurring in the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of ecosystems and to inform meaningful management intervention. Although achieving these objectives is conceptually simple, varying scientific and social challenges often result in their breakdown. Conceptualizing, designing, and operating programs that better delineate monitoring, management, and risk assessment processes supported by hypothesis-driven approaches, strong inference, and adverse outcome pathways can overcome many of the challenges. Generally, a robust monitoring program is characterized by hypothesis-driven questions associated with potential adverse outcomes and feedback loops informed by data. Specifically, key and basic features are predictions of future observations (triggers) and mechanisms to respond to success or failure of those predictions (tiers). The adaptive processes accelerate or decelerate the effort to highlight and overcome ignorance while preventing the potentially unnecessary escalation of unguided monitoring and management. The deployment of the mutually reinforcing components can allow for more meaningful and actionable monitoring programs that better associate activities with consequences. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:877-891. © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Meaningful Statistics in Professional Practices as a Bridge between Mathematics and Science: An Evaluation of a Design Research Project

Science.gov (United States)

Dierdorp, Adri; Bakker, Arthur; van Maanen, Jan A.; Eijkelhof, Harrie M. C.

2014-01-01

Background: Creating coherence between school subjects mathematics and science and making these school subjects meaningful are still topical challenges. This study investigates how students make meaningful connections between mathematics, statistics, science and applications when they engage in a specially developed unit that is based on…

Improve the open-circuit voltage of ZnO solar cells with inserting ZnS layers by two ways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Yunfei; Yang, Jinghai; Yang, Lili; Cao, Jian; Gao, Ming; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Wang, Zhe; Song, Hang

2013-01-01

ZnS NPs layers were deposited on ZnO NRs by two different ways. One is spin coating; the other is successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. The ZnO NRs/ZnS NPs composites were verified by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV–visible spectrophotometer; their morphologies and thicknesses were examined by scanning electron microscopic and transmission electron microscopic images. The CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) were constructed using ZnO NRs/ZnS NPs composites as photoanode and their photovoltaic characteristic was studied by J–V curves. The results indicated that the way of SILAR is more beneficial for retarding the back transfer of electrons to CdS and electrolyte than spin coating method. The open-circuit voltage increased to 0.59 V by introducing a ZnS layer through SILAR method. When ZnS NPs layer was deposited for 10 times on ZnO NRs, the conversion efficiency of QDSSC shows ∼3.3 folds increments of as-synthesized ZnO solar cell. - Graphical abstract: When ZnO nanorods were deposited by ZnS for 10 times, the conversion efficiency of QDSSC shows ∼3.3 folds increments of as-synthesized ZnO solar cell. Highlights: ► ZnS layers were deposited with two different ways. ► The way of SILAR is more beneficial for retarding the back transfer of electrons. ► The open-circuit voltage increased to 0.59 V by introducing a ZnS layer through SILAR method

Improve the open-circuit voltage of ZnO solar cells with inserting ZnS layers by two ways

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Yunfei [State Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Applications, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033 (China); Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Yang, Jinghai, E-mail: jhyang1@jlnu.edu.cn [Institute of Condensed State Physics, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000 (China); Yang, Lili; Cao, Jian [Institute of Condensed State Physics, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000 (China); Gao, Ming [State Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Applications, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033 (China); Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Institute of Condensed State Physics, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000 (China); Zhang, Zhiqiang; Wang, Zhe [Institute of Condensed State Physics, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000 (China); Song, Hang [State Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Applications, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033 (China)

2013-04-15

ZnS NPs layers were deposited on ZnO NRs by two different ways. One is spin coating; the other is successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. The ZnO NRs/ZnS NPs composites were verified by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV–visible spectrophotometer; their morphologies and thicknesses were examined by scanning electron microscopic and transmission electron microscopic images. The CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) were constructed using ZnO NRs/ZnS NPs composites as photoanode and their photovoltaic characteristic was studied by J–V curves. The results indicated that the way of SILAR is more beneficial for retarding the back transfer of electrons to CdS and electrolyte than spin coating method. The open-circuit voltage increased to 0.59 V by introducing a ZnS layer through SILAR method. When ZnS NPs layer was deposited for 10 times on ZnO NRs, the conversion efficiency of QDSSC shows ∼3.3 folds increments of as-synthesized ZnO solar cell. - Graphical abstract: When ZnO nanorods were deposited by ZnS for 10 times, the conversion efficiency of QDSSC shows ∼3.3 folds increments of as-synthesized ZnO solar cell. Highlights: ► ZnS layers were deposited with two different ways. ► The way of SILAR is more beneficial for retarding the back transfer of electrons. ► The open-circuit voltage increased to 0.59 V by introducing a ZnS layer through SILAR method.

Give me five! - reasons for two-way communication between experts and citizens in relation to air pollution risk

Science.gov (United States)

Loroño-Leturiondo, Maria; O'Hare, Paul; Cook, Simon; Hoon, Stephen R.; Illingworth, Sam

2018-04-01

Air pollution is a major environmental concern for many populations worldwide. Communication efforts so far have been based on a one-way provision of evidence and information from experts to society, and have arguably failed in their mission to foster a more aware and engaged society, or to result in cleaner air. Globally we are facing both an air quality crisis and a communication emergency. This paper focuses on the communication of air pollution risk, from the threats it poses (e.g. severe impacts to human health) to the opportunities it can create (e.g. behavioural or technological alternatives that lead to cleaner air). It supports the case for moving away from one-way communication, and identifies five key benefits of a practical two-way communication between experts and citizens in order to engender positive change and improve global air quality.

