The Use of a Metacognitive Tool in an Online Social Supportive Learning Environment: An Activity Theory Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Ray Earl

2010-01-01

This investigation is an exploratory study of the use of a metacognitive software tool in a social supportive learning environment. The tool combined metacognitive knowledge and regulation functionality embedded within the content of an eight week online graduate education course. Twenty-three learners, who were practicing teachers, used the tool.…

Coastal On-line Assessment and Synthesis Tool 2.0

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Richard; Navard, Andrew; Nguyen, Beth

2011-01-01

COAST (Coastal On-line Assessment and Synthesis Tool) is a 3D, open-source Earth data browser developed by leveraging and enhancing previous NASA open-source tools. These tools use satellite imagery and elevation data in a way that allows any user to zoom from orbit view down into any place on Earth, and enables the user to experience Earth terrain in a visually rich 3D view. The benefits associated with taking advantage of an open-source geo-browser are that it is free, extensible, and offers a worldwide developer community that is available to provide additional development and improvement potential. What makes COAST unique is that it simplifies the process of locating and accessing data sources, and allows a user to combine them into a multi-layered and/or multi-temporal visual analytical look into possible data interrelationships and coeffectors for coastal environment phenomenology. COAST provides users with new data visual analytic capabilities. COAST has been upgraded to maximize use of open-source data access, viewing, and data manipulation software tools. The COAST 2.0 toolset has been developed to increase access to a larger realm of the most commonly implemented data formats used by the coastal science community. New and enhanced functionalities that upgrade COAST to COAST 2.0 include the development of the Temporal Visualization Tool (TVT) plug-in, the Recursive Online Remote Data-Data Mapper (RECORD-DM) utility, the Import Data Tool (IDT), and the Add Points Tool (APT). With these improvements, users can integrate their own data with other data sources, and visualize the resulting layers of different data types (such as spatial and spectral, for simultaneous visual analysis), and visualize temporal changes in areas of interest.

Adoption of online health management tools among healthy older adults: An exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zettel-Watson, Laura; Tsukerman, Dmitry

2016-06-01

As the population ages and chronic diseases abound, overburdened healthcare systems will increasingly require individuals to manage their own health. Online health management tools, quickly increasing in popularity, have the potential to diminish or even replace in-person contact with health professionals, but overall efficacy and usage trends are unknown. The current study explored perceptions and usage patterns among users of online health management tools, and identified barriers and barrier-breakers among non-users. An online survey was completed by 169 computer users (aged 50+). Analyses revealed that a sizable minority (37%) of participants use online health management tools and most users (89%) are satisfied with these tools, but a limited range of tools are being used and usage occurs in relatively limited domains. Improved awareness and education for online health management tools could enhance people's abilities to remain at home as they age, reducing the financial burden on formal assistance programs. © The Author(s) 2014.

Article Commentary: Online Learning Tools as Supplements for Basic and Clinical Science Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew S. Ellman

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Undergraduate medical educators are increasingly incorporating online learning tools into basic and clinical science curricula. In this paper, we explore the diversity of online learning tools and consider the range of applications for these tools in classroom and bedside learning. Particular advantages of these tools are highlighted, such as delivering foundational knowledge as part of the “flipped classroom” pedagogy and for depicting unusual physical examination findings and advanced clinical communication skills. With accelerated use of online learning, educators and administrators need to consider pedagogic and practical challenges posed by integrating online learning into individual learning activities, courses, and curricula as a whole. We discuss strategies for faculty development and the role of school-wide resources for supporting and using online learning. Finally, we consider the role of online learning in interprofessional, integrated, and competency-based applications among other contemporary trends in medical education are considered.

Workplace wellness using online learning tools in a healthcare setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Blake, Holly; Gartshore, Emily

2016-09-01

The aim was to develop and evaluate an online learning tool for use with UK healthcare employees, healthcare educators and healthcare students, to increase knowledge of workplace wellness as an important public health issue. A 'Workplace Wellness' e-learning tool was developed and peer-reviewed by 14 topic experts. This focused on six key areas relating to workplace wellness: work-related stress, musculoskeletal disorders, diet and nutrition, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption. Each key area provided current evidence-based information on causes and consequences, access to UK government reports and national statistics, and guidance on actions that could be taken to improve health within a workplace setting. 188 users (93.1% female, age 18-60) completed online knowledge questionnaires before (n = 188) and after (n = 88) exposure to the online learning tool. Baseline knowledge of workplace wellness was poor (n = 188; mean accuracy 47.6%, s.d. 11.94). Knowledge significantly improved from baseline to post-intervention (mean accuracy = 77.5%, s.d. 13.71) (t(75) = -14.801, p online learning, indicating scope for development of further online packages relating to other important health parameters. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Designing and Implementing an Online GIS Tool for Schools: The Finnish Case of the PaikkaOppi Project

Science.gov (United States)

Riihelä, Juha; Mäki, Sanna

2015-01-01

This article describes initiatives implemented in Finland to create an online learning environment for studying geographic information systems (GIS). A development project produced an online GIS tool called PaikkaOppi, aimed at promoting GIS studies and spatial thinking skills in upper secondary schools. The project is reviewed through analysis of…

Online analysis of potassium fertilizers by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groisman, Y.; Gaft, M.

2010-01-01

Presently, online analysis in potassium fertilizers industry is performed by Natural Radioactivity Analyzers. Laser Distance Spectrometry (LDS) has tested, by laboratory scale, the possibility of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique implementation for online fertilizers production control. The main advantage of the system comparing to the existing technique is the principal possibility to analyze all relevant elements, such as K, Na, Mg, and not only K40 isotope as done in natural radiation analytical systems. Good correlations between online LIBS results with chemical analysis data of K, Na and Mg impurities of samples from Russia, Belarus and Israel demonstrate that LIBS system is a perspective tool for online control of those elements in field conditions.

UBIQUITOUS, FREE, AND EFFICIENT ONLINE COLLABORATION TOOLS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jace HARGIS

2008-10-01

Full Text Available This article provides an overview of free, online tools that make collaboration effective, efficient, and engaging. Each tool is available world-wide wherever there is access to the internet. These tools help create a more collaborative environment because they allow for voice, video, text, simultaneous editing, and immediate feedback. The tools presented are easy to use, user friendly, and have online support available if needed. Methods for using the tools are suggested, and examples of how they have been used by the authors are discussed. Professional presentations, instructional activities, meetings, and preparing manuscripts or other collaborative documents can all be developed in collaborative online meetings using Skype, Google tools including Talk, Chat, Calendar, Docs, and Notebooks, and Second Life. These may also be used to enhance education in distance learning or on campus classes. The features, functionality, and intuitive ease of use promote collaborative efforts, increasing the effective and efficient use of time while decreasing costs. Hyperlinks are provided for tools so users can determine technology specifications, download necessary files, learn more about their capabilities, and locate help or support information.

LHCb online infrastructure monitoring tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Granado Cardoso, L.; Gaspar, C.; Haen, C.; Neufeld, N.; Varela, F.; Galli, D.

2012-01-01

The Online System of the LHCb experiment at CERN is composed of a very large number of PCs: around 1500 in a CPU farm for performing the High Level Trigger; around 170 for the control system, running the SCADA system - PVSS; and several others for performing data monitoring, reconstruction, storage, and infrastructure tasks, like databases, etc. Some PCs run Linux, some run Windows but all of them need to be remotely controlled and monitored to make sure they are correctly running and to be able, for example, to reboot them whenever necessary. A set of tools was developed in order to centrally monitor the status of all PCs and PVSS Projects needed to run the experiment: a Farm Monitoring and Control (FMC) tool, which provides the lower level access to the PCs, and a System Overview Tool (developed within the Joint Controls Project - JCOP), which provides a centralized interface to the FMC tool and adds PVSS project monitoring and control. The implementation of these tools has provided a reliable and efficient way to manage the system, both during normal operations as well as during shutdowns, upgrades or maintenance operations. This paper will present the particular implementation of this tool in the LHCb experiment and the benefits of its usage in a large scale heterogeneous system

SU-F-BRB-07: A Plan Comparison Tool to Ensure Robustness and Deliverability in Online-Adaptive Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, P; Labby, Z; Bayliss, R A; Geurts, M; Bayouth, J

2015-01-01

Purpose: To develop a plan comparison tool that will ensure robustness and deliverability through analysis of baseline and online-adaptive radiotherapy plans using similarity metrics. Methods: The ViewRay MRIdian treatment planning system allows export of a plan file that contains plan and delivery information. A software tool was developed to read and compare two plans, providing information and metrics to assess their similarity. In addition to performing direct comparisons (e.g. demographics, ROI volumes, number of segments, total beam-on time), the tool computes and presents histograms of derived metrics (e.g. step-and-shoot segment field sizes, segment average leaf gaps). Such metrics were investigated for their ability to predict that an online-adapted plan reasonably similar to a baseline plan where deliverability has already been established. Results: In the realm of online-adaptive planning, comparing ROI volumes offers a sanity check to verify observations found during contouring. Beyond ROI analysis, it has been found that simply editing contours and re-optimizing to adapt treatment can produce a delivery that is substantially different than the baseline plan (e.g. number of segments increased by 31%), with no changes in optimization parameters and only minor changes in anatomy. Currently the tool can quickly identify large omissions or deviations from baseline expectations. As our online-adaptive patient population increases, we will continue to develop and refine quantitative acceptance criteria for adapted plans and relate them historical delivery QA measurements. Conclusion: The plan comparison tool is in clinical use and reports a wide range of comparison metrics, illustrating key differences between two plans. This independent check is accomplished in seconds and can be performed in parallel to other tasks in the online-adaptive workflow. Current use prevents large planning or delivery errors from occurring, and ongoing refinements will lead to

Working with Proteins in silico: A Review of Online Available Tools for Basic Identification of Proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caner Yavuz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Increase in online available bioinformatics tools for protein research creates an important opportunity for scientists to reveal characteristics of the protein of interest by only starting from the predicted or known amino acid sequence without fully depending on experimental approaches. There are many sophisticated tools used for diverse purposes; however, there are not enough reviews covering the tips and tricks in selecting and using the correct tools as the literature mainly state the promotion of the new ones. In this review, with the aim of providing young scientists with no specific experience on protein work a reliable starting point for in silico analysis of the protein of interest, we summarized tools for annotation, identification of motifs and domains, determination isoelectric point, molecular weight, subcellular localization, and post-translational modifications by focusing on the important points to be considered while selecting from online available tools.

Determinants of College Students' Use of Online Collaborative Help-Seeking Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Lu; Er, Erkan

2018-01-01

Research has noted the effectiveness of online tools (e.g., discussion boards) for supporting help seeking among class members. However, help seeking is not necessarily warranted via online learning tools because some factors (e.g., low Internet self-efficacy) may influence students' intention to use them. This study aims to identify the…

Designing Online Assessment Tools for Disengaged Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Brader, Andy; Luke, Allan; Klenowski, Val; Connolly, Stephen; Behzadpour, Adib

2014-01-01

This article reports on the development of online assessment tools for disengaged youth in flexible learning environments. Sociocultural theories of learning and assessment and Bourdieu's sociological concepts of capital and exchange were used to design a purpose-built content management system. This design experiment engaged participants in…

Brede Tools and Federating Online Neuroinformatics Databases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Finn Årup

2014-01-01

As open science neuroinformatics databases the Brede Database and Brede Wiki seek to make distribution and federation of their content as easy and transparent as possible. The databases rely on simple formats and allow other online tools to reuse their content. This paper describes the possible i...

CMS Partial Releases Model, Tools, and Applications. Online and Framework-Light Releases

CERN Document Server

Jones, Christopher D; Meschi, Emilio; Shahzad Muzaffar; Andreas Pfeiffer; Ratnikova, Natalia; Sexton-Kennedy, Elizabeth

2009-01-01

The CMS Software project CMSSW embraces more than a thousand packages organized in subsystems for analysis, event display, reconstruction, simulation, detector description, data formats, framework, utilities and tools. The release integration process is highly automated by using tools developed or adopted by CMS. Packaging in rpm format is a built-in step in the software build process. For several well-defined applications it is highly desirable to have only a subset of the CMSSW full package bundle. For example, High Level Trigger algorithms that run on the Online farm, and need to be rebuilt in a special way, require no simulation, event display, or analysis packages. Physics analysis applications in Root environment require only a few core libraries and the description of CMS specific data formats. We present a model of CMS Partial Releases, used for preparation of the customized CMS software builds, including description of the tools used, the implementation, and how we deal with technical challenges, suc...

Patient portals - An online tool for your health

Science.gov (United States)

... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000880.htm Patient portals - an online tool for your health To ... is private and secure. What is in a Patient Portal? With a patient portal, you can: Make ...

The Right Tools for the Job--Technology Options for Adult Online Learning and Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Regional Educational Laboratory, 2014

2014-01-01

Many options exist for using technology as a tool for adult learning, and each day, it becomes easier to share information online than it ever has been. Online learning technology has grown from one-sided communications to numerous options for audience engagement and interactivity. This guide introduces a variety of tools, online platforms, and…

A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGARDING THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION TOOLS USED IN THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

POP Nicolae Al.

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Starting from the meaning of the communication process in marketing, the authors try to identify its role in assuring the continuity of the management process in what concerns the relationships between all the partners of the company, on the long term. An emphasis is made on the role of online communication and its tools in relationship marketing. In order to validate some of the mentioned ideas the authors have chosen to undertake a qualitative marketing research among the managers of some Romanian tourism companies. The qualitative part of the study had as purpose the identification of the main tools which form the basis of the communication with the beneficiaries of the touristic services, of the way in which the companies use the online communication tools for attracting, keeping and developing the long term relationships with their customers in the virtual environment. The following tools have been analyzed: websites, email marketing campaigns, e-newsletters, online advertising, search engines, sponsored links, blogs, RSS feed, social networks, forums, online discussion groups, portals, infomediaries and instant messaging. The chosen investigation method was the selective survey, the research technique - explorative interrogation and the research instrument - semi structured detailed interview, based on a conversation guide. A very important fact is the classification resulted after the respondents were requested to mention the most efficient tools for attracting customers and for maintaining the relationships with them. Although the notoriety of the online marketing tools is high, there are some tools that are known by definition, but are not used at all or are not used correctly; or are not known by definition, but are used in practice. The authors contributed by validating a performing methodology of qualitative research, a study which will open new ways and means for making the online communication tools used for touristic services in

Visionmaker.NYC: An Online Landscape Ecology Tool to Support Social-Ecological System Visioning and Planning

Science.gov (United States)

DuBois, Bryce; Allred, Shorna; Bunting-Howarth, Katherine; Sanderson, Eric W.; Giampieri, Mario

2017-01-01

The Welikeia project and the corresponding free online tool Visionmaker. NYC focus on the historical landscape ecologies of New York City. This article provides a brief introduction to online participatory tools, describes the Visionmaker tool in detail, and offers suggested ways to use the tool for Extension professionals based in and outside New…

Use of online interactive tools in an open distance learning context: Health studies students' perspective*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kefiloe A. Maboe

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Open distance learning (ODL institutions provide educational challenges with specific reference to the training of nurses. They have adopted online technologies to facilitate teaching and learning. However it is observed that most nurses do not use or minimally use tools such as a discussion forum for online interaction to facilitate teaching and learning. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine how the discussion forum as an online interactive tool be used in an ODL institution to enhance student-to-student and student-to-lecturer online interactions. Design: Quantitative and descriptive in nature. Method: No sampling was done. An online questionnaire was sent to all 410 second and third years Health Services Management students around the world registered with a specific ODL institution during the second semester. Eighty seven students responded to the questionnaire. Data analysis was done quantitatively and descriptively in the form of diagrams. Results: The findings indicated that 84.9% of students own computers, and 100% own cellular phones, but only 3.8% participated in online discussion forum. Some students indicated that they were technologically challenged. Some lecturers interact minimally online and are not supportive to them. The institution does not give them the support they need to acquire the necessary skills to utilise these technologies. Conclusion: The article suggests that lecturers, active interaction in an online discussion forum as a way of supporting students, are fundamental to effective teaching and learning.The university should consider providing intensive mentoring to students to enable them to utilise the available technologies optimally.

why sponsored posts on facebook and instagram are effective online branding tools

OpenAIRE

Eggers, Raphael

2017-01-01

This research is motivated by the incongruence of how businesses and contemporary research evaluate paid social media advertisement as online branding tools. Therefore, we examine the possibilities of social media marketing: why sponsored posts on Facebook and Instagram are effective online branding tools. A questionnaire was utilized to approach the research, and answer the hypotheses. Results from 316 participants indicated that sponsored posts were effective for brand awaren...

Teachers Connect "with" Technology: Online Tools Build New Pathways to Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Vicki L.; Olson, Lynn

2013-01-01

Teachers, curriculum experts, and other educators work together using online tools developed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to create high-quality, useful lessons and research-based instructional tools incorporating the Common Core State Standards.

Predicting Knowledge Workers' Participation in Voluntary Learning with Employee Characteristics and Online Learning Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Catherine

2018-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to explore predicting employee learning activity via employee characteristics and usage for two online learning tools. Design/methodology/approach: Statistical analysis focused on observational data collected from user logs. Data are analyzed via regression models. Findings: Findings are presented for over 40,000…

Online user tracking and usability tools - a mapping study

OpenAIRE

Nyström, Niklas

2014-01-01

Tracking user activities online can be done in order to improve systems usability, understand user behaviour or to increase monetary prot, to mention a few things. The software tools for this purpose can vary, for example in terms of usability of the tool itself, features, security, price, accessibility and support options. In this study I have developed a methodology to evaluate a selection of modern tools and map them depending on various properties. I have also analysed learning theories t...

Quantitative Analysis of the Usage of a Pedagogical Tool Combining Questions Listed as Learning Objectives and Answers Provided as Online Videos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Odette Laneuville

2015-05-01

Full Text Available To improve the learning of basic concepts in molecular biology of an undergraduate science class, a pedagogical tool was developed, consisting of learning objectives listed at the end of each lecture and answers to those objectives made available as videos online. The aim of this study was to determine if the pedagogical tool was used by students as instructed, and to explore students’ perception of its usefulness. A combination of quantitative survey data and measures of online viewing was used to evaluate the usage of the pedagogical practice. A total of 77 short videos linked to 11 lectures were made available to 71 students, and 64 completed the survey. Using online tracking tools, a total of 7046 views were recorded. Survey data indicated that most students (73.4% accessed all videos, and the majority (98.4% found the videos to be useful in assisting their learning. Interestingly, approximately half of the students (53.1% always or most of the time used the pedagogical tool as recommended, and consistently answered the learning objectives before watching the videos. While the proposed pedagogical tool was used by the majority of students outside the classroom, only half used it as recommended limiting the impact on students’ involvement in the learning of the material presented in class.

Use of online interactive tools in an open distance learning context ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Open distance learning (ODL) institutions provide educational challenges with specific reference to the training of nurses. They have adopted online technologies to facilitate teaching and learning. However it is observed that most nurses do not use or minimally use tools such as a discussion forum for online ...

SACA: Software Assisted Call Analysis--an interactive tool supporting content exploration, online guidance and quality improvement of counseling dialogues.

Science.gov (United States)

Trinkaus, Hans L; Gaisser, Andrea E

2010-09-01

Nearly 30,000 individual inquiries are answered annually by the telephone cancer information service (CIS, KID) of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). The aim was to develop a tool for evaluating these calls, and to support the complete counseling process interactively. A novel software tool is introduced, based on a structure similar to a music score. Treating the interaction as a "duet", guided by the CIS counselor, the essential contents of the dialogue are extracted automatically. For this, "trained speech recognition" is applied to the (known) counselor's part, and "keyword spotting" is used on the (unknown) client's part to pick out specific items from the "word streams". The outcomes fill an abstract score representing the dialogue. Pilot tests performed on a prototype of SACA (Software Assisted Call Analysis) resulted in a basic proof of concept: Demographic data as well as information regarding the situation of the caller could be identified. The study encourages following up on the vision of an integrated SACA tool for supporting calls online and performing statistics on its knowledge database offline. Further research perspectives are to check SACA's potential in comparison with established interaction analysis systems like RIAS. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

MEL-IRIS: An Online Tool for Audio Analysis and Music Indexing

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Dimitrios Margounakis

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Chroma is an important attribute of music and sound, although it has not yet been adequately defined in literature. As such, it can be used for further analysis of sound, resulting in interesting colorful representations that can be used in many tasks: indexing, classification, and retrieval. Especially in Music Information Retrieval (MIR, the visualization of the chromatic analysis can be used for comparison, pattern recognition, melodic sequence prediction, and color-based searching. MEL-IRIS is the tool which has been developed in order to analyze audio files and characterize music based on chroma. The tool implements specially designed algorithms and a unique way of visualization of the results. The tool is network-oriented and can be installed in audio servers, in order to manipulate large music collections. Several samples from world music have been tested and processed, in order to demonstrate the possible uses of such an analysis.

Reading Actively Online: An Exploratory Investigation of Online Annotation Tools for Inquiry Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jingyan; Deng, Liping

2012-01-01

This study seeks to design and facilitate active reading among secondary school students with an online annotation tool--Diigo. Two classes of different academic performance levels were recruited to examine their annotation behavior and perceptions of Diigo. We wanted to determine whether the two classes differed in how they used Diigo; how they…

Staying connected: online education engagement and retention using educational technology tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Salazar, Jose

2010-01-01

The objective of this article is to inform educators about the use of currently available educational technology tools to promote student retention, engagement and interaction in online courses. Educational technology tools include content management systems, podcasts, video lecture capture technology and electronic discussion boards. Successful use of educational technology tools requires planning, organization and use of effective learning strategies.

An online survival analysis tool to rapidly assess the effect of 22,277 genes on breast cancer prognosis using microarray data of 1,809 patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Györffy, B; Lanczky, A; Eklund, Aron Charles

2010-01-01

Validating prognostic or predictive candidate genes in appropriately powered breast cancer cohorts are of utmost interest. Our aim was to develop an online tool to draw survival plots, which can be used to assess the relevance of the expression levels of various genes on the clinical outcome both...... this integrative data analysis tool to confirm the prognostic power of the proliferation-related genes TOP2A and TOP2B, MKI67, CCND2, CCND3, CCNDE2, as well as CDKN1A, and TK2. We also validated the capability of microarrays to determine estrogen receptor status in 1,231 patients. The tool is highly valuable...

[Design and implementation of online statistical analysis function in information system of air pollution and health impact monitoring].

Science.gov (United States)

Lü, Yiran; Hao, Shuxin; Zhang, Guoqing; Liu, Jie; Liu, Yue; Xu, Dongqun

2018-01-01

To implement the online statistical analysis function in information system of air pollution and health impact monitoring, and obtain the data analysis information real-time. Using the descriptive statistical method as well as time-series analysis and multivariate regression analysis, SQL language and visual tools to implement online statistical analysis based on database software. Generate basic statistical tables and summary tables of air pollution exposure and health impact data online; Generate tendency charts of each data part online and proceed interaction connecting to database; Generate butting sheets which can lead to R, SAS and SPSS directly online. The information system air pollution and health impact monitoring implements the statistical analysis function online, which can provide real-time analysis result to its users.

Online social media analysis and visualization

CERN Document Server

Kawash, Jalal

2015-01-01

This edited volume addresses the vast challenges of adapting Online Social Media (OSM) to developing research methods and applications. The topics cover generating realistic social network topologies, awareness of user activities, topic and trend generation, estimation of user attributes from their social content, behavior detection, mining social content for common trends, identifying and ranking social content sources, building friend-comprehension tools, and many others. Each of the ten chapters tackle one or more of these issues by proposing new analysis methods or new visualization techn

Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking: Integrating Online Tools to Promote Critical Thinking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Jean Mandernach

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The value and importance of critical thinking is clearly established; the challenge for instructors lies in successfully promoting students’ critical thinking skills within the confines of a traditional classroom experience. Since instructors are faced with limited student contact time to meet their instructional objectives and facilitate learning, they are often forced to make instructional decisions between content coverage, depth of understanding, and critical analysis of course material. To address this dilemma, it is essential to integrate instructional strategies and techniques that can efficiently and effectively maximize student learning and critical thinking. Modern advances in educational technology have produced a range of online tools to assist instructors in meeting this instructional goal. This review will examine the theoretical foundations of critical thinking in higher education, discuss empirically-based strategies for integrating online instructional supplements to enhance critical thinking, offer techniques for expanding instructional opportunities outside the limitations of traditional class time, and provide practical suggestions for the innovative use of critical thinking strategies via online resources.

Online Classrooms: Powerful Tools for Rapid-Iteration Pedagogical Improvements

Science.gov (United States)

Horodyskyj, L.; Semken, S.; Anbar, A.; Buxner, S.

2015-11-01

Online education offers the opportunity to reach a variety of students including non-traditional and geographically diverse students. Research has shown that online courses modeled after traditional lecture-exam courses are ineffective. Over the past three years, Arizona State University developed and offered Habitable Worlds, an online-only astrobiology lab course featuring active learning tools. The course is offered in an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) that records a wealth of student data. In analyzing data from the Fall 2013 offering of the course, we were able to identify pre-post quiz results that were suboptimal and where in the lesson and how precisely students were missing concepts. The problem areas were redesigned, and the improved lessons were deployed a few months later. We saw significant improvements in our pre-post quiz results due to the implemented changes. This demonstrates the effectiveness of using robust ITS not only to present content online, but to provide instantaneous data for rapid iteration and improvement of existing content.

Using Online Compound Interest Tools to Improve Financial Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Hubbard, Edward; Matthews, Percival; Samek, Anya

2016-01-01

The widespread use of personal computing presents the opportunity to design educational materials that can be delivered online, potentially addressing low financial literacy. The authors developed and evaluated three different educational tools focusing on interest compounding. In the authors' laboratory experiment, individuals were randomized to…

Exploring Engineering instructors' views about writing and online tools to support communication in Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Sarah K.; Khosronejad, Maryam; Calvo, Rafael A.

2017-11-01

To be fully prepared for the professional workplace, Engineering students need to be able to effectively communicate. However, there has been a growing concern in the field about students' preparedness for this aspect of their future work. It is argued that online writing tools, to engage numbers of students in the writing process, can support feedback on and development of writing in engineering on a larger scale. Through interviews and questionnaires, this study explores engineering academics' perceptions of writing to better understand how online writing tools may be integrated into their teaching. Results suggest that writing is viewed positively in the discipline, but it is not believed to be essential to success in engineering. Online writing tools were believed to support a larger number of students, but low knowledge of the tools limited academics' understanding of their usefulness in teaching and learning. Implications for innovation in undergraduate teaching are discussed.

AN EXPERIMENT ON USING ONLINE MARKETING TOOLS FOR PROMOTING HIGHER EDUCATION SERVICES

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Adela Laura Popa

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this study we intended, in the first place, to analyse and determine if the online environment represents an efficient environment for promoting educational services offered by higher education institutions in Romania. Another major objective of this paper is to describe a context in which online marketing tools like Facebook and Google AdWords could contribute to promote higher education services in the online environment. In order to achieve the goal, a causal research based on experiment was designed and implemented. The type of the experiment is 'before-after with control group', design. For conducting the experiment, after developing the landing page, two advertising campaigns were designed: one of them through the tools offered by Facebook and the other one by using Google AdWords. The test units considered are two masters of the faculty of economics (one master is the experimental unit and the other is for control. The independent variable is the extent to which the masters are promoted in the online environment and the dependent variable is the number of students enrolled in the two masters during the admission period. Based on the results from this experiment, but also on data of other studies, we consider that the best results in designing online promotion campaigns for higher education institutions - when considering the tools involved in this experiment - are obtained when they are used as complementary tools. According with our observations, Google AdWords has more potential for attracting prospective students on the landing pages containing information dedicated to them, but Facebook’s features can be successfully used in particular for creating and developing relationships with potential students so that they will subsequently want to become students of that institution.

Affordances of Telecollaboration tools for English for Specific Purposes online learning

OpenAIRE

Sevilla Pavón, Ana

2016-01-01

This paper explores students’ perceptions of the affordances of different telecollaboration tools used in an innovation project for English for Specific Purposes online learning carried out between the University of Valencia (Spain) and Wofford College (South Carolina, United States) during the school year 2015-2016. Different tools for synchronous and asynchronous communication were used. The asynchronous tools included a discussion forum, a wiki, social networking websites and Google forms;...

Online marketing

OpenAIRE

Zrůst, Daniel

2013-01-01

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate pay per click marketing as suitable marketing tool for promotion and distribution of a given product. The paper describes basic vocabulary related to PPC advertising, common metrics, tools used by online marketers, and logic of running PPC campaigns. The paper also tries to quantify impact of Internet on economies. The second part applies the theory to analysis of consumers' conversion path while searching online in common search engines where PPC marketi...

Modern ICT Tools: Online Electronic Resources Sharing Using Web ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Modern ICT Tools: Online Electronic Resources Sharing Using Web 2.0 and Its Implications For Library And Information Practice In Nigeria. ... The PDF file you selected should load here if your Web browser has a PDF reader plug-in installed (for example, a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader). If you would like more ...

An online infertility clinical decision support system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Diniz de Souza

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore some possibilities of computer applications in medicine, and to discuss an online infertility clinical decision support system.Methods: Retrospective data were obtained from 52 couples, and then entered into the online tool. Both its results and the initial diagnoses obtained by the treating physicians were compared with the final diagnoses established by laparoscopy and other diagnostic tests (semen analysis, hormone analysis, endometrial biopsy, ultrasound and hysteroscopy. The initial hypothesis of the research was that the online tool's output was statistically associated with the final diagnoses. In order to verify that hypothesis, a chi-square (χ2 test with Yates' correction for continuity (P<0.05 was performed to verify if the online tool's and the doctor's diagnoses were statistically associated with the final diagnoses.Results: Four etiological factors were present in more than 50% of the couples (ovarian, tubal-peritoneal, uterine, and endometriosis. The statistical results confirmed the research hypothesis for eight out of the nine etiological factors (ovarian, tubal-peritoneal, uterine, cervical, male, vaginal, psychosomatic, and endometriosis; P<0.05. Since there were no cases related to the immune factor in the sample, further clinical data are necessary in order to assess the online tool's performance for that factor.Conclusions: The online tool tends to present more false-positives than false-negatives, whereas the expert physician tends to present more false-negatives than false-positives. Therefore, the online tool and the doctor seem to complement each other. Finally, the obtained results suggest that the infertility online tool discussed herein might be a useful research and instructional tool.

An online tool for tracking soil nitrogen

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Umar, M.; Banger, K.; Pittelkow, C. M.; Nafziger, E. D.

2016-12-01

Near real-time crop models can be useful tools for optimizing agricultural management practices. For example, model simulations can potentially provide current estimates of nitrogen availability in soil, helping growers decide whether more nitrogen needs to be applied in a given season. Traditionally, crop models have been used at point locations (i.e. single fields) with homogenous soil, climate and initial conditions. However, nitrogen availability across fields with varied weather and soil conditions at a regional or national level is necessary to guide better management decisions. This study presents the development of a publicly available, online tool that automates the integration of high-spatial-resolution forecast and past weather and soil data in DSSAT to estimate nitrogen availability for individual fields in Illinois. The model has been calibrated with field experiments from past year at six research corn fields across Illinois. These sites were treated with applications of different N fertilizer timings and amounts. The tool requires minimal management information from growers and yet has the capability to simulate nitrogen-water-crop interactions with calibrated parameters that are more appropriate for Illinois. The results from the tool will be combined with incoming field experiment data from 2016 for model validation and further improvement of model's predictive accuracy. The tool has the potential to help guide better nitrogen management practices to maximize economic and environmental benefits.

Student Engagement in Pharmacology Courses Using Online Learning Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Karaksha, Abdullah; Grant, Gary; Anoopkumar-Dukie, Shailendra; Nirthanan, S. Niru

2013-01-01

Objective. To assess factors influencing student engagement with e-tools used as a learning supplement to the standard curriculum in pharmacology courses. Design. A suite of 148 e-tools (interactive online teaching materials encompassing the basic mechanisms of action for different drug classes) were designed and implemented across 2 semesters for third-year pharmacy students. Assessment. Student engagement and use of this new teaching strategy were assessed using a survey instrument and usage statistics for the material. Use of e-tools during semester 1 was low, a finding attributable to a majority (75%) of students either being unaware of or forgetting about the embedded e-tools and a few (20%) lacking interest in accessing additional learning materials. In contrast to semester 1, e-tool use significantly increased in semester 2 with the use of frequent reminders and announcements (pstudent engagement after the implementation of a “marketing strategy” that included e-mail reminders and motivation. PMID:23966728

Student engagement in pharmacology courses using online learning tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Karaksha, Abdullah; Grant, Gary; Anoopkumar-Dukie, Shailendra; Nirthanan, S Niru; Davey, Andrew K

2013-08-12

To assess factors influencing student engagement with e-tools used as a learning supplement to the standard curriculum in pharmacology courses. A suite of 148 e-tools (interactive online teaching materials encompassing the basic mechanisms of action for different drug classes) were designed and implemented across 2 semesters for third-year pharmacy students. Student engagement and use of this new teaching strategy were assessed using a survey instrument and usage statistics for the material. Use of e-tools during semester 1 was low, a finding attributable to a majority (75%) of students either being unaware of or forgetting about the embedded e-tools and a few (20%) lacking interest in accessing additional learning materials. In contrast to semester 1, e-tool use significantly increased in semester 2 with the use of frequent reminders and announcements (ponline teaching and learning resources were only effective in increasing student engagement after the implementation of a "marketing strategy" that included e-mail reminders and motivation.

Thomson Parabola Spectrometer: a powerful tool for on-line plasma analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Altana, C. [LNS - INFN and Dip.di Fisica e Astronomia - Catania (Italy); Muoio, A. [LNS - INFN and Dip.di Fisica e di Scienze della Terra - Messina (Italy); Schillaci, F. [LNS - INFN, Cirrone G.A.P. LNS - INFN, Lanzalone G. LNS - INFN and Univ. Kore di Enna (Italy); Tudisco, S. [LNS - INFN (Italy); Brandi, F. [ILIL - INO-CNR and IIT Genova (Italy); Cristoforetti, G.; Koester, P.; Fulgentini, L. [ILIL - INO-CNR (Italy); Labate, L.; Gizzi, L.A. [ILIL - INO-CNR and INFN-Pisa (Italy)

2015-07-01

In this paper we report on a new powerful and self-consistent analysis technique aimed in order to get information online on laser generated plasmas. Performance of the method has been carried out during two set of measurement by using two different lasers. The first set of data has been collected at LENS Laboratory of INFN-LNS in Catania by using a laser which produces pulses having energies of 2 J and temporal duration of 6 ns, while the second set of data has been collected at ILIL of INO-CNR in Pisa with a laser system capable of delivering pulses of up to 10 mJ in 40 fs. (authors)

The DiaCog: A Prototype Tool for Visualizing Online Dialog Games' Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Yengin, Ilker; Lazarevic, Bojan

2014-01-01

This paper proposes and explains the design of a prototype learning tool named the DiaCog. The DiaCog visualizes dialog interactions within an online dialog game by using dynamically created cognitive maps. As a purposefully designed tool for enhancing learning effectiveness the DiaCog might be applicable to dialogs at discussion boards within a…

Discovering the Motivations of Students when Using an Online Learning Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raafat George Saadé

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In an educational setting, the use of online learning tools impacts student performance. Motivation and beliefs play an important role in predicting student decisions to use these learning tools. However, IT-personality entailing playfulness on the web, perceived personal innovativeness, and enjoyment may have an impact on motivations. In this study, we investigate the influence of IT-personality traits on motivation and beliefs. The study includes 95 participants. A survey was conducted after using the learning tool for one semester. Assessment of the psychometric properties of the scales proved acceptable and confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed hypotheses. With the exception of the impact of enjoyment on motivation, all other hypotheses demonstrate behavior different from other contexts: playfulness on the web and perceived personal innovativeness have little to no impact on motivation; motivation in turn has the opposite strong and significant effect on beliefs. Specifically, we found that motivation has a strong impact on students’ attitudes and consequently attitudes were found to determine intentions where the variance explained is 50% (attitude and 28% (intentions. These results give way to interesting interpretations as they relate to learning.

Sustaining an Online, Shared Community Resource for Models, Robust Open source Software Tools and Data for Volcanology - the Vhub Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Patra, A. K.; Valentine, G. A.; Bursik, M. I.; Connor, C.; Connor, L.; Jones, M.; Simakov, N.; Aghakhani, H.; Jones-Ivey, R.; Kosar, T.; Zhang, B.

2015-12-01

Over the last 5 years we have created a community collaboratory Vhub.org [Palma et al, J. App. Volc. 3:2 doi:10.1186/2191-5040-3-2] as a place to find volcanology-related resources, and a venue for users to disseminate tools, teaching resources, data, and an online platform to support collaborative efforts. As the community (current active users > 6000 from an estimated community of comparable size) embeds the tools in the collaboratory into educational and research workflows it became imperative to: a) redesign tools into robust, open source reusable software for online and offline usage/enhancement; b) share large datasets with remote collaborators and other users seamlessly with security; c) support complex workflows for uncertainty analysis, validation and verification and data assimilation with large data. The focus on tool development/redevelopment has been twofold - firstly to use best practices in software engineering and new hardware like multi-core and graphic processing units. Secondly we wish to enhance capabilities to support inverse modeling, uncertainty quantification using large ensembles and design of experiments, calibration, validation. Among software engineering practices we practice are open source facilitating community contributions, modularity and reusability. Our initial targets are four popular tools on Vhub - TITAN2D, TEPHRA2, PUFF and LAVA. Use of tools like these requires many observation driven data sets e.g. digital elevation models of topography, satellite imagery, field observations on deposits etc. These data are often maintained in private repositories that are privately shared by "sneaker-net". As a partial solution to this we tested mechanisms using irods software for online sharing of private data with public metadata and access limits. Finally, we adapted use of workflow engines (e.g. Pegasus) to support the complex data and computing workflows needed for usage like uncertainty quantification for hazard analysis using physical

Development of the On-line Acoustic Leak Detection Tool for the SFR Steam Generator Protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae-Joon; Jeong, Ji-Young; Kim, Jong-Man; Kim, Byung-Ho; Kim, Seong-O

2007-01-01

The successful detection of a water/steam into a sodium leak in the SFR SG (steam generator) at an early phase of a leak origin depends on the fast response and sensitivity of a leak detection system. This intention of an acoustic leak detection system is stipulated by a key impossibility of a fast detecting of an intermediate leak by the present nominal systems such as the hydrogen meter. Subject of this study is to introduce the detection performance of an on-line acoustic leak detection tool discriminated by a back-propagation neural network with a preprocessing of the 1/m Octave band analysis, and to introduce the status of an on-line development being developed with the acoustic leak detection tool(S/W) in KAERI. For a performance test, it was used with the acoustic signals for a sodium-water reaction from the injected steam into water experiments in KAERI, the acoustic signals injected from the water into the sodium obtained in IPPE, and the background noise of the PFR superheater

Use of online interactive tools in an open distance learning context ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Kefiloe Adolphina Maboe

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine how the discussion forum as an online interactive tool be used in ... and study material, and students and the ODL institution. .... The questionnaire was developed in English. Its develop-.

Virtual collaboration in the online educational setting: a concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Breen, Henny

2013-01-01

This study was designed to explore the concept of virtual collaboration within the context of an online learning environment in an academic setting. Rodgers' method of evolutionary concept analysis was used to provide a contextual view of the concept to identify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of virtual collaboration. Commonly used terms to describe virtual collaboration are collaborative and cooperative learning, group work, group interaction, group learning, and teamwork. A constructivist pedagogy, group-based process with a shared purpose, support, and web-based technology is required for virtual collaboration to take place. Consequences of virtual collaboration are higher order thinking and learning to work with others. A comprehensive definition of virtual collaboration is offered as an outcome of this analysis. Clarification of virtual collaboration prior to using it as a pedagogical tool in the online learning environment will enhance nursing education with the changes in nursing curriculum being implemented today. Further research is recommended to describe the developmental stages of the collaborative process among nursing students in online education and how virtual collaboration facilitates collaboration in practice. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparatively Assessing the Use of Blackboard versus Desire2Learn: Faculty Perceptions of the Online Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Chawdhry, Adnan A.; Paullet, Karen; Benjamin, Daniel

2012-01-01

Current trends indicate that an increasing number of Universities have been offering online classes without assessing the faculty perspective of the online learning management tools. When a University understands the faculty perception they can implement an online education environment that is both conducive to student learning and faculty…

Online self-assessment as a quality assurance tool in higher professional education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prof. Rene Butter

2014-01-01

Theme: Quality Assurance in Higher Education An online tool was developed for (potential) students to assess the congruence between the characteristics of an educational program and student preferences (Butter & Van Raalten, 2010)

Implementation of New Communication Tools to an Online Chemistry Course

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Karno

2018-01-01

Online courses provide flexibility and convenience for students and have become very popular in recent years. With the advance of technology and change of habits for the uses of traditional communication tools among students, there is a need for educators to explore effective ways to communicate with students that fit their social-media life…

41 CFR 301-50.6 - What is an “online self-service booking tool?”

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

.... ETS and some agency TMS's incorporate a self service booking tool. [FTR Amdt. 2006-04, 71 FR 49375...-service booking tool?â 301-50.6 Section 301-50.6 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel...-service booking tool?” An online self-service booking tool is an Internet based system that permits...

Are Online Quizzes an Effective Tool for Mastering Basic Algebra?

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Wayne; Higgins, Patrick

2012-01-01

On-line quizzes are used to help first year University Mathematics students identify weaknesses in their basic skills and improve them. Quizzes developed as a formative tool have been utilised at JCU [James Cook University] for eight years. However, before this research no-one has questioned the effectiveness of quizzes for this task. We present a…

The web-buffet--development and validation of an online tool to measure food choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Bucher, Tamara; Keller, Carmen

2015-08-01

To date, no data exist on the agreement of food choice measured using an online tool with subsequent actual consumption. This needs to be shown before food choice, measured by means of an online tool, is used as a dependent variable to examine intake in the general population. A 'web-buffet' was developed to assess food choice. Choice was measured as planned meal composition from photographic material; respondents chose preferred foods and proportions for a main meal (out of a possible 144 combinations) online and the validity was assessed by comparison of a meal composed from a web-buffet with actual food intake 24-48 h later. Furthermore, correlations of food preferences, energy needs and health interest with meals chosen from the web-buffet were analysed. Students: n 106 (Study I), n 32 (Study II). Meals chosen from the web-buffet (mean = 2998 kJ, SD = 471 kJ) agreed with actual consumption (rs = 0.63, P choice in the web-buffet agrees sufficiently well with actual intake to measure food choice as a dependent variable in online surveys. However, we found an average underestimation of subsequent consumption. High correlations of preferences with chosen amounts and an inverse association of health interest with total energy further indicate the validity of the tool. Applications in behavioural nutrition research are discussed.

Facebook as an Online Teaching Tool: Effects on Student Participation, Learning, and Overall Course Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Camus, Melinda; Hurt, Nicole E.; Larson, Lincoln R.; Prevost, Luanna

2016-01-01

Online discussions are widely viewed as a valuable tool for encouraging student engagement and promoting interaction with course material outside of the traditional classroom. Strategies for conducting online discussions vary and are not confined to traditional, university-sponsored learning management systems (LMS). Social media platforms such as…

Modeling and Analysis Methods for an On-line Enrichment Monitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, Leon E.; Jarman, Kenneth D.; Wittman, Richard S.; Zalavadia, Mital A.; March-Leuba, Jose A.

2016-05-30

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has developed an On-Line Enrichment Monitor (OLEM) as one possible component in a new generation of safeguards measures for uranium enrichment plants. The OLEM measures 235U emissions from the UF6 gas flowing through a unit header pipe using NaI(Tl) spectrometers, and corrects for gas density changes using pressure and temperature sensors in order to determine the enrichment of the gas as a function of time. In parallel with the OLEM instrument development, a Virtual OLEM (VOLEM) software tool has been developed that is capable of producing synthetic gamma-ray, pressure, and temperature data representative of a wide range of enrichment plant operating conditions. VOLEM complements instrument development activities and allows the study of OLEM for scenarios that will be difficult or impossible to evaluate empirically. Uses of VOLEM include: investigation of hardware design options; inter-comparison of candidate gamma-ray spectral analysis and enrichment estimation algorithms; uncertainty budget analysis and performance prediction for typical and atypical operational scenarios; and testing of the OLEM data acquisition, analysis and reporting software. This paper describes the technical foundations of VOLEM and illustrates how it can be used. An overview of the nominal instrument design and deployment scenario for OLEM is provided, with emphasis on the key online-assay measurement challenge: accurately determining the portion of the total 235U signal that comes from a background that includes solid uranium deposits on the piping walls. Monte Carlo modeling tools, data analysis algorithms and uncertainty quantification methods are described. VOLEM is then used to quantitatively explore the uncertainty budgets and predicted instrument performance for a plausible range of typical plant operating parameters, and one set of candidate analysis algorithms. Additionally, a series of VOLEM case studies illustrates how an online

Performance of an online translation tool when applied to patient educational material.

