Sample records for answer comprehension questions

  1. A topic clustering approach to finding similar questions from large question and answer archives.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Wei-Nan; Liu, Ting; Yang, Yang; Cao, Liujuan; Zhang, Yu; Ji, Rongrong

    2014-01-01

    With the blooming of Web 2.0, Community Question Answering (CQA) services such as Yahoo! Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com), WikiAnswer (http://wiki.answers.com), and Baidu Zhidao (http://zhidao.baidu.com), etc., have emerged as alternatives for knowledge and information acquisition. Over time, a large number of question and answer (Q&A) pairs with high quality devoted by human intelligence have been accumulated as a comprehensive knowledge base. Unlike the search engines, which return long lists of results, searching in the CQA services can obtain the correct answers to the question queries by automatically finding similar questions that have already been answered by other users. Hence, it greatly improves the efficiency of the online information retrieval. However, given a question query, finding the similar and well-answered questions is a non-trivial task. The main challenge is the word mismatch between question query (query) and candidate question for retrieval (question). To investigate this problem, in this study, we capture the word semantic similarity between query and question by introducing the topic modeling approach. We then propose an unsupervised machine-learning approach to finding similar questions on CQA Q&A archives. The experimental results show that our proposed approach significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

  2. Descriptive Question Answering with Answer Type Independent Features

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoon, Yeo-Chan; Lee, Chang-Ki; Kim, Hyun-Ki; Jang, Myung-Gil; Ryu, Pum Mo; Park, So-Young

    In this paper, we present a supervised learning method to seek out answers to the most frequently asked descriptive questions: reason, method, and definition questions. Most of the previous systems for question answering focus on factoids, lists or definitional questions. However, descriptive questions such as reason questions and method questions are also frequently asked by users. We propose a system for these types of questions. The system conducts an answer search as follows. First, we analyze the user's question and extract search keywords and the expected answer type. Second, information retrieval results are obtained from an existing search engine such as Yahoo or Google. Finally, we rank the results to find snippets containing answers to the questions based on a ranking SVM algorithm. We also propose features to identify snippets containing answers for descriptive questions. The features are adaptable and thus are not dependent on answer type. Experimental results show that the proposed method and features are clearly effective for the task.

  3. Incremental generation of answers during the comprehension of questions with quantifiers.

    PubMed

    Bott, Oliver; Augurzky, Petra; Sternefeld, Wolfgang; Ulrich, Rolf

    2017-09-01

    The paper presents a study on the online interpretation of quantified questions involving complex domain restriction, for instance, are all triangles blue that are in the circle. Two probe reaction time (RT) task experiments were conducted to study the incremental nature of answer generation while manipulating visual contexts and response hand overlap between tasks. We manipulated the contexts in such a way that the incremental answer to the question changed from 'yes' to 'no' or remained the same before and after encountering the extraposed relative clause. The findings of both experiments provide evidence for incremental answer preparation but only if the context did not involve the risk of answer revision. Our results show that preliminary output from incremental semantic interpretation results in response priming that facilitates congruent responses in the probe RT task. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. A Flexible Question-and-Answer Task for Measuring Speech Understanding

    PubMed Central

    Streeter, Timothy; Roverud, Elin; Mason, Christine R.; Kidd, Gerald

    2016-01-01

    This report introduces a new speech task based on simple questions and answers. The task differs from a traditional sentence recall task in that it involves an element of comprehension and can be implemented in an ongoing fashion. It also contains two target items (the question and the answer) that may be associated with different voices and locations to create dynamic listening scenarios. A set of 227 questions was created, covering six broad categories (days of the week, months of the year, numbers, colors, opposites, and sizes). All questions and their one-word answers were spoken by 11 female and 11 male talkers. In this study, listeners were presented with question-answer pairs and asked to indicate whether the answer was true or false. Responses were given as simple button or key presses, which are quick to make and easy to score. Two preliminary experiments are presented that illustrate different ways of implementing the basic task. In the first experiment, question-answer pairs were presented in speech-shaped noise, and performance was compared across subjects, question categories, and time, to examine the different sources of variability. In the second experiment, sequences of question-answer pairs were presented amidst competing conversations in an ongoing, spatially dynamic listening scenario. Overall, the question-and-answer task appears to be feasible and could be implemented flexibly in a number of different ways. PMID:27888257

  5. A Flexible Question-and-Answer Task for Measuring Speech Understanding.

    PubMed

    Best, Virginia; Streeter, Timothy; Roverud, Elin; Mason, Christine R; Kidd, Gerald

    2016-11-24

    This report introduces a new speech task based on simple questions and answers. The task differs from a traditional sentence recall task in that it involves an element of comprehension and can be implemented in an ongoing fashion. It also contains two target items (the question and the answer) that may be associated with different voices and locations to create dynamic listening scenarios. A set of 227 questions was created, covering six broad categories (days of the week, months of the year, numbers, colors, opposites, and sizes). All questions and their one-word answers were spoken by 11 female and 11 male talkers. In this study, listeners were presented with question-answer pairs and asked to indicate whether the answer was true or false. Responses were given as simple button or key presses, which are quick to make and easy to score. Two preliminary experiments are presented that illustrate different ways of implementing the basic task. In the first experiment, question-answer pairs were presented in speech-shaped noise, and performance was compared across subjects, question categories, and time, to examine the different sources of variability. In the second experiment, sequences of question-answer pairs were presented amidst competing conversations in an ongoing, spatially dynamic listening scenario. Overall, the question-and-answer task appears to be feasible and could be implemented flexibly in a number of different ways. © The Author(s) 2016.

  6. A medical consultation service on Facebook: descriptive analysis of questions answered.

    PubMed

    Helve, Otto

    2014-09-04

    Social media is used increasingly by the general public to access health information. However, a lack of models for health information distribution limits the presence of publicly funded services on social media sites. The goal of the study was to present a model for delivering child health information to parents through a social media site. A Facebook site was launched for 11 months based on a question-and-answer service produced by a pediatrician and open to Facebook users over 18 years old. If the answer did not include a further referral to a health care service provider, the question was considered comprehensively answered. The site was funded by a pharmaceutical company, and it included an advertisement of a pharmaceutical product for children's fever and pain. During the study, 768 questions were submitted: an average of 69.8 (SD 31.7) per month. There were 245,533 independent Facebook users on the site, with an average of 727.0 (SD 2280.6) per day. Infections were the most common theme in questions (355/768, 46.2%). Questions were more likely to be comprehensively answered if they were related to infections (279/355, 78.6%) than questions related to non-infectious symptoms (265/423, 64.2%, P=.003). On this site aimed at parents of small children, personalized answers were an effective way of delivering information. The service is likely to have reduced the need for further contacts with a health care service provider in more than half of the cases. The site could serve as a model for publicly funded health information distribution.

  7. A Medical Consultation Service on Facebook: Descriptive Analysis of Questions Answered

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Social media is used increasingly by the general public to access health information. However, a lack of models for health information distribution limits the presence of publicly funded services on social media sites. Objective The goal of the study was to present a model for delivering child health information to parents through a social media site. Methods A Facebook site was launched for 11 months based on a question-and-answer service produced by a pediatrician and open to Facebook users over 18 years old. If the answer did not include a further referral to a health care service provider, the question was considered comprehensively answered. The site was funded by a pharmaceutical company, and it included an advertisement of a pharmaceutical product for children’s fever and pain. Results During the study, 768 questions were submitted: an average of 69.8 (SD 31.7) per month. There were 245,533 independent Facebook users on the site, with an average of 727.0 (SD 2280.6) per day. Infections were the most common theme in questions (355/768, 46.2%). Questions were more likely to be comprehensively answered if they were related to infections (279/355, 78.6%) than questions related to non-infectious symptoms (265/423, 64.2%, P=.003). Conclusions On this site aimed at parents of small children, personalized answers were an effective way of delivering information. The service is likely to have reduced the need for further contacts with a health care service provider in more than half of the cases. The site could serve as a model for publicly funded health information distribution. PMID:25189182

  8. Generic Drugs: Questions and Answers

    MedlinePlus

    ... Vaccines, Blood & Biologics Animal & Veterinary Cosmetics Tobacco Products Drugs Home Drugs Resources for You Information for Consumers (Drugs) Questions & Answers Generic Drugs: Questions & Answers Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More ...

  9. Question Popularity Analysis and Prediction in Community Question Answering Services

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Ting; Zhang, Wei-Nan; Cao, Liujuan; Zhang, Yu

    2014-01-01

    With the blooming of online social media applications, Community Question Answering (CQA) services have become one of the most important online resources for information and knowledge seekers. A large number of high quality question and answer pairs have been accumulated, which allow users to not only share their knowledge with others, but also interact with each other. Accordingly, volumes of efforts have been taken to explore the questions and answers retrieval in CQA services so as to help users to finding the similar questions or the right answers. However, to our knowledge, less attention has been paid so far to question popularity in CQA. Question popularity can reflect the attention and interest of users. Hence, predicting question popularity can better capture the users’ interest so as to improve the users’ experience. Meanwhile, it can also promote the development of the community. In this paper, we investigate the problem of predicting question popularity in CQA. We first explore the factors that have impact on question popularity by employing statistical analysis. We then propose a supervised machine learning approach to model these factors for question popularity prediction. The experimental results show that our proposed approach can effectively distinguish the popular questions from unpopular ones in the Yahoo! Answers question and answer repository. PMID:24837851

  10. Question popularity analysis and prediction in community question answering services.

    PubMed

    Liu, Ting; Zhang, Wei-Nan; Cao, Liujuan; Zhang, Yu

    2014-01-01

    With the blooming of online social media applications, Community Question Answering (CQA) services have become one of the most important online resources for information and knowledge seekers. A large number of high quality question and answer pairs have been accumulated, which allow users to not only share their knowledge with others, but also interact with each other. Accordingly, volumes of efforts have been taken to explore the questions and answers retrieval in CQA services so as to help users to finding the similar questions or the right answers. However, to our knowledge, less attention has been paid so far to question popularity in CQA. Question popularity can reflect the attention and interest of users. Hence, predicting question popularity can better capture the users' interest so as to improve the users' experience. Meanwhile, it can also promote the development of the community. In this paper, we investigate the problem of predicting question popularity in CQA. We first explore the factors that have impact on question popularity by employing statistical analysis. We then propose a supervised machine learning approach to model these factors for question popularity prediction. The experimental results show that our proposed approach can effectively distinguish the popular questions from unpopular ones in the Yahoo! Answers question and answer repository.

  11. Does Anyone Know the Answer to that Question? Individual Differences in Judging Answerability

    PubMed Central

    Karlsson, Bodil S. A.; Allwood, Carl Martin; Buratti, Sandra

    2016-01-01

    Occasionally people may attempt to judge whether a question can be answered today, or if not, if it can be answered in the future. For example, a person may consider whether enough is known about the dangers of living close to a nuclear plant, or to a major electricity cable, for them to be willing to do so, and state-authorities may consider whether questions about the dangers of new technologies have been answered, or in a reasonable future can be, for them to be willing to invest money in research aiming develop such technologies. A total of 476 participants, for each of 22 knowledge questions, either judged whether it was answerable today (current answerability), or judged when it could be answered (future answerability). The knowledge questions varied with respect to the expected consensus concerning their answerability: consensus questions (high expected consensus), non-consensus questions (lower expected consensus), and illusion questions (formulated to appear answerable, but with crucial information absent). The questions’ judged answerability level on the two scales was highly correlated. For both scales, consensus questions were rated more answerable than the non-consensus questions, with illusion questions falling in-between. The result for the illusion questions indicates that a feeling of answerability can be created even when it is unlikely that somebody can come up with an answer. The results also showed that individual difference variables influenced the answerability judgments. Higher levels of belief in certainty of knowledge, mankind’s knowledge, and mankind’s efficacy were related to judging the non-consensus questions as more answerable. Participants rating the illusion questions as answerable rated the other answerability questions as more, or equally, answerable compared to the other participants and showed tendencies to prefer a combination of more epistemic default processing and less intellectual processing. PMID:26793164

  12. Beyond Information Retrieval—Medical Question Answering

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Minsuk; Cimino, James; Zhu, Hai Ran; Sable, Carl; Shanker, Vijay; Ely, John; Yu, Hong

    2006-01-01

    Physicians have many questions when caring for patients, and frequently need to seek answers for their questions. Information retrieval systems (e.g., PubMed) typically return a list of documents in response to a user’s query. Frequently the number of returned documents is large and makes physicians’ information seeking “practical only ‘after hours’ and not in the clinical settings”. Question answering techniques are based on automatically analyzing thousands of electronic documents to generate short-text answers in response to clinical questions that are posed by physicians. The authors address physicians’ information needs and described the design, implementation, and evaluation of the medical question answering system (MedQA). Although our long term goal is to enable MedQA to answer all types of medical questions, currently, we currently implement MedQA to integrate information retrieval, extraction, and summarization techniques to automatically generate paragraph-level text for definitional questions (i.e., “What is X?”). MedQA can be accessed at http://www.dbmi.columbia.edu/~yuh9001/research/MedQA.html. PMID:17238385

  13. Investigations of Human Question Answering

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-02-01

    information sources and search through the structures systematically. The formal,,ms and insights from these fields obviously must be tested in psychological ...experiments before we can incorporate them into psychological models of human question answering. One objective of this ONR contract was to test some... psychological model of human question answering. Tests of the QUEST Model QUEST was tested in four different informational contexts. These contexts

  14. Instance-Based Question Answering

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-12-01

    answer clustering, composition, and scoring. Moreover, with the effort dedicated to improving monolingual system performance, system parameters are...text collections: document type, manual or automatic annotations (if any), and stylistic and notational differences in technical terms. Monolingual ...forum in which cross language retrieval systems and question answering systems are tested for various Eu- ropean languages. The CLEF QA monolingual task

  15. Deep Question Answering for protein annotation

    PubMed Central

    Gobeill, Julien; Gaudinat, Arnaud; Pasche, Emilie; Vishnyakova, Dina; Gaudet, Pascale; Bairoch, Amos; Ruch, Patrick

    2015-01-01

    Biomedical professionals have access to a huge amount of literature, but when they use a search engine, they often have to deal with too many documents to efficiently find the appropriate information in a reasonable time. In this perspective, question-answering (QA) engines are designed to display answers, which were automatically extracted from the retrieved documents. Standard QA engines in literature process a user question, then retrieve relevant documents and finally extract some possible answers out of these documents using various named-entity recognition processes. In our study, we try to answer complex genomics questions, which can be adequately answered only using Gene Ontology (GO) concepts. Such complex answers cannot be found using state-of-the-art dictionary- and redundancy-based QA engines. We compare the effectiveness of two dictionary-based classifiers for extracting correct GO answers from a large set of 100 retrieved abstracts per question. In the same way, we also investigate the power of GOCat, a GO supervised classifier. GOCat exploits the GOA database to propose GO concepts that were annotated by curators for similar abstracts. This approach is called deep QA, as it adds an original classification step, and exploits curated biological data to infer answers, which are not explicitly mentioned in the retrieved documents. We show that for complex answers such as protein functional descriptions, the redundancy phenomenon has a limited effect. Similarly usual dictionary-based approaches are relatively ineffective. In contrast, we demonstrate how existing curated data, beyond information extraction, can be exploited by a supervised classifier, such as GOCat, to massively improve both the quantity and the quality of the answers with a +100% improvement for both recall and precision. Database URL: http://eagl.unige.ch/DeepQA4PA/ PMID:26384372

  16. Deep Question Answering for protein annotation.

    PubMed

    Gobeill, Julien; Gaudinat, Arnaud; Pasche, Emilie; Vishnyakova, Dina; Gaudet, Pascale; Bairoch, Amos; Ruch, Patrick

    2015-01-01

    Biomedical professionals have access to a huge amount of literature, but when they use a search engine, they often have to deal with too many documents to efficiently find the appropriate information in a reasonable time. In this perspective, question-answering (QA) engines are designed to display answers, which were automatically extracted from the retrieved documents. Standard QA engines in literature process a user question, then retrieve relevant documents and finally extract some possible answers out of these documents using various named-entity recognition processes. In our study, we try to answer complex genomics questions, which can be adequately answered only using Gene Ontology (GO) concepts. Such complex answers cannot be found using state-of-the-art dictionary- and redundancy-based QA engines. We compare the effectiveness of two dictionary-based classifiers for extracting correct GO answers from a large set of 100 retrieved abstracts per question. In the same way, we also investigate the power of GOCat, a GO supervised classifier. GOCat exploits the GOA database to propose GO concepts that were annotated by curators for similar abstracts. This approach is called deep QA, as it adds an original classification step, and exploits curated biological data to infer answers, which are not explicitly mentioned in the retrieved documents. We show that for complex answers such as protein functional descriptions, the redundancy phenomenon has a limited effect. Similarly usual dictionary-based approaches are relatively ineffective. In contrast, we demonstrate how existing curated data, beyond information extraction, can be exploited by a supervised classifier, such as GOCat, to massively improve both the quantity and the quality of the answers with a +100% improvement for both recall and precision. Database URL: http://eagl.unige.ch/DeepQA4PA/. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

  17. Domain and Intelligence Based Multimedia Question Answering System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kumar, K. Magesh; Valarmathie, P.

    2016-01-01

    Multimedia question answering systems have become very popular over the past few years. It allows users to share their thoughts by answering a given question or obtain information from a set of answered questions. However, existing QA systems support only textual answer which is not so instructive for many users. The user's discussion can be…

  18. Comparing comprehension measured by multiple-choice and open-ended questions.

    PubMed

    Ozuru, Yasuhiro; Briner, Stephen; Kurby, Christopher A; McNamara, Danielle S

    2013-09-01

    This study compared the nature of text comprehension as measured by multiple-choice format and open-ended format questions. Participants read a short text while explaining preselected sentences. After reading the text, participants answered open-ended and multiple-choice versions of the same questions based on their memory of the text content. The results indicated that performance on open-ended questions was correlated with the quality of self-explanations, but performance on multiple-choice questions was correlated with the level of prior knowledge related to the text. These results suggest that open-ended and multiple-choice format questions measure different aspects of comprehension processes. The results are discussed in terms of dual process theories of text comprehension. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

  19. Questions and Answers about Sex (For Parents)

    MedlinePlus

    ... Educators Search English Español Questions and Answers About Sex KidsHealth / For Parents / Questions and Answers About Sex ... extent can parents depend on schools to teach sex education? Parents should begin the sex education process ...

  20. Questions and Answers About Nuclear Power Plants.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

    This pamphlet is designed to answer many of the questions that have arisen about nuclear power plants and the environment. It is organized into a question and answer format, with the questions taken from those most often asked by the public. Topics include regulation of nuclear power sources, potential dangers to people's health, whether nuclear…

  1. On the comprehensibility and perceived privacy protection of indirect questioning techniques.

    PubMed

    Hoffmann, Adrian; Waubert de Puiseau, Berenike; Schmidt, Alexander F; Musch, Jochen

    2017-08-01

    On surveys that assess sensitive personal attributes, indirect questioning aims at increasing respondents' willingness to answer truthfully by protecting confidentiality. However, the assumption that subjects understand questioning procedures fully and trust them to protect their privacy is rarely tested. In a scenario-based design, we compared four indirect questioning procedures in terms of their comprehensibility and perceived privacy protection. All indirect questioning techniques were found to be less comprehensible by respondents than a conventional direct question used for comparison. Less-educated respondents experienced more difficulties when confronted with any indirect questioning technique. Regardless of education, the crosswise model was found to be the most comprehensible among the four indirect methods. Indirect questioning in general was perceived to increase privacy protection in comparison to a direct question. Unexpectedly, comprehension and perceived privacy protection did not correlate. We recommend assessing these factors separately in future evaluations of indirect questioning.

  2. Trustworthiness and relevance in web-based clinical question answering.

    PubMed

    Cruchet, Sarah; Boyer, Célia; van der Plas, Lonneke

    2012-01-01

    Question answering systems try to give precise answers to a user's question posed in natural language. It is of utmost importance that the answers returned are relevant to the user's question. For clinical QA, the trustworthiness of answers is another important issue. Limiting the document collection to certified websites helps to improve the trustworthiness of answers. On the other hand, limited document collections are known to harm the relevancy of answers. We show, however, in a comparative evaluation, that promoting trustworthiness has no negative effect on the relevance of the retrieved answers in our clinical QA system. On the contrary, the answers found are in general more relevant.

  3. The Yes-No Question Answering System and Statement Verification.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akiyama, M. Michael; And Others

    1979-01-01

    Two experiments investigated the relationship of verification to the answering of yes-no questions. Subjects verified simple statements or answered simple questions. Various proposals concerning the relative difficulty of answering questions and verifying statements were considered, and a model was proposed. (SW)

  4. Answering Your Questions about AIDS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kalichman, Seth C.

    This book focuses on AIDS education and answers 350 commonly asked questions about Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) taken from questions addressed to two major urban AIDS hotlines (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Houston, Texas). Chapter 1, "HIV - The Virus That Causes AIDS," discusses: the HIV…

  5. Prevalence of answers to orthopaedic in-training examination questions in 3 commonly used orthopedic review sources.

    PubMed

    Krueger, Chad A; Shakir, Irshad; Fuller, Brian C

    2012-09-01

    One of the greatest predictors for resident success on the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE) is reviewing previous OITE questions. However, no studies have examined which review sources contain the most answers to previously asked OITE questions. The goal of this study was to determine which review source contains the most answers to previously asked OITE questions. Each question from the 2006 to 2010 OITEs was examined. The questions were placed into 1 of 13 categories based on their topic. The publication date of the recommended readings associated with each question was recorded. The answer to each question was then searched for in 3 commonly used review sources: Miller's Review of Orthopaedics, 5th edition (MRO), American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Comprehensive Orthopaedic Review (COR), and www.orthobullets.com (OB). Searchable electronic versions of each textbook were used, and each question had a 12-minute time limit. Of 1358 questions, 665 (49%) were found in all 3 sources. Significantly more answers were found on OB (99.4%) compared with MRO (60%) and COR (62%) (P<.0001). Significantly more answers to questions in each question category were found on OB compared with MRO or COR (P<.0001). More than 50% of all recommended readings for OITE questions were published within 5 years of the OITE. Residents using OB to review for the OITE will be exposed to significantly more answers of previously asked OITE questions than residents using MRO or COR (P<.0001). Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

  6. Postsecondary Education Issues: Visible Questions. Invisible Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, CO. National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.

    With some justification, the inability to answer most of the important questions in higher education is due to the lack of necessary information. But careful examination of our many faceted questions suggests that more information may not be the only answer. The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) has found other…

  7. A Noisy-Channel Approach to Question Answering

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-01-01

    question “When did Elvis Presley die?” To do this, we build a noisy channel model that makes explicit how answer sentence parse trees are mapped into...in Figure 1, the algorithm above generates the following training example: Q: When did Elvis Presley die ? SA: Presley died PP PP in A_DATE, and...engine as a potential candidate for finding the answer to the question “When did Elvis Presley die?” In this case, we don’t know what the answer is

  8. Revealing Learner Interests through Topic Mining from Question-Answering Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dun, Yijie; Wang, Na; Wang, Min; Hao, Tianyong

    2017-01-01

    In a question-answering system, learner generated content including asked and answered questions is a meaningful resource to capture learning interests. This paper proposes an approach based on question topic mining for revealing learners' concerned topics in real community question-answering systems. The authors' approach firstly preprocesses all…

  9. Answering Questions and Questioning Answers. Part II. University of Central Florida Conference Papers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, C. C.; And Others

    1982-01-01

    Brief analyses are provided of presentations made at a conference, held at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, which addressed questions and answers relating to research and education. Conference sessions explored the role of research in relation to educational practices with special focus on theory, research, issues and application.…

  10. The artful dodger: answering the wrong question the right way.

    PubMed

    Rogers, Todd; Norton, Michael I

    2011-06-01

    What happens when speakers try to "dodge" a question they would rather not answer by answering a different question? In 4 studies, we show that listeners can fail to detect dodges when speakers answer similar-but objectively incorrect-questions (the "artful dodge"), a detection failure that goes hand-in-hand with a failure to rate dodgers more negatively. We propose that dodges go undetected because listeners' attention is not usually directed toward a goal of dodge detection (i.e., Is this person answering the question?) but rather toward a goal of social evaluation (i.e., Do I like this person?). Listeners were not blind to all dodge attempts, however. Dodge detection increased when listeners' attention was diverted from social goals toward determining the relevance of the speaker's answers (Study 1), when speakers answered a question egregiously dissimilar to the one asked (Study 2), and when listeners' attention was directed to the question asked by keeping it visible during speakers' answers (Study 4). We also examined the interpersonal consequences of dodge attempts: When listeners were guided to detect dodges, they rated speakers more negatively (Study 2), and listeners rated speakers who answered a similar question in a fluent manner more positively than speakers who answered the actual question but disfluently (Study 3). These results add to the literatures on both Gricean conversational norms and goal-directed attention. We discuss the practical implications of our findings in the contexts of interpersonal communication and public debates.

  11. 99 Facts about the FBI: Questions and Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico, VA.

    This booklet on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attempts to provide an overview of the FBI's functions. Presented in a question and answer format, the 99 questions and answers discuss the federal government agency's history, administrative matters, jurisdiction, criminal investigations, security matters, foreign counter-intelligence, and…

  12. So, What Is the Answer? Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Don

    2005-01-01

    Leaders are barraged daily by teachers, administrators, and students seeking answers to questions ranging from the simplistic to the metaphysical in their complexity. The author is sure leaders wonder at times, "How in the world can I free up enough time to answer them all?" Well, the author states that he hates to break the news, but it is…

  13. Toward automated consumer question answering: automatically separating consumer questions from professional questions in the healthcare domain.

    PubMed

    Liu, Feifan; Antieau, Lamont D; Yu, Hong

    2011-12-01

    Both healthcare professionals and healthcare consumers have information needs that can be met through the use of computers, specifically via medical question answering systems. However, the information needs of both groups are different in terms of literacy levels and technical expertise, and an effective question answering system must be able to account for these differences if it is to formulate the most relevant responses for users from each group. In this paper, we propose that a first step toward answering the queries of different users is automatically classifying questions according to whether they were asked by healthcare professionals or consumers. We obtained two sets of consumer questions (~10,000 questions in total) from Yahoo answers. The professional questions consist of two question collections: 4654 point-of-care questions (denoted as PointCare) obtained from interviews of a group of family doctors following patient visits and 5378 questions from physician practices through professional online services (denoted as OnlinePractice). With more than 20,000 questions combined, we developed supervised machine-learning models for automatic classification between consumer questions and professional questions. To evaluate the robustness of our models, we tested the model that was trained on the Consumer-PointCare dataset on the Consumer-OnlinePractice dataset. We evaluated both linguistic features and statistical features and examined how the characteristics in two different types of professional questions (PointCare vs. OnlinePractice) may affect the classification performance. We explored information gain for feature reduction and the back-off linguistic category features. The 10-fold cross-validation results showed the best F1-measure of 0.936 and 0.946 on Consumer-PointCare and Consumer-OnlinePractice respectively, and the best F1-measure of 0.891 when testing the Consumer-PointCare model on the Consumer-OnlinePractice dataset. Healthcare consumer

  14. Questions and Answers for Architectural Coatings Rule

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The EPA compiled this question and answer document from inquiries received after the publication of the 1999 final architectural coatings rule and from questions raised at meetings with industry associations.

  15. The Artful Dodger: Answering the Wrong Question the Right Way

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rogers, Todd; Norton, Michael I.

    2011-01-01

    What happens when speakers try to "dodge" a question they would rather not answer by answering a different question? In 4 studies, we show that listeners can fail to detect dodges when speakers answer similar--but objectively incorrect--questions (the "artful dodge"), a detection failure that goes hand-in-hand with a failure to rate dodgers more…

  16. Use of Credibility Heuristics in a Social Question-Answering Service

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matthews, Paul

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: This study looked at the effect of community peripheral cues (specifically voting score and answerer's reputation) on the user's credibility rating of answers. Method: Students in technology and philosophy were asked to assess the credibility of answers to questions posted on a social question-answering platform. Through the use of a…

  17. A Comparison of Study Strategies for Passages: Rereading, Answering Questions, and Generating Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weinstein, Yana; McDermott, Kathleen B.; Roediger, Henry L., III

    2010-01-01

    Students are often encouraged to generate and answer their own questions on to-be-remembered material, because this interactive process is thought to enhance memory. But does this strategy actually work? In three experiments, all participants read the same passage, answered questions, and took a test to get accustomed to the materials in a…

  18. The Basic Epistemological Questions--Are There Also Valid Answers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oderman, Dale B.

    Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that seeks answers to two main questions: How do we know? and How do we know we know? This paper is concerned with how four major schools of thought have addressed these questions and the implications that their answers to these questions have for education. The paper begins by discussing how four major…

  19. Questions & Answers about Aeronautics and Space.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC.

    Answers to 27 questions about aeronautics, space, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are provided in this pamphlet. Among the topics dealt with in these questions are: costs of the space program; NASA's role in aeronautics; benefits received from the space program; why the United States hasn't developed means of rescuing…

  20. Cross-domain question classification in community question answering via kernel mapping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Su, Lei; Hu, Zuoliang; Yang, Bin; Li, Yiyang; Chen, Jun

    2015-10-01

    An increasingly popular method for retrieving information is via the community question answering (CQA) systems such as Yahoo! Answers and Baidu Knows. In CQA, question classification plays an important role to find the answers. However, the labeled training examples for statistical question classifier are fairly expensive to obtain, as they require the experienced human efforts. Meanwhile, unlabeled data are readily available. This paper employs the method of domain adaptation via kernel mapping to solve this problem. In detail, the kernel approach is utilized to map the target-domain data and the source-domain data into a common space, where the question classifiers are trained under the closer conditional probabilities. The kernel mapping function is constructed by domain knowledge. Therefore, domain knowledge could be transferred from the labeled examples in the source domain to the unlabeled ones in the targeted domain. The statistical training model can be improved by using a large number of unlabeled data. Meanwhile, the Hadoop Platform is used to construct the mapping mechanism to reduce the time complexity. Map/Reduce enable kernel mapping for domain adaptation in parallel in the Hadoop Platform. Experimental results show that the accuracy of question classification could be improved by the method of kernel mapping. Furthermore, the parallel method in the Hadoop Platform could effective schedule the computing resources to reduce the running time.

  1. Common Timberland Tax Questions and Answers

    Treesearch

    William C. Siegel

    1999-01-01

    I recieve numerous letters and telephone calls from non-industrial forest landowners throughout the country who have timber tax questions. Many of the questions I've been asked during the last year should also be of interest to the readers of National Woodlands. I've therefore selected some of them and my answers, for this issue's "Timber and...

  2. Answering Wh- Questions About Sentences and Text.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singer, Murray

    1986-01-01

    Describes a study designed to identify the mental operations that contribute to people's ability to answer wh- questions, that is, questions which request information that plays a particular role in relation to some action or event. Wh- questions are signaled by interrogative pronouns and adverbs like who, what, when, and where. (SED)

  3. Questions & Answers about...Marfan Syndrome.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Inst. of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH), Bethesda, MD.

    This fact sheet answers general questions about Marfan syndrome, a heritable condition that affects the connective tissue. It describes the characteristics of the disorder, the diagnostic process, and ways to manage symptoms. Characteristics include: (1) people with Marfan syndrome are typically very tall, slender, and loose jointed; (2) more than…

  4. Answers to Health Questions in Physical Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaplan, Robert, Ed.

    Culled from the answers of physical education teachers and coaches, this booklet attempts to indicate the scope of health problems and suggests some directions which the solutions may take. It is divided into three parts. Part 1, Health and Safety in Activity Programs, answers questions on first aid, excused absences, and desirability of…

  5. Biomedical question answering using semantic relations.

    PubMed

    Hristovski, Dimitar; Dinevski, Dejan; Kastrin, Andrej; Rindflesch, Thomas C

    2015-01-16

    The proliferation of the scientific literature in the field of biomedicine makes it difficult to keep abreast of current knowledge, even for domain experts. While general Web search engines and specialized information retrieval (IR) systems have made important strides in recent decades, the problem of accurate knowledge extraction from the biomedical literature is far from solved. Classical IR systems usually return a list of documents that have to be read by the user to extract relevant information. This tedious and time-consuming work can be lessened with automatic Question Answering (QA) systems, which aim to provide users with direct and precise answers to their questions. In this work we propose a novel methodology for QA based on semantic relations extracted from the biomedical literature. We extracted semantic relations with the SemRep natural language processing system from 122,421,765 sentences, which came from 21,014,382 MEDLINE citations (i.e., the complete MEDLINE distribution up to the end of 2012). A total of 58,879,300 semantic relation instances were extracted and organized in a relational database. The QA process is implemented as a search in this database, which is accessed through a Web-based application, called SemBT (available at http://sembt.mf.uni-lj.si ). We conducted an extensive evaluation of the proposed methodology in order to estimate the accuracy of extracting a particular semantic relation from a particular sentence. Evaluation was performed by 80 domain experts. In total 7,510 semantic relation instances belonging to 2,675 distinct relations were evaluated 12,083 times. The instances were evaluated as correct 8,228 times (68%). In this work we propose an innovative methodology for biomedical QA. The system is implemented as a Web-based application that is able to provide precise answers to a wide range of questions. A typical question is answered within a few seconds. The tool has some extensions that make it especially useful for

  6. Computational Natural Language Inference: Robust and Interpretable Question Answering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharp, Rebecca Reynolds

    2017-01-01

    We address the challenging task of "computational natural language inference," by which we mean bridging two or more natural language texts while also providing an explanation of how they are connected. In the context of question answering (i.e., finding short answers to natural language questions), this inference connects the question…

  7. Berkeley Lab Answers Your Home Energy Efficiency Questions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Walker, Iain

    2013-02-14

    In this follow-up "Ask Berkeley Lab" video, energy efficiency expert Iain Walker answers some of your questions about home energy efficiency. How do you monitor which appliances use the most energy? Should you replace your old windows? Are photovoltaic systems worth the cost? What to do about a leaky house? And what's the single biggest energy user in your home? Watch the video to get the answers to these and more questions.

  8. Berkeley Lab Answers Your Home Energy Efficiency Questions

    ScienceCinema

    Walker, Iain

    2018-01-16

    In this follow-up "Ask Berkeley Lab" video, energy efficiency expert Iain Walker answers some of your questions about home energy efficiency. How do you monitor which appliances use the most energy? Should you replace your old windows? Are photovoltaic systems worth the cost? What to do about a leaky house? And what's the single biggest energy user in your home? Watch the video to get the answers to these and more questions.

  9. Conscience in Childhood: Old Questions, New Answers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aksan, Nazan; Kochanska, Grazyna

    2005-01-01

    Although conscience has been the focus of reflection for centuries, fundamental questions regarding its organization have not been fully answered. To address those questions, the authors applied structural equation modeling techniques to longitudinal data comprising multiple behavioral measures of children's conscience, obtained in parallel…

  10. Keys to Success: School Facilities Primer, Questions & Answers 101.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brady, Jim

    This publication provides answers to basic questions to help school board members more fully address the complexities of the planning, design, and construction process in order to maximize the goal of student success. The 101 questions and answers are in the areas of: facility planning; learning environment; information technology; safe schools;…

  11. The Effect of the States of Prior Knowledge on Question Answering.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holmes, Betty C.