Estimating reaction rate constants from a two-step reaction: a comparison between two-way and three-way methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bijlsma, S.; Smilde, A. K.

2000-01-01

In this paper, two different spectral datasets are used in order to estimate reaction rate constants using different algorithms. Dataset 1 consists of short-wavelength near-infrared (SW NIR) spectra taken in time of the two-step epoxidation of 2,5-di-tert-butyl-1,4-benzoquinone using tert-butyl

Optimal relay selection and power allocation for cognitive two-way relaying networks

KAUST Repository

Pandarakkottilil, Ubaidulla

2012-06-01

In this paper, we present an optimal scheme for power allocation and relay selection in a cognitive radio network where a pair of cognitive (or secondary) transceiver nodes communicate with each other assisted by a set of cognitive two-way relays. The secondary nodes share the spectrum with a licensed primary user (PU), and each node is assumed to be equipped with a single transmit/receive antenna. The interference to the PU resulting from the transmission from the cognitive nodes is kept below a specified limit. We propose joint relay selection and optimal power allocation among the secondary user (SU) nodes achieving maximum throughput under transmit power and PU interference constraints. A closed-form solution for optimal allocation of transmit power among the SU transceivers and the SU relay is presented. Furthermore, numerical simulations and comparisons are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme. © 2012 IEEE.

Community Partnerships: Pathways to Meaningful Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Sarah B.; Karp, Karen S.; Lentz, Tova; Nadler, Jennifer

2013-01-01

This article showcases the benefits of the alliance the authors have established during the past two years with the Barnes Foundation to add more mathematics activities to their repertoire and to integrate more art into their mathematics lessons. Recently, they decided to focus on activities at the K-grade 2 level that could be used as an on-site…

Comparative study between EDXRF and ASTM E572 methods using two-way ANOVA

Science.gov (United States)

Krummenauer, A.; Veit, H. M.; Zoppas-Ferreira, J.

2018-03-01

Comparison with reference method is one of the necessary requirements for the validation of non-standard methods. This comparison was made using the experiment planning technique with two-way ANOVA. In ANOVA, the results obtained using the EDXRF method, to be validated, were compared with the results obtained using the ASTM E572-13 standard test method. Fisher's tests (F-test) were used to comparative study between of the elements: molybdenum, niobium, copper, nickel, manganese, chromium and vanadium. All F-tests of the elements indicate that the null hypothesis (Ho) has not been rejected. As a result, there is no significant difference between the methods compared. Therefore, according to this study, it is concluded that the EDXRF method was approved in this method comparison requirement.

Biotechnologies as a Context for Enhancing Junior High-School Students' Ability to Ask Meaningful Questions about Abstract Biological Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsher, G.; Dreyfus, A.

1999-01-01

Suggests a new approach to teaching about biochemical cellular processes by stimulating student interest in those biochemical processes that allowed for the outcomes of modern biotechnologies. Discusses the development of students' ability to ask meaningful questions about intra-cellular processes, and the resulting meaningful learning of relevant…

Ways of the Jam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brinck, Lars

In the PhD-dissertation Ways of the Jam I investigate jamming and learning as profoundly collective and improvisational matters. Bridging a theory of funk jamming with situated learning theoretical analyses of New Orleans second line, everyday leadership, and of a studio recording session...... demonstrate how looking at human activity from a jamming perspective enhances our understanding of learning as a complex collective and improvisational process. Ways of the Jam demonstrates how learning is a matter of changing improvisational participation in changing practice in analytically inseparable ways......’ of practice, on the collectivity of changing practice, on the improvisational aspects of participation, and on these analytic perspectives’ complex hegemony and subordination....

A two-way nesting procedure for an ocean model with application to the Norwegian Sea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heggelund, Yngve; Berntsen, Jarle

2000-11-01

Two-way nesting for a {sigma}-coordinate ocean model is implemented. The test case is a traveling low pressure along the west coast of Norway. Different methods for interaction between the coarse grid and the fine grid have been investigated. It is found that both a Dirichlet type and a FRS-type boundary condition for the fine grid give reasonable results for this test case. The FRS-type boundary condition gives a smoother transition between the coarse and fine grid, but more noise in the interior of the fine grid. With no feedback from the fine grid to the coarse grid, phase differences between the solutions on the two grids cause unphysical vortices to be found at the interface between the grids. (author)

Temporal analysis of social networks using three-way DEDICOM.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bader, Brett William; Harshman, Richard A. (University of Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada); Kolda, Tamara Gibson (Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA)

2006-06-01

DEDICOM is an algebraic model for analyzing intrinsically asymmetric relationships, such as the balance of trade among nations or the flow of information among organizations or individuals. It provides information on latent components in the data that can be regarded as ''properties'' or ''aspects'' of the objects, and it finds a few patterns that can be combined to describe many relationships among these components. When we apply this technique to adjacency matrices arising from directed graphs, we obtain a smaller graph that gives an idealized description of its patterns. Three-way DEDICOM is a higher-order extension of the model that has certain uniqueness properties. It allows for a third mode of the data, such as time, and permits the analysis of semantic graphs. We present an improved algorithm for computing three-way DEDICOM on sparse data and demonstrate it by applying it to the adjacency tensor of a semantic graph with time-labeled edges. Our application uses the Enron email corpus, from which we construct a semantic graph corresponding to email exchanges among Enron personnel over a series of 44 months. Meaningful patterns are recovered in which the representation of asymmetries adds insight into the social networks at Enron.