Science.gov (United States)

Khanna, Raman R; Karliner, Leah S; Eck, Matthias; Vittinghoff, Eric; Koenig, Christopher J; Fang, Margaret C

2011-11-01

Language barriers may prevent clinicians from tailoring patient educational material to the needs of individuals with limited English proficiency. Online translation tools could fill this gap, but their accuracy is unknown. We evaluated the accuracy of an online translation tool for patient educational material. We selected 45 sentences from a pamphlet available in both English and Spanish, and translated it into Spanish using GoogleTranslate™ (GT). Three bilingual Spanish speakers then performed a blinded evaluation on these 45 sentences, comparing GT-translated sentences to those translated professionally, along four domains: fluency (grammatical correctness), adequacy (information preservation), meaning (connotation maintenance), and severity (perceived dangerousness of an error if present). In addition, evaluators indicated whether they had a preference for either the GT-translated or professionally translated sentences. The GT-translated sentences had significantly lower fluency scores compared to the professional translation (3.4 vs. 4.7, P educational material, GT performed comparably to professional human translation in terms of preserving information and meaning, though it was slightly worse in preserving grammar. In situations where professional human translations are unavailable or impractical, online translation may someday fill an important niche. Copyright © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Online Advertising in the Tourism Industry and its Impact on Consumers: A Study to Investigate Online Advertising Tools, the Degree of Usage and Customer Preferences

OpenAIRE

Saß, Juliane

2011-01-01

The study depicts the various tools of online advertising and their effects on customers, in particular tourists to the Algarve region in Portugal. The purpose of this study is to find out about the degree of Internet usage of travelers and tourists as well as their preferences in online advertising. Furthermore, modern online marketing methods are researched and compared in order to find the most successful ones. Current trends and most effective online advertising methods are researched thr...

Communication, collaboration and identity: factor analysis of academics’ perceptions of online networking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katy Jordan

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Since the advent of online social networking sites, much has been written about their potential for transforming academia, as communication and collaboration underpin many scholarly activities. However, the extent to which these benefits are being realised in practice is unclear. As the uptake of tools by academics continues to grow, there is a question as to whether differences exist in their use and if any patterns or underlying factors are at play. This article presents the results of an online survey addressing this gap. A disciplinary divide was evident in terms of preferred academic social networking platforms, while perceptions about how academics use online networking for different purposes are linked to job position. Exploratory factor analysis identified four components representing different strategies used by academics in their approaches to online networking, including maintaining a personal learning network, promoting the professional self, seeking and promoting publications, and advancing careers.

An online infertility clinical decision support system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Diniz de Souza

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore some possibilities of computer applications in medicine, and to discuss an online infertility clinical decision support system. Methods: Retrospective data were obtained from 52 couples, and then entered into the online tool. Both its results and the initial diagnoses obtained by the treating physicians were compared with the final diagnoses established by laparoscopy and other diagnostic tests (semen analysis, hormone analysis, endometrial biopsy, ultrasound and hysteroscopy. The initial hypothesis of the research was that the online tool’s output was statistically associated with the final diagnoses. In order to verify that hypothesis, a chi-square (氈2 test with Yates’ correction for continuity (P<0.05 was performed to verify if the online tool’s and the doctor’s diagnoses were statistically associated with the final diagnoses. Results: Four etiological factors were present in more than 50% of the couples (ovarian, tubal-peritoneal, uterine, and endometriosis. The statistical results confirmed the research hypothesis for eight out of the nine etiological factors (ovarian, tubal-peritoneal, uterine, cervical, male, vaginal, psychosomatic, and endometriosis; P<0.05. Since there were no cases related to the immune factor in the sample, further clinical data are necessary in order to assess the online tool’s performance for that factor. Conclusions: The online tool tends to present more false-positives than false negatives, whereas the expert physician tends to present more false-negatives than false-positives. Therefore, the online tool and the doctor seem to complement each other. Finally, the obtained results suggest that the infertility online tool discussed herein might be a useful research and instructional tool.

Longitudinal Study: Efficacy of Online Technology Tools for Instructional Use

Science.gov (United States)

Uenking, Michael D.

2011-01-01

Studies show that the student population (secondary and post secondary) is becoming increasingly more technologically savvy. Use of the internet, computers, MP3 players, and other technologies along with online gaming has increased tremendously amongst this population such that it is creating an apparent paradigm shift in the learning modalities of these students. Instructors and facilitators of learning can no longer rely solely on traditional lecture-based lesson formals. In order to achieve student academic success and satisfaction and to increase student retention, instructors must embrace various technology tools that are available and employ them in their lessons. A longitudinal study (January 2009-June 2010) has been performed that encompasses the use of several technology tools in an instructional setting. The study provides further evidence that students not only like the tools that are being used, but prefer that these tools be used to help supplement and enhance instruction.

The Online Learning Knowledge Garden: A Pedagogic Planning Tool for e-Learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scott, Bernard

2006-01-01

Please, cite this publication as: Scott, B. (2006). The Online Learning Knowledge Garden: A Pedagogic Planning Tool for e-Learning. Proceedings of International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development, TENCompetence Conference. March 30th-31st, Sofia, Bulgaria:

MultiSpec: A Desktop and Online Geospatial Image Data Processing Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Biehl, L. L.; Hsu, W. K.; Maud, A. R. M.; Yeh, T. T.

2017-12-01

MultiSpec is an easy to learn and use, freeware image processing tool for interactively analyzing a broad spectrum of geospatial image data, with capabilities such as image display, unsupervised and supervised classification, feature extraction, feature enhancement, and several other functions. Originally developed for Macintosh and Windows desktop computers, it has a community of several thousand users worldwide, including researchers and educators, as a practical and robust solution for analyzing multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing data in several different file formats. More recently MultiSpec was adapted to run in the HUBzero collaboration platform so that it can be used within a web browser, allowing new user communities to be engaged through science gateways. MultiSpec Online has also been extended to interoperate with other components (e.g., data management) in HUBzero through integration with the geospatial data building blocks (GABBs) project. This integration enables a user to directly launch MultiSpec Online from data that is stored and/or shared in a HUBzero gateway and to save output data from MultiSpec Online to hub storage, allowing data sharing and multi-step workflows without having to move data between different systems. MultiSpec has also been used in K-12 classes for which one example is the GLOBE program (www.globe.gov) and in outreach material such as that provided by the USGS (eros.usgs.gov/educational-activities). MultiSpec Online now provides teachers with another way to use MultiSpec without having to install the desktop tool. Recently MultiSpec Online was used in a geospatial data session with 30-35 middle school students at the Turned Onto Technology and Leadership (TOTAL) Camp in the summers of 2016 and 2017 at Purdue University. The students worked on a flood mapping exercise using Landsat 5 data to learn about land remote sensing using supervised classification techniques. Online documentation is available for Multi

A Virtual Sensor for Online Fault Detection of Multitooth-Tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andres Bustillo

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The installation of suitable sensors close to the tool tip on milling centres is not possible in industrial environments. It is therefore necessary to design virtual sensors for these machines to perform online fault detection in many industrial tasks. This paper presents a virtual sensor for online fault detection of multitooth tools based on a Bayesian classifier. The device that performs this task applies mathematical models that function in conjunction with physical sensors. Only two experimental variables are collected from the milling centre that performs the machining operations: the electrical power consumption of the feed drive and the time required for machining each workpiece. The task of achieving reliable signals from a milling process is especially complex when multitooth tools are used, because each kind of cutting insert in the milling centre only works on each workpiece during a certain time window. Great effort has gone into designing a robust virtual sensor that can avoid re-calibration due to, e.g., maintenance operations. The virtual sensor developed as a result of this research is successfully validated under real conditions on a milling centre used for the mass production of automobile engine crankshafts. Recognition accuracy, calculated with a k-fold cross validation, had on average 0.957 of true positives and 0.986 of true negatives. Moreover, measured accuracy was 98%, which suggests that the virtual sensor correctly identifies new cases.

A Virtual Sensor for Online Fault Detection of Multitooth-Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Bustillo, Andres; Correa, Maritza; Reñones, Anibal

2011-01-01

The installation of suitable sensors close to the tool tip on milling centres is not possible in industrial environments. It is therefore necessary to design virtual sensors for these machines to perform online fault detection in many industrial tasks. This paper presents a virtual sensor for online fault detection of multitooth tools based on a Bayesian classifier. The device that performs this task applies mathematical models that function in conjunction with physical sensors. Only two experimental variables are collected from the milling centre that performs the machining operations: the electrical power consumption of the feed drive and the time required for machining each workpiece. The task of achieving reliable signals from a milling process is especially complex when multitooth tools are used, because each kind of cutting insert in the milling centre only works on each workpiece during a certain time window. Great effort has gone into designing a robust virtual sensor that can avoid re-calibration due to, e.g., maintenance operations. The virtual sensor developed as a result of this research is successfully validated under real conditions on a milling centre used for the mass production of automobile engine crankshafts. Recognition accuracy, calculated with a k-fold cross validation, had on average 0.957 of true positives and 0.986 of true negatives. Moreover, measured accuracy was 98%, which suggests that the virtual sensor correctly identifies new cases. PMID:22163766

Online characterization of planetary surfaces: PlanetServer, an open-source analysis and visualization tool

Science.gov (United States)

Marco Figuera, R.; Pham Huu, B.; Rossi, A. P.; Minin, M.; Flahaut, J.; Halder, A.

2018-01-01

The lack of open-source tools for hyperspectral data visualization and analysis creates a demand for new tools. In this paper we present the new PlanetServer, a set of tools comprising a web Geographic Information System (GIS) and a recently developed Python Application Programming Interface (API) capable of visualizing and analyzing a wide variety of hyperspectral data from different planetary bodies. Current WebGIS open-source tools are evaluated in order to give an overview and contextualize how PlanetServer can help in this matters. The web client is thoroughly described as well as the datasets available in PlanetServer. Also, the Python API is described and exposed the reason of its development. Two different examples of mineral characterization of different hydrosilicates such as chlorites, prehnites and kaolinites in the Nili Fossae area on Mars are presented. As the obtained results show positive outcome in hyperspectral analysis and visualization compared to previous literature, we suggest using the PlanetServer approach for such investigations.

Tracking Online Data with YouTube's Insight Tracking Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Kinsey, Joanne

2012-01-01

YouTube users have access to the powerful data collection tool, Insight. Insight allows YouTube content producers to collect data about the number of online views, geographic location of viewers by country, the demographics of the viewers, how a video was discovered, and the attention span of the viewer while watching the video. This article…

Use of Synchronous Online Tools in Private English Language Teaching in Russia

Science.gov (United States)

Kozar, Olga

2012-01-01

Like many other industries, private tutoring is now being transformed by the growth of information and communication technologies (ICT). An increasing number of educational entrepreneurs in different countries are incorporating Internet tools in their professional practice. While the popularity of online tutoring in countries with widespread…

Tools-4-Metatool (T4M): online suite of web-tools to process stoichiometric network analysis data from Metatool.

Science.gov (United States)

Xavier, Daniela; Vázquez, Sara; Higuera, Clara; Morán, Federico; Montero, Francisco

2011-08-01

Tools-4-Metatool (T4M) is a suite of web-tools, implemented in PERL, which analyses, parses, and manipulates files related to Metatool. Its main goal is to assist the work with Metatool. T4M has two major sets of tools: Analysis and Compare. Analysis visualizes the results of Metatool (convex basis, elementary flux modes, and enzyme subsets) and facilitates the study of metabolic networks. It is composed of five tools: MDigraph, MetaMatrix, CBGraph, EMGraph, and SortEM. Compare was developed to compare different Metatool results from different networks. This set consists of: Compara and ComparaSub which compare network subsets providing outputs in different formats and ComparaEM that seeks for identical elementary modes in two metabolic networks. The suite T4M also includes one script that generates Metatool input: CBasis2Metatool, based on a Metatool output file that is filtered by a list of convex basis' metabolites. Finally, the utility CheckMIn checks the consistency of the Metatool input file. T4M is available at http://solea.quim.ucm.es/t4m. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Marketing plan for online surfing magazine

OpenAIRE

Michna, Jakub

2017-01-01

Název: Marketing plan for online surfing magazine Cíle: The main aim of this thesis is to design a marketing plan for launching new online surfing magazine. This project would emerge from present online media Freeride.cz/Water, which adverse situation is going to be analyzed. Metody: Author used interviewing and personal survey as methods. Secondary data collection, PEST analysis and Google Analytics tool served as framework for resulting SWOT analysis. Výsledky: The marketing plan for one ye...

41 CFR 301-50.7 - Should I use the online self-service booking tool once ETS is available within my agency?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... SERVICES § 301-50.7 Should I use the online self-service booking tool once ETS is available within my agency? Yes, you should use the online self-service booking tool offered by ETS or your agency's TMS... self-service booking tool once ETS is available within my agency? 301-50.7 Section 301-50.7 Public...

USING ONLINE TOOLS FOR EVALUATION THE DIGITAL COMPETENCE OF TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS IN NORWAY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iryna V. Ivanyuk

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problems of digital competence evaluation in general secondary education in Norway. Attention is drawn to the fact that the monitoring and evaluation of digital competence of the participants of the educational process in secondary schools at the national level, specially created Norwegian Centre for ICT in education. The content and process using online tools for self-evaluation of digital competence of teachers and principals are described. The examples of estimation of digital competence through online tools «School Mentor» and «Teacher Mentor» on levels and proposed activities to improve are presented. The main approaches used in the formation of scale evaluation of the level of digital competence of the teacher are found out.

German-French Case Study: Using Multi-Online Tools to Collaborate across Borders

Science.gov (United States)

Brautlacht, Regina; Ducrocq, Csilla

2013-01-01

This paper examines how students learn to collaborate in English by participating in an intercultural project that focuses on teaching students to work together on a digital writing project using various online tools, and documents their reflections working in an intercultural context. Students from Université Paris Sud Orsay and Bonn…

A Synthesized Coding Framework for Asynchronous Online Discussion Research

Science.gov (United States)

Weltzer-Ward, Lisa Michelle

2014-01-01

Online classroom discussion is ubiquitous in higher education today, with both online and hybrid courses. As a result, tools need to be created that enable an in-depth assessment of this medium, thereby facilitating the establishment and support of best practices in education. Such an assessment requires tools for consistent, efficient analysis of…

TACIT: An open-source text analysis, crawling, and interpretation tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehghani, Morteza; Johnson, Kate M; Garten, Justin; Boghrati, Reihane; Hoover, Joe; Balasubramanian, Vijayan; Singh, Anurag; Shankar, Yuvarani; Pulickal, Linda; Rajkumar, Aswin; Parmar, Niki Jitendra

2017-04-01

As human activity and interaction increasingly take place online, the digital residues of these activities provide a valuable window into a range of psychological and social processes. A great deal of progress has been made toward utilizing these opportunities; however, the complexity of managing and analyzing the quantities of data currently available has limited both the types of analysis used and the number of researchers able to make use of these data. Although fields such as computer science have developed a range of techniques and methods for handling these difficulties, making use of those tools has often required specialized knowledge and programming experience. The Text Analysis, Crawling, and Interpretation Tool (TACIT) is designed to bridge this gap by providing an intuitive tool and interface for making use of state-of-the-art methods in text analysis and large-scale data management. Furthermore, TACIT is implemented as an open, extensible, plugin-driven architecture, which will allow other researchers to extend and expand these capabilities as new methods become available.

Utilizing LMS tools to help with student assessment in an online course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dudley B. Turner

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In online learning, feedback to students is important in their progress. Assessments are often final or summative assessments that do not allow the student to adjust or improve their learning progress. Assessment, however, takes valuable time. This paper describes how using the tools available in a LMS can assist faculty in assessing student work and provide helpful feedback to students in an online course. The tools available for faculty to use can be set up to save time for the faculty during assessments. The assignments in this study were developed based on previous research indicating assessment can be an aid to student learning, and students who know how well they are doing can make needed adjustments. Students used the feedback from these LMS tools to decide whether or not to try again or move on. Students had the opportunity for multiple attempts at assignments and received feedback on each to help measure their learning. The rubric tool was used to not only grade student papers but also to provide appropriate feedback for student performance on the levels of achievement. Quizzes can be automatically graded. Any additional attempts are drawn from a bank of questions. Results from this pilot study show the benefits of multiple attempts at quizzes and assignments. Students who took advantage of multiple attempts did improve their scores. The paper also discusses further research that to help support this practice.

Perspectives for on-line analysis of bauxite by neutron irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Beurton, Gabriel; Ledru, Bertrand; Letourneur, Philippe

1995-03-01

The interest in bauxite as a major source of alumina results in a strong demand for on-line instrumentation suitable for sorting, blending, and processing operations at the bauxite mine and for monitoring instrumentation in the Bayer process. The results of laboratory experiments based on neutron interactions with bauxite are described. The technique was chosen in order to overcome the problem of spatial heterogeneity in bulk mineral analysis. The evaluated elements contributed to approximately 99.5% of the sample weight. In addition, the measurements provide valuable information on physical parameters such as density, hygrometry, and material flow. Using a pulsed generator, the analysis system offers potential for on-line measurements (borehole logging or conveyor belt). An overall description of the experimental set-up is given. The experimental data include measurements of natural radioactivity, delayed radioactivity induced by activation, and prompt gamma rays following neutron reaction. In situ applications of neutron interactions provide continuous analysis and produce results which are more statistically significant. The key factors contributing to advances in industrial applications are the development of high count rate gamma spectroscopy and computational tools to design measurement systems and interpret their results.

Online marketing vybrané firmy

OpenAIRE

Lazareva, Ekaterina

2017-01-01

The aim of this master thesis is to analyze the current state of the companys marketing activities on the Internet (using the SEO PPC advertising social networks activities web traffic) and evaluate effectiveness of online marketing strategy. Thesis includes analysis of online communication of competitors companies on the Czech market. Basing on these analyzes recommendations and suggestions for improving the effectiveness of online marketing tools were presented.

An adaptive observer for on-line tool wear estimation in turning, Part I: Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Danai, Kourosh; Ulsoy, A. Galip

1987-04-01

On-line sensing of tool wear has been a long-standing goal of the manufacturing engineering community. In the absence of any reliable on-line tool wear sensors, a new model-based approach for tool wear estimation has been proposed. This approach is an adaptive observer, based on force measurement, which uses both parameter and state estimation techniques. The design of the adaptive observer is based upon a dynamic state model of tool wear in turning. This paper (Part I) presents the model, and explains its use as the basis for the adaptive observer design. This model uses flank wear and crater wear as state variables, feed as the input, and the cutting force as the output. The suitability of the model as the basis for adaptive observation is also verified. The implementation of the adaptive observer requires the design of a state observer and a parameter estimator. To obtain the model parameters for tuning the adaptive observer procedures for linearisation of the non-linear model are specified. The implementation of the adaptive observer in turning and experimental results are presented in a companion paper (Part II).

Examining Students' Use of Online Annotation Tools in Support of Argumentative Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jingyan; Deng, Liping

2013-01-01

This study examined how students in a Hong Kong high school used Diigo, an online annotation tool, to support their argumentative reading activities. Two year 10 classes, a high-performance class (HPC) and an ordinary-performance class (OPC), highlighted passages of text and wrote and attached sticky notes to them to clarify argumentation…

Basic Botany On-Line: A Training Tool for the Master Gardener Program.

Science.gov (United States)

VanDerZanden, Ann Marie; Rost, Bob; Eckel, Rick

2002-01-01

A noncredit, online training module on botany was offered to participants in the Oregon Master Gardener program. The 48 participants felt the module was a useful training tool. They also noted that the convenience of completing the material at their own pace and during a time that fit into their schedule. (SK)

HDAT: web-based high-throughput screening data analysis tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Rong; Hassan, Taimur; Rallo, Robert; Cohen, Yoram

2013-01-01

The increasing utilization of high-throughput screening (HTS) in toxicity studies of engineered nano-materials (ENMs) requires tools for rapid and reliable processing and analyses of large HTS datasets. In order to meet this need, a web-based platform for HTS data analyses tools (HDAT) was developed that provides statistical methods suitable for ENM toxicity data. As a publicly available computational nanoinformatics infrastructure, HDAT provides different plate normalization methods, various HTS summarization statistics, self-organizing map (SOM)-based clustering analysis, and visualization of raw and processed data using both heat map and SOM. HDAT has been successfully used in a number of HTS studies of ENM toxicity, thereby enabling analysis of toxicity mechanisms and development of structure–activity relationships for ENM toxicity. The online approach afforded by HDAT should encourage standardization of and future advances in HTS as well as facilitate convenient inter-laboratory comparisons of HTS datasets. (paper)

Disseminating online tools for building capacity among community practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Christina M; Fawcett, Stephen B; Schultz, Jerry A; Jones, Jami A; Berkowitz, Bill; Wolff, Thomas J; Francisco, Vincent T; Rabinowitz, Philip W

2013-01-01

To prepare the workforce for building healthier communities, we need to assure capabilities of a diverse and geographically distributed community of practitioners. Although the Internet is used extensively to disseminate practice information, less is known about the relative impact of various strategies for promoting its use. This empirical case study examines implementation of dissemination strategies and their association with increased user sessions in the online Community Tool Box (CTB), a widely used resource for community building. Dissemination activities included social media efforts, eNewsletters, search engine optimization efforts, partnering with other Web sites, and implementing a global Out of the Box Prize. Results suggest that increased user sessions were associated with search optimization and "mashups" delivering CTB content through partners' Web sites. The report concludes with a discussion of challenges and opportunities in promoting widespread use of capacity-building tools among those working to improve their communities.

Building a Community Infrastructure for Scalable On-Line Performance Analysis Tools around Open|SpeedShop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galarowicz, James E. [Krell Institute, Ames, IA (United States); Miller, Barton P. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Computer Sciences Dept.; Hollingsworth, Jeffrey K. [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Computer Sciences Dept.; Roth, Philip [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Future Technologies Group, Computer Science and Math Division; Schulz, Martin [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center for Applied Scientific Computing (CASC)

2013-12-19

In this project we created a community tool infrastructure for program development tools targeting Petascale class machines and beyond. This includes tools for performance analysis, debugging, and correctness tools, as well as tuning and optimization frameworks. The developed infrastructure provides a comprehensive and extensible set of individual tool building components. We started with the basic elements necessary across all tools in such an infrastructure followed by a set of generic core modules that allow a comprehensive performance analysis at scale. Further, we developed a methodology and workflow that allows others to add or replace modules, to integrate parts into their own tools, or to customize existing solutions. In order to form the core modules, we built on the existing Open|SpeedShop infrastructure and decomposed it into individual modules that match the necessary tool components. At the same time, we addressed the challenges found in performance tools for petascale systems in each module. When assembled, this instantiation of community tool infrastructure provides an enhanced version of Open|SpeedShop, which, while completely different in its architecture, provides scalable performance analysis for petascale applications through a familiar interface. This project also built upon and enhances capabilities and reusability of project partner components as specified in the original project proposal. The overall project team’s work over the project funding cycle was focused on several areas of research, which are described in the following sections. The reminder of this report also highlights related work as well as preliminary work that supported the project. In addition to the project partners funded by the Office of Science under this grant, the project team included several collaborators who contribute to the overall design of the envisioned tool infrastructure. In particular, the project team worked closely with the other two DOE NNSA

Prototyping Tool for Web-Based Multiuser Online Role-Playing Game

Science.gov (United States)

Okamoto, Shusuke; Kamada, Masaru; Yonekura, Tatsuhiro

This letter proposes a prototyping tool for Web-based Multiuser Online Role-Playing Game (MORPG). The design goal is to make this tool simple and powerful. The tool is comprised of a GUI editor, a translator and a runtime environment. The GUI editor is used to edit state-transition diagrams, each of which defines the behavior of the fictional characters. The state-transition diagrams are translated into C program codes, which plays the role of a game engine in RPG system. The runtime environment includes PHP, JavaScript with Ajax and HTML. So the prototype system can be played on the usual Web browser, such as Fire-fox, Safari and IE. On a click or key press by a player, the Web browser sends it to the Web server to reflect its consequence on the screens which other players are looking at. Prospected users of this tool include programming novices and schoolchildren. The knowledge or skill of any specific programming languages is not required to create state-transition diagrams. Its structure is not only suitable for the definition of a character behavior but also intuitive to help novices understand. Therefore, the users can easily create Web-based MORPG system with the tool.

Online and Certifiable Spectroscopy Courses Using Information and Communication Tools. a Model for Classrooms and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnan, Mangala Sunder

2015-06-01

Online education tools and flipped (reverse) class models for teaching and learning and pedagogic and andragogic approaches to self-learning have become quite mature in the last few years because of the revolution in video, interactive software and social learning tools. Open Educational resources of dependable quality and variety are also becoming available throughout the world making the current era truly a renaissance period for higher education using Internet. In my presentation, I shall highlight structured course content preparation online in several areas of spectroscopy and also the design and development of virtual lab tools and kits for studying optical spectroscopy. Both elementary and advanced courses on molecular spectroscopy are currently under development jointly with researchers in other institutions in India. I would like to explore participation from teachers throughout the world in the teaching-learning process using flipped class methods for topics such as experimental and theoretical microwave spectroscopy of semi-rigid and non-rigid molecules, molecular complexes and aggregates. In addition, courses in Raman, Infrared spectroscopy experimentation and advanced electronic spectroscopy courses are also envisaged for free, online access. The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) and the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) are two large Government of India funded initiatives for producing certified and self-learning courses with financial support for moderated discussion forums. The learning tools and interactive presentations so developed can be used in classrooms throughout the world using flipped mode of teaching. They are very much sought after by learners and researchers who are in other areas of learning but want to contribute to research and development through inter-disciplinary learning. NPTEL is currently is experimenting with Massive Open Online Course (MOOC

Enhancement of Local Climate Analysis Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Horsfall, F. M.; Timofeyeva, M. M.; Dutton, J.

2012-12-01

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) will enhance its Local Climate Analysis Tool (LCAT) to incorporate specific capabilities to meet the needs of various users including energy, health, and other communities. LCAT is an online interactive tool that provides quick and easy access to climate data and allows users to conduct analyses at the local level such as time series analysis, trend analysis, compositing, correlation and regression techniques, with others to be incorporated as needed. LCAT uses principles of Artificial Intelligence in connecting human and computer perceptions on application of data and scientific techniques in multiprocessing simultaneous users' tasks. Future development includes expanding the type of data currently imported by LCAT (historical data at stations and climate divisions) to gridded reanalysis and General Circulation Model (GCM) data, which are available on global grids and thus will allow for climate studies to be conducted at international locations. We will describe ongoing activities to incorporate NOAA Climate Forecast System (CFS) reanalysis data (CFSR), NOAA model output data, including output from the National Multi Model Ensemble Prediction System (NMME) and longer term projection models, and plans to integrate LCAT into the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) and its protocols for accessing model output and observational data to ensure there is no redundancy in development of tools that facilitate scientific advancements and use of climate model information in applications. Validation and inter-comparison of forecast models will be included as part of the enhancement to LCAT. To ensure sustained development, we will investigate options for open sourcing LCAT development, in particular, through the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).

Visual analysis of online social media to open up the investigation of stance phenomena.

Science.gov (United States)

Kucher, Kostiantyn; Schamp-Bjerede, Teri; Kerren, Andreas; Paradis, Carita; Sahlgren, Magnus

2016-04-01

Online social media are a perfect text source for stance analysis. Stance in human communication is concerned with speaker attitudes, beliefs, feelings and opinions. Expressions of stance are associated with the speakers' view of what they are talking about and what is up for discussion and negotiation in the intersubjective exchange. Taking stance is thus crucial for the social construction of meaning. Increased knowledge of stance can be useful for many application fields such as business intelligence, security analytics, or social media monitoring. In order to process large amounts of text data for stance analyses, linguists need interactive tools to explore the textual sources as well as the processed data based on computational linguistics techniques. Both original texts and derived data are important for refining the analyses iteratively. In this work, we present a visual analytics tool for online social media text data that can be used to open up the investigation of stance phenomena. Our approach complements traditional linguistic analysis techniques and is based on the analysis of utterances associated with two stance categories: sentiment and certainty. Our contributions include (1) the description of a novel web-based solution for analyzing the use and patterns of stance meanings and expressions in human communication over time; and (2) specialized techniques used for visualizing analysis provenance and corpus overview/navigation. We demonstrate our approach by means of text media on a highly controversial scandal with regard to expressions of anger and provide an expert review from linguists who have been using our tool.

Validation of a Novel Digital Tool in Automatic Scoring of an Online ECG Examination at an International Cardiology Meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, Kieran L; Crystal, Eugene; Lashevsky, Ilan; Arouny, Banafsheh; Baranchuk, Adrian

2016-07-01

We have previously developed a novel digital tool capable of automatically recognizing correct electrocardiography (ECG) diagnoses in an online exam and demonstrated a significant improvement in diagnostic accuracy when utilizing an inductive-deductive reasoning strategy over a pattern recognition strategy. In this study, we sought to validate these findings from participants at the International Winter Arrhythmia School meeting, one of the foremost electrophysiology events in Canada. Preregistration to the event was sent by e-mail. The exam was administered on day 1 of the conference. Results and analysis were presented the following morning to participants. Twenty-five attendees completed the exam, providing a total of 500 responses to be marked. The online tool accurately identified 195 of a total of 395 (49%) correct responses (49%). In total, 305 responses required secondary manual review, of which 200 were added to the correct responses pool. The overall accuracy of correct ECG diagnosis for all participants was 69% and 84% when using pattern recognition or inductive-deductive strategies, respectively. Utilization of a novel digital tool to evaluate ECG competency can be set up as a workshop at international meetings or educational events. Results can be presented during the sessions to ensure immediate feedback. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Applying social network analysis to understand the knowledge sharing behaviour of practitioners in a clinical online discussion forum.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Samuel Alan; Abidi, Syed Sibte Raza

2012-12-04

Knowledge Translation (KT) plays a vital role in the modern health care community, facilitating the incorporation of new evidence into practice. Web 2.0 tools provide a useful mechanism for establishing an online KT environment in which health practitioners share their practice-related knowledge and experiences with an online community of practice. We have implemented a Web 2.0 based KT environment--an online discussion forum--for pediatric pain practitioners across seven different hospitals in Thailand. The online discussion forum enabled the pediatric pain practitioners to share and translate their experiential knowledge to help improve the management of pediatric pain in hospitals. The goal of this research is to investigate the knowledge sharing dynamics of a community of practice through an online discussion forum. We evaluated the communication patterns of the community members using statistical and social network analysis methods in order to better understand how the online community engages to share experiential knowledge. Statistical analyses and visualizations provide a broad overview of the communication patterns within the discussion forum. Social network analysis provides the tools to delve deeper into the social network, identifying the most active members of the community, reporting the overall health of the social network, isolating the potential core members of the social network, and exploring the inter-group relationships that exist across institutions and professions. The statistical analyses revealed a network dominated by a single institution and a single profession, and found a varied relationship between reading and posting content to the discussion forum. The social network analysis discovered a healthy network with strong communication patterns, while identifying which users are at the center of the community in terms of facilitating communication. The group-level analysis suggests that there is strong interprofessional and interregional

ePORT, NASA's Computer Database Program for System Safety Risk Management Oversight (Electronic Project Online Risk Tool)

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Paul W.

2008-01-01

ePORT (electronic Project Online Risk Tool) provides a systematic approach to using an electronic database program to manage a program/project risk management processes. This presentation will briefly cover the standard risk management procedures, then thoroughly cover NASA's Risk Management tool called ePORT. This electronic Project Online Risk Tool (ePORT) is a web-based risk management program that provides a common framework to capture and manage risks, independent of a programs/projects size and budget. It is used to thoroughly cover the risk management paradigm providing standardized evaluation criterion for common management reporting, ePORT improves Product Line, Center and Corporate Management insight, simplifies program/project manager reporting, and maintains an archive of data for historical reference.

Exploring JavaScript and ROOT technologies to create Web-based ATLAS analysis and monitoring tools

CERN Document Server

Sanchez, Arturo; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

We explore the potentialities of current web applications to create online interfaces that allow the visualization, interaction and real physics cut-based analysis and monitoring of processes trough a web browser. The project consists in the initial development of web-based and cloud computing services to allow students and researches to perform fast and very useful cut-based analysis on a browser, reading and using real data and official Monte-Carlo simulations stored in ATLAS computing facilities. Several tools are considered: ROOT, JavaScript and HTML. Our study case is the current cut-based $H \\rightarrow ZZ \\rightarrow llqq$ analysis of the ATLAS experiment. Preliminary but satisfactory results have been obtained online.

Exploring JavaScript and ROOT technologies to create Web-based ATLAS analysis and monitoring tools

CERN Document Server

Pineda, A S

2015-01-01

We explore the potential of current web applications to create online interfaces that allow the visualization, interaction and real cut-based physics analysis and monitoring of processes through a web browser. The project consists in the initial development of web- based and cloud computing services to allow students and researchers to perform fast and very useful cut-based analysis on a browser, reading and using real data and official Monte- Carlo simulations stored in ATLAS computing facilities. Several tools are considered: ROOT, JavaScript and HTML. Our study case is the current cut-based H → ZZ → llqq analysis of the ATLAS experiment. Preliminary but satisfactory results have been obtained online.

PlanetServer: Innovative approaches for the online analysis of hyperspectral satellite data from Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Oosthoek, J. H. P.; Flahaut, J.; Rossi, A. P.; Baumann, P.; Misev, D.; Campalani, P.; Unnithan, V.

2014-06-01

PlanetServer is a WebGIS system, currently under development, enabling the online analysis of Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM) hyperspectral data from Mars. It is part of the EarthServer project which builds infrastructure for online access and analysis of huge Earth Science datasets. Core functionality consists of the rasdaman Array Database Management System (DBMS) for storage, and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) for data querying. Various WCPS queries have been designed to access spatial and spectral subsets of the CRISM data. The client WebGIS, consisting mainly of the OpenLayers javascript library, uses these queries to enable online spatial and spectral analysis. Currently the PlanetServer demonstration consists of two CRISM Full Resolution Target (FRT) observations, surrounding the NASA Curiosity rover landing site. A detailed analysis of one of these observations is performed in the Case Study section. The current PlanetServer functionality is described step by step, and is tested by focusing on detecting mineralogical evidence described in earlier Gale crater studies. Both the PlanetServer methodology and its possible use for mineralogical studies will be further discussed. Future work includes batch ingestion of CRISM data and further development of the WebGIS and analysis tools.

Development and pilot testing of an online monitoring tool of depression symptoms and side effects for young people being treated for depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Hetrick, Sarah E; Dellosa, Maria Kristina; Simmons, Magenta B; Phillips, Lisa

2015-02-01

To develop and examine the feasibility of an online monitoring tool of depressive symptoms, suicidality and side effects. The online tool was developed based on guideline recommendations, and employed already validated and widely used measures. Quantitative data about its use, and qualitative information on its functionality and usefulness were collected from surveys, a focus group and individual interviews. Fifteen young people completed the tool between 1 and 12 times, and reported it was easy to use. Clinicians suggested it was too long and could be completed in the waiting room to lessen impact on session time. Overall, clients and clinicians who used the tool found it useful. Results show that an online monitoring tool is potentially useful as a systematic means for monitoring symptoms, but further research is needed including how to embed the tool within clinical practice. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Script Towards Research 2.0: The Influence of Digital and Online Tools in Academic Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Grosseck

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The new Internet technologies have infiltrated in a stunning way the academic environment, both at individual and at institutional level. Therefore, more and more teachers have started educational blogs, librarians are active on Twitter, other educational actors curate web content, students post on Instagram or Flickr, and university departments have Facebook pages and/or YouTube accounts etc. Today, the use of web technology has become “a legitimate activity in many areas of higher education” (Waycott, 2010 and a considerable shift to digital academic research has gradually occurred. Teachers are encouraging students to take up digital tools for research and writing, thus revealing new ways of using information and communication technologies for academic purposes and not just for socializing. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of integrating diverse digital, Web 2.0 tools and resources and OERs/MOOCs in research and in the construction of students’ academic texts. We aim to stress the increasing influence of digital and online tools in academic research and writing. Teachers, specialists, and students alike are affected by this process. In order to show how, we explore the following issues: What is Research 2.0? Which digital/online tools have we used to assist our students? What are the challenges for academic research using digital / web 2.0 tools? And how do digital tools shape academic research?

A Visualisation Tool to Aid Exploration of Students' Interactions in Asynchronous Online Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Jyothi, Sujana; McAvinia, Claire; Keating, John

2012-01-01

Much research in recent years has focused on the introduction of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to universities, documenting practice, and sharing experience ([2], [9], [45] and [58]). Attention has been directed towards the importance of online dialogue for learning as a defining feature of the VLE. Communicative tools are an important…

An online tool for business modelling and a refinement of the Business Canvas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rogier Brussee; Peter de Groot

2016-01-01

We give a refinement of the well known business model canvas by Osterwalder and Pigneur by splitting the basic blocks into further subblocks to reduce confusion and increase its expressive power. The splitting is used in an online tool which in addition comes with a set of questions to further

Exploring Learner’s Patterns of Using the Online Course Tool in University Classes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshihiko Yamamoto

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Online course tools such as WebCT or Manaba+R are popularly used in university classes and enhance learners’ understanding of their course contents. In addition, teachers try to utilize these online course tools for their students such as giving their students online discussions, providing students with additional materials and so forth. However, based on the authors’ observation of students, students often do not see these additional materials and messages on Manaba+R. The authors encourage their students to use it and, in fact, they put a lot of additional materials of the course or useful messages for their students on Manaba+R. The aims of this study are here. Firstly, this study investigates what extent students actually use Manaba+R through the semester. Secondly, it tries to find suggestions of how teachers can promote their students to maximize making use of Manaba+R. To collect the data, coding actual access to Manaba+R by students and questionnaires were used. The total of 335 responses of questionnaires were collected and total of 380 were coded for actual access to Manaba+R. The questionnaire results show that many students showed positive attitudes towards using Manaba+R. The results of coding numbers of access reveal that using Manaba+R was part of their assessment of their course, students tended to use it.

Using incident response trees as a tool for risk management of online financial services.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorton, Dan

2014-09-01

The article introduces the use of probabilistic risk assessment for modeling the incident response process of online financial services. The main contribution is the creation of incident response trees, using event tree analysis, which provides us with a visual tool and a systematic way to estimate the probability of a successful incident response process against the currently known risk landscape, making it possible to measure the balance between front-end and back-end security measures. The model is presented using an illustrative example, and is then applied to the incident response process of a Swedish bank. Access to relevant data is verified and the applicability and usability of the proposed model is verified using one year of historical data. Potential advantages and possible shortcomings are discussed, referring to both the design phase and the operational phase, and future work is presented. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

Using Electronic Communication Tools in Online Group Activities to Develop Collaborative Learning Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Khalil, Hanan; Ebner, Martin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using synchronous and asynchronous communication tools in online group activities to develop collaborative learning skills. An experimental study was implemented on a sample of faculty of education students in Mansoura University. The sample was divided into two groups, a group studied…

Helping Students Understand Gene Regulation with Online Tools: A Review of MEME and Melina II, Motif Discovery Tools for Active Learning in Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Treves

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Review of: MEME and Melina II, which are two free and easy-to-use online motif discovery tools that can be employed to actively engage students in learning about gene regulatory elements.

Exploring JavaScript and ROOT technologies to create Web-based ATLAS analysis and monitoring tools

CERN Document Server

Sanchez, Arturo; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

We explore the potentialities of current web applications to create online interfaces that allow the visualization, interaction and real physics cut-based analysis and monitoring of processes trough a web browser. The project consists in the initial development of web-based and cloud computing services to allow students and researches to perform fast and very useful cut-based analysis on a browser, reading and using real data and official Monte-Carlo simulations stored in ATLAS computing facilities. Several tools are considered: ROOT, JavaScript and HTML. Our study case is the current cut-based H->ZZ->llqq analysis of the ATLAS experiment. Preliminary but satisfactory results have been obtained online; this presentation describes the tests and plans and future upgrades.

WebaCGH: an interactive online tool for the analysis and display of array comparative genomic hybridisation data.

Science.gov (United States)

Frankenberger, Casey; Wu, Xiaolin; Harmon, Jerry; Church, Deanna; Gangi, Lisa M; Munroe, David J; Urzúa, Ulises

2006-01-01

Gene copy number variations occur both in normal cells and in numerous pathologies including cancer and developmental diseases. Array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) is an emerging technology that allows detection of chromosomal gains and losses in a high-resolution format. When aCGH is performed on cDNA and oligonucleotide microarrays, the impact of DNA copy number on gene transcription profiles may be directly compared. We have created an online software tool, WebaCGH, that functions to (i) upload aCGH and gene transcription results from multiple experiments; (ii) identify significant aberrant regions using a local Z-score threshold in user-selected chromosomal segments subjected to smoothing with moving averages; and (iii) display results in a graphical format with full genome and individual chromosome views. In the individual chromosome display, data can be zoomed in/out in both dimensions (i.e. ratio and physical location) and plotted features can have 'mouse over' linking to outside databases to identify loci of interest. Uploaded data can be stored indefinitely for subsequent retrieval and analysis. WebaCGH was created as a Java-based web application using the open-source database MySQL. WebaCGH is freely accessible at http://129.43.22.27/WebaCGH/welcome.htm Xiaolin Wu (forestwu@mail.nih.gov) or Ulises Urzúa (uurzua@med.uchile.cl).

On-line and bulk analysis for the resource industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, C.S.; Sowerby, B.D.; Tickner, J.R.; Madsen, I.C.

2001-01-01

Nuclear techniques are the basis of many CSIRO on-line and bulk analysis systems that are now widely used in the mineral and energy industries. The continuous analysis and rapid response of these systems have led to improved control of mining, processing and blending operations. This paper reviews recent developments in neutron, gamma-ray and X-ray techniques for on-line and bulk analysis by CSIRO Minerals including neutron techniques for the on-conveyor belt determination of the composition of cement raw meal, the on-line analysis of composition in pyrometallurgical applications, the on-conveyor belt determination of ash in coal, and the rapid and accurate determination of gold in bulk laboratory samples. The paper also discusses a new gamma-ray technique for the on-line determination of ash in coal and the application of X-ray diffraction techniques for the on-line determination of mineralogy in the cement industry

Upgrade and integration of the configuration and monitoring tools for the ATLAS Online farm

CERN Document Server

Ballestrero, S; The ATLAS collaboration; Darlea, G L; Dumitru, I; Scannicchio, DA; Twomey, M S; Valsan, M L; Zaytsev, A

2012-01-01

The ATLAS Online farm is a non-homogeneous cluster of nearly 3000 PCs which run the data acquisition, trigger and control of the ATLAS detector. The systems are configured and monitored by a combination of open-source tools, such as Quattor and Nagios, and tools developed in-house, such as ConfDB. We report on the ongoing introduction of new provisioning and configuration tools, Puppet and ConfDB v2 which are more flexible and allow automation for previously uncovered needs, and on the upgrade and integration of the monitoring and alerting tools, including the interfacing of these with the TDAQ Shifter Assistant software and their integration with configuration tools. We discuss the selection of the tools and the assessment of their functionality and performance, and how they enabled the introduction of virtualization for selected services.

Upgrade and integration of the configuration and monitoring tools for the ATLAS Online farm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ballestrero, S; Darlea, G–L; Twomey, M S; Brasolin, F; Dumitru, I; Valsan, M L; Scannicchio, D A; Zaytsev, A

2012-01-01

The ATLAS Online farm is a non-homogeneous cluster of nearly 3000 systems which run the data acquisition, trigger and control of the ATLAS detector. The systems are configured and monitored by a combination of open-source tools, such as Quattor and Nagios, and tools developed in-house, such as ConfDB. We report on the ongoing introduction of new provisioning and configuration tools, Puppet and ConfDB v2, which are more flexible and allow automation for previously uncovered needs, and on the upgrade and integration of the monitoring and alerting tools, including the interfacing of these with the TDAQ Shifter Assistant software and their integration with configuration tools. We discuss the selection of the tools and the assessment of their functionality and performance, and how they enabled the introduction of virtualization for selected services.

Analysis of Multiple Genomic Sequence Alignments: A Web Resource, Online Tools, and Lessons Learned From Analysis of Mammalian SCL Loci

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Michael A.; Donaldson, Ian J.; Gilbert, James; Grafham, Darren; Rogers, Jane; Green, Anthony R.; Göttgens, Berthold

2004-01-01

Comparative analysis of genomic sequences is becoming a standard technique for studying gene regulation. However, only a limited number of tools are currently available for the analysis of multiple genomic sequences. An extensive data set for the testing and training of such tools is provided by the SCL gene locus. Here we have expanded the data set to eight vertebrate species by sequencing the dog SCL locus and by annotating the dog and rat SCL loci. To provide a resource for the bioinformatics community, all SCL sequences and functional annotations, comprising a collation of the extensive experimental evidence pertaining to SCL regulation, have been made available via a Web server. A Web interface to new tools specifically designed for the display and analysis of multiple sequence alignments was also implemented. The unique SCL data set and new sequence comparison tools allowed us to perform a rigorous examination of the true benefits of multiple sequence comparisons. We demonstrate that multiple sequence alignments are, overall, superior to pairwise alignments for identification of mammalian regulatory regions. In the search for individual transcription factor binding sites, multiple alignments markedly increase the signal-to-noise ratio compared to pairwise alignments. PMID:14718377

Online Analysis of Wind and Solar Part I: Ramping Tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Etingov, Pavel V.; Ma, Jian; Makarov, Yuri V.; Subbarao, Krishnappa

2012-01-31

To facilitate wider penetration of renewable resources without compromising system reliability concerns arising from the lack of predictability of intermittent renewable resources, a tool for use by California Independent System Operator (CAISO) power grid operators was developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in conjunction with CAISO with funding from California Energy Commission. This tool predicts and displays additional capacity and ramping requirements caused by uncertainties in forecasts of loads and renewable generation. The tool is currently operational in the CAISO operations center. This is one of two final reports on the project.