    A study was conducted to gain insight into the question answering abilities of good and poor readers by comparing how well they answered questions when their prior knowledge was at two different levels (high, low) and in four different states. These states of prior knowledge consisted of the ways in which answers to the questions were stored in…

  12. Two layers LSTM with attention for multi-choice question answering in exams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yongbin

    2018-03-01

    Question Answering in Exams is typical question answering task that aims to test how accurately the model could answer the questions in exams. In this paper, we use general deep learning model to solve the multi-choice question answering task. Our approach is to build distributed word embedding of question and answers instead of manually extracting features or linguistic tools, meanwhile, for improving the accuracy, the external corpus is introduced. The framework uses a two layers LSTM with attention which get a significant result. By contrast, we introduce the simple long short-term memory (QA-LSTM) model and QA-LSTM-CNN model and QA-LSTM with attention model as the reference. Experiment demonstrate superior performance of two layers LSTM with attention compared to other models in question answering task.

  13. Answers to Health Questions: Internet Search Results Versus Online Health Community Responses

    PubMed Central

    Vermeesch, Amber; Given, Barbara; Huh, Jina

    2016-01-01

    Background About 6 million people search for health information on the Internet each day in the United States. Both patients and caregivers search for information about prescribed courses of treatments, unanswered questions after a visit to their providers, or diet and exercise regimens. Past literature has indicated potential challenges around quality in health information available on the Internet. However, diverse information exists on the Internet—ranging from government-initiated webpages to personal blog pages. Yet we do not fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of different types of information available on the Internet. Objective The objective of this research was to investigate the strengths and challenges of various types of health information available online and to suggest what information sources best fit various question types. Methods We collected questions posted to and the responses they received from an online diabetes community and classified them according to Rothwell’s classification of question types (fact, policy, or value questions). We selected 60 questions (20 each of fact, policy, and value) and the replies the questions received from the community. We then searched for responses to the same questions using a search engine and recorded the Results Community responses answered more questions than did search results overall. Search results were most effective in answering value questions and least effective in answering policy questions. Community responses answered questions across question types at an equivalent rate, but most answered policy questions and the least answered fact questions. Value questions were most answered by community responses, but some of these answers provided by the community were incorrect. Fact question search results were the most clinically valid. Conclusions The Internet is a prevalent source of health information for people. The information quality people encounter online can have a large impact

  14. Answers to Health Questions: Internet Search Results Versus Online Health Community Responses.

    PubMed

    Kanthawala, Shaheen; Vermeesch, Amber; Given, Barbara; Huh, Jina

    2016-04-28

    About 6 million people search for health information on the Internet each day in the United States. Both patients and caregivers search for information about prescribed courses of treatments, unanswered questions after a visit to their providers, or diet and exercise regimens. Past literature has indicated potential challenges around quality in health information available on the Internet. However, diverse information exists on the Internet-ranging from government-initiated webpages to personal blog pages. Yet we do not fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of different types of information available on the Internet. The objective of this research was to investigate the strengths and challenges of various types of health information available online and to suggest what information sources best fit various question types. We collected questions posted to and the responses they received from an online diabetes community and classified them according to Rothwell's classification of question types (fact, policy, or value questions). We selected 60 questions (20 each of fact, policy, and value) and the replies the questions received from the community. We then searched for responses to the same questions using a search engine and recorded the Community responses answered more questions than did search results overall. Search results were most effective in answering value questions and least effective in answering policy questions. Community responses answered questions across question types at an equivalent rate, but most answered policy questions and the least answered fact questions. Value questions were most answered by community responses, but some of these answers provided by the community were incorrect. Fact question search results were the most clinically valid. The Internet is a prevalent source of health information for people. The information quality people encounter online can have a large impact on them. We present what kinds of questions people ask

  15. Explorative search of distributed bio-data to answer complex biomedical questions

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background The huge amount of biomedical-molecular data increasingly produced is providing scientists with potentially valuable information. Yet, such data quantity makes difficult to find and extract those data that are most reliable and most related to the biomedical questions to be answered, which are increasingly complex and often involve many different biomedical-molecular aspects. Such questions can be addressed only by comprehensively searching and exploring different types of data, which frequently are ordered and provided by different data sources. Search Computing has been proposed for the management and integration of ranked results from heterogeneous search services. Here, we present its novel application to the explorative search of distributed biomedical-molecular data and the integration of the search results to answer complex biomedical questions. Results A set of available bioinformatics search services has been modelled and registered in the Search Computing framework, and a Bioinformatics Search Computing application (Bio-SeCo) using such services has been created and made publicly available at http://www.bioinformatics.deib.polimi.it/bio-seco/seco/. It offers an integrated environment which eases search, exploration and ranking-aware combination of heterogeneous data provided by the available registered services, and supplies global results that can support answering complex multi-topic biomedical questions. Conclusions By using Bio-SeCo, scientists can explore the very large and very heterogeneous biomedical-molecular data available. They can easily make different explorative search attempts, inspect obtained results, select the most appropriate, expand or refine them and move forward and backward in the construction of a global complex biomedical query on multiple distributed sources that could eventually find the most relevant results. Thus, it provides an extremely useful automated support for exploratory integrated bio search, which is

  16. From Asking to Answering: Making Questions Explicit

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Washington, Gene

    2006-01-01

    "From Asking To Answering: Making Questions Explicit" describes a pedagogical procedure the author has used in writing classes (expository, technical and creative) to help students better understand the purpose, and effect, of text-questions. It accomplishes this by means of thirteen discrete categories (e.g., CLAIMS, COMMITMENT, ANAPHORA, or…

  17. The Effects of Question Generation, Question Answering and Reading on Prose Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Owens, Anthony Mathew

    Eighty-seven students took part in a study (using three experimental conditions) of the effect of question generation, question answering, and rereading on an immediate posttest and on a delayed test of knowledge of a text passage. In condition G, subjects generated multiple-choice questions that would test knowledge of each of the six content…

  18. Interactions and user-perceived helpfulness in diet information social questions & answers.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yin; Wang, Peilin

    2016-12-01

    Online health information seeking using social questions and answers (Social Q&A) sites has been increasingly popular in recent years. It calls for better understanding of health information seeking behaviour and interactions between information seekers and information providers. The study investigates how diet information seekers interact with information providers on WebMD Answers, which is a Social Q&A site devoted to health-related topics, and examines the factors that constitute a 'helpful' answer from an information seeker's perspective. Bales' interaction process analysis was applied as the framework to analyse 568 diet-related Q&As from WebMD Answers to identify interaction patterns. Most diet information seekers post questions anonymously and without any detailed description. Individual experts or health organisations provide most answers. Overall, answers are positively received and had a high satisfaction rating. It was also found that information seeker-perceived helpfulness does not depend on who answered the question but to how an information seeker posted the question. This study indicates that answers at WebMD Answers are helpful for diet information seekers. It sheds new light on the interactions during the Q&A process, preferred site functions and important factors that contribute to perceived helpful answers. © 2016 Health Libraries Group.

  19. The American Indians: Answers to 101 Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bureau of Indian Affairs (Dept. of Interior), Washington, DC.

    Presented in a simple and straightforward manner, this publication answers questions basic to an understanding of the American Indian and his socioeconomic position in the United States. The following identify major areas covered and representative questions: (1) The Indian People (Who is an Indian?); (2) The Legal Status of Indians (Are Indians…

  20. The MiPACQ clinical question answering system.

    PubMed

    Cairns, Brian L; Nielsen, Rodney D; Masanz, James J; Martin, James H; Palmer, Martha S; Ward, Wayne H; Savova, Guergana K

    2011-01-01

    The Multi-source Integrated Platform for Answering Clinical Questions (MiPACQ) is a QA pipeline that integrates a variety of information retrieval and natural language processing systems into an extensible question answering system. We present the system's architecture and an evaluation of MiPACQ on a human-annotated evaluation dataset based on the Medpedia health and medical encyclopedia. Compared with our baseline information retrieval system, the MiPACQ rule-based system demonstrates 84% improvement in Precision at One and the MiPACQ machine-learning-based system demonstrates 134% improvement. Other performance metrics including mean reciprocal rank and area under the precision/recall curves also showed significant improvement, validating the effectiveness of the MiPACQ design and implementation.

  1. Context Dependence of One-Question-per-Passage Measures of Reading Comprehension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oaster, T. R. F.; And Others

    This study hypothesized that items in the one-question-per-passage format would be less easily answered when administered without their associated contexts than conventional reading comprehension items. A total of 256 seventh and eighth grade students were administered both Forms 3A and 3B of the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress (STEP 11).…

  2. The MiPACQ Clinical Question Answering System

    PubMed Central

    Cairns, Brian L.; Nielsen, Rodney D.; Masanz, James J.; Martin, James H.; Palmer, Martha S.; Ward, Wayne H.; Savova, Guergana K.

    2011-01-01

    The Multi-source Integrated Platform for Answering Clinical Questions (MiPACQ) is a QA pipeline that integrates a variety of information retrieval and natural language processing systems into an extensible question answering system. We present the system’s architecture and an evaluation of MiPACQ on a human-annotated evaluation dataset based on the Medpedia health and medical encyclopedia. Compared with our baseline information retrieval system, the MiPACQ rule-based system demonstrates 84% improvement in Precision at One and the MiPACQ machine-learning-based system demonstrates 134% improvement. Other performance metrics including mean reciprocal rank and area under the precision/recall curves also showed significant improvement, validating the effectiveness of the MiPACQ design and implementation. PMID:22195068

  3. Can workers answer their questions about occupational safety and health: challenges and solutions.

    PubMed

    Rhebergen, Martijn; Van Dijk, Frank; Hulshof, Carel

    2012-01-01

    Many workers have questions about occupational safety and health (OSH). Answers to these questions empower them to further improve their knowledge about OSH, make good decisions about OSH matters and improve OSH practice when necessary. Nevertheless, many workers fail to find the answers to their questions. This paper explores the challenges workers may face when seeking answers to their OSH questions. Findings suggest that many workers may lack the skills, experience or motivation to formulate an answerable question, seek and find information, appraise information, compose correct answers and apply information in OSH practice. Simultaneously, OSH knowledge infrastructures often insufficiently support workers in answering their OSH questions. This paper discusses several potentially attractive strategies for developing and improving OSH knowledge infrastructures: 1) providing courses that teach workers to ask answerable questions and to train them to find, appraise and apply information, 2) developing information and communication technology tools or facilities that support workers as they complete one or more stages in the process from question to answer and 3) tailoring information and implementation strategies to the workers' needs and context to ensure that the information can be applied to OSH practice more easily.

  4. Reply & Supply: Efficient crowdsourcing when workers do more than answer questions

    PubMed Central

    McAndrew, Thomas C.; Guseva, Elizaveta A.

    2017-01-01

    Crowdsourcing works by distributing many small tasks to large numbers of workers, yet the true potential of crowdsourcing lies in workers doing more than performing simple tasks—they can apply their experience and creativity to provide new and unexpected information to the crowdsourcer. One such case is when workers not only answer a crowdsourcer’s questions but also contribute new questions for subsequent crowd analysis, leading to a growing set of questions. This growth creates an inherent bias for early questions since a question introduced earlier by a worker can be answered by more subsequent workers than a question introduced later. Here we study how to perform efficient crowdsourcing with such growing question sets. By modeling question sets as networks of interrelated questions, we introduce algorithms to help curtail the growth bias by efficiently distributing workers between exploring new questions and addressing current questions. Experiments and simulations demonstrate that these algorithms can efficiently explore an unbounded set of questions without losing confidence in crowd answers. PMID:28806413

  5. Answering Questions about Complex Events

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-12-19

    in their environment. To reason about events requires a means of describing, simulating, and analyzing their underlying dynamic processes . For our...that are relevant to our goal of connecting inference and reasoning about processes to answering questions about events. 11 We start with a...different event and process descriptions, ontologies, and models. 2.1.1 Logical AI In AI, formal approaches to model the ability to reason about

  6. Instructor-Aided Asynchronous Question Answering System for Online Education and Distance Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wen, Dunwei; Cuzzola, John; Brown, Lorna; Kinshuk

    2012-01-01

    Question answering systems have frequently been explored for educational use. However, their value was somewhat limited due to the quality of the answers returned to the student. Recent question answering (QA) research has started to incorporate deep natural language processing (NLP) in order to improve these answers. However, current NLP…

  7. The Act of Answering Questions Elicited Differentiated Responses in a Concealed Information Test.

    PubMed

    Otsuka, Takuro; Mizutani, Mitsuyoshi; Yagi, Akihiro; Katayama, Jun'ichi

    2018-04-17

    The concealed information test (CIT), a psychophysiological detection of deception test, compares physiological responses between crime-related and crime-unrelated items. In previous studies, whether the act of answering questions affected physiological responses was unclear. This study examined effects of both question-related and answer-related processes on physiological responses. Twenty participants received a modified CIT, in which the interval between presentation of questions and answering them was 27 s. Differentiated respiratory movements and cardiovascular responses between items were observed for both questions (items) and answers, while differentiated skin conductance response was observed only for questions. These results suggest that physiological responses to questions reflected orientation to a crime-related item, while physiological responses during answering reflected inhibition of psychological arousal caused by orienting. Regarding the CIT's accuracy, participants' perception of the questions themselves more strongly influenced physiological responses than answering them. © 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  8. Global Perspectives: Some Questions and Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for Global Perspectives, New York, NY.

    To enlighten the reader on the status, objectives, and needs of global education, this paper poses and answers questions related to global perspectives. A global perspective is interpreted to include heightened awareness and understanding of the global system as well as increased consciousness of the intimate relationship of self, humankind, and…

  9. Visual question answering using hierarchical dynamic memory networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shang, Jiayu; Li, Shiren; Duan, Zhikui; Huang, Junwei

    2018-04-01

    Visual Question Answering (VQA) is one of the most popular research fields in machine learning which aims to let the computer learn to answer natural language questions with images. In this paper, we propose a new method called hierarchical dynamic memory networks (HDMN), which takes both question attention and visual attention into consideration impressed by Co-Attention method, which is the best (or among the best) algorithm for now. Additionally, we use bi-directional LSTMs, which have a better capability to remain more information from the question and image, to replace the old unit so that we can capture information from both past and future sentences to be used. Then we rebuild the hierarchical architecture for not only question attention but also visual attention. What's more, we accelerate the algorithm via a new technic called Batch Normalization which helps the network converge more quickly than other algorithms. The experimental result shows that our model improves the state of the art on the large COCO-QA dataset, compared with other methods.

  10. Olympics: Questions & Answers on the Major Events.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gibbon, Alan

    This book presents background information on the major Olympic events with a question-answer format. Events considered include track and field, swimming, diving, boxing, weightlifting, the equestrian events, and gymnastics. Line drawings illustrate the text. (MM)

  11. Reducing Our Ignorance: Finding Answers to Certain Epistemic Questions for Software Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Holloway, C. Michael; Johnson, Christopher W.

    2011-01-01

    In previous papers, we asserted that software system safety is primarily concerned with epistemic questions, that is, questions concerning knowledge and the degree of confidence that can be placed in that knowledge. We also enumerated a set of 21 foundational epistemic questions, discussed some of the difficulties that exist in answering these questions adequately today, and speculated briefly on possible research that may provide improved confidence in the sufficiency of answers in the future. This paper focuses on three of the foundational questions. For each of these questions, current answers are discussed and potential research is proposed to help increase the justifiable level of confidence.

  12. QU at TREC-2015: Building Real-Time Systems for Tweet Filtering and Question Answering

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-11-20

    from Yahoo ! An- swers. We adopted a very simple approach that searched an archived Yahoo ! Answers QA dataset for similar questions to the asked ones and...users to post and answer questions. Yahoo ! An- swers1 is by far one of the largest sQA platforms. Questions and answers on such platforms share some...multiple domains [5]. However, the existence of large social question answering websites, such as Yahoo ! Answers specifically, makes the development of

  13. Question and Answer Guide to OCLC.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yen, Sidney S. C.

    The purpose of this guide is to provide basic factual information about the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC), its data base, its operation, and its functions. It is intended for libraries which have not yet participated in OCLC, but would be useful as a reference guide in all libraries. Presented in question and answer form, the guide consists…

  14. A question-answer pair (QAP) database integrated with websites to answer complex questions submitted to the Regional Medicines Information and Pharmacovigilance Centres in Norway (RELIS): a descriptive study.

    PubMed

    Schjøtt, Jan; Reppe, Linda A; Roland, Pål-Didrik H; Westergren, Tone

    2012-01-01

    To assess a question-answer pair (QAP) database integrated with websites developed for drug information centres to answer complex questions effectively. Descriptive study with comparison of two subsequent 6-year periods (1995-2000 and 2001-2006). The Regional Medicines Information and Pharmacovigilance Centres in Norway (RELIS). A randomised sample of QAPs from the RELIS database. Answer time in days compared with Mann-Whitney U test. Number of drugs involved (one, two, three or more), complexity (judgemental and/or patient-related or not) and literature search (none, simple or advanced) compared with χ(2) tests. 842 QAPs (312 from 1995 to 2000 and 530 from 2001 to 2006) were compared. The fraction of judgemental and patient-related questions increased (66%-75% and 54%-72%, respectively, p<0.01). Number of drugs and literature search (>50% advanced) was similar in the two periods, but the fraction of answers referring to the RELIS database increased (13%-31%, p<0.01). Median answer time was reduced from 2 days to 1 (p<0.01), although the fraction of complex questions increased from the first to the second period. Furthermore, the mean number of questions per employee per year increased from 66 to 89 from the first to the second period. The authors conclude that RELIS has a potential to efficiently answer complex questions. The model is of relevance for organisation of drug information centres.

  15. What Are the "Right" Questions and the "Right" Answers in Teaching Practice Supervision?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jyrhama, Riitta

    This paper links the problem of questioning and answering in student teacher supervision with teachers' pedagogical thinking. The first section discusses whether asking the right questions or giving the right answers is more important and what is actually involved when the questions and answers are correct. The second section discusses the…

  16. Selective Benefits of Question Self-Generation and Answering for Remembering Expository Text

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bugg, Julie M.; McDaniel, Mark A.

    2012-01-01

    The present study examined possible memory and metacomprehension benefits of using a combined question self-generation and answering technique, relative to rereading, as a study strategy for expository passages. In the 2 question self-generation and answering conditions (detail or conceptual questions), participants were prompted on how to…

  17. Experiential curriculum improves medical students' ability to answer clinical questions using the internet.

    PubMed

    Alper, Brian S; Vinson, Daniel C

    2005-09-01

    Teaching about evidence-based medicine (EBM) is widespread, yet physicians still use rapid references preferentially over EBM techniques such as literature searching and appraisal of original research. The Internet now provides rapid access to preappraised evidence. We provided clinically integrated teaching of using the Internet to answer clinical questions for third-year medical students and assessed the change in their search skills. The curriculum included two 90-minute computer lab sessions with teaching of search skills related to clinical questions. Immediately before the first and after the second session, students recorded sites searched, time needed for searching, and answers found for three standardized questions. Pretest and posttest questions were matched and reversed with each block. Eighty-six students completed pretests and posttests. For two questions about conventional medical care, posttest answer quality was significantly higher, and posttest search times were significantly shorter, by 1.6 minutes for question 1 (mean pretest search time 6.3 minutes, mean posttest search time 4.7 minutes) and 1.9 minutes for question 2 (mean pretest search time 8 minutes, mean posttest search time 6.1 minutes). For a question about herbal medicine, results were similar, but there were smaller differences that did not reach statistical significance. Students used or found significantly fewer sites on the posttest than on the pretest to find answers for all three question types (absolute difference=0.3 sites for each question). CONCLUSIONS Introducing students to useful Web sites, practicing answering clinical questions, and integrating this process with clinical rotation experiences can reduce the effort that students need to find answers and improve the quality of answers they find.

  18. Can online networks provide quality answers to questions about occupational safety and health?

    PubMed

    Rhebergen, Martijn D F; Lenderink, Annet F; van Dijk, Frank J H; Hulshof, Carel T J

    2012-05-01

    To assess whether experts can provide high-quality answers to occupational safety and health (OSH) questions in online Question & Answer (Q&A) networks. The authors evaluated the quality of answers provided by qualified experts in two Dutch online networks: ArboAntwoord and the Helpdesk of the Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases. A random sample of 594 answers was independently evaluated by two raters using nine answer quality criteria. An additional criterion, the agreement of answers with the best available evidence, was explored by peer review of a sample of 42 answers. Reviewers performed an evidence search in Medline. The median answer quality score of ArboAntwoord (N=295) and the Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases Helpdesk (N=299) was 8 of 9 (IQR 2). The inter-rater reliability of the first nine quality criteria was high (κ 0.82-0.90, p<0.05). A question answered by two or more experts had a greater probability of a high-quality score than questions answered by one expert (OR 4.9, 95% CI 2.7 to 9.0). Answers most often scored insufficient on the use of evidence to underpin the answer (36% and 38% for the networks, respectively) and on conciseness (35% and 31%, respectively). Peer review demonstrated that 43%-72% of the answers in both online networks were in complete agreement with the best available evidence. OSH experts are able to provide quality answers in online OSH Q&A networks. Our answer quality appraisal instrument was feasible and provided information on how to improve answer quality.

  19. Protein Electrochemistry: Questions and Answers.

    PubMed

    Fourmond, V; Léger, C

    This chapter presents the fundamentals of electrochemistry in the context of protein electrochemistry. We discuss redox proteins and enzymes that are not photoactive. Of course, the principles described herein also apply to photobioelectrochemistry, as discussed in later chapters of this book. Depending on which experiment is considered, electron transfer between proteins and electrodes can be either direct or mediated, and achieved in a variety of configurations: with the protein and/or the mediator free to diffuse in solution, immobilized in a thick, hydrated film, or adsorbed as a sub-monolayer on the electrode. The experiments can be performed with the goal to study the protein or to use it. Here emphasis is on mechanistic studies, which are easier in the configuration where the protein is adsorbed and electron transfer is direct, but we also explain the interpretation of signals obtained when diffusion processes affect the response.This chapter is organized as a series of responses to questions. Questions 1-5 are related to the basics of electrochemistry: what does "potential" or "current" mean, what does an electrochemical set-up look like? Questions 6-9 are related to the distinction between adsorbed and diffusive redox species. The answers to questions 10-13 explain the interpretation of slow and fast scan voltammetry with redox proteins. Questions 14-19 deal with catalytic electrochemistry, when the protein studied is actually an enzyme. Questions 20, 21 and 22 are general.

  20. Answerers' Motivations and Strategies for Providing Information and Social Support in Social Q&A an Investigation of Health Question Answering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oh, Sanghee

    2010-01-01

    Social Q&A allows people to ask and answer questions for each other and to solve problems in everyday life collaboratively. The purpose of the current study is to understand the motivations and strategies of answerers in social Q&A. Thus, three research questions were investigated: (1) Why do answerers participate and contribute in social Q&A? (2)…

  1. A Machine Learning-based Method for Question Type Classification in Biomedical Question Answering.

    PubMed

    Sarrouti, Mourad; Ouatik El Alaoui, Said

    2017-05-18

    Biomedical question type classification is one of the important components of an automatic biomedical question answering system. The performance of the latter depends directly on the performance of its biomedical question type classification system, which consists of assigning a category to each question in order to determine the appropriate answer extraction algorithm. This study aims to automatically classify biomedical questions into one of the four categories: (1) yes/no, (2) factoid, (3) list, and (4) summary. In this paper, we propose a biomedical question type classification method based on machine learning approaches to automatically assign a category to a biomedical question. First, we extract features from biomedical questions using the proposed handcrafted lexico-syntactic patterns. Then, we feed these features for machine-learning algorithms. Finally, the class label is predicted using the trained classifiers. Experimental evaluations performed on large standard annotated datasets of biomedical questions, provided by the BioASQ challenge, demonstrated that our method exhibits significant improved performance when compared to four baseline systems. The proposed method achieves a roughly 10-point increase over the best baseline in terms of accuracy. Moreover, the obtained results show that using handcrafted lexico-syntactic patterns as features' provider of support vector machine (SVM) lead to the highest accuracy of 89.40 %. The proposed method can automatically classify BioASQ questions into one of the four categories: yes/no, factoid, list, and summary. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that our method produced the best classification performance compared to four baseline systems.

  2. Memorial Consequences of Answering SAT II Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marsh, Elizabeth J.; Agarwal, Pooja K.; Roediger, Henry L., III

    2009-01-01

    Many thousands of students take standardized tests every year. In the current research, we asked whether answering standardized test questions affects students' later test performance. Prior research has shown both positive and negative effects of multiple-choice testing on later tests, with negative effects arising from students selecting…

  3. Survey Questions Answered Only by Psychosocial Experts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Journal on Mental Retardation, 2000

    2000-01-01

    Twelve tables provide a breakdown of answers to a survey responded to by 48 experts in the psychosocial treatment of psychiatric and behavioral problems in people with mental retardation. Questions address treatment of self-injurious or aggressive behavior, specific psychiatric disorders, specific target symptoms, use of applied behavior analysis…

  4. Analyzing Electronic Question/Answer Services: Framework and Evaluations of Selected Services.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Marilyn Domas, Ed.

    This report develops an analytical framework based on systems analysis for evaluating electronic question/answer or AskA services operated by a wide range of types of organizations, including libraries. Version 1.0 of this framework was applied in June 1999 to a selective sample of 11 electronic question/answer services, which cover a range of…

  5. Survey Questions Answered Only by Medication Experts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Journal on Mental Retardation, 2000

    2000-01-01

    Fifty-eight tables provide a breakdown of answers to a survey responded to by 45 experts in the medication treatment of psychiatric and behavioral problems in people with mental retardation. Questions address treatment of specific disorders, ratings of various medications for specific disorders or symptoms, and preferences in mood stabilizers,…

  6. ADAPT.DCU at TREC LiveQA: A Sentence Retrieval based Approach to Live Question Answering

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-11-20

    list of conceptually similar questions from an index of previously asked on “ Yahoo ! An- swers”. We then extract the best matching sentences from the...answer Japanese why questions. The work in Surdeanu et al. (2011) address the problem of ranking answers to non-factoid how questions from Yahoo ...answering real questions from Yahoo ! Answers in real time. each participant needed to submit a web service application that on receiving a question responds

  7. Mergers and acquisitions. Frequently asked questions and answers.

    PubMed

    Lin, S M; Smeltzer, C H; Thomas, C

    2000-03-01

    This article is structured in a question/answer format based on interviews with Dr. Carolyn Hope Smeltzer and Salima Manji Lin of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chicago, and Chuck Thomas of Hinshaw & Culbertson, Rockford. The questions come from CEO's, healthcare executives, and nurse executives at hospitals that are contemplating mergers or that have both succeeded and failed to merge their institutions. The experts share their knowledge.

  8. Information Presentation in Decision and Risk Analysis: Answered, Partly Answered, and Unanswered Questions.

    PubMed

    Keller, L Robin; Wang, Yitong

    2017-06-01

    For the last 30 years, researchers in risk analysis, decision analysis, and economics have consistently proven that decisionmakers employ different processes for evaluating and combining anticipated and actual losses, gains, delays, and surprises. Although rational models generally prescribe a consistent response, people's heuristic processes will sometimes lead them to be inconsistent in the way they respond to information presented in theoretically equivalent ways. We point out several promising future research directions by listing and detailing a series of answered, partly answered, and unanswered questions. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

  9. Logical Aspects of Question-Answering by Computer.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuhns, J. L.

    The problem of computerized question-answering is discussed in this paper from the point of view of certain technical, although elementary, notions of logic. Although the work reported herein has general application to the design of information systems, it is specifically motivated by the RAND Relational Data File. This system, for which a…

  10. Answering the right question - integration of InSAR with other datasets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holley, Rachel; McCormack, Harry; Burren, Richard

    2014-05-01

    The capabilities of satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) are well known, and utilized across a wide range of academic and commercial applications. However there is a tendency, particularly in commercial applications, for users to ask 'What can we study with InSAR?'. When establishing a new technique this approach is important, but InSAR has been possible for 20 years now and, even accounting for new and innovative algorithms, this ground has been thoroughly explored. Too many studies conclude 'We show the ground is moving here, by this much', and mention the wider context as an afterthought. The focus needs to shift towards first asking the right questions - in fields as diverse as hazard awareness, resource optimization, financial considerations and pure scientific enquiry - and then working out how to achieve the best possible answers. Depending on the question, InSAR (and ground deformation more generally) may provide a large or small contribution to the overall solution, and there are usually benefits to integrating a number of techniques to capitalize on the complementary capabilities and provide the most useful measurements. However, there is still a gap between measurements and answers, and unlocking the value of the data relies heavily on appropriate visualization, integrated analysis, communication between technique and application experts, and appropriate use of modelling. We present a number of application examples, and demonstrate how their usefulness can be transformed by moving from a focus on data to answers - integrating complementary geodetic, geophysical and geological datasets and geophysical modeling with appropriate visualization, to enable comprehensive solution-focused interpretation. It will also discuss how forthcoming developments are likely to further advance realisation of the full potential satellite InSAR holds.

  11. Ian Hinchliffe Answers Your Higgs Boson Questions

    ScienceCinema

    Hinchliffe, Ian

    2017-12-09

    contingent with the ATLAS experiment at CERN, answers many of your questions about the Higgs boson. Ian invited viewers to send in questions about the Higgs via email, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube in an "Ask a Scientist" video posted July 3: http://youtu.be/xhuA3wCg06s CERN's July 4 announcement that the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have discovered a particle "consistent with the Higgs boson" has raised questions about what scientists have found and what still remains to be found -- and what it all means. If you have suggestions for future "Ask a Scientist" videos, post them below or send ideas to askascientist@lbl.gov

  12. Responding to Children's Answers: Questions Embedded in the Social Context of Early Childhood Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bateman, Amanda

    2013-01-01

    This article presents analysis of question-answer sequences during problem inquiry between a teacher and two children in an early childhood crèche in New Zealand. Conversation analysis is used to reveal which questions the teacher asks, how children answer the questions, and the teacher's responses to the child's answers. Although adults'…

  13. Drug Facts Chat Day: NIH Experts Answer Students' Drug Questions

    MedlinePlus

    ... Home Current Issue Past Issues Drug Facts Chat Day: NIH Experts Answer Students' Drug Questions Past Issues / ... Drug Abuse during their first Drug Facts Chat Day. Photo courtesy of NIDA The questions poured in… ...

  14. Using mixed methods to identify and answer clinically relevant research questions.

    PubMed

    Shneerson, Catherine L; Gale, Nicola K

    2015-06-01

    The need for mixed methods research in answering health care questions is becoming increasingly recognized because of the complexity of factors that affect health outcomes. In this article, we argue for the value of using a qualitatively driven mixed method approach for identifying and answering clinically relevant research questions. This argument is illustrated by findings from a study on the self-management practices of cancer survivors and the exploration of one particular clinically relevant finding about higher uptake of self-management in cancer survivors who had received chemotherapy treatment compared with those who have not. A cross-sectional study generated findings that formed the basis for the qualitative study, by informing the purposive sampling strategy and generating new qualitative research questions. Using a quantitative research component to supplement a qualitative study can enhance the generalizability and clinical relevance of the findings and produce detailed, contextualized, and rich answers to research questions that would be unachievable through quantitative or qualitative methods alone. © The Author(s) 2015.

  15. Do Online Information Retrieval Systems Help Experienced Clinicians Answer Clinical Questions?

    PubMed Central

    Westbrook, Johanna I.; Coiera, Enrico W.; Gosling, A. Sophie

    2005-01-01

    Objective: To assess the impact of clinicians' use of an online information retrieval system on their performance in answering clinical questions. Design: Pre-/post-intervention experimental design. Measurements: In a computer laboratory, 75 clinicians (26 hospital-based doctors, 18 family practitioners, and 31 clinical nurse consultants) provided 600 answers to eight clinical scenarios before and after the use of an online information retrieval system. We examined the proportion of correct answers pre- and post-intervention, direction of change in answers, and differences between professional groups. Results: System use resulted in a 21% improvement in clinicians' answers, from 29% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.4–32.6) correct pre- to 50% (95% CI 46.0–54.0) post-system use. In 33% (95% CI 29.1–36.9) answers were changed from incorrect to correct. In 21% (95% CI 17.1–23.9) correct pre-test answers were supported by evidence found using the system, and in 7% (95% CI 4.9–9.1) correct pre-test answers were changed incorrectly. For 40% (35.4–43.6) of scenarios, incorrect pre-test answers were not rectified following system use. Despite significant differences in professional groups' pre-test scores [family practitioners: 41% (95% CI 33.0–49.0), hospital doctors: 35% (95% CI 28.5–41.2), and clinical nurse consultants: 17% (95% CI 12.3–21.7; χ2 = 29.0, df = 2, p < 0.01)], there was no difference in post-test scores. (χ2 = 2.6, df = 2, p = 0.73). Conclusions: The use of an online information retrieval system was associated with a significant improvement in the quality of answers provided by clinicians to typical clinical problems. In a small proportion of cases, use of the system produced errors. While there was variation in the performance of clinical groups when answering questions unaided, performance did not differ significantly following system use. Online information retrieval systems can be an effective tool in improving the accuracy of

  16. Ian Hinchliffe Answers Your Higgs Boson Questions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hinchliffe, Ian

    contingent with the ATLAS experiment at CERN, answers many of your questions about the Higgs boson. Ian invited viewers to send in questions about the Higgs via email, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube in an "Ask a Scientist" video posted July 3: http://youtu.be/xhuA3wCg06s CERN's July 4 announcement that the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have discovered a particle "consistent with the Higgs boson" has raised questions about what scientists have found and what still remains to be found -- and what it all means. If you have suggestions for future "Ask a Scientist" videos, post them belowmore » or send ideas to askascientist@lbl.gov« less

  17. Components of Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions on a Published Reading Comprehension Test: An Application of the Hanna-Oaster Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Entin, Eileen B.; Klare, George B.

    1980-01-01

    An approach to assessing context dependence was applied to data from the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. The results suggest that scores on the difficult passages are inflated because the examinees can answer the questions without having to comprehend the passage. (MKM)

  18. Net improvement of correct answers to therapy questions after pubmed searches: pre/post comparison.

    PubMed

    McKibbon, Kathleen Ann; Lokker, Cynthia; Keepanasseril, Arun; Wilczynski, Nancy L; Haynes, R Brian

    2013-11-08

    Clinicians search PubMed for answers to clinical questions although it is time consuming and not always successful. To determine if PubMed used with its Clinical Queries feature to filter results based on study quality would improve search success (more correct answers to clinical questions related to therapy). We invited 528 primary care physicians to participate, 143 (27.1%) consented, and 111 (21.0% of the total and 77.6% of those who consented) completed the study. Participants answered 14 yes/no therapy questions and were given 4 of these (2 originally answered correctly and 2 originally answered incorrectly) to search using either the PubMed main screen or PubMed Clinical Queries narrow therapy filter via a purpose-built system with identical search screens. Participants also picked 3 of the first 20 retrieved citations that best addressed each question. They were then asked to re-answer the original 14 questions. We found no statistically significant differences in the rates of correct or incorrect answers using the PubMed main screen or PubMed Clinical Queries. The rate of correct answers increased from 50.0% to 61.4% (95% CI 55.0%-67.8%) for the PubMed main screen searches and from 50.0% to 59.1% (95% CI 52.6%-65.6%) for Clinical Queries searches. These net absolute increases of 11.4% and 9.1%, respectively, included previously correct answers changing to incorrect at a rate of 9.5% (95% CI 5.6%-13.4%) for PubMed main screen searches and 9.1% (95% CI 5.3%-12.9%) for Clinical Queries searches, combined with increases in the rate of being correct of 20.5% (95% CI 15.2%-25.8%) for PubMed main screen searches and 17.7% (95% CI 12.7%-22.7%) for Clinical Queries searches. PubMed can assist clinicians answering clinical questions with an approximately 10% absolute rate of improvement in correct answers. This small increase includes more correct answers partially offset by a decrease in previously correct answers.