New ways of organizing innovation work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grex, Sara; Møller, Niels

2006-01-01

There is an intensified focus in innovation and companies ability to create innovation. In many companies these activities are organized by projects, but studies show this innovation is stifled in this structure. In this paper we argue that there is a need for developing alternative ways of organ......There is an intensified focus in innovation and companies ability to create innovation. In many companies these activities are organized by projects, but studies show this innovation is stifled in this structure. In this paper we argue that there is a need for developing alternative ways...... of organizing innovative activities in project-based settings. We propose the Contextual Design method as a way of both studying innovation work processes and an approach to redesign the innovation work organization. We find that the method can contribute to a better understanding of the innovation work...

Effective Two-way Communication of Environmental Hazards: Understanding Public Perception in the UK

Science.gov (United States)

Lorono-Leturiondo, Maria; O'Hare, Paul; Cook, Simon; Hoon, Stephen R.; Illingworth, Sam

2017-04-01

Climate change intensified hazards, such as floods and landslides, require exploring renewed ways of protecting at-risk communities (World Economic Forum 2016). Scientists are being encouraged to explore new pathways to work closely with affected communities in search of experiential knowledge that is able to complement and extend scientific knowledge (see for instance Whatmore and Landström 2011 and Höpner et al. 2010). Effective two-way communication of environmental hazards is, however, a challenge. Besides considering factors such as the purpose of communication, or the characteristics of the different formats; effective communication has to carefully acknowledge the personal framework of the individuals involved. Existing experiences, values, beliefs, and needs are critical determinants of the way they perceive and relate to these hazards, and in turn, of the communication process in which they are involved (Longnecker 2016 and Gibson et al. 2016). Our study builds on the need to analyze how the public perceives environmental hazards in order to establish forms of communication that work. Here we present early findings of a survey analysing the UK public's perception and outline how survey results can guide more effective two-way communication practices between scientists and affected communities. We explore the perception of environmental hazards in terms of how informed and concerned the public is, as well as how much ownership they claim over these phenomena. In order to gain a more accurate image, we study environmental hazards in relation to other risks threatening the UK, such as large-scale involuntary migration or unemployment (World Economic Forum 2016, Bord et al. 1998). We also explore information consumption in relation to environmental hazards and the public's involvement in advancing knowledge. All these questions are accompanied by an extensive demographics section that allows us to ascertain how the context or environment in which an

Standardization process for pipeline right-of-way activities: the case of TRANSPETRO's Oil Pipeline and Terminals Business Unit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ribeiro, Kassandra Senra de Morais M.; Goncalves, Bruno Martins [TRANSPETRO - PETROBRAS Transporte S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Diretoria de Terminais e Oleodutos; Almeida, Maria Fatima Ludovico de [Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio/ITUC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Instituto Tecnologico

2009-07-01

This paper describes the experience of PETROBRAS Transporte S.A. concerning the standardization process for its pipeline right-of-way (ROW) activities. This standardization initiative has been carried out within the Oil Pipelines and Terminals Standardization Program (PRONOT), focusing on planning, standardization and implementation of all norms and corporate procedures referring to TRANSPETRO's right-of-way activities. The process promoted the integration of isolated regional initiatives, a sense of unity and the creation of a learning network consisting of 60 employees. This paper presents the last phase's results concerning implementation of corporate standards, based upon achievements of previous phases. It covers the following topics: a general view of the whole process by way of introduction; the potential of integration of recent standardization results with TRANSPETRO's corporate management tools and information systems; definition of four performance indicators and their metrics related to pipeline right-of-way management, as well as a corporate standard for the requirements for contracting services related to rights-of-way inspection, maintenance and communication; challenges, barriers and benefits perceived by the team responsible for formulating and implementing standards and procedures in TRANSPETRO's Oil Pipelines and Terminals Unit. (author)

Four-Way Relaying in Wireless Cellular Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Huaping; Popovski, Petar; De Carvalho, Elisabeth

2013-01-01

Two-way relaying in wireless systems has initiated a large research effort during the past few years. Nevertheless, it represents only a specific traffic pattern and it is of interest to investigate other traffic patterns where such a simultaneous processing of information flows can bring...... performance advantage. In this paper we consider a \\emph{four-way relaying} scenario, where each of the two Mobile Stations (MSs) has a two-way connection to the same Base Station (BS), while each connection is through a dedicated Relay Station (RS). The RSs are placed in such a way that one RS...... of the new scheme for Decode-and-Forward (DF) operational model for the RS. We compare the performance with a state-of-the-art reference scheme, based on two-way relaying with DF. The results indicate that the achievable rate regions are significantly enlarged for the new scheme....

Meaningful Gamification and Students' Motivation: A Strategy for Scaffolding Reading Material

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Lynette Tan Yuen

2018-01-01

Gamification is an innovative pedagogical strategy where digital games are used in an educational setting and as an aid to learning. Recent publications on gamification in the classroom investigate the concept of "meaningful gamification," where, in line with Ryan and Deci's self-determination theory, competency, autonomy, and…

Pilot Study of Flow and Meaningfulness as Psychological Learning Concepts in Patient Education: A Short Report

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nicic, Sara; Nørby, Karina; Bruun Johansen, Clea

2014-01-01

of this study was to investigate the applicability of these concepts of positive psychological theory in a patient education setting. Methods: This pilot study combines participating observation of group based patient education and 8 qualitative interviews with 4 patients with type 2 diabetes. Meaning......Abstract Background: The aim of this pilot study was to explore patient experiences of meaningfulness and flow related to group based patient education in type 2 diabetes. Meaningfulness and flow are underexposed as psychological learning concepts in patient education, and the ambition...