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP: A Fast and Effective Data Mining Tool for Gene Expression Databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alkharouf Nadim W.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Gene expression databases contain a wealth of information, but current data mining tools are limited in their speed and effectiveness in extracting meaningful biological knowledge from them. Online analytical processing (OLAP can be used as a supplement to cluster analysis for fast and effective data mining of gene expression databases. We used Analysis Services 2000, a product that ships with SQLServer2000, to construct an OLAP cube that was used to mine a time series experiment designed to identify genes associated with resistance of soybean to the soybean cyst nematode, a devastating pest of soybean. The data for these experiments is stored in the soybean genomics and microarray database (SGMD. A number of candidate resistance genes and pathways were found. Compared to traditional cluster analysis of gene expression data, OLAP was more effective and faster in finding biologically meaningful information. OLAP is available from a number of vendors and can work with any relational database management system through OLE DB.

Online analytical processing (OLAP): a fast and effective data mining tool for gene expression databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Alkharouf, Nadim W; Jamison, D Curtis; Matthews, Benjamin F

2005-06-30

Gene expression databases contain a wealth of information, but current data mining tools are limited in their speed and effectiveness in extracting meaningful biological knowledge from them. Online analytical processing (OLAP) can be used as a supplement to cluster analysis for fast and effective data mining of gene expression databases. We used Analysis Services 2000, a product that ships with SQLServer2000, to construct an OLAP cube that was used to mine a time series experiment designed to identify genes associated with resistance of soybean to the soybean cyst nematode, a devastating pest of soybean. The data for these experiments is stored in the soybean genomics and microarray database (SGMD). A number of candidate resistance genes and pathways were found. Compared to traditional cluster analysis of gene expression data, OLAP was more effective and faster in finding biologically meaningful information. OLAP is available from a number of vendors and can work with any relational database management system through OLE DB.

Evaluating online diagnostic decision support tools for the clinical setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Pryor, Marie; White, David; Potter, Bronwyn; Traill, Roger

2012-01-01

Clinical decision support tools available at the point of care are an effective adjunct to support clinicians to make clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes. We developed a methodology and applied it to evaluate commercially available online clinical diagnostic decision support (DDS) tools for use at the point of care. We identified 11 commercially available DDS tools and assessed these against an evaluation instrument that included 6 categories; general information, content, quality control, search, clinical results and other features. We developed diagnostically challenging clinical case scenarios based on real patient experience that were commonly missed by junior medical staff. The evaluation was divided into 2 phases; an initial evaluation of all identified and accessible DDS tools conducted by the Clinical Information Access Portal (CIAP) team and a second phase that further assessed the top 3 tools identified in the initial evaluation phase. An evaluation panel consisting of senior and junior medical clinicians from NSW Health conducted the second phase. Of the eleven tools that were assessed against the evaluation instrument only 4 tools completely met the DDS definition that was adopted for this evaluation and were able to produce a differential diagnosis. From the initial phase of the evaluation 4 DDS tools scored 70% or more (maximum score 96%) for the content category, 8 tools scored 65% or more (maximum 100%) for the quality control category, 5 tools scored 65% or more (maximum 94%) for the search category, and 4 tools score 70% or more (maximum 81%) for the clinical results category. The second phase of the evaluation was focused on assessing diagnostic accuracy for the top 3 tools identified in the initial phase. Best Practice ranked highest overall against the 6 clinical case scenarios used. Overall the differentiating factor between the top 3 DDS tools was determined by diagnostic accuracy ranking, ease of use and the confidence and

LHCb Online Log Analysis and Maintenance System

CERN Document Server

Garnier, J-C

2011-01-01

History has shown, many times computer logs are the only information an administrator may have for an incident, which could be caused either by a malfunction or an attack. Due to the huge amount of logs that are produced from large-scale IT infrastructures, such as LHCb Online, critical information may be overlooked or simply be drowned in a sea of other messages. This clearly demonstrates the need for an automatic system for long-term maintenance and real time analysis of the logs. We have constructed a low cost, fault tolerant centralized logging system which is able to do in-depth analysis and cross-correlation of every log. This system is capable of handling O(10000) different log sources and numerous formats, while trying to keep the overhead as low as possible. It provides log gathering and management, Offline analysis and online analysis. We call Offline analysis the procedure of analyzing old logs for critical information, while Online analysis refer to the procedure of early alerting and reacting. ...

RankProdIt: A web-interactive Rank Products analysis tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laing Emma

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The first objective of a DNA microarray experiment is typically to generate a list of genes or probes that are found to be differentially expressed or represented (in the case of comparative genomic hybridizations and/or copy number variation between two conditions or strains. Rank Products analysis comprises a robust algorithm for deriving such lists from microarray experiments that comprise small numbers of replicates, for example, less than the number required for the commonly used t-test. Currently, users wishing to apply Rank Products analysis to their own microarray data sets have been restricted to the use of command line-based software which can limit its usage within the biological community. Findings Here we have developed a web interface to existing Rank Products analysis tools allowing users to quickly process their data in an intuitive and step-wise manner to obtain the respective Rank Product or Rank Sum, probability of false prediction and p-values in a downloadable file. Conclusions The online interactive Rank Products analysis tool RankProdIt, for analysis of any data set containing measurements for multiple replicated conditions, is available at: http://strep-microarray.sbs.surrey.ac.uk/RankProducts

The third experiment of operation and evaluation of online risk communication assistant tool, 'ORCAT'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsumura, Soichiro; Kimura, Hiroshi; Furuta, Kazuo; Tanaka, Hiroshi

2006-01-01

Risk communication about the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal is necessary for public acceptance of HLW disposal program. Online Risk Communication Assistant Tool (ORCAT) system is developed in order to support risk communication for HLW disposal on World Wide Web. We have been evaluating ORCAT system. After two test operations, we carried out the third test operation from Aug. 29 to Dec. 12, 2005. In the third test operation, 100 participants answered the questionnaires about the attitude change and knowledge. We classified the participants into two groups by the analysis on the number of login a week, and analyzed the change of the amount of subjective and objective knowledge. In the result of analysis on knowledge, the increase of amount of subjective knowledge doesn't always carried the increase of amount of objective knowledge. On the whole we found that the ORCAT system is evaluated useful to the risk communication about the HLW disposal. (author)

Participatory Design of an Online Self-Management Tool for Users With Spinal Cord Injury: Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Allin, Sonya; Shepherd, John; Tomasone, Jennifer; Munce, Sarah; Linassi, Gary; Hossain, Saima Noreen; Jaglal, Susan

2018-03-21

Rehospitalization rates resulting from secondary conditions in persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are high. Self-management programs for many chronic conditions have been associated with decreases in hospital readmissions. However, in the SCI community, evidence suggests that satisfaction with traditional self-management programs is low. Users with SCI have indicated preference for programs that are online (rather than in-person), that target SCI-specific concerns, and are led by peers with SCI. There is currently no program with all of these features, which addresses self-management of secondary conditions after SCI. The aim of this study was to provide details of a participatory design (PD) process for an internet-mediated self-management program for users with SCI (called SCI & U) and illustrate how it has been used to define design constraints and solutions. Users were involved in development as codesigners, codevelopers, and key informants. Codesigners and codevelopers were recruited from consumer advocacy groups and worked with a core development team. Key informants were recruited from geographically distributed advocacy groups to form a product advisory council that met regularly with the core team. During meetings, codesigners and informants walked through stages of work that typify PD processes such as exploration, discovery, and prototyping. This paper details the process by analyzing 10 meetings that took place between August 2015 and May 2016. Meetings were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to an inductive thematic analysis; resulting themes were organized according to their relationship to PD stages. A total of 16 individuals participated in meeting discussions, including 7 researchers and 9 persons with SCI from 4 Canadian provinces. Themes of trust, expertise, and community emerged in every group discussion. The exploration stage revealed interest in online self-management resources coupled with concerns about information credibility. In

Evaluation of an online family history tool for identifying hereditary and familial colorectal cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Kallenberg, F G J; Aalfs, C M; The, F O; Wientjes, C A; Depla, A C; Mundt, M W; Bossuyt, P M M; Dekker, E

2017-09-21

Identifying a hereditary colorectal cancer (CRC) syndrome or familial CRC (FCC) in a CRC patient may enable the patient and relatives to enroll in surveillance protocols. As these individuals are insufficiently recognized, we evaluated an online family history tool, consisting of a patient-administered family history questionnaire and an automated genetic referral recommendation, to facilitate the identification of patients with hereditary CRC or FCC. Between 2015 and 2016, all newly diagnosed CRC patients in five Dutch outpatient clinics, were included in a trial with a stepped-wedge design, when first visiting the clinic. Each hospital continued standard procedures for identifying patients at risk (control strategy) and then, after a predetermined period, switched to offering the family history tool to included patients (intervention strategy). After considering the tool-based recommendation, the health care provider could decide on and arrange the referral. Primary outcome was the relative number of CRC patients who received screening or surveillance recommendations for themselves or relatives because of hereditary CRC or FCC, provided by genetic counseling. The intervention effect was evaluated using a logit-linear model. With the tool, 46/489 (9.4%) patients received a screening or surveillance recommendation, compared to 35/292 (12.0%) in the control group. In the intention-to-treat-analysis, accounting for time trends and hospital effects, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.58). A family history tool does not necessarily assist in increasing the number of CRC patients and relatives enrolled in screening or surveillance recommendations for hereditary CRC or FCC. Other interventions should be considered.

On-Line, Self-Learning, Predictive Tool for Determining Payload Thermal Response

Science.gov (United States)

Jen, Chian-Li; Tilwick, Leon

2000-01-01

This paper will present the results of a joint ManTech / Goddard R&D effort, currently under way, to develop and test a computer based, on-line, predictive simulation model for use by facility operators to predict the thermal response of a payload during thermal vacuum testing. Thermal response was identified as an area that could benefit from the algorithms developed by Dr. Jeri for complex computer simulations. Most thermal vacuum test setups are unique since no two payloads have the same thermal properties. This requires that the operators depend on their past experiences to conduct the test which requires time for them to learn how the payload responds while at the same time limiting any risk of exceeding hot or cold temperature limits. The predictive tool being developed is intended to be used with the new Thermal Vacuum Data System (TVDS) developed at Goddard for the Thermal Vacuum Test Operations group. This model can learn the thermal response of the payload by reading a few data points from the TVDS, accepting the payload's current temperature as the initial condition for prediction. The model can then be used as a predictive tool to estimate the future payload temperatures according to a predetermined shroud temperature profile. If the error of prediction is too big, the model can be asked to re-learn the new situation on-line in real-time and give a new prediction. Based on some preliminary tests, we feel this predictive model can forecast the payload temperature of the entire test cycle within 5 degrees Celsius after it has learned 3 times during the beginning of the test. The tool will allow the operator to play "what-if' experiments to decide what is his best shroud temperature set-point control strategy. This tool will save money by minimizing guess work and optimizing transitions as well as making the testing process safer and easier to conduct.

A Practice-Based Analysis of an Online Strategy Game

Science.gov (United States)

Milolidakis, Giannis; Kimble, Chris; Akoumianakis, Demosthenes

In this paper, we will analyze a massively multiplayer online game in an attempt to identify the elements of practice that enable social interaction and cooperation within the game’s virtual world. Communities of Practice and Activity Theory offer the theoretical lens for identifying and understanding what constitutes practice within the community and how such practice is manifest and transmitted during game play. Our analysis suggests that in contrast to prevalent perceptions of practice as being textually mediated, in virtual settings it is framed as much in social interactions as in processes, artifacts and the tools constituting the ‘linguistic’ domain of the game or the practice the gaming community is about.

Development of a site analysis tool for distributed wind projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaw, Shawn [The Cadmus Group, Inc., Waltham MA (United States)

2012-02-28

The Cadmus Group, Inc., in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Encraft, was awarded a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a site analysis tool for distributed wind technologies. As the principal investigator for this project, Mr. Shawn Shaw was responsible for overall project management, direction, and technical approach. The product resulting from this project is the Distributed Wind Site Analysis Tool (DSAT), a software tool for analyzing proposed sites for distributed wind technology (DWT) systems. This user-friendly tool supports the long-term growth and stability of the DWT market by providing reliable, realistic estimates of site and system energy output and feasibility. DSAT-which is accessible online and requires no purchase or download of software-is available in two account types; Standard: This free account allows the user to analyze a limited number of sites and to produce a system performance report for each; and Professional: For a small annual fee users can analyze an unlimited number of sites, produce system performance reports, and generate other customizable reports containing key information such as visual influence and wind resources. The tool’s interactive maps allow users to create site models that incorporate the obstructions and terrain types present. Users can generate site reports immediately after entering the requisite site information. Ideally, this tool also educates users regarding good site selection and effective evaluation practices.

Design and implementation of an online risk monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majdara, A.; Nematollah, M. R.; Haddad, K.; Sepanloo, K.

2006-01-01

Probabilistic Safety Assessment is a powerful method for evaluating the safety of nuclear facilities. Probabilistic Safety Assessment models are the basis of online risk monitors, which can be utilized for monitoring the online risk. In this paper a newly developed risk monitor called Safety Assessment Tool is presented, and its main features and capabilities are introduced. Some of these features are: graphical event/fault tree developing interface, a 30-day risk profile, performing importance analysis, different administrative levels, and handling time dependent failure data. Safety Assessment Tool can be utilized in nuclear power plants, research reactors, etc. as an online assistant to manage safety issues and prevent high-risk configurations

On-line analysis of reactor noise using time-series analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGevna, V.G.

1981-10-01

A method to allow use of time series analysis for on-line noise analysis has been developed. On-line analysis of noise in nuclear power reactors has been limited primarily to spectral analysis and related frequency domain techniques. Time series analysis has many distinct advantages over spectral analysis in the automated processing of reactor noise. However, fitting an autoregressive-moving average (ARMA) model to time series data involves non-linear least squares estimation. Unless a high speed, general purpose computer is available, the calculations become too time consuming for on-line applications. To eliminate this problem, a special purpose algorithm was developed for fitting ARMA models. While it is based on a combination of steepest descent and Taylor series linearization, properties of the ARMA model are used so that the auto- and cross-correlation functions can be used to eliminate the need for estimating derivatives. The number of calculations, per iteration varies lineegardless of the mee 0.2% yield strength displayed anisotropy, with axial and circumferential values being greater than radial. For CF8-CPF8 and CF8M-CPF8M castings to meet current ASME Code S acid fuel cells

Supporting student nurses in practice with additional online communication tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Morley, Dawn A

2014-01-01

Student nurses' potential isolation and difficulties of learning on placement have been well documented and, despite attempts to make placement learning more effective, evidence indicates the continuing schism between formal learning at university and situated learning on placement. First year student nurses, entering placement for the first time, are particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of practice. During 2012 two first year student nurse seminar groups (52 students) were voluntarily recruited for a mixed method study to determine the usage of additional online communication support mechanisms (Facebook, wiki, an email group and traditional methods of support using individual email or phone) while undertaking their first five week clinical placement. The study explores the possibility of strengthening clinical learning and support by promoting the use of Web 2.0 support groups for student nurses. Results indicate a high level of interactivity in both peer and academic support in the use of Facebook and a high level of interactivity in one wiki group. Students' qualitative comments voice an appreciation of being able to access university and peer support whilst working individually on placement. Recommendations from the study challenge universities to use online communication tools already familiar to students to complement the support mechanisms that exist for practice learning. This is tempered by recognition of the responsibility of academics to ensure their students are aware of safe and effective online communication. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PANDA-view: An easy-to-use tool for statistical analysis and visualization of quantitative proteomics data.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Cheng; Xu, Kaikun; Guo, Chaoping; Wang, Jinxia; Yan, Qi; Zhang, Jian; He, Fuchu; Zhu, Yunping

2018-05-22

Compared with the numerous software tools developed for identification and quantification of -omics data, there remains a lack of suitable tools for both downstream analysis and data visualization. To help researchers better understand the biological meanings in their -omics data, we present an easy-to-use tool, named PANDA-view, for both statistical analysis and visualization of quantitative proteomics data and other -omics data. PANDA-view contains various kinds of analysis methods such as normalization, missing value imputation, statistical tests, clustering and principal component analysis, as well as the most commonly-used data visualization methods including an interactive volcano plot. Additionally, it provides user-friendly interfaces for protein-peptide-spectrum representation of the quantitative proteomics data. PANDA-view is freely available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/panda-view/. 1987ccpacer@163.com and zhuyunping@gmail.com. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Effectiveness of interactive, online games in learning neuroscience and students' perception of the games as learning tools. A pre-experimental study.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Marilyn E; Ford, Ruth; Webster, Andrew

2011-01-01

Neurological concepts applicable to a doctorate in occupational therapy are often challenging to comprehend, and students are required to demonstrate critical reasoning skills beyond simply recalling the information. To achieve this, various learning and teaching strategies are used, including the use of technology in the classroom. The availability of technology in academic settings has allowed for diverse and active teaching approaches. This includes videos, web-based instruction, and interactive online games. In this quantitative pre-experimental analysis, the learning and retention of neuroscience concepts by 30 occupational therapy doctoral students, who participated in an interactive online learning experience, were assessed. The results suggest that student use of these tools may enhance their learning of neuroscience. Furthermore, the students felt that the sites were appropriate, beneficial to them, and easy to use. Thus, the use of online, interactive neuroscience games may be effective in reinforcing lecture materials. This needs to be further assessed in a larger sample size.

Readability, complexity, and suitability analysis of online lymphedema resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Bao Ngoc N; Singh, Mansher; Lee, Bernard T; Rudd, Rima; Singhal, Dhruv

2017-06-01

Over 72% of Americans use online health information to assist in health care decision-making. Previous studies of lymphedema literature have focused only on reading level of patient-oriented materials online. Findings indicate they are too advanced for most patients to comprehend. This, more comprehensive study, expands the previous analysis to include critical elements of health materials beyond readability using assessment tools to report on the complexity and density of data as well as text design, vocabulary, and organization. The top 10 highest ranked websites on lymphedema were identified using the most popular search engine (Google). Website content was analyzed for readability, complexity, and suitability using Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, PMOSE/iKIRSCH, and Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM), respectively. PMOSE/iKIRSCH and SAM were performed by two independent raters. Fleiss' kappa score was calculated to ensure inter-rater reliability. Online lymphedema literature had a reading grade level of 14.0 (SMOG). Overall complexity score was 6.7 (PMOSE/iKIRSCH) corresponding to "low" complexity and requiring a 8th-12th grade education. Fleiss' kappa score was 80% (P = 0.04, "substantial" agreement). Overall suitability score was 45% (SAM) correlating to the lowest level of "adequate" suitability. Fleiss' kappa score was 76% (P = 0.06, "substantial" agreement). Online resources for lymphedema are above the recommended levels for readability and complexity. The suitability level is barely adequate for the intended audience. Overall, these materials are too sophisticated for the average American adult, whose literacy skills are well documented. Further efforts to revise these materials are needed to improve patient comprehension and understanding. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"I'm Not Here to Learn How to Mark Someone Else's Stuff": An Investigation of an Online Peer-to-Peer Review Workshop Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Michael John; Diao, Ming Ming; Huang, Leon

2015-01-01

In this article, we explore the intersecting concepts of fairness, trust and temporality in relation to the implementation of an online peer-to-peer review Moodle Workshop tool at a Sydney metropolitan university. Drawing on qualitative interviews with unit convenors and online surveys of students using the Workshop tool, we seek to highlight a…

Instructor's Perceptions towards the Use of an Online Instructional Tool in an Academic English Setting in Kuwait

Science.gov (United States)

Erguvan, Deniz

2014-01-01

This study sets out to explore the faculty members' perceptions of a specific web-based instruction tool (Achieve3000) in a private higher education institute in Kuwait. The online tool provides highly differentiated instruction, which is initiated with a level set at the beginning of the term. The program is used in two consecutive courses as…

Three-Dimensional Online Visualization and Engagement Tools for the Geosciences

Science.gov (United States)

Cockett, R.; Moran, T.; Pidlisecky, A.

2013-12-01

Educational tools often sacrifice interactivity in favour of scalability so they can reach more users. This compromise leads to tools that may be viewed as second tier when compared to more engaging activities performed in a laboratory; however, the resources required to deliver laboratory exercises that are scalable is often impractical. Geoscience education is well situated to benefit from interactive online learning tools that allow users to work in a 3D environment. Visible Geology (http://3ptscience.com/visiblegeology) is an innovative web-based application designed to enable visualization of geologic structures and processes through the use of interactive 3D models. The platform allows users to conceptualize difficult, yet important geologic principles in a scientifically accurate manner by developing unique geologic models. The environment allows students to interactively practice their visualization and interpretation skills by creating and interacting with their own models and terrains. Visible Geology has been designed from a user centric perspective resulting in a simple and intuitive interface. The platform directs students to build there own geologic models by adding beds and creating geologic events such as tilting, folding, or faulting. The level of ownership and interactivity encourages engagement, leading learners to discover geologic relationships on their own, in the context of guided assignments. In January 2013, an interactive geologic history assignment was developed for a 700-student introductory geology class at The University of British Columbia. The assignment required students to distinguish the relative age of geologic events to construct a geologic history. Traditionally this type of exercise has been taught through the use of simple geologic cross-sections showing crosscutting relationships; from these cross-sections students infer the relative age of geologic events. In contrast, the Visible Geology assignment offers students a unique

Message Correlation Analysis Tool for NOvA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Qiming; Biery, Kurt A; Kowalkowski, James B

2012-01-01

A complex running system, such as the NOvA online data acquisition, consists of a large number of distributed but closely interacting components. This paper describes a generic real-time correlation analysis and event identification engine, named Message Analyzer. Its purpose is to capture run time abnormalities and recognize system failures based on log messages from participating components. The initial design of analysis engine is driven by the data acquisition (DAQ) of the NOvA experiment. The Message Analyzer performs filtering and pattern recognition on the log messages and reacts to system failures identified by associated triggering rules. The tool helps the system maintain a healthy running state and to minimize data corruption. This paper also describes a domain specific language that allows the recognition patterns and correlation rules to be specified in a clear and flexible way. In addition, the engine provides a plugin mechanism for users to implement specialized patterns or rules in generic languages such as C++.

Message Correlation Analysis Tool for NOvA

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

A complex running system, such as the NOvA online data acquisition, consists of a large number of distributed but closely interacting components. This paper describes a generic realtime correlation analysis and event identification engine, named Message Analyzer. Its purpose is to capture run time abnormalities and recognize system failures based on log messages from participating components. The initial design of analysis engine is driven by the DAQ of the NOvA experiment. The Message Analyzer performs filtering and pattern recognition on the log messages and reacts to system failures identified by associated triggering rules. The tool helps the system maintain a healthy running state and to minimize data corruption. This paper also describes a domain specific language that allows the recognition patterns and correlation rules to be specified in a clear and flexible way. In addition, the engine provides a plugin mechanism for users to implement specialized patterns or rules in generic languages such as C++.

Message correlation analysis tool for NOvA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Qiming [Fermilab; Biery, Kurt A. [Fermilab; Kowalkowski, James B. [Fermilab

2012-01-01

A complex running system, such as the NOvA online data acquisition, consists of a large number of distributed but closely interacting components. This paper describes a generic real-time correlation analysis and event identification engine, named Message Analyzer. Its purpose is to capture run time abnormalities and recognize system failures based on log messages from participating components. The initial design of analysis engine is driven by the data acquisition (DAQ) of the NOvA experiment. The Message Analyzer performs filtering and pattern recognition on the log messages and reacts to system failures identified by associated triggering rules. The tool helps the system maintain a healthy running state and to minimize data corruption. This paper also describes a domain specific language that allows the recognition patterns and correlation rules to be specified in a clear and flexible way. In addition, the engine provides a plugin mechanism for users to implement specialized patterns or rules in generic languages such as C++.

Physics analysis tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunz, P.F.

1991-04-01

There are many tools used in analysis in High Energy Physics (HEP). They range from low level tools such as a programming language to high level such as a detector simulation package. This paper will discuss some aspects of these tools that are directly associated with the process of analyzing HEP data. Physics analysis tools cover the whole range from the simulation of the interactions of particles to the display and fitting of statistical data. For purposes of this paper, the stages of analysis is broken down to five main stages. The categories are also classified as areas of generation, reconstruction, and analysis. Different detector groups use different terms for these stages thus it is useful to define what is meant by them in this paper. The particle generation stage is a simulation of the initial interaction, the production of particles, and the decay of the short lived particles. The detector simulation stage simulates the behavior of an event in a detector. The track reconstruction stage does pattern recognition on the measured or simulated space points, calorimeter information, etc., and reconstructs track segments of the original event. The event reconstruction stage takes the reconstructed tracks, along with particle identification information and assigns masses to produce 4-vectors. Finally the display and fit stage displays statistical data accumulated in the preceding stages in the form of histograms, scatter plots, etc. The remainder of this paper will consider what analysis tools are available today, and what one might expect in the future. In each stage, the integration of the tools with other stages and the portability of the tool will be analyzed

On-Line Flutter Prediction Tool for Wind Tunnel Flutter Testing using Parameter Varying Estimation Methodology, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ZONA Technology, Inc. (ZONA) proposes to develop an on-line flutter prediction tool for wind tunnel model using the parameter varying estimation (PVE) technique to...

Utilization and perceived problems of online medical resources and search tools among different groups of European physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Kritz, Marlene; Gschwandtner, Manfred; Stefanov, Veronika; Hanbury, Allan; Samwald, Matthias

2013-06-26

There is a large body of research suggesting that medical professionals have unmet information needs during their daily routines. To investigate which online resources and tools different groups of European physicians use to gather medical information and to identify barriers that prevent the successful retrieval of medical information from the Internet. A detailed Web-based questionnaire was sent out to approximately 15,000 physicians across Europe and disseminated through partner websites. 500 European physicians of different levels of academic qualification and medical specialization were included in the analysis. Self-reported frequency of use of different types of online resources, perceived importance of search tools, and perceived search barriers were measured. Comparisons were made across different levels of qualification (qualified physicians vs physicians in training, medical specialists without professorships vs medical professors) and specialization (general practitioners vs specialists). Most participants were Internet-savvy, came from Austria (43%, 190/440) and Switzerland (31%, 137/440), were above 50 years old (56%, 239/430), stated high levels of medical work experience, had regular patient contact and were employed in nonacademic health care settings (41%, 177/432). All groups reported frequent use of general search engines and cited "restricted accessibility to good quality information" as a dominant barrier to finding medical information on the Internet. Physicians in training reported the most frequent use of Wikipedia (56%, 31/55). Specialists were more likely than general practitioners to use medical research databases (68%, 185/274 vs 27%, 24/88; χ²₂=44.905, Presources on the Internet and frequent reliance on general search engines and social media among physicians require further attention. Possible solutions may be increased governmental support for the development and popularization of user-tailored medical search tools and open

Online Lexicological Tools in ESP – Towards an Approach to Strategy Training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaroslaw Krajka

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Together with great proliferation of online resources on the one hand and a striking lack of commercially published materials for specific ESP domains on the other, the ESP teacher needs to reflect on using Internet materials judiciously in the language classroom. An indispensable element of the teaching process in any context is effective resourcing, or the ability to find, evaluate and use reference tools of various kinds. This strategy is also necessary in the ESP context, and the range of available resources goes beyond dictionaries only and encompasses, among others, specialized dictionaries, glossaries, terminology databanks. The purpose of the present paper is to outline the procedure of online resourcing, by giving specific steps for the training of the skill based on ESP materials of various types. The theoretical discussion of strategy training will be substantiated with the practical activities for the procedure.

Developing an Ecosystem Services online Decision Support Tool to Assess the Impacts of Climate Change and Urban Growth in the Santa Cruz Watershed; Where We Live, Work, and Play

Science.gov (United States)

Processes through which ecosystems provide goods or benefit people can be referred to as "ecosystems services”, which may be quantified to clarify decision-making, with techniques including cost-benefit analysis. We are developing an online decision support tool, the Santa Cruz W...

An online network tool for quality information to answer questions about occupational safety and health: usability and applicability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Dijk Frank JH

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Common information facilities do not always provide the quality information needed to answer questions on health or health-related issues, such as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH matters. Barriers may be the accessibility, quantity and readability of information. Online Question & Answer (Q&A network tools, which link questioners directly to experts can overcome some of these barriers. When designing and testing online tools, assessing the usability and applicability is essential. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the usability and applicability of a new online Q&A network tool for answers on OSH questions. Methods We applied a cross-sectional usability test design. Eight occupational health experts and twelve potential questioners from the working population (workers were purposively selected to include a variety of computer- and internet-experiences. During the test, participants were first observed while executing eight tasks that entailed important features of the tool. In addition, they were interviewed. Through task observations and interviews we assessed applicability, usability (effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction and facilitators and barriers in use. Results Most features were usable, though several could be improved. Most tasks were executed effectively. Some tasks, for example searching stored questions in categories, were not executed efficiently and participants were less satisfied with the corresponding features. Participants' recommendations led to improvements. The tool was found mostly applicable for additional information, to observe new OSH trends and to improve contact between OSH experts and workers. Hosting and support by a trustworthy professional organization, effective implementation campaigns, timely answering and anonymity were seen as important use requirements. Conclusions This network tool is a promising new strategy for offering company workers high quality information

Information, communication, and online tool needs of Hispanic family caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Science.gov (United States)

Iribarren, Sarah; Stonbraker, Samantha; Suero-Tejeda, Niurka; Granja, Maribel; Luchsinger, José A; Mittelman, Mary; Bakken, Suzanne; Lucero, Robert J

2018-03-05

To identify the information and communication needs of Hispanic family caregivers for individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) and the manner in which online tools may meet those needs. We conducted 11 participatory design sessions with 10 English- and 14 Spanish-speaking urban-dwelling Hispanic family caregivers and gathered data using a survey, collage assemblage, and audio and video recordings. Four investigators analyzed transcripts of audio recordings with a coding framework informed by several conceptual models. Participants had an average age of 59.7 years, were mostly female (79.2%), and had cared for a family member with ADRD for an average of 6.5 years. All participants accessed the Internet at least once a week with 75% ≥ daily. Most used the Internet to look up health information. All participants reported caregiver attributes including awareness of the disease symptoms or behaviors. The majority reported information needs/tasks (91.7%), communication needs/tasks (87.5%), and need for online tools (79.2%). Hispanic caregivers of individuals with ADRD reported key information and communication needs/tasks. Only Spanish-speaking participants reported Internet and technology use deficits suggesting the requirement for further technology support. Data show a need for online tools to meet the needs of caregivers.

ELATE: an open-source online application for analysis and visualization of elastic tensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaillac, Romain; Coudert, François-Xavier; Pullumbi, Pluton

2016-01-01

We report on the implementation of a tool for the analysis of second-order elastic stiffness tensors, provided with both an open-source Python module and a standalone online application allowing the visualization of anisotropic mechanical properties. After describing the software features, how we compute the conventional elastic constants and how we represent them graphically, we explain our technical choices for the implementation. In particular, we focus on why a Python module is used to generate the HTML web page with embedded Javascript for dynamical plots. (paper)

OASIS 2: online application for survival analysis 2 with features for the analysis of maximal lifespan and healthspan in aging research.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Seong Kyu; Lee, Dongyeop; Lee, Heetak; Kim, Donghyo; Son, Heehwa G; Yang, Jae-Seong; Lee, Seung-Jae V; Kim, Sanguk

2016-08-30

Online application for survival analysis (OASIS) has served as a popular and convenient platform for the statistical analysis of various survival data, particularly in the field of aging research. With the recent advances in the fields of aging research that deal with complex survival data, we noticed a need for updates to the current version of OASIS. Here, we report OASIS 2 (http://sbi.postech.ac.kr/oasis2), which provides extended statistical tools for survival data and an enhanced user interface. In particular, OASIS 2 enables the statistical comparison of maximal lifespans, which is potentially useful for determining key factors that limit the lifespan of a population. Furthermore, OASIS 2 provides statistical and graphical tools that compare values in different conditions and times. That feature is useful for comparing age-associated changes in physiological activities, which can be used as indicators of "healthspan." We believe that OASIS 2 will serve as a standard platform for survival analysis with advanced and user-friendly statistical tools for experimental biologists in the field of aging research.

Participatory Design of an Online Self-Management Tool for Users With Spinal Cord Injury: Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, John; Tomasone, Jennifer; Munce, Sarah; Linassi, Gary; Hossain, Saima Noreen; Jaglal, Susan

2018-01-01

Background Rehospitalization rates resulting from secondary conditions in persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are high. Self-management programs for many chronic conditions have been associated with decreases in hospital readmissions. However, in the SCI community, evidence suggests that satisfaction with traditional self-management programs is low. Users with SCI have indicated preference for programs that are online (rather than in-person), that target SCI-specific concerns, and are led by peers with SCI. There is currently no program with all of these features, which addresses self-management of secondary conditions after SCI. Objective The aim of this study was to provide details of a participatory design (PD) process for an internet-mediated self-management program for users with SCI (called SCI & U) and illustrate how it has been used to define design constraints and solutions. Methods Users were involved in development as codesigners, codevelopers, and key informants. Codesigners and codevelopers were recruited from consumer advocacy groups and worked with a core development team. Key informants were recruited from geographically distributed advocacy groups to form a product advisory council that met regularly with the core team. During meetings, codesigners and informants walked through stages of work that typify PD processes such as exploration, discovery, and prototyping. This paper details the process by analyzing 10 meetings that took place between August 2015 and May 2016. Meetings were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to an inductive thematic analysis; resulting themes were organized according to their relationship to PD stages. Results A total of 16 individuals participated in meeting discussions, including 7 researchers and 9 persons with SCI from 4 Canadian provinces. Themes of trust, expertise, and community emerged in every group discussion. The exploration stage revealed interest in online self-management resources coupled with concerns

Improving beam set-up using an online beam optics tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richter, S.; Barth, W.; Franczak, B.; Scheeler, U.; Wilms, D.

2004-01-01

The GSI accelerator facility [1] consists of the Universal Linear Accelerator (Unilac), the heavy ion synchrotron SIS, and the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR). Two Unilac injectors with three ion source terminals provide ion species from the lightest such as hydrogen up to uranium. The High Current Injector (HSI) for low charge state ion beams provides mostly high intense but short pulses, whereas the High Charge State Injector (HLI) supplies long pulses with a high duty factor of up to 27%. Before entering the Alvarez section of the Unilac the ion beam from the HSI is stripped in a supersonic gas jet. Up to three different ion species can be accelerated for up to five experiments in a time-sharing mode. Frequent changes of beam energy and intensity during a single beam time period may result in time consuming set-up and tuning especially of the beam transport lines. To shorten these changeover times an online optics tool (MIRKO EXPERT) had been developed. Based on online emittance measurements at well-defined locations the beam envelopes are calculated using the actual magnet settings. With this input improved calculated magnet settings can be directly sent to the magnet power supplies. The program reads profile grid measurements, such that an atomized beam alignment is established and that steering times are minimized. Experiences on this tool will be reported. At the Unilac a special focus is put on high current operation with short but intense beam pulses. Limitations like missing non-destructive beam diagnostics, insufficient longitudinal beam diagnostics, insufficient longitudinal beam matching, and influence of the hard edged model for magnetic fields will be discussed. Special attention will be put on the limits due to high current effects with bunched beams. (author)

CORSSA: The Community Online Resource for Statistical Seismicity Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, Andrew J.; Wiemer, Stefan

2010-01-01

Statistical seismology is the application of rigorous statistical methods to earthquake science with the goal of improving our knowledge of how the earth works. Within statistical seismology there is a strong emphasis on the analysis of seismicity data in order to improve our scientific understanding of earthquakes and to improve the evaluation and testing of earthquake forecasts, earthquake early warning, and seismic hazards assessments. Given the societal importance of these applications, statistical seismology must be done well. Unfortunately, a lack of educational resources and available software tools make it difficult for students and new practitioners to learn about this discipline. The goal of the Community Online Resource for Statistical Seismicity Analysis (CORSSA) is to promote excellence in statistical seismology by providing the knowledge and resources necessary to understand and implement the best practices, so that the reader can apply these methods to their own research. This introduction describes the motivation for and vision of CORRSA. It also describes its structure and contents.

An online formative assessment tool to prepare students for summative assessment in physiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha Kerr

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background. The didactic approach to teaching physiology in our university has traditionally included the delivery of lectures to large groups, illustrating concepts and referencing recommended textbooks. Importantly, at undergraduate level, our assessments demand a level of application of physiological mechanisms to recognised pathophysiological conditions. Objective. To bridge the gap between lectured material and the application of physiological concepts to pathophysiological conditions, we developed a technological tool approach that augments traditional teaching. Methods. Our e-learning initiative, eQuip, is a custom-built e-learning platform specifically created to align question types included in the program to be similar to those used in current assessments. We describe our formative e-learning system and present preliminary results after the first year of introduction, reporting on the performances and perceptions of 2nd-year physiology students. Results. Students who made use of eQuip for at least three of the teaching blocks achieved significantly better results than those who did not use the program (p=0.0032. Questionnaire feedback was positive with regard to the administration processes and usefulness of eQuip. Students reported particularly liking the ease of access to information; however, <60% of them felt that eQuip motivated them to learn. Conclusion. These results are consistent with the literature, which shows that students who made use of an online formative assessment tool performed better in summative assessment tasks. Despite the improved performance of students, the questionnaire results showed that student motives for using online learning tools indicated that they lack self-directed learning skills and seek easy access to information.

Mango: an online GUI development tool for the Tango control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strangolino, G.; Scafuri, C.

2012-01-01

Mango is an online tool based on QTango that allows easy development of graphical panels ready to run without need to be compiled. Developing with Mango is easy and fast because widgets are dragged from a widget catalogue and dropped into the Mango container. Widgets are then connected to the control system variables by choosing them from a Tango device list or by dragging them from any other running application built with the QTango library. Mango has also been successfully used during the FERMI-Elettra commissioning both by machine physicists and technicians: about 10 control panels have been designed and run with Mango

Online Movie Trailers - A Reception Analysis

OpenAIRE

Jensen, Frida Videbæk; Rozé, Caroline

2014-01-01

This project is a reception analysis of how a target group receive online movie trailers. It utilized a focus group as means of research with participants from the dormitories Kollibrien and Korallen. We concluded that the group we investigated were not interested in online movie trailers as anything else than a preview of a movie. They preferred to experience movie trailers in the cinema. Their opinion of specific movie trailers were also determined by whether or not they identified with the...

DaGO-Fun: tool for Gene Ontology-based functional analysis using term information content measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazandu, Gaston K; Mulder, Nicola J

2013-09-25

The use of Gene Ontology (GO) data in protein analyses have largely contributed to the improved outcomes of these analyses. Several GO semantic similarity measures have been proposed in recent years and provide tools that allow the integration of biological knowledge embedded in the GO structure into different biological analyses. There is a need for a unified tool that provides the scientific community with the opportunity to explore these different GO similarity measure approaches and their biological applications. We have developed DaGO-Fun, an online tool available at http://web.cbio.uct.ac.za/ITGOM, which incorporates many different GO similarity measures for exploring, analyzing and comparing GO terms and proteins within the context of GO. It uses GO data and UniProt proteins with their GO annotations as provided by the Gene Ontology Annotation (GOA) project to precompute GO term information content (IC), enabling rapid response to user queries. The DaGO-Fun online tool presents the advantage of integrating all the relevant IC-based GO similarity measures, including topology- and annotation-based approaches to facilitate effective exploration of these measures, thus enabling users to choose the most relevant approach for their application. Furthermore, this tool includes several biological applications related to GO semantic similarity scores, including the retrieval of genes based on their GO annotations, the clustering of functionally related genes within a set, and term enrichment analysis.

Online UV-visible spectroscopy and multivariate curve resolution as powerful tool for model-free investigation of laccase-catalysed oxidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kandelbauer, A; Kessler, W; Kessler, R W

2008-03-01

The laccase-catalysed transformation of indigo carmine (IC) with and without a redox active mediator was studied using online UV-visible spectroscopy. Deconvolution of the mixture spectra obtained during the reaction was performed on a model-free basis using multivariate curve resolution (MCR). Thereby, the time courses of educts, products, and reaction intermediates involved in the transformation were reconstructed without prior mechanistic assumptions. Furthermore, the spectral signature of a reactive intermediate which could not have been detected by a classical hard-modelling approach was extracted from the chemometric analysis. The findings suggest that the combined use of UV-visible spectroscopy and MCR may lead to unexpectedly deep mechanistic evidence otherwise buried in the experimental data. Thus, although rather an unspecific method, UV-visible spectroscopy can prove useful in the monitoring of chemical reactions when combined with MCR. This offers a wide range of chemists a cheap and readily available, highly sensitive tool for chemical reaction online monitoring.

Analisis Industri Bisnis Jasa Online Ride Sharing di Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berto Mulia Wibawa

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Analysis of Online Ride Sharing Business Industry in IndonesiaInnovation in transportation sector with sharing economy principal has create new service sector which is named online ride sharing service. There are a lot of online ride-sharing service players in Indonesia such as Go-Jek, Grab, and Uber. Nowadays, government also have rules on changing the condition of online ride-sharing. Therefore, industry analysis is needed to be analyze further to know the industry attractiveness of the online-ride sharing service. This study aims to analyze the level of attractiveness in online ride-sharing industry in Indonesia. This study used descriptive-explorative method on identifying Porter’s Five Forces as tools in industry analysis. Data collection is using ghost interview method to the selected driver. The conclusion is online-ride sharing industry in Indonesia is quite attractive to be developed in the future because the number of customers has not reached the maximum point, moreover the industry may offer a very diverse product differentiationDOI: 10.15408/ess.v8i1.5739

Can social support work virtually? Evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis patients' experiences with an interactive online tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Kostova, Zlatina; Caiata-Zufferey, Maria; Schulz, Peter J

2015-01-01

There is strong empirical evidence that the support that chronic patients receive from their environment is fundamental for the way they cope with physical and psychological suffering. Nevertheless, in the case of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), providing the appropriate social support is still a challenge, and such support has often proven to be elusive and unreliable in helping patients to manage the disease. To explore whether and how social support for RA patients can be provided online, and to assess the conditions under which such support is effective. An online support tool was designed to provide patients with both tailored information and opportunities to interact online with health professionals and fellow sufferers. The general purpose was to identify where the support provided did - or did not - help patients, and to judge whether the determinants of success lay more within patients - their engagement and willingness to participate - or within the design of the website itself. The present study reports qualitative interviews with 19 users of the tool. A more specific purpose was to elaborate qualitatively on results from a quantitative survey of users, which indicated that any positive impact was confined to practical matters of pain management rather than extending to more fundamental psychological outcomes such as acceptance. Overall, online learning and interaction can do much to help patients with the everyday stresses of their disease; however, its potential for more durable positive impact depends on various individual characteristics such as personality traits, existing social networks, and the severity and longevity of the disease.

Automatic analysis of online image data for law enforcement agencies by concept detection and instance search

Science.gov (United States)

de Boer, Maaike H. T.; Bouma, Henri; Kruithof, Maarten C.; ter Haar, Frank B.; Fischer, Noëlle M.; Hagendoorn, Laurens K.; Joosten, Bart; Raaijmakers, Stephan

2017-10-01

The information available on-line and off-line, from open as well as from private sources, is growing at an exponential rate and places an increasing demand on the limited resources of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). The absence of appropriate tools and techniques to collect, process, and analyze the volumes of complex and heterogeneous data has created a severe information overload. If a solution is not found, the impact on law enforcement will be dramatic, e.g. because important evidence is missed or the investigation time is too long. Furthermore, there is an uneven level of capabilities to deal with the large volumes of complex and heterogeneous data that come from multiple open and private sources at national level across the EU, which hinders cooperation and information sharing. Consequently, there is a pertinent need to develop tools, systems and processes which expedite online investigations. In this paper, we describe a suite of analysis tools to identify and localize generic concepts, instances of objects and logos in images, which constitutes a significant portion of everyday law enforcement data. We describe how incremental learning based on only a few examples and large-scale indexing are addressed in both concept detection and instance search. Our search technology allows querying of the database by visual examples and by keywords. Our tools are packaged in a Docker container to guarantee easy deployment on a system and our tools exploit possibilities provided by open source toolboxes, contributing to the technical autonomy of LEAs.

Oscillation Baselining and Analysis Tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2017-03-27

PNNL developed a new tool for oscillation analysis and baselining. This tool has been developed under a new DOE Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium (GMLC) Project (GM0072 - “Suite of open-source applications and models for advanced synchrophasor analysis”) and it is based on the open platform for PMU analysis. The Oscillation Baselining and Analysis Tool (OBAT) performs the oscillation analysis and identifies modes of oscillations (frequency, damping, energy, and shape). The tool also does oscillation event baselining (fining correlation between oscillations characteristics and system operating conditions).