  19. Violations of Information Structure: An Electrophysiological Study of Answers to Wh-Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cowles, H. W.; Kluender, Robert; Kutas, Marta; Polinsky, Maria

    2007-01-01

    This study investigates brain responses to violations of information structure in wh-question-answer pairs, with particular emphasis on violations of focus assignment in it-clefts (It was the queen that silenced the banker). Two types of ERP responses in answers to wh-questions were found. First, all words in the focus-marking (cleft) position…

  20. What about the Bottle? Answers to Common Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Laird, Valerie

    2001-01-01

    Acknowledges the large amount of confusing information about bottle feeding in areas including nutrition, sanitation, dental health, psychology, and child development. Answers specific questions pertaining to choice of formula and formula preparation, supporting breastfeeding, bottle choice, solid food introduction, feeding position, spitting up,…

  1. Reserve Component Personnel Issues: Questions and Answers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-07-12

    CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Reserve Component Personnel Issues: Questions and Answers...Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL30802 Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information...Operations and Reports , 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision

  2. Recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of COPD: questions and answers.

    PubMed

    Fernandes, Frederico Leon Arrabal; Cukier, Alberto; Camelier, Aquiles Assunção; Fritscher, Carlos Cezar; Costa, Cláudia Henrique da; Pereira, Eanes Delgado Barros; Godoy, Irma; Cançado, José Eduardo Delfini; Romaldini, José Gustavo; Chatkin, Jose Miguel; Jardim, José Roberto; Rabahi, Marcelo Fouad; Nucci, Maria Cecília Nieves Maiorano de; Sales, Maria da Penha Uchoa; Castellano, Maria Vera Cruz de Oliveira; Aidé, Miguel Abidon; Teixeira, Paulo José Zimermann; Maciel, Renato; Corrêa, Ricardo de Amorim; Stirbulov, Roberto; Athanazio, Rodrigo Abensur; Russo, Rodrigo; Minamoto, Suzana Tanni; Lundgren, Fernando Luiz Cavalcanti

    2017-01-01

    The treatment of COPD has become increasingly effective. Measures that range from behavioral changes, reduction in exposure to risk factors, education about the disease and its course, rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, management of comorbidities, and surgical and pharmacological treatments to end-of-life care allow health professionals to provide a personalized and effective therapy. The pharmacological treatment of COPD is one of the cornerstones of COPD management, and there have been many advances in this area in recent years. Given the greater availability of drugs and therapeutic combinations, it has become increasingly challenging to know the indications for, limitations of, and potential risks and benefits of each treatment modality. In order to critically evaluate recent evidence and systematize the major questions regarding the pharmacological treatment of COPD, 24 specialists from all over Brazil gathered to develop the present recommendations. A visual guide was developed for the classification and treatment of COPD, both of which were adapted to fit the situation in Brazil. Ten questions were selected on the basis of their relevance in clinical practice. They address the classification, definitions, treatment, and evidence available for each drug or drug combination. Each question was answered by two specialists, and then the answers were consolidated in two phases: review and consensus by all participants. The questions answered are practical questions and help select from among the many options the best treatment for each patient and his/her peculiarities.

  3. Questions and Answers About SNAP Alternatives in Each Sector

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The following list of questions and answers provides an overview of the regulations governing the use of substitutes that are reviewed under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program in various industrial sectors.

  4. How well does the Internet answer patients’ questions about inflammatory bowel disease?

    PubMed Central

    Promislow, Steven; Walker, John R; Taheri, Mohammad; Bernstein, Charles N

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND The Internet is an increasingly important source of health information. OBJECTIVE To assess how well common websites answered patients’ questions regarding inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS Thirty websites were identified and evaluated. Based on a previous survey of patient information needs, a comprehensive question list was developed in the three following areas: medical information (seven items), medical treatment (six items) and self-management (eight items). The websites were evaluated for the amount of information they provided to answer each question using two standard measures of information quality – the DISCERN and the Ensuring Quality Information for Patients scales. RESULTS Four particularly strong websites, scoring highest (on a scale from 1 to 5) in terms of IBD information, were the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (mean information score 4.3), About.com (4.2), HealthCentral (3.8) and WebMD (3.8). These websites also scored well on the DISCERN and the Ensuring Quality Information for Patients quality scales. Most websites provided at least adequate information on common symptoms, complications, treatments and what is known (or not known) about the causes of IBD. However, many web-sites did not provide adequate information about prognosis, possible side effects of treatment and risks of developing cancer. Information regarding self-management was covered to a very limited extent. CONCLUSION Websites could be strengthened by providing more of the information patients deem to be important, and by more clearly identifying sources of information and the date the information was updated. Most websites would benefit from more attention given to reducing the reading level and improving the organization of material. PMID:21157582

  5. Effects of Wh-Question Graphic Organizers on Reading Comprehension Skills of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bethune, Keri S.; Wood,Charles L.

    2013-01-01

    Students with autism spectrum disorders often have difficulty with reading comprehension. This study used a delayed multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of graphic organizers on the accuracy of wh-questions answered following short passage reading. Participants were three elementary-age students with autism spectrum…

  6. Two Preferences in Question-Answer Sequences in Language Classroom Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hosoda, Yuri; Aline, David

    2013-01-01

    Discussing two preferences associated with question-answer sequences, this study examines student responses to teacher questions in primary school English-as-a-foreign-language classes. The paper starts out with a reconsideration of institutional context, with a focus on classroom context from a conversation analysis perspective. We then introduce…

  7. Design of a Low-Cost Adaptive Question Answering System for Closed Domain Factoid Queries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Toh, Huey Ling

    2010-01-01

    Closed domain question answering (QA) systems achieve precision and recall at the cost of complex language processing techniques to parse the answer corpus. We propose a "query-based" model for indexing answers in a closed domain factoid QA system. Further, we use a phrase term inference method for improving the ranking order of related questions.…

  8. The Effects of Cultural Familiarity and Question Preview Type on the Listening Comprehension of L2 Learners at the Secondary Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Chen-Hong; Chen, Cai-Jun; Wu, Meng-Jie; Kuo, Ya-Chu; Tseng, Yun-Ting; Tsai, Shi-Yi; Shih, Hung-Chun

    2017-01-01

    We examined the effect of cultural familiarity and question-preview types on the listening comprehension of L2 learners. The results showed that the participants who received the full question-preview format scored higher than those receiving either the answer-option preview or question-stem preview, despite a statistically nonsignificant…

  9. 75 FR 54347 - Draft Guidance for Industry: Bar Code Label Requirements-Questions and Answers (Question 12...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-07

    ...] Draft Guidance for Industry: Bar Code Label Requirements-- Questions and Answers (Question 12 Update... Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a draft document entitled ``Guidance for Industry: Bar... guidance provides you, manufacturers of a licensed vaccine, with advice concerning compliance with the bar...

  10. Nuclear Power and the Environment--Questions and Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Campana, Robert J.; Langer, Sidney

    This booklet has been developed to help the layman understand and evaluate the various efforts being undertaken to utilize nuclear power for the benefit of mankind. The question and answer format is utilized. Among the topics discussed are: Our Needs for Electricity; Sources of Radiation; Radiation from Nuclear Power Plants; Biological Effects of…

  11. Use of Feedback-Oriented Online Exercises to Help Physiology Students Construct Well-Organized Answers to Short-Answer Questions

    PubMed Central

    Carnegie, Jacqueline

    2015-01-01

    Postsecondary education often requires students to use higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) such as analysis, evaluation, and creation as they assess situations and apply what they have learned during lecture to the formulation of solutions. Summative assessment of these abilities is often accomplished using short-answer questions (SAQs). Quandary was used to create feedback-oriented interactive online exercises to help students strengthen certain HOCS as they actively constructed answers to questions concerning the regulation of 1) metabolic rate, 2) blood sugar, 3) erythropoiesis, and 4) stroke volume. Each exercise began with a SAQ presenting an endocrine dysfunction or a physiological challenge; students were prompted to answer between six and eight multiple-choice questions while building their answer to the SAQ. Student outcomes on the SAQ sections of summative exams were compared before and after the introduction of the online tool and also between subgroups of students within the posttool-introduction population who demonstrated different levels of participation in the online exercises. While overall SAQ outcomes were not different before and after the introduction of the online exercises, once the SAQ tool had become available, those students who chose to use it had improved SAQ outcomes compared with those who did not. PMID:26113627

  12. To Show or Not to Show: The Effects of Item Stems and Answer Options on Performance on a Multiple-Choice Listening Comprehension Test

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yanagawa, Kozo; Green, Anthony

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine whether the choice between three multiple-choice listening comprehension test formats results in any difference in listening comprehension test performance. The three formats entail (a) allowing test takers to preview both the question stem and answer options prior to listening; (b) allowing test takers to…

  13. Working with Second Language Learners: Answers to Teachers' Top Ten Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cary, Stephen

    This book aims to provide practical, research-informed answers to the questions most frequently asked by teachers of second language learners. Every question targets one of the key instructional issues teachers must address to ensure success for their second language students. Included among the questions are: How do I assess a student's English?…

  14. Epistemic Questions and Answers for Software System Safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Holloway, C. M.; Johnson, Chris W.

    2010-01-01

    System safety is primarily concerned with epistemic questions, that is, questions concerning knowledge and the degree of confidence that can be placed in that knowledge. For systems with which human experience is long, such as roads, bridges, and mechanical devices, knowledge about what is required to make the systems safe is deep and detailed. High confidence can be placed in the validity of that knowledge. For other systems, however, with which human experience is comparatively short, such as those that rely in part or in whole on software, knowledge about what is required to ensure safety tends to be shallow and general. The confidence that can be placed in the validity of that knowledge is consequently low. In a previous paper, we enumerated a collection of foundational epistemic questions concerning software system safety. In this paper, we review and refine the questions, discuss some difficulties that attend to answering the questions today, and speculate on possible research to improve the situation.

  15. Adding question answering to an e-tutor for programming languages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taylor, Kate; Moore, Simon

    Control over a closed domain of textual material removes many question answering issues, as does an ontology that is closely intertwined with its sources. This pragmatic, shallow approach to many challenging areas of research in adaptive hypermedia, question answering, intelligent tutoring and humancomputer interaction has been put into practice at Cambridge in the Computer Science undergraduate course to teach the hardware description language Veri/og. This language itself poses many challenges as it crosses the interdisciplinary boundary between hardware and software engineers, giving rise to severalhuman ontologies as well as theprogramming language itself We present further results from ourformal and informal surveys. We look at further work to increase the dialogue between studentand tutor and export our knowledge to the Semantic Web.

  16. Net Improvement of Correct Answers to Therapy Questions After PubMed Searches: Pre/Post Comparison

    PubMed Central

    Keepanasseril, Arun

    2013-01-01

    Background Clinicians search PubMed for answers to clinical questions although it is time consuming and not always successful. Objective To determine if PubMed used with its Clinical Queries feature to filter results based on study quality would improve search success (more correct answers to clinical questions related to therapy). Methods We invited 528 primary care physicians to participate, 143 (27.1%) consented, and 111 (21.0% of the total and 77.6% of those who consented) completed the study. Participants answered 14 yes/no therapy questions and were given 4 of these (2 originally answered correctly and 2 originally answered incorrectly) to search using either the PubMed main screen or PubMed Clinical Queries narrow therapy filter via a purpose-built system with identical search screens. Participants also picked 3 of the first 20 retrieved citations that best addressed each question. They were then asked to re-answer the original 14 questions. Results We found no statistically significant differences in the rates of correct or incorrect answers using the PubMed main screen or PubMed Clinical Queries. The rate of correct answers increased from 50.0% to 61.4% (95% CI 55.0%-67.8%) for the PubMed main screen searches and from 50.0% to 59.1% (95% CI 52.6%-65.6%) for Clinical Queries searches. These net absolute increases of 11.4% and 9.1%, respectively, included previously correct answers changing to incorrect at a rate of 9.5% (95% CI 5.6%-13.4%) for PubMed main screen searches and 9.1% (95% CI 5.3%-12.9%) for Clinical Queries searches, combined with increases in the rate of being correct of 20.5% (95% CI 15.2%-25.8%) for PubMed main screen searches and 17.7% (95% CI 12.7%-22.7%) for Clinical Queries searches. Conclusions PubMed can assist clinicians answering clinical questions with an approximately 10% absolute rate of improvement in correct answers. This small increase includes more correct answers partially offset by a decrease in previously correct answers

  17. American Iron and Steel Requirement - Guidance and Questions and Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Explanation of the P.L. 113-76, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 its implementation for the American Iron and Steel (AIS) requirement and other questions and answers in regards to AIS requirements

  18. Questions and Answers: The Education of Exceptional Children. Report Number 73.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hensley, Gene; And Others

    Written in question and answer form, the booklet provides brief responses to often asked questions by legislators and educators concerning the education of exceptional children. Among the topics covered are state and federal legislation; planning and accountability; finance; administration, classification, and placement; personnel utilization;…

  19. Supporting Mediated Peer-Evaluation to Grade Answers to Open-Ended Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Marsico, Maria; Sciarrone, Filippo; Sterbini, Andrea; Temperini, Marco

    2017-01-01

    We show an approach to semi-automatic grading of answers given by students to open ended questions (open answers). We use both peer-evaluation and teacher evaluation. A learner is modeled by her Knowledge and her assessments quality (Judgment). The data generated by the peer- and teacher-evaluations, and by the learner models is represented by a…

  20. Did Darwin really answer Paley's question?

    PubMed

    Brunnander, Björn

    2013-09-01

    It is commonly thought that natural selection explains the rise of adaptive complexity. Razeto-Barry and Frick (2011) have recently argued in favour of this view, dubbing it the Creative View. I argue that the Creative View is mistaken if it claims that natural selection serves to answer Paley's question. This is shown by a case that brings out the contrastive structure inherent in this demand for explanation. There is, however, a rather trivial sense in which specific environmental conditions are crucial for the rise of specific adaptations, but this is hardly what opponents of the Creative View are denying. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Internet delivered question and answer column for patients with schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Maijala, Riikka; Anttila, Minna; Koivunen, Marita; Pitkänen, Anneli; Kuosmanen, Lauri; Välimäki, Maritta

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe the use of an Internet delivered question and answer column among patients with schizophrenia. The column was developed for research purposes. The study sample consisted of patients (N = 100) admitted to acute inpatient psychiatric care in two hospital districts. Descriptive data were collected from the column to which a nurse replied within 3 days and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The column had four to five questions weekly. The most common age of users was 18-24 years, and the gender distribution was almost equal. Column use was heaviest among students (44%) and least among unemployed people (19%). Out of 85 questions or comments sent to the column, 25 (29%) were related to program training and the remaining 60 (71%) were related to medication (31%), illness and tests (25%), other questions or comments (9%), daily life and coping with it (4%), and places to receive treatment (2%). An Internet delivered question and answer column can be included in the care of patients with schizophrenia. However, it requires a new type of basic and additional education in the field of mental health care in order for nurses to be able to provide nursing via the Internet forum.

  2. Teacher Deployment of "Oh" in Known-Answer Question Sequences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hosoda, Yuri

    2016-01-01

    This conversation analytic study describes some specific interactional contexts in which native English-speaking teachers produce "oh" in known-answer question sequences in English language classes. The data for this study come from 10 video-recorded Japanese primary school English language class sessions. The analysis identified three…

  3. Are psychiatrists affecting the legal process by answering legal questions?

    PubMed

    Hardie, Timothy; Elcock, Susan; Mackay, R D

    2008-01-01

    Psychiatrists are often asked to answer legal questions. The extent to which they answer strictly legal rather than medical matters is not known. To investigate how strongly psychiatrists in England and Wales express opinions on one legal question - that of diminished responsibility in respect of a murder charge, and how this is related to outcome in court. METHOD Our data were extracted from psychiatric reports and case files supplied by the then Department of Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry of Justice) on cases heard in the Crown Courts between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2001 in which the defence of diminished responsibility had been raised. The cases had been selected by the Law Commission in their earlier review of partial defences to murder. We devised a reliable system of rating the presence/absence and strength of expression of a legal opinion in the medical reports. We tested the data for relationship between nature and strength of opinion and progression to trial and verdict. RESULTS Psychiatric reports were available on 143 of 156 cases in which diminished responsibility was considered. They yielded 338 opinions on at least one aspect of diminished responsibility. In 110 (93%) of the 118 cases in which there was a diminished verdict, this was made without trial and, therefore, without reference to a jury. In only eight (27%) out of the 30 cases that went to trial, was a diminished responsibility verdict made. Half of the reports (169) gave a clear opinion on diminished responsibility, a third (121) invited the court to draw a particular conclusion and only 11% (36) provided relevant evidence without answering the legal questions. When there was an opinion or an invitation to make a finding on the legal question, a trial was less likely. A trial was also less likely if reports agreed on what the verdict should be. CONCLUSIONS Psychiatrists frequently answer the legal question of diminished responsibility. The judiciary and medical experts

  4. An overview of the BIOASQ large-scale biomedical semantic indexing and question answering competition.

    PubMed

    Tsatsaronis, George; Balikas, Georgios; Malakasiotis, Prodromos; Partalas, Ioannis; Zschunke, Matthias; Alvers, Michael R; Weissenborn, Dirk; Krithara, Anastasia; Petridis, Sergios; Polychronopoulos, Dimitris; Almirantis, Yannis; Pavlopoulos, John; Baskiotis, Nicolas; Gallinari, Patrick; Artiéres, Thierry; Ngomo, Axel-Cyrille Ngonga; Heino, Norman; Gaussier, Eric; Barrio-Alvers, Liliana; Schroeder, Michael; Androutsopoulos, Ion; Paliouras, Georgios

    2015-04-30

    This article provides an overview of the first BIOASQ challenge, a competition on large-scale biomedical semantic indexing and question answering (QA), which took place between March and September 2013. BIOASQ assesses the ability of systems to semantically index very large numbers of biomedical scientific articles, and to return concise and user-understandable answers to given natural language questions by combining information from biomedical articles and ontologies. The 2013 BIOASQ competition comprised two tasks, Task 1a and Task 1b. In Task 1a participants were asked to automatically annotate new PUBMED documents with MESH headings. Twelve teams participated in Task 1a, with a total of 46 system runs submitted, and one of the teams performing consistently better than the MTI indexer used by NLM to suggest MESH headings to curators. Task 1b used benchmark datasets containing 29 development and 282 test English questions, along with gold standard (reference) answers, prepared by a team of biomedical experts from around Europe and participants had to automatically produce answers. Three teams participated in Task 1b, with 11 system runs. The BIOASQ infrastructure, including benchmark datasets, evaluation mechanisms, and the results of the participants and baseline methods, is publicly available. A publicly available evaluation infrastructure for biomedical semantic indexing and QA has been developed, which includes benchmark datasets, and can be used to evaluate systems that: assign MESH headings to published articles or to English questions; retrieve relevant RDF triples from ontologies, relevant articles and snippets from PUBMED Central; produce "exact" and paragraph-sized "ideal" answers (summaries). The results of the systems that participated in the 2013 BIOASQ competition are promising. In Task 1a one of the systems performed consistently better from the NLM's MTI indexer. In Task 1b the systems received high scores in the manual evaluation of the "ideal

  5. Randomized trial for answers to clinical questions: evaluating a pre-appraised versus a MEDLINE search protocol.

    PubMed

    Patel, Manesh R; Schardt, Connie M; Sanders, Linda L; Keitz, Sheri A

    2006-10-01

    The paper compares the speed, validity, and applicability of two different protocols for searching the primary medical literature. A randomized trial involving medicine residents was performed. An inpatient general medicine rotation was used. Thirty-two internal medicine residents were block randomized into four groups of eight. Success rate of each search protocol was measured by perceived search time, number of questions answered, and proportion of articles that were applicable and valid. Residents randomized to the MEDLINE-first (protocol A) group searched 120 questions, and residents randomized to the MEDLINE-last (protocol B) searched 133 questions. In protocol A, 104 answers (86.7%) and, in protocol B, 117 answers (88%) were found to clinical questions. In protocol A, residents reported that 26 (25.2%) of the answers were obtained quickly or rated as "fast" (<5 minutes) as opposed to 55 (51.9%) in protocol B, (P = 0.0004). A subset of questions and articles (n = 79) were reviewed by faculty who found that both protocols identified similar numbers of answer articles that addressed the questions and were felt to be valid using critical appraisal criteria. For resident-generated clinical questions, both protocols produced a similarly high percentage of applicable and valid articles. The MEDLINE-last search protocol was perceived to be faster. However, in the MEDLINE-last protocol, a significant portion of questions (23%) still required searching MEDLINE to find an answer.

  6. Home Schooling: Answers to Questions Parents Most Often Ask.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McIntire, Deborah; Windham, Robert

    This resource for parents draws upon research findings and the experience of home schooling parents to answer common questions about home schooling in the United States and Canada. Included is information on home schooling instructional approaches and curricula, record keeping, organizational tools, and practical tips. Chapter 1, "Initial…

  7. Assessing the quality of pharmacist answers to telephone drug information questions.

    PubMed

    Woodward, C T; Stevenson, J G; Poremba, A

    1990-04-01

    A quality assurance (QA) program is described in which frontline pharmacists were asked test drug information questions via anonymous telephone calls. The program was instituted at a university hospital that began providing decentralized pharmaceutical services in 1985. Questions were developed on the basis of a pilot study conducted to determine the types and complexity of drug information questions received by frontline pharmacists at the hospital. Data on departmental clinical productivity were used to determine the number of questions that would be posed during each shift in the various service areas. The questions were posed during a 10-day period; the pharmacists were aware of the program, but the callers did not identify their affiliation with it. In response to 105 questions asked, 86 were judged to have been answered correctly, 13 answers were deemed incomplete, and 6 were judged incorrect. Pharmacists were more likely to respond incorrectly to complex questions and questions posed during the night shift. As a result of the audit, staff members with advanced clinical knowledge were asked to help less experienced pharmacists, the position of assistant director for drug information and staff development was created, and educational programs were instituted. The QA audit has been repeated twice. Posing test drug information questions via anonymous telephone calls is effective in assessing the quality of drug information provided by pharmacists in patient-care areas.

  8. Understanding the Factors Influencing User Experience of Social Question and Answer Services

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deng, Shengli; Fang, Yuling; Liu, Yong; Li, Hongxiu

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: The popularity of social question and answer sites has made it an important and convenient source for obtaining knowledge. This study quantifies how three different system characteristics (interface design, interaction and answer quality) affect users' perceptions (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment),…

  9. 41 CFR 300-2.20 - What is the purpose of the question & answer format?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What is the purpose of the question & answer format? 300-2.20 Section 300-2.20 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System GENERAL INTRODUCTION 2-HOW TO USE THE FTR Question & Answer Format § 300...

  10. Records--The Achilles' Heel of School Nursing: Answers to Bothersome Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwab, Nadine C.; Pohlman, Katherine J.

    2004-01-01

    This article addresses practice issues related to school health records and school nursing documentation. Because the issues have been posed by practicing school nurses, the article is in Question and Answer (Q&A) format. Specifically, the questions addressed concern the following: ownership and storage location of student health records when…

  11. A Semi-Supervised Learning Approach to Enhance Health Care Community–Based Question Answering: A Case Study in Alcoholism

    PubMed Central

    Klabjan, Diego; Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha Reddy

    2016-01-01

    Background Community-based question answering (CQA) sites play an important role in addressing health information needs. However, a significant number of posted questions remain unanswered. Automatically answering the posted questions can provide a useful source of information for Web-based health communities. Objective In this study, we developed an algorithm to automatically answer health-related questions based on past questions and answers (QA). We also aimed to understand information embedded within Web-based health content that are good features in identifying valid answers. Methods Our proposed algorithm uses information retrieval techniques to identify candidate answers from resolved QA. To rank these candidates, we implemented a semi-supervised leaning algorithm that extracts the best answer to a question. We assessed this approach on a curated corpus from Yahoo! Answers and compared against a rule-based string similarity baseline. Results On our dataset, the semi-supervised learning algorithm has an accuracy of 86.2%. Unified medical language system–based (health related) features used in the model enhance the algorithm’s performance by proximately 8%. A reasonably high rate of accuracy is obtained given that the data are considerably noisy. Important features distinguishing a valid answer from an invalid answer include text length, number of stop words contained in a test question, a distance between the test question and other questions in the corpus, and a number of overlapping health-related terms between questions. Conclusions Overall, our automated QA system based on historical QA pairs is shown to be effective according to the dataset in this case study. It is developed for general use in the health care domain, which can also be applied to other CQA sites. PMID:27485666

  12. Approaches to answering critical CER questions.

    PubMed

    Kinnier, Christine V; Chung, Jeanette W; Bilimoria, Karl Y

    2015-01-01

    While randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for research, many research questions cannot be ethically and practically answered using an RCT. Comparative effectiveness research (CER) techniques are often better suited than RCTs to address the effects of an intervention under routine care conditions, an outcome otherwise known as effectiveness. CER research techniques covered in this section include: effectiveness-oriented experimental studies such as pragmatic trials and cluster randomized trials, treatment response heterogeneity, observational and database studies including adjustment techniques such as sensitivity analysis and propensity score analysis, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, decision analysis, and cost effectiveness analysis. Each section describes the technique and covers the strengths and weaknesses of the approach.

  13. Fillers as Signals: Evidence from a Question-Answering Paradigm

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Esther J.; Risko, Evan F.; Kingstone, Alan

    2014-01-01

    The present study examined the influence of a human or computer "partner" on the production of fillers ("um" and "uh") during a question and answer task. Experiment 1 investigated whether or not responding to a human partner as opposed to a computer partner results in a higher rate of filler production. Participants…

  14. Long-Term Follow-Up of Echolalia and Question Answering.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foxx, R. M.; Faw, Gerald D.

    1990-01-01

    A long-term followup (from 26 to 57 months) of echolalia and correct question-answering was conducted with six mentally retarded adult subjects identified from three previously published studies. Echolalia was lower than in baseline in 80.6 percent of the followups. Issues related to the study of maintenance are discussed. (Author/DB)

  15. 77 FR 74671 - Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Fifth Edition)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2012-D-1002] Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Fifth Edition) AGENCY... announcing the availability of a guidance for industry entitled ``Questions and Answers Regarding Food...

  16. Comparing the use of an online expert health network against common information sources to answer health questions.

    PubMed

    Rhebergen, Martijn D F; Lenderink, Annet F; van Dijk, Frank J H; Hulshof, Carel T J

    2012-02-02

    Many workers have questions about occupational safety and health (OSH). It is unknown whether workers are able to find correct, evidence-based answers to OSH questions when they use common information sources, such as websites, or whether they would benefit from using an easily accessible, free-of-charge online network of OSH experts providing advice. To assess the rate of correct, evidence-based answers to OSH questions in a group of workers who used an online network of OSH experts (intervention group) compared with a group of workers who used common information sources (control group). In a quasi-experimental study, workers in the intervention and control groups were randomly offered 2 questions from a pool of 16 standardized OSH questions. Both questions were sent by mail to all participants, who had 3 weeks to answer them. The intervention group was instructed to use only the online network ArboAntwoord, a network of about 80 OSH experts, to solve the questions. The control group was instructed that they could use all information sources available to them. To assess answer correctness as the main study outcome, 16 standardized correct model answers were constructed with the help of reviewers who performed literature searches. Subsequently, the answers provided by all participants in the intervention (n = 94 answers) and control groups (n = 124 answers) were blinded and compared with the correct model answers on the degree of correctness. Of the 94 answers given by participants in the intervention group, 58 were correct (62%), compared with 24 of the 124 answers (19%) in the control group, who mainly used informational websites found via Google. The difference between the 2 groups was significant (rate difference = 43%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 30%-54%). Additional analysis showed that the rate of correct main conclusions of the answers was 85 of 94 answers (90%) in the intervention group and 75 of 124 answers (61%) in the control group (rate difference

  17. Comparing the Use of an Online Expert Health Network against Common Information Sources to Answer Health Questions

    PubMed Central

    Lenderink, Annet F; van Dijk, Frank JH; Hulshof, Carel TJ

    2012-01-01

    Background Many workers have questions about occupational safety and health (OSH). It is unknown whether workers are able to find correct, evidence-based answers to OSH questions when they use common information sources, such as websites, or whether they would benefit from using an easily accessible, free-of-charge online network of OSH experts providing advice. Objective To assess the rate of correct, evidence-based answers to OSH questions in a group of workers who used an online network of OSH experts (intervention group) compared with a group of workers who used common information sources (control group). Methods In a quasi-experimental study, workers in the intervention and control groups were randomly offered 2 questions from a pool of 16 standardized OSH questions. Both questions were sent by mail to all participants, who had 3 weeks to answer them. The intervention group was instructed to use only the online network ArboAntwoord, a network of about 80 OSH experts, to solve the questions. The control group was instructed that they could use all information sources available to them. To assess answer correctness as the main study outcome, 16 standardized correct model answers were constructed with the help of reviewers who performed literature searches. Subsequently, the answers provided by all participants in the intervention (n = 94 answers) and control groups (n = 124 answers) were blinded and compared with the correct model answers on the degree of correctness. Results Of the 94 answers given by participants in the intervention group, 58 were correct (62%), compared with 24 of the 124 answers (19%) in the control group, who mainly used informational websites found via Google. The difference between the 2 groups was significant (rate difference = 43%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 30%–54%). Additional analysis showed that the rate of correct main conclusions of the answers was 85 of 94 answers (90%) in the intervention group and 75 of 124 answers (61%) in

  18. Use of Feedback-Oriented Online Exercises to Help Physiology Students Construct Well-Organized Answers to Short-Answer Questions.

    PubMed

    Carnegie, Jacqueline

    2015-01-01

    Postsecondary education often requires students to use higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) such as analysis, evaluation, and creation as they assess situations and apply what they have learned during lecture to the formulation of solutions. Summative assessment of these abilities is often accomplished using short-answer questions (SAQs). Quandary was used to create feedback-oriented interactive online exercises to help students strengthen certain HOCS as they actively constructed answers to questions concerning the regulation of 1) metabolic rate, 2) blood sugar, 3) erythropoiesis, and 4) stroke volume. Each exercise began with a SAQ presenting an endocrine dysfunction or a physiological challenge; students were prompted to answer between six and eight multiple-choice questions while building their answer to the SAQ. Student outcomes on the SAQ sections of summative exams were compared before and after the introduction of the online tool and also between subgroups of students within the posttool-introduction population who demonstrated different levels of participation in the online exercises. While overall SAQ outcomes were not different before and after the introduction of the online exercises, once the SAQ tool had become available, those students who chose to use it had improved SAQ outcomes compared with those who did not. © 2015 J. Carnegie. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  19. Selecting Information to Answer Questions: Strategic Individual Differences when Searching Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cerdan, Raquel; Gilabert, Ramiro; Vidal-Abarca, Eduardo

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to explore students' selection of information strategies in a task-oriented reading situation. 72 secondary school students read two texts and answered six questions per text, three of which were manipulated to induce a misleading matching between the wording of the question and distracting pieces of information in the…

  20. Questions and Answers about RTI: A Guide to Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moran, Heather; Petruzzelli, Anthony

    2011-01-01

    As Response-to-Intervention (RTI) models continue to attract a great deal of attention, school and district leaders need to understand the structures needed, the personnel required, the challenges faced, and rewards realized from RTI. "Questions and Answers About RTI: A Guide to Success" is designed to guide a school or district through the…

  1. Assessment of H1N1 questions and answers posted on the Web.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sujin; Pinkerton, Thomas; Ganesh, Nithya

    2012-04-01

    A novel strain of human influenza A (H1N1) posed a serious pandemic threat worldwide during 2009. The public's fear of pandemic flu often raises awareness and discussion of such events. The goal of this study was to characterize major topical matters of H1N1 questions and answers raised by the online question and answer community Yahoo! Answers during H1N1 outbreak. The study used Text Mining for SPSS Clementine (v.12; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) to extract the major concepts of the collected Yahoo! questions and answers. The original collections were retrieved using "H1N1" in search, keyword and then filtered for only "resolved questions" in the "health" category submitted within the past 2 years. The most frequently formed categories were as follows: general health (health, disease, medicine, investigation, evidence, problem), flu-specific terms (H1N1, swine, shot, fever, cold, infective, throat), and nonmedical issues (feel, North American, people, child, nations, government, states, help, doubt, emotion). The study found that URL data are fairly predictable: those providing answers are divided between ones dedicated to giving trustworthy information-from news organizations and the government, for instance-and those looking to espouse a more biased point of view. Critical evaluation of online sources should be taught to select the quality of information and improve health literacy. The challenges of pandemic prevention and control, therefore, demand both e-surveillance and better informed "Netizens." Copyright © 2012 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. 10 Questions to Answer for Technology to Succeed in Your School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gosmire, Doreen; Grady, Marilyn L.

    2007-01-01

    Few principals claim to be technology experts. Most aspire to design a map that leads their schools to success with educational technology. However, the key to success on the journey is not knowing everything or becoming a technology expert. It is about asking the right questions, exploring the answers to those questions, and creating a road map…

  3. A cognitive evaluation of four online search engines for answering definitional questions posed by physicians.

    PubMed

    Yu, Hong; Kaufman, David

    2007-01-01

    The Internet is having a profound impact on physicians' medical decision making. One recent survey of 277 physicians showed that 72% of physicians regularly used the Internet to research medical information and 51% admitted that information from web sites influenced their clinical decisions. This paper describes the first cognitive evaluation of four state-of-the-art Internet search engines: Google (i.e., Google and Scholar.Google), MedQA, Onelook, and PubMed for answering definitional questions (i.e., questions with the format of "What is X?") posed by physicians. Onelook is a portal for online definitions, and MedQA is a question answering system that automatically generates short texts to answer specific biomedical questions. Our evaluation criteria include quality of answer, ease of use, time spent, and number of actions taken. Our results show that MedQA outperforms Onelook and PubMed in most of the criteria, and that MedQA surpasses Google in time spent and number of actions, two important efficiency criteria. Our results show that Google is the best system for quality of answer and ease of use. We conclude that Google is an effective search engine for medical definitions, and that MedQA exceeds the other search engines in that it provides users direct answers to their questions; while the users of the other search engines have to visit several sites before finding all of the pertinent information.

  4. Survey design research: a tool for answering nursing research questions.

    PubMed

    Siedlecki, Sandra L; Butler, Robert S; Burchill, Christian N

    2015-01-01

    The clinical nurse specialist is in a unique position to identify and study clinical problems in need of answers, but lack of time and resources may discourage nurses from conducting research. However, some research methods can be used by the clinical nurse specialist that are not time-intensive or cost prohibitive. The purpose of this article is to explain the utility of survey methodology for answering a number of nursing research questions. The article covers survey content, reliability and validity issues, sample size considerations, and methods of survey delivery.