Creating Visual Design and Meaningful Audience Experiences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steijn, Arthur; Ion Wille, Jakob

2014-01-01

The main purpose of the EU Interreg funded Classical Composition Music and Experience Design project, was to rethink audience experiences and develop knowledge of applied technologies connected to classical music and live concerts. The project and its main objectives was motivated by at least thee...... conditions. The most important being 1) the development in new technology creating new expectations in audiences attending cultural events, including classical concerts, 2) resent decline in audiences attending classical music and 3) a will to strengthen relations between cultural institutions, creative...... businesses and educational institutions in the Øresund region (including the city and surroundings of Malmø and Copenhagen). Therefore the project Classical Composition Music and Experience Design focused on developing new and meaningful audience experiences where live classical music meets new digital...

Building the Concept of Acceleration - A Proposal for Promoting the Meaningful Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Ricardo Ledur

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This work aims to present a sequence of activities to help the students concept of acceleration. It was developed with a group of eighth grade elementary school sutdents in a state school of Bom Princípio, RS. The physical quantities of kinematics are presents on the day-a-day but in classroom is perceived that students, in general, have difficulties in developing and understanding of concepts related to that topic. Previous experiences that the student experiences in their daily lives led him to build their own conceptions to explain the phenomena observed, and in school, are faced with the scientifically accepted concepts. These preconceptions are strongly rooted in the cognitive structure of the learner, are not easily replaced and added to the lack of contextualization of content taught, unattractive learning resources and teaching that emphasizes rote learning are factors that contribute to failure of learning. The activities are based on the principles of meaningful learning and focused on active student participation. A pre test for identifying knowledge and preconceptions was applied as well as the post-test assessment of knowledge building. Figures with strobe photographs and video were used as prerequisites for the development of the new concept organizers. Later, the students elaborated and executed projects using resources of shooting and sequential shots to apply the concepts involved in this study. The results observed during the didatical sequence indicate that the occurrence of learning of the concepts of kinematics.

Ways optimization physical activity students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasilij Sutula

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: on the basis of the analysis of results of poll of students, first, to define structure and the importance of the factors influencing formation of motivation at them to sports and sports activity, secondly, to allocate possible subjects for extension of the maintenance of theoretical and methodical-practical components of sports formation of student's youth. Material and Methods: the study involved students of first and second courses of the Institute for training bodies and the Faculty of Law of the National University №9 Yaroslav the Wise and the students of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts and Zhytomyr State University named after Ivan Franko. Results: it is established that during training at national law university interests of students concerning factors which motivate them to sports and sports activity significantly change. The analyses data testify that a key factor which prevents students to be engaged in sports and sports activity, lack of free time is. It is proved that students consider necessary to receive information on the physical state. Conclusions: results of research allowed allocating the most significant factors which motivate students to be engaged in sports and sports activity. It is established subjects of theoretical and methodical and practical components of sports education which interest students of NLU and KNUCA and ZSU. It is shown that for students of Law University of importance topic of theoretical and methodological and practical components of physical education strongly depends on the year of their training.

All-optical two-way relaying free-space optical communications for HAP-based broadband backhaul networks

Science.gov (United States)

Vu, Minh Q.; Nguyen, Nga T. T.; Pham, Hien T. T.; Dang, Ngoc T.

2018-03-01

High-altitude platforms (HAPs) are flexible, non-pollutant and cost-effective infrastructures compared to satellite or old terrestrial systems. They are being researched and developed widely in Europe, USA, Japan, Korea, and so on. However, the current limited data rates and the overload of radio frequency (RF) spectrum are problems which the developers for HAPs are confronting because most of them use RF links to communicate with the ground stations (GSs) or each other. In this paper, we propose an all-optical two-way half-duplex relaying free-space optical (FSO) communication for HAP-based backhaul networks, which connect the base transceiver station (BTS) to the core network (CN) via a single HAP. Our proposed backhaul solution can be deployed quickly and flexibly for disaster relief and for serving users in both urban environments and remote areas. The key subsystem of HAP is an optical regenerate-and-forward (ORF) equipped with an optical hard-limiter (OHL) and an optical XOR gate to perform all-optical processing and help mitigate the background noise. In addition, two-way half-duplex relaying can be provided thanks to the use of network coding scheme. The closed-form expression for the bit error rate (BER) of our proposed system under the effect of path loss, atmospheric turbulence, and noise induced by the background light is formulated. The numerical results are demonstrated to prove the feasibility of our proposed system with the verification by using Monte-Carlo (M-C) simulations.

Performance analysis of amplify-and-forward two-way relaying with co-channel interference and channel estimation error

KAUST Repository

Yang, Liang

2013-04-01

In this paper, we consider the performance of a two-way amplify-and-forward relaying network (AF TWRN) in the presence of unequal power co-channel interferers (CCI). Specifically, we consider AF TWRN with an interference-limited relay and two noisy-nodes with channel estimation error and CCI. We derive the approximate signal-to-interference plus noise ratio expressions and then use these expressions to evaluate the outage probability and error probability. Numerical results show that the approximate closed-form expressions are very close to the exact ones. © 2013 IEEE.