Community College Students' Perceptions of Effective Communication in Online Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Donna Alice Hill

2012-01-01

This quantitative research project analyzed the application of instructional communication tools and techniques used by community college students to determine how they perceive communication in their online classes. Online students from a community college participated in this study by completing an electronic survey. Data analysis revealed that…

Volunteering in the Digital Age: A Study of Online Collaboration Tools from the Perspective of CSCL

Science.gov (United States)

Kok, Ayse

2011-01-01

There is little evidence that helps to inform education, practice, policy, and research about issues surrounding the use of online collaboration tools for organisational initiatives (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Cook & Brown, 1999); let alone a single study conducted with regard to the volunteering practice of knowledge workers. The underlying…

SU-E-J-127: Implementation of An Online Replanning Tool for VMAT Using Flattening Filter-Free Beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ates, O; Ahunbay, E; Li, X [Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: This is to report the implementation of an online replanning tool based on segment aperture morphing (SAM) for VMAT with flattening filter free (FFF) beams. Methods: Previously reported SAM algorithm modified to accommodate VMAT with FFF beams was implemented in a tool that was interfaced with a treatment planning system (Monaco, Elekta). The tool allows (1) to output the beam parameters of the original VMAT plan from Monaco, and (2) to input the apertures generated from the SAM algorithm into Monaco for the dose calculation on daily CT/CBCT/MRI in the following steps:(1) Quickly generating target contour based on the image of the day, using an auto-segmentation tool (ADMIRE, Elekta) with manual editing if necessary; (2) Morphing apertures based on the SAM in the original VMAT plan to account for the interfractional change of the target from the planning to the daily images; (3) Calculating dose distribution for new apertures with the same numbers of MU as in the original plan; (4) Transferring the new plan into a record & verify system (MOSAIQ, Elekta); (5) Performing a pre-delivery QA based on software; (6) Delivering the adaptive plan for the fraction.This workflow was implemented on a 16-CPU (2.6 GHz dual-core) hardware with GPU and was tested for sample cases of prostate, pancreas and lung tumors. Results: The online replanning process can be completed within 10 minutes. The adaptive plans generally have improved the plan quality when compared to the IGRT repositioning plans. The adaptive plans with FFF beams have better normal tissue sparing as compared with those of FF beams. Conclusion: The online replanning tool based on SAM can quickly generate adaptive VMAT plans using FFF beams with improved plan quality than those from the IGRT repositioning plans based on daily CT/CBCT/MRI and can be used clinically. This research was supported by Elekta Inc. (Crawley, UK)

SU-E-J-127: Implementation of An Online Replanning Tool for VMAT Using Flattening Filter-Free Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ates, O; Ahunbay, E; Li, X

2015-01-01

Purpose: This is to report the implementation of an online replanning tool based on segment aperture morphing (SAM) for VMAT with flattening filter free (FFF) beams. Methods: Previously reported SAM algorithm modified to accommodate VMAT with FFF beams was implemented in a tool that was interfaced with a treatment planning system (Monaco, Elekta). The tool allows (1) to output the beam parameters of the original VMAT plan from Monaco, and (2) to input the apertures generated from the SAM algorithm into Monaco for the dose calculation on daily CT/CBCT/MRI in the following steps:(1) Quickly generating target contour based on the image of the day, using an auto-segmentation tool (ADMIRE, Elekta) with manual editing if necessary; (2) Morphing apertures based on the SAM in the original VMAT plan to account for the interfractional change of the target from the planning to the daily images; (3) Calculating dose distribution for new apertures with the same numbers of MU as in the original plan; (4) Transferring the new plan into a record & verify system (MOSAIQ, Elekta); (5) Performing a pre-delivery QA based on software; (6) Delivering the adaptive plan for the fraction.This workflow was implemented on a 16-CPU (2.6 GHz dual-core) hardware with GPU and was tested for sample cases of prostate, pancreas and lung tumors. Results: The online replanning process can be completed within 10 minutes. The adaptive plans generally have improved the plan quality when compared to the IGRT repositioning plans. The adaptive plans with FFF beams have better normal tissue sparing as compared with those of FF beams. Conclusion: The online replanning tool based on SAM can quickly generate adaptive VMAT plans using FFF beams with improved plan quality than those from the IGRT repositioning plans based on daily CT/CBCT/MRI and can be used clinically. This research was supported by Elekta Inc. (Crawley, UK)

Rapid Offline-Online Post-Disaster Landslide Mapping Tool: A case study from Nepal

Science.gov (United States)

Olyazadeh, Roya; Jaboyedoff, Michel; Sudmeier-Rieux, Karen; Derron, Marc-Henri; Devkota, Sanjaya

2016-04-01

One of the crucial components of post disaster management is the efficient mapping of impacted areas. Here we present a tool designed to map landslides and affected objects after the earthquakes of 2015 in Nepal as well as for intense rainfall impact. Because internet is not available in many rural areas of Nepal, we developed an offline-online prototype based on Open-Source WebGIS technologies to make data on hazard impacts, including damaged infrastructure, landslides or flooding events available to authorities and the general public. This mobile application was designed as a low-cost, rapid and participatory method for recording impacts from hazard events. It is possible to record such events offline and upload them through a server, where internet connection is available. This application allows user authentication, image capturing, and information collation such as geolocation, event description, interactive mapping and finally storing all the data in the server for further analysis and visualisation. This application can be accessed by a mobile phone (Android) or a tablet as a hybrid version for both offline and online versions. The offline version has an interactive-offline map function which allows users to upload satellites image in order to improve ground truthing interpretation. After geolocation, the user can start mapping and then save recorded data into Geojson-TXT files that can be easily uploaded to the server whenever internet is available. This prototype was tested specifically for a rapid assessment of landslides and relevant land use characteristics such as roads, forest area, rivers in the Phewa Lake watershed near Pokhara, Nepal where a large number landslides were activated or reactivated after the 2015 monsoon season. More than 60 landslides were recorded during two days of field trip. Besides, it is possible to use this application for any other kind of hazard event like flood, avalanche, etc. Keywords: Offline, Online, Open source, Web

Security analysis of electronic voting and online banking systems

OpenAIRE

Tjøstheim, Thomas

2007-01-01

The main focus of this dissertation is on security analysis of electronic voting and online banking systems. Six papers form the basis of the thesis and include the following topics: a model for analysis of voting systems, a case study where we apply the proposed model, a new scheme for remote electronic voting, and three case studies of commercial online banking solutions in Norway.

LHCb: Beam and Background Monitoring and the Development of an Online Condition Analysis Tool for the LHCb Experiment at CERN

CERN Multimedia

Alessio, F

2010-01-01

The LHCb experiment has been taking data since more than half a year at the LHC, recording events from collisions at the highest energy ever achieved. For its physics purposes in the sector of CP violation, the experiment will record data with the best precision achievable. An online and offline beam and background monitoring became therefore essential to understand the performance of the LHC accelerator at CERN, to monitor and study the behavior of the background around the LHCb experiment and to optimize the experimental conditions. During my second year as a Doctoral Student at CERN, I have been working on the timing and readout control as well as on the online Beam, Background, and Luminosity Monitoring of the LHCb experiment in the frame of the LHCb Online group. The group is responsible for the complete data acquisition of the LHCb experiment, from the Front-End Electronics (FEE) to the storage of the data for offline analysis, including the Timing and Fast Control (TFC) system. The latter controls and...

A method for screening active components from Chinese herbs by cell membrane chromatography-offline-high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and an online statistical tool for data processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yan; Wang, Shaozhan; Li, Yinghua; Chen, Xiaofei; Chen, Langdong; Wang, Dongyao; Zhu, Zhenyu; Yuan, Yongfang; Lv, Diya

2018-03-09

Cell membrane chromatography (CMC) has been successfully applied to screen bioactive compounds from Chinese herbs for many years, and some offline and online two-dimensional (2D) CMC-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) hyphenated systems have been established to perform screening assays. However, the requirement of sample preparation steps for the second-dimensional analysis in offline systems and the need for an interface device and technical expertise in the online system limit their extensive use. In the present study, an offline 2D CMC-HPLC analysis combined with the XCMS (various forms of chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry) Online statistical tool for data processing was established. First, our previously reported online 2D screening system was used to analyze three Chinese herbs that were reported to have potential anti-inflammatory effects, and two binding components were identified. By contrast, the proposed offline 2D screening method with XCMS Online analysis was applied, and three more ingredients were discovered in addition to the two compounds revealed by the online system. Then, cross-validation of the three compounds was performed, and they were confirmed to be included in the online data as well, but were not identified there because of their low concentrations and lack of credible statistical approaches. Last, pharmacological experiments showed that these five ingredients could inhibit IL-6 release and IL-6 gene expression on LPS-induced RAW cells in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with previous 2D CMC screening systems, this newly developed offline 2D method needs no sample preparation steps for the second-dimensional analysis, and it is sensitive, efficient, and convenient. It will be applicable in identifying active components from Chinese herbs and practical in discovery of lead compounds derived from herbs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An analysis of online reviews of upscale Iberian restaurants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Pacheco

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM has gained importance with the emergence of new online tools and the hospitality sector is at the core of this phenomenon. In this study, we use a data set of client reviews for Michelin starred restaurants located in Portugal and Spain to analyze the reviews in terms of overall satisfaction and four specific attributes. By employing statistical tests and regression analysis we find that the “food” and “service” attributes show a greater correlation with overall satisfaction than other criteria, and those attributes are common across restaurant segments and countries. These results have implications for the restaurant industry, highlighting the most important determinants of overall satisfaction. Some areas would benefit from small improvements and investments, which could make a difference in terms of rating and might bring a competitive advantage.

An Online Tool for Nurse Triage to Evaluate Risk for Acute Coronary Syndrome at Emergency Department

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuwares Sittichanbuncha

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. To differentiate acute coronary syndrome (ACS from other causes in patients presenting with chest pain at the emergency department (ED is crucial and can be performed by the nurse triage. We evaluated the effectiveness of the ED nurse triage for ACS of the tertiary care hospital. Methods. We retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients who were identified as ACS at risk patients by the ED nurse triage. Patients were categorized as ACS and non-ACS group by the final diagnosis. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to predict factors associated with ACS. An online model predictive of ACS for the ED nurse triage was constructed. Results. There were 175 patients who met the study criteria. Of those, 28 patients (16.0% were diagnosed with ACS. Patients with diabetes, patients with previous history of CAD, and those who had at least one character of ACS chest pain were independently associated with having ACS by multivariate logistic regression. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval were 4.220 (1.445, 12.327, 3.333 (1.040, 10.684, and 12.539 (3.876, 40.567, respectively. Conclusions. The effectiveness of the ED nurse triage for ACS was 16%. The online tool is available for the ED triage nurse to evaluate risk of ACS in individuals.

The development of the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ).

Science.gov (United States)

Demetrovics, Zsolt; Urbán, Róbert; Nagygyörgy, Katalin; Farkas, Judit; Griffiths, Mark D; Pápay, Orsolya; Kökönyei, Gyöngyi; Felvinczi, Katalin; Oláh, Attila

2012-01-01

Online gaming has become increasingly popular. However, this has led to concerns that these games might induce serious problems and/or lead to dependence for a minority of players. The aim of this study was to uncover and operationalize the components of problematic online gaming. A total of 3415 gamers (90% males; mean age 21 years), were recruited through online gaming websites. A combined method of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied. Latent profile analysis was applied to identify persons at-risk. EFA revealed a six-factor structure in the background of problematic online gaming that was also confirmed by a CFA. For the assessment of the identified six dimensions--preoccupation, overuse, immersion, social isolation, interpersonal conflicts, and withdrawal--the 18-item Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) proved to be exceedingly suitable. Based on the latent profile analysis, 3.4% of the gamer population was considered to be at high risk, while another 15.2% was moderately problematic. The POGQ seems to be an adequate measurement tool for the differentiated assessment of gaming related problems on six subscales.

On-line moisture analysis

CERN Document Server

Cutmore, N G

2002-01-01

Measurement of the moisture content of iron ore has become a key issue for controlling moisture additions for dust suppression. In most cases moisture content is still determined by manual or automatic sampling of the ore stream, followed by conventional laboratory analysis by oven drying. Although this procedure enables the moisture content to be routinely monitored, it is too slow for control purposes. This has generated renewed interest in on-line techniques for the accurate and rapid measurement of moisture in iron ore on conveyors. Microwave transmission techniques have emerged over the past 40 years as the dominant technology for on-line measurement of moisture in bulk materials, including iron ores. Alternative technologies have their limitations. Infra-red analysers are used in a variety of process industries, but rely on the measurement of absorption by moisture in a very thin surface layer. Consequently such probes may be compromised by particle size effects and biased presentation of the bulk mater...

Implementing an online tool for genome-wide validation of survival-associated biomarkers in ovarian-cancer using microarray data from 1287 patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Győrffy, Balázs; Lánczky, András; Szállási, Zoltán

2012-01-01

was set up using gene expression data and survival information of 1287 ovarian cancer patients downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas (Affymetrix HG-U133A, HG-U133A 2.0, and HG-U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays). After quality control and normalization, only probes present on all......). A Kaplan–Meier survival plot was generated and significance was computed. The tool can be accessed online at www.kmplot.com/ovar. We used this integrative data analysis tool to validate the prognostic power of 37 biomarkers identified in the literature. Of these, CA125 (MUC16; P=3.7x10–5, hazard ratio (HR...... biomarker validation platform that mines all available microarray data to assess the prognostic power of 22 277 genes in 1287 ovarian cancer patients. We specifically used this tool to evaluate the effect of 37 previously published biomarkers on ovarian cancer prognosis....

Perspectives for online analysis of raw material by pulsed neutron irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Bach, Pierre; Le Tourneur, P.; Poumarede, B.

1997-02-01

On-line analysis by pulsed neutron irradiation is an example of an advanced technology application of nuclear techniques, concerning real problems in the cement, mineral and coal industries. The most significant of these nuclear techniques is their capability of continuous measurement without contact and without sampling, which can lead to improved control of processes and resultant large financial savings. Compared to Californium neutron sources, the use of electrical pulsed neutron generators allows to obtain a higher signal/noise ratio for a more sensitive measurement, and allows to overcome a number of safety problems concerning transportation, installation and maintenance. An experiment related to a possible new on-line raw material analyzer is described, using a pulsed neutron generator. The key factors contributing to an accurate measurement are related to a suitable generator, to a high count rate gamma ray spectroscopy electronics, and to computational tools. Calculation and results for the optimization of the neutron irradiation time diagram are reported. One of the operational characteristics of such an equipment is related to neutron flux available: it is possible to adjust it to the requested accuracy, i.e. for a high accuracy during a few hours/day and for a lower accuracy the rest of the time. This feature allows to operate the neutron tube during a longer time, and then to reduce the cost of analysis.

An online database for plant image analysis software tools

OpenAIRE

Lobet, Guillaume; Draye, Xavier; Périlleux, Claire

2013-01-01

Background: Recent years have seen an increase in methods for plant phenotyping using image analyses. These methods require new software solutions for data extraction and treatment. These solutions are instrumental in supporting various research pipelines, ranging from the localisation of cellular compounds to the quantification of tree canopies. However, due to the variety of existing tools and the lack of central repository, it is challenging for researchers to identify the software that is...

Operation and evaluation of online risk communication assistant tool, 'ORCAT'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Hiroshi; Katsumura, Soichiro; Furuta, Kazuo; Matsumura, Kenichi; Tanaka, Hiroshi

2005-01-01

Risk communication about the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal is necessary for public acceptance of HLW disposal program. Online Risk Communication Assistant Tool (ORCAT) system is developed in order to support risk communication for high-level radioactive disposal on World Wide Web. We have carried out two test operations of ORCAT system. First test operation is carried out from Jun. 26 to Feb. 13, 2003. After the first operation, we improved the ORCAT system, and carried out the second test operation from Dec. 4 to 22, 2004. In the second test operation, 20 participants replayed the questionnaire about usability of ORCAT system. In consequence, we found that the ORCAT system remains what need to refine, but is evaluated useful to the risk communication about the HLW disposal. (author)

Modeling Periodic Impulsive Effects on Online TV Series Diffusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Peihua; Zhu, Anding; Fang, Qiwen; Wang, Xi

Online broadcasting substantially affects the production, distribution, and profit of TV series. In addition, online word-of-mouth significantly affects the diffusion of TV series. Because on-demand streaming rates are the most important factor that influences the earnings of online video suppliers, streaming statistics and forecasting trends are valuable. In this paper, we investigate the effects of periodic impulsive stimulation and pre-launch promotion on on-demand streaming dynamics. We consider imbalanced audience feverish distribution using an impulsive susceptible-infected-removed(SIR)-like model. In addition, we perform a correlation analysis of online buzz volume based on Baidu Index data. We propose a PI-SIR model to evolve audience dynamics and translate them into on-demand streaming fluctuations, which can be observed and comprehended by online video suppliers. Six South Korean TV series datasets are used to test the model. We develop a coarse-to-fine two-step fitting scheme to estimate the model parameters, first by fitting inter-period accumulation and then by fitting inner-period feverish distribution. We find that audience members display similar viewing habits. That is, they seek new episodes every update day but fade away. This outcome means that impulsive intensity plays a crucial role in on-demand streaming diffusion. In addition, the initial audience size and online buzz are significant factors. On-demand streaming fluctuation is highly correlated with online buzz fluctuation. To stimulate audience attention and interpersonal diffusion, it is worthwhile to invest in promotion near update days. Strong pre-launch promotion is also a good marketing tool to improve overall performance. It is not advisable for online video providers to promote several popular TV series on the same update day. Inter-period accumulation is a feasible forecasting tool to predict the future trend of the on-demand streaming amount. The buzz in public social communities

Modeling Periodic Impulsive Effects on Online TV Series Diffusion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peihua Fu

Full Text Available Online broadcasting substantially affects the production, distribution, and profit of TV series. In addition, online word-of-mouth significantly affects the diffusion of TV series. Because on-demand streaming rates are the most important factor that influences the earnings of online video suppliers, streaming statistics and forecasting trends are valuable. In this paper, we investigate the effects of periodic impulsive stimulation and pre-launch promotion on on-demand streaming dynamics. We consider imbalanced audience feverish distribution using an impulsive susceptible-infected-removed(SIR-like model. In addition, we perform a correlation analysis of online buzz volume based on Baidu Index data.We propose a PI-SIR model to evolve audience dynamics and translate them into on-demand streaming fluctuations, which can be observed and comprehended by online video suppliers. Six South Korean TV series datasets are used to test the model. We develop a coarse-to-fine two-step fitting scheme to estimate the model parameters, first by fitting inter-period accumulation and then by fitting inner-period feverish distribution.We find that audience members display similar viewing habits. That is, they seek new episodes every update day but fade away. This outcome means that impulsive intensity plays a crucial role in on-demand streaming diffusion. In addition, the initial audience size and online buzz are significant factors. On-demand streaming fluctuation is highly correlated with online buzz fluctuation.To stimulate audience attention and interpersonal diffusion, it is worthwhile to invest in promotion near update days. Strong pre-launch promotion is also a good marketing tool to improve overall performance. It is not advisable for online video providers to promote several popular TV series on the same update day. Inter-period accumulation is a feasible forecasting tool to predict the future trend of the on-demand streaming amount. The buzz in public

Modeling Periodic Impulsive Effects on Online TV Series Diffusion

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Qiwen; Wang, Xi

2016-01-01

Background Online broadcasting substantially affects the production, distribution, and profit of TV series. In addition, online word-of-mouth significantly affects the diffusion of TV series. Because on-demand streaming rates are the most important factor that influences the earnings of online video suppliers, streaming statistics and forecasting trends are valuable. In this paper, we investigate the effects of periodic impulsive stimulation and pre-launch promotion on on-demand streaming dynamics. We consider imbalanced audience feverish distribution using an impulsive susceptible-infected-removed(SIR)-like model. In addition, we perform a correlation analysis of online buzz volume based on Baidu Index data. Methods We propose a PI-SIR model to evolve audience dynamics and translate them into on-demand streaming fluctuations, which can be observed and comprehended by online video suppliers. Six South Korean TV series datasets are used to test the model. We develop a coarse-to-fine two-step fitting scheme to estimate the model parameters, first by fitting inter-period accumulation and then by fitting inner-period feverish distribution. Results We find that audience members display similar viewing habits. That is, they seek new episodes every update day but fade away. This outcome means that impulsive intensity plays a crucial role in on-demand streaming diffusion. In addition, the initial audience size and online buzz are significant factors. On-demand streaming fluctuation is highly correlated with online buzz fluctuation. Conclusion To stimulate audience attention and interpersonal diffusion, it is worthwhile to invest in promotion near update days. Strong pre-launch promotion is also a good marketing tool to improve overall performance. It is not advisable for online video providers to promote several popular TV series on the same update day. Inter-period accumulation is a feasible forecasting tool to predict the future trend of the on-demand streaming amount

Economic and Financial Analysis Tools | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Economic and Financial Analysis Tools Economic and Financial Analysis Tools Use these economic and . Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) Model Use these easy-to-use, spreadsheet-based tools to analyze the economic impacts of constructing and operating power generation and biofuel plants at the

Distributive Online Processing, Visualization and Analysis System for Gridded Remote Sensing Data

Science.gov (United States)

Leptoukh, G.; Liu, Z.; Pham, L.; Rui, H.; Shen, S.; Teng, W.; Zhu, T.

2004-12-01

The ability to use data stored in the current Earth Observing System (EOS) archives for studying regional or global phenomena is highly dependent on having a detailed understanding of the data's internal structure and physical implementation. Gaining this understanding and applying it to data reduction is a time-consuming task that must be undertaken before the core investigation can begin. This is an especially difficult challenge when science objectives require users to deal with large multi-sensor data sets that are usually of different formats, structures, and resolutions. The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) has taken a major step towards meeting this challenge by developing an infrastructure with a Web interface that allows users to perform interactive analysis online without downloading any data, the GES-DISC Interactive Online Visualization and Analysis Infrastructure or "Giovanni." Giovanni provides interactive, online, analysis tools for data users to facilitate their research. There have been several instances of this interface created to serve TRMM users, Aerosol scientists, Ocean Color and Agriculture applications users. The first generation of these tools support gridded data only. The user selects geophysical parameters, area of interest, time period; and the system generates an output on screen in a matter of seconds. The currently available output options are: Area plot averaged or accumulated over any available data period for any rectangular area; Time plot time series averaged over any rectangular area; Hovmoller plots image view of any longitude-time and latitude-time cross sections; ASCII output for all plot types; Image animation for area plot. In the future, correlation plots, GIS-compatible outputs, etc. This allow user to focus on data content (i.e. science parameters) and eliminate the need for expensive learning, development and processing tasks that are redundantly incurred by an archive's user

Discovering online learning barriers: survey of health educational stakeholders in dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Schönwetter, D; Reynolds, P

2013-02-01

Given the exponential explosion of online learning tools and the challenge to harness their influence in dental education, there is a need to determine the current status of online learning tools being adopted at dental schools, the barriers that thwart the potential of adopting these and to capture this information from each of the various stakeholders involved in dental online learning (administrators, instructors, students and software/hardware technicians). The aims of this exploratory study are threefold: first, to understand which online learning tools are currently being adopted at dental schools; second, to determine the barriers in adopting online learning in dental education; and third, to identify a way of better preparing stakeholders in their quest to encourage others at their institutions to adopt online learning tools. Seventy-two participants representing eight countries and 13 stakeholder groups in dentistry were invited to complete the online Survey of Barriers in Online Learning Education in Health Professional Schools. The survey was created for this study but generic to all healthcare education domains. Twenty participants completed the survey. demonstrated that many online learning tools are being successfully adopted at dental schools, but computer-based assessment tools are the least successful. Added to this are challenges of support and resources for online learning tools. Participants offered suggestions of creating a blended (online and face-to-face) tutorial aimed at assisting stakeholders to help their dental schools in adopting online learning tools The information from this study is essential in helping us to better prepare the next generation of dental providers in terms of adopting online learning tools. This paper will not only provide strategies of how best to proceed, but also inspire participants with the necessary tools to move forward as they assist their clients with adopting and sustaining online learning tools and models

Activities, Animations, and Online Tools to Enable Undergraduate Student Learning of Geohazards, Climate Change, and Water Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt-Sitaula, B. A.; Walker, B.; Douglas, B. J.; Cronin, V. S.; Funning, G.; Stearns, L. A.; Charlevoix, D.; Miller, M. M.

2017-12-01

The NSF-funded GEodesy Tools for Societal Issues (GETSI) project is developing teaching resources for use in introductory and majors-level courses, emphasizing a broad range of geodetic methods and data applied to societally important issues. The modules include a variety of hands-on activities, demonstrations, animations, and interactive online tools in order to facilitate student learning and engagement. A selection of these activities will be showcased at the AGU session. These activities and data analysis exercises are embedded in 4-6 units per module. Modules can take 2-3 weeks of course time total or individual units and activities can be selected and used over just 1-2 class periods. Existing modules are available online via serc.carleton.edu/getsi/ and include "Ice mass and sea level changes", "Imaging active tectonics with LiDAR and InSAR", "Measuring water resources with GPS, gravity, and traditional methods", "Surface process hazards", and "GPS, strain, and earthquakes". Modules, and their activities and demonstrations were designed by teams of faculty and content experts and underwent rigorous classroom testing and review using the process developed by the Science Education Resource Center's InTeGrate Project (serc.carleton.edu/integrate). All modules are aligned to Earth Science and Climate literacy principles. GETSI collaborating institutions are UNAVCO (which runs NSF's Geodetic Facility), Indiana University, and Mt San Antonio College. Initial funding came from NSF's TUES (Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM). A second phase of funding from NSF IUSE (Improving Undergraduate STEM Education) is just starting and will fund another six modules (including their demonstrations, activities, and hands-on activities) as well as considerably more instructor professional development to facilitate implementation and use.

In response to 'Can sugars be produced from fatty acids? A test case for pathway analysis tools'.

Science.gov (United States)

Faust, Karoline; Croes, Didier; van Helden, Jacques

2009-12-01

In their article entitled 'Can sugars be produced from fatty acids? A test case for pathway analysis tools' de Figueiredo and co-authors assess the performance of three pathway prediction tools (METATOOL, PathFinding and Pathway Hunter Tool) using the synthesis of glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) from acetyl-CoA in humans as a test case. We think that this article is biased for three reasons: (i) the metabolic networks used as input for the respective tools were of very different sizes; (ii) the 'assessment' is restricted to two study cases; (iii) developers are inherently more skilled to use their own tools than those developed by other people. We extended the analyses led by de Figueiredo and clearly show that the apparent superior performance of their tool (METATOOL) is partly due to the differences in input network sizes. We also see a conceptual problem in the comparison of tools that serve different purposes. In our opinion, metabolic path finding and elementary mode analysis are answering different biological questions, and should be considered as complementary rather than competitive approaches. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Advanced mathematical on-line analysis in nuclear experiments. Usage of parallel computing CUDA routines in standard root analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Grzeszczuk, A.; Kowalski, S.

2015-04-01

Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) is a parallel computing platform developed by Nvidia for increase speed of graphics by usage of parallel mode for processes calculation. The success of this solution has opened technology General-Purpose Graphic Processor Units (GPGPUs) for applications not coupled with graphics. The GPGPUs system can be applying as effective tool for reducing huge number of data for pulse shape analysis measures, by on-line recalculation or by very quick system of compression. The simplified structure of CUDA system and model of programming based on example Nvidia GForce GTX580 card are presented by our poster contribution in stand-alone version and as ROOT application.

Assessment in the Digital Age: An Overview of Online Tools and Considerations for School Psychologists and School Counsellors

Science.gov (United States)

Jellins, Laura

2015-01-01

With recent developments in technology, online tests and digital tools offer school psychologists and school counsellors alternate modes of assessment. These new technologies have the potential to increase accessibility to tests (through greater portability), allow school psychologists and school counsellors to service more students (through…

Online stock trading platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion LUNGU

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The Internet is the perfect tool that can assure the market’s transparency for any user who wants to trade on the stock market. The investor can have access to the market news, financial calendar or the press releases of the issuers. A good online trading platform also provides real-time intraday quotes, trading history and technical analysis giving the investor a clearer view of the supply and demand in the market. All this information provides the investor a good image of the market and encourages him to trade. This paper wishes to draft the pieces of an online trading platform and to analyze the impact of developing and implementing one in a brokerage firm.

The development of the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zsolt Demetrovics

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Online gaming has become increasingly popular. However, this has led to concerns that these games might induce serious problems and/or lead to dependence for a minority of players. AIM: The aim of this study was to uncover and operationalize the components of problematic online gaming. METHODS: A total of 3415 gamers (90% males; mean age 21 years, were recruited through online gaming websites. A combined method of exploratory factor analysis (EFA and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was applied. Latent profile analysis was applied to identify persons at-risk. RESULTS: EFA revealed a six-factor structure in the background of problematic online gaming that was also confirmed by a CFA. For the assessment of the identified six dimensions--preoccupation, overuse, immersion, social isolation, interpersonal conflicts, and withdrawal--the 18-item Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ proved to be exceedingly suitable. Based on the latent profile analysis, 3.4% of the gamer population was considered to be at high risk, while another 15.2% was moderately problematic. CONCLUSIONS: The POGQ seems to be an adequate measurement tool for the differentiated assessment of gaming related problems on six subscales.

webMGR: an online tool for the multiple genome rearrangement problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chi Ho; Zhao, Hao; Lowcay, Sean Harry; Shahab, Atif; Bourque, Guillaume

2010-02-01

The algorithm MGR enables the reconstruction of rearrangement phylogenies based on gene or synteny block order in multiple genomes. Although MGR has been successfully applied to study the evolution of different sets of species, its utilization has been hampered by the prohibitive running time for some applications. In the current work, we have designed new heuristics that significantly speed up the tool without compromising its accuracy. Moreover, we have developed a web server (webMGR) that includes elaborate web output to facilitate navigation through the results. webMGR can be accessed via http://www.gis.a-star.edu.sg/~bourque. The source code of the improved standalone version of MGR is also freely available from the web site. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Galaxy tools and workflows for sequence analysis with applications in molecular plant pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cock, Peter J A; Grüning, Björn A; Paszkiewicz, Konrad; Pritchard, Leighton

2013-01-01

The Galaxy Project offers the popular web browser-based platform Galaxy for running bioinformatics tools and constructing simple workflows. Here, we present a broad collection of additional Galaxy tools for large scale analysis of gene and protein sequences. The motivating research theme is the identification of specific genes of interest in a range of non-model organisms, and our central example is the identification and prediction of "effector" proteins produced by plant pathogens in order to manipulate their host plant. This functional annotation of a pathogen's predicted capacity for virulence is a key step in translating sequence data into potential applications in plant pathology. This collection includes novel tools, and widely-used third-party tools such as NCBI BLAST+ wrapped for use within Galaxy. Individual bioinformatics software tools are typically available separately as standalone packages, or in online browser-based form. The Galaxy framework enables the user to combine these and other tools to automate organism scale analyses as workflows, without demanding familiarity with command line tools and scripting. Workflows created using Galaxy can be saved and are reusable, so may be distributed within and between research groups, facilitating the construction of a set of standardised, reusable bioinformatic protocols. The Galaxy tools and workflows described in this manuscript are open source and freely available from the Galaxy Tool Shed (http://usegalaxy.org/toolshed or http://toolshed.g2.bx.psu.edu).

Adoption of Online Network Tools by Minority Students: The Case of Students of Ethiopian Origin in Israel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meital Amzalag

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Students of Ethiopian origin belong to one of the weakest sectors in the Jewish population of Israel. During their studies they have to deal with social alienation, cultural gaps, economic hardships, and racial stereotypes which reduce their chances to successfully complete their academic degree. In this respect, the present research asks whether online social media could provide those youngsters with tools and resources for their better social integration and adaptation to the academic life. For this purpose, the study was conducted in one of Israel’s largest academic colleges while adopting a design-based research approach, which advanced gradually on a continuum between ‘ambient’ and ‘designed’ technology-enhanced learning communities. The interventions applied for this study aimed at examining how they may encourage students of Ethiopian origin to expand their activities in the online social learning groups. The findings indicate that the main pattern of students of Ethiopian origin online participation was peripheral and limited to viewing only. Nevertheless, the level of their online activity has been improved after a series of two interventions, which also led to a slight improvement in indicators of their social integration and in a change in their usage of online learning groups from social to academic uses.

Using Online Presence to Improve Online Collaborative Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoran Jeremic

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Social software tools have become an integral part of students’ personal lives and their primary communication medium. Likewise, these tools are increasingly entering the enterprise world (within the recent trend known as Enterprise 2.0 and becoming a part of everyday work routines. Aiming to keep the pace with the job requirements and also to position learning as an integral part of students’ life, the field of education is challenged to embrace social software. Personal Learning Environments (PLEs emerged as a concept that makes use of social software to facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing, group formation around common interests, active participation and reflective thinking in online learning settings. Furthermore, social software allows for establishing and maintaining one’s presence in the online world. By being aware of a student's online presence, a PLE is better able to personalize the learning settings, e.g., through recommendation of content to use or people to collaborate with. Aiming to explore the potentials of online presence for the provision of recommendations in PLEs, in the scope of the OP4L project, we have develop a software solution that is based on a synergy of Semantic Web technologies, online presence and socially-oriented learning theories. In this paper we present the current results of this research work.

Recent advances in on-line coupling of capillary electrophoresis to atomic absorption and fluorescence spectrometry for speciation analysis and studies of metal-biomolecule interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yan; Yin Xuebo; Yan Xiuping

2008-01-01

Speciation information is vital for the understanding of the toxicity, mobility and bioavailability of elements in environmental or biological samples. Hyphenating high resolving power of separation techniques and element-selective detectors provides powerful tools for studying speciation of trace elements in environmental and biological systems. During the last five years several novel hybrid techniques based on capillary electrophoresis (CE) and atomic spectrometry have been developed for speciation analysis and metal-biomolecule interaction study in our laboratory. These techniques include CE on-line coupled with atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS), chip-CE on-line coupled with AFS, CE on-line coupled with flame heated quartz furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (FHF-AAS), and CE on-line coupled with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The necessity for the development of these techniques, their interface design, and applications in speciation analysis and metal-biomolecule interaction study are reviewed. The advantages and limitations of the developed hybrid techniques are critically discussed, and further development is also prospected

Predicting the Currency Market in Online Gaming via Lexicon-Based Analysis on Its Online Forum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young Bin Kim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Transactions involving virtual currencies are becoming increasingly common, including those in online games. In response, predicting the market price of a virtual currency is an important task for all involved, but it has not yet attracted much attention from researchers. This paper presents user opinions from online forums in a massive multiplayer online game (MMOG setting widely used around the world. We propose a method for predicting the next-day rise and fall of the currency used in an MMOG environment. Based on analysis of online forum users’ opinions, we predict daily fluctuations in the price of a currency used in an MMOG setting. Focusing specifically on the World of Warcraft game, one of the most widely used MMOGs, we demonstrate the feasibility of predicting the fluctuation in value of virtual currencies used in this game community.

Multi-Dimensional Customer Data Analysis in Online Auctions

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LAO Guoling; XIONG Kuan; QIN Zheng

2007-01-01

In this paper, we designed a customer-centered data warehouse system with five subjects: listing, bidding, transaction,accounts, and customer contact based on the business process of online auction companies. For each subject, we analyzed its fact indexes and dimensions. Then take transaction subject as example,analyzed the data warehouse model in detail, and got the multi-dimensional analysis structure of transaction subject. At last, using data mining to do customer segmentation, we divided customers into four types: impulse customer, prudent customer, potential customer, and ordinary customer. By the result of multi-dimensional customer data analysis, online auction companies can do more target marketing and increase customer loyalty.

ONLINE MARKETING OF HOSPITALITY SERVICES : Tourist satisfaction with online accommodation booking

OpenAIRE

Kaakinen, Heidi; Purkayastha, Eshita

2016-01-01

The aim of this thesis was to study tourist satisfaction in online accommodation booking. Nowadays it is very common to conduct any kind of business online because of its practicality, accessibility and convenience. These days online is a community and it is a very effective way to build relation with the consumers. Hospitality firms like hostel and restaurants are using online community as a marketing tool to reach their customers. Studies have found four participation benefits as to partici...

Project development and commercialization of on-line analysis systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watt, J.S.

1997-01-01

A project team first in the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) and since 1982 in CSIRO has developed many on-line analysis systems for the mineral and energy industries. The development of these projects has followed a common pattern of laboratory R and D, field trials, commercialisation and technology transfer. This successful pattern is illustrated using examples of the development of systems for the on-line analysis of mineral slurries, for determination of the ash content of coal on conveyors, and for determination of the flow rates of oil, water and gas in pipelines. The first two systems are licensed to Australian companies, Amdel Ltd and Mineral Control Instrumentation Ltd. Both systems are used by industry worldwide, and are the market leaders for radioisotope gauges in their application field. The third system, the multiphase flow meter, was licensed in 1997 to Kvaerner FSSL Ltd of Aberdeen. This meter has even greater potential than the other two systems for economic benefit from its used and for numbers of installations. The on-line analysis systems have been developed to increase the productivity of the Australian mineral and energy industries, and to provide economic benefit to Australia. The economic benefit sought is predominantly improved process control based on use of the instrument, rather than from its sale. Sales of instruments are significant, however, with about A$80 million from the analysis systems and their derivatives since the 1970s. Some of the issues associated with the development of the on-line analysis system are outlined

Tutoría on-line en el entorno universitario On-line tutoring at university: a proposal for the sequencing of electronic tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ainhoa Ezeiza Ramos

2007-10-01

Full Text Available El planteamiento consiste en proponer una manera de planificar algunas herramientas electrónicas presentes comúnmente en las plataformas de aprendizaje, ejemplificando cada caso de la secuencia con materiales reales de estudiantes de las titulaciones de Pedagogía y Psicopedagogía de la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU. Así, se pretende ofrecer una vía de reflexión acerca de la planificación y gestión de la acción tutorial on-line de asignatura. The main idea of this paper is to propose a way for planning some electronic tools which are currently present in e-learning platforms. Every step of the proposal is illustrated by a real example of students from the Education Degree Course or Psycho- Education Postgraduate Course of The University of The Basque Country. Thus, an attempt is made to offer a way to reflect on the planning and management of the online tutoring of the subject.

Understanding the mobile internet to develop the next generation of online medical teaching tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Desai, Tejas; Christiano, Cynthia; Ferris, Maria

2011-01-01

Healthcare providers (HCPs) use online medical information for self-directed learning and patient care. Recently, the mobile internet has emerged as a new platform for accessing medical information as it allows mobile devices to access online information in a manner compatible with their restricted storage. We investigated mobile internet usage parameters to direct the future development of mobile internet teaching websites. Nephrology On-Demand Mobile (NOD(M)) (http://www.nephrologyondemand.org) was made accessible to all mobile devices. From February 1 to December 31, 2010, HCP use of NOD(M) was tracked using code inserted into the root files. Nephrology On-Demand received 15,258 visits, of which approximately 10% were made to NOD(M), with the majority coming from the USA. Most access to NOD(M) was through the Apple iOS family of devices and cellular connections were the most frequently used. These findings provide a basis for the future development of mobile nephrology and medical teaching tools.

THE INTELLECTUAL STRUCTURE OF ONLINE SHOPPING RESEARCH: AUTHOR CO-CITATION ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wann-Yih Wu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to investigate the intellectual structure of the online shopping field in the last decade using co-citation analysis. The citations were obtained from the database of WOS (World of Science, and articles (authors were used as the units of analysis. Based on the results, this research revealed the main categories in the field of online shopping and the relationships between the subfields of research subjects and among authors and identified the authors who play a central role in the conceptual domains of online shopping. This research outlines the intellectual structure of the field of online shopping and its development trends. It also provides details about the influence of individual authors and the evolving structure of this research field over time.

Extended Testability Analysis Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Melcher, Kevin; Maul, William A.; Fulton, Christopher

2012-01-01

The Extended Testability Analysis (ETA) Tool is a software application that supports fault management (FM) by performing testability analyses on the fault propagation model of a given system. Fault management includes the prevention of faults through robust design margins and quality assurance methods, or the mitigation of system failures. Fault management requires an understanding of the system design and operation, potential failure mechanisms within the system, and the propagation of those potential failures through the system. The purpose of the ETA Tool software is to process the testability analysis results from a commercial software program called TEAMS Designer in order to provide a detailed set of diagnostic assessment reports. The ETA Tool is a command-line process with several user-selectable report output options. The ETA Tool also extends the COTS testability analysis and enables variation studies with sensor sensitivity impacts on system diagnostics and component isolation using a single testability output. The ETA Tool can also provide extended analyses from a single set of testability output files. The following analysis reports are available to the user: (1) the Detectability Report provides a breakdown of how each tested failure mode was detected, (2) the Test Utilization Report identifies all the failure modes that each test detects, (3) the Failure Mode Isolation Report demonstrates the system s ability to discriminate between failure modes, (4) the Component Isolation Report demonstrates the system s ability to discriminate between failure modes relative to the components containing the failure modes, (5) the Sensor Sensor Sensitivity Analysis Report shows the diagnostic impact due to loss of sensor information, and (6) the Effect Mapping Report identifies failure modes that result in specified system-level effects.

Online Discourse: An Analysis of Multiple Problem-Solving Episodes over Time

Science.gov (United States)

Richard, Lynne F.

2012-01-01

Computer technology is used as a mediational tool to support collaborative instructional methods. Computer support offers a platform for collaboration with the goal of scaffolding students' understanding, providing increased agency to the student for their own learning, and motivating students, as participants in a PBL process. In online PBL,…

Assessing ELT Pre-Service Teachers via Web 2.0 Tools: Perceptions toward Traditional, Online and Alternative Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Cirit, Nazli Ceren

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of the ELT pre-service teachers toward the traditional, alternative, and online assessment methods and examine whether the participants' attitudes change toward the types of assessment after the tasks via Web 2.0 tools are implemented. In the light of these aims, the study was conducted…

Channel CAT: A Tactical Link Analysis Tool

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Coleman, Michael

1997-01-01

.... This thesis produced an analysis tool, the Channel Capacity Analysis Tool (Channel CAT), designed to provide an automated tool for the analysis of design decisions in developing client-server software...

Distributive On-line Processing, Visualization and Analysis System for Gridded Remote Sensing Data

Science.gov (United States)

Leptoukh, G.; Berrick, S.; Liu, Z.; Pham, L.; Rui, H.; Shen, S.; Teng, W.; Zhu, T.

2004-01-01

The ability to use data stored in the current Earth Observing System (EOS) archives for studying regional or global phenomena is highly dependent on having a detailed understanding of the data's internal structure and physical implementation. Gaining this understanding and applying it to data reduction is a time- consuming task that must be undertaken before the core investigation can begin. This is an especially difficult challenge when science objectives require users to deal with large multi-sensor data sets that are usually of different formats, structures, and resolutions, for example, when preparing data for input into modeling systems. The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) has taken a major step towards meeting this challenge by developing an infrastructure with a Web interface that allows users to perform interactive analysis online without downloading any data, the GES-DISC Interactive Online Visualization and Analysis Infrastructure or "Giovanni." Giovanni provides interactive, online, analysis tools for data users to facilitate their research. There have been several instances of this interface created to serve TRMM users, Aerosol scientists, Ocean Color and Agriculture applications users. The first generation of these tools support gridded data only. The user selects geophysical parameters, area of interest, time period; and the system generates an output on screen in a matter of seconds. The currently available output options are: Area plot averaged or accumulated over any available data period for any rectangular area; Time plot time series averaged over any rectangular area; Time plots image view of any longitude-time and latitude-time cross sections; ASCII output for all plot types; Image animation for area plot. In the future, we will add correlation plots, GIS-compatible outputs, etc. This allow user to focus on data content (i.e. science parameters) and eliminate the need for expensive learning

Development of the Animal Management and Husbandry Online Placement Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, Lucy; Crowther, Emma; Bell, Catriona; Kinnison, Tierney; Baillie, Sarah

2013-01-01

The workplace provides veterinary students with opportunities to develop a range of skills, making workplace learning an important part of veterinary education in many countries. Good preparation for work placements is vital to maximize learning; to this end, our group has developed a series of three computer-aided learning (CAL) packages to support students. The third of this series is the Animal Management and Husbandry Online Placement Tool (AMH OPT). Students need a sound knowledge of animal husbandry and the ability to handle the common domestic species. However, teaching these skills at university is not always practical and requires considerable resources. In the UK, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) requires students to complete 12 weeks of pre-clinical animal management and husbandry work placements or extramural studies (EMS). The aims are for students to improve their animal handling skills and awareness of husbandry systems, develop communication skills, and understand their future clients' needs. The AMH OPT is divided into several sections: Preparation, What to Expect, Working with People, Professionalism, Tips, and Frequently Asked Questions. Three stakeholder groups (university EMS coordinators, placement providers, and students) were consulted initially to guide the content and design and later to evaluate previews. Feedback from stakeholders was used in an iterative design process, resulting in a program that aims to facilitate student preparation, optimize the learning opportunities, and improve the experience for both students and placement providers. The CAL is available online and is open-access worldwide to support students during veterinary school.

Considerations and benefits of implementing an online database tool for business continuity.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackinnon, Susanne; Pinette, Jennifer

2016-01-01

In today's challenging climate of ongoing fiscal restraints, limited resources and complex organisational structures there is an acute need to investigate opportunities to facilitate enhanced delivery of business continuity programmes while maintaining or increasing acceptable levels of service delivery. In 2013, Health Emergency Management British Columbia (HEMBC), responsible for emergency management and business continuity activities across British Columbia's health sector, transitioned its business continuity programme from a manual to automated process with the development of a customised online database, known as the Health Emergency Management Assessment Tool (HEMAT). Key benefits to date include a more efficient business continuity input process, immediate situational awareness for use in emergency response and/or advanced planning and streamlined analyses for generation of reports.