  5. Questions and Answers about AFTERSCHOOL CARE: A Sloan Work and Family Research Network Fact Sheet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sloan Work and Family Research Network, 2008

    2008-01-01

    The Sloan Work and Family Research Network has prepared Fact Sheets that provide statistical answers to some important questions about work-family and work-life issues. This Fact Sheet includes statistics about Afterschool Care, and answers the following questions about afterschool programs: (1) How does afterschool care help children?; (2) How…

  6. Answers to the 50 Most Important Questions about Private Mental Health Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forman, Bruce D.; Silverman, Wade H.

    Designed for anyone contemplating or presently established in private mental health practice, this book provides the answers to 50 pertinent questions concerning private practice. Questions were culled from a survey of graduate students in psychology, as well as experienced psychotherapists, psychiatrists, social workers, mental health counselors,…

  7. The Answering Process for Multiple-Choice Questions in Collaborative Learning: A Mathematical Learning Model Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nakamura, Yasuyuki; Nishi, Shinnosuke; Muramatsu, Yuta; Yasutake, Koichi; Yamakawa, Osamu; Tagawa, Takahiro

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce a mathematical model for collaborative learning and the answering process for multiple-choice questions. The collaborative learning model is inspired by the Ising spin model and the model for answering multiple-choice questions is based on their difficulty level. An intensive simulation study predicts the possibility of…

  8. Questions and Answers on Disciplining Students with Disabilities. OSEP Memorandum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heumann, Judith E.; Hehir, Thomas

    This document, presented in question and answer format, provides guidance about legal requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) concerning the misconduct of students with disabilities and corrects the misunderstanding that students with disabilities are exempt from discipline under current law. It discusses recent…

  9. Kant's answer to the question 'what is man?' and its implications for anthropology.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Alix A

    2008-12-01

    This paper examines Kant's anthropological project and its relationship to his conception of 'man' in order to show that Kant's answer to the question 'what is man?' entails a decisive re-evaluation of traditional conceptions of human nature. I argue that Kant redirects the question 'what is man?' away from defining man in terms of what he is, and towards defining him in terms of what he does, in particular through the distinction between three levels of what I will call 'man's praxis': the levels of technicality, prudence, and morality. As soon as man is understood in terms of what he makes of himself rather than in terms of what he is, two crucial issues arise: what is the purpose of his making? And how can he reach this destination? My claim is that whilst the first question is answered by ethics and a doctrine of prudence, the second question is answered by anthropology. In this sense, anthropology plays the crucial role of identifying the worldly helps and hindrances to the realisation of man's purposes--and this is the reason why it should be understood as a 'pragmatic' discipline.

  10. Science Matters Podcast: Questions and Answers with EPA's Dr. Peter Grevatt

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Listen to a podcast with Dr. Peter Grevatt, the director of EPA's Office of Children's Health Protection, as he answers questions about children's health, or read some of the highlights from the conversation here.

  11. Towards A Comprehensive Consideration of Epistemic Questions in Software System Safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Holloway, C. M.; Johnson, Chris W.

    2009-01-01

    For any software system upon which lives depend, the most important question one can ask about it is, 'How do we know the system is safe?' Despite the critical importance of this question, no widely accepted, generally applicable answer exists. Instead, debate continues to rage over the question, with theorists and practitioners quarrelling with each other and amongst themselves. This paper suggests a possible way forward towards quelling the quarrels, based on refining the critical safety question into additional questions, which may be more likely to have answers on which a consensus can be reached.

  12. Answering Student Questions During Examinations: A Descriptive Study of Faculty Beliefs.

    PubMed

    Stillwell, Susan B; Krautscheid, Lorretta C

    2016-01-01

    Examinations are used to evaluate individual student learning. Therefore, fair and consistent administration practices are essential. One issue associated with testing administration practices includes whether or not students should be allowed to ask questions during exams and how faculty should respond. Findings from this descriptive study indicate that faculty believe answering questions disrupts the testing environment, inhibits effective monitoring of the testing environment, and could provide unfair hints to students who ask questions. Yet, faculty permit students to ask questions to clarify unclear wording, to provide definitions, and to appear receptive to student needs. Recommendations for nursing education and research are provided.

  13. 29 CFR 2509.75-5 - Questions and answers relating to fiduciary responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    .... 2509.75-5 Section 2509.75-5 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY... SECURITY ACT OF 1974 § 2509.75-5 Questions and answers relating to fiduciary responsibility. On June 25, 1975, the Department of Labor issued an interpretive bulletin, ERISA IB 75-5, containing questions and...

  14. Questions and Answers about Child Care: A Sloan Work and Family Research Network Fact Sheet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sloan Work and Family Research Network, 2008

    2008-01-01

    The Sloan Work and Family Research Network has prepared Fact Sheets that provide statistical answers to some important questions about work-family and work-life issues. This Fact Sheet includes statistics about Child Care, and answers the following questions about child care: (1) How many children are in child care?; (2) How many hours per week do…

  15. 76 FR 4360 - Draft Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Implementation of the Menu Labeling...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-25

    ...] Draft Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Implementation of the Menu Labeling...: Questions and Answers Regarding Implementation of the Menu Labeling Provisions of Section 4205 of the... Implementation of the Menu Labeling Provisions of Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...

  16. Questions and Answers on Unfair Labor Practices. A Practitioner's Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Indiana Univ., Bloomington. Midwest Center for Public Sector Labor Relations.

    An unfair labor practice is the violation of any right granted employees, unions, or employers by a collective bargaining law. This guide answers common questions about unfair labor practices in public sector labor relations. The booklet is divided into two sections, unfair employer labor practices and unfair union labor practices. The section…

  17. Toward automated classification of consumers' cancer-related questions with a new taxonomy of expected answer types.

    PubMed

    McRoy, Susan; Jones, Sean; Kurmally, Adam

    2016-09-01

    This article examines methods for automated question classification applied to cancer-related questions that people have asked on the web. This work is part of a broader effort to provide automated question answering for health education. We created a new corpus of consumer-health questions related to cancer and a new taxonomy for those questions. We then compared the effectiveness of different statistical methods for developing classifiers, including weighted classification and resampling. Basic methods for building classifiers were limited by the high variability in the natural distribution of questions and typical refinement approaches of feature selection and merging categories achieved only small improvements to classifier accuracy. Best performance was achieved using weighted classification and resampling methods, the latter yielding an accuracy of F1 = 0.963. Thus, it would appear that statistical classifiers can be trained on natural data, but only if natural distributions of classes are smoothed. Such classifiers would be useful for automated question answering, for enriching web-based content, or assisting clinical professionals to answer questions. © The Author(s) 2015.

  18. 500 Questions and Answers for New Teachers: A Survival Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Torreano, Joanna Montagna

    This book presents tips, in the form of questions and answers, to help beginning teachers feel less isolated. There are six sections. "Getting Your Act Together" includes "What To Do Before School Opens"; "The First Day of School"; "Open House"; "Goal Setting"; and "Last Day of School.""Getting To Know You" includes "Administrators"; "Board of…

  19. Infectious Mononucleosis in Active Patients: Definitive Answers to Common Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Auwaerter, Paul G.

    2002-01-01

    Describes infectious mononucleosis (IM), examining viral transmission and infection, clinical features, diagnosis, and management. Focuses on answers to several commonly asked questions about IM in sport (e.g., when it is safe to resume sports after IM, how often fatigue or depression are related to earlier bouts of IM, and how often IM is…

  20. 41 CFR 300-2.21 - How is the rule expressed in the question and answer format?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How is the rule expressed in the question and answer format? 300-2.21 Section 300-2.21 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System GENERAL INTRODUCTION 2-HOW TO USE THE FTR Question & Answer...

  1. Using Written-Answer Questions To Complement Numerical Problems. Case Study: A Separation Processes Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Iveson, Simon M.

    2002-01-01

    Describes the process and outcome of including in assignments and examinations some questions requiring written answers along with traditional questions requiring only numerical calculations. Lists questions used in a chemical engineering course on separation processes along with sample responses from students. Student feedback indicates a…

  2. Children's Ability to Answer Different Types of Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salomo, Dorothe; Lieven, Elena; Tomasello, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Young children answer many questions every day. The extent to which they do this in an adult-like way -- following Grice's Maxim of Quantity by providing the requested information, no more no less -- has been studied very little. In an experiment, we found that two-, three- and four-year-old children are quite skilled at answering…

  3. Examining the Impact of Question Surface Features on Students’ Answers to Constructed-Response Questions on Photosynthesis

    PubMed Central

    Weston, Michele; Haudek, Kevin C.; Prevost, Luanna; Urban-Lurain, Mark; Merrill, John

    2015-01-01

    One challenge in science education assessment is that students often focus on surface features of questions rather than the underlying scientific principles. We investigated how student written responses to constructed-response questions about photosynthesis vary based on two surface features of the question: the species of plant and the order of two question prompts. We asked four versions of the question with different combinations of the two plant species and order of prompts in an introductory cell biology course. We found that there was not a significant difference in the content of student responses to versions of the question stem with different species or order of prompts, using both computerized lexical analysis and expert scoring. We conducted 20 face-to-face interviews with students to further probe the effects of question wording on student responses. During the interviews, we found that students thought that the plant species was neither relevant nor confusing when answering the question. Students identified the prompts as both relevant and confusing. However, this confusion was not specific to a single version. PMID:25999312

  4. The new history of psychology II: Some (different) answers to Watrin's four questions.

    PubMed

    Brock, Adrian C

    2017-05-01

    This article is mainly a response to the article by João Paulo Watrin, "The Ambiguous 'New History of Psychology': Some New Questions to Brock (2017)" (Watrin, 2017), which was itself a reply to my article, "The New History of Psychology: Some (Different) Answers to Lovett's Five Questions" (Brock, 2017). Watrin (2017) suggested that previous writers have conflated the terms "critical history" and "new history." They are said to differ, in that although the former is merely a name for a loose collection of approaches to the history of psychology, the latter involves rhetoric about the historiographical commitments of critical history. He also disputed the validity of the distinction between "old" and "new" history. I suggest that he is wrong on all these points. Watrin then poses and answers four rhetorical questions on Whig history, textbooks, critical thinking, and ad hominem arguments, and I provide alternative answers to all of them. After suggesting that our different views can be attributed to different agendas, I conclude with some reflections on how professional historians and psychologists can work together. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. The National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) - Some questions and answers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ficke, John F.; Hawkinson, Richard O.

    1975-01-01

    One of the major new efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey is the National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN). This circular is intended to answer some of the frequently asked questions concerning concepts used in establishing NASQAN, its purposes, design, value, and future plans.

  6. How do primary care physicians seek answers to clinical questions? A literature review.

    PubMed

    Coumou, Herma C H; Meijman, Frans J

    2006-01-01

    The authors investigated the extent to which changes occurred between 1992 and 2005 in the ways that primary care physicians seek answers to clinical problems. What search strategies are used? How much time is spent on them? How do primary care physicians evaluate various search activities and information sources? Can a clinical librarian be useful to a primary care physician? Twenty-one original research papers and three literature reviews were examined. No systematic reviews were identified. Primary care physicians seek answers to only a limited number of questions about which they first consult colleagues and paper sources. This practice has basically not changed over the years despite the enormous increase in and better accessibility to electronic information sources. One of the major obstacles is the time it takes to search for information. Other difficulties primary care physicians experience are related to formulating an appropriate search question, finding an optimal search strategy, and interpreting the evidence found. Some studies have been done on the supporting role of a clinical librarian in general practice. However, the effects on professional behavior of the primary care physician and on patient outcome have not been studied. A small group of primary care physicians prefer this support to developing their own search skills. Primary care physicians have several options for finding quick answers: building a question-and-answer database, consulting filtered information sources, or using an intermediary such as a clinical librarian.

  7. How do primary care physicians seek answers to clinical questions? A literature review

    PubMed Central

    Coumou, Herma C. H.; Meijman, Frans J.

    2006-01-01

    Objectives: The authors investigated the extent to which changes occurred between 1992 and 2005 in the ways that primary care physicians seek answers to clinical problems. What search strategies are used? How much time is spent on them? How do primary care physicians evaluate various search activities and information sources? Can a clinical librarian be useful to a primary care physician? Methods: Twenty-one original research papers and three literature reviews were examined. No systematic reviews were identified. Results: Primary care physicians seek answers to only a limited number of questions about which they first consult colleagues and paper sources. This practice has basically not changed over the years despite the enormous increase in and better accessibility to electronic information sources. One of the major obstacles is the time it takes to search for information. Other difficulties primary care physicians experience are related to formulating an appropriate search question, finding an optimal search strategy, and interpreting the evidence found. Some studies have been done on the supporting role of a clinical librarian in general practice. However, the effects on professional behavior of the primary care physician and on patient outcome have not been studied. A small group of primary care physicians prefer this support to developing their own search skills. Discussion: Primary care physicians have several options for finding quick answers: building a question-and-answer database, consulting filtered information sources, or using an intermediary such as a clinical librarian. PMID:16404470

  8. Use of Feedback-Oriented Online Exercises to Help Physiology Students Construct Well-Organized Answers to Short-Answer Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carnegie, Jacqueline

    2015-01-01

    Postsecondary education often requires students to use higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) such as analysis, evaluation, and creation as they assess situations and apply what they have learned during lecture to the formulation of solutions. Summative assessment of these abilities is often accomplished using short-answer questions (SAQs). Quandary…

  9. Improving Reading Rates and Comprehension through Timed Repeated Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Anna C-S.; Millett, Sonia

    2013-01-01

    Thirteen English as a foreign language students read 26 passages during a 13-week period. Each passage was read five times, and students answered comprehension questions after the first and the fifth reading. Another 13 students read the same number of passages but without repetition and only answered the comprehension questions once. All students…

  10. Questions and Answers for Reporting for the 2006 Partial Updating of the TSCA Chemical Inventory Database: Inorganic Chemicals Addendum

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This document addresses specific questions related to reporting inorganic chemicals under the IUR and is an addendum to the Questions and Answers for Reporting for the 2006 Partial Updating of the TSCA Chemical Inventory Database (Questions and Answers Document).

  11. Frequently Asked Questions about ADHD and the Answers from the Internet.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loechler, Kathy

    1999-01-01

    Identifies useful Internet sites about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the results of searching these sites to answer common questions concerning incidence of ADHD, basic information about Ritalin drug therapy, educational placement of students with ADHD, sources of information about special needs, and what parents can do at…

  12. Using and Developing with CD-Interactive: Frequently Asked Questions Are Answered.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lediaev, Lucy; van Sonderen, Lex

    1994-01-01

    Discusses Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I) using a question-and-answer format. Highlights include development of the CD-I technology; where to purchase discs and players; compatibility with other CD-ROM drives; how to make discs; authoring systems versus custom programs; entertainment and educational applications; licensing issues; specifications;…

  13. 15 CFR Supplement No. 1 to Part 734 - Questions and Answers-Technology and Software Subject to the EAR

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Questions and Answers-Technology and... Supplement No. 1 to Part 734—Questions and Answers—Technology and Software Subject to the EAR This Supplement No. 1 contains explanatory questions and answers relating to technology and software that is subject...

  14. Have the Answers to Common Legal Questions Concerning Nutrition Support Changed Over the Past Decade? 10 Questions for 10 Years.

    PubMed

    Barrocas, Albert; Cohen, Michael L

    2016-06-01

    Clinical nutrition specialists (CNSs) are often confronted with technological, ethical, and legal questions, that is, what can be done technologically, what should be done ethically, and what must be done legally, which conflict at times. The conflict represents a "troubling trichotomy" as discussed in the lead article of this issue of Nutrition in Clinical Practice (NCP). During Clinical Nutrition Week in 2006, a symposium covering these 3 topics was presented, and later that year, an article covering the same topic was published in NCP In this article, we revisit several legal questions/issues that were raised 10 years ago and discuss current answers and approaches. Some of the answers remain unchanged. Other answers have been modified by additional legislation, court decisions, or regulations. In addition, new questions/issues have arisen. Some of the most common questions regarding nutrition support involve the following: liability, informed consent, medical decisional incapacity vs legal competence, advance directive specificity, surrogate decision making, physician orders for life-sustaining treatment and electronic medical orders for life-sustaining treatment, legal definition of death, patient vs family decision making, the noncompliant patient, and elder abuse obligations. In the current healthcare environment, these questions and issues are best addressed via a transdisciplinary team that focuses on function rather than form. The CNS can play a pivotal role in dealing with these challenges by applying the acronym ACT: being Accountable and Communicating with all stakeholders while actively participating as an integral part of the transdisciplinary Team. © 2016 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

  15. Social Question and Answer Services versus Library Virtual Reference: Evaluation and Comparison from the Users' Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Yin; Deng, Shengli

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: In recent years, the introduction of social question and answer services and other Internet tools have expanded the ways in which people have their questions answered. There has been speculation and debate over whether such services and other Internet tools are replacing library virtual reference services. Method: Most previous…

  16. AGU Climate Scientists Offer Question-and-Answer Service for Media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jackson, Stacy

    2010-03-01

    In fall 2009, AGU launched a member-driven pilot project to improve the accuracy of climate science coverage in the media and to improve public understanding of climate science. The project's goal was to increase the accessibility of climate science experts to journalists across the full spectrum of media outlets. As a supplement to the traditional one-to-one journalist-expert relationship model, the project tested the novel approach of providing a question-and-answer (Q&A) service with a pool of expert scientists and a Web-based interface with journalists. Questions were explicitly limited to climate science to maintain a nonadvocacy, nonpartisan perspective.

  17. The Answering System to Yes-No Truth-Functional Questions in Korean-English Bilingual Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Choi, Hansook

    2014-01-01

    This study presents an experiment that explores the patterns of answers to yes-no truth-functional questions in English and Korean. The answering patterns are examined from 12 Korean-English bilingual children and 10 Korean-monolingual children. Four types of sentences in relation to given situations (Wason in "Br J Psychol" 52:133-142,…

  18. The Most Reasonable Answer: Helping Students Build Better Arguments Together

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reznitskaya, Alina; Wilkinson, Ian A. G.

    2017-01-01

    "The Most Reasonable Answer" is an innovative and comprehensive guide to engaging students in inquiry dialogue--a type of talk used in text-based classroom discussions. During inquiry dialogue, students collectively search for the most reasonable answers to big, controversial questions, and, as a result, enhance their argumentation…

  19. Interpretation of Genomic Data Questions and Answers

    PubMed Central

    Simon, Richard

    2008-01-01

    Using a question and answer format we describe important aspects of using genomic technologies in cancer research. The main challenges are not managing the mass of data, but rather the design, analysis and accurate reporting of studies that result in increased biological knowledge and medical utility. Many analysis issues address the use of expression microarrays but are also applicable to other whole genome assays. Microarray based clinical investigations have generated both unrealistic hyperbole and excessive skepticism. Genomic technologies are tremendously powerful and will play instrumental roles in elucidating the mechanisms of oncogenesis and in devlopingan era of predictive medicine in which treatments are tailored to individual tumors. Achieving these goals involves challenges in re-thinking many paradigms for the conduct of basic and clinical cancer research and for the organization of interdisciplinary collaboration. PMID:18582627

  20. Practical question-and-answer guide on VDTS (video display terminals) for BEES (base bioenvironmental engineer). Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Olson, B.M.

    1985-01-01

    The USAF OEHL conducted an extensive literature review of Video Display Terminals (VDTs) and the health problems commonly associated with them. The report is presented in a question-and-answer format in an attempt to paraphrase the most commonly asked questions about VDTs that are forwarded to USAF OEHL/RZN. The questions and answers have been divided into several topic areas: Ionizing Radiation; Nonionizing Radiation; Optical Radiation; Ultrasound; Static Electricity; Health Complaints/Ergonomics; Pregnancy.

  1. An Experimental Remote Question-Answer Scan Television and Student Evaluation System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rigas, Anthony L.

    Presented is a description of the development and use of a technical system designed to provide students (in this case, engineering students) situated at remote sites a means for better interaction with their instructors. For example, students at such sites cannot get their immediate questions answered because of the physical location of their…

  2. Verbal Paradata and Survey Error: Respondent Speech, Voice, and Question-Answering Behavior Can Predict Income Item Nonresponse

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jans, Matthew E.

    2010-01-01

    Income nonresponse is a significant problem in survey data, with rates as high as 50%, yet we know little about why it occurs. It is plausible that the way respondents answer survey questions (e.g., their voice and speech characteristics, and their question- answering behavior) can predict whether they will provide income data, and will reflect…

  3. Long-term follow-up of echolalia and question answering.

    PubMed

    Foxx, R M; Faw, G D

    1990-01-01

    A long-term follow-up of echolalia and correct question answering was conducted for 6 subjects from three previously published studies. The follow-up periods ranged from 26 to 57 months. In a training site follow-up, subjects were exposed to baseline/posttraining conditions in which the original trainer and/or a novel person(s) presented trained and untrained questions. Four subjects displayed echolalia below baseline levels, and another did so in some assessments. Overall, echolalia was lower than in baseline in 80.6% of the follow-ups. Five subjects displayed correct responding above baseline levels. No clear differences were noted in correct responding or echolalia between the trainer and novel-person presentations or between trained and untrained questions. In a follow-up in a natural environment conducted by a novel person, lower than baseline levels of echolalia were displayed by 3 subjects; 2 subjects displayed lower than baseline levels in some assessments. Two subjects consistently displayed correct responding above baseline, and 3 did so occasionally. Issues related to the study of maintenance are discussed.

  4. Long-term follow-up of echolalia and question answering.

    PubMed Central

    Foxx, R M; Faw, G D

    1990-01-01

    A long-term follow-up of echolalia and correct question answering was conducted for 6 subjects from three previously published studies. The follow-up periods ranged from 26 to 57 months. In a training site follow-up, subjects were exposed to baseline/posttraining conditions in which the original trainer and/or a novel person(s) presented trained and untrained questions. Four subjects displayed echolalia below baseline levels, and another did so in some assessments. Overall, echolalia was lower than in baseline in 80.6% of the follow-ups. Five subjects displayed correct responding above baseline levels. No clear differences were noted in correct responding or echolalia between the trainer and novel-person presentations or between trained and untrained questions. In a follow-up in a natural environment conducted by a novel person, lower than baseline levels of echolalia were displayed by 3 subjects; 2 subjects displayed lower than baseline levels in some assessments. Two subjects consistently displayed correct responding above baseline, and 3 did so occasionally. Issues related to the study of maintenance are discussed. PMID:2249974

  5. Student certainty answering misconception question: study of Three-Tier Multiple-Choice Diagnostic Test in Acid-Base and Solubility Equilibrium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ardiansah; Masykuri, M.; Rahardjo, S. B.

    2018-04-01

    Students’ concept comprehension in three-tier multiple-choice diagnostic test related to student confidence level. The confidence level related to certainty and student’s self-efficacy. The purpose of this research was to find out students’ certainty in misconception test. This research was quantitative-qualitative research method counting students’ confidence level. The research participants were 484 students that were studying acid-base and equilibrium solubility subject. Data was collected using three-tier multiple-choice (3TMC) with thirty questions and students’ questionnaire. The findings showed that #6 item gives the highest misconception percentage and high student confidence about the counting of ultra-dilute solution’s pH. Other findings were that 1) the student tendency chosen the misconception answer is to increase over item number, 2) student certainty decreased in terms of answering the 3TMC, and 3) student self-efficacy and achievement were related each other in the research. The findings suggest some implications and limitations for further research.

  6. The "Individualised Accounting Questions" Technique: Using Excel to Generate Quantitative Exercises for Large Classes with Unique Individual Answers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nnadi, Matthias; Rosser, Mike

    2014-01-01

    The "individualised accounting questions" (IAQ) technique set out in this paper encourages independent active learning. It enables tutors to set individualised accounting questions and construct an answer grid that can be used for any number of students, with numerical values for each student's answers based on their student enrolment…

  7. Legal Challenges and Pitfalls for Start-up Companies - 48 Common Questions and Answers.

    PubMed

    Staehelin, Matthias

    2014-12-01

    Transforming a business idea into reality requires a legal implementation plan. The following 48 questions and answers address key issues that typically arise in start-up situations. Early planning can help avoid costly mistakes.

  8. Know Hepatitis B Questions and Answers for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs)

    MedlinePlus

    ... Campaign About our Partner Spread the Word Know Hepatitis B Questions and Answers Recommend on Facebook Tweet ... Overview Transmission Symptoms Testing Treatment Overview What is Hepatitis B? Hepatitis B is a liver disease. It ...

  9. Language acquisition: hesitations in the question/answer dialogic pair.

    PubMed

    Chacon, Lourenço; Villega, Cristyane de Camargo Sampaio

    2015-01-01

    (1) To verify the existence (or not) of hesitation marks in the beginning of utterances in children's discourse; and (2) to determine to what extent the presence/absence of these marks could be explained by retrievable facts in the production conditions of their discourses. Interview situations with four children aged 5-6 years attending Kindergarten level II in a public preschool at the time of the data collection were analyzed. The interviews were recorded on audio and video, inside a soundproof booth, with high fidelity equipment. Afterwards, the recordings were transcribed by six transcribers that were specially trained for this task. Transcription rules that prioritized the analyses of hesitations were used. For the analysis of retrievable facts in the production conditions of children's discourse, the dialogic pair question-answer was adopted. A correlation between presence/absence of hesitation in the beginning of utterances in children and type of question (open/closed) made by the collocutor was observed. When the question was closed ended, the utterances were preferably initiated without hesitation marks, and when the question was open ended, the utterances were preferably initiated with hesitation marks. The presence/absence of hesitation marks in the beginning of utterances in children was found to be dependent on the production conditions of their discourses.

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

    PubMed

    Rhebergen, Martijn D F; Hulshof, Carel T J; Lenderink, Annet F; van Dijk, Frank J H

    2010-10-22

    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. 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. 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. This network tool is a promising new strategy for offering company workers high quality information to answer OSH questions. Q&A network tools can be an addition

  11. A deep learning approach for predicting the quality of online health expert question-answering services.

    PubMed

    Hu, Ze; Zhang, Zhan; Yang, Haiqin; Chen, Qing; Zuo, Decheng

    2017-07-01

    Recently, online health expert question-answering (HQA) services (systems) have attracted more and more health consumers to ask health-related questions everywhere at any time due to the convenience and effectiveness. However, the quality of answers in existing HQA systems varies in different situations. It is significant to provide effective tools to automatically determine the quality of the answers. Two main characteristics in HQA systems raise the difficulties of classification: (1) physicians' answers in an HQA system are usually written in short text, which yields the data sparsity issue; (2) HQA systems apply the quality control mechanism, which refrains the wisdom of crowd. The important information, such as the best answer and the number of users' votes, is missing. To tackle these issues, we prepare the first HQA research data set labeled by three medical experts in 90days and formulate the problem of predicting the quality of answers in the system as a classification task. We not only incorporate the standard textual feature of answers, but also introduce a set of unique non-textual features, i.e., the popular used surface linguistic features and the novel social features, from other modalities. A multimodal deep belief network (DBN)-based learning framework is then proposed to learn the high-level hidden semantic representations of answers from both textual features and non-textual features while the learned joint representation is fed into popular classifiers to determine the quality of answers. Finally, we conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of including the non-textual features and the proposed multimodal deep learning framework. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Do Melt Inclusions Answer Big Questions?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hofmann, A. W.; Sobolev, A. V.

    2009-12-01

    In a pioneering paper, Sobolev and Shimizu (1993) demonstrated the existence of ultra-depleted melt inclusions in olivine phenocrysts in MORB. They interpreted these as evidence for the preservation of parental melts formed by progressive near-fractional melting. Subsequently many cases have been described where melt inclusions from single basalt samples display enormous chemical and isotopic heterogeneity. The interpretation of these observations hinges critically on whether such melt inclusions can faithfully preserve primary or parental melt composition. If they do, melt inclusion data can truly answer big questions from small-scale observations. If they do not, they answer rather small questions. Favoring the second possibility, Danyushevsky et al. (2004) have suggested that much of the observed variability of highly incompatible trace elements in melt inclusions “may not represent geologically significant melts, but instead reflect localized, grain-scale reaction processes within the magmatic plumbing system.” We disagree and show that this mechanism cannot, for example, explain isotopic heterogeneity measured in several suites of melt inclusions, nor does it not account for the presence of ultra-depleted melts and "ghost" plagioclase signatures in other inclusions. More recently, Spandler et al. (2007) have suggested on the basis of experimental evidence that diffusion rates for REE in olivine are so rapid that parental melt compositions in melt inclusions are rapidly falsified by diffusional exchange with (evolved) host lava. We show that the very fact that extreme chemical and isotopic heterogeneities are routinely preserved in melt inclusions demonstrates that this conclusion is unwarranted, either because residence times of the olivine phenocrysts are much shorter than assumed by Spandler et al. or because the high experimental diffusion rates are caused by an unknown experimental artifact. Although there is no obvious flaw in design and execution of

  13. STS-114: Discovery Question & Answer with Joint Crew on ISS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2005-01-01

    STS-114 Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot James Kelly, Mission Specialists Souichi Noguchi, Stephen Robinson, Charles Camarda, Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, and Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips answers questions from United States, Japanese and Russian News media in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. Risk, safety, extravehicular activities, spacewalks, re-entry, gap fillers, tiles, flight operations, flight crew activities, team work, and life in space are topics covered with the News media.

  14. Formulating and Answering High-Impact Causal Questions in Physiologic Childbirth Science: Concepts and Assumptions.

    PubMed

    Snowden, Jonathan M; Tilden, Ellen L; Odden, Michelle C

    2018-06-08

    In this article, we conclude our 3-part series by focusing on several concepts that have proven useful for formulating causal questions and inferring causal effects. The process of causal inference is of key importance for physiologic childbirth science, so each concept is grounded in content related to women at low risk for perinatal complications. A prerequisite to causal inference is determining that the question of interest is causal rather than descriptive or predictive. Another critical step in defining a high-impact causal question is assessing the state of existing research for evidence of causality. We introduce 2 causal frameworks that are useful for this undertaking, Hill's causal considerations and the sufficient-component cause model. We then provide 3 steps to aid perinatal researchers in inferring causal effects in a given study. First, the researcher should formulate a rigorous and clear causal question. We introduce an example of epidural analgesia and labor progression to demonstrate this process, including the central role of temporality. Next, the researcher should assess the suitability of the given data set to answer this causal question. In randomized controlled trials, data are collected with the express purpose of answering the causal question. Investigators using observational data should also ensure that their chosen causal question is answerable with the available data. Finally, investigators should design an analysis plan that targets the causal question of interest. Some data structures (eg, time-dependent confounding by labor progress when estimating the effect of epidural analgesia on postpartum hemorrhage) require specific analytical tools to control for bias and estimate causal effects. The assumptions of consistency, exchangeability, and positivity may be especially useful in carrying out these steps. Drawing on appropriate causal concepts and considering relevant assumptions strengthens our confidence that research has reduced

  15. On-Line Mathematics Assessment: The Impact of Mode on Performance and Question Answering Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Martin; Green, Sylvia

    2006-01-01

    The transition from paper-based to computer-based assessment raises a number of important issues about how mode might affect children's performance and question answering strategies. In this project 104 eleven-year-olds were given two sets of matched mathematics questions, one set on-line and the other on paper. Facility values were analyzed to…

  16. The Communication Skills Used by Deaf Children and Their Hearing Peers in a Question-and-Answer Game Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Toe, Dianne M.; Paatsch, Louise E.

    2010-01-01

    Communication is frequently characterized by a sequence of questions and answers. Little is known about how well students who are deaf or hard of hearing (deaf/HH) understand their hearing classmates in the context of an inclusive setting. This study explored the communication skills used by deaf/HH children when asking and answering questions in…

  17. Automatic Classification of Question & Answer Discourse Segments from Teacher's Speech in Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanchard, Nathaniel; D'Mello, Sidney; Olney, Andrew M.; Nystrand, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Question-answer (Q&A) is fundamental for dialogic instruction, an important pedagogical technique based on the free exchange of ideas and open-ended discussion. Automatically detecting Q&A is key to providing teachers with feedback on appropriate use of dialogic instructional strategies. In line with this, this paper studies the…

  18. The Family and Medical Leave Act: Questions and Answers for the Academic Community.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Euben, Donna R.; Thornton, Saranna R.

    2002-01-01

    Provides excerpts from a guide written by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act. Offers advice using a question-and-answer format on the application of the legislation to different situations. (EV)

  19. The new history of psychology: Some (different) answers to Lovett's five questions.

    PubMed

    Brock, Adrian C

    2017-05-01

    [Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 20(2) of History of Psychology (see record 2016-53552-001). In this article there was an error in the 11th paragraph of the Lovett's Five Questions for the New Historians section. The conference paper "The "new" history of science: Implications for philosophy of science" by Rachel Laudan (1992) was wrongly attributed to her husband, Larry Laudan. All versions of this article have been corrected.] The professionalization of the history of psychology from the 1960s led to significant changes in the way that history was written. Several authors tried to summarize these changes in the 1980s, and Laurel Furumoto's (1989) G. Stanley Hall lecture, "The new history of psychology" is the best-known example of this genre. This journal published a critique of the new history by Benjamin R. Lovett (2006) with the title, "The new history of psychology: A review and critique," and it is still being cited as an authoritative source. The article consists of 3 parts. First, the author attempts to show that the new history is not as different from the old as its proponents claim. He then discusses some problems that he considers to be unique to the new history, and he presents them in the form of 5 questions for the new historians, which he then goes on to answer himself. Finally, he discusses the problematic relationship between critical history and psychology. This article is a reply to Lovett's article. The author argues that the new history is different from the old in every way that Lovett claims that it is not. It critically analyzes Lovett's answers to his own 5 questions and offers some alternative answers to these questions. It also suggests that many psychologist-historians are opposed to new history of psychology, especially in its critical versions, and that this explains why Lovett's article has been uncritically received. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Paper and Other Web Coating National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Questions and Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This May 2003 document contains questions and answers on the Paper and Web Coating National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulation. The questions cover topics such as compliance, applicability, and initial notification.

  1. Using the Weighted Keyword Model to Improve Information Retrieval for Answering Biomedical Questions

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Hong; Cao, Yong-gang

    2009-01-01

    Physicians ask many complex questions during the patient encounter. Information retrieval systems that can provide immediate and relevant answers to these questions can be invaluable aids to the practice of evidence-based medicine. In this study, we first automatically identify topic keywords from ad hoc clinical questions with a Condition Random Field model that is trained over thousands of manually annotated clinical questions. We then report on a linear model that assigns query weights based on their automatically identified semantic roles: topic keywords, domain specific terms, and their synonyms. Our evaluation shows that this weighted keyword model improves information retrieval from the Text Retrieval Conference Genomics track data. PMID:21347188

  2. Using the weighted keyword model to improve information retrieval for answering biomedical questions.

    PubMed

    Yu, Hong; Cao, Yong-Gang

    2009-03-01

    Physicians ask many complex questions during the patient encounter. Information retrieval systems that can provide immediate and relevant answers to these questions can be invaluable aids to the practice of evidence-based medicine. In this study, we first automatically identify topic keywords from ad hoc clinical questions with a Condition Random Field model that is trained over thousands of manually annotated clinical questions. We then report on a linear model that assigns query weights based on their automatically identified semantic roles: topic keywords, domain specific terms, and their synonyms. Our evaluation shows that this weighted keyword model improves information retrieval from the Text Retrieval Conference Genomics track data.