Multi-pair cognitive two-way relaying and power allocation under imperfect CSI

KAUST Repository

Pandarakkottilil, Ubaidulla; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Aï ssa, Sonia

2013-01-01

In this paper, we present a robust joint relay precoder design and transceiver power allocation for a cognitive radio network under imperfect channel state information. The secondary (or cognitive) network consists of multiple pairs of single-antenna transceiver nodes and a non-regenerative two-way relay with multiple antennas which aids the intra-pair communication process of the transceiver nodes. The secondary nodes share the spectrum with a licensed primary user (PU) while guaranteeing that the interference to the PU receiver is maintained below a specified threshold. The proposed robust design is based on the minimization of the sum mean-square error (MSE) of the transceiver nodes under constraints on the secondary users' transmit powers and interference to PU the receiver. Though the original problem is non-convex, we show that the proposed design can be solved using alternating optimization of convex subproblems which have analytic or efficient numerical solutions. We illustrate the performance of the proposed designs through some selected numerical simulations. © 2013 IEEE.

Multi-pair cognitive two-way relaying and power allocation under imperfect CSI

KAUST Repository

Pandarakkottilil, Ubaidulla

2013-06-01

In this paper, we present a robust joint relay precoder design and transceiver power allocation for a cognitive radio network under imperfect channel state information. The secondary (or cognitive) network consists of multiple pairs of single-antenna transceiver nodes and a non-regenerative two-way relay with multiple antennas which aids the intra-pair communication process of the transceiver nodes. The secondary nodes share the spectrum with a licensed primary user (PU) while guaranteeing that the interference to the PU receiver is maintained below a specified threshold. The proposed robust design is based on the minimization of the sum mean-square error (MSE) of the transceiver nodes under constraints on the secondary users\\' transmit powers and interference to PU the receiver. Though the original problem is non-convex, we show that the proposed design can be solved using alternating optimization of convex subproblems which have analytic or efficient numerical solutions. We illustrate the performance of the proposed designs through some selected numerical simulations. © 2013 IEEE.

Cognitive two-way relay beamforming: Design with resilience to channel state uncertainties

KAUST Repository

Ubaidulla, P.

2016-07-26

In this paper, we propose a robust distributed relay beamformer design for cognitive radio network operating under uncertainties in the available channel state information. The cognitive network consists of a pair of transceivers and a set of non-regenerative two-way relays that assist the communication between the transceiver pair. The secondary nodes share the spectrum with a licensed primary user node while ensuring that the interference to the primary receiver is maintained below a certain threshold. The proposed robust design maximizes the worst-case signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio at the secondary transceivers while satisfying constraints on the interference to the primary user and on the total relay transmit power. Though the robust design problem is not a convex problem in its original form, we show that it can be reformulated as a convex optimization problem, which can be solved efficiently. Numerical results are provided and illustrate the merits of the proposed design for various operating conditions and parameters. © 2016 IEEE.

On the thermal degradation of the two way memory effect in Cu-Al-Be alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores-Zuniga, H.; Rios-Jara, D.

1994-01-01

The mechanisms associated to such a degradation of the Two Way Shape Memory Effect (TWSME) are still being discussed. In Cu-Al-Ni alloys two different steps, with different rates of degradation of the TWSME, were observed on aging at temperatures between 200 and 220 C. The first step was associated with the annihilation of the dislocations created during the training process. The second step was attributed to an oriented bainitic type precipitation. In Cu-Zn-Al alloys, the observed degradation of the TWSME with aging at temperatures between 100 and 140 C, was also associated with two mechanisms: first to the annihilation of dislocations and next to the precipitation of an α phase. In the present work, the same type of study was performed for Cu-Al-Be alloys. However, in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations of the effect of temperature were included, which revealed the actual mechanisms driving the TWSME degradation process

Two-way DF relaying assisted D2D communication: ergodic rate and power allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Yiyang; Wang, Yuxi; Jin, Shi; Wong, Kai-Kit; Zhu, Hongbo

2017-12-01

In this paper, we investigate the ergodic rate for a device-to-device (D2D) communication system aided by a two-way decode-and-forward (DF) relay node. We first derive closed-form expressions for the ergodic rate of the D2D link under asymmetric and symmetric cases, respectively. We subsequently discuss two special scenarios including weak interference case and high signal-to-noise ratio case. Then we derive the tight approximations for each of the considered scenarios. Assuming that each transmitter only has access to its own statistical channel state information (CSI), we further derive closed-form power allocation strategy to improve the system performance according to the analytical results of the ergodic rate. Furthermore, some insights are provided for the power allocation strategy based on the analytical results. The strategies are easy to compute and require to know only the channel statistics. Numerical results show the accuracy of the analysis results under various conditions and test the availability of the power allocation strategy.

Two Ways of Learning Brand Associations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.M.J. van Osselaer (Stijn); C. Janiszewski (Chris)

2001-01-01

textabstractFour studies show that consumers have not one but two distinct learning processes that allow them to use brand names and other product features to predict consumption benefits. The first learning process is a relatively unfocused process in which all stimulus elements get

Teaching English through Stories: A Meaningful and Fun Way for Children to Learn the Language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nohora Inés Porras González

2010-04-01

Full Text Available This article presents the results of a study on utilizing stories for teaching English as a foreign language to children in first, second and third grades. It was carried out in a Colombian public elementary school in Bucaramanga, Colombia. The proposal was initiated by a group of student-teachers at Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Seccional Bucaramanga. During the research process the student-teachers were required to plan the course syllabus, create their own stories according to the children's interests and likes, plan the lessons, and collect and analyze data. Although the student-teachers worked in different grade levels, the results of the study present similarities such as the children's motivation when the stories were told or read, increased participation in the different activities, comprehension of the stories, and acquisition of the new vocabulary.