Case analysis online: a strategic management case model for the health industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Anne; Bearden, Eithne

2004-01-01

Despite the plethora of methods and tools available to support strategic management, the challenge for health executives in the next century will relate to their ability to access and interpret data from multiple and intricate communication networks. Integrated digital networks and satellite systems will expand the scope and ease of sharing information between business divisions, and networked systems will facilitate the use of virtual case discussions across universities. While the internet is frequently used to support clinical decisions in the healthcare industry, few executives rely upon the internetfor strategic analysis. Although electronic technologies can easily synthesize data from multiple information channels, research as well as technical issues may deter their application in strategic analysis. As digital models transform access to information, online models may become increasingly relevant in designing strategic solutions. While there are various pedagogical models available to support the strategic management process, this framework was designed to enhance strategic analysis through the application of technology and electronic research. A strategic analysis framework, which incorporated internet research and case analysis in a strategic managementcourse, is described alongwith design and application issues that emerged during the case analysis process.

MAKING HOTEL RESERVATIONS ONLINE: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF U.S. TRAVELERS’ COMMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian MOROSAN

2007-06-01

Full Text Available As a substantial portion of online room reservations continues to be made via intermediary travel Web sites, the American hotel companies deploy large amounts of resources to attract travelers to their Web sites through lowest guaranteed rates, direct connections with agencies and corporate clients, and industry partnerships. This article reports the results of a study that investigated travelers’ comments about their reservation experiences via hotel-owned and intermediary Web sites. The study revealed that the travelers had more favorable views of intermediary Web sites rather than hotel-owned Web sites. Travelers’ comments addressed the need for lowest room rates online, easy to use reservation tools, comparisons of room rates across properties within a destination, and security of online transactions. Hotel brand and travelers’ experience with online reservations have not been found to play a substantial role in travelers’ Web site preferences.

RAISING BRAND AWARENEES THROUGH INTERNET MARKETING TOOLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margarita Išoraitė

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the opinions of different authors on brand awareness raising. It also describes and analyzes the concept of internet marketing, the implementation. The analysis of the most urgent and the most effective online marketing tools brand awareness. Article analysis website; internet advertising; social networks; search engine optimization.

Physics Analysis Tools Workshop 2007

CERN Multimedia

Elizabeth Gallas,

The ATLAS PAT (Physics Analysis Tools) group evaluates, develops and tests software tools for the analysis of physics data, consistent with the ATLAS analysis and event data models. Following on from earlier PAT workshops in London (2004), Tucson (2005) and Tokyo (2006), this year's workshop was hosted by the University of Bergen in Norway on April 23-28 with more than 60 participants. The workshop brought together PAT developers and users to discuss the available tools with an emphasis on preparing for data taking. At the start of the week, workshop participants, laptops and power converters in-hand, jumped headfirst into tutorials, learning how to become trigger-aware and how to use grid computing resources via the distributed analysis tools Panda and Ganga. The well organised tutorials were well attended and soon the network was humming, providing rapid results to the users and ample feedback to the developers. A mid-week break was provided by a relaxing and enjoyable cruise through the majestic Norwegia...

Channel CAT: A Tactical Link Analysis Tool

Science.gov (United States)

1997-09-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS CHANNEL CAT : A TACTICAL LINK ANALYSIS TOOL by Michael Glenn Coleman September 1997 Thesis...REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED September 1997 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE CHANNEL CAT : A TACTICAL LINK ANALYSIS TOOL 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6...tool, the Channel Capacity Analysis Tool (Channel CAT ), designed to provide an automated tool for the anlysis of design decisions in developing client

Exploration of verbal repetition in people with dementia using an online symptom-tracking tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Reeve, Emily; Molin, Pierre; Hui, Amaris; Rockwood, Kenneth

2017-06-01

Online tools can be used by people with dementia and their caregivers to self-identify and track troubling symptoms, such as verbal repetition. We aimed to explore verbal repetition behaviors in people with dementia. Participants were recruited via an online resource for people with dementia and their caregivers. Respondents were instructed to complete information about symptoms that are most important to them for tracking over time. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data pertaining to individuals with dementia who had at least three symptoms selected for tracking. Of the 3,573 participants who began a user profile, 1,707 fulfilled criteria for analysis. Verbal repetition was identified as a treatment target in 807 respondents (47.3%). Verbal repetition was more frequent in individuals with mild dementia compared to those with moderate and severe dementia (57.2% vs. 36.0% and 39.9%, p < 0.01) and in those with Alzheimer's disease versus other dementias (65.2% vs. 29.7%, p < 0.001). Repetitive questioning was the most frequent type of verbal repetition (90.5% of individuals with verbal repetition). Verbal repetition was most strongly associated with difficulties operating gadgets/appliances (OR 3.65, 95%CI: 2.82-4.72), lack of interest and/or initiative (3.52: 2.84-4.36), misplacing or losing objects (3.25: 2.64-4.01), and lack of attention and/or concentration (2.62: 2.12-3.26). Verbal repetition is a common symptom in people at all stages of dementia but is most commonly targeted for monitoring and treatment effects in its mild stage. Much research is required to further elucidate the underlying mechanisms and the effect of different treatment strategies.

Advanced mathematical on-line analysis in nuclear experiments. Usage of parallel computing CUDA routines in standard root analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grzeszczuk A.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA is a parallel computing platform developed by Nvidia for increase speed of graphics by usage of parallel mode for processes calculation. The success of this solution has opened technology General-Purpose Graphic Processor Units (GPGPUs for applications not coupled with graphics. The GPGPUs system can be applying as effective tool for reducing huge number of data for pulse shape analysis measures, by on-line recalculation or by very quick system of compression. The simplified structure of CUDA system and model of programming based on example Nvidia GForce GTX580 card are presented by our poster contribution in stand-alone version and as ROOT application.

Online Italian fandoms of American TV shows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleonora Benecchi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The Internet has changed media fandom in two main ways: it helps fans connect with each other despite physical distance, leading to the formation of international fan communities; and it helps fans connect with the creators of the TV show, deepening the relationship between TV producers and international fandoms. To assess whether Italian fan communities active online are indeed part of transnational online communities and whether the Internet has actually altered their relationship with the creators of the original text they are devoted to, qualitative analysis and narrative interviews of 26 Italian fans of American TV shows were conducted to explore the fan-producer relationship. Results indicated that the online Italian fans surveyed preferred to stay local, rather than using geography-leveling online tools. Further, the sampled Italian fans' relationships with the show runners were mediated or even absent.

System analysis: Developing tools for the future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Jong, K.; clever, J.; Draper, J.V.; Davies, B.; Lonks, A.

1996-02-01

This report introduces and evaluates system analysis tools that were developed, or are under development, for the Robotics Technology Development Program (RTDP). Additionally, it discusses system analysis work completed using these tools aimed at completing a system analysis of the retrieval of waste from underground storage tanks on the Hanford Reservation near Richland, Washington. The tools developed and evaluated include a mixture of commercially available tools adapted to RTDP requirements, and some tools developed in house. The tools that are included in this report include: a Process Diagramming Tool, a Cost Modeling Tool, an Amortization Modeling Tool, a graphical simulation linked to the Cost Modeling Tool, a decision assistance tool, and a system thinking tool. Additionally, the importance of performance testing to the RTDP and the results of such testing executed is discussed. Further, the results of the Tank Waste Retrieval (TWR) System Diagram, the TWR Operations Cost Model, and the TWR Amortization Model are presented, and the implication of the results are discussed. Finally, the RTDP system analysis tools are assessed and some recommendations are made regarding continuing development of the tools and process.

Generalisability of an online randomised controlled trial: an empirical analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Cheng; Mollan, Katie R; Hudgens, Michael G; Tucker, Joseph D; Zheng, Heping; Tang, Weiming; Ling, Li

2018-02-01

Investigators increasingly use online methods to recruit participants for randomised controlled trials (RCTs). However, the extent to which participants recruited online represent populations of interest is unknown. We evaluated how generalisable an online RCT sample is to men who have sex with men in China. Inverse probability of sampling weights (IPSW) and the G-formula were used to examine the generalisability of an online RCT using model-based approaches. Online RCT data and national cross-sectional study data from China were analysed to illustrate the process of quantitatively assessing generalisability. The RCT (identifier NCT02248558) randomly assigned participants to a crowdsourced or health marketing video for promotion of HIV testing. The primary outcome was self-reported HIV testing within 4 weeks, with a non-inferiority margin of -3%. In the original online RCT analysis, the estimated difference in proportions of HIV tested between the two arms (crowdsourcing and health marketing) was 2.1% (95% CI, -5.4% to 9.7%). The hypothesis that the crowdsourced video was not inferior to the health marketing video to promote HIV testing was not demonstrated. The IPSW and G-formula estimated differences were -2.6% (95% CI, -14.2 to 8.9) and 2.7% (95% CI, -10.7 to 16.2), with both approaches also not establishing non-inferiority. Conducting generalisability analysis of an online RCT is feasible. Examining the generalisability of online RCTs is an important step before an intervention is scaled up. NCT02248558. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Online

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Vibeke

developments in communications technologies and the Internet and the proliferation of websites such as the CARFMS – Online Research and Teaching Tool and Practitioners Forum (ORTT & PF) and the Refugee Research Network (RRN), as examples, have contributed to the accessibility of information, knowledge......IASFM 14: Contested Spaces and Cartographic Challenges Kolkata, India, January 6-9, 2013 ABSTRACT for a Roundtable on the topic of Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Online: Harnessing “the Cloud” for Knowledge Generation, Instruction, and Mobilization With the advent of the Internet...... and the proliferation of websites and online instruments on refugee and forced migration studies the nature of research and information gathering, analysis, and dissemination, along with advocacy, has altered fundamentally both in its range, depth and scope. This Roundtable will seek to review how the latest...

DeAnnIso: a tool for online detection and annotation of isomiRs from small RNA sequencing data.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuanwei; Zang, Qiguang; Zhang, Huan; Ban, Rongjun; Yang, Yifan; Iqbal, Furhan; Li, Ao; Shi, Qinghua

2016-07-08

Small RNA (sRNA) Sequencing technology has revealed that microRNAs (miRNAs) are capable of exhibiting frequent variations from their canonical sequences, generating multiple variants: the isoforms of miRNAs (isomiRs). However, integrated tool to precisely detect and systematically annotate isomiRs from sRNA sequencing data is still in great demand. Here, we present an online tool, DeAnnIso (Detection and Annotation of IsomiRs from sRNA sequencing data). DeAnnIso can detect all the isomiRs in an uploaded sample, and can extract the differentially expressing isomiRs from paired or multiple samples. Once the isomiRs detection is accomplished, detailed annotation information, including isomiRs expression, isomiRs classification, SNPs in miRNAs and tissue specific isomiR expression are provided to users. Furthermore, DeAnnIso provides a comprehensive module of target analysis and enrichment analysis for the selected isomiRs. Taken together, DeAnnIso is convenient for users to screen for isomiRs of their interest and useful for further functional studies. The server is implemented in PHP + Perl + R and available to all users for free at: http://mcg.ustc.edu.cn/bsc/deanniso/ and http://mcg2.ustc.edu.cn/bsc/deanniso/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

SGRAPH (SeismoGRAPHer): Seismic waveform analysis and integrated tools in seismology

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelwahed, Mohamed F.

2012-03-01

Although numerous seismological programs are currently available, most of them suffer from the inability to manipulate different data formats and the lack of embedded seismological tools. SeismoGRAPHer, or simply SGRAPH, is a new system for maintaining and analyzing seismic waveform data in a stand-alone, Windows-based application that manipulates a wide range of data formats. SGRAPH was intended to be a tool sufficient for performing basic waveform analysis and solving advanced seismological problems. The graphical user interface (GUI) utilities and the Windows functionalities, such as dialog boxes, menus, and toolbars, simplify the user interaction with the data. SGRAPH supports common data formats, such as SAC, SEED, GSE, ASCII, and Nanometrics Y-format, and provides the ability to solve many seismological problems with built-in inversion tools. Loaded traces are maintained, processed, plotted, and saved as SAC, ASCII, or PS (post script) file formats. SGRAPH includes Generalized Ray Theory (GRT), genetic algorithm (GA), least-square fitting, auto-picking, fast Fourier transforms (FFT), and many additional tools. This program provides rapid estimation of earthquake source parameters, location, attenuation, and focal mechanisms. Advanced waveform modeling techniques are provided for crustal structure and focal mechanism estimation. SGRAPH has been employed in the Egyptian National Seismic Network (ENSN) as a tool assisting with routine work and data analysis. More than 30 users have been using previous versions of SGRAPH in their research for more than 3 years. The main features of this application are ease of use, speed, small disk space requirements, and the absence of third-party developed components. Because of its architectural structure, SGRAPH can be interfaced with newly developed methods or applications in seismology. A complete setup file, including the SGRAPH package with the online user guide, is available.

Hurricane Data Analysis Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhong; Ostrenga, Dana; Leptoukh, Gregory

2011-01-01

In order to facilitate Earth science data access, the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data Information Services Center (GES DISC) has developed a web prototype, the Hurricane Data Analysis Tool (HDAT; URL: http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/HDAT), to allow users to conduct online visualization and analysis of several remote sensing and model datasets for educational activities and studies of tropical cyclones and other weather phenomena. With a web browser and few mouse clicks, users can have a full access to terabytes of data and generate 2-D or time-series plots and animation without downloading any software and data. HDAT includes data from the NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the NASA Quick Scatterometer(QuikSCAT) and NECP Reanalysis, and the NCEP/CPC half-hourly, 4-km Global (60 N - 60 S) IR Dataset. The GES DISC archives TRMM data. The daily global rainfall product derived from the 3-hourly multi-satellite precipitation product (3B42 V6) is available in HDAT. The TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) sea surface temperature from the Remote Sensing Systems is in HDAT as well. The NASA QuikSCAT ocean surface wind and the NCEP Reanalysis provide ocean surface and atmospheric conditions, respectively. The global merged IR product, also known as, the NCEP/CPC half-hourly, 4-km Global (60 N -60 S) IR Dataset, is one of TRMM ancillary datasets. They are globally-merged pixel-resolution IR brightness temperature data (equivalent blackbody temperatures), merged from all available geostationary satellites (GOES-8/10, METEOSAT-7/5 & GMS). The GES DISC has collected over 10 years of the data beginning from February of 2000. This high temporal resolution (every 30 minutes) dataset not only provides additional background information to TRMM and other satellite missions, but also allows observing a wide range of meteorological phenomena from space, such as, hurricanes, typhoons, tropical cyclones, mesoscale convection system, etc. Basic functions include selection of area of

Using an Online Vocabulary Memorization Tool versus Traditional Vocabulary Exercises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arif Bakla

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to reveal what Memrise, an online vocabulary study tool, can offer to upper-intermediate EFL learners compared to traditional vocabulary exercises in L2 vocabulary learning. Two groups of upper-intermediate learners (N=80 were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group and were given the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale, VKS for short, as the pre-test and post-test. The participants in both groups were exposed to the target vocabulary items in the same reading text. While those in the experimental group created list of target vocabulary items collaboratively in Memrise and then studied the sets individually, the learners in the control group did traditional vocabulary exercises. The results of the post-tests indicated that there was a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group in favor of the experimental group. The researchers discuss possible pedagogical implications of this significant finding for EFL vocabulary instruction.

Automated analysis of heterogeneous carbon nanostructures by high-resolution electron microscopy and on-line image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toth, P.; Farrer, J.K.; Palotas, A.B.; Lighty, J.S.; Eddings, E.G.

2013-01-01

High-resolution electron microscopy is an efficient tool for characterizing heterogeneous nanostructures; however, currently the analysis is a laborious and time-consuming manual process. In order to be able to accurately and robustly quantify heterostructures, one must obtain a statistically high number of micrographs showing images of the appropriate sub-structures. The second step of analysis is usually the application of digital image processing techniques in order to extract meaningful structural descriptors from the acquired images. In this paper it will be shown that by applying on-line image processing and basic machine vision algorithms, it is possible to fully automate the image acquisition step; therefore, the number of acquired images in a given time can be increased drastically without the need for additional human labor. The proposed automation technique works by computing fields of structural descriptors in situ and thus outputs sets of the desired structural descriptors in real-time. The merits of the method are demonstrated by using combustion-generated black carbon samples. - Highlights: ► The HRTEM analysis of heterogeneous nanostructures is a tedious manual process. ► Automatic HRTEM image acquisition and analysis can improve data quantity and quality. ► We propose a method based on on-line image analysis for the automation of HRTEM image acquisition. ► The proposed method is demonstrated using HRTEM images of soot particles

Competition as an Effective Tool in Developing Social Marketing Programs: Driving Behavior Change through Online Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corina ŞERBAN

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, social marketing practices represent an important part of people’s lives. Consumers’ understanding of the need for change has become the top priority for social organizations worldwide. As a result, the number of social marketing programs has increased, making people reflect more on their behaviors and on the need to take action. Competition in social marketing can bring many benefits. The more programs initiated, the more people will start to involve in society’s problems, hereby contributing to beneficial causes. However, social organizations are in the search for competitive advantages to differentiate them on the market. This paper aims to present the role of online communication in driving competitive advantage for social organizations. Using the structural equation model, the paper describes the relations between four characteristics of the online communication: credibility, attractiveness, persuasion and promotion and then presents the correlations between these variables and website competitiveness. The resulting model shows that owning a competitive advantage in social marketing can bring many advantages to both the non-profit organization and the consumer. Therefore, the online environment can be considered a good solution for better serving consumers’ social needs. Its contribution is significant especially in programs for children and adolescents, since teenagers spend more time on the Internet than adults and are more open to using the online channels of communication. In conclusion, this article opens new opportunities for social marketers to address society’s problems and supports the integration of the online communication tools in the competition strategy.

The Multimedia Case as a Tool for Professional Development: An Analysis of Online and Face-to-Face Interaction among Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers, In-Service Teachers, Mathematicians, and Mathematics Teacher Educators

Science.gov (United States)

McGraw, Rebecca; Lynch, Kathleen; Koc, Yusuf; Budak, Ayfer; Brown, Catherine A.

2007-01-01

In this study, we consider the potential of multimedia cases as tools for teacher professional development. Specifically, we examined online and face-to-face discussions that occurred within groups composed of pre-service mathematics teachers, in-service mathematics teachers, mathematicians, and mathematics teacher educators. Discussions within…

QA practice for online analyzers in water steam cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staub, L.

2010-01-01

The liberalization of power markets throughout the world has resulted in more and more power stations being operated in cycling mode, with frequent load changes and multiple daily start-up and shut-down cycles. This more flexible operation also calls for better automation and poses new challenges to water chemistry in water steam cycles, to avoid subsequent damage to vital plant components such as turbines, boilers or condensers. But automation for the most important chemistry control tool, the sampling and online analyzer system, is only possible if chemists can rely on their online analysis equipment. Proof of plausibility as well as reliability and availability of online analysis results becomes a major focus. While SOP and standard QA procedures for laboratory equipment are well established and daily practice, such measures are widely neglected for online process analyzers. This paper is aiming to establish a roadmap for the implementation of SOP and QA/QC procedures for online instruments in water steam cycles, leading to reliable chemical information that is trustworthy for process automation and chemistry control in water steam cycles. (author)

QA practice for online analyzers in water steam cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staub Lukas

2009-01-01

The liberalization of power markets throughout the world has resulted in more and more power stations being operated in cycling mode, with frequent load changes and multiple daily start-up and shut-down cycles. This more flexible operation also calls for better automation and poses new challenges to water chemistry in water steam cycles, to avoid subsequent damage to vital plant components such as turbines, boilers or condensers. But automation for the most important chemistry control tool, the sampling and online analyzer system, is only possible if chemists can rely on their online analysis equipment. Proof of plausibility as well as reliability and availability of online analysis results becomes a major focus. While SOP and standard QA procedures for laboratory equipment are well established and daily practice, such measures are widely neglected for online process analyzers. This paper is aiming to establish a roadmap for the implementation of SOP and QA/QC procedures for online instruments in water steam cycles, leading to reliable chemical information that is trustworthy for process automation and chemistry control in water steam cycles. (author)

GarlicESTdb: an online database and mining tool for garlic EST sequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choi Sang-Haeng

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Allium sativum., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus (Allium, which is a large and diverse one containing over 1,250 species. Its close relatives include chives, onion, leek and shallot. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for culinary, medicinal use and health benefits. Currently, the interest in garlic is highly increasing due to nutritional and pharmaceutical value including high blood pressure and cholesterol, atherosclerosis and cancer. For all that, there are no comprehensive databases available for Expressed Sequence Tags(EST of garlic for gene discovery and future efforts of genome annotation. That is why we developed a new garlic database and applications to enable comprehensive analysis of garlic gene expression. Description GarlicESTdb is an integrated database and mining tool for large-scale garlic (Allium sativum EST sequencing. A total of 21,595 ESTs collected from an in-house cDNA library were used to construct the database. The analysis pipeline is an automated system written in JAVA and consists of the following components: automatic preprocessing of EST reads, assembly of raw sequences, annotation of the assembled sequences, storage of the analyzed information into MySQL databases, and graphic display of all processed data. A web application was implemented with the latest J2EE (Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition software technology (JSP/EJB/JavaServlet for browsing and querying the database, for creation of dynamic web pages on the client side, and for mapping annotated enzymes to KEGG pathways, the AJAX framework was also used partially. The online resources, such as putative annotation, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP and tandem repeat data sets, can be searched by text, explored on the website, searched using BLAST, and downloaded. To archive more significant BLAST results, a curation system was introduced with which biologists can easily edit best-hit annotation

GarlicESTdb: an online database and mining tool for garlic EST sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dae-Won; Jung, Tae-Sung; Nam, Seong-Hyeuk; Kwon, Hyuk-Ryul; Kim, Aeri; Chae, Sung-Hwa; Choi, Sang-Haeng; Kim, Dong-Wook; Kim, Ryong Nam; Park, Hong-Seog

2009-05-18

Allium sativum., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus (Allium), which is a large and diverse one containing over 1,250 species. Its close relatives include chives, onion, leek and shallot. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for culinary, medicinal use and health benefits. Currently, the interest in garlic is highly increasing due to nutritional and pharmaceutical value including high blood pressure and cholesterol, atherosclerosis and cancer. For all that, there are no comprehensive databases available for Expressed Sequence Tags(EST) of garlic for gene discovery and future efforts of genome annotation. That is why we developed a new garlic database and applications to enable comprehensive analysis of garlic gene expression. GarlicESTdb is an integrated database and mining tool for large-scale garlic (Allium sativum) EST sequencing. A total of 21,595 ESTs collected from an in-house cDNA library were used to construct the database. The analysis pipeline is an automated system written in JAVA and consists of the following components: automatic preprocessing of EST reads, assembly of raw sequences, annotation of the assembled sequences, storage of the analyzed information into MySQL databases, and graphic display of all processed data. A web application was implemented with the latest J2EE (Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition) software technology (JSP/EJB/JavaServlet) for browsing and querying the database, for creation of dynamic web pages on the client side, and for mapping annotated enzymes to KEGG pathways, the AJAX framework was also used partially. The online resources, such as putative annotation, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and tandem repeat data sets, can be searched by text, explored on the website, searched using BLAST, and downloaded. To archive more significant BLAST results, a curation system was introduced with which biologists can easily edit best-hit annotation information for others to view. The Garlic

How Does Skype, as an Online Communication Software Tool, Contribute to K-12 Administrators' Level of Self-Efficacy?

Science.gov (United States)

Kiriakidis, Peter

2012-01-01

How does Skype, as an online communication tool, contribute to school and district administrators' reported level of self-efficacy? A sample of n = 39 participants of which 22 were school administrators and 17 were district administrators was purposefully selected to use Skype in their offices with a webcam and microphone to communicate with other…

On-line data analysis and monitoring for H1 drift chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duellmann, D.

1992-01-01

The on-line monitoring, slow control and calibration of the H1 central jet chamber uses a VME multiprocessor system to perform the analysis and a connected Macintosh computer as graphical interface to the operator on shift. Tasks of this system are: Analysis of event data including on-line track search; on-line calibration from normal events and testpulse events; control of the high voltage and monitoring of settings and currents; monitoring of temperature, pressure and mixture of the chambergas. A program package is described which controls the dataflow between data aquisition, different VME CPUs and Macintosh. It allows to run off-line style programs for the different tasks. (orig.)

On-line data analysis and monitoring for H1 drift chambers

Science.gov (United States)

Düllmann, Dirk

1992-05-01

The on-line monitoring, slow control and calibration of the H1 central jet chamber uses a VME multiprocessor system to perform the analysis and a connected Macintosh computer as graphical interface to the operator on shift. Task of this system are: - analysis of event data including on-line track search, - on-line calibration from normal events and testpulse events, - control of the high voltage and monitoring of settings and currents, - monitoring of temperature, pressure and mixture of the chambergas. A program package is described which controls the dataflow between data aquisition, differnt VME CPUs and Macintosh. It allows to run off-line style programs for the different tasks.

Application status of on-line nuclear techniques in analysis of coal quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Shaohui

1993-01-01

Nuclear techniques are favourable for continuous on-line analysis, because they are fast, non-intrusive. They can be used in the adverse circumstances in coal industry. The paper reviews the application status of on-line nuclear techniques in analysis of coal quality and economic benefits derived from such techniques in developed countries

Online Self-Tests: A Powerful Tool for Self-Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Killedar, Manoj

2002-01-01

Examines vital design issues pertaining to the "Online Self-Test," a simple solution for dealing with concerns about lack of time and lack of motivation in distance education. Presents experiences gained during the implementation of the Online Self-Test Center for Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, Nashik, India, and…

Content Analysis Coding Schemes for Online Asynchronous Discussion

Science.gov (United States)

Weltzer-Ward, Lisa

2011-01-01

Purpose: Researchers commonly utilize coding-based analysis of classroom asynchronous discussion contributions as part of studies of online learning and instruction. However, this analysis is inconsistent from study to study with over 50 coding schemes and procedures applied in the last eight years. The aim of this article is to provide a basis…

Gender-Based Analysis On-Line Dialogue. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

2001

An online dialogue on gender-based analysis (GBA) was held from February 15 to March 7, 2001. Invitations and a background paper titled "Why Gender-Based Analysis?" were sent to 350 women's organizations and individuals throughout Canada. Efforts were made to ensure that aboriginal and Metis women, visible minority women, and women with…

Implementation and impact of an online tool used in primary care to improve access to financial benefits for patients: a study protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Aery, Anjana; Rucchetto, Anne; Singer, Alexander; Halas, Gayle; Bloch, Gary; Goel, Ritika; Raza, Danyaal; Upshur, Ross E G; Bellaire, Jackie; Katz, Alan; Pinto, Andrew David

2017-10-22

Addressing the social determinants of health has been identified as crucial to reducing health inequities. However, few evidence-based interventions exist. This study emerges from an ongoing collaboration between physicians, researchers and a financial literacy organisation. Our study will answer the following: Is an online tool that improves access to financial benefits feasible and acceptable? Can such a tool be integrated into clinical workflow? What are patient perspectives on the tool and what is the short-term impact on access to benefits? An advisory group made up of patients living on low incomes and representatives from community agencies supports this study. We will recruit three primary care sites in Toronto, Ontario and three in Winnipeg, Manitoba that serve low-income communities. We will introduce clinicians to screening for poverty and how benefits can increase income. Health providers will be encouraged to use the tool with any patient seen. The health provider and patient will complete the online tool together, generating a tailored list of benefits and resources to assist with obtaining these benefits. A brief survey on this experience will be administered to patients after they complete the tool, as well as a request to contact them in 1 month. Those who agree to be contacted will be interviewed on whether the intervention improved access to financial benefits. We will also administer an online survey to providers and conduct focus groups at each site. Key ethical concerns include that patients may feel discomfort when being asked about their financial situation, may feel obliged to complete the tool and may have their expectations falsely raised about receiving benefits. Providers will be trained to address each of these concerns. We will share our findings with providers and policy-makers interested in addressing the social determinants of health within healthcare settings. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02959866. Registered 7 November 2016

The rationalization of desulfurization by on-line analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murakami, Y; Kohmura, S; Taketomi, H; Matsumura, S; Sasaki, Y

1986-01-01

Nippon Kokan uses the Takahax and Sulfiban processes for the desulfurization of coke oven gas. The authors outline the Sulfiban Process and describe a recently developed system for the on-line determination of H/sub 2/S in coke oven gas, and of CO/sub 2/ and monoethanolamine (MEA) in the wash oil. This new on-line analysis system has proved effective in rationalizing the Sulfiban Process via lower MEA production costs and decreased power consumption. The introduction of a computerized control system is now being studied. 7 figs., 4 tabs.

Future Challenges and Opportunities in Online Prescription Drug Promotion Research; Comment on “Trouble Spots in Online Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Promotion: A Content Analysis of FDA Warning Letters”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian G. Southwell

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Despite increased availability of online promotional tools for prescription drug marketers, evidence on online prescription drug promotion is far from settled or conclusive. We highlight ways in which online prescription drug promotion is similar to conventional broadcast and print advertising and ways in which it differs. We also highlight five key areas for future research: branded drug website influence on consumer knowledge and behavior, interactive features on branded drug websites, mobile viewing of branded websites and mobile advertisements, online promotion and non-US audiences, and social media and medication decisions.

Physics Analysis Tools Workshop Report

CERN Multimedia

Assamagan, K A

A Physics Analysis Tools (PAT) workshop was held at the University of Tokyo in Tokyo Japan on May 15-19, 2006. Unlike the previous ones, this workshop brought together the core PAT developers and ATLAS users. The workshop was attended by 69 people from various institutions: Australia 5 Canada 1 China 6 CERN 4 Europe 7 Japan 32 Taiwan 3 USA 11 The agenda consisted of a 2-day tutorial for users, a 0.5-day user feedback discussion session between users and developers, and a 2-day core PAT workshop devoted to issues in Physics Analysis Tools activities. The tutorial, attended by users and developers, covered the following grounds: Event Selection with the TAG Event Selection Using the Athena-Aware NTuple Event Display Interactive Analysis within ATHENA Distributed Analysis Monte Carlo Truth Tools Trigger-Aware Analysis Event View By many accounts, the tutorial was useful. This workshop was the first time that the ATLAS Asia-Pacific community (Taiwan, Japan, China and Australia) go...

Building energy analysis tool

Science.gov (United States)

Brackney, Larry; Parker, Andrew; Long, Nicholas; Metzger, Ian; Dean, Jesse; Lisell, Lars

2016-04-12

A building energy analysis system includes a building component library configured to store a plurality of building components, a modeling tool configured to access the building component library and create a building model of a building under analysis using building spatial data and using selected building components of the plurality of building components stored in the building component library, a building analysis engine configured to operate the building model and generate a baseline energy model of the building under analysis and further configured to apply one or more energy conservation measures to the baseline energy model in order to generate one or more corresponding optimized energy models, and a recommendation tool configured to assess the one or more optimized energy models against the baseline energy model and generate recommendations for substitute building components or modifications.

Nuclear techniques for on-line analysis in the mineral and energy industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sowerby, B.D.; Watt, J.S.

1994-01-01

Nuclear techniques are the basis of many on-line analysis systems which are now widely used in the mineral and energy industries. Some of the systems developed by the CSIRO depend entirely on nuclear techniques; others use a combination of nuclear techniques and microwave, capacitance, or ultrasonic techniques. The continuous analysis and rapid response of these CSIRO systems has led to improved control of mining, processing and blending operations, with increased productivity valued at A$50 million per year to Australia, and $90 million per year world wide. This paper reviews developments in nuclear on-line analysis systems by the On-Line Analysis Group in CSIRO at Lucas Heights. Commercialised systems based on this work analyse mineral and coal slurries and determine the ash and moisture contents of coal and coke on conveyors. This paper also reviews two on-line nuclear analysis systems recently developed and licensed to industry, firstly for the determination of the mass flow rates of oil/water/gas mixtures in pipelines, and secondly for determination of the moisture, specific energy, ash and fouling index in low rank coals. 8 refs., 3 tabs., 4 figs

Future Challenges and Opportunities in Online Prescription Drug Promotion Research Comment on "Trouble Spots in Online Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Promotion: A Content Analysis of FDA Warning Letters".

Science.gov (United States)

Southwell, Brian G; Rupert, Douglas J

2016-01-16

Despite increased availability of online promotional tools for prescription drug marketers, evidence on online prescription drug promotion is far from settled or conclusive. We highlight ways in which online prescription drug promotion is similar to conventional broadcast and print advertising and ways in which it differs. We also highlight five key areas for future research: branded drug website influence on consumer knowledge and behavior, interactive features on branded drug websites, mobile viewing of branded websites and mobile advertisements, online promotion and non-US audiences, and social media and medication decisions. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

On-line vibration and loose parts monitoring of nuclear power stations as a preventive maintenance tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An equipment for on-line monitoring of vibrations and loose parts of nuclear power plants is described. The unit consists of piezoelectric transducers, preamplifiers, a data processor, and peripherals. It secures on-line measurement without interfering with the operation of the power plant. A diagram is given showing the monitor of vibrations and loose parts for pressurized water reactors and the Spectra-Scan equipment for the automatic recording and computer processing of noise signals is described. A survey is given of diagnostic methods for internal vibrations, noise and oscillations and procedures for the analysis of recordings are described. The experiences of Atomica International with the observation of vibrations in nuclear power plants are described and an economic assessment is presented of the efficiency of on-line monitoring of these vibrations. A cost-benefit analysis is made of such equipment which justifies their introduction. (B.S.)

MicrobesOnline: an integrated portal for comparative and functional genomics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dehal, Paramvir S.; Joachimiak, Marcin P.; Price, Morgan N.; Bates, John T.; Baumohl, Jason K.; Chivian, Dylan; Friedland, Greg D.; Huang, Katherine H.; Keller, Keith; Novichkov, Pavel S.; Dubchak, Inna L.; Alm, Eric J.; Arkin, Adam P.

2009-09-17

Since 2003, MicrobesOnline (http://www.microbesonline.org) has been providing a community resource for comparative and functional genome analysis. The portal includes over 1000 complete genomes of bacteria, archaea and fungi and thousands of expression microarrays from diverse organisms ranging from model organisms such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae to environmental microbes such as Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Shewanella oneidensis. To assist in annotating genes and in reconstructing their evolutionary history, MicrobesOnline includes a comparative genome browser based on phylogenetic trees for every gene family as well as a species tree. To identify co-regulated genes, MicrobesOnline can search for genes based on their expression profile, and provides tools for identifying regulatory motifs and seeing if they are conserved. MicrobesOnline also includes fast phylogenetic profile searches, comparative views of metabolic pathways, operon predictions, a workbench for sequence analysis and integration with RegTransBase and other microbial genome resources. The next update of MicrobesOnline will contain significant new functionality, including comparative analysis of metagenomic sequence data. Programmatic access to the database, along with source code and documentation, is available at http://microbesonline.org/programmers.html.

MicrobesOnline: an integrated portal for comparative and functional genomics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dehal, Paramvir; Joachimiak, Marcin; Price, Morgan; Bates, John; Baumohl, Jason; Chivian, Dylan; Friedland, Greg; Huang, Kathleen; Keller, Keith; Novichkov, Pavel; Dubchak, Inna; Alm, Eric; Arkin, Adam

2011-07-14

Since 2003, MicrobesOnline (http://www.microbesonline.org) has been providing a community resource for comparative and functional genome analysis. The portal includes over 1000 complete genomes of bacteria, archaea and fungi and thousands of expression microarrays from diverse organisms ranging from model organisms such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae to environmental microbes such as Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Shewanella oneidensis. To assist in annotating genes and in reconstructing their evolutionary history, MicrobesOnline includes a comparative genome browser based on phylogenetic trees for every gene family as well as a species tree. To identify co-regulated genes, MicrobesOnline can search for genes based on their expression profile, and provides tools for identifying regulatory motifs and seeing if they are conserved. MicrobesOnline also includes fast phylogenetic profile searches, comparative views of metabolic pathways, operon predictions, a workbench for sequence analysis and integration with RegTransBase and other microbial genome resources. The next update of MicrobesOnline will contain significant new functionality, including comparative analysis of metagenomic sequence data. Programmatic access to the database, along with source code and documentation, is available at http://microbesonline.org/programmers.html.

Establishing a Link Between Prescription Drug Abuse and Illicit Online Pharmacies: Analysis of Twitter Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Katsuki, Takeo; Mackey, Tim Ken; Cuomo, Raphael

2015-12-16

Youth and adolescent non-medical use of prescription medications (NUPM) has become a national epidemic. However, little is known about the association between promotion of NUPM behavior and access via the popular social media microblogging site, Twitter, which is currently used by a third of all teens. In order to better assess NUPM behavior online, this study conducts surveillance and analysis of Twitter data to characterize the frequency of NUPM-related tweets and also identifies illegal access to drugs of abuse via online pharmacies. Tweets were collected over a 2-week period from April 1-14, 2015, by applying NUPM keyword filters for both generic/chemical and street names associated with drugs of abuse using the Twitter public streaming application programming interface. Tweets were then analyzed for relevance to NUPM and whether they promoted illegal online access to prescription drugs using a protocol of content coding and supervised machine learning. A total of 2,417,662 tweets were collected and analyzed for this study. Tweets filtered for generic drugs names comprised 232,108 tweets, including 22,174 unique associated uniform resource locators (URLs), and 2,185,554 tweets (376,304 unique URLs) filtered for street names. Applying an iterative process of manual content coding and supervised machine learning, 81.72% of the generic and 12.28% of the street NUPM datasets were predicted as having content relevant to NUPM respectively. By examining hyperlinks associated with NUPM relevant content for the generic Twitter dataset, we discovered that 75.72% of the tweets with URLs included a hyperlink to an online marketing affiliate that directly linked to an illicit online pharmacy advertising the sale of Valium without a prescription. This study examined the association between Twitter content, NUPM behavior promotion, and online access to drugs using a broad set of prescription drug keywords. Initial results are concerning, as our study found over 45,000 tweets

Monitoring of Students' Interaction in Online Learning Settings by Structural Network Analysis and Indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Ammenwerth, Elske; Hackl, Werner O

2017-01-01

Learning as a constructive process works best in interaction with other learners. Support of social interaction processes is a particular challenge within online learning settings due to the spatial and temporal distribution of participants. It should thus be carefully monitored. We present structural network analysis and related indicators to analyse and visualize interaction patterns of participants in online learning settings. We validate this approach in two online courses and show how the visualization helps to monitor interaction and to identify activity profiles of learners. Structural network analysis is a feasible approach for an analysis of the intensity and direction of interaction in online learning settings.

Medical students' online learning technology needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Heeyoung; Nelson, Erica; Wetter, Nathan

2014-02-01

This study investigated medical students' online learning technology needs at a medical school. The study aimed to provide evidence-based guidance for technology selection and online learning design in medical education. The authors developed a 120-item survey in collaboration with the New Technology in Medical Education (NTIME) committee at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIUSOM). Overall, 123 of 290 medical students (42%) at the medical school participated in the survey. The survey focused on five major areas: students' hardware and software use; perception of educational technology (ET) in general; online behaviours; perception of ET use at the school; and demographic information. Students perceived multimedia tools, scheduling tools, communication tools, collaborative authoring tools, learning management systems and electronic health records useful educational technologies for their learning. They did not consider social networking tools useful for their learning, despite their frequent use. Third-year students were less satisfied with current technology integration in the curriculum, information sharing and collaborative learning than other years. Students in clerkships perceived mobile devices as useful for their learning. Students using a mobile device (i.e. a smartphone) go online, text message, visit social networking sites and are online during classes more frequently than non-users. Medical students' ET needs differ between preclinical and clinical years. Technology supporting ubiquitous mobile learning and health information technology (HIT) systems at hospitals and out-patient clinics can be integrated into clerkship curricula. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Web vulnerability study of online pharmacy sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzma, Joanne

2011-01-01

Consumers are increasingly using online pharmacies, but these sites may not provide an adequate level of security with the consumers' personal data. There is a gap in this research addressing the problems of security vulnerabilities in this industry. The objective is to identify the level of web application security vulnerabilities in online pharmacies and the common types of flaws, thus expanding on prior studies. Technical, managerial and legal recommendations on how to mitigate security issues are presented. The proposed four-step method first consists of choosing an online testing tool. The next steps involve choosing a list of 60 online pharmacy sites to test, and then running the software analysis to compile a list of flaws. Finally, an in-depth analysis is performed on the types of web application vulnerabilities. The majority of sites had serious vulnerabilities, with the majority of flaws being cross-site scripting or old versions of software that have not been updated. A method is proposed for the securing of web pharmacy sites, using a multi-phased approach of technical and managerial techniques together with a thorough understanding of national legal requirements for securing systems.

On-line monitoring for calibration reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffmann, Mario; Gran, Frauke Schmitt; Thunem, Harald P-J.

2004-04-01

On-Line Monitoring (OLM) of a channel's calibration state evaluates instrument channel performance by assessing its consistency with other plant indications. Industry and experience at several plants has shown this overall approach to be very effective in identifying instrument channels that are exhibiting degrading or inconsistent performance characteristics. The Halden Reactor Project has developed the signal validation system PEANO, which can be used to assist with the tasks of OLM. To further enhance the PEANO System for use as a calibration reduction tool, the following two additional modules have been developed; HRP Prox, which performs pre-processing and statistical analysis of signal data, Batch Monitoring Module (BMM), which is an off-line batch monitoring and reporting suite. The purpose and functionality of the HRP Prox and BMM modules are discussed in this report, as well as the improvements made to the PEANO Server to support these new modules. The Halden Reactor Project has established a Halden On-Line Monitoring User Group (HOLMUG), devoted to the discussion and implementation of on-line monitoring techniques in power plants. It is formed by utilities, vendors, regulatory bodies and research institutes that meet regularly to discuss implementation aspects of on-line monitoring, technical specification changes, cost-benefit analysis and regulatory issues. (Author)

Do online prognostication tools represent a valid alternative to genomic profiling in the context of adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer? A systematic review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

El Hage Chehade, Hiba; Wazir, Umar; Mokbel, Kinan; Kasem, Abdul; Mokbel, Kefah

2018-01-01

Decision-making regarding adjuvant chemotherapy has been based on clinical and pathological features. However, such decisions are seldom consistent. Web-based predictive models have been developed using data from cancer registries to help determine the need for adjuvant therapy. More recently, with the recognition of the heterogenous nature of breast cancer, genomic assays have been developed to aid in the therapeutic decision-making. We have carried out a comprehensive literature review regarding online prognostication tools and genomic assays to assess whether online tools could be used as valid alternatives to genomic profiling in decision-making regarding adjuvant therapy in early breast cancer. Breast cancer has been recently recognized as a heterogenous disease based on variations in molecular characteristics. Online tools are valuable in guiding adjuvant treatment, especially in resource constrained countries. However, in the era of personalized therapy, molecular profiling appears to be superior in predicting clinical outcome and guiding therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Virtual Museum for Meteorites: an Online Tool for Researchers Educators and Students

Science.gov (United States)

Madiedo, J. M.

2013-09-01

The Virtual Museum for Meteorites (Figure 1) was created as a tool for students, educators and researchers [1, 2]. One of the aims of this online resource is to promote the interest in meteorites. Thus, the role of meteorites in education and outreach is fundamental, as these are very valuable tools to promote the public's interest in Astronomy and Planetary Sciences. Meteorite exhibitions reveal the fascination of students, educators and even researchers for these extraterrestrial rocks and how these can explain many key questions origin and evolution of our Solar System. However, despite the efforts related to the origin and evolution of our Solar System. However, despite the efforts of private collectors, museums and other institutions to organize meteorite exhibitions, the reach of these is usually limited. The Virtual Museum for Meteorites takes advantage of HTML and related technologies to overcome local boundaries and offer its contents for a global audience. A description of the recent developments performed in the framework of this virtual museum is given in this work.

Sentiment analysis to determine the impact of online messages on smokers' choices to use varenicline.

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, Nathan K; Mays, Darren; Graham, Amanda L

2013-12-01

Social networks are a prominent component of online smoking cessation interventions. This study applied sentiment analysis-a data processing technique that codes textual data for emotional polarity-to examine how exposure to messages about the cessation drug varenicline affects smokers' decision making around its use. Data were from QuitNet, an online social network dedicated to smoking cessation and relapse prevention. Self-reported medication choice at registration and at 30 days was coded among new QuitNet registrants who participated in at least one forum discussion mentioning varenicline between January 31, 2005 and March 9, 2008. Commercially available software was used to code the sentiment of forum messages mentioning varenicline that occurred during this time frame. Logistic regression analyses examined whether forum message exposure predicted medication choice. The sample of 2132 registrants comprised mostly women (78.3%), white participants (83.4%), averaged 41.2 years of age (SD = 10.9), and smoked on average 21.5 (SD = 9.7) cigarettes/day. After adjusting for potential confounders, as exposure to positive varenicline messages outweighed negative messages, the odds of switching to varenicline (odds ratio = 2.05, 95% confidence interval = 1.66 to 2.54) and continuing to use varenicline (odds ratio = 2.46, 95% confidence interval = 1.96 to 3.10) statistically significantly increased. Sentiment analysis is a useful tool for analyzing text-based data to examine their impact on behavior change. Greater exposure to positive sentiment in online conversations about varenicline is associated with a greater likelihood that smokers will choose to use varenicline in a quit attempt.

Login and Networking Services for Online Multiplayer Games

OpenAIRE

Peachi Muthu, Chithra

2015-01-01

The aim of the thesis was to study login and networking services for online multiplayer games using the unity tool. In the thesis, the authentication, communication and networking protocols supported in the unity game development tool were studied and experimented. And an analysis of the possibility to use the SIP protocol for the login services was done. A game development team from a game company, Vulpine Games Oy, was identified with the help of a lecturer in Metropolia. With the team the ...