  3. Searching for answers to clinical questions using google versus evidence-based summary resources: a randomized controlled crossover study.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sarang; Noveck, Helaine; Galt, James; Hogshire, Lauren; Willett, Laura; O'Rourke, Kerry

    2014-06-01

    To compare the speed and accuracy of answering clinical questions using Google versus summary resources. In 2011 and 2012, 48 internal medicine interns from two classes at Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who had been trained to use three evidence-based summary resources, performed four-minute computer searches to answer 10 clinical questions. Half were randomized to initiate searches for answers to questions 1 to 5 using Google; the other half initiated searches using a summary resource. They then crossed over and used the other resource for questions 6 to 10. They documented the time spent searching and the resource where the answer was found. Time to correct response and percentage of correct responses were compared between groups using t test and general estimating equations. Of 480 questions administered, interns found answers for 393 (82%). Interns initiating searches in Google used a wider variety of resources than those starting with summary resources. No significant difference was found in mean time to correct response (138.5 seconds for Google versus 136.1 seconds for summary resource; P = .72). Mean correct response rate was 58.4% for Google versus 61.5% for summary resource (mean difference -3.1%; 95% CI -10.3% to 4.2%; P = .40). The authors found no significant differences in speed or accuracy between searches initiated using Google versus summary resources. Although summary resources are considered to provide the highest quality of evidence, improvements to allow for better speed and accuracy are needed.

  4. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title 1--Employment. Questions & Answers for Employees.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, DC.

    This guide provides information on Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in a question-and-answer format for employees. The guide covers such topics as the following: which employers must comply; what employment practices and activities are covered; who is protected against employment discrimination; definitions of a person with a…

  5. Let's Talk About Food. Answers to your Questions About Foods and Nutrition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Philip L., Ed.; Selvey, Nancy, Ed.

    This book on the subject of nutrition is written in the form of often-asked questions and detailed, informative answers. In ten chapters the following range of nutrition topics is covered: (1) meaning of RDA, nutrition labeling, calorie tables, nutrient density; (2) adequate diet, pregnancy, physical fitness, vitamins, diet for athletes, baby…

  6. 26 CFR 1.416-1 - Questions and answers on top-heavy plans.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ..., employers under common control or affiliated service group. A partner of a partnership will not be treated... employees, former key employees, and non-key employees. (b) All employers that are aggregated under section... as key employees, as former key employees, or as non-key employees. See Question and Answer T-12 for...

  7. 26 CFR 1.416-1 - Questions and answers on top-heavy plans.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ..., employers under common control or affiliated service group. A partner of a partnership will not be treated... employees, former key employees, and non-key employees. (b) All employers that are aggregated under section... as key employees, as former key employees, or as non-key employees. See Question and Answer T-12 for...

  8. Answering questions at the point of care: do residents practice EBM or manage information sources?

    PubMed

    McCord, Gary; Smucker, William D; Selius, Brian A; Hannan, Scott; Davidson, Elliot; Schrop, Susan Labuda; Rao, Vinod; Albrecht, Paula

    2007-03-01

    To determine the types of information sources that evidence-based medicine (EBM)-trained, family medicine residents use to answer clinical questions at the point of care, to assess whether the sources are evidence-based, and to provide suggestions for more effective information-management strategies in residency training. In 2005, trained medical students directly observed (for two half-days per physician) how 25 third-year family medicine residents retrieved information to answer clinical questions arising at the point of care and documented the type and name of each source, the retrieval location, and the estimated time spent consulting the source. An end-of-study questionnaire asked 37 full-time faculty and the participating residents about the best information sources available, subscriptions owned, why they use a personal digital assistant (PDA) to practice medicine, and their experience in preventing medical errors using a PDA. Forty-four percent of questions were answered by attending physicians, 23% by consulting PDAs, and 20% from books. Seventy-two percent of questions were answered within two minutes. Residents rated UptoDate as the best source for evidence-based information, but they used this source only five times. PDAs were used because of ease of use, time factors, and accessibility. All examples of medical errors discovered or prevented with PDA programs were medication related. None of the participants' residencies required the use of a specific medical information resource. The results support the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality's call for medical system improvements at the point of care. Additionally, it may be necessary to teach residents better information-management skills in addition to EBM skills.

  9. 26 CFR 1.512(a)-5T - Questions and answers relating to the unrelated business taxable income of organizations...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Questions and answers relating to the unrelated... TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Taxation of Business Income of Certain Exempt Organizations § 1.512(a)-5T Questions and answers relating to the unrelated business taxable...

  10. Examining the impact of question surface features on students' answers to constructed-response questions on photosynthesis.

    PubMed

    Weston, Michele; Haudek, Kevin C; Prevost, Luanna; Urban-Lurain, Mark; Merrill, John

    2015-01-01

    One challenge in science education assessment is that students often focus on surface features of questions rather than the underlying scientific principles. We investigated how student written responses to constructed-response questions about photosynthesis vary based on two surface features of the question: the species of plant and the order of two question prompts. We asked four versions of the question with different combinations of the two plant species and order of prompts in an introductory cell biology course. We found that there was not a significant difference in the content of student responses to versions of the question stem with different species or order of prompts, using both computerized lexical analysis and expert scoring. We conducted 20 face-to-face interviews with students to further probe the effects of question wording on student responses. During the interviews, we found that students thought that the plant species was neither relevant nor confusing when answering the question. Students identified the prompts as both relevant and confusing. However, this confusion was not specific to a single version. © 2015 M. Weston et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  11. [Mechanism of drug dependency: answers to the questions of KATO].

    PubMed

    Takigawa, M

    2000-01-01

    The complicated mechanisms of drug dependency were discussed from the perspective of a reward, especially the perspective of psychic dependency of the brain. In Kato's article, the following questions were raised. (1) Improper usage of terminology in describing the objective pharmacological behavior and describing the subjective psychic experience, e.g. the term "obsessional comfort". (2) The enhanced effects of morphine and d-amphetamine in ICSS (intracranial self-stimulation) were not suitably regarded, as these might be the results of stimulus current running in the brain. The conclusion that "morphine and d-amphetamine are 2 kinds of addictive drugs due to the reinforcement effects on ICSS" appears to be putting the incidental before the fundamental because these are addictive drugs in clinical use. (3) It was unknown why the basic problem of drug dependency was limited to psychic stimulant (antihypnotic, etc.), and why only opiates were represented as an addictive drug. (4) The conclusion that the reinforcement effects of barbital and benzodiazepine were not observed in ICSS contradicted Kato's conclusion, in which the reinforcement effects were detected in an experiment involving self-administration. (5) He reiterated that the usage of terminology was confused in describing the psychic experience and pharmacological behavioral. In response to the comments of the editors, I would answer the questions as follows: It is well-known that the terminologies used in psychiatry are strict and prudent. This should also be the case in the description of pharmacological behaviors in animal models. The author admitted Kato's profound relevant experiences in drug dependency, and did not disapprove of his criticisms about the terminology used in the article to describe objective behaviors and observe subjective experience. That article was excerpted from one of my lectures, which to some extent allowed freedom in phrases and sentences. The following are my answers to Kato

  12. Randomized controlled trials in evidence-based mental health care: getting the right answer to the right question.

    PubMed

    Essock, Susan M; Drake, Robert E; Frank, Richard G; McGuire, Thomas G

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of clinical research is to answer this question: Would a new treatment, when added to the existing range of treatment options available in practice, help patients? Randomized controlled trials (RCTs)--in particular, double-blind RCTs--have important methodological advantages over observational studies for addressing this question. These advantages, however, come at a price. RCTs compare treatments using a particular allocation rule for assigning patients to treatments (random assignment) that does not mimic real-world practice. "Favorable" results from an RCT indicating that a new treatment is superior to existing treatments are neither necessary nor sufficient for establishing a "yes" answer to the question posed above. Modeled on an experimental design, RCTs are expensive in time and money and must compare simple differences in treatments. Findings have a high internal validity but may not address the needs of the field, particularly where treatment is complex and rapidly evolving. Design of clinical research needs to take account of the way treatments are allocated in actual practice and include flexible designs to answer important questions most effectively.

  13. Addressing challenges to MMPI-2-RF-based testimony: questions and answers.

    PubMed

    Ben-Porath, Yossef S

    2012-11-01

    Introduction of a new version of a psychological test brings with it challenges that can be accentuated by the adversarial nature of the legal process. In the case of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), these challenges can be addressed by becoming familiar with the rationale for and the methods used in revising the inventory, the information contained in the test manuals, and the growing peer-reviewed literature on the test. Potential challenges to MMPI-2-RF-based testimony are identified in this article and discussed in question and answer format. The questions guiding this discussion are based on the Daubert factors, established in 1993 by the US Supreme Court as criteria for gauging the scientific validity of proffered expert testimony. The answers to these questions apply more broadly to testimony in depositions, pre-trial hearings, and at trial. Consideration of the MMPI-2-RF in light of the Daubert factors indicates that the instrument has been subjected to extensive empirical testing and that a substantial peer-reviewed literature is available to guide and support its use. Information about the known and potential rate of error associated with MMPI-2-RF scores is available, and standard procedures for administration, scoring, and interpretation of the inventory are detailed in the test administration manual. Indicators of MMPI-2-RF acceptance can be cited, and criticisms of the MMPI-2-RF can be addressed with information available in the test documents and an extensive, modern, and actively growing peer-reviewed literature.

  14. The Varieties of Student Experience--An Open Research Question and Some Ways to Answer It

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ainley, Patrick

    2008-01-01

    Based on meetings of the Society for Research into Higher Education's Student Experience Network over the past three years, the genuinely open research question is posed whether there is one or more undergraduate student experience within English higher education. Answering this question depends on whether what is taught or what is learnt is…

  15. 75 FR 11641 - Community Reinvestment Act; Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-11

    ... lending test applicable to large institutions, its content may also be applicable to, for example, small... the guidance that describes the lending, investment, and service tests. The Questions and Answers are... received total quantitative CRA consideration. Although this is true if the express, bona fide intent of...

  16. 26 CFR 35.3405-1T - Questions and answers relating to withholding on pensions, annuities, and certain other deferred...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... payment for the year? A. No. Periodic payments can vary during a calendar year because of make-up of past... 26 Internal Revenue 15 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Questions and answers relating to withholding... REGULATIONS UNDER THE TAX EQUITY AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 1982 § 35.3405-1T Questions and answers...

  17. Questions and Answers about School-Age Children in Self-Care: A Sloan Work and Family Research Network Fact Sheet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sloan Work and Family Research Network, 2009

    2009-01-01

    The Sloan Work and Family Research Network has prepared Fact Sheets that provide statistical answers to some important questions about work-family and work-life issues. This Fact Sheet includes statistics about Children in Self-Care, and answers the following questions about school-age children in self-care: (1) How many school-age children are in…

  18. Questions and Answers Explaining the New Tax Rules Applicable to Tax-Sheltered Annuities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gordon, David E.; Spuehler, Donald R.

    1991-01-01

    The Tax Reform Act of 1986 and subsequent legislation have radically altered the rules needed to maintain favorable tax status of tax-sheltered annuity plans for college employees. Application of the new rules is complex. Critical questions facing institutions and organizations are answered, and potential liabilities facing educational employers…

  19. Perspectives from the Avian Phylogenomics Project: Questions that Can Be Answered with Sequencing All Genomes of a Vertebrate Class.

    PubMed

    Jarvis, Erich D

    2016-01-01

    The rapid pace of advances in genome technology, with concomitant reductions in cost, makes it feasible that one day in our lifetime we will have available extant genomes of entire classes of species, including vertebrates. I recently helped cocoordinate the large-scale Avian Phylogenomics Project, which collected and sequenced genomes of 48 bird species representing most currently classified orders to address a range of questions in phylogenomics and comparative genomics. The consortium was able to answer questions not previously possible with just a few genomes. This success spurred on the creation of a project to sequence the genomes of at least one individual of all extant ∼10,500 bird species. The initiation of this project has led us to consider what questions now impossible to answer could be answered with all genomes, and could drive new questions now unimaginable. These include the generation of a highly resolved family tree of extant species, genome-wide association studies across species to identify genetic substrates of many complex traits, redefinition of species and the species concept, reconstruction of the genomes of common ancestors, and generation of new computational tools to address these questions. Here I present visions for the future by posing and answering questions regarding what scientists could potentially do with available genomes of an entire vertebrate class.

  20. Answering Contextually Demanding Questions: Pragmatic Errors Produced by Children with Asperger Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loukusa, Soile; Leinonen, Eeva; Jussila, Katja; Mattila, Marja-Leena; Ryder, Nuala; Ebeling, Hanna; Moilanen, Irma

    2007-01-01

    This study examined irrelevant/incorrect answers produced by children with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism (7-9-year-olds and 10-12-year-olds) and normally developing children (7-9-year-olds). The errors produced were divided into three types: in Type 1, the child answered the original question incorrectly, in Type 2, the child gave a…

  1. Questions & Answers for the New Chemicals Program under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This Questions & Answers document for the New Chemicals Program is intended only to explain the requirements of TSCA section 5 and selected EPA regulations implementing section 5, and to provide useful information to persons subject to these requirements.

  2. Warning Signs of Youth Violence. Just the Facts: Answers to Your Questions about Psychological Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Psychological Association (APA), 2002

    2002-01-01

    Violence. It's the act of purposefully hurting someone. And it's a major issue facing today's young adults. This fact sheet answers questions that those aged 12-24 might ask about violence. This age group faces the highest risk of being the victim of violence. Questions regard the causes of youth violence, warning signs, what to do if someone…

  3. Americans with Disabilities Act: Responsibilities for Postsecondary Institutions Serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students. Questions and Answers. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kincaid, Jeanne M.; Rawlinson, Sharaine J.

    This publication provides answers to questions concerning responsibilities of institutions of postsecondary education toward students who are deaf or hard of hearing under the Americans with Disabilities Act. These questions were originally received but not answered due to time constraints during two satellite conferences held by the Midwest…

  4. Pesticide Labeling Questions & Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Pesticide manufacturers, applicators, state regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders raise questions or issues about pesticide labels. The questions on this page are those that apply to multiple products or address inconsistencies among product labels.

  5. Questions and Answers Regarding the 1997 State Plan Requirements for Hospital, Medical, and Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This November 1997 document contains questions and answers on the state plan requirements for HMIWI regulations. The questions cover topics such as re-opening existing sources, timelines for submission, consequences for failure to submit, and more.

  6. 26 CFR 1.505(c)-1T - Questions and answers relating to the notification requirement for recognition of exemption under...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Questions and answers relating to the... Questions and answers relating to the notification requirement for recognition of exemption under paragraphs... taxation need not submit the notification required by section 505(c). [T.D. 8073, 51 FR 4330, Feb. 4, 1986...

  7. A Level-of-Question Effect on ESL Reading Comprehension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perkins, Kyle; And Others

    A sample of 150 Japanese English-as-a-Second-Language students at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale was given a reading comprehension test containing three levels of questions: factual, generalization, and inference, to measure comprehension effects at different proficiency strata. The results indicated that there were significant…

  8. Young Children's Sensitivity to New and Given Information when Answering Predicate-Focus Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salomo, Dorothe; Lieven, Elena; Tomasello, Michael

    2010-01-01

    In two studies we investigated 2-year-old children's answers to predicate-focus questions depending on the preceding context. Children were presented with a successive series of short video clips showing transitive actions (e.g., frog washing duck) in which either the action (action-new) or the patient (patient-new) was the changing, and therefore…

  9. Question-Answer Activities in Synchronous Virtual Classrooms in Terms of Interest and Usefulness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydemir, Melike; Kursun, Engin; Karaman, Selçuk

    2016-01-01

    Instructors generally convey their face to face habits to synchronous virtual classrooms, but these face to face strategies do not work in these environments. In this sense, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of question type and answer format used in synchronous class implementations on perceived interest and usefulness. To…

  10. Analysis of Student Responses to Peer-Instruction Conceptual Questions Answered Using an Electronic Response System: Trends by Gender and Ethnicity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steer, David; McConnell, David; Gray, Kyle; Kortz, Karen; Liang, Xin

    2009-01-01

    This descriptive study investigated students' answers to geoscience conceptual questions answered using electronic personal response systems. Answer patterns were examined to evaluate the peer-instruction pedagogical approach in a large general education classroom setting. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

  11. Acquisition of who-question comprehension in German children with hearing loss.

    PubMed

    Wimmer, Eva; Rothweiler, Monika; Penke, Martina

    2017-05-01

    For children with sensorineural hearing loss the ability to understand wh-questions might be particularly challenging because they often have only restricted access to spoken language input during optimal periods of language acquisition. In previous research it has been suggested that this restricted input during critical stages in language acquisition might lead to syntactic deficits that persist into adolescence. In this study we want to pursue this issue by investigating the comprehension of wh-questions in German children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. We report results of a who-question comprehension task in a group of 21 3- to 4-year-old German hard-of-hearing children compared to a group of age-matched children with normal hearing. The group data and individual performance patterns suggest that the syntactic comprehension difficulties observed in some, but not all, of the children with hearing loss reflect a delay in the acquisition of who-question comprehension rather than a persistent syntactic deficit. Follow-up data elicited from a subgroup of children confirm this supposition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Exploring the Learning Mechanism of Web-Based Question-Answering Systems and Their Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Yin

    2010-01-01

    In recent years, a number of models concerning question-answering (QA) systems have been put forward. But many of them stress technology and neglect the research of QA itself. In this paper, we analyse the essence of QA and discuss the relationship between technology and QA. On that basis, we propose that when designing web-based QA systems, more…

  13. Express Authorization Questions and Answers about What is Generally the Content of a Program Revision Application?

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Frequently asked questions about express authorization with answers organized into five categories: attorney general's statement, statutory checklist, rule checklists, program description, and state initiated regulatory changes.

  14. Technical Approaches for Answering the Question: What is the condition of the Nation's Waters?

    EPA Science Inventory

    The National Aquatic Resource Surveys were designed to answer the question of the status and trends in the condition of each of our aquatic resources: coastal waters, lakes and reservoirs, rivers and streams and wetlands. At the higher levels, the EPA is consistently asked a see...

  15. ASIME 2016 White Paper: Answers to Questions from the Asteroid Miners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galache, Jl; Graps, A. L.; Asime 2016 Contributors, 30

    2017-09-01

    The aim of the Asteroid Science Intersections with In-Space Mine Engineering (ASIME) 2016 conference on September 21-22, 2016 in Luxembourg City was to provide an environment for the detailed discussion of the specific properties of asteroids, with the engineering needs of space missions that utilise asteroids. The ASIME 2016 Conference produced a layered record of discussions from the asteroid scientists and the asteroid miners to understand each other's key concerns and to address key scientific questions from the asteroid mining companies: Planetary Resources, Deep Space Industries and TransAstra. These Questions were the focus of the two-day conference, were addressed by scientists inside and outside of the ASIME 2016 Conference and were the focus of this White Paper. The answers in this White Paper point to the Science Knowledge Gaps (SKGs) for advancing the asteroid in-space resource utilisation domain.

  16. Student-written single-best answer questions predict performance in finals.

    PubMed

    Walsh, Jason; Harris, Benjamin; Tayyaba, Saadia; Harris, David; Smith, Phil

    2016-10-01

    Single-best answer (SBA) questions are widely used for assessment in medical schools; however, often clinical staff have neither the time nor the incentive to develop high-quality material for revision purposes. A student-led approach to producing formative SBA questions offers a potential solution. Cardiff University School of Medicine students created a bank of SBA questions through a previously described staged approach, involving student question-writing, peer-review and targeted senior clinician input. We arranged questions into discrete tests and posted these online. Student volunteer performance on these tests from the 2012/13 cohort of final-year medical students was recorded and compared with the performance of these students in medical school finals (knowledge and objective structured clinical examinations, OSCEs). In addition, we compared the performance of students that participated in question-writing groups with the performance of the rest of the cohort on the summative SBA assessment. Often clinical staff have neither the time nor the incentive to develop high-quality material for revision purposes Performance in the end-of-year summative clinical knowledge SBA paper correlated strongly with performance in the formative student-written SBA test (r = ~0.60, p <0.01). There was no significant correlation between summative OSCE scores and formative student-written SBA test scores. Students who wrote and reviewed questions scored higher than average in the end-of-year summative clinical knowledge SBA paper. Student-written SBAs predict performance in end-of-year SBA examinations, and therefore can provide a potentially valuable revision resource. There is potential for student-written questions to be incorporated into summative examinations. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Finding the Patient's Voice Using Big Data: Analysis of Users' Health-Related Concerns in the ChaCha Question-and-Answer Service (2009-2012).

    PubMed

    Priest, Chad; Knopf, Amelia; Groves, Doyle; Carpenter, Janet S; Furrey, Christopher; Krishnan, Anand; Miller, Wendy R; Otte, Julie L; Palakal, Mathew; Wiehe, Sarah; Wilson, Jeffrey

    2016-03-09

    The development of effective health care and public health interventions requires a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions, concerns, and stated needs of health care consumers and the public at large. Big datasets from social media and question-and-answer services provide insight into the public's health concerns and priorities without the financial, temporal, and spatial encumbrances of more traditional community-engagement methods and may prove a useful starting point for public-engagement health research (infodemiology). The objective of our study was to describe user characteristics and health-related queries of the ChaCha question-and-answer platform, and discuss how these data may be used to better understand the perceptions, concerns, and stated needs of health care consumers and the public at large. We conducted a retrospective automated textual analysis of anonymous user-generated queries submitted to ChaCha between January 2009 and November 2012. A total of 2.004 billion queries were read, of which 3.50% (70,083,796/2,004,243,249) were missing 1 or more data fields, leaving 1.934 billion complete lines of data for these analyses. Males and females submitted roughly equal numbers of health queries, but content differed by sex. Questions from females predominantly focused on pregnancy, menstruation, and vaginal health. Questions from males predominantly focused on body image, drug use, and sexuality. Adolescents aged 12-19 years submitted more queries than any other age group. Their queries were largely centered on sexual and reproductive health, and pregnancy in particular. The private nature of the ChaCha service provided a perfect environment for maximum frankness among users, especially among adolescents posing sensitive health questions. Adolescents' sexual health queries reveal knowledge gaps with serious, lifelong consequences. The nature of questions to the service provides opportunities for rapid understanding of health concerns and may

  18. Pathology informatics questions and answers from the University of Pittsburgh pathology residency informatics rotation.

    PubMed

    Harrison, James H

    2004-01-01

    Effective pathology practice increasingly requires familiarity with concepts in medical informatics that may cover a broad range of topics, for example, traditional clinical information systems, desktop and Internet computer applications, and effective protocols for computer security. To address this need, the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa) includes a full-time, 3-week rotation in pathology informatics as a required component of pathology residency training. To teach pathology residents general informatics concepts important in pathology practice. We assess the efficacy of the rotation in communicating these concepts using a short-answer examination administered at the end of the rotation. Because the increasing use of computers and the Internet in education and general communications prior to residency training has the potential to communicate key concepts that might not need additional coverage in the rotation, we have also evaluated incoming residents' informatics knowledge using a similar pretest. This article lists 128 questions that cover a range of topics in pathology informatics at a level appropriate for residency training. These questions were used for pretests and posttests in the pathology informatics rotation in the Pathology Residency Program at the University of Pittsburgh for the years 2000 through 2002. With slight modification, the questions are organized here into 15 topic categories within pathology informatics. The answers provided are brief and are meant to orient the reader to the question and suggest the level of detail appropriate in an answer from a pathology resident. A previously published evaluation of the test results revealed that pretest scores did not increase during the 3-year evaluation period, and self-assessed computer skill level correlated with pretest scores, but all pretest scores were low. Posttest scores increased substantially, and posttest scores did not correlate with the self-assessed computer skill level

  19. Olympian Parents Answer the Question of How Parents Contribute towards Their Child's Academic Productivity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Campbell, James Reed

    2011-01-01

    How do parents contribute toward their child's academic productivity? This article analyzes studies conducted over the last 30 years on this topic. During these three decades a number of theories and theoretical frameworks have been developed to answer this fundamental question. There have been nine national studies published and six reviews of…

  20. Six Questions for the Resource Model of Control (and Some Answers)

    PubMed Central

    Inzlicht, Michael; Berkman, Elliot

    2017-01-01

    The resource model of self-control casts self-control as a capacity that relies on some limited resource that exhausts with use. The model captured our imagination and brought much-needed attention on an important yet neglected psychological construct. Despite its success, basic issues with the model remain. Here, we ask six questions: (i) Does self-control really wane over time? (ii) Is ego depletion a form of mental fatigue? (iii) What is the resource that is depleted by ego depletion? (iv) How can changes in motivation, perception, and expectations replenish an exhausted resource? (v) Has the revised resource model unwittingly become a model about motivation? (vi) Do self-control exercises increase self-control? By providing some answers to these questions – including conducting a meta-analysis of the self-control training literature – we highlight how the resource model needs to be revised if not supplanted altogether. PMID:28966660

  1. Will Veterans Answer Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions?

    PubMed

    Ruben, Mollie A; Blosnich, John R; Dichter, Melissa E; Luscri, Lorry; Shipherd, Jillian C

    2017-09-01

    The Veterans Health Administration does not routinely collect and document sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data, despite existing health disparities among sexual and gender minority Veterans. Because of the legacy of previous Department of Defense (DoD) policies that prohibited disclosure of sexual or gender minority identities among active duty personnel, Veterans may be reluctant to respond to SOGI questions. This population-based study assesses item nonresponse to SOGI questions by Veteran status. This is a secondary analysis of data from a population-based sample of adults in 20 US states that elected to administer a SOGI module in the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Prevalence of SOGI refusals and responses of "don't know" were compared for Veterans and non-Veterans. Veterans (n=22,587) and non-Veterans (n=146,475) were surveyed. Nearly all Veteran respondents (≥98%) completed the SOGI questions, with 95.4% identifying as heterosexual, 1.2% as gay or lesbian, 1.2% as bisexual, and 0.59% as transgender. A significantly lower proportion of Veterans than non-Veterans refuse to answer sexual orientation (1.5% vs. 1.9%). There was no difference between Veterans and non-Veterans in responses for gender identity. Veterans are just as likely as non-Veterans to complete SOGI items in survey research. Asking Veterans about SOGI is unlikely to yield significant nonresponse. These data suggest that future research should investigate Veterans' perspectives on being asked about SOGI in research settings and as part of routine clinical care.

  2. A Model Driven Question-Answering System for a CAI Environment. Final Report (July 1970 to May 1972).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, John S.; And Others

    A question answering system which permits a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) student greater initiative in the variety of questions he can ask is described. A method is presented to represent the dynamic processes of a subject matter area by augmented finite state automata, which permits efficient inferencing about dynamic processes and…

  3. 77 FR 10662 - Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Establishment and Maintenance of Records...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-23

    ... Records by Persons Who Manufacture, Process, Pack, Transport, Distribute, Receive, Hold, or Import Food... ``Questions and Answers Regarding Establishment and Maintenance of Records by Persons Who Manufacture, Process... updated information pertaining to the establishment and maintenance of records by persons who manufacture...

  4. Promoting an active form of learning out-of-class via answering online "study questions" leads to higher than expected exam scores in General Biology.

    PubMed

    Gibson, Susan I

    2015-01-01

    A rising need for workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has fueled interest in improving teaching within STEM disciplines. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of active learning approaches on student learning outcomes. However, many of these studies have been conducted in experimental, rather than real-life class, settings. In addition, most of these studies have focused on in-class active learning exercises. This study tested the effects of answering questions outside of class on exam performance for General Biology students at the University of Minnesota. An online database of 1,020 multiple-choice questions covering material from the first half of the course was generated. Students in seven course sections (with an average of ∼265 students per section) were given unlimited access to the online study questions. These students made extensive use of the online questions, with students answering an average of 1,323 questions covering material from the half of the semester for which the questions were available. After students answered a set of questions, they were shown the correct answers for those questions. More specific feedback describing how to arrive at the correct answer was provided for the 73% of the questions for which the correct answers were not deemed to be self-explanatory. The extent to which access to the online study questions improved student learning outcomes was assessed by comparing the performance on exam questions of students in the seven course sections with access to the online study questions with the performance of students in course sections without access to the online study questions. Student performance was analyzed for a total of 89 different exams questions that were not included in the study questions, but that covered the same material covered by the study questions. Each of these 89 questions was used on one to five exams given to students in course sections that had access to the

  5. "The new history of psychology: Some (different) answers to Lovett's five questions": Correction to Brock (2017).

    PubMed

    2017-05-01

    Reports an error in "The New History of Psychology: Some (Different) Answers to Lovett's Five Questions" by Adrian C. Brock ( History of Psychology , Advanced Online Publication, Jun 27, 2016, np). In this article there was an error in the 11th paragraph of the Lovett's Five Questions for the New Historians section. The conference paper "The "new" history of science: Implications for philosophy of science" by Rachel Laudan (1992) was wrongly attributed to her husband, Larry Laudan. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2016-31594-001.) The professionalization of the history of psychology from the 1960s led to significant changes in the way that history was written. Several authors tried to summarize these changes in the 1980s, and Laurel Furumoto's (1989) G. Stanley Hall lecture, "The new history of psychology" is the best-known example of this genre. This journal published a critique of the new history by Benjamin R. Lovett (2006) with the title, "The new history of psychology: A review and critique," and it is still being cited as an authoritative source. The article consists of 3 parts. First, the author attempts to show that the new history is not as different from the old as its proponents claim. He then discusses some problems that he considers to be unique to the new history, and he presents them in the form of 5 questions for the new historians, which he then goes on to answer himself. Finally, he discusses the problematic relationship between critical history and psychology. This article is a reply to Lovett's article. The author argues that the new history is different from the old in every way that Lovett claims that it is not. It critically analyzes Lovett's answers to his own 5 questions and offers some alternative answers to these questions. It also suggests that many psychologist-historians are opposed to new history of psychology, especially in its critical versions, and

  6. Violations of information structure: an electrophysiological study of answers to wh-questions.

    PubMed

    Cowles, H W; Kluender, Robert; Kutas, Marta; Polinsky, Maria

    2007-09-01

    This study investigates brain responses to violations of information structure in wh-question-answer pairs, with particular emphasis on violations of focus assignment in it-clefts (It was the queen that silenced the banker). Two types of ERP responses in answers to wh-questions were found. First, all words in the focus-marking (cleft) position elicited a large positivity (P3b) characteristic of sentence-final constituents, as did the final words of these sentences, which suggests that focused elements may trigger integration effects like those seen at sentence end. Second, the focusing of an inappropriate referent elicited a smaller, N400-like effect. The results show that comprehenders actively use structural focus cues and discourse-level restrictions during online sentence processing. These results, based on visual stimuli, were different from the brain response to auditory focus violations indicated by pitch-accent [Hruska, C., Steinhauer, K., Alter, K., & Steube, A. (2000). ERP effects of sentence accents and violations of the information structure. In Poster presented at the 13th annual CUNY conference on human sentence processing, San Diego, CA.], but similar to brain responses to newly introduced discourse referents [Bornkessel, I., Schlesewsky, M., & Friederici, A. (2003). Contextual information modulated initial processes of syntactic integration: the role of inter- versus intrasentential predictions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 29, 871-882.].

  7. INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEM CYBER SECURITY: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RELEVANT TO NUCLEAR FACILITIES, SAFEGUARDS AND SECURITY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Robert S. Anderson; Mark Schanfein; Trond Bjornard

    2011-07-01

    Typical questions surrounding industrial control system (ICS) cyber security always lead back to: What could a cyber attack do to my system(s) and; how much should I worry about it? These two leading questions represent only a fraction of questions asked when discussing cyber security as it applies to any program, company, business, or organization. The intent of this paper is to open a dialog of important pertinent questions and answers that managers of nuclear facilities engaged in nuclear facility security and safeguards should examine, i.e., what questions should be asked; and how do the answers affect an organization's abilitymore » to effectively safeguard and secure nuclear material. When a cyber intrusion is reported, what does that mean? Can an intrusion be detected or go un-noticed? Are nuclear security or safeguards systems potentially vulnerable? What about the digital systems employed in process monitoring, and international safeguards? Organizations expend considerable efforts to ensure that their facilities can maintain continuity of operations against physical threats. However, cyber threats particularly on ICSs may not be well known or understood, and often do not receive adequate attention. With the disclosure of the Stuxnet virus that has recently attacked nuclear infrastructure, many organizations have recognized the need for an urgent interest in cyber attacks and defenses against them. Several questions arise including discussions about the insider threat, adequate cyber protections, program readiness, encryption, and many more. These questions, among others, are discussed so as to raise the awareness and shed light on ways to protect nuclear facilities and materials against such attacks.« less

  8. EBM apps that help you search for answers to your clinical questions.

    PubMed

    Windish, Donna

    2014-06-01

    In the age of smartphones and tablets, it has become common place to find apps that help you do or find almost anything. The quality and breadth of medical apps has improved greatly in recent years. You can now find medical apps that recreate textbooks, search for current articles, calculate likelihood ratios and find point-of-care answers to clinical questions. This article describes and reviews apps aimed at helping clinicians search for evidence to support the practice of EBM.

  9. "The Panama Canal Episode: An Encounter with a Question and Answers." Occasional Paper 3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seifman, Eli

    This is an account of the experience of a college instructor and a group of prospective social studies teachers as they answer a simple question concerned with direction of travel through the Panama Canal and explore the reactions of students. The situation originates in a class discussion focusing on ways of asking and responding to classroom…

  10. Do-It-Yourself Learning Games: Software That Lets You Pick the Questions--and Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hively, Wells

    1984-01-01

    Reviews user-adaptable learning games that can be customized for any subject, including Tic Tac Show and the Game Show from Computer Advanced Ideas, which are question-answer learning programs based on game shows, and Master Match from Computer Advanced Ideas and Square Pairs from Scholastic Inc., which are based on the card game Concentration.…

  11. Surface Coating of Wood Building Products National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Questions and Answers (Q&A's)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This September 2004 document contains questions and answers on the Surface Coating of Wood Building Products National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulation. The questions cover topics such as compliance, and applicability, etc

  12. Assessing Comprehension During Reading with the Reading Strategy Assessment Tool (RSAT)

    PubMed Central

    Magliano, Joseph P.; Millis, Keith K.; Levinstein, Irwin

    2011-01-01

    Comprehension emerges as the results of inference and strategic processes that support the construction of a coherent mental model for a text. However, the vast majority of comprehension skills tests adopt a format that does not afford an assessment of these processes as they operate during reading. This study assessed the viability of the Reading Strategy Assessment Tool (RSAT), which is an automated computer-based reading assessment designed to measure readers’ comprehension and spontaneous use of reading strategies while reading texts. In the tool, readers comprehend passages one sentence at a time, and are asked either an indirect (“What are your thoughts regarding your understanding of the sentence in the context of the passage?”) or direct (e.g., why X?) question after reading each pre-selected target sentence. The answers to the indirect questions are analyzed on the extent that they contain words associated with comprehension processes. The answers to direct questions are coded for the number of content words in common with an ideal answer, which is intended to be an assessment of emerging comprehension. In the study, the RSAT approach was shown to predict measures of comprehension comparable to standardized tests. The RSAT variables were also shown to correlate with human ratings. The results of this study constitute a “proof of concept” and demonstrate that it is possible to develop a comprehension skills assessment tool that assesses both comprehension and comprehension strategies. PMID:23901332

  13. Municipal Solid Waste Landfill New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines (EG) -- Questions and Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This November 1998 document of questions and answers are provided as a guide for those subject to the new source performance standards (NSPS) or emission guidelines (EG), as well as those implementing the NSPS or EG.

  14. Second Life for Electric Vehicle Batteries: Answering Questions on Battery Degradation and Value

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Neubauer, J. S.; Wood, E.; Pesaran, A.