The consistency and complementarity between critical meaningful learning theory and the epistemology of Paul Feyerabend

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Damasio

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Researchers in science teaching have advocated concomitant education about and of science. To approach the nature and history of science in basic education is necessary to have an epistemological approach that can go between of rationalism of Bunge and relativism of Feyerabend. In this paper, it is argued that Feyerabend's epistemological stance is that more can help promote meaningful learning critical, so as to form inquiring, flexible, creative, innovative, tolerant and liberal people. In addition, the suggestions Feyerabend's epistemology also complement the Theory of Meaningful Learning Critical to propose a curriculum and a context for the principles of the theory are in science classrooms.

Beyond Needs Analysis: Soft Systems Methodology for Meaningful Collaboration in EAP Course Design

Science.gov (United States)

Tajino, Akira; James, Robert; Kijima, Kyoichi

2005-01-01

Designing an EAP course requires collaboration among various concerned stakeholders, including students, subject teachers, institutional administrators and EAP teachers themselves. While needs analysis is often considered fundamental to EAP, alternative research methodologies may be required to facilitate meaningful collaboration between these…

Multi-way Communications: An Information Theoretic Perspective

KAUST Repository

Chaaban, Anas

2015-09-15

Multi-way communication is a means to significantly improve the spectral efficiency of wireless networks. For instance, in a bi-directional (or two-way) communication channel, two users can simultaneously use the transmission medium to exchange information, thus achieving up to twice the rate that would be achieved had each user transmitted separately. Multi-way communications provides an overview on the developments in this research area since it has been initiated by Shannon. The basic two-way communication channel is considered first, followed by the two-way relay channel obtained by the deployment of an additional cooperative relay node to improve the overall communication performance. This basic setup is then extended to multi-user systems. For all these setups, fundamental limits on the achievable rates are reviewed, thereby making use of a linear high-SNR deterministic channel model to provide valuable insights which are helpful when discussing the coding schemes for Gaussian channel models in detail. Several tools and communication strategies are used in the process, including (but not limited to) computation, signal-space alignment, and nested-lattice codes. Finally, extensions of multi-way communication channels to multiple antenna settings are discussed. © 2015 A. Chaaban and A. Sezgin.

Two ways factorial design for round robin test of anemometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cuerva, A.

1998-01-01

This work presents a way to carry out an inter-comparison between different cup anemometers that are tested in different wind tunnels. The method applied is known as Factorial design and allows determining the influence in the test of different factors in this case the anemometer itself and the wind tunnel where it is tested. (Author) 4 refs

Two Ways Factorial Design for round robin test of anemometers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cuerva, A.

1998-07-01

This work presents a way to carry out an inter-comparison between different cup anemometers that are tested in different wind tunnels. The method applied is known as Factorial design and allows determining the influence in the test of different factors in this case the anemometer itself and the wind tunnel where it is tested. (Author) 4 refs.

Understanding a two-sided coin : antecedents and consequences of a decomposed product advantage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rijsdijk, S.A.; Langerak, F.; Hultink, E.J.

2011-01-01

This paper investigates the antecedents and consequences of two product advantage components: product meaningfulness and product superiority. Product meaningfulness concerns the benefits that users receive from buying and using a new product, whereas product superiority concerns the extent to which

Multi-way Communications: An Information Theoretic Perspective

KAUST Repository

Chaaban, Anas; Sezgin, Aydin

2015-01-01

Multi-way communication is a means to significantly improve the spectral efficiency of wireless networks. For instance, in a bi-directional (or two-way) communication channel, two users can simultaneously use the transmission medium to exchange

Source-receiver two-way wave extrapolation for prestack exploding-reflector modelling and migration

KAUST Repository

Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

2014-10-08

Most modern seismic imaging methods separate input data into parts (shot gathers). We develop a formulation that is able to incorporate all available data at once while numerically propagating the recorded multidimensional wavefield forward or backward in time. This approach has the potential for generating accurate images free of artiefacts associated with conventional approaches. We derive novel high-order partial differential equations in the source-receiver time domain. The fourth-order nature of the extrapolation in time leads to four solutions, two of which correspond to the incoming and outgoing P-waves and reduce to the zero-offset exploding-reflector solutions when the source coincides with the receiver. A challenge for implementing two-way time extrapolation is an essential singularity for horizontally travelling waves. This singularity can be avoided by limiting the range of wavenumbers treated in a spectral-based extrapolation. Using spectral methods based on the low-rank approximation of the propagation symbol, we extrapolate only the desired solutions in an accurate and efficient manner with reduced dispersion artiefacts. Applications to synthetic data demonstrate the accuracy of the new prestack modelling and migration approach.