Exploration of Online Culture Through Network Analysis of Wikipedia.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sung Joo; Kim, Jong Woo; Lee, Hong Joo; Park, Hyunjung; Han, Deugcheon; Gloor, Peter

2015-11-01

Understanding online culture is becoming crucial in the global and connected world. Contrary to conventional attitudinal surveys used in cultural research, this study uses the approach of directly observing culture-specific behavior that emerges from online collaboration on the Internet. The editing data of Wikipedia were analyzed in 12 languages. Distinctive cultural dimensions were identified, including collectivism, extraversion, boldness, and egalitarianism. Using network analysis, the language-framed cultural factors were extracted as an emergent phenomenon in the virtual world.

Development and implementation of a bioinformatics online ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Thus, there is the need for appropriate strategies of introducing the basic components of this emerging scientific field to part of the African populace through the development of an online distance education learning tool. This study involved the design of a bioinformatics online distance educative tool an implementation of ...

Social argumentation in online synchronous communication

Science.gov (United States)

Angiono, Ivan

In education, argumentation has an increasing importance because it can be used to foster learning in various fields including philosophy, history, sciences, and mathematics. Argumentation is also at the heart of scientific inquiry. Many educational technology researchers have been interested in finding out how technologies can be employed to improve students' learning of argumentation. Therefore, many computer-based tools or argumentation systems have been developed to assist students in their acquisition of argumentation skills. While the argumentation systems incorporating online debating tools present a good resource in formal settings, there is limited research revealing what argumentative skills students are portraying in informal online settings without the presence of a moderator. This dissertation investigates the nature of argumentative practices in a massively multiplayer online game where the system successfully incorporates the authentic use of online synchronous communication tools and the patterns that emerge from the interplay between a number of contextual variables including synchronicity, interest, authenticity, and topical knowledge.

Online supervision at the university - A comparative study of supervision on student assignments face-to-face and online

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Søren Smedegaard Bengtsen

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Through an empirical study of supervision on student assignments at the university across face-to-face and online settings, we show firstly the limiting implications of traditional dichotomies between face-to-face and online supervision. Secondly we show that more attention must be given to the way different digital tools influence the supervisory dialogue. These findings illustrate a form of ‘torn pedagogy’; that online tools and platforms destabilize and tear traditional understandings of supervision pedagogy apart. Also we forge a new concept of “format supervision” that enables supervisors to understand and reflect their supervision practice as a deliberate choice between face-to-face and online formats.

Online supervision at the university - A comparative study of supervision on student assignments face-to-face and online

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Søren Smedegaard Bengtsen

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Through an empirical study of supervision on student assignments at the university across face-to-face and online settings, we show firstly the limiting implications of traditional dichotomies between face-to-face and online supervision. Secondly we show that more attention must be given to the way different digital tools influence the supervisory dialogue. These findings illustrate a form of ‘torn pedagogy’; that online tools and platforms destabilize and tear traditional understandings of supervision pedagogy apart. Also we forge a new concept of “format supervision” that enables supervisors to understand and reflect their supervision practice as a deliberate choice between face-to-face and online formats.

Psychometric properties of the problematic online gaming questionnaire short-form and prevalence of problematic online gaming in a national sample of adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Pápay, Orsolya; Urbán, Róbert; Griffiths, Mark D; Nagygyörgy, Katalin; Farkas, Judit; Kökönyei, Gyöngyi; Felvinczi, Katalin; Oláh, Attila; Elekes, Zsuzsanna; Demetrovics, Zsolt

2013-05-01

The rise and growing popularity of online games has led to the appearance of excessive gaming that in some cases can lead to physical and psychological problems. Several measures have been developed to explore the nature and the scale of the phenomenon. However, few measures have been validated psychometrically. The aim of the present study was to test the psychometric properties of the 12-item Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire Short-Form (POGQ-SF) and to assess the prevalence of problematic online gaming. Data collection was carried out to assess the prevalence of problematic online gaming in a national representative adolescent sample by using an offline (pen and pencil) method. A total of 5,045 secondary school students were assessed (51% male, mean age 16.4 years, SD=0.9 years) of which 2,804 were gamers (65.4% male, mean age 16.4 years, SD=0.9 years). Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the measurement model of problematic online gaming, and latent profile analysis was used to identify the proportion of gamers whose online game use can be considered problematic. Results showed that the original six-factor model yielded appropriate fit to the data, and thus the POGQ-SF has appropriate psychometric properties. Latent profile analysis revealed that 4.6% of the adolescents belong to a high risk group and an additional 13.3% to a low risk group. Due to its satisfactory psychometric characteristics, the 12-item POGQ-SF appears to be an adequate tool for the assessment of problematic online gaming.

DQM4HEP - A Generic Online Monitor for Particle Physics Experiments

CERN Document Server

Irles, Adrián; Coates, Tom; Salvatore, Fabrizio; Cussans, David; Éte, Remi; Mirabito, Laurent; Pingault, Antoine; Wing, Matthew

2017-01-01

There is currently a lot of activity in R&D for future collider experiments. Multiple detector prototypes are being tested, each one with slightly different requirements regarding the format of the data to be analysed. This has generated a variety of ad-hoc solutions for data acquisition and online data monitoring. We present a generic C++11 online monitoring framework called DQM4HEP, which is designed for use as a generic online monitor for particle physics experiments, ranging from small tabletop experiments to large multi-detector testbeams, such as those currently ongoing/planned at the DESY2 or CERN SPS beamlines. We present results obtained using DQM4HEP at several testbeams where the CALICE AHCAL, SDHCAL and SiWECAL detector prototypes have been tested. During these testbeams, online analysis using DQM4HEP's framework has been developed and used. We also present the currently ongoing work to integrate DQM4HEP within the EUDAQ tool. EUDAQ is a tool for common and generic data acquisition within the ...

Online newspapers as an effective tool to generate interest in reading for students of Youth and Adult Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Luis Notari

2017-10-01

Full Text Available One of the main challenges to improve the quality of Brazilian education is to promote reading and an understanding of what is read. This situation is more complex in Youth and Adult Education, which has focused on students who exhibited academic failure in mainstream classes or had not engaged in reading and writing for many years. In addition to adolescents, adults and elderly individuals have the same interests when they are in school; however, the identification of a way to engage these different audiences is a challenge. Thus, we propose reading newspapers online to generate an interest in reading, as well as determining how to select updated texts that are able to draw the attention of students. The findings indicated 100% of the students were satisfied with the activity. Nevertheless, when the times of reading performed in the Educational Computer Laboratory and classroom were compared, the evaluation that employed computer tools was far superior to the classroom. We conclude that although online newspaper reading is quite simple and easy to perform, it is an important tool capable of stimulating and developing the taste and habit of reading and is effective for different audiences.

Create, run, share, publish, and reference your LC-MS, FIA-MS, GC-MS, and NMR data analysis workflows with the Workflow4Metabolomics 3.0 Galaxy online infrastructure for metabolomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Guitton, Yann; Tremblay-Franco, Marie; Le Corguillé, Gildas; Martin, Jean-François; Pétéra, Mélanie; Roger-Mele, Pierrick; Delabrière, Alexis; Goulitquer, Sophie; Monsoor, Misharl; Duperier, Christophe; Canlet, Cécile; Servien, Rémi; Tardivel, Patrick; Caron, Christophe; Giacomoni, Franck; Thévenot, Etienne A

2017-12-01

Metabolomics is a key approach in modern functional genomics and systems biology. Due to the complexity of metabolomics data, the variety of experimental designs, and the multiplicity of bioinformatics tools, providing experimenters with a simple and efficient resource to conduct comprehensive and rigorous analysis of their data is of utmost importance. In 2014, we launched the Workflow4Metabolomics (W4M; http://workflow4metabolomics.org) online infrastructure for metabolomics built on the Galaxy environment, which offers user-friendly features to build and run data analysis workflows including preprocessing, statistical analysis, and annotation steps. Here we present the new W4M 3.0 release, which contains twice as many tools as the first version, and provides two features which are, to our knowledge, unique among online resources. First, data from the four major metabolomics technologies (i.e., LC-MS, FIA-MS, GC-MS, and NMR) can be analyzed on a single platform. By using three studies in human physiology, alga evolution, and animal toxicology, we demonstrate how the 40 available tools can be easily combined to address biological issues. Second, the full analysis (including the workflow, the parameter values, the input data and output results) can be referenced with a permanent digital object identifier (DOI). Publication of data analyses is of major importance for robust and reproducible science. Furthermore, the publicly shared workflows are of high-value for e-learning and training. The Workflow4Metabolomics 3.0 e-infrastructure thus not only offers a unique online environment for analysis of data from the main metabolomics technologies, but it is also the first reference repository for metabolomics workflows. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Media Marketing – Analysis of Online presence of Slovak banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomas Feige

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Paper focuses on areas of Social Media Marketing and Social Network Analysis. It describes case-study of joint university-business project of analysis of online presence of Slovak banks which took place in cooperation with IBM CZ in early 2012. This project was aimed at general analysis of online presence of Slovak banks, uncovering the structure of various channels and forms of bank-customer interaction and identifying key actors in banks social networks along with general sentiment and climate. Paper gives a general overview of the project and its challenges and presents high-level results.

User Interface Requirements for Web-Based Integrated Care Pathways: Evidence from the Evaluation of an Online Care Pathway Investigation Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Balatsoukas, Panos; Williams, Richard; Davies, Colin; Ainsworth, John; Buchan, Iain

2015-11-01

Integrated care pathways (ICPs) define a chronological sequence of steps, most commonly diagnostic or treatment, to be followed in providing care for patients. Care pathways help to ensure quality standards are met and to reduce variation in practice. Although research on the computerisation of ICP progresses, there is still little knowledge on what are the requirements for designing user-friendly and usable electronic care pathways, or how users (normally health care professionals) interact with interfaces that support design, analysis and visualisation of ICPs. The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to address this gap by evaluating the usability of a novel web-based tool called COCPIT (Collaborative Online Care Pathway Investigation Tool). COCPIT supports the design, analysis and visualisation of ICPs at the population level. In order to address the aim of this study, an evaluation methodology was designed based on heuristic evaluations and a mixed method usability test. The results showed that modular visualisation and direct manipulation of information related to the design and analysis of ICPs is useful for engaging and stimulating users. However, designers should pay attention to issues related to the visibility of the system status and the match between the system and the real world, especially in relation to the display of statistical information about care pathways and the editing of clinical information within a care pathway. The paper concludes with recommendations for interface design.

Enrichr: interactive and collaborative HTML5 gene list enrichment analysis tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Edward Y; Tan, Christopher M; Kou, Yan; Duan, Qiaonan; Wang, Zichen; Meirelles, Gabriela Vaz; Clark, Neil R; Ma'ayan, Avi

2013-04-15

System-wide profiling of genes and proteins in mammalian cells produce lists of differentially expressed genes/proteins that need to be further analyzed for their collective functions in order to extract new knowledge. Once unbiased lists of genes or proteins are generated from such experiments, these lists are used as input for computing enrichment with existing lists created from prior knowledge organized into gene-set libraries. While many enrichment analysis tools and gene-set libraries databases have been developed, there is still room for improvement. Here, we present Enrichr, an integrative web-based and mobile software application that includes new gene-set libraries, an alternative approach to rank enriched terms, and various interactive visualization approaches to display enrichment results using the JavaScript library, Data Driven Documents (D3). The software can also be embedded into any tool that performs gene list analysis. We applied Enrichr to analyze nine cancer cell lines by comparing their enrichment signatures to the enrichment signatures of matched normal tissues. We observed a common pattern of up regulation of the polycomb group PRC2 and enrichment for the histone mark H3K27me3 in many cancer cell lines, as well as alterations in Toll-like receptor and interlukin signaling in K562 cells when compared with normal myeloid CD33+ cells. Such analyses provide global visualization of critical differences between normal tissues and cancer cell lines but can be applied to many other scenarios. Enrichr is an easy to use intuitive enrichment analysis web-based tool providing various types of visualization summaries of collective functions of gene lists. Enrichr is open source and freely available online at: http://amp.pharm.mssm.edu/Enrichr.

Selecting a Web 2.0 Presentation Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Hodges, Charles B.; Clark, Kenneth

2011-01-01

Web-based presentation tools are sometimes referred to as "next generation presentation tools" (EDUCAUSE, 2010). At the most basic level, these tools are simply online versions of traditional presentation software, such as Microsoft's PowerPoint or Apple's Keynote, but some services offer features like web-based collaboration, online presentation…

How the HYPATIA analysis tool is used as a hands-on experience to introduce HEP to high schools

CERN Document Server

Kourkoumelis, C

2016-01-01

HYPATIA'' is a tool for interactive analysis of data from the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider of CERN. It has been created by the authors and has been evolving over a number of years. It is available in a dowloadable version, which is regularly used in the International Masterclasses, and an online version which now exists in the form of a webapp. Furthermore, the data from ATLAS, which are necessary for performing different educational analysis paths, are available online. Such examples of interactive analyses vary from the estimation of the magnetic field of the ATLAS solenoid magnet, to detecting \\textquotedblleft pseudo\\textquotedblright~ Higgs events. These applications have been used in recent years in a large number of schools in the form of a half-day mini local (or even remote) masterclass. These activities have been supported by various European Union outreach programs which give emphasis to promoting science education in schools through new methods based on the inquiry based technique...

On-line near infrared spectroscopy as a Process Analytical Technology (PAT) tool to control an industrial seeded API crystallization.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, C; Lecomte, C; Clicq, D; Merschaert, A; Norrant, E; Fotiadu, F

2013-09-01

The final step of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing synthesis process consists of a crystallization during which the API and residual solvent contents have to be quantified precisely in order to reach a predefined seeding point. A feasibility study was conducted to demonstrate the suitability of on-line NIR spectroscopy to control this step in line with new version of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) guideline [1]. A quantitative method was developed at laboratory scale using statistical design of experiments (DOE) and multivariate data analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) regression. NIR models were built to quantify the API in the range of 9-12% (w/w) and to quantify the residual methanol in the range of 0-3% (w/w). To improve the predictive ability of the models, the development procedure encompassed: outliers elimination, optimum model rank definition, spectral range and spectral pre-treatment selection. Conventional criteria such as, number of PLS factors, R(2), root mean square errors of calibration, cross-validation and prediction (RMSEC, RMSECV, RMSEP) enabled the selection of three model candidates. These models were tested in the industrial pilot plant during three technical campaigns. Results of the most suitable models were evaluated against to the chromatographic reference methods. Maximum relative bias of 2.88% was obtained about API target content. Absolute bias of 0.01 and 0.02% (w/w) respectively were achieved at methanol content levels of 0.10 and 0.13% (w/w). The repeatability was assessed as sufficient for the on-line monitoring of the 2 analytes. The present feasibility study confirmed the possibility to use on-line NIR spectroscopy as a PAT tool to monitor in real-time both the API and the residual methanol contents, in order to control the seeding of an API crystallization at industrial scale. Furthermore, the successful scale-up of the method proved its capability to be

Blended Learning Tools in Geosciences: A New Set of Online Tools to Help Students Master Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Cull, S.; Spohrer, J.; Natarajan, S.; Chin, M.

2013-12-01

In most geoscience courses, students are expected to develop specific skills. To master these skills, students need to practice them repeatedly. Unfortunately, few geosciences courses have enough class time to allow students sufficient in-class practice, nor enough instructor attention and time to provide fast feedback. To address this, we have developed an online tool called an Instant Feedback Practice (IFP). IFPs are low-risk, high-frequency exercises that allow students to practice skills repeatedly throughout a semester, both in class and at home. After class, students log onto a course management system (like Moodle or Blackboard), and click on that day's IFP exercise. The exercise might be visually identifying a set of minerals that they're practicing. After answering each question, the IFP tells them if they got it right or wrong. If they got it wrong, they try again until they get it right. There is no penalty - students receive the full score for finishing. The goal is low-stakes practice. By completing dozens of these practices throughout the semester, students have many, many opportunities to practice mineral identification with quick feedback. Students can also complete IFPs during class in groups and teams, with in-lab hand samples or specimens. IFPs can also be used to gauge student skill levels as the semester progresses, as they can be set up to provide the instructor feedback on specific skills or students. When IFPs were developed for and implemented in a majors-level mineralogy class, students reported that in-class and online IFPs were by far the most useful technique they used to master mineral hand sample identification. Final grades in the course were significantly higher than historical norms, supporting students' anecdotal assessment of the impact of IFPs on their learning.

Software reference for SaTool - a Tool for Structural Analysis of Automated Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lorentzen, Torsten; Blanke, Mogens

2004-01-01

This software reference details the functions of SaTool – a tool for structural analysis of technical systems. SaTool is intended used as part of an industrial systems design cycle. Structural analysis is a graph-based technique where principal relations between variables express the system’s...... of the graph. SaTool makes analysis of the structure graph to provide knowledge about fundamental properties of the system in normal and faulty conditions. Salient features of SaTool include rapid analysis of possibility to diagnose faults and ability to make autonomous recovery should faults occur........ The list of such variables and functional relations constitute the system’s structure graph. Normal operation means all functional relations are intact. Should faults occur, one or more functional relations cease to be valid. In a structure graph, this is seen as the disappearance of one or more nodes...

Forensic analysis of video steganography tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Sloan

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Steganography is the art and science of concealing information in such a way that only the sender and intended recipient of a message should be aware of its presence. Digital steganography has been used in the past on a variety of media including executable files, audio, text, games and, notably, images. Additionally, there is increasing research interest towards the use of video as a media for steganography, due to its pervasive nature and diverse embedding capabilities. In this work, we examine the embedding algorithms and other security characteristics of several video steganography tools. We show how all feature basic and severe security weaknesses. This is potentially a very serious threat to the security, privacy and anonymity of their users. It is important to highlight that most steganography users have perfectly legal and ethical reasons to employ it. Some common scenarios would include citizens in oppressive regimes whose freedom of speech is compromised, people trying to avoid massive surveillance or censorship, political activists, whistle blowers, journalists, etc. As a result of our findings, we strongly recommend ceasing any use of these tools, and to remove any contents that may have been hidden, and any carriers stored, exchanged and/or uploaded online. For many of these tools, carrier files will be trivial to detect, potentially compromising any hidden data and the parties involved in the communication. We finish this work by presenting our steganalytic results, that highlight a very poor current state of the art in practical video steganography tools. There is unfortunately a complete lack of secure and publicly available tools, and even commercial tools offer very poor security. We therefore encourage the steganography community to work towards the development of more secure and accessible video steganography tools, and make them available for the general public. The results presented in this work can also be seen as a useful

Teleaudiology: efficacy assessment of an online social network as a support tool for parents of children candidates for cochlear implant.

Science.gov (United States)

Aiello, Camila Piccini; Ferrari, Deborah Viviane

2015-01-01

To assess the efficacy of an online social network as a support for parents of children with hearing impairment. Twenty-two mothers, randomly divided into experimental (n=11) and control (n=11) groups, filled in an online form containing the Parental Stress Index - Short Form (PSI-SF). Only the experimental group had access to the "Babies' Portal" social network. Both groups filled in the online form once again 3 months after the first assessment, for evaluating the use and participation in the social network. The posts on the social network were rated by two independent raters regarding themes and mechanisms of self-help. No difference was observed in mean PSI-SF scores between the groups for both assessments. Intragroup analysis showed no difference for total and subscale results of PSI-SF between the two data collected for both groups except for the "Defensive Response" subscale, in which a decrease was observed in the score for the control group. The most frequent posting themes were related to personal information and expressions of religious beliefs. Regarding self-help mechanisms, a higher frequency of exchanging experiences and gratitude expressions was observed. Participants in the experimental group stated they would have liked to participate more frequently in the social network as they considered this tool important because of the exchange of information and experience with other mothers and hearing health-care professionals. The posts and the assessment of participants indicated the potential of this network to support parents of children with hearing impairment.

The development by the German Transactional Analysis Association of a scientifically-based online evaluation system of transactional analysis training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norbert Nagel

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The authors present the development and statistical analysis, conducted under the auspices of the German Transactional Analysis Association (DGTA, of an online evaluation system of transactional analysis training.  The understanding of evaluation research is clarified, and the data-entry form and its grounding in the theory of transactional analysis are presented. Emphasis is placed on the development of the competence concept, the definition of competence categories, and the representation of the foundations of a transactional-analytic educational theory.  The scientific examination of the validity and reliability of the scales, the research process with pre-test and re-test, and the evaluation of the data in the system of online evaluation are extensively documented.  In conclusion, it is claimed that this online-based DGTA evaluation is one of the few result-oriented teaching evaluation instruments in the German-speaking countries which meets scientific control criteria and is published. Citation - APA format: Nagel, N., König, J., Ottmann, S., & Hahnle, A. (2017. The development by the German Transactional Analysis Association of a scientifically-based online evaluation system of transactional analysis training. International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research & Practice, 8(2, 3-23.

Assessing Blackboard: Improving Online Instructional Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Chawdhry, Adnan A.; Paullet, Karen; Benjamin, Daniel

2011-01-01

Universities and colleges have been offering online classes without assessing the tools used for online learning management to determine student perceptions. An understanding of the benefits and concerns as perceived by the student population is essential to implementing an online education environment that is conducive to a student's learning.…

On Designing Multicore-Aware Simulators for Systems Biology Endowed with OnLine Statistics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Aldinucci

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper arguments are on enabling methodologies for the design of a fully parallel, online, interactive tool aiming to support the bioinformatics scientists .In particular, the features of these methodologies, supported by the FastFlow parallel programming framework, are shown on a simulation tool to perform the modeling, the tuning, and the sensitivity analysis of stochastic biological models. A stochastic simulation needs thousands of independent simulation trajectories turning into big data that should be analysed by statistic and data mining tools. In the considered approach the two stages are pipelined in such a way that the simulation stage streams out the partial results of all simulation trajectories to the analysis stage that immediately produces a partial result. The simulation-analysis workflow is validated for performance and effectiveness of the online analysis in capturing biological systems behavior on a multicore platform and representative proof-of-concept biological systems. The exploited methodologies include pattern-based parallel programming and data streaming that provide key features to the software designers such as performance portability and efficient in-memory (big data management and movement. Two paradigmatic classes of biological systems exhibiting multistable and oscillatory behavior are used as a testbed.

On designing multicore-aware simulators for systems biology endowed with OnLine statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Aldinucci, Marco; Calcagno, Cristina; Coppo, Mario; Damiani, Ferruccio; Drocco, Maurizio; Sciacca, Eva; Spinella, Salvatore; Torquati, Massimo; Troina, Angelo

2014-01-01

The paper arguments are on enabling methodologies for the design of a fully parallel, online, interactive tool aiming to support the bioinformatics scientists .In particular, the features of these methodologies, supported by the FastFlow parallel programming framework, are shown on a simulation tool to perform the modeling, the tuning, and the sensitivity analysis of stochastic biological models. A stochastic simulation needs thousands of independent simulation trajectories turning into big data that should be analysed by statistic and data mining tools. In the considered approach the two stages are pipelined in such a way that the simulation stage streams out the partial results of all simulation trajectories to the analysis stage that immediately produces a partial result. The simulation-analysis workflow is validated for performance and effectiveness of the online analysis in capturing biological systems behavior on a multicore platform and representative proof-of-concept biological systems. The exploited methodologies include pattern-based parallel programming and data streaming that provide key features to the software designers such as performance portability and efficient in-memory (big) data management and movement. Two paradigmatic classes of biological systems exhibiting multistable and oscillatory behavior are used as a testbed.

Sobol Sensitivity Analysis: A Tool to Guide the Development and Evaluation of Systems Pharmacology Models

Science.gov (United States)

Trame, MN; Lesko, LJ

2015-01-01

A systems pharmacology model typically integrates pharmacokinetic, biochemical network, and systems biology concepts into a unifying approach. It typically consists of a large number of parameters and reaction species that are interlinked based upon the underlying (patho)physiology and the mechanism of drug action. The more complex these models are, the greater the challenge of reliably identifying and estimating respective model parameters. Global sensitivity analysis provides an innovative tool that can meet this challenge. CPT Pharmacometrics Syst. Pharmacol. (2015) 4, 69–79; doi:10.1002/psp4.6; published online 25 February 2015 PMID:27548289

Parents' online discussions about children's dental caries: A critical content analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Milne, Avery; Weijs, Cynthia A; Haines-Saah, Rebecca J; McLaren, Lindsay

2017-09-14

Through an analysis of postings to an online parenting forum, we aimed to explore the many ways in which parents orient to (i.e., take up, challenge, re-articulate) information about child dental health in the context of their online interactions. Our analysis is anchored in Nettleton's theoretical work on dental authority and power, which we apply in a digital context. We examined discussion threads from the public online forums on BabyCenter Canada. We identified relevant threads using the site search function and keywords related to dental health, with a focus on dental caries (tooth decay), related care behaviours (e.g., toothbrushing), and the controversial issue of fluoride. Following descriptive content coding, we applied a critical lens to unpack themes related to expert knowledge, gender and parenting online cultures. We analyzed 479 relevant threads. Our findings focus on two central themes: the tension between parents' views and those of dental health professionals; and, the gendered, cultural roles and expectations that position mothers as primarily responsible for the care of children's dental health. Though these themes are not new, our findings show that they persist in the digital context where social divisions (e.g., expert/non-expert) may be blurred. Our analysis of online discussions provides an opportunity to think critically about ways in which parents engage with public health, in digital contexts. Although some mothers express disconnect when communicating with dental professionals, they are very engaged and concerned with dental health issues for their children. A challenge for dental public health is to find ways to shift perspective towards recognizing that the target population is empowered and already engaged in discussions of research evidence and clinical encounters on their own terms, facilitated by an online context.

“The impact of online ratings on video game sales”

OpenAIRE

Caballero, Luis

2015-01-01

Online third-party reviews have been grown over the last decade and they now play an important role as a tool for helping customers evaluate products and services that in many cases offer more than tangible features. This study intends to quantify the impact online ratings have over video game sales by conducting a linear regression analysis on 300 titles for the previous console generation (PlayStation® 3 and Xbox® 360) using a data from the video game industry to understand the existing inf...

The Effects of a Synchronous Communication Tool (Yahoo Messenger) on Online Learners' Sense of Community and Their Multimedia Authoring Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shiang-Kwei

2008-01-01

Literature suggests that developing a community of learners is the key to a successful online-learning experience. In this study, the instructor of a multimedia authoring course adopted a synchronous communication tool (Yahoo Messenger) to interact with learners orally on a weekly basis and, thereby, to establish a sense among the learners that…

The Effect of Online Systems Analysis Training on Aerospace Industry Business Performance: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Burk, Erlan

2012-01-01

Aerospace companies needed additional research on technology-based training to verify expectations when enhancing human capital through online systems analysis training. The research for online systems analysis training provided aerospace companies a means to verify expectations for systems analysis technology-based training on business…

Opportunities for adaptive online collaboration to enhance rural land management.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumber, Alex; Metternicht, Graciela; Ampt, Peter; Cross, Rebecca; Berry, Emily

2018-08-01

Cross-property cooperation has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of environmental management actions that cut across property boundaries. Online tools can facilitate this and overcome barriers to landholder engagement in collaborative management. However, collaborative online tools need to be designed and tailored to users' needs and values, and landholder participation in the development process is critical to ensuring uptake and long-term use. This article presents a case study from the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, where landholders have been involved in participatory development of a new online collaboration tool. The case study results highlight the significance of issues such as internet access, privacy, technical proficiency and differing stakeholder objectives. A landholder survey identified mapping and the uploading of monitoring data as important functions for the online tool, but these were not rated as highly as functions relating to data security, sharing settings and key term searches. Consequently, we recommend that a future online collaboration tool for the region is not framed specifically as a mapping or citizen science tool, but rather as an adaptive collaboration and communication tool that can incorporate a variety of data types and formats and be modified over time in line with changing landholder needs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CMS tracker visualization tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mennea, M.S. [Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica ' Michelangelo Merlin' e INFN sezione di Bari, Via Amendola 173 - 70126 Bari (Italy); Osborne, I. [Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Regano, A. [Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica ' Michelangelo Merlin' e INFN sezione di Bari, Via Amendola 173 - 70126 Bari (Italy); Zito, G. [Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica ' Michelangelo Merlin' e INFN sezione di Bari, Via Amendola 173 - 70126 Bari (Italy)]. E-mail: giuseppe.zito@ba.infn.it

2005-08-21

This document will review the design considerations, implementations and performance of the CMS Tracker Visualization tools. In view of the great complexity of this sub-detector (more than 50 millions channels organized in 16540 modules each one of these being a complete detector), the standard CMS visualization tools (IGUANA and IGUANACMS) that provide basic 3D capabilities and integration within CMS framework, respectively, have been complemented with additional 2D graphics objects. Based on the experience acquired using this software to debug and understand both hardware and software during the construction phase, we propose possible future improvements to cope with online monitoring and event analysis during data taking.

CMS tracker visualization tools

CERN Document Server

Zito, G; Osborne, I; Regano, A

2005-01-01

This document will review the design considerations, implementations and performance of the CMS Tracker Visualization tools. In view of the great complexity of this sub-detector (more than 50 millions channels organized in 16540 modules each one of these being a complete detector), the standard CMS visualization tools (IGUANA and IGUANACMS) that provide basic 3D capabilities and integration within CMS framework, respectively, have been complemented with additional 2D graphics objects. Based on the experience acquired using this software to debug and understand both hardware and software during the construction phase, we propose possible future improvements to cope with online monitoring and event analysis during data taking.

CMS tracker visualization tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mennea, M.S.; Osborne, I.; Regano, A.; Zito, G.

2005-01-01

This document will review the design considerations, implementations and performance of the CMS Tracker Visualization tools. In view of the great complexity of this sub-detector (more than 50 millions channels organized in 16540 modules each one of these being a complete detector), the standard CMS visualization tools (IGUANA and IGUANACMS) that provide basic 3D capabilities and integration within CMS framework, respectively, have been complemented with additional 2D graphics objects. Based on the experience acquired using this software to debug and understand both hardware and software during the construction phase, we propose possible future improvements to cope with online monitoring and event analysis during data taking

Using the Business Model Canvas (BMC) strategy tool to support the Play4Guidance online entrepreneurial game

OpenAIRE

Crotty Yvonne; Kinney Tom; Farren Margaret

2017-01-01

The Erasmus + Play4Guidance (P4G) project introduces an online business game, designed to help teach entrepreneurial, transversal and mathematical skills using a real-world business environment. This paper explains how the Business Model Canvas (BMC) strategy tool facilitated student understanding of real life business development prior to playing the game. An initial mapping exercise was conducted to find out if the Business Model Canvas could transform the experience of playing the game by ...

Online dictionaries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tarp, Sven

2012-01-01

This article initially provides a panoramic overview and a preliminary typologization of present and future online dictionaries based upon their application of the available technologies and suggests that the future of lexicography will be the development of highly sophisticated tools which may......, need, consultation, and data. The article then proceeds to the discussion of some advanced information science techniques that may contribute to the desired individualization. Upon this basis, it finally discusses the interaction between online dictionaries and external sources like the Internet...

Paediatric Automatic Phonological Analysis Tools (APAT).

Science.gov (United States)

Saraiva, Daniela; Lousada, Marisa; Hall, Andreia; Jesus, Luis M T

2017-12-01

To develop the pediatric Automatic Phonological Analysis Tools (APAT) and to estimate inter and intrajudge reliability, content validity, and concurrent validity. The APAT were constructed using Excel spreadsheets with formulas. The tools were presented to an expert panel for content validation. The corpus used in the Portuguese standardized test Teste Fonético-Fonológico - ALPE produced by 24 children with phonological delay or phonological disorder was recorded, transcribed, and then inserted into the APAT. Reliability and validity of APAT were analyzed. The APAT present strong inter- and intrajudge reliability (>97%). The content validity was also analyzed (ICC = 0.71), and concurrent validity revealed strong correlations between computerized and manual (traditional) methods. The development of these tools contributes to fill existing gaps in clinical practice and research, since previously there were no valid and reliable tools/instruments for automatic phonological analysis, which allowed the analysis of different corpora.

A Novel Application for Low Frequency Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy as an Online Process Monitoring Tool for Viable Cell Concentrations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph Slouka

2016-11-01

Full Text Available New approaches in process monitoring during industrial fermentations are not only limited to classical pH, dO2 and offgas analysis, but use different in situ and online sensors based on different physical principles to determine biomass, product quality, lysis and far more. One of the very important approaches is the in situ accessibility of viable cell concentration (VCC. This knowledge provides increased efficiency in monitoring and controlling strategies during cultivations. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy—EIS—is used to monitor biomass in a fermentation of E. coli BL21(DE3, producing a recombinant protein using a fed batch-based approach. Increases in the double layer capacitance (Cdl, determined at frequencies below 1 kHz, are proportional to the increase of biomass in the batch and fed batch phase, monitored in offline and online modes for different cultivations. A good correlation of Cdl with cell density is found and in order to get an appropriate verification of this method, different state-of-the-art biomass measurements are performed and compared. Since measurements in this frequency range are largely determined by the double layer region between the electrode and media, rather minor interferences with process parameters (aeration, stirring are to be expected. It is shown that impedance spectroscopy at low frequencies is a powerful tool for cultivation monitoring.

Development of environmental education system using online element analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niizeki, T.; Yoshihara, T.; Tsuchiya, K.; Kawasaki, K.; Komiya, K.

2007-01-01

We have constructed a network system which enables one to access and analyze environmental data obtained at different and distant laboratories. As a preliminary feasibility test of the system, we studied the elements in the water of the Tesio River using PIXE and ion chromatography. Students used the data online to carry out analysis via internet. We found two factors with different features in calcium from the factor analysis. The comparison of the specific result and relevant geology information has revealed a remarkable presence of Ca 2+ which might come from dissolution of limestone in the upper Tesio River. PIXE data gave crucial information to draw such a conclusion. The present system has been found useful in environmental education in universities, online sharing of PIXE data in particular. (author)

Teaching Dance with Online Course Management Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Colombi, Erika; Knosp, Suzanne

2017-01-01

As a result of easier access to and functionality of the Internet, online course management systems (CMSs) began to be developed in the mid-1990s. These technological tools were created to fill a need in the growing field of teaching through online courses.Most notable of these course tools are Blackboard (2015) and Desire2Learn (1999). Both of…

Healthcare decision-tools a growing Web trend: three-pronged public relations campaign heightens presence, recognition for online healthcare information provider.

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

Schwartz Communications, LLC, executes a successful PR campaign to position Subimo, a provider of online healthcare decision tools, as a leader in the industry that touts names such as WebMD.com and HealthGrades.com. Through a three-pronged media relations strategy, Schwartz and Subimo together branded the company as an industry thought-leader.

Structural analysis of ITER sub-assembly tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nam, K.O.; Park, H.K.; Kim, D.J.; Ahn, H.J.; Lee, J.H.; Kim, K.K.; Im, K.; Shaw, R.

2011-01-01

The ITER Tokamak assembly tools are purpose-built assembly tools to complete the ITER Tokamak machine which includes the cryostat and the components contained therein. The sector sub-assembly tools descried in this paper are main assembly tools to assemble vacuum vessel, thermal shield and toroidal filed coils into a complete 40 o sector. The 40 o sector sub-assembly tools are composed of sector sub-assembly tool, including radial beam, vacuum vessel supports and mid-plane brace tools. These tools shall have sufficient strength to transport and handle heavy weight of the ITER Tokamak machine reached several hundred tons. Therefore these tools should be designed and analyzed to confirm both the strength and structural stability even in the case of conservative assumptions. To verify structural stabilities of the sector sub-assembly tools in terms of strength and deflection, ANSYS code was used for linear static analysis. The results of the analysis show that these tools are designed with sufficient strength and stiffness. The conceptual designs of these tools are briefly described in this paper also.

The RUBA Watchdog Video Analysis Tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bahnsen, Chris Holmberg; Madsen, Tanja Kidholm Osmann; Jensen, Morten Bornø

We have developed a watchdog video analysis tool called RUBA (Road User Behaviour Analysis) to use for processing of traffic video. This report provides an overview of the functions of RUBA and gives a brief introduction into how analyses can be made in RUBA.......We have developed a watchdog video analysis tool called RUBA (Road User Behaviour Analysis) to use for processing of traffic video. This report provides an overview of the functions of RUBA and gives a brief introduction into how analyses can be made in RUBA....

Oasis: online analysis of small RNA deep sequencing data.

Science.gov (United States)

Capece, Vincenzo; Garcia Vizcaino, Julio C; Vidal, Ramon; Rahman, Raza-Ur; Pena Centeno, Tonatiuh; Shomroni, Orr; Suberviola, Irantzu; Fischer, Andre; Bonn, Stefan

2015-07-01

Oasis is a web application that allows for the fast and flexible online analysis of small-RNA-seq (sRNA-seq) data. It was designed for the end user in the lab, providing an easy-to-use web frontend including video tutorials, demo data and best practice step-by-step guidelines on how to analyze sRNA-seq data. Oasis' exclusive selling points are a differential expression module that allows for the multivariate analysis of samples, a classification module for robust biomarker detection and an advanced programming interface that supports the batch submission of jobs. Both modules include the analysis of novel miRNAs, miRNA targets and functional analyses including GO and pathway enrichment. Oasis generates downloadable interactive web reports for easy visualization, exploration and analysis of data on a local system. Finally, Oasis' modular workflow enables for the rapid (re-) analysis of data. Oasis is implemented in Python, R, Java, PHP, C++ and JavaScript. It is freely available at http://oasis.dzne.de. stefan.bonn@dzne.de Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

Contamination Analysis Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Brieda, Lubos

2015-01-01

This talk presents 3 different tools developed recently for contamination analysis:HTML QCM analyzer: runs in a web browser, and allows for data analysis of QCM log filesJava RGA extractor: can load in multiple SRS.ana files and extract pressure vs. time dataC++ Contamination Simulation code: 3D particle tracing code for modeling transport of dust particulates and molecules. Uses residence time to determine if molecules stick. Particulates can be sampled from IEST-STD-1246 and be accelerated by aerodynamic forces.

Integrated Radiation Analysis and Design Tools

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Integrated Radiation Analysis and Design Tools (IRADT) Project develops and maintains an integrated tool set that collects the current best practices, databases,...

How social network analysis can be used to monitor online collaborative learning and guide an informed intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Saqr, Mohammed; Fors, Uno; Tedre, Matti; Nouri, Jalal

2018-01-01

To ensure online collaborative learning meets the intended pedagogical goals (is actually collaborative and stimulates learning), mechanisms are needed for monitoring the efficiency of online collaboration. Various studies have indicated that social network analysis can be particularly effective in studying students' interactions in online collaboration. However, research in education has only focused on the theoretical potential of using SNA, not on the actual benefits they achieved. This study investigated how social network analysis can be used to monitor online collaborative learning, find aspects in need of improvement, guide an informed intervention, and assess the efficacy of intervention using an experimental, observational repeated-measurement design in three courses over a full-term duration. Using a combination of SNA-based visual and quantitative analysis, we monitored three SNA constructs for each participant: the level of interactivity, the role, and position in information exchange, and the role played by each participant in the collaboration. On the group level, we monitored interactivity and group cohesion indicators. Our monitoring uncovered a non-collaborative teacher-centered pattern of interactions in the three studied courses as well as very few interactions among students, limited information exchange or negotiation, and very limited student networks dominated by the teacher. An intervention based on SNA-generated insights was designed. The intervention was structured into five actions: increasing awareness, promoting collaboration, improving the content, preparing teachers, and finally practicing with feedback. Evaluation of the intervention revealed that it has significantly enhanced student-student interactions and teacher-student interactions, as well as produced a collaborative pattern of interactions among most students and teachers. Since efficient and communicative activities are essential prerequisites for successful content

The Search Engine for Multi-Proteoform Complexes: An Online Tool for the Identification and Stoichiometry Determination of Protein Complexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Skinner, Owen S; Schachner, Luis F; Kelleher, Neil L

2016-12-08

Recent advances in top-down mass spectrometry using native electrospray now enable the analysis of intact protein complexes with relatively small sample amounts in an untargeted mode. Here, we describe how to characterize both homo- and heteropolymeric complexes with high molecular specificity using input data produced by tandem mass spectrometry of whole protein assemblies. The tool described is a "search engine for multi-proteoform complexes," (SEMPC) and is available for free online. The output is a list of candidate multi-proteoform complexes and scoring metrics, which are used to define a distinct set of one or more unique protein subunits, their overall stoichiometry in the intact complex, and their pre- and post-translational modifications. Thus, we present an approach for the identification and characterization of intact protein complexes from native mass spectrometry data. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Online Political Campaigning during the 2014 Regional Elections in Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł Baranowski

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article is dedicated to the analysis and evaluation of political communication on a regional level. Without any doubt, the Internet revolution affected electoral campaigning on every level. Online campaigning before local elections is often marginalized by political scientists and other scholars researching political marketing. However, the question emerges: are the candidates aware of the possibilities that new media has brought to political communication? Content analysis of all the major online communication tools has allowed the author to analyze the patterns of using websites, official Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts of candidates during the 2014 Lower Silesian Regional assembly elections. The Lower Silesian Voivodeship is among the fastest developing regions in Poland with high Internet penetration rate. Is the Internet campaign treated as a second-class way to communicate with potential voters, or is it perceived as an opportunity to reach electorate online?

Online vs. On-Campus: An Analysis of Course Prices of U.S. Educational Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shouhong

2015-01-01

Pricing online courses is an important issue for managing online education. This research note reports a statistical analysis of price differences between online courses and on-campus courses at 103 US educational institutions based on the data available on the Internet. The finding indicates that educational institutions set significantly lower…

On-Line Booking Policies and Competitive Analysis of Medical Examination in Hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Luo

2014-01-01

Full Text Available From the on-line point, we consider the hospital’s medical examination appointment problem with hierarchical machines. This approach eliminates the need for both demand forecasts and a risk-neutrality assumption. Due to different unit revenue, uncertain demand, and arrival of patients, we design on-line booking policies for two kinds of different situations from the perspective of on-line policy and competitive analysis. After that, we prove the optimal competitive ratios. Through numerical examples, we compare advantages and disadvantages between on-line policies and traditional policies, finding that there is different superiority for these two policies under different arrival sequences.

Developing e-marketing tools : Case company: CASTA Ltd.

OpenAIRE

Nguyen, Chi

2014-01-01

This Bachelor’s thesis topic is developing e-marketing tools for the B2C sector of CASTA Ltd. The final outcome is a set of online marketing tools guidelines that can improve business activities, especially marketing effectiveness. Based on the company’s status as a novice in online marketing field, the thesis will focus on the basic level of three specific online marketing tools, instead of covering the whole e-marketing subject. The theoretical framework first describes the concept of e...

Interaction, Critical Thinking, and Social Network Analysis (SNA in Online Courses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joan Thormann

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This study tried to ascertain a possible relationship between the number of student moderators (1, 2, and 3, online interactions, and critical thinking of K-12 educators enrolled in an online course that was taught from a constructivist approach. The course topic was use of technology in special education. Social network analysis (SNA and measures of critical thinking (Newman, Webb, & Cochrane, 1995 were used to research and assess if there was a difference in interaction and critical thinking between 1, 2, or 3 student moderators who facilitated a forum discussion of an assignment in an online course. The same course was repeated over three years. Each year either 1, 2, or 3 students moderated. The analysis indicated more discussion per non-moderating student with the three student moderated group. Using SNA we found that there was only one noticeable difference among the three groups which was in the value of network centralization. Using critical thinking measures the three student moderator group scored higher in five of the eight critical thinking categories. Variations in instructor presence in the online courses may have influenced these findings.

Dutch Risk Assessment tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Venema, A.

2015-01-01

The ‘Risico- Inventarisatie- en Evaluatie-instrumenten’ is the name for the Dutch risk assessment (RA) tools. A RA tool can be used to perform a risk assessment including an evaluation of the identified risks. These tools were among the first online risk assessment tools developed in Europe. The

On-line moisture analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cutmore, N.G.; Mijak, D.G

2002-01-01

Measurement of the moisture content of iron ore has become a key issue for controlling moisture additions for dust suppression. In most cases moisture content is still determined by manual or automatic sampling of the ore stream, followed by conventional laboratory analysis by oven drying. Although this procedure enables the moisture content to be routinely monitored, it is too slow for control purposes. This has generated renewed interest in on-line techniques for the accurate and rapid measurement of moisture in iron ore on conveyors. Microwave transmission techniques have emerged over the past 40 years as the dominant technology for on-line measurement of moisture in bulk materials, including iron ores. Alternative technologies have their limitations. Infra-red analysers are used in a variety of process industries, but rely on the measurement of absorption by moisture in a very thin surface layer. Consequently such probes may be compromised by particle size effects and biased presentation of the bulk material. Nuclear-based analysers measure the total hydrogen content in the sample and do not differentiate between free and combined moisture. Such analysers may also be sensitive to material presentation and elemental composition. Very low frequency electromagnetic probes, such as capacitance or conductance probes, operate in the frequency region where the DC conductivity dominates much of the response, which is a function not only of moisture content but also of ionic composition and chemistry. These problems are overcome using microwave transmission techniques, which also have the following advantages, as a true bulk moisture analysis is obtained, because a high percentage of the bulk material is analysed; the moisture estimate is mostly insensitive to any biased presentation of moisture, for example due to stratification of bulk material with different moisture content and because no physical contact is made between the sensor and the bulk material. This is

Explore Earth Science Datasets for STEM with the NASA GES DISC Online Visualization and Analysis Tool, Giovanni

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Z.; Acker, J.; Kempler, S.