    2015-05-04

    Battery second use – putting used plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) batteries into secondary service following their automotive tenure – has been proposed as a means to decrease the cost of PEVs while providing low cost energy storage to other fields (e.g. electric utility markets). To understand the value of used automotive batteries, however, we must first answer several key questions related to National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed a methodology and the requisite tools to answer these questions, including NREL’s Battery Lifetime Simulation Tool (BLAST). Herein we introduce these methods and tools, and demonstrate their application. We have foundmore » that capacity fade from automotive use has a much larger impact on second use value than resistance growth. Where capacity loss is driven by calendar effects more than cycling effects, average battery temperature during automotive service – which is often driven by climate – is found to be the single factor with the largest effect on remaining value. Installing hardware and software capabilities onboard the vehicle that can both infer remaining battery capacity from in-situ measurements, as well as track average battery temperature over time, will thereby facilitate the second use of automotive batteries.« less

  15. Novel Approaches to Examine Passage, Student, and Question Effects on Reading Comprehension

    PubMed Central

    Miller, Amanda C.; Davis, Nicole; Gilbert, Jennifer K.; Cho, Sun-Joo; Toste, Jessica R.; Street, James; Cutting, Laurie E.

    2014-01-01

    Reading comprehension is influenced by sources of variance associated with the reader and the task. To gain insight into the complex interplay of multiple sources of influence, we employed crossed random-effects item response models. These models allowed us to simultaneously examine the degree to which variables related to the type of passage and student characteristics influenced students’ (n = 94; mean age = 11.97 years) performance on two indicators of reading comprehension: different types of comprehension questions and passage fluency. We found that variables related to word recognition, language, and executive function were influential across various types of passages and comprehension questions and also predicted a reader’s passage fluency. Further, an exploratory analysis of two-way interaction effects was conducted. Results suggest that understanding the relative influence of passage, question, and student variables has implications for identifying struggling readers and designing interventions to address their individual needs. PMID:24535914

  16. What Do I Do When...: The Answer Book on Special Education Law. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gorn, Susan

    This book presents, in a question-and-answer format, a comprehensive guide to special education law, especially the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Following a table of questions and suggestions on using the book, individual chapters cover law on the following topics: (1) eligibility (e.g., under IDEA and other laws, specific…

  17. The Effects of Self-Explanation and Reading Questions and Answers on Learning Computer Programming Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Nancy

    2013-01-01

    The current study explored the differential effects of two learning strategies, self-explanation and reading questions and answers, on students' test performance in the computer programming language JavaScript. Students' perceptions toward the two strategies as to their effectiveness in learning JavaScript was also explored by examining students'…

  18. Providing Services for Students Who Are Hard of Hearing in Postsecondary Education: Questions and Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rawlinson, Sharaine; Trychin, Sam; Davis, Cheryl; Brennan-Dore, Corinne

    This booklet, in question-and-answer format, is intended to guide service providers in colleges and universities in supplying required special services to students who are hard of hearing. Introductory material explains the mission and objectives of PEPNet, which is to provide the coordination and collaboration in technical assistance to…

  19. Use of a Social Question Answering Application in a Face-to-Face College Biology Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grasso, SandraJean M.

    2017-01-01

    University students use social media tools not only to connect with friends socially but also to collaborate with classmates. Many universities have embraced academically-focused social media platforms such as social question answering (SQA) applications to make student interactions easier. This study addresses how students in a face-to-face…

  20. Comprehension and retrieval of failure cases in airborne observatories

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Alvarado, Sergio J.; Mock, Kenrick J.

    1995-01-01

    This paper describes research dealing with the computational problem of analyzing and repairing failures of electronic and mechanical systems of telescopes in NASA's airborne observatories, such as KAO (Kuiper Airborne Observatory) and SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy). The research has resulted in the development of an experimental system that acquires knowledge of failure analysis from input text, and answers questions regarding failure detection and correction. The system's design builds upon previous work on text comprehension and question answering, including: knowledge representation for conceptual analysis of failure descriptions, strategies for mapping natural language into conceptual representations, case-based reasoning strategies for memory organization and indexing, and strategies for memory search and retrieval. These techniques have been combined into a model that accounts for: (a) how to build a knowledge base of system failures and repair procedures from descriptions that appear in telescope-operators' logbooks and FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis) manuals; and (b) how to use that knowledge base to search and retrieve answers to questions about causes and effects of failures, as well as diagnosis and repair procedures. This model has been implemented in FANSYS (Failure ANalysis SYStem), a prototype text comprehension and question answering program for failure analysis.

  1. Comprehension and retrieval of failure cases in airborne observatories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alvarado, Sergio J.; Mock, Kenrick J.

    1995-05-01

    This paper describes research dealing with the computational problem of analyzing and repairing failures of electronic and mechanical systems of telescopes in NASA's airborne observatories, such as KAO (Kuiper Airborne Observatory) and SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy). The research has resulted in the development of an experimental system that acquires knowledge of failure analysis from input text, and answers questions regarding failure detection and correction. The system's design builds upon previous work on text comprehension and question answering, including: knowledge representation for conceptual analysis of failure descriptions, strategies for mapping natural language into conceptual representations, case-based reasoning strategies for memory organization and indexing, and strategies for memory search and retrieval. These techniques have been combined into a model that accounts for: (a) how to build a knowledge base of system failures and repair procedures from descriptions that appear in telescope-operators' logbooks and FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis) manuals; and (b) how to use that knowledge base to search and retrieve answers to questions about causes and effects of failures, as well as diagnosis and repair procedures. This model has been implemented in FANSYS (Failure ANalysis SYStem), a prototype text comprehension and question answering program for failure analysis.

  2. 29 CFR 2509.75-8 - Questions and answers relating to fiduciary responsibility under the Employee Retirement Income...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... answers, relating them to the appropriate sections of the Act, is also provided. Index Key to question... reason to doubt the competence, integrity or responsibility of such persons. FR-12 Q: How many...

  3. 29 CFR 2509.75-8 - Questions and answers relating to fiduciary responsibility under the Employee Retirement Income...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... answers, relating them to the appropriate sections of the Act, is also provided. Index Key to question... reason to doubt the competence, integrity or responsibility of such persons. FR-12 Q: How many...

  4. 29 CFR 2509.75-8 - Questions and answers relating to fiduciary responsibility under the Employee Retirement Income...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... answers, relating them to the appropriate sections of the Act, is also provided. Index Key to question... reason to doubt the competence, integrity or responsibility of such persons. FR-12 Q: How many...

  5. Implementing Response to Intervention: Practices and Perspectives from Five Schools--Frequently Asked Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tackett, Kathryn Klingler; Roberts, Greg; Baker, Scott; Scammacca, Nancy

    2009-01-01

    One question frequently arises in the work of the Regional Comprehensive Centers: "What are states, districts, and schools doing about RTI?" This document addresses that question, with particular focus on instruction and the implementation of effective practices. It uses a frequently asked questions (FAQs) format, with answers based on…

  6. Improving Students' Capacity to Show Their Knowledge, Understanding and Skills in Exams by Using Combined Question and Answer Papers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crisp, Victoria

    2008-01-01

    This research set out to compare the quality, length and nature of (1) exam responses in combined question and answer booklets, with (2) responses in separate answer booklets in order to inform choices about response format. Combined booklets are thought to support candidates by giving more information on what is expected of them. Anecdotal…

  7. National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Area Source Standards for Prepared Feeds Manufacturing: Commonly Asked Questions and Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This 2011 document answers common questions about the NESHAP for Area Sources for Prepared Feeds Manufacturing. The questions range in topics including applicability, specific requirements, and recordkeeping.

  8. 75 FR 29350 - Draft Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding the Reportable Food Registry as...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-25

    ...] Draft Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding the Reportable Food Registry as Established.... The agency is also seeking comments from industry on the Reportable Food Registry requirements, and... the implementation of the Reportable Food Registry on September 8, 2009, and informs industry about...

  9. Rubella: Questions and Answers

    MedlinePlus

    ... of special precautions. Does the MMR vaccine cause autism? There is no scientific evidence that measles, MMR, ... other vaccine causes or increases the risk of autism. The question about a possible link between MMR ...

  10. Preparing for the Flu During the 2009-10 School Year: Questions and Answers for Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    US Department of Education, 2009

    2009-01-01

    This brochure provides answers to the following questions: (1) Why do school districts, schools, teachers, parents, and communities need to plan for the continuation of learning for students during flu season this year? (2) How should districts and schools go about planning to continue students' education when they are at home because of H1N1?…

  11. Plasticity and Adult Neurogenesis in Amphibians and Reptiles: More Questions than Answers.

    PubMed

    Powers, Alice Schade

    2016-08-24

    Studies of the relationship between behavioral plasticity and new cells in the adult brain in amphibians and reptiles are sparse but demonstrate that environmental and hormonal variables do have an effect on the amount of cell proliferation and/or migration. The variables that are reviewed here are: enriched environment, social stimulation, spatial area use, season, photoperiod and temperature, and testosterone. Fewer data are available for amphibians than for reptiles, but for both groups many issues are still to be resolved. It is to be hoped that the questions raised here will generate more answers in future studies. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  12. Review or True? Using Higher-Level Thinking Questions in Social Studies Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kracl, Carrie L.

    2012-01-01

    Asking surface-level questions is a common practice among educators. Delva Daines's (1986) pilot study indicated that 93 percent of the questions asked during lessons were at the literal level of comprehension and that it was very common for the teachers to restate, rephrase, or answer their own questions before the student had an opportunity to…

  13. Why Don't You Ask Comprehension Questions? (When the Principal Asks).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harp, Bill

    1989-01-01

    Discusses literature and research concerning comprehension questions, particularly in the context of the Whole Language Movement. Notes that there are other ways for students to demonstrate their text comprehension, such as literature logs, small group discussion, and individual or group projects. Suggests several implications for the classroom.…

  14. Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Reinspections under the AHERA Asbestos-In-Schools Rule.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Toxic Substances.

    This document was prepared in response to inquiries that have been received by the Environmental Protection Agency concerning the reinspection requirements and related provisions of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulations. The answers developed represent the Agency's responses to the 15 most frequently asked questions to…

  15. Modeling: A Direct Instruction Model for Programming Reading Comprehension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wise, Beth S.

    Modeling the behaviors they expect students to exhibit is one way teachers can teach comprehension skills. Teachers need to give multiple examples wherein the teacher models every behavior students should exhibit, giving the answer to the question, and giving the line of reasoning followed to arrive at the answer. To teach each separate…

  16. The Effects of Self-Questioning on Reading Comprehension: A Literature Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joseph, Laurice M.; Alber-Morgan, Sheila; Cullen, Jennifer; Rouse, Christina

    2016-01-01

    The ability to monitor one's own reading comprehension is a critical skill for deriving meaning from text. Self-questioning during reading is a strategy that enables students to monitor their reading comprehension and increases their ability to learn independently. The purpose of this article was to review experimental research studies that…

  17. Critical Reading Comprehension in an Era of Accountability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Comber, Barbara; Nixon, Helen

    2011-01-01

    This paper argues for the need for critical reading comprehension in an era of accountability that often promotes reading comprehension as readily assessable through students answering multiple choice questions of unseen texts. Based upon a 1 year study investigating literacy in Years 4-9 the ways strong-performing primary schools develop serious…

  18. Area Source Boiler National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart JJJJJJ: Questions and Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This October 2016 question and answer (Q&A) document is in response to a number of questions the EPA has received from delegated state and local agencies and the regulated community regarding the NESHAP for Area source boilers. Document updates 4/2014 PDF.

  19. [Dental care in pregnancy. Ten questions and answers].

    PubMed

    Patcas, Raphael; Schmidlin, Patrick R; Zimmermann, Roland; Gnoinski, Wanda

    2012-01-01

    Dental care of pregnant patients is a demanding task. On one hand, clinicians are facing patients with an altered physiology that may cause a greater need for treatment. On the other hand, pregnancy in itself as well as the unborn child involves potential contraindications to dental interventions. It is therefore essential that dentists be knowledgeable of the ramifications pregnancy has on medical findings and therapy. Also, clinicians must be able to conduct their treatment based on well-grounded data to avoid any harm to the pregnant woman and her unborn child. This article focuses on facts specifically relevant to clinicians. Based on most current scientific data, we aim to answer the following ten questions: 1. What are the physiological changes during pregnancy? 2. What is the adequate lying position for a pregnant patient? 3. Is there a pregnancy-related gingivitis? 4. What is the association between periodontitis, pregnancy and preterm birth? 5. Are there oral manifestations of pregnancy-related therapies? 6. Are caries and erosions inevitable during pregnancy? 7. Should the intake of fluoride be advocated? 8. Is it permissible to x-ray pregnant patients? 9. Is orthodontics contraindicated during pregnancy and 10. Which medication should be administered with caution?

  20. Overprompting Science Students Using Adjunct Study Questions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holliday, William G.

    Described is an investigation of the hypothesis that students presented with strong hints or prompts to answers of comprehension questions adjunct to a flow diagram would understand less than students presented with no prompts. Also described is the study of the hypotheses that a diagram-only treatment group would outperform the prompted group and…

  1. A rapid evidence-based service by librarians provided information to answer primary care clinical questions.

    PubMed

    McGowan, Jessie; Hogg, William; Rader, Tamara; Salzwedel, Doug; Worster, Danielle; Cogo, Elise; Rowan, Margo

    2010-03-01

    A librarian consultation service was offered to 88 primary care clinicians during office hours. This included a streamlined evidence-based process to answer questions in fewer than 20 min. This included a contact centre accessed through a Web-based platform and using hand-held devices and computers with Web access. Librarians were given technical training in evidence-based medicine, including how to summarise evidence. To describe the process and lessons learned from developing and operating a rapid response librarian consultation service for primary care clinicians. Evaluation included librarian interviews and a clinician exit satisfaction survey. Clinicians were positive about its impact on their clinical practice and decision making. The project revealed some important 'lessons learned' in the clinical use of hand-held devices, knowledge translation and training for clinicians and librarians. The Just-in-Time Librarian Consultation Service showed that it was possible to provide evidence-based answers to clinical questions in 15 min or less. The project overcame a number of barriers using innovative solutions. There are many opportunities to build on this experience for future joint projects of librarians and healthcare providers.

  2. Older Adults' Comprehension of Transformational and Deactivation Negation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Margolin, Sara J.

    2015-01-01

    The present research aimed to examine young and older adults' comprehension of negated text to determine the locus of older adults' difficulty in understanding this text construction. Participants were asked to read short passages at their own pace, complete a lexical decision task, and answer a comprehension question about what they had read.…

  3. Can Simply Answering Research Questions Change Behaviour? Systematic Review and Meta Analyses of Brief Alcohol Intervention Trials

    PubMed Central

    McCambridge, Jim; Kypri, Kypros

    2011-01-01

    Background Participant reports of their own behaviour are critical for the provision and evaluation of behavioural interventions. Recent developments in brief alcohol intervention trials provide an opportunity to evaluate longstanding concerns that answering questions on behaviour as part of research assessments may inadvertently influence it and produce bias. The study objective was to evaluate the size and nature of effects observed in randomized manipulations of the effects of answering questions on drinking behaviour in brief intervention trials. Methodology/Principal Findings Multiple methods were used to identify primary studies. Between-group differences in total weekly alcohol consumption, quantity per drinking day and AUDIT scores were evaluated in random effects meta-analyses. Ten trials were included in this review, of which two did not provide findings for quantitative study, in which three outcomes were evaluated. Between-group differences were of the magnitude of 13.7 (−0.17 to 27.6) grams of alcohol per week (approximately 1.5 U.K. units or 1 standard U.S. drink) and 1 point (0.1 to 1.9) in AUDIT score. There was no difference in quantity per drinking day. Conclusions/Significance Answering questions on drinking in brief intervention trials appears to alter subsequent self-reported behaviour. This potentially generates bias by exposing non-intervention control groups to an integral component of the intervention. The effects of brief alcohol interventions may thus have been consistently under-estimated. These findings are relevant to evaluations of any interventions to alter behaviours which involve participant self-report. PMID:21998626

  4. The Effects of Questioning the Author on the Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sencibaugh, Joseph M.; Sencibaugh, Angela M.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of systematic explicit instruction of a questioning strategy for improving the text comprehension of middle school students. Specifically, the reading comprehension of six 8th grade students was investigated to determine whether the questioning strategy, QtA, lead to an increase in the…

  5. Questions and Answers: EPA's Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment and Supplemental Guidance from Assessing Susceptibility from Early-Life Exposure to Carcinogens

    EPA Science Inventory

    March 29, 2005
    EPA's Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment
    And Supplemental Guidance from Assessing Susceptibility from Early-life
    Exposure to Carcinogens

    Questions and Answers

    The following questions ...

  6. Questionnaires for eliciting evaluation data from users of interactive question answering

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kelly, Diane; Kantor, Paul B.; Morse, Emile

    Evaluating interactive question answering (QA) systems with real users can be challenging because traditional evaluation measures based on the relevance of items returned are difficult to employ since relevance judgments can be unstable in multi-user evaluations. The work reported in this paper evaluates, in distinguishing among a set of interactive QA systems, the effectiveness of three questionnaires: a Cognitive Workload Questionnaire (NASA TLX), and Task and System Questionnaires customized to a specific interactive QA application. These Questionnaires were evaluated with four systems, seven analysts, and eight scenarios during a 2-week workshop. Overall, results demonstrate that all three Questionnaires are effectivemore » at distinguishing among systems, with the Task Questionnaire being the most sensitive. Results also provide initial support for the validity and reliability of the Questionnaires.« less

  7. "Remember to Hand out Medals": Peer Rating and Expertise in a Question-and-Answer Study Group

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ponti, Marisa

    2015-01-01

    This article reports on an exploratory study of giving medals as part of a peer rating system in a question-and-answer (Q&A) study group on Python, a programming language. There are no professional teachers tutoring learners. The study aimed to understand whether and how medals, awarded to responses in a peer-based learning environment, can…

  8. The comprehension and production of Wh-questions in deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

    PubMed

    Friedmann, Naama; Szterman, Ronit

    2011-01-01

    Hearing loss during the critical period for language acquisition restricts spoken language input. This input limitation, in turn, may hamper syntactic development. This study examined the comprehension, production, and repetition of Wh-questions in deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. The participants were 11 orally trained Hebrew-speaking children aged 9.1-12.4 with moderate-to-profound hearing loss from birth, who consistently used hearing aids or cochlear implants and who had difficulties understanding relative clauses. Experiment 1 tested the comprehension of Wh-questions using a picture selection task, comparing subject with object questions and who- with which-questions; Experiment 2 tested the production of subject and object who-questions using an elicitation task; and Experiment 3 tested the repetition of Wh-questions and other structures derived by Wh-movement. All the DHH participants showed difficulty in the comprehension, production, and repetition of object questions, and their performance was significantly below that of hearing children. In contrast, they repeated embedded sentences without movement well, indicating that their deficit is in syntactic movement rather than embedding or the CP node in the syntactic tree. The results provide additional evidence that DHH children have difficulties with Wh-movement and emphasize that Wh-questions, which are crucial for communication, can be severely impaired in these children.

  9. Effects of Three Questioning Strategies on EFL Reading Comprehension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    El-Koumy, Abdel Salam A.

    This study investigated the effects of three classroom questioning strategies on the reading comprehension of learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Subjects were 86 first-year EFL students in the school of education of Suez Canal University (Egypt), randomly assigned to three treatment groups. The same instructor taught the three groups…

  10. Retrieval practice with short-answer, multiple-choice, and hybrid tests.

    PubMed

    Smith, Megan A; Karpicke, Jeffrey D

    2014-01-01

    Retrieval practice improves meaningful learning, and the most frequent way of implementing retrieval practice in classrooms is to have students answer questions. In four experiments (N=372) we investigated the effects of different question formats on learning. Students read educational texts and practised retrieval by answering short-answer, multiple-choice, or hybrid questions. In hybrid conditions students first attempted to recall answers in short-answer format, then identified answers in multiple-choice format. We measured learning 1 week later using a final assessment with two types of questions: those that could be answered by recalling information verbatim from the texts and those that required inferences. Practising retrieval in all format conditions enhanced retention, relative to a study-only control condition, on both verbatim and inference questions. However, there were little or no advantages of answering short-answer or hybrid format questions over multiple-choice questions in three experiments. In Experiment 4, when retrieval success was improved under initial short-answer conditions, there was an advantage of answering short-answer or hybrid questions over multiple-choice questions. The results challenge the simple conclusion that short-answer questions always produce the best learning, due to increased retrieval effort or difficulty, and demonstrate the importance of retrieval success for retrieval-based learning activities.

  11. 78 FR 29140 - Center for Devices and Radiological Health Appeals Processes: Questions and Answers About 517A...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-17

    ... availability of the draft guidance entitled ``Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) Appeals Processes: Questions and Answers About 517A.'' This draft document provides CDRH's proposed interpretation... decisions and actions taken by CDRH. This draft guidance is not final nor is it in effect at this time...

  12. Getting Ready for the "School of the Future": Key Questions and Tentative Answers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ott, Michela; Pozzi, Francesca

    This paper explores some key aspects of "today's school", as opposed to those that have characterized "yesterday's school", with the final aim of shedding light on "tomorrow's school". In this direction, the paper puts forward tentative answers to some key questions related to the new characteristics and roles of teachers and students (main actors of the learning process) and the new features/ potentialities of contemporary educational tools which, in turn, require the enactment of innovative pedagogical approaches and educational methods. The emerging picture of the present learning landscape helps in figuring out a future situation where learning possibilities are substantially increased.

  13. Extracting Exact Answers to Questions Based on Structural Links

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-01-01

    type of asking point and answer point (e.g. NePerson asking point matches NePerson and its sub-types NeMan and NeWoman; ‘how’ matches manner-modifier...NePerson V-S win [John Smith]/ NeMan Some sample results are given in section 4 to illustrate how answer-points are identified based on matching binary

  14. Comprehension of University Texts: Effects of Domain-Knowledge and Summary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pascual, Gema; Goikoetxea, Edurne

    2014-01-01

    Our aim is to evaluate reading comprehension strategies based on empirical evidence and applicable to undergraduate students. Our hypotheses were that domain-knowledge or summary would have more influence on local, global, and inferential questions than rereading-question-answering instruction. Results of Experiment 1 were mixed in terms of…

  15. [What Can We Learn from the English Primary Schools? Questions and Answers from My Fulbright Administrative Exchange.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Firlik, Russell J.

    This paper discusses the primary education system in England as a whole and the operation of primary schools in Leicestershire in particular. It also contains questions and answers concerning English primary education. The paper describes the organization, funding, and administration of English primary schools, which provide the first 6 years of…

  16. What Is the Correct Answer about The Dress' Colors? Investigating the Relation between Optimism, Previous Experience, and Answerability.

    PubMed

    Karlsson, Bodil S A; Allwood, Carl Martin

    2016-01-01

    The Dress photograph, first displayed on the internet in 2015, revealed stunning individual differences in color perception. The aim of this study was to investigate if lay-persons believed that the question about The Dress colors was answerable. Past research has found that optimism is related to judgments of how answerable knowledge questions with controversial answers are (Karlsson et al., 2016). Furthermore, familiarity with a question can create a feeling of knowing the answer (Reder and Ritter, 1992). Building on these findings, 186 participants saw the photo of The Dress and were asked about the correct answer to the question about The Dress' colors (" blue and black," "white and gold," "other, namely…," or "there is no correct answer" ). Choice of the alternative "there is no correct answer" was interpreted as believing the question was not answerable. This answer was chosen more often by optimists and by people who reported they had not seen The Dress before. We also found that among participants who had seen The Dress photo before, 19%, perceived The Dress as "white and gold" but believed that the correct answer was "blue and black ." This, in analogy to previous findings about non-believed memories (Scoboria and Pascal, 2016), shows that people sometimes do not believe the colors they have perceived are correct. Our results suggest that individual differences related to optimism and previous experience may contribute to if the judgment of the individual perception of a photograph is enough to serve as a decision basis for valid conclusions about colors. Further research about color judgments under ambiguous circumstances could benefit from separating individual perceptual experience from beliefs about the correct answer to the color question. Including the option "there is no correct answer " may also be beneficial.

  17. International Conference on Harmonisation; Guidance on E7 Studies in Support of Special Populations; Geriatrics; Questions and Answers; availability. Notice.

    PubMed

    2012-02-21

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a guidance entitled ``E7 Studies in Support of Special Populations: Geriatrics; Questions and Answers.'' The guidance was prepared under the auspices of the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). The questions and answers (Q&A) guidance addresses special considerations for the design and conduct of clinical trials of drugs likely to have significant use in the elderly. The Q&As are intended to provide guidance on the use of geriatric data to adequately characterize and represent the safety and efficacy of a drug for a marketing application, including data collected postmarketing.

  18. The Effects of Adjunct Questions and Feedback on Improving the Reading Comprehension Skills of Learning-Disabled Adolescents.

    PubMed

    Peverly, Stephen T.; Wood, Rhea

    2001-01-01

    Adjunct question research has typically focused on the effects of adjunct questions on improving the learning of college students. This study investigated the effects of inserted and massed postquestions (inference, main idea, and detail), with and without feedback, on improving the comprehension skills of adolescents labeled as reading disabled. Students practiced using adjunct questions for 6 weeks. The results suggested that inserted questions (and to a lesser extent massed postquestions) were beneficial in improving the comprehension of texts that did not contain adjunct questions. Specifically, the results indicated that (a) inserted questions were more effective than massed postquestions or no questions, (b) massed postquestions were more effective than no questions, and (c) the effects of inserted questions on comprehension increased over the time of treatment. The beneficial effects of feedback were limited to inference and main idea questions. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

  19. Listening comprehension across the adult lifespan

    PubMed Central

    Sommers, Mitchell S.; Hale, Sandra; Myerson, Joel; Rose, Nathan; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Spehar, Brent

    2011-01-01

    Short Summary The current study provides the first systematic assessment of listening comprehension across the adult lifespan. A total of 433 participants ranging in age from 20-90 listened to spoken passages and answered comprehension questions following each passage. In addition, measures of auditory sensitivity were obtained from all participants to determine if hearing loss and listening comprehension changed similarly across the adult lifespan. As expected, auditory sensitivity declined from age 20 to age 90. In contrast, listening comprehension remained relatively unchanged until approximately age 65-70, with declines evident only for the oldest participants. PMID:21716112

  20. Innovation Learning in Comprehensive Education?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindfors, Eila; Hilmola, Antti

    2016-01-01

    The goal of this article is to clarify the concept of innovation and by presenting a research on the basic education outcome assessment data from an innovation learning perspective, answer to a question: Do students learn innovation in comprehensive education? The empirical information in this research is based on data collected in the national…

  1. The Interviewer in the Respondent's Shoes: What Can We Learn from the Way Interviewers Answer Survey Questions?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wuyts, Celine; Loosveldt, Geert

    2017-01-01

    Previous research shows that interviewers to some extent fail to expend the effort that is needed to collect high-quality survey data. We extend the idea of interviewer satisficing to a related task, in which the interviewers themselves answer survey questions. We hypothesize that interviewers who self-administer the questionnaire in a careless…

  2. Management of hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease: frequently asked questions and answers (if any).

    PubMed

    Bartalena, L; Chiovato, L; Vitti, P

    2016-10-01

    Graves' disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in iodine-replete areas. Although progress has been made in our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease, no treatment targeting pathogenic mechanisms of the disease is presently available. Therapies for Graves' hyperthyroidism are largely imperfect because they are bound to either a high rate of relapsing hyperthyroidism (antithyroid drugs) or lifelong hypothyroidism (radioiodine treatment or thyroidectomy). Aim of the present article is to offer a practical guidance to the reader by providing evidence-based answers to frequently asked questions in clinical practice.

  3. A cost-consequences analysis of a primary care librarian question and answering service.

    PubMed

    McGowan, Jessie; Hogg, William; Zhong, Jianwei; Zhao, Xue

    2012-01-01

    Cost consequences analysis was completed from randomized controlled trial (RCT) data for the Just-in-time (JIT) librarian consultation service in primary care that ran from October 2005 to April 2006. The service was aimed at providing answers to clinical questions arising during the clinical encounter while the patient waits. Cost saving and cost avoidance were also analyzed. The data comes from eighty-eight primary care providers in the Ottawa area working in Family Health Networks (FHNs) and Family Health Groups (FHGs). We conducted a cost consequences analysis based on data from the JIT project. We also estimated the potential economic benefit of JIT librarian consultation service to the health care system. The results show that the cost per question for the JIT service was $38.20. The cost could be as low as $5.70 per question for a regular service. Nationally, if this service was implemented and if family physicians saw additional patients when the JIT service saved them time, up to 61,100 extra patients could be seen annually. A conservative estimate of the cost savings and cost avoidance per question for JIT was $11.55. The cost per question, if the librarian service was used at full capacity, is quite low. Financial savings to the health care system might exceed the cost of the service. Saving physician's time during their day could potentially lead to better access to family physicians by patients. Implementing a librarian consultation service can happen quickly as the time required to train professional librarians to do this service is short.

  4. Neuroscience cannot answer these questions: a response to G. and R. Murrow's essay hypothesizing a link between dehumanization, human rights abuses and public policy

    PubMed Central

    Hoffman, Morris B.

    2015-01-01

    The Murrows' paper, ‘A hypothetical link between dehumanization and human rights abuses’, in which they propose that neuroscience may answer some difficult public policy questions, including questions about the First Amendment, is an unfortunate foray into law and public policy unjustified by the current state of neuroscience. Neuroscientific insights may one day have important implications for the law, and for some of the folk psychological assumptions embedded in the law, but they will never change the words of the written Constitution, or answer difficult policy questions in the interstices of those words. Suggesting that neuroscience can today inform these questions does a disservice to science, law and the complexity of the human condition. PMID:27774237

  5. Translating Answers to Open-Ended Survey Questions in Cross-Cultural Research: A Case Study on the Interplay between Translation, Coding, and Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Behr, Dorothée

    2015-01-01

    Open-ended probing questions in cross-cultural surveys help uncover equivalence problems in cross-cultural survey research. For languages that a project team does not understand, probe answers need to be translated into a common project language. This article presents a case study on translating open-ended, that is, narrative answers. It describes…

  6. Concealed Questions. In Search of Answers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frana, Ilaria

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation examines the semantic interpretation of various types of DPs in so-called concealed-question (CQ) constructions, as "Bill's phone number" in the sentence "John knows Bill's phone number". The peculiar characteristic of DP-CQs is that they are interpreted as having the meaning of an embedded question. So, for instance, the…

  7. Reader-Text Interactions: How Differential Text and Question Types Influence Cognitive Skills Needed for Reading Comprehension

    PubMed Central

    Eason, Sarah H.; Goldberg, Lindsay F.; Young, Katherine M.; Geist, Megan C.; Cutting, Laurie E.

    2015-01-01

    Current research has shown that comprehension can vary based on text and question types, and that readers’ word recognition and background knowledge may account for these differences. Other reader characteristics such as semantic and syntactic awareness, inferencing, planning/organizing have also all been linked to reading comprehension, but have not been examined with regard to specific text and question types. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between reader characteristics, text types, and question types, in children aged 10–14. We sought to compare children’s performance when comprehending narrative, expository, and functional text, as well as to explore differences between children’s performance on comprehension questions that assess their literal or inferential comprehension of a passage. To examine such differences, we analyzed the degree to which distinct cognitive skills (semantic and syntactic awareness, inferencing, planning/organizing) contribute to performance on varying types of texts and questions. This study found main effects of text and question types, as well as an interaction in which relations between question types varied between text types. Analyses indicated that higher order cognitive skills, including the ability to make inferences and to plan and organize information, contribute to comprehension of more complex text (e.g., expository vs. narrative) and question types (e.g., inferential vs. literal), and therefore are important components of reading for later elementary and middle school students. These findings suggest that developing these skills in early elementary school may better equip students for comprehending the texts they will encounter in higher grades. PMID:26566295

  8. Variational neuroethology: Answering further questions. Reply to comments on "Answering Schrödinger's question: A free-energy formulation"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramstead, Maxwell J. D.; Badcock, Paul B.; Friston, Karl J.

    2018-03-01

    First and foremost, we sincerely thank our commentators for their incisive and thought-provoking responses [1-14] to our metatheory of living systems; namely, variational neuroethology (VNE) [15]. We appreciated the critical insights, questions, suggestions, and proposals for future research. We were also pleased to see signs of a fruitful dialectic between different perspectives - unexpectedly, some of our commentators addressed others' questions and concerns; suggesting that VNE might enable productive scientific discourse and inspire new, multidisciplinary research questions. There were also friendly critics, who helpfully questioned the coherence and validity of VNE, and motivated us to revisit key issues.

  9. Sign language comprehension: the case of Spanish sign language.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez Ortiz, I R

    2008-01-01

    This study aims to answer the question, how much of Spanish Sign Language interpreting deaf individuals really understand. Study sampling included 36 deaf people (deafness ranging from severe to profound; variety depending on the age at which they learned sign language) and 36 hearing people who had good knowledge of sign language (most were interpreters). Sign language comprehension was assessed using passages of secondary level. After being exposed to the passages, the participants had to tell what they had understood about them, answer a set of related questions, and offer a title for the passage. Sign language comprehension by deaf participants was quite acceptable but not as good as that by hearing signers who, unlike deaf participants, were not only late learners of sign language as a second language but had also learned it through formal training.

  10. A passage retrieval method based on probabilistic information retrieval model and UMLS concepts in biomedical question answering.

    PubMed

    Sarrouti, Mourad; Ouatik El Alaoui, Said

    2017-04-01

    Passage retrieval, the identification of top-ranked passages that may contain the answer for a given biomedical question, is a crucial component for any biomedical question answering (QA) system. Passage retrieval in open-domain QA is a longstanding challenge widely studied over the last decades. However, it still requires further efforts in biomedical QA. In this paper, we present a new biomedical passage retrieval method based on Stanford CoreNLP sentence/passage length, probabilistic information retrieval (IR) model and UMLS concepts. In the proposed method, we first use our document retrieval system based on PubMed search engine and UMLS similarity to retrieve relevant documents to a given biomedical question. We then take the abstracts from the retrieved documents and use Stanford CoreNLP for sentence splitter to make a set of sentences, i.e., candidate passages. Using stemmed words and UMLS concepts as features for the BM25 model, we finally compute the similarity scores between the biomedical question and each of the candidate passages and keep the N top-ranked ones. Experimental evaluations performed on large standard datasets, provided by the BioASQ challenge, show that the proposed method achieves good performances compared with the current state-of-the-art methods. The proposed method significantly outperforms the current state-of-the-art methods by an average of 6.84% in terms of mean average precision (MAP). We have proposed an efficient passage retrieval method which can be used to retrieve relevant passages in biomedical QA systems with high mean average precision. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Relations of Cognitive Style to Assessment Components of Reading Comprehension for Deaf Adolescents.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davey, Beth; LaSasso, Carol

    The study examined the relations of cognitive style (field independence) to reading comprehension test performance for 48 prelingually, profoundly deaf adolescents. Ss read passages and answered comprehension questions consisting of two Information Types (text-explicit, text-implicit), Lookback Conditions (lookback, no-lookback), and Question…

  12. Can Cloze Tests Really Improve Second Language Learners' Reading Comprehension Skills?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ren, Guanxin

    2011-01-01

    Cloze testing is a widely-used procedure to test learners' reading comprehension in learning a language, but little is known if it can really improve learners' reading comprehension skills. This paper attempts to seek answers to this question by comparing the cloze test scores of two groups of students (Experimental versus Control) undertaking…

  13. Talking with Children and Teens about Alzheimer's Disease: A Question and Answer Guidebook for Parents, Teachers and Caregivers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCrea, James M.