Meaningful, entertaining, popular and ‘Bavarian’: art into design in nineteenth century Munich

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Stefan Muthesius

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Among European regional stereotypes few come across as strongly and consistently as ‘Bavaria’. Its strength is derived from the ways in which it appears to be firmly and comprehensively grounded in its land and its people. This article traces the way in which some of the stereotype’s associated forms and images, principally those related to the domestic environment, were first conceived during the nineteenth century. The principal claim is that it was the nineteenth century artists, architects and designers in the Kunststadt Munich, who, helped by the critics, arrived at very specific valorisations of their designs, which could then be applied in an essentialist way to all artefacts of the region, old or new. The article divides the Munich design activities into two phases. During the 1850s designers aimed for a poetic and ‘volkstümlich / popular’ kind of decoration of common objects, including scenes from Bavarian ‘folk’ poetry. In the second phase, during the 1870s and 1880s, interest turned more directly to the domestic environment of Alpine houses, valorising a plain wooden character. Clearly, an absolute belief in in a primeval and unchanging ‘Bavaria’ cannot be entertained any more. But neither should one classify it all as modern kitsch. The latter attitude must be the reason why the subject has hardly been touched on in the copious art histories of Munich so far.

ON THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE LIFE REGARD INDEX (LRI) - A MEASURE OF MEANINGFUL LIFE - AN EVALUATION IN 3 INDEPENDENT SAMPLES BASED ON THE DUTCH VERSION

NARCIS (Netherlands)

DEBATS, DL; VANDERLUBBE, PM; WEZEMAN, FRA

The current study presents data on the reliability and validity of the Life Regard Index (LRI), a 28-item scale which was designed to assess positive life regard, degree of experienced meaningfulness of one's life. The theoretical LRI structure, distinguishing two dimensions framework and

Bionomics of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus albimanus (Diptera: Culicidae in two villages of the Wayúu people, Riohacha, La Guajira, Colombia

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Airleth Sofía Díaz

2017-03-01

Conclusion: Anopheles albimanus was the only collected species found in water supply deposits in the villages Marbacella and El Horno. Given that the species is the main vector for malaria in the area, we suggest the implementation of a community-based entomological surveillance system which should respect Wayúu cosmology and routine activities such as fishing.

The dynamics of meaningful social interactions and the emergence of collective knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Dankulov, Marija Mitrović; Melnik, Roderick; Tadić, Bosiljka

2015-07-01

Collective knowledge as a social value may arise in cooperation among actors whose individual expertise is limited. The process of knowledge creation requires meaningful, logically coordinated interactions, which represents a challenging problem to physics and social dynamics modeling. By combining two-scale dynamics model with empirical data analysis from a well-known Questions & Answers system Mathematics, we show that this process occurs as a collective phenomenon in an enlarged network (of actors and their artifacts) where the cognitive recognition interactions are properly encoded. The emergent behavior is quantified by the information divergence and innovation advancing of knowledge over time and the signatures of self-organization and knowledge sharing communities. These measures elucidate the impact of each cognitive element and the individual actor’s expertise in the collective dynamics. The results are relevant to stochastic processes involving smart components and to collaborative social endeavors, for instance, crowdsourcing scientific knowledge production with online games.

Effects of study time and meaningfulness on environmental context-dependent recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Isarida, Takeo; Isarida, Toshiko K; Sakai, Tetsuya

2012-11-01

In two experiments, we examined whether the size of place-context-dependent recognition decreased with study time and with the meaningfulness of the to-be-remembered materials. A group of 80 undergraduates intentionally studied a list of words in a short (1.5 s per item) or a long (4.0 s per item) study-time condition (Exp. 1). Another 40 undergraduates studied lists consisting of words and nonwords in the long-study-time condition (Exp. 2). After a short retention interval, recognition for the targets was tested in the same or in a different context. Context was manipulated by means of the combination of place, subsidiary task, and experimenter. Significant context-dependent recognition discrimination was found for words in the short-study-time condition (Exp. 1), but not in the long-study-time condition (Exps. 1 and 2). Significant effects were found as well for nonwords, even in the long-study-time condition (Exp. 2). These results are explained well by an outshining account: that is, by principles of outshining and encoding specificity.

Exploring Associations among Writing Self-Perceptions, Writing Abilities, and Native Language of English-Spanish Two-Way Immersion Students

Science.gov (United States)

Neugebauer, Sabina R.; Howard, Elizabeth R.

2015-01-01

The current study, with 409 fourth graders in two-way immersion programs, explored the writing self-perceptions of native English and native Spanish speakers and the relationship between self-perceptions and writing performance. An adapted version of the Writer Self-Perception Scale (WSPS) was administered along with a writing task. Native English…

Outage Performance of Decode-and-Forward in Two-Way Relaying with Outdated CSI

KAUST Repository

Hyadi, Amal

2015-01-07

In this paper, we analyze the outage behavior of decode-and-forward relaying in the context of selective two-way cooperative systems. First, a new relay selection metric is proposed to take into consideration both transmission rates and instantaneous link conditions between cooperating nodes. Afterwards, the outage probability of the proposed system is derived for Nakagami-m fading channels in the case when perfect channel state information is available and then extended to the more realistic scenario where the available channel state information (CSI) is outdated due to fast fading. New expressions for the outage probability are obtained, and the impact of imperfect CSI on the performance is evaluated. Illustrative numerical results, Monte Carlo simulations, and comparisons with similar approaches are presented to assess the accuracy of our analytical derivations and confirm the performance gain of the proposed scheme.