2016-01-01

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center(DISC) is one of twelve NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Data Centers that provide Earth science data, information, and services to users around the world including research and application scientists, students, citizen scientists, etc. The GESDISC is the home (archive) of remote sensing datasets for NASA Precipitation and Hydrology, Atmospheric Composition and Dynamics, etc. To facilitate Earth science data access, the GES DISC has been developing user-friendly data services for users at different levels in different countries. Among them, the Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (Giovanni, http:giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov) allows users to explore satellite-based datasets using sophisticated analyses and visualization without downloading data and software, which is particularly suitable for novices (such as students) to use NASA datasets in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities. In this presentation, we will briefly introduce Giovanni along with examples for STEM activities.

Faculty Recommendations for Web Tools: Implications for Course Management Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Kevin; Moore, John

2008-01-01

A gap analysis of web tools in Engineering was undertaken as one part of the Digital Library Network for Engineering and Technology (DLNET) grant funded by NSF (DUE-0085849). DLNET represents a Web portal and an online review process to archive quality knowledge objects in Engineering and Technology disciplines. The gap analysis coincided with the…

Leadership Online: Expanding the Horizon

Science.gov (United States)

Phelps, Kirstin

2012-01-01

With an increase of online teaching, social media, and use of classroom technology by both location-bound and distance students, how do educators teach and learn leadership through online tools? The International Leadership Association (ILA, 2009) guidelines, specifically the overarching questions for teaching and learning, provide direction in…

The MICE Online Systems

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) is designed to test transverse cooling of a muon beam, demonstrating an important step along the path toward creating future high intensity muon beam facilities. Protons in the ISIS synchrotron impact a titanium target, producing pions which decay into muons that propagate through the beam line to the MICE cooling channel. Along the beam line, particle identification (PID) detectors, scintillating fiber tracking detectors, and beam diagnostic tools identify and measure individual muons moving through the cooling channel. The MICE Online Systems encompass all tools; including hardware, software, and documentation, within the MLCR (MICE Local Control Room) that allow the experiment to efficiently record high quality data. Controls and Monitoring (C&M), Data Acquisition (DAQ), Online Monitoring and Reconstruction, Data Transfer, and Networking all fall under the Online Systems umbrella. C&M controls all MICE systems including the target, conventional an...

SOCR: Statistics Online Computational Resource

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivo D. Dinov

2006-10-01

Full Text Available The need for hands-on computer laboratory experience in undergraduate and graduate statistics education has been firmly established in the past decade. As a result a number of attempts have been undertaken to develop novel approaches for problem-driven statistical thinking, data analysis and result interpretation. In this paper we describe an integrated educational web-based framework for: interactive distribution modeling, virtual online probability experimentation, statistical data analysis, visualization and integration. Following years of experience in statistical teaching at all college levels using established licensed statistical software packages, like STATA, S-PLUS, R, SPSS, SAS, Systat, etc., we have attempted to engineer a new statistics education environment, the Statistics Online Computational Resource (SOCR. This resource performs many of the standard types of statistical analysis, much like other classical tools. In addition, it is designed in a plug-in object-oriented architecture and is completely platform independent, web-based, interactive, extensible and secure. Over the past 4 years we have tested, fine-tuned and reanalyzed the SOCR framework in many of our undergraduate and graduate probability and statistics courses and have evidence that SOCR resources build student's intuition and enhance their learning.

Fate, behaviour and weathering of priority HNS in the marine environment: An online tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunha, Isabel; Oliveira, Helena; Neuparth, Teresa; Torres, Tiago; Santos, Miguel Machado

2016-01-01

Literature data and data obtained with modelling tools were compiled to derive the physicochemical behaviour of 24 priority Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS), as a proxy to improve environmental, public health and political issues in relation to HNS spills. Parameters that rule the HNS behaviour in water and those that determine their distribution and persistence in the environment, such as fugacity, physicochemical degradation, biodegradation, bioaccumulation/biotransformation and aquatic toxicity, were selected. Data systematized and produced in the frame of the Arcopol Platform project was made available through a public database ( (http://www.ciimar.up.pt/hns/substances.php)). This tool is expected to assist stakeholders involved in HNS spills preparedness and response, policy makers and legislators, as well as to contribute to a current picture of the scientific knowledge on the fate, behaviour, weathering and toxicity of priority HNS, being essential to support future improvements in maritime safety and coastal pollution response before, during and after spill incidents. - Highlights: • Fate, behaviour and weathering of priority HNS in marine environments are addressed. • Environmental and public health issues in relation to HNS spills are discussed. • Physicochemical behaviour is derived through mathematical tools and literature data. • Data produced are made available through a public online database. • Database can assist relevant bodies involved in HNS spills preparedness and response.

PROFICIENT CONSTITUTION FOR ONLINE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT USING FEEDBACK ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Rajagopal Devarajan

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Modern world learners want to get more knowledge about their respective field which they like. The Learner just has to implement the knowledge using which they are learnt. This implementation has been used in the modern world. Learners are like to study in within the term they like to learn supplementary bunch. This requirement has been fulfilled by the online education system. The online Educational System provides the Notes, Books, Audio and Video Lectures, Manuals, Presentations etc., learners are expecting more apart from the contents or the learners are not willing to study which were provided by the online Educational System. The online Educational system provider has to know about the Learners satisfaction level, which has been evaluated by the Learners feedback. The feedback analysis has been evaluated by the selected criteria. Each criterion has some scoring options. Using this option, the learners will give the feedback to the particular subject trainer through the scoring options. Finally, feedback scores are evaluated and  give the advice to the trainer to implement the new techniques for giving the training. This operation is instructing the trainer to implement and update their teaching skills.

Searching for Socrates: How to Engage Online Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Swart

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Our university enrolls over 500 students in its online Master of Business Administration (MBA program. In this paper we present tools that were developed to better engage students with their online learning environment. Over 85% of our students reported that individually and collectively these tools were more effective in helping them to understand the material.

On-line defected fuel monitoring using GFP data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livingstone, S.; Lewis, B.J.

2008-01-01

This paper describes the initial development of an on-line defected fuel diagnostic tool. The tool is based on coolant activity, and uses a quantitative and qualitative approach from existing mechanistic fission product release models, and also empirical rules based on commercial and experimental experience. The model departs from the usual methodology of analyzing steady-state fission product coolant activities, and instead uses steady-state fission product release rates calculated from the transient coolant activity data. An example of real-time defected fuel analysis work is presented using a prototype of this tool with station data. The model is in an early developmental stage, and this paper demonstrates the promising potential of this technique. (author)

Automatic Online Lecture Highlighting Based on Multimedia Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Che, Xiaoyin; Yang, Haojin; Meinel, Christoph

2018-01-01

Textbook highlighting is widely considered to be beneficial for students. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive solution to highlight the online lecture videos in both sentence- and segment-level, just as is done with paper books. The solution is based on automatic analysis of multimedia lecture materials, such as speeches, transcripts, and…

Effects of Online Visual and Interactive Technological Tool (OVITT) on Early Adolescent Students' Mathematics Performance, Math Anxiety and Attitudes toward Math

Science.gov (United States)

Orabuchi, Nkechi

2013-01-01

This study reported the results of a 3-month quasi-experimental study that determined the effectiveness of an online visual and interactive technological tool on sixth grade students' mathematics performance, math anxiety and attitudes towards math. There were 155 sixth grade students from a middle school in the North Texas area who participated…

Students' Use of Self-Regulatory Tool and Critical Inquiry in Online Discussions

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Hua

2012-01-01

Facilitating students' critical thinking in asynchronous discussions is important in online learning environments. Since students need to be self-regulated in online learning, the instructors are expected to scaffold students by providing structure and guidance. This paper discusses critical inquiry in two groups of students' online discussions.…

Understanding Trail Runners' Activity on Online Community Forums: An Inductive Analysis of Discussion Topics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rochat, Nadège; Hauw, Denis; Gür, Gaëlle; Seifert, Ludovic

2018-03-01

Recreational trail runners often participate in online community forums where they can freely read posted messages, join discussions and/or introduce new discussion topics. This tool can enhance learning as runners connect with other trail runners and reflect on how they can better organize their own practice. Studying forum activity would provide greater insight into the relationship between field practice and dedicated forums. The aim of this study was therefore to detect the topics discussed online by trail runners in order to understand how they collectively look for solutions that help them adapt to issues that emerge during actual practice. The discussion topics (n = 171) on the forum hosted by the Raidlight brand were examined using inductive content analysis, which distinguished two general dimensions. The first dimension was training and had four first-order themes (i.e., "specific trail running sessions", "complementary trail running sessions". "training plans" and "specific questions about races") grouped into two second-order themes (i.e., "training session contents" and "structure and schedule"). The second dimension was health and had seven first-order themes (i.e., "tendinitis", "muscle issues", "foot issues", "sprains and fractures", "pain", "physiology" and "substances and practitioners") grouped into two second-order themes (i.e., "pain and injury" and "prevention"). The results indicate that the issues that trail runners discuss on forums are significant and that the successions of questions and solutions are a fruitful means for building, enriching and adjusting their activity as they cope with constraints. As a practical consequence, suggestions for improving such online platforms are made.

Using McIDAS-V data analysis and visualization software as an educational tool for understanding the atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Achtor, T. H.; Rink, T.

2010-12-01

The University of Wisconsin’s Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) has been at the forefront in developing data analysis and visualization tools for environmental satellites and other geophysical data. The fifth generation of the Man-computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS-V) is Java-based, open-source, freely available software that operates on Linux, Macintosh and Windows systems. The software tools provide powerful new data manipulation and visualization capabilities that work with geophysical data in research, operational and educational environments. McIDAS-V provides unique capabilities to support innovative techniques for evaluating research results, teaching and training. McIDAS-V is based on three powerful software elements. VisAD is a Java library for building interactive, collaborative, 4 dimensional visualization and analysis tools. The Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) is a reference application based on the VisAD system and developed by the Unidata program that demonstrates the flexibility that is needed in this evolving environment, using a modern, object-oriented software design approach. The third tool, HYDRA, allows users to build, display and interrogate multi and hyperspectral environmental satellite data in powerful ways. The McIDAS-V software is being used for training and education in several settings. The McIDAS User Group provides training workshops at its annual meeting. Numerous online tutorials with training data sets have been developed to aid users in learning simple and more complex operations in McIDAS-V, all are available online. In a University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduate course in Radar and Satellite Meteorology, McIDAS-V is used to create and deliver laboratory exercises using case study and real time data. At the high school level, McIDAS-V is used in several exercises in our annual Summer Workshop in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences to provide young scientists the opportunity to examine data with friendly and

PHY∙FI: fast and easy online creation and manipulation of phylogeny color figures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fredslund, Jakob

2006-01-01

the phylogeny figure in some other general-purpose graphics program. PHY·FI is versatile, easy-to-use and fast, and supports comprehensive graphical control, several download image formats, and the possibility of dynamically collapsing groups of nodes into named subtrees (e.g. "Primates"). The user can create...... types of analysis, and hence they are available only for download and installing. Some online tools exist, too. Results This paper presents an online tool, PHY·FI, which encompasses all the qualities of existing online programs and adds functionality to hopefully eliminate the need for post-processing...... a color figure from any phylogeny, or other kind of tree, represented in the widely used parenthesized Newick format. Conclusion PHY·FI is fast and easy to use, yet still offers full color control, tree manipulation, and several image formats. It does not require any downloading and installing, and thus...

Design mentoring tool.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

In 2004 a design engineer on-line mentoring tool was developed and implemented The purpose of the tool was to assist senior engineers : mentoring new engineers to the INDOT design process and improve their technical competency. This approach saves se...

The Gamma-Ray Burst ToolSHED is Open for Business

Science.gov (United States)

Giblin, Timothy W.; Hakkila, Jon; Haglin, David J.; Roiger, Richard J.

2004-09-01

The GRB ToolSHED, a Gamma-Ray Burst SHell for Expeditions in Data-Mining, is now online and available via a web browser to all in the scientific community. The ToolSHED is an online web utility that contains pre-processed burst attributes of the BATSE catalog and a suite of induction-based machine learning and statistical tools for classification and cluster analysis. Users create their own login account and study burst properties within user-defined multi-dimensional parameter spaces. Although new GRB attributes are periodically added to the database for user selection, the ToolSHED has a feature that allows users to upload their own burst attributes (e.g. spectral parameters, etc.) so that additional parameter spaces can be explored. A data visualization feature using GNUplot and web-based IDL has also been implemented to provide interactive plotting of user-selected session output. In an era in which GRB observations and attributes are becoming increasingly more complex, a utility such as the GRB ToolSHED may play an important role in deciphering GRB classes and understanding intrinsic burst properties.

REMARKS ABOUT ONLINE ADVERTISING - A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AMONG ROMANIAN PROFESSIONALS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Acatrinei Carmen

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In the online environment, the users have more control regarding what they want to see and this affects the advertising they are exposed to (due to the profiles created by the websites they have visited. Organizations can personalize the advertising campaigns designed at a higher level, to better meet the needs of the consumers. This paper offers an in-depth view about online advertising from 12 Romanian experts, who represent companies or digital advertising agencies and who employ this tool in order to promote themselves or to develop campaigns for their clients. The empirical research undertaken has a qualitative nature, semi-structured detailed interviews with the professionals have taken place in February-March 2015, in Bucharest. Online advertising was mostly defined by the specialists as being dynamic; and some of the attributes that characterizes this domain are measurability and personalization. Clear objectives settled, correct targeting of users, a well-established strategy and planning are the key elements that would lead to a successful online advertising campaign. The Romanian agencies offer integrated online advertising services, from research and market analysis to implementation and results’ assessment of the campaigns. The formats they have been using are: search, display, video, social media advertising, affiliated marketing and sponsorship. Most of the representatives interviewed suggest that their companies’ offers might / will change due to the dynamics of the medium. Online advertising helps the other online marketing tools perform better and develop the online presence of the companies. All the respondents have confirmed that following the introduction and great use of smartphones, their companies have adjusted the online advertising campaigns to better target the potential customers that use mobile devices. Most of the companies that invest in online advertising campaigns come from sectors such as: retail, telecom

Motif enrichment tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Blatti, Charles; Sinha, Saurabh

2014-07-01

The Motif Enrichment Tool (MET) provides an online interface that enables users to find major transcriptional regulators of their gene sets of interest. MET searches the appropriate regulatory region around each gene and identifies which transcription factor DNA-binding specificities (motifs) are statistically overrepresented. Motif enrichment analysis is currently available for many metazoan species including human, mouse, fruit fly, planaria and flowering plants. MET also leverages high-throughput experimental data such as ChIP-seq and DNase-seq from ENCODE and ModENCODE to identify the regulatory targets of a transcription factor with greater precision. The results from MET are produced in real time and are linked to a genome browser for easy follow-up analysis. Use of the web tool is free and open to all, and there is no login requirement. ADDRESS: http://veda.cs.uiuc.edu/MET/. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

A smarter way to search, share and utilize open-spatial online data for energy R&D - Custom machine learning and GIS tools in U.S. DOE's virtual data library & laboratory, EDX

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, K.; Bauer, J.; Baker, D.; Barkhurst, A.; Bean, A.; DiGiulio, J.; Jones, K.; Jones, T.; Justman, D.; Miller, R., III; Romeo, L.; Sabbatino, M.; Tong, A.

2017-12-01

As spatial datasets are increasingly accessible through open, online systems, the opportunity to use these resources to address a range of Earth system questions grows. Simultaneously, there is a need for better infrastructure and tools to find and utilize these resources. We will present examples of advanced online computing capabilities, hosted in the U.S. DOE's Energy Data eXchange (EDX), that address these needs for earth-energy research and development. In one study the computing team developed a custom, machine learning, big data computing tool designed to parse the web and return priority datasets to appropriate servers to develop an open-source global oil and gas infrastructure database. The results of this spatial smart search approach were validated against expert-driven, manual search results which required a team of seven spatial scientists three months to produce. The custom machine learning tool parsed online, open systems, including zip files, ftp sites and other web-hosted resources, in a matter of days. The resulting resources were integrated into a geodatabase now hosted for open access via EDX. Beyond identifying and accessing authoritative, open spatial data resources, there is also a need for more efficient tools to ingest, perform, and visualize multi-variate, spatial data analyses. Within the EDX framework, there is a growing suite of processing, analytical and visualization capabilities that allow multi-user teams to work more efficiently in private, virtual workspaces. An example of these capabilities are a set of 5 custom spatio-temporal models and data tools that form NETL's Offshore Risk Modeling suite that can be used to quantify oil spill risks and impacts. Coupling the data and advanced functions from EDX with these advanced spatio-temporal models has culminated with an integrated web-based decision-support tool. This platform has capabilities to identify and combine data across scales and disciplines, evaluate potential environmental

Developing an online learning community for mental health professionals and service users: a discursive analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Smithson, Janet; Jones, Ray B; Ashurst, Emily

2012-03-21

There is increasing interest in online collaborative learning tools in health education, to reduce costs, and to offer alternative communication opportunities. Patients and students often have extensive experience of using the Internet for health information and support, and many health organisations are increasingly trying out online tools, while many healthcare professionals are unused to, and have reservations about, online interaction. We ran three week-long collaborative learning courses, in which 19 mental health professionals (MHPs) and 12 mental health service users (MHSUs) participated. Data were analysed using a discursive approach to consider the ways in which participants interacted, and how this contributed to the goal of online learning about using Internet technologies for mental health practice. MHSUs and MHPs were able to discuss issues together, listening to the views of the other stakeholders. Discussions on synchronous format encouraged participation by service users while the MHPs showed a preference for an asynchronous format with longer, reasoned postings. Although participants regularly drew on their MHP or MHSU status in discussions, and participants typically drew on either a medical expert discourse or a "lived experience" discourse, there was a blurred boundary as participants shifted between these positions. The anonymous format was successful in that it produced a "co-constructed asymmetry" which permitted the MHPs and MHSUs to discuss issues online, listening to the views of other stakeholders. Although anonymity was essential for this course to 'work' at all, the recourse to expert or lay discourses demonstrates that it did not eliminate the hierarchies between teacher and learner, or MHP and MHSU. The mix of synchronous and asynchronous formats helped MHSUs to contribute. Moderators might best facilitate service user experience by responding within an experiential discourse rather than an academic one.

Developing an online learning community for mental health professionals and service users: a discursive analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smithson Janet

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is increasing interest in online collaborative learning tools in health education, to reduce costs, and to offer alternative communication opportunities. Patients and students often have extensive experience of using the Internet for health information and support, and many health organisations are increasingly trying out online tools, while many healthcare professionals are unused to, and have reservations about, online interaction. Methods We ran three week-long collaborative learning courses, in which 19 mental health professionals (MHPs and 12 mental health service users (MHSUs participated. Data were analysed using a discursive approach to consider the ways in which participants interacted, and how this contributed to the goal of online learning about using Internet technologies for mental health practice. Results MHSUs and MHPs were able to discuss issues together, listening to the views of the other stakeholders. Discussions on synchronous format encouraged participation by service users while the MHPs showed a preference for an asynchronous format with longer, reasoned postings. Although participants regularly drew on their MHP or MHSU status in discussions, and participants typically drew on either a medical expert discourse or a "lived experience" discourse, there was a blurred boundary as participants shifted between these positions. Conclusions The anonymous format was successful in that it produced a "co-constructed asymmetry" which permitted the MHPs and MHSUs to discuss issues online, listening to the views of other stakeholders. Although anonymity was essential for this course to 'work' at all, the recourse to expert or lay discourses demonstrates that it did not eliminate the hierarchies between teacher and learner, or MHP and MHSU. The mix of synchronous and asynchronous formats helped MHSUs to contribute. Moderators might best facilitate service user experience by responding within an experiential

The AtChem On-line model and Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN): A free community modelling tool with provenance capture

Science.gov (United States)

Young, J. C.; Boronska, K.; Martin, C. J.; Rickard, A. R.; Vázquez Moreno, M.; Pilling, M. J.; Haji, M. H.; Dew, P. M.; Lau, L. M.; Jimack, P. K.

2010-12-01

AtChem On-line1 is a simple to use zero-dimensional box modelling toolkit, developed for use by laboratory, field and chamber scientists. Any set of chemical reactions can be simulated, in particular the whole Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM2) or any subset of it. Parameters and initial data can be provided through a self-explanatory web form and the resulting model is compiled and run on a dedicated server. The core part of the toolkit, providing a robust solver for thousands of chemical reactions, is written in Fortran and uses SUNDIALS3 CVODE libraries. Chemical systems can be constrained at multiple, user-determined timescales; this enabled studies of radical chemistry at one minute timescales. AtChem On-line is free to use and requires no installation - a web browser, text editor and any compressing software is all the user needs. CPU and storage are provided by the server (input and output data are saved indefinitely). An off-line version is also being developed, which will provide batch processing, an advanced graphical user interface and post-processing tools, for example, Rate of Production Analysis (ROPA) and chainlength analysis. The source code is freely available for advanced users wishing to adapt and run the program locally. Data management, dissemination and archiving are essential in all areas of science. In order to do this in an efficient and transparent way, there is a critical need to capture high quality metadata/provenance for modelling activities. An Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) has been developed in parallel with AtChem Online as part of the EC EUROCHAMP24 project. In order to use controlled chamber experiments to evaluate the MCM, we need to be able to archive, track and search information on all associated chamber model runs, so that they can be used in subsequent mechanism development. Therefore it would be extremely useful if experiment and model metadata/provenance could be easily and automatically stored electronically

Community Structure in Online Collegiate Social Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Traud, Amanda; Kelsic, Eric; Mucha, Peter; Porter, Mason

2009-03-01

Online social networking sites have become increasingly popular with college students. The networks we studied are defined through ``friendships'' indicated by Facebook users from UNC, Oklahoma, Caltech, Georgetown, and Princeton. We apply the tools of network science to study the Facebook networks from these five different universities at a single point in time. We investigate each single-institution network's community structure, which we obtain through partitioning the graph using an eigenvector method. We use both graphical and quantitative tools, including pair-counting methods, which we interpret through statistical analysis and permutation tests to measure the correlations between the network communities and a set of characteristics given by each user (residence, class year, major, and high school). We also analyze the single gender subsets of these networks, and the impact of missing demographical data. Our study allows us to compare the online social networks for the five schools as well as infer differences in offline social interactions. At the schools studied, we were able to define which characteristics of the Facebook users correlate best with friendships.

On-Line Synthesis and Analysis by Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Bain, Ryan M.; Pulliam, Christopher J.; Raab, Shannon A.; Cooks, R. Graham

2015-01-01

In this laboratory experiment, students learn how to use ESI to accelerate chemical synthesis and to couple it with on-line mass spectrometry for structural analysis. The Hantzsch synthesis of symmetric 1,4-dihydropyridines is a classic example of a one-pot reaction in which multiple intermediates can serve to indicate the progress of the reaction…

Analysis of Learning Tools in the study of Developmental of Interactive Multimedia Based Physic Learning Charged in Problem Solving

Science.gov (United States)

Manurung, Sondang; Demonta Pangabean, Deo

2017-05-01

The main purpose of this study is to produce needs analysis, literature review, and learning tools in the study of developmental of interactive multimedia based physic learning charged in problem solving to improve thinking ability of physic prospective student. The first-year result of the study is: result of the draft based on a needs analysis of the facts on the ground, the conditions of existing learning and literature studies. Following the design of devices and instruments performed as well the development of media. Result of the second study is physics learning device -based interactive multimedia charged problem solving in the form of textbooks and scientific publications. Previous learning models tested in a limited sample, then in the evaluation and repair. Besides, the product of research has an economic value on the grounds: (1) a virtual laboratory to offer this research provides a solution purchases physics laboratory equipment is expensive; (2) address the shortage of teachers of physics in remote areas as a learning tool can be accessed offline and online; (3). reducing material or consumables as tutorials can be done online; Targeted research is the first year: i.e story board learning physics that have been scanned in a web form CD (compact disk) and the interactive multimedia of gas Kinetic Theory concept. This draft is based on a needs analysis of the facts on the ground, the existing learning conditions, and literature studies. Previous learning models tested in a limited sample, then in the evaluation and repair.

Investigating Online Destination Images Using a Topic-Based Sentiment Analysis Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gang Ren

2017-09-01

Full Text Available With the development of Web 2.0, many studies have tried to analyze tourist behavior utilizing user-generated contents. The primary purpose of this study is to propose a topic-based sentiment analysis approach, including a polarity classification and an emotion classification. We use the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model to extract topics from online travel review data and analyze the sentiments and emotions for each topic with our proposed approach. The top frequent words are extracted for each topic from online reviews on Ctrip.com. By comparing the relative importance of each topic, we conclude that many tourists prefer to provide “suggestion” reviews. In particular, we propose a new approach to classify the emotions of online reviews at the topic level utilizing an emotion lexicon, focusing on specific emotions to analyze customer complaints. The results reveal that attraction “management” obtains most complaints. These findings may provide useful insights for the development of attractions and the measurement of online destination image. Our proposed method can be used to analyze reviews from many online platforms and domains.

Online support for transgender people: an analysis of forums and social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Cipolletta, Sabrina; Votadoro, Riccardo; Faccio, Elena

2017-09-01

Transgender people face a range of personal and social conflicts that strongly influence their well-being. In many cases, the Internet can become the main resource in terms of finding support. The aim of this study was to understand how transgender people give and receive help online. Between 2013 and 2015, 122 online community conversations were collected on Italian forums and Facebook groups involving transgender people, and online interviews were conducted with 16 users of these communities. A qualitative content analysis was conducted by using the software package, NVivo10. The main categories that emerged were: motivations to join an online community, online help, differences between online and offline interactions, status, conflicts and professional help. Results indicate that participation in online communities often derives from the users' need for help. This help can be given by peers who have had similar experiences, and by professionals who participate in the discussions as moderator. The need to test one's own identity, to compare oneself with others and to share one's personal experiences made online communities at risk of exposing users to invalidation and transphobic messages. Administrators and moderators try to ensure the safety of users, and suggest that they ask for professional help offline and/or online when over-specific medical advice was sought. This study confirms that transgender people might find benefit from an online platform of help and support and might minimise distance problems, increase financial convenience and foster disinhibition. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Analysis for Non-Traditional Security Challenges: Methods and Tools

Science.gov (United States)

2006-11-20

C’EST LA VIE! - Hard Issues "* Will the violence continue to escalate? * Trend analysis of web text searches such as Blacklight; Public poll analysis...System M&S Modeling and Simulation MCO Major Contingency Operation MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology MMOG Massively Multiplayer Online Game (WG

Online Programs as Tools to Improve Parenting: A meta-analytic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prof. Dr. Jo J.M.A Hermanns; Prof. Dr. Ruben R.G. Fukkink; dr. Christa C.C. Nieuwboer

2013-01-01

Background. A number of parenting programs, aimed at improving parenting competencies,have recently been adapted or designed with the use of online technologies. Although webbased services have been claimed to hold promise for parent support, a meta-analytic review of online parenting interventions

Online programs as tools to improve parenting: A meta-analytic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwboer, C.C.; Fukkink, R.G.; Hermanns, J.M.A.

2013-01-01

Background: A number of parenting programs, aimed at improving parenting competencies, have recently been adapted or designed with the use of online technologies. Although web-based services have been claimed to hold promise for parent support, a meta-analytic review of online parenting

Analysis of logging data from nuclear borehole tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hovgaard, J.; Oelgaard, P.L.

1989-12-01

The processing procedure for logging data from a borehole of the Stenlille project of Dansk Naturgas A/S has been analysed. The tools considered in the analysis were an integral, natural-gamma tool, a neutron porosity tool, a gamma density tool and a caliper tool. It is believed that in most cases the processing procedure used by the logging company in the interpretation of the raw data is fully understood. An exception is the epithermal part of the neutron porosity tool where all data needed for an interpretation were not available. The analysis has shown that some parts of the interpretation procedure may not be consistent with the physical principle of the tools. (author)

Developing Online Recruitment Process for Cinnabon Finland

OpenAIRE

Lopyrev, Sergey

2015-01-01

Since the times internet started to become accessible to the general public, employers noticed its effectiveness as a recruitment tool. Nowadays, a big percentage of recruitment happens online. Internet presents cost-effective opportunities to reach large pool of candidates, compared to pre-internet era recruitment tools. In this thesis, the aim is to develop online recruitment process for Finnish franchisee of Cinnabon – an international chain of bakeries famous for its cinnamon rolls. T...

Radiation by the numbers: developing an on-line Canadian radiation dose calculator as a public engagement and education tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalzell, M.T.J. [Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada)

2016-06-15

Concerns arising from misunderstandings about radiation are often cited as a main reason for public antipathy towards nuclear development and impede decision-making by governments and individuals. A lack of information about everyday sources of radiation exposure that is accessible, relatable and factual contributes to the problem. As part of its efforts to be a fact-based source of information on nuclear issues, the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation has developed an on-line Canadian Radiation Dose Calculator as a tool to provide context about common sources of radiation. This paper discusses the development of the calculator and describes how the Fedoruk Centre is using it and other tools to support public engagement on nuclear topics. (author)

Pointer Analysis for JavaScript Programming Tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feldthaus, Asger

Tools that can assist the programmer with tasks, such as, refactoring or code navigation, have proven popular for Java, C#, and other programming languages. JavaScript is a widely used programming language, and its users could likewise benefit from such tools, but the dynamic nature of the language...... is an obstacle for the development of these. Because of this, tools for JavaScript have long remained ineffective compared to those for many other programming languages. Static pointer analysis can provide a foundation for more powerful tools, although the design of this analysis is itself a complicated endeavor....... In this work, we explore techniques for performing pointer analysis of JavaScript programs, and we find novel applications of these techniques. In particular, we demonstrate how these can be used for code navigation, automatic refactoring, semi-automatic refactoring of incomplete programs, and checking of type...

Comparative Analysis of Results of Online and Offline Customer Satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jovović Milorad

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The logic that customer satisfaction is the starting point of marketing and business activities is based on the assumption that customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty, keeping in mind all of the positive effects that customer loyalty has on business success of an organization. Because of this, marketing and management theory and practice dedicate particular attention to the concepts of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In this paper we will use the surveys of customers of banking services not only to show the levels of their satisfaction and loyalty, but also to make a comparative analysis of data obtained through online and offline research. This approach was made possible because the research was carried out on a sample which was divided in two groups. All of the participants answered the questions from a unique questionnaire, however, one group took the survey via the Internet (online while data from the other group of participants was collected in the field by using printed questionnaires (offline. The findings of the comparative analysis of online and offline survey results are presented in the final part of the paper.

Ostracism Online: A social media ostracism paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Wouter; Levordashka, Ana; Ruff, Johanna R; Kraaijeveld, Steven; Lueckmann, Jan-Matthis; Williams, Kipling D

2015-06-01

We describe Ostracism Online, a novel, social media-based ostracism paradigm designed to (1) keep social interaction experimentally controlled, (2) provide researchers with the flexibility to manipulate the properties of the social situation to fit their research purposes, (3) be suitable for online data collection, (4) be convenient for studying subsequent within-group behavior, and (5) be ecologically valid. After collecting data online, we compared the Ostracism Online paradigm with the Cyberball paradigm (Williams & Jarvis Behavior Research Methods, 38, 174-180, 2006) on need-threat and mood questionnaire scores (van Beest & Williams Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91, 918-928, 2006). We also examined whether ostracized targets of either paradigm would be more likely to conform to their group members than if they had been included. Using a Bayesian analysis of variance to examine the individual effects of the different paradigms and to compare these effects across paradigms, we found analogous effects on need-threat and mood. Perhaps because we examined conformity to the ostracizers (rather than neutral sources), neither paradigm showed effects of ostracism on conformity. We conclude that Ostracism Online is a cost-effective, easy to use, and ecologically valid research tool for studying the psychological and behavioral effects of ostracism.

An online spatial database of Australian Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge for contemporary natural and cultural resource management.

Science.gov (United States)

Pert, Petina L; Ens, Emilie J; Locke, John; Clarke, Philip A; Packer, Joanne M; Turpin, Gerry

2015-11-15

With growing international calls for the enhanced involvement of Indigenous peoples and their biocultural knowledge in managing conservation and the sustainable use of physical environment, it is timely to review the available literature and develop cross-cultural approaches to the management of biocultural resources. Online spatial databases are becoming common tools for educating land managers about Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge (IBK), specifically to raise a broad awareness of issues, identify knowledge gaps and opportunities, and to promote collaboration. Here we describe a novel approach to the application of internet and spatial analysis tools that provide an overview of publically available documented Australian IBK (AIBK) and outline the processes used to develop the online resource. By funding an AIBK working group, the Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS) provided a unique opportunity to bring together cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary and trans-organizational contributors who developed these resources. Without such an intentionally collaborative process, this unique tool would not have been developed. The tool developed through this process is derived from a spatial and temporal literature review, case studies and a compilation of methods, as well as other relevant AIBK papers. The online resource illustrates the depth and breadth of documented IBK and identifies opportunities for further work, partnerships and investment for the benefit of not only Indigenous Australians, but all Australians. The database currently includes links to over 1500 publically available IBK documents, of which 568 are geo-referenced and were mapped. It is anticipated that as awareness of the online resource grows, more documents will be provided through the website to build the database. It is envisaged that this will become a well-used tool, integral to future natural and cultural resource management and maintenance. Copyright © 2015. Published

Online Exhibits & Concept Maps

Science.gov (United States)

Douma, M.

2009-12-01

Presenting the complexity of geosciences to the public via the Internet poses a number of challenges. For example, utilizing various - and sometimes redundant - Web 2.0 tools can quickly devour limited time. Do you tweet? Do you write press releases? Do you create an exhibit or concept map? The presentation will provide participants with a context for utilizing Web 2.0 tools by briefly highlighting methods of online scientific communication across several dimensions. It will address issues of: * breadth and depth (e.g. from narrow topics to well-rounded views), * presentation methods (e.g. from text to multimedia, from momentary to enduring), * sources and audiences (e.g. for experts or for the public, content developed by producers to that developed by users), * content display (e.g. from linear to non-linear, from instructive to entertaining), * barriers to entry (e.g. from an incumbent advantage to neophyte accessible, from amateur to professional), * cost and reach (e.g. from cheap to expensive), and * impact (e.g. the amount learned, from anonymity to brand awareness). Against this backdrop, the presentation will provide an overview of two methods of online information dissemination, exhibits and concept maps, using the WebExhibits online museum (www.webexhibits.org) and SpicyNodes information visualization tool (www.spicynodes.org) as examples, with tips on how geoscientists can use either to communicate their science. Richly interactive online exhibits can serve to engage a large audience, appeal to visitors with multiple learning styles, prompt exploration and discovery, and present a topic’s breadth and depth. WebExhibits, which was among the first online museums, delivers interactive information, virtual experiments, and hands-on activities to the public. While large, multidisciplinary exhibits on topics like “Color Vision and Art” or “Calendars Through the Ages” require teams of scholars, user interface experts, professional writers and editors

The CANDU alarm analysis tool (CAAT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davey, E C; Feher, M P; Lupton, L R [Control Centre Technology Branch, ON (Canada)

1997-09-01

AECL undertook the development of a software tool to assist alarm system designers and maintainers based on feedback from several utilities and design groups. The software application is called the CANDU Alarm Analysis Tool (CAAT) and is being developed to: Reduce by one half the effort required to initially implement and commission alarm system improvements; improve the operational relevance, consistency and accuracy of station alarm information; record the basis for alarm-related decisions; provide printed reports of the current alarm configuration; and, make day-to-day maintenance of the alarm database less tedious and more cost-effective. The CAAT assists users in accessing, sorting and recording relevant information, design rules, decisions, and provides reports in support of alarm system maintenance, analysis of design changes, or regulatory inquiry. The paper discusses the need for such a tool, outlines the application objectives and principles used to guide tool development, describes the how specific tool features support user design and maintenance tasks, and relates the lessons learned from early application experience. (author). 4 refs, 2 figs.

The CANDU alarm analysis tool (CAAT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davey, E.C.; Feher, M.P.; Lupton, L.R.

1997-01-01

AECL undertook the development of a software tool to assist alarm system designers and maintainers based on feedback from several utilities and design groups. The software application is called the CANDU Alarm Analysis Tool (CAAT) and is being developed to: Reduce by one half the effort required to initially implement and commission alarm system improvements; improve the operational relevance, consistency and accuracy of station alarm information; record the basis for alarm-related decisions; provide printed reports of the current alarm configuration; and, make day-to-day maintenance of the alarm database less tedious and more cost-effective. The CAAT assists users in accessing, sorting and recording relevant information, design rules, decisions, and provides reports in support of alarm system maintenance, analysis of design changes, or regulatory inquiry. The paper discusses the need for such a tool, outlines the application objectives and principles used to guide tool development, describes the how specific tool features support user design and maintenance tasks, and relates the lessons learned from early application experience. (author). 4 refs, 2 figs

Readability and Understandability of Online Vocal Cord Paralysis Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Balakrishnan, Vini; Chandy, Zachariah; Hseih, Amy; Bui, Thanh-Lan; Verma, Sunil P

2016-03-01

Patients use several online resources to learn about vocal cord paralysis (VCP). The objective of this study was to assess the readability and understandability of online VCP patient education materials (PEMs), with readability assessments and the Patient Education Materials Evaluation Tool (PEMAT), respectively. The relationship between readability and understandability was then analyzed. Descriptive and correlational design. Online PEMs were identified by performing a Google search with the term "vocal cord paralysis." After scientific webpages, news articles, and information for medical professionals were excluded, 29 articles from the first 50 search results were considered. Readability analysis was performed with 6 formulas. Four individuals with different educational backgrounds conducted understandability analysis with the PEMAT. Fleiss's Kappa interrater reliability analysis determined consistency among raters. Correlation between readability and understandability was determined with Pearson's correlation test. The reading level of the reviewed articles ranged from grades 9 to 17. Understandability ranged from 29% to 82%. Correlation analysis demonstrated a strong negative correlation between materials' readability and understandability (r = -0.462, P Online PEMs pertaining to VCP are written above the recommended reading levels. Overall, materials written at lower grade levels are more understandable. However, articles of identical grade levels had varying levels of understandability. The PEMAT may provide a more critical evaluation of the quality of a PEM when compared with readability formulas. Both readability and understandability should be used to evaluate PEMs. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2016.

Affordances of agricultural systems analysis tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ditzler, Lenora; Klerkx, Laurens; Chan-Dentoni, Jacqueline; Posthumus, Helena; Krupnik, Timothy J.; Ridaura, Santiago López; Andersson, Jens A.; Baudron, Frédéric; Groot, Jeroen C.J.

2018-01-01

The increasingly complex challenges facing agricultural systems require problem-solving processes and systems analysis (SA) tools that engage multiple actors across disciplines. In this article, we employ the theory of affordances to unravel what tools may furnish users, and how those affordances

Developing effective online marketing : Case: Company X

OpenAIRE

Vanhanen, Hanna

2015-01-01

The Internet, new online services and social media have drastically changed people`s everyday life. Digitalization has refined one`s communication ways and also developed completely new marketing possibilities. Consumers and companies spend a significant amount of time online and use it to seek various information from companies and prod-ucts. Marketers have also acknowledged the online marketing potential as an effective marketing tool to reach current and potential customers. As online mark...

Online Banking on E-Commerce in India

OpenAIRE

Navpreet Kaur; Dr. Ashutosh Pathak

2015-01-01

Online Banking is becoming an important aspect of worldwide commerce. Online Banking is also known as ebanking, cyber banking, virtual banking, net banking, and internet banking. Online banking includes various banking activities conducted from home business, instead of at a physical bank location Customer relationship management worked as a tool increased use of e-commerce makes CRM. Online banking is based on internet or web- based interaction to create a high volatile relations...

UniFlex - Collaborative on-line learning environment tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ole Borch

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Første gang publiceret i UNEV nr. 2: E-læringsplatforme - muligheder og potentialer, januar - marts 2004, red. Tom Nyvand og Michael Pedersen. ISSN 1603-5518. Increasing demands for remote on-line education are changing the way teaching and learning is performed. New behavior in using pedagogy and supporting technology is needed to drive the learning process. To facilitate the use of services for selected activities to participants in distance education, a web site named UniFlex (University Flexible learning has been developed and brought into use. The site is a comprehensive set of bookmarks including course taking, upload/download, and - of special significance - collaborative on-line project work. UniFlex has been developed to meet the requirement for a simple and cheap personalized interactive site, supporting problem oriented and project organized study form, which has characterized Aalborg University for more than 27 years.

Understanding Online Teacher Best Practices: A Thematic Analysis to Improve Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Corry, Michael; Ianacone, Robert; Stella, Julie

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine brick-and-mortar and online teacher best practice themes using thematic analysis and a newly developed theory-based analytic process entitled Synthesized Thematic Analysis Criteria (STAC). The STAC was developed to facilitate the meaningful thematic analysis of research based best practices of K-12…

msBiodat analysis tool, big data analysis for high-throughput experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz-Torres, Pau M; Rokć, Filip; Belužic, Robert; Grbeša, Ivana; Vugrek, Oliver

2016-01-01

Mass spectrometry (MS) are a group of a high-throughput techniques used to increase knowledge about biomolecules. They produce a large amount of data which is presented as a list of hundreds or thousands of proteins. Filtering those data efficiently is the first step for extracting biologically relevant information. The filtering may increase interest by merging previous data with the data obtained from public databases, resulting in an accurate list of proteins which meet the predetermined conditions. In this article we present msBiodat Analysis Tool, a web-based application thought to approach proteomics to the big data analysis. With this tool, researchers can easily select the most relevant information from their MS experiments using an easy-to-use web interface. An interesting feature of msBiodat analysis tool is the possibility of selecting proteins by its annotation on Gene Ontology using its Gene Id, ensembl or UniProt codes. The msBiodat analysis tool is a web-based application that allows researchers with any programming experience to deal with efficient database querying advantages. Its versatility and user-friendly interface makes easy to perform fast and accurate data screening by using complex queries. Once the analysis is finished, the result is delivered by e-mail. msBiodat analysis tool is freely available at http://msbiodata.irb.hr.

Physical Activity in Ankylosing Spondylitis: evaluation and analysis of an eHealth tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jess Shelagh Tyrrell

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background Ankylosing spondylitis (AS is a chronic inflammatory condition characterised by spinal arthritis and exercise is often recommended to reduce the symptoms and improve mobility. However, very little evidence exists for the value of exercise in AS. Objectives Firstly, this pilot study aimed to evaluate an eHealth tool, the AS Observer, specifically designed to monitor symptoms, quality of life and physical activity in AS, in terms of patient experience and suitability in generating data for epidemiological studies. Secondly, it also investigated the collected data to determine if physical activity benefited individuals with AS. Methods The AS Observer was designed to enable weekly monitoring of AS symptoms and exercise using a web based platform. Participants with AS (n = 223 were recruited to use the AS observer. They provided baseline data and completed online weekly data entry for 12 weeks (e.g. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Activity Index (BASDAI, howRu, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ. Panel data analysis with fixed effects models investigated associations between variables. Activity type data and exit questionnaires were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis. Results In general, the AS Observer was well received and considered useful by participants, with 66% providing a positive response. The collected data suggested that IPAQ is inversely associated with total BASDAI, stiffness, tenderness and pain, but not fatigue. Stratified analysis demonstrated differential associations between BASDAI, IPAQ and howRU based on sex, HLA-B27 status and disease duration. Approximately half of the participants frequently did therapy and three-quarters undertook at least some vigorous activity ranging from formal exercise to recreation and (house work. Despite some technical challenges, tool evaluation suggested that the AS Observer was a useful self-monitoring tool for participants. Conclusions This pilot study demonstrated

Comprehensive Evaluation and Analysis of China's Mainstream Online Map Service Websites

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, H.; Jiang, J.; Huang, W.; Wang, Q.; Gu, X.

2012-08-01

With the flourish development of China's Internet market, all kinds of users for map service demand is rising continually, within it contains tremendous commercial interests. Many internet giants have got involved in the field of online map service, and defined it as an important strategic product of the company. The main purpose of this research is to evaluate these online map service websites comprehensively with a model, and analyse the problems according to the evaluation results. Then some corresponding solving measures are proposed, which provides a theoretical and application guidance for the future development of fiercely competitive online map websites. The research consists of three stages: (a) the mainstream online map service websites in China are introduced and the present situation of them is analysed through visit, investigation, consultant, analysis and research. (b) a whole comprehensive evaluation quota system of online map service websites from the view of functions, layout, interaction design color position and so on, combining with the data indexes such as time efficiency, accuracy, objectivity and authority. (c) a comprehensive evaluation to these online map service websites is proceeded based on the fuzzy evaluation mathematical model, and the difficulty that measure the map websites quantitatively is solved.

The Role of School District Science Coordinators in the District-Wide Appropriation of an Online Resource Discovery and Sharing Tool for Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Victor R.; Leary, Heather M.; Sellers, Linda; Recker, Mimi

2014-06-01

When introducing and implementing a new technology for science teachers within a school district, we must consider not only the end users but also the roles and influence district personnel have on the eventual appropriation of that technology. School districts are, by their nature, complex systems with multiple individuals at different levels in the organization who are involved in supporting and providing instruction. Varying levels of support for new technologies between district coordinators and teachers can sometimes lead to counterintuitive outcomes. In this article, we examine the role of the district science coordinator in five school districts that participated in the implementation of an online resource discovery and sharing tool for Earth science teachers. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted and coded interviews with district coordinators and teachers to examine the varied responsibilities associated with the district coordinator and to infer the relationships that were developed and perceived by teachers. We then examine and discuss two cases that illustrate how those relationships could have influenced how the tool was adopted and used to differing degrees in the two districts. Specifically, the district that had high support for online resource use from its coordinator appeared to have the lowest level of tool use, and the district with much less visible support from its coordinator had the highest level of tool use. We explain this difference in terms of how the coordinator's promotion of teacher autonomy took distinctly different forms at those two districts.