    Professionals in the fields of nursing, education, health care, recreation, and social work, who specialize in dealing with Alzheimer's disease, wrote answers to questions collected from discussion sessions held at four Pennsylvania elder facilities and made suggestions for talking to young people about the disease and its impact. This guidebook…

  14. How Do You Answer the Life on Mars Question? Use Multiple Small Landers Like Beagle 2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gibson, Everett K.; Pillinger, C. T.; Wright, I. P.; Hurst, S. J.; Richter, L.; Sims, M. R.

    2012-01-01

    To address one of the most important questions in planetary science Is there life on Mars? The scientific community must turn to less costly means of exploring the surface of the Red Planet. The United Kingdom's Beagle 2 Mars lander concept was a small meter-size lander with a scientific payload constituting a large proportion of the flown mass designed to supply answers to the question about life on Mars. A possible reason why Beagle 2 did not send any data was that it was a one-off attempt to land. As Steve Squyres said at the time: "It's difficult to land on Mars - if you want to succeed you have to send two of everything".

  15. Compatible solute influence on nucleic acids: Many questions but few answers

    PubMed Central

    Kurz, Matthias

    2008-01-01

    Compatible solutes are small organic osmolytes including but not limited to sugars, polyols, amino acids, and their derivatives. They are compatible with cell metabolism even at molar concentrations. A variety of organisms synthesize or take up compatible solutes for adaptation to extreme environments. In addition to their protective action on whole cells, compatible solutes display significant effects on biomolecules in vitro. These include stabilization of native protein and nucleic acid structures. They are used as additives in polymerase chain reactions to increase product yield and specificity, but also in other nucleic acid and protein applications. Interactions of compatible solutes with nucleic acids and protein-nucleic acid complexes are much less understood than the corresponding interactions of compatible solutes with proteins. Although we may begin to understand solute/nucleic acid interactions there are only few answers to the many questions we have. I summarize here the current state of knowledge and discuss possible molecular mechanisms and thermodynamics. PMID:18522725

  16. Passage Independence within Standardized Reading Comprehension Tests

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roy-Charland, Annie; Colangelo, Gabrielle; Foglia, Victoria; Reguigui, Leïla

    2017-01-01

    In tests used to measure reading comprehension, validity is important in obtaining accurate results. Unfortunately, studies have shown that people can correctly answer some questions of these tests without reading the related passage. These findings bring forth the need to address whether this phenomenon is observed in multiple-choice only tests…

  17. Using Prompt Fading to Teach Self-Questioning to Fifth Graders with LD: Effects on Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rouse, Christina A.; Alber-Morgan, Sheila R.; Cullen, Jennifer M.; Sawyer, Mary

    2014-01-01

    Students with LD who struggle with reading comprehension can benefit from instruction on how to read strategically. One strategy that has been demonstrated to increase reading comprehension is self-questioning. In this study, two fifth graders with LD were taught to self-generate questions using a prompt fading procedure. The participants were…

  18. [Comments on the seven clinical questions & answers in Japanese gastric treatment guidelines of the 4th edition].

    PubMed

    Xu, J M

    2017-03-23

    Japanese gastric cancer treatment guidelines of the 4th Edition proposed solutions to 7 clinically contentious questions. However, the solutions to question 1-3 are not complete and may cause ambiguity. In order to avoid the wrong choice of surgical resection, the solutions to question 1-3 should be clearly defined. For question 1-3, we suggest provisos be added such as patients with resectable M1 disease and without any other non-curable factors, after whose status and tumor biological behavior being fully understood and being fully discussed by a multidisciplinary team, can be recommended to receive comprehensive treatment including surgical resection.

  19. Answers in search of a question: 'proofs' of the tri-dimensionality of space

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Callender, Craig

    From Kant's first published work to recent articles in the physics literature, philosophers and physicists have long sought an answer to the question: Why does space have three dimensions? In this paper, I will flesh out Kant's claim with a brief detour through Gauss' law. I then describe Büchel's version of the common argument that stable orbits are possible only if space is three dimensional. After examining objections by Russell and van Fraassen, I develop three original criticisms of my own. These criticisms are relevant to both historical and contemporary proofs of the dimensionality of space (in particular, a recent one by Burgbacher, Lämmerzahl, and Macias). In general, I argue that modern "proofs" of the dimensionality of space have gone off track.

  20. Barriers and decisions when answering clinical questions at the point of care: a grounded theory study.

    PubMed

    Cook, David A; Sorensen, Kristi J; Wilkinson, John M; Berger, Richard A

    2013-11-25

    Answering clinical questions affects patient-care decisions and is important to continuous professional development. The process of point-of-care learning is incompletely understood. To understand what barriers and enabling factors influence physician point-of-care learning and what decisions physicians face during this process. Focus groups with grounded theory analysis. Focus group discussions were transcribed and then analyzed using a constant comparative approach to identify barriers, enabling factors, and key decisions related to physician information-seeking activities. Academic medical center and outlying community sites. Purposive sample of 50 primary care and subspecialist internal medicine and family medicine physicians, interviewed in 11 focus groups. Insufficient time was the main barrier to point-of-care learning. Other barriers included the patient comorbidities and contexts, the volume of available information, not knowing which resource to search, doubt that the search would yield an answer, difficulty remembering questions for later study, and inconvenient access to computers. Key decisions were whether to search (reasons to search included infrequently seen conditions, practice updates, complex questions, and patient education), when to search (before, during, or after the clinical encounter), where to search (with the patient present or in a separate room), what type of resource to use (colleague or computer), what specific resource to use (influenced first by efficiency and second by credibility), and when to stop. Participants noted that key features of efficiency (completeness, brevity, and searchability) are often in conflict. Physicians perceive that insufficient time is the greatest barrier to point-of-care learning, and efficiency is the most important determinant in selecting an information source. Designing knowledge resources and systems to target key decisions may improve learning and patient care.

  1. Differential Effects of Oral Reading to Improve Comprehension with Severe Learning Disabled and Educable Mentally Handicapped Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, S. Q.; And Others

    1983-01-01

    Evaluated the effectiveness of oral reading for improving reading comprehension of 11 educable mentally handicapped or severe learning disabled adolescents who answered comprehension questions from a short factual article. Oral reading appeared to improve comprehension among the poorer readers but not for readers with moderately high ability. (JAC)

  2. Questions and Answers Regarding the 2009 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) Emissions Guidelines, and State Plan Process for Hospital, Medical, and Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This July 2011 document contains questions and answers on the Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI) regulations. The questions cover topics such as state plan requirements, compliance, applicability, operator training, and more.

  3. Students' Comprehension of Science Textbooks Using a Question-Based Reading Strategy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Betty Lou; Holliday, William G.; Austin, Homer W.

    2010-01-01

    Despite the heavy reliance on textbooks in college courses, research indicates that college students enrolled in first-year science courses are not proficient at comprehending informational text. The present study investigated a reading comprehension questioning strategy with origins in clinical research based in elaboration interrogation theory,…

  4. Role of self-concept in answering survey questions on complementary and alternative medicine: challenges to and strategies for improving data quality.

    PubMed

    Willson, Stephanie; Stussman, Barbara; Maitland, Aaron; Nahin, Richard L

    2009-12-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the construct validity of survey questions about the use of herbal and other nonvitamin/nonmineral dietary supplements. We conducted one-on-one, in-depth cognitive interviews with 32 respondents to test questions from the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) supplement for the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. Respondents were sampled purposively according to their use of CAM. Interviewers probed respondents for their understanding of the questions, and analysis was guided by grounded theory, an approach that generates explanations of response error that are closely tied to the empirical data. We found two sources of misinterpretation of CAM questions. First, some respondents did not have any pre-established definition of what constitutes an herbal supplement while others had interpretations that did not match the intended definitions. These problems are common to many survey questions. However, a second finding is that misinterpretation also arose when respondents incorporated notions of self-concept into the act of taking "natural herbs," and answered based on their understanding of this image rather than on actual behavior. There are several sources of misinterpretation of CAM questions. One of the most important sources is whether or not the respondent has created a concept of self-image that includes the use of herbal supplements. Common questionnaire design techniques such as providing definitions to respondents will not help to eliminate misinterpretation due to self-image. We found that careful question wording that does not evoke definitions of self, combined with visual aids that narrow the focus of the questions, can lead to more accurate answers.

  5. Answering Scientific Questions Using an Artistic Framework: A Personal Perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Little, S. F. B.

    2014-12-01

    Being multidisciplinary, while admired, is not viewed as a goal of education. Instead, extreme specialization is emphasized. One seeks to attain mastery of a given subject, but at what cost? Even those fields viewed as "interdisciplinary" are often quite narrow in scope, only permitting the most closely related subjects to coalesce. The arts however, are by nature both inter- and multi-disciplinary. They attempt to research, analyze, and reflect upon broader questions, often employing techniques garnered from far-flung fields in order to do so. It is an unfortunate dilemma then that the artist should seem so separate from the scientist, as it seems that both are engaged in a sort of hypothesis testing. Perhaps this division is a remnant of the antiquated left- and right-brained dichotomy, which clearly separated the two groups: Science and Art, Left and Right. In this way, the artist was branded as Science's "other," despite the inherent sameness of their processes. This "otherness" has been carried forward to the present, where artists are often viewed as simply craftspeople -object makers- and the concept of the "artistic problem" is rarely considered. As someone possessing degrees in both Fine Art and Hydrology, the author attempts to explain the connection between the two subjects, and the manner in which they compliment and enlighten each other in her own research. She hypothesizes that in addition to this "otherness," it is the multi-dimensional mode of thinking and dealing with problems that sets the artist apart. But this is a dynamic trait, and as such, it should be considered that by approaching scientific endeavors as artistic problems, the researcher could be permitted a broader framework in which to answer a given scientific question.

  6. Explaining topic prevalence in answers to open-ended survey questions about climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tvinnereim, Endre; Fløttum, Kjersti

    2015-08-01

    Citizens’ opinions are crucial for action on climate change, but are, owing to the complexity of the issue, diverse and potentially unformed. We contribute to the understanding of public views on climate change and to knowledge needed by decision-makers by using a new approach to analyse answers to the open survey question `what comes to mind when you hear the words `climate change’?’. We apply automated text analysis, specifically structural topic modelling, which induces distinct topics based on the relative frequencies of the words used in 2,115 responses. From these data, originating from the new, nationally representative Norwegian Citizen Panel, four distinct topics emerge: Weather/Ice, Future/Impact, Money/Consumption and Attribution. We find that Norwegians emphasize societal aspects of climate change more than do respondents in previous US and UK studies. Furthermore, variables that explain variation in closed questions, such as gender and education, yield different and surprising results when employed to explain variation in what respondents emphasize. Finally, the sharp distinction between scepticism and acceptance of conventional climate science, often seen in previous studies, blurs in many textual responses as scepticism frequently turns into ambivalence.

  7. Findings across Practitioner Training Studies in Special Education: A Comprehensive Review and Meta-Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brock, Matthew E.; Cannella-Malone, Helen I.; Seaman, Rachel L.; Andzik, Natalie R.; Schaefer, John M.; Page, E. Justin; Barczak, Mary A.; Dueker, Scott A.

    2017-01-01

    Existing reviews answer important questions about subsets of practitioner training studies in special education, but leave important questions about the broader literature unanswered. In this comprehensive review, we identified 118 peer-reviewed single-case design studies in which researchers tested the efficacy of practitioner training on…

  8. The Impact of Political Context on the Questions Asked and Answered: The Evolution of Education Research on Racial Inequality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wells, Amy Stuart; Roda, Allison

    2016-01-01

    This chapter examines how the larger political context and policies enacted at different points in American history have affected the questions education researchers asked and answered. The authors argue that while education researchers are often quick to consider how their research should shape policy, they are less likely to contemplate the…

  9. Comprehension of wh-questions precedes their production in typical development and autism spectrum disorders

    PubMed Central

    Goodwin, Anthony; Fein, Deborah; Naigles, Letitia R.

    2011-01-01

    Lay Abstract Children with autism produce few wh-questions, compared to their typically developing peers. It is unclear if this is because of social-pragmatic difficulties, or if they have not yet learned the grammar for asking wh-questions. If children do not know how to use grammatical rules to produce questions, they might simply repeat sentences that they have heard without completely understanding them first. We visited the homes of 15 children with autism and 18 typically developing children with similar language abilities, across a three-year period. At each visit, children watched a video that depicted an apple hitting a flower and keys hitting a book. The children were then shown the items side-by-side on the screen and the audio asked “what hit the flower?” and “what did the keys hit?” We filmed the children’s eye movements and analyzed how long they looked at the named item, compared to when they heard “where is the flower/keys?” At each visit, we also filmed a 30-minute mother-child play session and analyzed the types of questions that the children asked. Children with autism showed comprehension of wh-questions at a later age than typically developing children, but at a similar level of overall language development. Neither group produced wh-questions before they had demonstrated that they understood the underlying grammatical rules. Therefore, children with autism seem to process wh-questions in the same way as their typically developing peers, just at a later age. This paper discusses the implications of our findings for the language development of children with autism. Scientific Abstract Children with autism (ASD) rarely produce wh-questions (e.g., “What hit the book?”) in naturalistic speech. It is unclear if this is due to social-pragmatic difficulties, or if grammatical deficits are also involved. If grammar is impaired, production of wh-questions by rote memorization might precede comprehension of similar forms. In a

  10. Using PICO Methodology to Answer Questions About Smoking in COPD Patients.

    PubMed

    Jiménez Ruiz, Carlos A; Buljubasich, Daniel; Riesco Miranda, Juan Antonio; Acuña Izcaray, Agustín; de Granda Orive, José Ignacio; Chatkin, José Miguel; Zabert, Gustavo; Guerreros Benavides, Alfredo; Paez Espinel, Nelson; Noé, Valeri; Sánchez-Angarita, Efraín; Núñez-Sánchez, Ingrid; Sansores, Raúl H; Casas, Alejandro; Palomar Lever, Andrés; Alfageme Michavila, Inmaculada

    2017-11-01

    The ALAT and SEPAR Treatment and Control of Smoking Groups have collaborated in the preparation of this document which attempts to answer, by way of PICO methodology, different questions on health interventions for helping COPD patients to stop smoking. The main recommendations are: (i)moderate-quality evidence and strong recommendation for performing spirometry in COPD patients and in smokers with a high risk of developing the disease, as a motivational tool (particularly for showing evidence of lung age), a diagnostic tool, and for active case-finding; (ii)high-quality evidence and strong recommendation for using intensive dedicated behavioral counselling and drug treatment for helping COPD patients to stop smoking; (iii)high-quality evidence and strong recommendation for initiating interventions for helping COPD patients to stop smoking during hospitalization with improvement when the intervention is prolonged after discharge, and (iv)high-quality evidence and strong recommendation for funding treatment of smoking in COPD patients, in view of the impact on health and health economics. Copyright © 2017 SEPAR. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  11. 26 CFR 1.404(k)-1T - Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary)

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) 1.404(k)-1T Section 1.404(k)-1T Internal Revenue... (CONTINUED) Pension, Profit-Sharing, Stock Bonus Plans, Etc. § 1.404(k)-1T Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) Q-1: What does section 404(k) provide...

  12. 26 CFR 1.404(k)-1T - Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary)

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) 1.404(k)-1T Section 1.404(k)-1T Internal Revenue... (CONTINUED) Pension, Profit-Sharing, Stock Bonus Plans, Etc. § 1.404(k)-1T Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) Q-1: What does section 404(k) provide...

  13. 26 CFR 1.404(k)-1T - Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary)

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) 1.404(k)-1T Section 1.404(k)-1T Internal Revenue... (CONTINUED) Pension, Profit-Sharing, Stock Bonus Plans, Etc. § 1.404(k)-1T Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) Q-1: What does section 404(k) provide...

  14. 26 CFR 1.404(k)-1T - Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary)

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) 1.404(k)-1T Section 1.404(k)-1T Internal Revenue... (CONTINUED) Pension, Profit-Sharing, Stock Bonus Plans, Etc. § 1.404(k)-1T Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) Q-1: What does section 404(k) provide...

  15. Influence of text type, topic familiarity, and stuttering frequency on listener recall, comprehension, and mental effort.

    PubMed

    Panico, James; Healey, E Charles

    2009-04-01

    To determine how text type, topic familiarity, and stuttering frequency influence listener recall, comprehension, and perceived mental effort. Sixty adults listened to familiar and unfamiliar narrative and expository texts produced with 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% stuttering. Participants listened to 4 experimental text samples at only 1 stuttering frequency. After hearing the text samples, each listener performed a free recall task, answered cued recall questions, answered story comprehension questions, and rated their perceived mental effort. Free and cued recall as well as story comprehension scores were higher for narrative than for expository texts. Free and cued recall scores were better for familiar than for unfamiliar stories, although topic familiarity did not affect story comprehension scores. Samples with all levels of stuttering resulted in higher mental effort ratings for both text types and topic familiarities. Stuttering has a greater influence on listener recall and comprehension for narrative than for expository texts. Topic familiarity affects free and cued recall but has no influence on story comprehension. Regardless of the amount of stuttering, mental effort was high for both text types and levels of familiarity.

  16. Advances in Intelligence Research: What Should be Expected in the XXI Century (Questions & Answers).

    PubMed

    Colom, Roberto

    2016-12-06

    Here I briefly delineate my view about the main question of this International Seminar, namely, what should we expecting from the XXI Century regarding the advancements in intelligence research. This view can be summarized as 'The Brain Connection' (TBC), meaning that neuroscience will be of paramount relevance for increasing our current knowledge related to the key question: why are some people smarter than others? We need answers to the issue of what happens in our brains when the genotype and the environment are integrated. The scientific community has devoted great research efforts, ranging from observable behavior to hidden genetics, but we are still far from having a clear general picture of what it means to be more or less intelligent. After the discussion held with the panel of experts participating in the seminar, it is concluded that advancements will be more solid and safe increasing the collaboration of scientists with shared research interests worldwide. Paralleling current sophisticated analyses of how the brain computes, nowadays science may embrace a network approach.

  17. Unpark Those Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ness, Molly

    2013-01-01

    Whenever Mr. Henderson's 3rd grade students had a question that he couldn't immediately answer or that seemed off-topic, he asked them to write the question on a sticky note and place it on a poster dubbed the "Parking Lot." His intention was to find time later to answer those questions, but too often, he said, the parking lot…

  18. A Question-Answer System for Mobile Devices in Lecture-Based Instruction: A Qualitative Analysis of Student Engagement and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hatun Atas, Amine; Delialioglu, Ömer

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the opinions, perceptions and evaluations of students about their experiences with a question-answer system used on mobile devices in a lecture-based course. Basic qualitative research method was employed in this study to understand how students made sense of their experiences during the instruction. The…

  19. 26 CFR 1.404(k)-1T - Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary)

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) 1.404(k)-1T Section 1.404(k)-1T Internal Revenue... Pension, Profit-Sharing, Stock Bonus Plans, Etc. § 1.404(k)-1T Questions and answers relating to the deductibility of certain dividend distributions. (Temporary) Q-1: What does section 404(k) provide? A-1: Section...

  20. Anti-resorptive osteonecrosis of the jaws: facts forgotten, questions answered, lessons learned.

    PubMed

    Carlson, Eric R; Schlott, Benjamin J

    2014-05-01

    Osteonecrosis of the jaws associated with bisphosphonate and other anti-resorptive medications (ARONJ) has historically been a poorly understood disease process in terms of its pathophysiology, prevention and treatment since it was originally described in 2003. In association with its original discovery 11 years ago, non-evidence based speculation of these issues have been published in the international literature and are currently being challenged. A critical analysis of cancer patients with ARONJ, for example, reveals that their osteonecrosis is nearly identical to that of cancer patients who are naive to anti-resorptive medications. In addition, osteonecrosis of the jaws is not unique to patients exposed to anti-resorptive medications, but is also seen in patients with osteomyelitis and other pathologic processes of the jaws. This article represents a review of facts forgotten, questions answered, and lessons learned in general regarding osteonecrosis of the jaws. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Method for Atypical Opinion Extraction from Ungrammatical Answers in Open-ended Questions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hiramatsu, Ayako; Tamura, Shingo; Oiso, Hiroaki; Komoda, Norihisa

    This paper presents a method for atypical opinion extraction from ungrammatical answers to open-ended questions supplied through cellular phones. The proposed system excludes typical opinions and extracts only atypical opinions. To cope with incomplete syntax of texts due to the input by cellular phones, the system treats the opinions as the sets of keywords. The combinations of words are established beforehand in a typical word database. Based on the ratio of typical word combinations in sentences of an opinion, the system classifies the opinion typical or atypical. When typical word combinations are sought in an opinion, the system considers the word order and the distance of difference between the positions of words to exclude unnecessary combinations. Furthermore, when an opinion includes meanings the system divides the opinion into phrases at each typical word combination. By applying questionnaire data supplied by users of a mobile game content when they cancel their account, the extraction accuracy of the proposed system was confirmed.

  2. Accuracy of Answers to Cell Lineage Questions Depends on Single-Cell Genomics Data Quality and Quantity.

    PubMed

    Spiro, Adam; Shapiro, Ehud

    2016-06-01

    Advances in single-cell (SC) genomics enable commensurate improvements in methods for uncovering lineage relations among individual cells, as determined by phylogenetic analysis of the somatic mutations harbored by each cell. Theoretically, complete and accurate knowledge of the genome of each cell of an individual can produce an extremely accurate cell lineage tree of that individual. However, the reality of SC genomics is that such complete and accurate knowledge would be wanting, in quality and in quantity, for the foreseeable future. In this paper we offer a framework for systematically exploring the feasibility of answering cell lineage questions based on SC somatic mutational analysis, as a function of SC genomics data quality and quantity. We take into consideration the current limitations of SC genomics in terms of mutation data quality, most notably amplification bias and allele dropouts (ADO), as well as cost, which puts practical limits on mutation data quantity obtained from each cell as well as on cell sample density. We do so by generating in silico cell lineage trees using a dedicated formal language, eSTG, and show how the ability to answer correctly a cell lineage question depends on the quality and quantity of the SC mutation data. The presented framework can serve as a baseline for the potential of current SC genomics to unravel cell lineage dynamics, as well as the potential contributions of future advancement, both biochemical and computational, for the task.

  3. Questions and Answers for the Pulp and Paper National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP): 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart S

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This September 1999 document provides implementation information by supplying answers to frequently asked questions, such as applicability, definitions, various system processes, etc. on the Pulp and Paper NESHAP (40 CFR 63, subpart S).

  4. The Auditory Comprehension of Wh-Questions in Aphasia: Support for the Intervener Hypothesis.

    PubMed

    Sheppard, Shannon M; Walenski, Matthew; Love, Tracy; Shapiro, Lewis P

    2015-06-01

    This study examines 3 hypotheses about the processing of wh-questions in both neurologically healthy adults and adults with Broca's aphasia. We used an eye tracking while listening method with 32 unimpaired participants (Experiment 1) and 8 participants with Broca's aphasia (Experiment 2). Accuracy, response time, and online gaze data were collected. In Experiment 1, we established a baseline for how unimpaired processing and comprehension of 4 types of wh-question (subject- and object-extracted who- and which-questions) manifest. There was no unambiguous support found for any of the 3 hypotheses in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2 with the Broca's participants, however, we found significantly lower accuracy, slower response times, and increased interference in our gaze data in the object-extracted which-questions relative to the other conditions. Our results provide support for the intervener hypothesis, which states that sentence constructions that contain an intervener (a lexical noun phrase) between a displaced noun phrase and its gap site result in a significant processing disadvantage relative to other constructions. We argue that this hypothesis offers a compelling explanation for the comprehension deficits seen in some participants with Broca's aphasia.

  5. The Effects of Text Structure Instruction on Expository Reading Comprehension: A Meta-Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hebert, Michael; Bohaty, Janet J.; Nelson, J. Ron; Brown, Jessica

    2016-01-01

    In this meta-analysis of 45 studies involving students in Grades 2-12, the authors present evidence on the effects of text structure instruction on the expository reading comprehension of students. The meta-analysis was deigned to answer 2 sets of questions. The first set of questions examined the effectiveness of text structure instruction on…

  6. Where Have All the Teachers Gone? Finding Answers to the Most Basic Questions about California's Teacher Workforce. CenterView

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, 2005

    2005-01-01

    This policy brief presents a strong case for the creation of a statewide teacher data system in California by highlighting some of the simple teacher workforce questions that cannot be answered because such a system does not currently exist. At the state level, data on teacher qualifications are needed to fulfill the new reporting requirements of…

  7. Inference Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension of Challenging Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Attaprechakul, Damrong

    2013-01-01

    This study aimed to explore inference strategies necessary to successfully read journal articles. Eighty-eight graduate students read a set of texts on education and economic growth and answered comprehension questions. Twenty-four of these participants also volunteered for an in-depth interview. The findings revealed that students usually relied…

  8. Questions and answers about the effects of the depletion of the ozone layer on humans and the environment.

    PubMed

    Aucamp, Pieter J

    2007-03-01

    The ozone molecule contains three atoms of oxygen and is mainly formed by the action of the ultraviolet rays of the sun on the diatomic oxygen molecules in the upper part of the Earth's atmosphere (called the stratosphere). Atmospheric pollution near the Earth's surface can form localized areas of ozone. The stratospheric ozone layer protects life on Earth by absorbing most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. In the mid 1970s it was discovered that some manmade products destroy ozone molecules in the stratosphere. This destruction can result in damage to ecosystems and to materials such as plastics. It may cause an increase in human diseases such as skin cancers and cataracts. The discovery of the role of the synthetic ozone-depleting chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) stimulated increased research and monitoring in this field. Computer models predicted a disaster if no action was taken to protect the ozone layer. Based on this research and monitoring, the nations of the world took action in 1985 with the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer followed by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987. The Convention and Protocol were amended and adjusted several times as new knowledge was obtained. The Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol appointed three Assessment Panels to review the progress in scientific knowledge on their behalf. These panels are the Scientific Assessment Panel, the Technological and Economic Assessment Panel and the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel. Each panel covers a designated area and there is a natural level of overlap. The main reports of the Panels are published every four years as required by the Meeting of the Parties. All the reports have an executive summary that is distributed more widely than the main report itself. It became customary to add a set of questions and answers--mainly for non-expert readers--to the executive summaries. This

  9. Sensitivity and predictive value of 15 PubMed search strategies to answer clinical questions rated against full systematic reviews.

    PubMed

    Agoritsas, Thomas; Merglen, Arnaud; Courvoisier, Delphine S; Combescure, Christophe; Garin, Nicolas; Perrier, Arnaud; Perneger, Thomas V

    2012-06-12

    Clinicians perform searches in PubMed daily, but retrieving relevant studies is challenging due to the rapid expansion of medical knowledge. Little is known about the performance of search strategies when they are applied to answer specific clinical questions. To compare the performance of 15 PubMed search strategies in retrieving relevant clinical trials on therapeutic interventions. We used Cochrane systematic reviews to identify relevant trials for 30 clinical questions. Search terms were extracted from the abstract using a predefined procedure based on the population, interventions, comparison, outcomes (PICO) framework and combined into queries. We tested 15 search strategies that varied in their query (PIC or PICO), use of PubMed's Clinical Queries therapeutic filters (broad or narrow), search limits, and PubMed links to related articles. We assessed sensitivity (recall) and positive predictive value (precision) of each strategy on the first 2 PubMed pages (40 articles) and on the complete search output. The performance of the search strategies varied widely according to the clinical question. Unfiltered searches and those using the broad filter of Clinical Queries produced large outputs and retrieved few relevant articles within the first 2 pages, resulting in a median sensitivity of only 10%-25%. In contrast, all searches using the narrow filter performed significantly better, with a median sensitivity of about 50% (all P < .001 compared with unfiltered queries) and positive predictive values of 20%-30% (P < .001 compared with unfiltered queries). This benefit was consistent for most clinical questions. Searches based on related articles retrieved about a third of the relevant studies. The Clinical Queries narrow filter, along with well-formulated queries based on the PICO framework, provided the greatest aid in retrieving relevant clinical trials within the 2 first PubMed pages. These results can help clinicians apply effective strategies to answer their

  10. Enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease: some answers but more questions.

    PubMed

    Alfadhel, Majid; Sirrs, Sandra

    2011-01-01

    Fabry disease (FD) is a multisystem, X-linked disorder of glycosphingolipid metabolism caused by enzyme deficiency of α-galactosidase A. Affected patients have symptoms including acroparesthesias, angiokeratomas, and hypohidrosis. More serious manifestations include debilitating pain and gastrointestinal symptoms, proteinuria and gradual deterioration of renal function leading to end-stage renal disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and stroke. Heterozygous females may have symptoms as severe as males with the classic phenotype. Before 2001, treatment of patients with FD was supportive. The successful development of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has been a great advancement in the treatment of patients with FD and can stabilize renal function and cardiac size, as well as improve pain and quality of life of patients with FD. In this review, we have provided a critical appraisal of the literature on the effects of ERT for FD. This analysis shows that data available on the treatment of FD are often derived from studies which are not controlled, rely on surrogate markers, and are of insufficient power to detect differences on hard clinical endpoints. Further studies of higher quality are needed to answer the questions that remain concerning the efficacy of ERT for FD.

  11. Our American Government: What Is It? How Does It Function? 150 Questions and Answers. Ninety Fifth Congress, First Session. House Document No. 95-257.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joint Committee on Printing, Washington, DC.

    This pamphlet presents information about the United States government, its bases, processes, and branches, in a question and answer format. Based on questions similar to those frequently received by Members of Congress from their constituents, it offers brief and concise information. Topics covered are democracy and its American sources, the…

  12. Individual and Collaborative Technology-Mediated Learning Using Question & Answer Online Discussion Forums--Perceptions of Public Health Learners in Dubai, UAE

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Awofeso, Niyi; Hassan, Moustafa; Hamidi, Samer

    2016-01-01

    This case study provides evidence-based suggestions for the use of Question and Answer discussion forums for improving quality and assessment of online learning. General online discussion forums are accessible at any time to all subscribers, making it possible for some learners to update, concur with or paraphrase discussions posted earlier by…

  13. Comprehension Questioning Small Group Reading Instruction for Urban Students with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Valerie

    2012-01-01

    It is evident from reading research that students with learning disabilities (LD) greatly benefit from teacher-student interactions during small group comprehension instruction (e.g., Berkeley, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2010). Given that questioning takes up the vast majority of instructional interactions between teachers and students (Chin,…

  14. Introductory Biology Students’ Use of Enhanced Answer Keys and Reflection Questions to Engage in Metacognition and Enhance Understanding

    PubMed Central

    Sabel, Jaime L.; Dauer, Joseph T.; Forbes, Cory T.

    2017-01-01

    Providing feedback to students as they learn to integrate individual concepts into complex systems is an important way to help them to develop robust understanding, but it is challenging in large, undergraduate classes for instructors to provide feedback that is frequent and directed enough to help individual students. Various scaffolds can be used to help students engage in self-regulated learning and generate internal feedback to improve their learning. This study examined the use of enhanced answer keys with added reflection questions and instruction as scaffolds for engaging undergraduate students in self-regulated learning within an introductory biology course. Study findings show that both the enhanced answer keys and reflection questions helped students to engage in metacognition and develop greater understanding of biological concepts. Further, students who received additional instruction on the use of the scaffolds changed how they used them and, by the end of the semester, were using the scaffolds in significantly different ways and showed significantly higher learning gains than students who did not receive the instruction. These findings provide evidence for the benefit of designing scaffolds within biology courses that will support students in engaging in metacognition and enhancing their understanding of biological concepts. PMID:28645893

  15. Using research evidence in mental health: user-rating and focus group study of clinicians' preferences for a new clinical question-answering service.

    PubMed

    Barley, Elizabeth A; Murray, Joanna; Churchill, Rachel

    2009-12-01

    Clinicians report difficulties using research in their practices. The aim of the study was to describe needs and preferences for a mental health clinical question-answering service designed to assist this process. Multi-disciplinary clinicians participated in a focus group; users of the service supplied feedback. Fifty-four clinicians received answers to 84 questions about mental health treatments. User ratings showed that the answers had multiple uses: informing health care (43), education (22), staff development (28) and research (12), and were considered useful, clear, relevant and helpful. Focus group participants appreciated critically appraised summaries of evidence and stressed the time-saving benefit of the service. Clinicians without a medical training were least confident in applying evidence. Attitudes to research were positive, but concern was expressed about its potential misuse for political purposes. This appeared to arise from an ambiguity around the term 'insufficient evidence', which participants felt is widely misinterpreted as 'evidence of no effect'. A highly valued, responsive service has been developed. A range of clinicians find critically appraised summaries of research useful. Education about the use of research may help clinicians to be more evidence based.