Stimulating Deep Learning Using Active Learning Techniques

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Yew, Tee Meng; Dawood, Fauziah K. P.; a/p S. Narayansany, Kannaki; a/p Palaniappa Manickam, M. Kamala; Jen, Leong Siok; Hoay, Kuan Chin

2016-01-01

When students and teachers behave in ways that reinforce learning as a spectator sport, the result can often be a classroom and overall learning environment that is mostly limited to transmission of information and rote learning rather than deep approaches towards meaningful construction and application of knowledge. A group of college instructors…

Integrating Concept Mapping into Information Systems Education for Meaningful Learning and Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wei; Yue, Kwok-Bun

2017-01-01

Concept map (CM) is a theoretically sound yet easy to learn tool and can be effectively used to represent knowledge. Even though many disciplines have adopted CM as a teaching and learning tool to improve learning effectiveness, its application in IS curriculum is sparse. Meaningful learning happens when one iteratively integrates new concepts and…

Meaningful Learning in the Teaching of Culture: The Project Based Learning Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Kean, Ang Chooi; Kwe, Ngu Moi

2014-01-01

This paper reports on a collaborative effort taken by a team of three teacher educators in using the Project Based Learning (PBL) approach in the teaching of Japanese culture with the aim to investigate the presence of actual "meaningful learning" among 15 students of a 12-Week Preparatory Japanese Language course under a teacher…

A single-dose, randomized, cross-over, two-way, open-label study for comparing the absorption of boswellic acids and its lecithin formulation.

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Riva, Antonella; Morazzoni, Paolo; Artaria, Christian; Allegrini, Pietro; Meins, Jürgen; Savio, Daniele; Appendino, Giovanni; Schubert-Zsilavecz, Manfred; Abdel-Tawab, Mona

2016-11-15

The oral administration of the gum resin extracts of Indian frankincense (Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr) results in very low plasma concentrations of boswellic acids (BAs), being far below the pharmacologically active concentrations required in vitro for anti-inflammatory activity. For that reason the use of Indian frankincense in clinical practice and pharmaceutical development has substantially lagged behind. Recently the application of new formulation technologies resulted in a formulation of frankincense extract with lecithin, which revealed improved absorption and tissue penetration of BAs in a rodent study, leading for the first time to plasma concentrations of BAs in the range of their anti-inflammatory activity. In order to verify these encouraging results in humans, the absorption of a standardized Boswellia serrata extract (BE) and its lecithin formulation (CSP) was comparatively investigated in healthy volunteers. According to a randomized cross-over design with two treatments, two sequences and two periods, 12 volunteers alternatively received the lecithin-formulated Boswellia extract (CSP) or the non-formulated Boswellia extract (BE) at a dosage of 2×250mg capsules. The plasma concentrations of the six major BAs (KBA, AKBA, βBA, αBA, AβBA, AαBA) were determined using LC/MS. With the exception of KBA, a significantly higher (both in terms of weight-to-weight and molar comparison) and quicker absorption of BAs from the lecithin formulation was observed, leading to C max in the range required for the interaction with their molecular targets. These findings pave the way to further studies evaluating the clinical potential of BAs, and verify the beneficial effect of lecithin formulation to improve the absorption of poorly soluble phytochemicals. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Engaging in Work Even When It Is Meaningless: Positive Affective Disposition and Meaningful Work Interact in Relation to Work Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Steger, Michael F.; Littman-Ovadia, Hadassah; Miller, Michal; Menger, Lauren; Rothmann, Sebastiaan

2013-01-01

The central aim of the present study was to assess the predictive value of affective disposition and meaningful work on employee engagement. Specifically, it was proposed that meaningful work moderates the relationship between affective disposition and engagement. Questionnaires were completed by 252 white-collar employees, working in a variety of…

Identifying biologically meaningful hot-weather events using threshold temperatures that affect life-history.

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Susan J Cunningham

Full Text Available Increases in the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves are frequently evoked in climate change predictions. However, there is no universal definition of a heat wave. Recent, intense hot weather events have caused mass mortalities of birds, bats and even humans, making the definition and prediction of heat wave events that have the potential to impact populations of different species an urgent priority. One possible technique for defining biologically meaningful heat waves is to use threshold temperatures (T(thresh above which known fitness costs are incurred by species of interest. We set out to test the utility of this technique using T(thresh values that, when exceeded, affect aspects of the fitness of two focal southern African bird species: the southern pied babbler Turdiodes bicolor (T(thresh = 35.5 °C and the common fiscal Lanius collaris (T(thresh = 33 °C. We used these T(thresh values to analyse trends in the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves of magnitude relevant to the focal species, as well as the annual number of hot days (maximum air temperature > T(thresh, in north-western South Africa between 1961 and 2010. Using this technique, we were able to show that, while all heat wave indices increased during the study period, most rapid increases for both species were in the annual number of hot days and in the maximum intensity (and therefore intensity variance of biologically meaningful heat waves. Importantly, we also showed that warming trends were not uniform across the study area and that geographical patterns in warming allowed both areas of high risk and potential climate refugia to be identified. We discuss the implications of the trends we found for our focal species, and the utility of the T(thresh technique as a conservation tool.

Problem-based Learning (PBL in Sociolinguistics as a Way of Encouraging Active Learning

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Engku Ibrahim Engku Haliza

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The major concern of this paper is to advocate the integration of PBL strategies in classroom instruction as a way of promoting active learning. It is undoubted that the benefits of problem-based learning (PBL are numerous. In the sciences, PBL has been well integrated in the curriculum. This research reports of an experience of integrating problem-based learning in an introductory Sociolinguistics course for 60 undergraduates of a Bachelors of English programme through a semester that ran for 14 weeks. A focused group interview and questionnaire were used to find out the perceptions of the students undergoing the hybrid PBL course. The findings of this study reveal that students generally enjoyed the PBL approach and found that they had little choice but to become active learners. Some challenges faced by the learners were also highlighted. These findings have implications for the integration of PBL in the field of social sciences.