Methodological proposal for the analysis of user participation mechanisms in online media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaime Alonso, Ph.D.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of an analysis of user participation mechanisms, particularly those based in Web 2.0 technologies and applications, based on a sample of fourteen relevant Spanish online media, including the websites of newspapers, radio stations, and television channels. This analysis was conducted in October and November 2010 as part of the research subproject La evolución de los cibermedios en el marco de la convergencia digital. Tecnología y distribución (The evolution of online media in the context of digital convergence. Tecnology and distribution. The study is based on a taxonomy of the different user participation mechanisms, which distinguishes between those that are integrated within the media’s news sections and those that are independent spaces. The analysis also examines the form in which these mechanisms are managed by the media in function of the role they are assigned. Finally, the study aims to compare the different online media and to show examples and trends in the field of user participation.

Dynamic Contingency Analysis Tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-01-14

The Dynamic Contingency Analysis Tool (DCAT) is an open-platform and publicly available methodology to help develop applications that aim to improve the capabilities of power system planning engineers to assess the impact and likelihood of extreme contingencies and potential cascading events across their systems and interconnections. Outputs from the DCAT will help find mitigation solutions to reduce the risk of cascading outages in technically sound and effective ways. The current prototype DCAT implementation has been developed as a Python code that accesses the simulation functions of the Siemens PSS/E planning tool (PSS/E). It has the following features: It uses a hybrid dynamic and steady-state approach to simulating the cascading outage sequences that includes fast dynamic and slower steady-state events. It integrates dynamic models with protection scheme models for generation, transmission, and load. It models special protection systems (SPSs)/remedial action schemes (RASs) and automatic and manual corrective actions. Overall, the DCAT attempts to bridge multiple gaps in cascading-outage analysis in a single, unique prototype tool capable of automatically simulating and analyzing cascading sequences in real systems using multiprocessor computers.While the DCAT has been implemented using PSS/E in Phase I of the study, other commercial software packages with similar capabilities can be used within the DCAT framework.

Social networks and online environments: when science and practice co-evolve

OpenAIRE

Rosen, Devan; Barnett, George A.; Kim, Jang Hyun

2011-01-01

The science of social network analysis has co-evolved with the development of online environments and computer-mediated communication. Unique and precise data available from computer and information systems have allowed network scientists to explore novel social phenomena and develop new methods. Additionally, advances in the structural analysis and visualization of computer-mediated social networks have informed developers and shaped the design of social media tools. This article reviews som...

Entman Framing Analysis of Food Governance in Online Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Anggraeni

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The article aim is to understand how kompas.com and sindonews.com on the period of 16 October 2017 up to 21 October 2017 framing the news related to food governance in Indonesia using Entman Framing Analysis. Entman Framing is an alternative method to see media differentiation in reveal the reality. According to the researcher, the two media possess its own differentiation in interpreting those realities, so that media could be considered as reader mindset influencer. The concept and theory of the article is agenda setting, reality construct, Entman framing, news and online media. The article method is qualitative using news article as analysis unit. The result show that the two online media emphasize issue about food governance management system. But the assertion of the two news are different; kompas.com tend to build and develop the village and farmer regeneration aspect, while sindonews.com emphasized on reinforcement the management system of food governance.

Project development and commercialisation of on-line analysis systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watt, J.S.

2000-01-01

A project team first in the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) and since 1982 in CSIRO has developed many on-line analysis systems for the mineral and energy industries. The development of these projects, usually lasting 7-10 years, has followed a common pattern of laboratory R and D, field trials, commercialisation and technology transfer. This successful pattern is illustrated using examples of the development of systems for the on-line analysis of mineral slurries, for determination of the ash content of coal on conveyors, and for determination of the flow rates of oil, water and gas in pipelines. The first two systems, licensed to Australian companies, are used world-wide. They are now the market leaders for radioisotope gauges in their application field. The third, the multiphase flow meter, was licensed in 1997 to an international company. This meter has even greater potential than the other two systems for economic benefit from its use and for numbers of installations. (author)

Automated on-line solid phase extraction coupled to HPLC-APCI-MS detection as a versatile tool for the analysis of phenols in water samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wissiack, R.

2001-05-01

In this work a liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (HPLC-APCI-MS) technique was developed for the determination of phenols and anilines in waste water samples. All relevant parameters were optimized for liquid chromatographic (LC) separation and mass spectrometric (MS) detection. Mass spectrometric detection was used in either negative ionization (NI) or positive ionization (PI) mode, which was depending on the physicochemical properties of the analyte. For screening analysis, full scan mode (SCAN) was used, while selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode of acquisition was used for maximum sensitivity. The optimal interface parameters and solvent compositions were evaluated, which mainly determined the ionization of analytes thus strongly influencing the sensitivity. The quasi-molecular ions were the most abundant signals both for phenols ([M-H]- in NI) and for anilines ([M+H]+ in PI). In general, fragmentation was hardly observed for one-ring phenols. Only fragmentation due to neutral losses of NO, HCl, NH3, CO2, CHO or CO from the functional groups were obtained via collision induced dissociation (CID) in a single quadrupole mass spectrometer. A further source of structural information was the relative intensity of positive and negative ions for one analyte: Only in the case of para-methyl substituted phenols, detection was also possible in positive ionization mode with reasonable sensitivity. In contrast to the phenols, anilines offered somewhat higher structural information due to increased fragmentation through CID, when detected in the positive ionization mode. The main goal of this work was the development of a method for the determination of US EPA priority phenols in different environmental matrices. As highest sensitivity and selectivity was required for this task, a preconcentrating step was necessary, and consequently solid phase extraction (SPE) was coupled on-line to HPLC-APCI-MS. The optimized method allowed the

A Qualitative Analysis of Online Gaming:

OpenAIRE

Hussain, Z; Griffiths, MD

2014-01-01

The popularity of Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) has risen dramatically over the last decade. Some gamers spend many hours a day in these virtual environments interacting with others gamers, completing quests, and forming social groups. The present study set out to explore the experiences and feelings of online gamers. The study comprised 71 interviews with online gamers (52 males and 19 females) from 11 different countries. Many themes emerged from the analyses of...

Connected: Recommendations and Techniques in Order to Employ Internet Tools for the Enhancement of Online Therapeutic Relationships. Experiences from Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Manfrida, Gianmarco; Albertini, Valentina; Eisenberg, Erica

2017-01-01

The article explores the different types of therapeutic relationship that can evolve both on- and offline, thanks to the use of tools, such as software and applications, which enable therapists and patients contact outside of the traditional setting. Given the premise that it is practically impossible today to maintain a relationship without the use of internet and telephones, it becomes necessary to question the ways in which the online space can become a useful extension of the therapeutic setting. The authors, starting from a consideration regarding the specificity of the online therapeutic relationship, analyze the best ways to use text and email messaging with patients. Furthermore, specific interactions via group chats are presented, for example, to coordinate a therapeutic team involving several professionals. Further, video chat settings are discussed through a clinical case presentation. Lastly, the therapist's management of social networks is debated, underscoring the importance for the therapists that his or her online identity be consistent with the offline image which patients are introduced to in the traditional setting of the therapy room.

Building collaboration tools and access to on-line facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agarwal, D.; Sachs, S.

1996-11-01

Network-based facilities will allow researchers at different locations to collaborate on experiments as if they all were together in the same laboratory. The expected value of these geographically distributed environments includes substantially increased effectiveness in doing science, and an enabling capability for analytical and high-value production use by industry. The Distributed, Collaboratory Experiment Environments (DCEE) Program consists of four projects that were established to build prototype remote experiment and collaborative environments. The work undertaken in this project represents some of the research and development of the mechanisms and infrastructure required to make collaboratories a reality. Some of these mechanisms have already been developed. Several other mechanisms, such as data dissemination, resource management for the sharing of experiment control, safety and security, electronic notebooks, elements of telepresence, and integrated user interfaces need further research and development. The pilot application for these collaborative tools is the Advanced Light Source (ALS) Beamline 7.0 at the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The ALS is a particle accelerator and is a source of very high brilliance soft X-ray beams. One experimental facility is the Spectro-Microscopy Facility Beamline 7.0. Through this project, the Spectro-Microscopy Facility will be opened up to users from a wide range of organizations. The goal is to build software that will not only put the ALS Beamline 7.0 on-line, but will also serve as building blocks for future collaboratory development

Technical Note: Development and performance of a software tool for quality assurance of online replanning with a conventional Linac or MR-Linac

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Guang-Pei, E-mail: gpchen@mcw.edu; Ahunbay, Ergun; Li, X. Allen [Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226 (United States)

2016-04-15

Purpose: To develop an integrated quality assurance (QA) software tool for online replanning capable of efficiently and automatically checking radiation treatment (RT) planning parameters and gross plan quality, verifying treatment plan data transfer from treatment planning system (TPS) to record and verify (R&V) system, performing a secondary monitor unit (MU) calculation with or without a presence of a magnetic field from MR-Linac, and validating the delivery record consistency with the plan. Methods: The software tool, named ArtQA, was developed to obtain and compare plan and treatment parameters from both the TPS and the R&V system database. The TPS data are accessed via direct file reading and the R&V data are retrieved via open database connectivity and structured query language. Plan quality is evaluated with both the logical consistency of planning parameters and the achieved dose–volume histograms. Beams in between the TPS and R&V system are matched based on geometry configurations. To consider the effect of a 1.5 T transverse magnetic field from MR-Linac in the secondary MU calculation, a method based on modified Clarkson integration algorithm was developed and tested for a series of clinical situations. Results: ArtQA has been used in their clinic and can quickly detect inconsistencies and deviations in the entire RT planning process. With the use of the ArtQA tool, the efficiency for plan check including plan quality, data transfer, and delivery check can be improved by at least 60%. The newly developed independent MU calculation tool for MR-Linac reduces the difference between the plan and calculated MUs by 10%. Conclusions: The software tool ArtQA can be used to perform a comprehensive QA check from planning to delivery with conventional Linac or MR-Linac and is an essential tool for online replanning where the QA check needs to be performed rapidly.

Technical Note: Development and performance of a software tool for quality assurance of online replanning with a conventional Linac or MR-Linac.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Guang-Pei; Ahunbay, Ergun; Li, X Allen

2016-04-01

To develop an integrated quality assurance (QA) software tool for online replanning capable of efficiently and automatically checking radiation treatment (RT) planning parameters and gross plan quality, verifying treatment plan data transfer from treatment planning system (TPS) to record and verify (R&V) system, performing a secondary monitor unit (MU) calculation with or without a presence of a magnetic field from MR-Linac, and validating the delivery record consistency with the plan. The software tool, named ArtQA, was developed to obtain and compare plan and treatment parameters from both the TPS and the R&V system database. The TPS data are accessed via direct file reading and the R&V data are retrieved via open database connectivity and structured query language. Plan quality is evaluated with both the logical consistency of planning parameters and the achieved dose-volume histograms. Beams in between the TPS and R&V system are matched based on geometry configurations. To consider the effect of a 1.5 T transverse magnetic field from MR-Linac in the secondary MU calculation, a method based on modified Clarkson integration algorithm was developed and tested for a series of clinical situations. ArtQA has been used in their clinic and can quickly detect inconsistencies and deviations in the entire RT planning process. With the use of the ArtQA tool, the efficiency for plan check including plan quality, data transfer, and delivery check can be improved by at least 60%. The newly developed independent MU calculation tool for MR-Linac reduces the difference between the plan and calculated MUs by 10%. The software tool ArtQA can be used to perform a comprehensive QA check from planning to delivery with conventional Linac or MR-Linac and is an essential tool for online replanning where the QA check needs to be performed rapidly.

A new online software tool for pressure ulcer monitoring as an educational instrument for unified nursing assessment in clinical settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Pokorná

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Data collection and evaluation of that data is crucial for effective quality management and naturally also for prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. Data collected in a uniform manner by nurses in clinical practice could be used for further analyses. Data about pressure ulcers are collected to differing degrees of quality based on the local policy of the given health care facility and in relation to the nurse’s actual level of knowledge concerning pressure ulcer identification and use of objective scales (i.e. categorization of pressure ulcers. Therefore, we have developed software suitable for data collection which includes some educational tools to promote unified reporting of data by nurses. A description of this software and some educational and learning components of the tool is presented herein. The planned process of clinical application of the newly developed software is also briefly mentioned. The discussion is focused on the usability of the online reporting tool and possible further development of the tool.

Share price trend based on analysis of investor’s online activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihail Dumitru SACALĂ

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The desire of modeling the influence coming from behavioral economics, representing mostly qualitative variables, requires new approaches to quantify this influence. In this paper we present an analytical method for determining the direction of the share future return using an aggregate indicator calculated based exclusively on the trend of registered variables from investor’s online activity. This online activity refers to the number and content of messages posted by investors on shares analysis dedicated web blogs.

Analysis of web-based online services for GPS relative and precise point positioning techniques

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Taylan Ocalan

Full Text Available Nowadays, Global Positioning System (GPS has been used effectively in several engineering applications for the survey purposes by multiple disciplines. Web-based online services developed by several organizations; which are user friendly, unlimited and most of them are free; have become a significant alternative against the high-cost scientific and commercial software on achievement of post processing and analyzing the GPS data. When centimeter (cm or decimeter (dm level accuracies are desired, that can be obtained easily regarding different quality engineering applications through these services. In this paper, a test study was conducted at ISKI-CORS network; Istanbul-Turkey in order to figure out the accuracy analysis of the most used web based online services around the world (namely OPUS, AUSPOS, SCOUT, CSRS-PPP, GAPS, APPS, magicGNSS. These services use relative and precise point positioning (PPP solution approaches. In this test study, the coordinates of eight stations were estimated by using of both online services and Bernese 5.0 scientific GPS processing software from 24-hour GPS data set and then the coordinate differences between the online services and Bernese processing software were computed. From the evaluations, it was seen that the results for each individual differences were less than 10 mm regarding relative online service, and less than 20 mm regarding precise point positioning service. The accuracy analysis was gathered from these coordinate differences and standard deviations of the obtained coordinates from different techniques and then online services were compared to each other. The results show that the position accuracies obtained by associated online services provide high accurate solutions that may be used in many engineering applications and geodetic analysis.

Intelligent data analysis for e-learning enhancing security and trustworthiness in online learning systems

CERN Document Server

Miguel, Jorge; Xhafa, Fatos

2016-01-01

Intelligent Data Analysis for e-Learning: Enhancing Security and Trustworthiness in Online Learning Systems addresses information security within e-Learning based on trustworthiness assessment and prediction. Over the past decade, many learning management systems have appeared in the education market. Security in these systems is essential for protecting against unfair and dishonest conduct-most notably cheating-however, e-Learning services are often designed and implemented without considering security requirements. This book provides functional approaches of trustworthiness analysis, modeling, assessment, and prediction for stronger security and support in online learning, highlighting the security deficiencies found in most online collaborative learning systems. The book explores trustworthiness methodologies based on collective intelligence than can overcome these deficiencies. It examines trustworthiness analysis that utilizes the large amounts of data-learning activities generate. In addition, as proc...

Windows forensic analysis toolkit advanced analysis techniques for Windows 7

CERN Document Server

Carvey, Harlan

2012-01-01

Now in its third edition, Harlan Carvey has updated "Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit" to cover Windows 7 systems. The primary focus of this edition is on analyzing Windows 7 systems and on processes using free and open-source tools. The book covers live response, file analysis, malware detection, timeline, and much more. The author presents real-life experiences from the trenches, making the material realistic and showing the why behind the how. New to this edition, the companion and toolkit materials are now hosted online. This material consists of electronic printable checklists, cheat sheets, free custom tools, and walk-through demos. This edition complements "Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit, 2nd Edition", (ISBN: 9781597494229), which focuses primarily on XP. It includes complete coverage and examples on Windows 7 systems. It contains Lessons from the Field, Case Studies, and War Stories. It features companion online material, including electronic printable checklists, cheat sheets, free custom tools, ...

UniFlex - Collaborative on-line learning environment tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ole Borch

2004-05-01

Full Text Available

Første gang publiceret i UNEV nr. 2: E-læringsplatforme - muligheder og potentialer, januar - marts 2004, red. Tom Nyvand og Michael Pedersen. ISSN 1603-5518.

Increasing demands for remote on-line education are changing the way teaching and learning is performed. New behavior in using pedagogy and supporting technology is needed to drive the learning process. To facilitate the use of services for selected activities to participants in distance education, a web site named UniFlex (University Flexible learning has been developed and brought into use. The site is a comprehensive set of bookmarks including course taking, upload/download, and - of special significance - collaborative on-line project work. UniFlex has been developed to meet the requirement for a simple and cheap personalized interactive site, supporting problem oriented and project organized study form, which has characterized Aalborg University for more than 27 years.

Building the Community Online Resource for Statistical Seismicity Analysis (CORSSA)

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, A. J.; Wiemer, S.; Zechar, J. D.; Hardebeck, J. L.; Naylor, M.; Zhuang, J.; Steacy, S.; Corssa Executive Committee

2010-12-01

Statistical seismology is critical to the understanding of seismicity, the testing of proposed earthquake prediction and forecasting methods, and the assessment of seismic hazard. Unfortunately, despite its importance to seismology - especially to those aspects with great impact on public policy - statistical seismology is mostly ignored in the education of seismologists, and there is no central repository for the existing open-source software tools. To remedy these deficiencies, and with the broader goal to enhance the quality of statistical seismology research, we have begun building the Community Online Resource for Statistical Seismicity Analysis (CORSSA). CORSSA is a web-based educational platform that is authoritative, up-to-date, prominent, and user-friendly. We anticipate that the users of CORSSA will range from beginning graduate students to experienced researchers. More than 20 scientists from around the world met for a week in Zurich in May 2010 to kick-start the creation of CORSSA: the format and initial table of contents were defined; a governing structure was organized; and workshop participants began drafting articles. CORSSA materials are organized with respect to six themes, each containing between four and eight articles. The CORSSA web page, www.corssa.org, officially unveiled on September 6, 2010, debuts with an initial set of approximately 10 to 15 articles available online for viewing and commenting with additional articles to be added over the coming months. Each article will be peer-reviewed and will present a balanced discussion, including illustrative examples and code snippets. Topics in the initial set of articles will include: introductions to both CORSSA and statistical seismology, basic statistical tests and their role in seismology; understanding seismicity catalogs and their problems; basic techniques for modeling seismicity; and methods for testing earthquake predictability hypotheses. A special article will compare and review

Streamlining the Online Course Development Process by Using Project Management Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Abdous, M'hammed; He, Wu

2008-01-01

Managing the design and production of online courses is challenging. Insufficient instructional design and inefficient management often lead to issues such as poor course quality and course delivery delays. In an effort to facilitate, streamline, and improve the overall design and production of online courses, this article discusses how we…

Student Training in the Use of an Online Synchronous Conferencing Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Heiser, Sarah; Stickler, Ursula; Furnborough, Concha

2013-01-01

With the increase of online language teaching the training needs of teachers have long been established and researched. However, the training needs of students have not yet been fully acknowledged. This paper focuses on learner training as preparation for language classes where online synchronous conferencing is used. It presents an action…

Technology Transience and Learner Data: Shifting Notions of Privacy in Online Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Dennen, Vanessa P.

2015-01-01

The technologies that support online learning are continuously evolving, providing instructors and students with a continuous stream of new tools, features, and functionalities for existing tools. During an online course, instructors and students generate and share a tremendous amount of data using these tools. These data are often created in…

Online marketing kulturního sektoru. Návrh online marketingové strategie vybraného divadla

OpenAIRE

Havlíčková, Olga

2013-01-01

The aim of this master's thesis is to examine the options and advantages of using online marketing by cultural organisations, especially theatres. The introductory part of this thesis explains essential terms related to online marketing and specifics of internet media. It also gives an overview of internet marketing tools, which can be effectively used in communication of cultural organizations. A second part of the thesis is focused on developing online marketing strategy for the Divadlo v Ř...

Understanding Trail Runners’ Activity on Online Community Forums: An Inductive Analysis of Discussion Topics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rochat Nadège

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Recreational trail runners often participate in online community forums where they can freely read posted messages, join discussions and/or introduce new discussion topics. This tool can enhance learning as runners connect with other trail runners and reflect on how they can better organize their own practice. Studying forum activity would provide greater insight into the relationship between field practice and dedicated forums. The aim of this study was therefore to detect the topics discussed online by trail runners in order to understand how they collectively look for solutions that help them adapt to issues that emerge during actual practice. The discussion topics (n = 171 on the forum hosted by the Raidlight brand were examined using inductive content analysis, which distinguished two general dimensions. The first dimension was training and had four first-order themes (i.e., “specific trail running sessions”, “complementary trail running sessions”. “training plans” and “specific questions about races” grouped into two second-order themes (i.e., “training session contents” and “structure and schedule”. The second dimension was health and had seven first-order themes (i.e., “tendinitis”, “muscle issues”, “foot issues”, “sprains and fractures”, “pain”, “physiology” and “substances and practitioners” grouped into two second-order themes (i.e., “pain and injury” and “prevention”. The results indicate that the issues that trail runners discuss on forums are significant and that the successions of questions and solutions are a fruitful means for building, enriching and adjusting their activity as they cope with constraints. As a practical consequence, suggestions for improving such online platforms are made.

Seismicity map tools for earthquake studies

Science.gov (United States)

Boucouvalas, Anthony; Kaskebes, Athanasios; Tselikas, Nikos

2014-05-01

We report on the development of new and online set of tools for use within Google Maps, for earthquake research. We demonstrate this server based and online platform (developped with PHP, Javascript, MySQL) with the new tools using a database system with earthquake data. The platform allows us to carry out statistical and deterministic analysis on earthquake data use of Google Maps and plot various seismicity graphs. The tool box has been extended to draw on the map line segments, multiple straight lines horizontally and vertically as well as multiple circles, including geodesic lines. The application is demonstrated using localized seismic data from the geographic region of Greece as well as other global earthquake data. The application also offers regional segmentation (NxN) which allows the studying earthquake clustering, and earthquake cluster shift within the segments in space. The platform offers many filters such for plotting selected magnitude ranges or time periods. The plotting facility allows statistically based plots such as cumulative earthquake magnitude plots and earthquake magnitude histograms, calculation of 'b' etc. What is novel for the platform is the additional deterministic tools. Using the newly developed horizontal and vertical line and circle tools we have studied the spatial distribution trends of many earthquakes and we here show for the first time the link between Fibonacci Numbers and spatiotemporal location of some earthquakes. The new tools are valuable for examining visualizing trends in earthquake research as it allows calculation of statistics as well as deterministic precursors. We plan to show many new results based on our newly developed platform.

Software Users Manual (SUM): Extended Testability Analysis (ETA) Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Maul, William A.; Fulton, Christopher E.

2011-01-01

This software user manual describes the implementation and use the Extended Testability Analysis (ETA) Tool. The ETA Tool is a software program that augments the analysis and reporting capabilities of a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) testability analysis software package called the Testability Engineering And Maintenance System (TEAMS) Designer. An initial diagnostic assessment is performed by the TEAMS Designer software using a qualitative, directed-graph model of the system being analyzed. The ETA Tool utilizes system design information captured within the diagnostic model and testability analysis output from the TEAMS Designer software to create a series of six reports for various system engineering needs. The ETA Tool allows the user to perform additional studies on the testability analysis results by determining the detection sensitivity to the loss of certain sensors or tests. The ETA Tool was developed to support design and development of the NASA Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle. The diagnostic analysis provided by the ETA Tool was proven to be valuable system engineering output that provided consistency in the verification of system engineering requirements. This software user manual provides a description of each output report generated by the ETA Tool. The manual also describes the example diagnostic model and supporting documentation - also provided with the ETA Tool software release package - that were used to generate the reports presented in the manual

Usability Evaluation of the Spatial OLAP Visualization and Analysis Tool (SOVAT).

Science.gov (United States)

Scotch, Matthew; Parmanto, Bambang; Monaco, Valerie

2007-02-01

Increasingly sophisticated technologies, such as On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) and Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), are being leveraged for conducting community health assessments (CHA). Little is known about the usability of OLAP and GIS interfaces with respect to CHA. We conducted an iterative usability evaluation of the Spatial OLAP Visualization and Analysis Tool (SOVAT), a software application that combines OLAP and GIS. A total of nine graduate students and six community health researchers were asked to think-aloud while completing five CHA questions using SOVAT. The sessions were analyzed after every three participants and changes to the interface were made based on the findings. Measures included elapsed time, answers provided, erroneous actions, and satisfaction. Traditional OLAP interface features were poorly understood by participants and combined OLAP-GIS features needed to be better emphasized. The results suggest that the changes made to the SOVAT interface resulted in increases in both usability and user satisfaction.

Multiplayer Online Games as Educational Tools: Facing New Challenges in Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Paraskeva, Fotini; Mysirlaki, Sofia; Papagianni, Aikaterini

2010-01-01

This paper outlines a proposal for the development of educational multiplayer online games based on the activity theory, as an alternative to the current trend in multiplayer gaming and a means of promoting collaboration among students. In order to examine whether online games are engaging for learners, we consider multiple factors regarding game…

The physics analysis tools project for the ATLAS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenzi, Bruno

2012-01-01

The Large Hadron Collider is expected to start colliding proton beams in 2009. The enormous amount of data produced by the ATLAS experiment (≅1 PB per year) will be used in searches for the Higgs boson and Physics beyond the standard model. In order to meet this challenge, a suite of common Physics Analysis Tools has been developed as part of the Physics Analysis software project. These tools run within the ATLAS software framework, ATHENA, covering a wide range of applications. There are tools responsible for event selection based on analysed data and detector quality information, tools responsible for specific physics analysis operations including data quality monitoring and physics validation, and complete analysis tool-kits (frameworks) with the goal to aid the physicist to perform his analysis hiding the details of the ATHENA framework. (authors)

Online Finding Aids: Are They Practical?

Science.gov (United States)

Hostetter, Christina J.

2004-01-01

This article explores the uses, practicality, and problems involved in creating online finding aids by state-funded university archivists across the nation. It examines various aspects of online finding aids such as financial considerations, its importance as a research tool, timelines, demographics, and use. The more technical side is also…

The incidence of Grey Literature in online databases : a quantitative analysis

OpenAIRE

Luzi, Daniela (CNR-ISRDS); GreyNet, Grey Literature Network Service

1994-01-01

This study aims to verify the diffusion and distribution of Grey Literature (GL) documents in commercially available online databases. It has been undertaken due to the growing importance of GL in the field of information and documentation, on the one hand, and the increasing supply of online databases, on the other hand. The work is divided into two parts. The first provides the results of a previous quantitative analysis of databases containing GL documents. Using a top-down methodology, i....

OligoHeatMap (OHM): an online tool to estimate and display hybridizations of oligonucleotides onto DNA sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Croce, Olivier; Chevenet, François; Christen, Richard

2008-07-01

The efficiency of molecular methods involving DNA/DNA hybridizations depends on the accurate prediction of the melting temperature (T(m)) of the duplex. Many softwares are available for T(m) calculations, but difficulties arise when one wishes to check if a given oligomer (PCR primer or probe) hybridizes well or not on more than a single sequence. Moreover, the presence of mismatches within the duplex is not sufficient to estimate specificity as it does not always significantly decrease the T(m). OHM (OligoHeatMap) is an online tool able to provide estimates of T(m) for a set of oligomers and a set of aligned sequences, not only as text files of complete results but also in a graphical way: T(m) values are translated into colors and displayed as a heat map image, either stand alone or to be used by softwares such as TreeDyn to be included in a phylogenetic tree. OHM is freely available at http://bioinfo.unice.fr/ohm/, with links to the full source code and online help.

Help Seeking in Online Collaborative Groupwork: A Multilevel Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Jianxia; Xu, Jianzhong; Fan, Xitao

2015-01-01

This study examined predictive models for students' help seeking in the context of online collaborative groupwork. Results from multilevel analysis revealed that most of the variance in help seeking was at the individual student level, and multiple variables at the individual level were predictive of help-seeking behaviour. Help seeking was…

Experiences of Playscan: Interviews with users of a responsible gambling tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Forsström

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Online gambling, encompassing a wide variety of activities and around-the-clock access, can be a potential risk factor for gamblers who tend to gamble excessively. Yet, the advent of online gambling has enabled responsible gambling (RG features that may help individuals to limit their gambling behaviour. One of these features is RG tools that track gamblers' behaviour, performs risk assessments and provides advice to gamblers. This study investigated users' views and experiences of the RG tool Playscan from a qualitative perspective using a semi-structured interview. The tool performs a risk assessment on a three-step scale (low, medium and high risk. Users from every risk category were included. Twenty interviews were carried out and analysed using thematic analysis. Two main themes with associated sub-themes were identified: “Usage of Playscan and the gambling site” and “Experiences of Playscan”. Important experiences in the sub-themes were lack of feedback from the tool and confusion when signing up to use Playscan. These experiences counteracted positive attitudes that should have promoted usage of the tool. Providing more feedback directly to users is a suggested solution to increase usage of the RG tool.

Developing Students' Critical Reasoning About Online Health Information: A Capabilities Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wiblom, Jonna; Rundgren, Carl-Johan; Andrée, Maria

2017-11-01

The internet has become a main source for health-related information retrieval. In addition to information published by medical experts, individuals share their personal experiences and narratives on blogs and social media platforms. Our increasing need to confront and make meaning of various sources and conflicting health information has challenged the way critical reasoning has become relevant in science education. This study addresses how the opportunities for students to develop and practice their capabilities to critically approach online health information can be created in science education. Together with two upper secondary biology teachers, we carried out a design-based study. The participating students were given an online retrieval task that included a search and evaluation of health-related online sources. After a few lessons, the students were introduced to an evaluation tool designed to support critical evaluation of health information online. Using qualitative content analysis, four themes could be discerned in the audio and video recordings of student interactions when engaging with the task. Each theme illustrates the different ways in which critical reasoning became practiced in the student groups. Without using the evaluation tool, the students struggled to overview the vast amount of information and negotiate trustworthiness. Guided by the evaluation tool, critical reasoning was practiced to handle source subjectivity and to sift out scientific information only. Rather than a generic skill and transferable across contexts, students' critical reasoning became conditioned by the multi-dimensional nature of health issues, the blend of various contexts and the shift of purpose constituted by the students.

A Flexible Online Metadata Editing and Management System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aguilar, Raul [Arizona State University; Pan, Jerry Yun [ORNL; Gries, Corinna [Arizona State University; Inigo, Gil San [University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Palanisamy, Giri [ORNL

2010-01-01

A metadata editing and management system is being developed employing state of the art XML technologies. A modular and distributed design was chosen for scalability, flexibility, options for customizations, and the possibility to add more functionality at a later stage. The system consists of a desktop design tool or schema walker used to generate code for the actual online editor, a native XML database, and an online user access management application. The design tool is a Java Swing application that reads an XML schema, provides the designer with options to combine input fields into online forms and give the fields user friendly tags. Based on design decisions, the tool generates code for the online metadata editor. The code generated is an implementation of the XForms standard using the Orbeon Framework. The design tool fulfills two requirements: First, data entry forms based on one schema may be customized at design time and second data entry applications may be generated for any valid XML schema without relying on custom information in the schema. However, the customized information generated at design time is saved in a configuration file which may be re-used and changed again in the design tool. Future developments will add functionality to the design tool to integrate help text, tool tips, project specific keyword lists, and thesaurus services. Additional styling of the finished editor is accomplished via cascading style sheets which may be further customized and different look-and-feels may be accumulated through the community process. The customized editor produces XML files in compliance with the original schema, however, data from the current page is saved into a native XML database whenever the user moves to the next screen or pushes the save button independently of validity. Currently the system uses the open source XML database eXist for storage and management, which comes with third party online and desktop management tools. However, access to

Online social networking for radiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Auffermann, William F; Chetlen, Alison L; Colucci, Andrew T; DeQuesada, Ivan M; Grajo, Joseph R; Heller, Matthew T; Nowitzki, Kristina M; Sherry, Steven J; Tillack, Allison A

2015-01-01

Online social networking services have changed the way we interact as a society and offer many opportunities to improve the way we practice radiology and medicine in general. This article begins with an introduction to social networking. Next, the latest advances in online social networking are reviewed, and areas where radiologists and clinicians may benefit from these new tools are discussed. This article concludes with several steps that the interested reader can take to become more involved in online social networking. Copyright © 2015 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of Online Learning in an Australian University: Malaysian Students? Perspectives - Usability of the Online Learning Tools

OpenAIRE

Renee Chew Shiun Yee

2013-01-01

This study set out to investigate the kinds of learning difficulties encountered by the Malaysian students and how they actually coped with online learning. The modified Online Learning Environment Survey (OLES) instrument was used to collect data from the sample of 40 Malaysian students at a university in Brisbane, Australia. A controlled group of 35 Australian students was also included for comparison purposes. Contrary to assumptions from previous researches, the findings revealed that the...

Verification Tools Secure Online Shopping, Banking

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Just like rover or rocket technology sent into space, the software that controls these technologies must be extensively tested to ensure reliability and effectiveness. Ames Research Center invented the open-source Java Pathfinder (JPF) toolset for the deep testing of Java-based programs. Fujitsu Labs of America Inc., based in Sunnyvale, California, improved the capabilities of the JPF Symbolic Pathfinder tool, establishing the tool as a means of thoroughly testing the functionality and security of Web-based Java applications such as those used for Internet shopping and banking.

Online maritime health information: an overview of the situation.

Science.gov (United States)

Guitton, Matthieu J

2015-01-01

Due to their working conditions, seafarers often don't benefit from the same medical coverage than the onshore population. Therefore, seafarers and their relatives often need to locate health information by themselves. While the rise of the Internet has drastically transformed the way people can gather information, the availability of specific maritime health information online still need to be evaluated scientifically. We aim here to document of the characteristic of maritime health-related online information. A web survey was performed, articulated on two complementary analyses. First, an overall analysis of websites related to maritime health compared to websites related to two other health areas relevant for the general population (dental health and otorhinolaryngology) used as control. Second, an analysis of the understandability and actionability of a series of Wikipedia articles related to pathologies relevant for seafarers using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). Online resources associated with maritime health were sparse and difficult to locate. When compared to other medical fields, maritime health websites were extremely poor in displaying useful information for seafarers. Available online resources regarding specific diseases affecting seafarers were mainly not adapted for a general audience and scored poorly both in terms of understandability and of actionability. This study provides a general overview of the degree of adaption of online material related to maritime health to seafarers' potential needs. Considerably more efforts need to be made in order to provide controlled online materials to answer the health information needs of the seafarers and their relatives.

Abstract interfaces for data analysis - component architecture for data analysis tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrand, G.; Binko, P.; Doenszelmann, M.; Pfeiffer, A.; Johnson, A.

2001-01-01

The fast turnover of software technologies, in particular in the domain of interactivity (covering user interface and visualisation), makes it difficult for a small group of people to produce complete and polished software-tools before the underlying technologies make them obsolete. At the HepVis'99 workshop, a working group has been formed to improve the production of software tools for data analysis in HENP. Beside promoting a distributed development organisation, one goal of the group is to systematically design a set of abstract interfaces based on using modern OO analysis and OO design techniques. An initial domain analysis has come up with several categories (components) found in typical data analysis tools: Histograms, Ntuples, Functions, Vectors, Fitter, Plotter, analyzer and Controller. Special emphasis was put on reducing the couplings between the categories to a minimum, thus optimising re-use and maintainability of any component individually. The interfaces have been defined in Java and C++ and implementations exist in the form of libraries and tools using C++ (Anaphe/Lizard, OpenScientist) and Java (Java Analysis Studio). A special implementation aims at accessing the Java libraries (through their Abstract Interfaces) from C++. The authors give an overview of the architecture and design of the various components for data analysis as discussed in AIDA

SBAT. A stochastic BPMN analysis tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herbert, Luke Thomas; Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee; Jacobsen, Peter

2014-01-01

This paper presents SBAT, a tool framework for the modelling and analysis of complex business workflows. SBAT is applied to analyse an example from the Danish baked goods industry. Based upon the Business Process Modelling and Notation (BPMN) language for business process modelling, we describe...... a formalised variant of this language extended to support the addition of intention preserving stochastic branching and parameterised reward annotations. Building on previous work, we detail the design of SBAT, a software tool which allows for the analysis of BPMN models. Within SBAT, properties of interest...

The value of online learning and MRI: finding a niche for expensive technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, David A

2014-11-01

The benefits of online learning come at a price. How can we optimize the overall value? Critically appraise the value of online learning. Narrative review. Several prevalent myths overinflate the value of online learning. These include that online learning is cheap and easy (it is usually more expensive), that it is more efficient (efficiency depends on the instructional design, not the modality), that it will transform education (fundamental learning principles have not changed), and that the Net Generation expects it (there is no evidence of pent-up demand). However, online learning does add real value by enhancing flexibility, control and analytics. Costs may also go down if disruptive innovations (e.g. low-cost, low-tech, but instructionally sound "good enough" online learning) supplant technically superior but more expensive online learning products. Cost-lowering strategies include focusing on core principles of learning rather than technologies, using easy-to-learn authoring tools, repurposing content (organizing and sequencing existing resources rather than creating new content) and using course templates. Online learning represents just one tool in an educator's toolbox, as does the MRI for clinicians. We need to use the right tool(s) for the right learner at the right dose, time and route.

PROMOTION OF PRODUCTS AND ANALYSIS OF MARKET OF POWER TOOLS

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Sergey S. Rakhmanov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article describes the general situation of power tools on the market, both in Russia and in the world. A comparative analysis of competitors, market structure analysis of power tools, as well as assessment of competitiveness of some major product lines. Also the analysis methods of promotion used by companies selling tools, competitive analysis range Bosch, the leader in its segment, power tools available on the market in Russia.

Evaluation of an online interactive Diabetes Needs Assessment Tool (DNAT versus online self-directed learning: a randomised controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kellner Thomas

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Methods for the dissemination, understanding and implementation of clinical guidelines need to be examined for their effectiveness to help doctors integrate guidelines into practice. The objective of this randomised controlled trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive online Diabetes Needs Assessment Tool (DNAT (which constructs an e-learning curriculum based on individually identified knowledge gaps, compared with self-directed e-learning of diabetes guidelines. Methods Health professionals were randomised to a 4-month learning period and either given access to diabetes learning modules alone (control group or DNAT plus learning modules (intervention group. Participants completed knowledge tests before and after learning (primary outcome, and surveys to assess the acceptability of the learning and changes to clinical practice (secondary outcomes. Results Sixty four percent (677/1054 of participants completed both knowledge tests. The proportion of nurses (5.4% was too small for meaningful analysis so they were excluded. For the 650 doctors completing both tests, mean (SD knowledge scores increased from 47.4% (12.6 to 66.8% (11.5 [intervention group (n = 321, 64%] and 47.3% (12.9 to 67.8% (10.8 [control group (n = 329, 66%], (ANCOVA p = 0.186. Both groups were satisfied with the usability and usefulness of the learning materials. Seventy seven percent (218/284 of the intervention group reported combining the DNAT with the recommended reading materials was "very useful"/"useful". The majority in both groups (184/287, 64.1% intervention group and 206/299, 68.9% control group [95% CI for the difference (-2.8 to 12.4] reported integrating the learning into their clinical practice. Conclusions Both groups experienced a similar and significant improvement in knowledge. The learning materials were acceptable and participants incorporated the acquired knowledge into practice. Trial registration ISRCTN: ISRCTN67215088

Vehicle Technology Simulation and Analysis Tools | Transportation Research

Science.gov (United States)

Analysis Tools NREL developed the following modeling, simulation, and analysis tools to investigate novel design goals (e.g., fuel economy versus performance) to find cost-competitive solutions. ADOPT Vehicle Simulator to analyze the performance and fuel economy of conventional and advanced light- and

A systematic analysis of online marketing materials used by providers of expanded carrier screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Chokoshvili, Davit; Borry, Pascal; Vears, Danya F

2017-12-14

PurposeExpanded carrier screening (ECS) for a large number of recessive disorders is available to prospective parents through commercial providers. This study aimed to analyze the content of marketing materials on ECS providers' websites.MethodsTo identify providers of ECS tests, we undertook a comprehensive online search, reviewed recent academic literature on commercial carrier screening, and consulted with colleagues familiar with the current ECS landscape. The identified websites were archived in April 2017, and inductive content analysis was performed on website text, brochures and educational materials, and video transcripts.ResultsWe identified 18 ECS providers, including 16 commercial genetic testing companies. Providers typically described ECS as an important family planning tool. The content differed in both the tone used to promote ECS and the accuracy and completeness of the test information provided. We found that most providers offered complimentary genetic counseling to their consumers, although this was often optional, limited to the posttest context, and, in some cases, appeared to be available only to test-positive individuals.ConclusionThe quality of ECS providers' websites could be improved by offering more complete and accurate information about ECS and their tests. Providers should also ensure that all carrier couples receive posttest genetic counseling to inform their subsequent reproductive decision making.Genet Med advance online publication, 14 December 2017; doi:10.1038/gim.2017.222.

OpenTopography: Enabling Online Access to High-Resolution Lidar Topography Data and Processing Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Crosby, Christopher; Nandigam, Viswanath; Baru, Chaitan; Arrowsmith, J. Ramon

2013-04-01

High-resolution topography data acquired with lidar (light detection and ranging) technology are revolutionizing the way we study the Earth's surface and overlying vegetation. These data, collected from airborne, tripod, or mobile-mounted scanners have emerged as a fundamental tool for research on topics ranging from earthquake hazards to hillslope processes. Lidar data provide a digital representation of the earth's surface at a resolution sufficient to appropriately capture the processes that contribute to landscape evolution. The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded OpenTopography Facility (http://www.opentopography.org) is a web-based system designed to democratize access to earth science-oriented lidar topography data. OpenTopography provides free, online access to lidar data in a number of forms, including the raw point cloud and associated geospatial-processing tools for customized analysis. The point cloud data are co-located with on-demand processing tools to generate digital elevation models, and derived products and visualizations which allow users to quickly access data in a format appropriate for their scientific application. The OpenTopography system is built using a service-oriented architecture (SOA) that leverages cyberinfrastructure resources at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at the University of California San Diego to allow users, regardless of expertise level, to access these massive lidar datasets and derived products for use in research and teaching. OpenTopography hosts over 500 billion lidar returns covering 85,000 km2. These data are all in the public domain and are provided by a variety of partners under joint agreements and memoranda of understanding with OpenTopography. Partners include national facilities such as the NSF-funded National Center for Airborne Lidar Mapping (NCALM), as well as non-governmental organizations and local, state, and federal agencies. OpenTopography has become a hub for high-resolution topography

The 2013 general elections in Malaysia: An analysis of online news portals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azahar Kasim

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This research analyzed the coverage of online news portals during the election campaign in Malaysia's 13th General Election on 5th May 2013. There were two types of news portals chosen for this research: 1 the mainstream online news portals, namely The Star Online, Berita Harian Online, Bernama Online and Utusan Online; and 2 the alternative news portals consisting of political parties' publications: the Harakah Daily, Roketkini and Keadilan Daily; and the independent news portals of The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini. This study was conducted starting from the nomination day on the 20th April 2013 until the polling day on the 5th May 2013. Results obtained were based on the frequencies of articles covering the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN party and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR party. Each article was coded and labeled as positive, negative, or neutral coverage for each political party. The Content Analysis method was applied where the researchers chose and analyzed each election article and placed it in one of five categories; +BN (positive report, −BN (negative report, +PR (positive report, −PR (negative report and N (Neutral. The results showed that the four mainstream online news portals favored the BN with their coverage. However, the parties' online news portals clearly owned by PR alliance parties had completely opposite, bias toward their owners. The two independent news portals seemed to give more balanced coverage to both sides.

Theatrically Digital: Education and Online Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nastaran Khoshsabk

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The dramaturgical aspects of using social media are applied in this study from a sociological perspective (Goffman, 1959 to describe the process of gaining a sense of self through learning in online-environments. The exploration of data in this qualitative case study sheds light on the theatrical dimension of virtual self-presentation which can encourage individuals to become engaged in interacting online and, in the process of doing so, learn actively though using social media via its unique audio-visual digital content. Social media tools provide a space for information sharing to fill the gaps when students are unwilling to communicate in face-to-face classrooms because of a particular socio-cultural context. The codes and themes from six months’ Facebook analysis of adult social media users were analysed based on the self-representation of the digital self with relation to their language and cultural background and its influence on the formation of identity. The ‘actual self’, as described in interviews, was being manipulated by individuals for different reasons such as its influence on their social/cultural identity and the development of the self-image. Increasingly, educators in all educational domains are using online social media platforms to support engagement in teaching and learning. It is hoped that this research, by offering increased understanding of the importance of online-communities, will have implications for learning from online contexts, particularly in contexts with socio-cultural boundaries.

Online Experimentation in Education and Training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Teresa Restivo

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The increasing use of emergent technologies in industry, medicine, research, training and education attests to the relevance of their integration in teaching/learning approaches. Online experimentation comprises remote and virtual experimentation also supported and complemented by other online tools that incorporate necessarily the use of emergent technologies. The present work synthesizes the final outcomes of a project aiming to develop, use and disseminate Online Experimentation, funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Some application examples are given to illustrate the use of online experimentation on different contexts, such as secondary and higher education (STEM, lifelong learning or industrial training.