  16. Towards answering the "so what" question in marine renewables environmental impact assessment.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Degraer, Steven; Birchenough, Silvana N. R.; Braeckman, Ulrike; Coolen, Joop W. P.; Dannheim, Jennifer; De Mesel, Ilse; Grégoire, Marilaure; Kerckhof, Francis; Lacroix, Geneviève; Lindeboom, Han; Moens, Tom; Soetaert, Karline; Vanaverbeke, Jan; Van Hoey, Gert

    2016-04-01

    Marine renewable energy (MRE) projects are increasingly occupying the European North-Atlantic coasts and this is clearly observed in the North Sea. Given the expected impacts on the marine environment, each individual project is accompanied by a legally mandatory, environmental monitoring programme. These programmes are focused on the resultant effects on ecosystem component structure (e.g. species composition, numbers and densities) of single industrial projects. To date, there is a tendency to further narrow down to only a selection of ecosystem components (e.g. marine mammals and birds). While a wide knowledge-based understanding of structural impacts on (a selection of) ecosystem components exists, this evidence is largely lacking when undertaking impact assessments at the ecosystem functioning level (e.g. trophic interactions, dispersal and nutrient cycling). This critical knowledge gap compromises a scientifically-underpinned answer to the "so what" question of environmental impacts, i.e. whether the observed impacts are considered to be good or bad, or acceptable or unacceptable. The importance of ecosystem functioning is further acknowledged in the descriptors 4 and 6 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (EU MSFD) and is at the heart of a sustainable use and management of our marine resources. There hence is a fundamental need to focus on ecosystem functioning at the spatial scales at which marine ecosystems function when assessing MRE impacts. Here, we make a plea for an increased investment in a large (spatial) scale impact assessment of MRE projects focused on ecosystem functioning. This presentation will cover a selection of examples from North Sea MRE monitoring programmes, where the current knowledge has limited conclusions on the "so what" question. We will demonstrate how an ecosystem functioning-focused approach at an appropriate spatial scale could advance our current understanding, whilst assessing these issues. These examples will cover

  17. Determinants of quality, latency, and amount of Stack Overflow answers about recent Android APIs

    PubMed Central

    Filkov, Vladimir

    2018-01-01

    Stack Overflow is a popular crowdsourced question and answer website for programming-related issues. It is an invaluable resource for software developers; on average, questions posted there get answered in minutes to an hour. Questions about well established topics, e.g., the coercion operator in C++, or the difference between canonical and class names in Java, get asked often in one form or another, and answered very quickly. On the other hand, questions on previously unseen or niche topics take a while to get a good answer. This is particularly the case with questions about current updates to or the introduction of new application programming interfaces (APIs). In a hyper-competitive online market, getting good answers to current programming questions sooner could increase the chances of an app getting released and used. So, can developers anyhow, e.g., hasten the speed to good answers to questions about new APIs? Here, we empirically study Stack Overflow questions pertaining to new Android APIs and their associated answers. We contrast the interest in these questions, their answer quality, and timeliness of their answers to questions about old APIs. We find that Stack Overflow answerers in general prioritize with respect to currentness: questions about new APIs do get more answers, but good quality answers take longer. We also find that incentives in terms of question bounties, if used appropriately, can significantly shorten the time and increase answer quality. Interestingly, no operationalization of bounty amount shows significance in our models. In practice, our findings confirm the value of bounties in enhancing expert participation. In addition, they show that the Stack Overflow style of crowdsourcing, for all its glory in providing answers about established programming knowledge, is less effective with new API questions. PMID:29547620

  18. Determinants of quality, latency, and amount of Stack Overflow answers about recent Android APIs.

    PubMed

    Kavaler, David; Filkov, Vladimir

    2018-01-01

    Stack Overflow is a popular crowdsourced question and answer website for programming-related issues. It is an invaluable resource for software developers; on average, questions posted there get answered in minutes to an hour. Questions about well established topics, e.g., the coercion operator in C++, or the difference between canonical and class names in Java, get asked often in one form or another, and answered very quickly. On the other hand, questions on previously unseen or niche topics take a while to get a good answer. This is particularly the case with questions about current updates to or the introduction of new application programming interfaces (APIs). In a hyper-competitive online market, getting good answers to current programming questions sooner could increase the chances of an app getting released and used. So, can developers anyhow, e.g., hasten the speed to good answers to questions about new APIs? Here, we empirically study Stack Overflow questions pertaining to new Android APIs and their associated answers. We contrast the interest in these questions, their answer quality, and timeliness of their answers to questions about old APIs. We find that Stack Overflow answerers in general prioritize with respect to currentness: questions about new APIs do get more answers, but good quality answers take longer. We also find that incentives in terms of question bounties, if used appropriately, can significantly shorten the time and increase answer quality. Interestingly, no operationalization of bounty amount shows significance in our models. In practice, our findings confirm the value of bounties in enhancing expert participation. In addition, they show that the Stack Overflow style of crowdsourcing, for all its glory in providing answers about established programming knowledge, is less effective with new API questions.

  19. President Clinton's Statement on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Clinton, Bill

    This is video footage of President Clinton delivering a statement to the press on signing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and answering press pool questions before departing Kansas City, Missouri. This footage is official public record produced by the White House Television (WHTV) crew, provided by the Clinton Presidential Library.

  20. Relatives and friends queries on a psychologists "question and answer" forum online - authorship and contents.

    PubMed

    Stjernswärd, Sigrid

    2015-03-01

    Families living with mental illness can experience added burden and eventually own ill health. National and international guidelines support the development of web based solutions to cost-effectively address health care needs. Mapping patterns of internet use may help tailor interventions to effectively address users' needs. The study's aim was to explore the contents of relatives' and friends' queries on a psychologists' website with professional feedback. All visible questions [n = 59] classified under the website's "helping a relative/friend" category between 20 090 615-20 130 927 were printed out and analyzed using content analysis. The analysis resulted in four categories and subcategories illuminating families'/friends' areas of concern: support to help; concerns with health care; young children's welfare; and repercussions on own health. "Question & Answer" [Q&A] forums can shed light onto health seekers' online behavior and may be a way of addressing families' needs of support and information. Further studies are needed to assess the replies' therapeutic value for their recipients.

  1. Is that your final answer? Relationship of changed answers to overall performance on a computer-based medical school course examination.

    PubMed

    Ferguson, Kristi J; Kreiter, Clarence D; Peterson, Michael W; Rowat, Jane A; Elliott, Scott T

    2002-01-01

    Whether examinees benefit from the opportunity to change answers to examination questions has been discussed widely. This study was undertaken to document the impact of answer changing on exam performance on a computer-based course examination in a second-year medical school course. This study analyzed data from a 2 hour, 80-item computer delivered multiple-choice exam administered to 190 students (166 second-year medical students and 24 physician's assistant students). There was a small but significant net improvement in overall score when answers were changed: one student's score increased by 7 points, 93 increased by 1 to 4 points, and 38 decreased by 1 to 3 points. On average, lower-performing students benefited slightly less than higher-performing students. Students spent more time on questions for which they changed the answers and were more likely to change items that were more difficult. Students should not be discouraged from changing answers, especially to difficult questions that require careful consideration, although the net effect is quite small.

  2. Visual Imagery and Self-Questioning: Strategies to Improve Comprehension of Written Material.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Frances L.; And Others

    1984-01-01

    Two learning strategies--visual imagery and self-questioning--designed to increase reading comprehension were taught to six learning disabled secondary students. Results indicate that LD students can learn the two strategies and can apply them in both reading ability level and grade level materials. Use of the strategies resulted in greater…

  3. 26 CFR 1.133-1T - Questions and answers relating to interest on certain loans used to acquire employer securities...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... variable rate of interest and the loan between the corporation and the ESOP states a fixed rate of interest... term, the initial interest rate on the variable rate loan could be compared to the rate on the fixed... 26 Internal Revenue 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Questions and answers relating to interest on...

  4. Effects of Differential Feedback on the Answering of Two Types of Questions by Fifth- and Sixth-Graders.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peeck, J.

    1979-01-01

    Fifth- and sixth-graders were tested with multiple-choice fact and inference questions about a reading passage, then given feedback either with or without the text present. Retesting occurred four days later. Results corroborated recent findings on age-related improvement in inferential processing comprehension and memory. (Author/SJL)

  5. How much flower-rich habitat is enough for wild pollinators? Answering a key policy question with incomplete knowledge.

    PubMed

    Dicks, Lynn V; Baude, Mathilde; Roberts, Stuart P M; Phillips, James; Green, Mike; Carvell, Claire

    2015-09-01

    In 2013, an opportunity arose in England to develop an agri-environment package for wild pollinators, as part of the new Countryside Stewardship scheme launched in 2015. It can be understood as a 'policy window', a rare and time-limited opportunity to change policy, supported by a narrative about pollinator decline and widely supported mitigating actions. An agri-environment package is a bundle of management options that together supply sufficient resources to support a target group of species. This paper documents information that was available at the time to develop such a package for wild pollinators. Four questions needed answering: (1) Which pollinator species should be targeted? (2) Which resources limit these species in farmland? (3) Which management options provide these resources? (4) What area of each option is needed to support populations of the target species? Focussing on wild bees, we provide tentative answers that were used to inform development of the package. There is strong evidence that floral resources can limit wild bee populations, and several sources of evidence identify a set of agri-environment options that provide flowers and other resources for pollinators. The final question could only be answered for floral resources, with a wide range of uncertainty. We show that the areas of some floral resource options in the basic Wild Pollinator and Farmland Wildlife Package (2% flower-rich habitat and 1 km flowering hedgerow), are sufficient to supply a set of six common pollinator species with enough pollen to feed their larvae at lowest estimates, using minimum values for estimated parameters where a range was available. We identify key sources of uncertainty, and stress the importance of keeping the Package flexible, so it can be revised as new evidence emerges about how to achieve the policy aim of supporting pollinators on farmland.

  6. A virtual speaker in noisy classroom conditions: supporting or disrupting children's listening comprehension?

    PubMed

    Nirme, Jens; Haake, Magnus; Lyberg Åhlander, Viveka; Brännström, Jonas; Sahlén, Birgitta

    2018-04-05

    Seeing a speaker's face facilitates speech recognition, particularly under noisy conditions. Evidence for how it might affect comprehension of the content of the speech is more sparse. We investigated how children's listening comprehension is affected by multi-talker babble noise, with or without presentation of a digitally animated virtual speaker, and whether successful comprehension is related to performance on a test of executive functioning. We performed a mixed-design experiment with 55 (34 female) participants (8- to 9-year-olds), recruited from Swedish elementary schools. The children were presented with four different narratives, each in one of four conditions: audio-only presentation in a quiet setting, audio-only presentation in noisy setting, audio-visual presentation in a quiet setting, and audio-visual presentation in a noisy setting. After each narrative, the children answered questions on the content and rated their perceived listening effort. Finally, they performed a test of executive functioning. We found significantly fewer correct answers to explicit content questions after listening in noise. This negative effect was only mitigated to a marginally significant degree by audio-visual presentation. Strong executive function only predicted more correct answers in quiet settings. Altogether, our results are inconclusive regarding how seeing a virtual speaker affects listening comprehension. We discuss how methodological adjustments, including modifications to our virtual speaker, can be used to discriminate between possible explanations to our results and contribute to understanding the listening conditions children face in a typical classroom.

  7. Answers to Essential Questions about Standards, Assessments, Grading, & Reporting

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guskey, Thomas R.; Jung, Lee Ann

    2013-01-01

    How do assessments for learning differ from assessments of learning? What is the purpose of grading? After nearly two decades of immersion in standards-based curriculua and instruction, our nation's educators are often still confounded by the (admittedly complex) landscape of standards, assessment, and reporting. In "Answers to Essential…

  8. Ten Common Questions (and Their Answers) About Off-label Drug Use

    PubMed Central

    Wittich, Christopher M.; Burkle, Christopher M.; Lanier, William L.

    2012-01-01

    The term off-label drug use (OLDU) is used extensively in the medical literature, continuing medical education exercises, and the media. Yet, we propose that many health care professionals have an underappreciation of its definition, prevalence, and implications. This article introduces and answers 10 questions regarding OLDU in an effort to clarify the practice's meaning, breadth of application, acceptance, and liabilities. Off-label drug use involves prescribing medications for indications, or using a dosage or dosage form, that have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Since the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the practice of medicine, OLDU has become common. It occurs in every specialty of medicine, but it may be more common in areas of medicine in which the patient population is less likely to be included in clinical trials (eg, pediatric, pregnant, or psychiatric patients). Pharmaceutical companies are not allowed to promote their medications for an off-label use, which has lead to several large settlements for illegal marketing. To limit liability, physicians should prescribe medications only for indications that they believe are in the best interest of the patient. In addition, health care professionals should educate themselves about OLDU to weigh the risks and benefits and provide the best possible care for their patients. PMID:22877654

  9. Patient perspectives on answering questions about sexual orientation and gender identity: an integrative review.

    PubMed

    Bjarnadottir, Ragnhildur I; Bockting, Walter; Dowding, Dawn W

    2017-07-01

    To examine patients' perceptions of being asked about their sexual orientation and gender identity in the healthcare setting. Health disparities exist in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, but further research is needed to better understand these disparities. To address this issue, experts recommend the routine collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data in health care. Nurses on the front line of patient care play a key role in the collection of these data. However, to enable nurses to conduct such assessments it is important to understand the perspective of the patients on being asked about their sexual orientation and gender identity in a healthcare setting. An integrative review was conducted using the methodology proposed by Whittemore and Knafl (Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2005, 52, 546). Six electronic databases were searched, and two reviewers independently reviewed papers for inclusion. Papers were included if they were empirical studies, peer-reviewed papers or reports, assessing patient perspectives on discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the healthcare setting. Twenty-one relevant studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified. A majority of the studies indicated patients' willingness to respond to, and a perceived importance of, questions about sexual orientation and gender identity. However, fears of homophobia and negative consequences hindered willingness to disclose this information. This review indicates that in most cases patients are willing to answer routine questions about their sexual orientation in the healthcare setting and perceive them as important questions to ask. The findings of this review have implications for nurses looking to incorporate questions about sexual orientation into their routine patient assessment. The findings indicate that care providers need to be mindful of heteronormative assumptions and take steps to ensure they are knowledgeable about lesbian, gay

  10. [Practical approach to management of gynecomastia: six questions to be answered by the paediatrician regarding a patient with gynecomastia].

    PubMed

    2011-08-01

    Pubertal gynecomastia is a common concern in the consultation of the adolescent. Usually, it is accompanied by an emotional component that can lead to changes in everyday attitudes of youth. The responsability of the pediatrician is to rule out other etiologies, to avoid unnecessary additional studies, to limit active therapeutic attitudes, and to reaffirm the variation of normality. We briefly describe six eminently practical questions to be answered by the physician.

  11. Answering Young Children's Questions about Sex.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, Gladys

    Intended for use by parents and teachers of preschool age children, this short booklet provides some guidelines to follow when introducing sex education to young children. It discusses issues such as where to begin, how to encourage the child to ask questions about sex, how to handle sex-related problems, child molestation, nudity and the family,…

  12. Survey questions about party competence: Insights from cognitive interviews☆

    PubMed Central

    Wagner, Markus; Zeglovits, Eva

    2014-01-01

    Voter assessments of party competence have become a key explanation of electoral decision-making. However, there are at least three important aspects to understanding responses to questions on issue-specific party competence: comprehension difficulties; a lack of well-formed attitudes and relevant information; and the use of response heuristics. We used 20 cognitive interviews carried out in Austria in 2011 to test competence questions. The interviews show us how respondents explain their responses. We find evidence that many people (1) may hold only weak opinions and have little information on issue-specific party competence and (2) may make use of distinct but related concepts, particularly salience and position, when answering questions about competence. We provide recommendations for researchers and survey designers based on our findings. PMID:25844005

  13. Diversity is the question, not the answer

    DOE PAGES

    Shade, Ashley

    2016-09-16

    Local diversity (within-sample or alpha diversity) is often implicated as a cause of success or failure of a microbial community. However, the relationships between diversity and emergent properties of a community, such as its stability, productivity or invasibility, are much more nuanced. In this paper, I argue that diversity without context provides limited insights into the mechanisms underpinning community patterns. I provide examples from traditional and microbial ecology to discuss common complications and assumptions about within-sample diversity that may prevent us from digging deeper into the more specific mechanisms underpinning community outcomes. I suggest that measurement of diversity should servemore » as a starting point for further inquiry of ecological mechanisms rather than an 'answer' to community outcomes.« less

  14. On Non-English Majors' Strategy Training in English Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Xiaoling

    2017-01-01

    This paper reviewed the literature of the previous research and questionnaire survey on reading strategy. Based on theories of psycholinguistics, a five-week experiment was carried out in order to probe into the effectiveness of strategy training. The experiment was designed to answer the following question: Can reading comprehension be improved…

  15. The neural correlates of strategic reading comprehension: cognitive control and discourse comprehension.

    PubMed

    Moss, Jarrod; Schunn, Christian D; Schneider, Walter; McNamara, Danielle S; Vanlehn, Kurt

    2011-09-15

    Neuroimaging studies of text comprehension conducted thus far have shed little light on the brain mechanisms underlying strategic learning from text. Thus, the present study was designed to answer the question of what brain areas are active during performance of complex reading strategies. Reading comprehension strategies are designed to improve a reader's comprehension of a text. For example, self-explanation is a complex reading strategy that enhances existing comprehension processes. It was hypothesized that reading strategies would involve areas of the brain that are normally involved in reading comprehension along with areas that are involved in strategic control processes because the readers are intentionally using a complex reading strategy. Subjects were asked to reread, paraphrase, and self-explain three different texts in a block design fMRI study. Activation was found in both executive control and comprehension areas, and furthermore, learning from text was associated with activation in the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC). The authors speculate that the aPFC may play a role in coordinating the internal and external modes of thought that are necessary for integrating new knowledge from texts with prior knowledge. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Frequently Asked Questions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Local Government Solar Project Portal's Frequently Asked Questions page provides a forum for cities and towns to ask specific questions of experts and for EPA to share answers to commonly asked questions.

  17. Sensitivity and Predictive Value of 15 PubMed Search Strategies to Answer Clinical Questions Rated Against Full Systematic Reviews

    PubMed Central

    Merglen, Arnaud; Courvoisier, Delphine S; Combescure, Christophe; Garin, Nicolas; Perrier, Arnaud; Perneger, Thomas V

    2012-01-01

    Background Clinicians perform searches in PubMed daily, but retrieving relevant studies is challenging due to the rapid expansion of medical knowledge. Little is known about the performance of search strategies when they are applied to answer specific clinical questions. Objective To compare the performance of 15 PubMed search strategies in retrieving relevant clinical trials on therapeutic interventions. Methods We used Cochrane systematic reviews to identify relevant trials for 30 clinical questions. Search terms were extracted from the abstract using a predefined procedure based on the population, interventions, comparison, outcomes (PICO) framework and combined into queries. We tested 15 search strategies that varied in their query (PIC or PICO), use of PubMed’s Clinical Queries therapeutic filters (broad or narrow), search limits, and PubMed links to related articles. We assessed sensitivity (recall) and positive predictive value (precision) of each strategy on the first 2 PubMed pages (40 articles) and on the complete search output. Results The performance of the search strategies varied widely according to the clinical question. Unfiltered searches and those using the broad filter of Clinical Queries produced large outputs and retrieved few relevant articles within the first 2 pages, resulting in a median sensitivity of only 10%–25%. In contrast, all searches using the narrow filter performed significantly better, with a median sensitivity of about 50% (all P < .001 compared with unfiltered queries) and positive predictive values of 20%–30% (P < .001 compared with unfiltered queries). This benefit was consistent for most clinical questions. Searches based on related articles retrieved about a third of the relevant studies. Conclusions The Clinical Queries narrow filter, along with well-formulated queries based on the PICO framework, provided the greatest aid in retrieving relevant clinical trials within the 2 first PubMed pages. These results can help

  18. The Target of the Question: A Taxonomy of Textual Features for Cambridge University "O" Levels English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benjamin, Shanti Isabelle

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates the typical textual features that are most frequently targeted in short-answer reading comprehension questions of the Cambridge University "O" Level English Paper 2. Test writers' awareness of how textual features impact on understanding of meanings in text decisions will determine to great extent their decisions…

  19. Relationship of awards in multiple choice questions and structured answer questions in the undergraduate years and their effectiveness in evaluation.

    PubMed

    Khan, Junaid Sarfraz; Mukhtar, Osama; Tabasum, Saima; Shaheen, Naveed; Farooq, M; Irfan, M Abdul; Sattar, Ajmal; Nabeel, M; Imran, M; Rafique, Sadia; Iqbal, Maryam; Afzal, M Sheraz; Hameed, M Shahbaz; Habib, Maryam; Jabeen, Uzma; Mubbashar, Malik Hussain

    2010-01-01

    A number of evaluation tools for assessing the cognitive and affective domains in accordance with Bloom's taxonomy are available for summative assessment. At the University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Structured Answer Questions (SAQs) are used for the evaluation of the cognitive domain at all six hierarch levels of taxonomy using the tables of specifications to ensure content validity. The rationale of having two evaluation tools seemingly similar in their evaluative competency yet differing in feasibility of construction, administration and marking is being challenged in this study. The MCQ and SAQ awards of the ten percent sample population amounting to 985 students in fifteen Medical and Dental Colleges across Punjab were entered into SPSS-15 and correlated according to the cognitive and affective level of assessment in relation to the Bloom's taxonomy and their grouping in the Tables of Specifications, using parametric tests. 3494 anonymously administered questionnaires were analyzed using ethnograph. No statistically significant difference was found in the mean marks obtained by the students when MCQs and SAQs were compared according to their groupings in the Tables of Specifications at all levels of cognitive hierarchical testing. End-of-yearcognitive level testing targets set were not met and more questions were set at the lower cognitive testing levels. Expenses incurred in setting MCQs and SAQs were comparable but conduct and assessment costs for MCQs and SAQs were 6% and 94% of the total respectively. In both MCQs and SAQs students performed better at higher cognitive testing levels whereas the SAQs and MCQs were able to marginally test the lower levels of affective domain only. Student's feedback showed that attempting MCQs required critical thinking, experience and practice. MCQs are more cost effective means at levels of cognitive domain assessment.

  20. 26 CFR 1.1(i)-1T - Questions and answers relating to the tax on unearned income certain minor children (Temporary).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... legal title to the property in the child although an adult custodian is given certain rights to deal... unearned income certain minor children (Temporary). 1.1(i)-1T Section 1.1(i)-1T Internal Revenue INTERNAL... Questions and answers relating to the tax on unearned income certain minor children (Temporary). In General...

  1. It's about the Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bearwald, Ronald R.

    2011-01-01

    The best coaching partnerships are built on conversation and listening, and they are not built on a coach giving answers to a mentee. Ronald Bearward explains how coaches can use questions to help mentees find answers for themselves. Effective questions lead to greater reflection and solutions that teachers can use now and in the future.

  2. Assessing children's inference generation: what do tests of reading comprehension measure?

    PubMed

    Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Snowling, Margaret J

    2005-06-01

    Previous research suggests that children with specific comprehension difficulties have problems with the generation of inferences. This raises important questions as to whether poor comprehenders have poor comprehension skills generally, or whether their problems are confined to specific inference types. The main aims of the study were (a) using two commonly used tests of reading comprehension to classify the questions requiring the generation of inferences, and (b) to investigate the relative performance of skilled and less-skilled comprehenders on questions tapping different inference types. The performance of 10 poor comprehenders (mean age 110.06 months) was compared with the performance of 10 normal readers (mean age 112.78 months) on two tests of reading comprehension. A qualitative analysis of the NARA II (form 1) and the WORD comprehension subtest was carried out. Participants were then administered the NARA II, WORD comprehension subtest and a test of non-word reading. The NARA II was heavily reliant on the generation of knowledge-based inferences, while the WORD comprehension subtest was biased towards the retention of literal information. Children identified by the NARA II as having comprehension difficulties performed in the normal range on the WORD comprehension subtests. Further, children with comprehension difficulties performed poorly on questions requiring the generation of knowledge-based and elaborative inferences. However, they were able to answer questions requiring attention to literal information or use of cohesive devices at a level comparable to normal readers. Different reading tests tap different types of inferencing skills. Lessskilled comprehenders have particular difficulty applying real-world knowledge to a text during reading, and this has implications for the formulation of effective intervention strategies.

  3. Internet firewalls: questions and answers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ker, Keith

    1996-03-01

    As organizations consider connecting to the Internet, the issue of internetwork security becomes more important. There are many tools and components that can be used to secure a network, one of which is a firewall. Modern firewalls offer highly flexible private network security by controlling and monitoring all communications passing into or out of the private network. Specifically designed for security, firewalls become the private network's single point of attack from Internet intruders. Application gateways (or proxies) that have been written to be secure against even the most persistent attacks ensure that only authorized users and services access the private network. One-time passwords prevent intruders from `sniffing' and replaying the usernames and passwords of authorized users to gain access to the private network. Comprehensive logging permits constant and uniform system monitoring. `Address spoofing' attacks are prevented. The private network may use registered or unregistered IP addresses behind the firewall. Firewall-to-firewall encryption establishes a `virtual private network' across the Internet, preventing intruders from eavesdropping on private communications, eliminating the need for costly dedicated lines.

  4. The Family and Medical Leave Act: What It Means for Caregivers in the Workplace. Questions and Answers for Employees and Employers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, DC.

    The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is intended to protect employees' job and health benefits while they are on leave for certain family and health needs. This publication provides, in question-answer format, a description of the rights and obligations of employees and employers as stipulated by the FMLA. The report focuses on the requirements…

  5. How tides get dissipated in Saturn? A question probably answerable by Cassni

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luan, Jing

    2017-06-01

    Tidal dissipation inside a giant planet is important in understanding the orbital evolutions of its natural satellites and perhaps some of the extrasolar giant planets. The tidal dissipation is conventionally parameterized by the tidal quality factor, Q. The corresponding tidal torque declines rapidly with distance adopting constant Q. However, the current fast migration rates of some Saturnian satellites reported by Lainey et al. (2015) conflict this conventional conceptual belief. Alternatively, resonance lock between a satellite and an internal oscillation mode or wave of Saturn, proposed by Fuller et al. (2016), could naturally match the observational migration rates. However, the question still remains to be answered what type of mode or wave is locked with each satellite. There are two candidates for resonance lock, one is gravity mode, and the other is inertial wave attractor. They generate very different gravity acceleration anomaly near the surface of Saturn, which may be distinguishable by the data to be collected by Cassini during its proximal orbits between April and September, 2017. Indicative information about the interior of Saturn may be extracted since the existence of both gravity mode and inertial wave attractor depends on the internal structure of Saturn.

  6. Let's Switch Questioning Around

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tovani, Cris

    2015-01-01

    English teacher Cris Tovani knows from her experiences teaching elementary school that students are naturally curious. But, too often, students are so trained to be question answerers that by the time they reach high school, they no longer form questions of their own and instead focus on trying to figure out what answer the teacher wants. Tovani…

  7. Metacognitive effects of initial question difficulty on subsequent memory performance.

    PubMed

    Pansky, Ainat; Goldsmith, Morris

    2014-10-01

    In two experiments, we examined whether relative retrieval fluency (the relative ease or difficulty of answering questions from memory) would be translated, via metacognitive monitoring and control processes, into an overt effect on the controlled behavior-that is, the decision whether to answer a question or abstain. Before answering a target set of multiple-choice general-knowledge questions (intermediate-difficulty questions in Exp. 1, deceptive questions in Exp. 2), the participants first answered either a set of difficult questions or a set of easy questions. For each question, they provided a forced-report answer, followed by a subjective assessment of the likelihood that their answer was correct (confidence) and by a free-report control decision-whether or not to report the answer for a potential monetary bonus (or penalty). The participants' ability to answer the target questions (forced-report proportion correct) was unaffected by the initial question difficulty. However, a predicted metacognitive contrast effect was observed: When the target questions were preceded by a set of difficult rather than easy questions, the participants were more confident in their answers to the target questions, and hence were more likely to report them, thus increasing the quantity of freely reported correct information. The option of free report was more beneficial after initial question difficulty than after initial question ease, in terms of both the gain in accuracy (Exp. 2) and a smaller cost in quantity (Exps. 1 and 2). These results demonstrate that changes in subjective experience can influence metacognitive monitoring and control, thereby affecting free-report memory performance independently of forced-report performance.

  8. Multiple-Choice Answers: To Change or Not to Change? Perhaps Not Such a Simple Question

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wainscott, Heidi

    2016-01-01

    When grading students' quizzes and exams, I find that students are seemingly always changing their answers from the right answer to the wrong answer. In fact, I have cautioned students against changing their answer. Colleagues have made similar observations and some books on test-taking strategies advise against answer-changing. In an effort to…

  9. Why the changing American economy calls for twenty-first century learning: answers to educators' questions.

    PubMed

    Levy, Frank; Murnane, Richard J

    2006-01-01

    While struggling with the current pressures of educational reform, some educators will ask whether their efforts make economic sense. Questioning the future makeup of the nation's workforce, many wonder how the educational system should be tempered to better prepare today's youth. This chapter answers educators' and parents' questions around the effect of fluctuations in the American economy on the future of education. The authors offer reassurance that good jobs will always be available, but warn that those jobs will require a new level of skills: expert thinking and complex communication. Schools need to go beyond their current curriculum and prepare students to use reading, math, and communication skills to build a deeper and more thoughtful understanding of subject matter. To explain the implications of the nation's changing economy on jobs, technology, and therefore education, the authors address a range of vital questions. Citing occupational distribution data, the chapter explores the supply and range of jobs in the future, as well as why changes in the U.S. job distribution have taken place. As much of the explanation for the shift in job distribution over the past several decades is due to the computerization of the workforce, the authors discuss how computers will affect the future composition of the workforce. The chapter also addresses the consequences of educational improvement on earnings distribution. The authors conclude that beyond workforce preparedness, students need to learn how to be contributing members of a democracy.

  10. 26 CFR 1.162-10T - Questions and answers relating to the deduction of employee benefits under the Tax Reform Act of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... of employee benefits under the Tax Reform Act of 1984; certain limits on amounts deductible... and Corporations § 1.162-10T Questions and answers relating to the deduction of employee benefits... amendment of section 404(b) by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 affect the deduction of employee benefits under...

  11. Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance

    PubMed Central

    Walsh, Jason L; Harris, Benjamin H L; Denny, Paul; Smith, Phil

    2018-01-01

    Purpose of the study There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions. Study design We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality. Results Over two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman’s rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 ’most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2). Conclusions Item analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool. PMID:28866607

  12. An artificially intelligent chat agent that answers adolescents' questions related to sex, drugs, and alcohol: an exploratory study.

    PubMed

    Crutzen, Rik; Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Y; Portugal, Sarah Dias; Fisser, Erwin M; Grolleman, Jorne J

    2011-05-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate if and how an artificially intelligent chat agent (chatbot) that answers questions about sex, drugs, and alcohol is used and evaluated by adolescents, especially in comparison with information lines and search engines. A sample of 929 adolescents (64% girls, mean age = 15), varying in urbanization level and educational level, participated in this study. Use of the chatbot was objectively tracked through server registrations (e.g., frequency and duration of conversations with the chatbot, the number and topics of queries), and a web-based questionnaire was used to evaluate the chatbot (e.g., the perception of anonymity, conciseness, ease of use, fun, quality and quantity of information, and speed) and to compare it with information lines and search engines. The chatbot reached high school attendees in general and not only adolescents with previous experience related to sex, drugs, or alcohol; this is promising from an informed decision-making point of view. Frequency (M = 11) and duration of conversations (3:57 minutes) was high and the chatbot was evaluated positively, especially in comparison with information lines and search engines. The use of chatbots within the field of health promotion has a large potential to reach a varied group of adolescents and to provide them with answers to their questions related to sex, drugs, and alcohol. Copyright © 2011 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Exam Question Exchange.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, John J., Ed.

    1983-01-01

    Acceptable answers are provided for two chemistry questions. The first question is related to the prediction of the appearance of non-first-order proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. The second question is related to extraterrestrial kinetic theory of gases. (JN)

  14. Four Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hark-Weber, Amara G., Ed.

    2013-01-01

    The author is pleased to introduce a new section in "TAJ," Four Questions. The structure is simple: four questions are asked to teaching artists working in various media and locations. The questions are always the same, but because each teaching artist's approach is unique, their answers will provide an insight into particular methodologies that…

  15. Answering medical questions at the point of care: a cross-sectional study comparing rapid decisions based on PubMed and Epistemonikos searches with evidence-based recommendations developed with the GRADE approach.

    PubMed

    Izcovich, Ariel; Criniti, Juan Martín; Popoff, Federico; Ragusa, Martín Alberto; Gigler, Cristel; Gonzalez Malla, Carlos; Clavijo, Manuela; Manzotti, Matias; Diaz, Martín; Catalano, Hugo Norberto; Neumann, Ignacio; Guyatt, Gordon

    2017-08-07

    Using the best current evidence to inform clinical decisions remains a challenge for clinicians. Given the scarcity of trustworthy clinical practice guidelines providing recommendations to answer clinicians' daily questions, clinical decision support systems (ie, assistance in question identification and answering) emerge as an attractive alternative. The trustworthiness of the recommendations achieved by such systems is unknown. To evaluate the trustworthiness of a question identification and answering system that delivers timely recommendations. Cross-sectional study. We compared the responses to 100 clinical questions related to inpatient management provided by two rapid response methods with 'Gold Standard' recommendations. One of the rapid methods was based on PubMed and the other on Epistemonikos database. We defined our 'Gold Standard' as trustworthy published evidence-based recommendations or, when unavailable, recommendations developed locally by a panel of six clinicians following the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Recommendations provided by the rapid strategies were classified as potentially misleading or reasonable. We also determined if the potentially misleading recommendations could have been avoided with the appropriate implementation of searching and evidence summary tools. We were able to answer all of the 100 questions with both rapid methods. Of the 200 recommendations obtained, 6.5% (95% CI 3% to 9.9%) were classified as potentially misleading and 93.5% (95% CI 90% to 96.9%) as reasonable. 6 of the 13 potentially misleading recommendations could have been avoided by the appropriate usage of the Epistemonikos matrix tool or by constructing summary of findings tables. No significant differences were observed between the evaluated rapid response methods. A question answering service based on the GRADE approach proved feasible to implement and provided appropriate guidance for most identified

  16. 26 CFR 1.1042-1T - Questions and answers relating to the sales of stock to employee stock ownership plans or certain...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... stock to employee stock ownership plans or certain cooperatives (temporary). 1.1042-1T Section 1.1042-1T...) INCOME TAXES Common Nontaxable Exchanges § 1.1042-1T Questions and answers relating to the sales of stock to employee stock ownership plans or certain cooperatives (temporary). Q-1: What does section 1042...

  17. Are Learning Disabled Students "Test-Wise?": An Inquiry into Reading Comprehension Test Items.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scruggs, Thomas E.; Lifson, Steve

    1986-01-01

    Two experiments compared the ability of learning disabled (LD) students and more typical age peers to answer such reading comprehension questions presented independently of reading passages. Results suggested a relative deficiency on the part of LD students with respect to reasoning strategies and test-taking skills. (Author/LMO)

  18. Mystery #5 Answer

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2013-04-22

    ... the questions are provided. 1.   There are no endemic species of cactus on any of the islands. Answer: FALSE. Endemic ... on this island. 6.   Several plant species are endangered due to decimation by goats and competition with non-native ...

  19. Answering Gauguin’s Questions: Where Are We Coming From, Where Are We Going, and What Are We?

    ScienceCinema

    Ellis, John [CERN

    2017-12-09

    The knowledge of matter revealed by the current reigning theory of particle physics, the so-called Standard Model, still leaves open many basic questions. What is the origin of the matter in the Universe? How does its mass originate? What is the nature of the dark matter that fills the Universe? Are there additional dimensions of space? The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the CERN Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, where high-energy experiments have now started, will take physics into a new realm of energy and time, and will address these physics analogues of Gauguin's questions. The answers will set the stage for possible future experiments beyond the scope of the LHC.

  20. Effects of an Individualized Narrative Intervention on Children's Storytelling and Comprehension Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spencer, Trina D.; Kajian, Mandana; Petersen, Douglas B.; Bilyk, Nicholas

    2013-01-01

    Narrative skills that are important for preschoolers include retelling stories, telling personal stories, and answering questions about stories. Narrative abilities form the foundation of reading comprehension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an individually delivered language intervention on the narrative skills of…

  1. Public stigma in intellectual disability: do direct versus indirect questions make a difference?

    PubMed

    Werner, S

    2015-10-01

    Stigma may negatively impact individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, most studies in the field have been based on the use of direct measurement methods for assessing stigma. This study examined public stigma towards individuals with ID within a representative sample of the Israeli public by comparing direct versus indirect questioning. Vignette methodology was utilised with two questionnaire versions. In the direct questionnaire (n = 306), the participants were asked how they would think, feel and behave if a man with ID asked them a question in a public place. In the indirect questionnaire (n = 301), the participants were asked to report how a hypothetical 'other man' would think, feel and behave in the same situation. Higher levels of stigma were reported among participants that answered the indirect questionnaire version. Furthermore, among those participants that answered the indirect questionnaire version, subjective knowledge of ID was a less important correlate of stigma than for those participants that answered the direct questionnaire. Several explanations are suggested for the finding that indirect questioning elicits more negative stigmatic attitudes. Among others, indirect questioning may be a more appropriate methodology for eliciting immediate beliefs. Furthermore, the results call for implementing a comprehensive, multi-level programme to change stigma. © 2015 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Analyse Factorielle d'une Batterie de Tests de Comprehension Orale et Ecrite (Factor Analysis of a Battery of Tests of Listening and Reading Comprehension). Melanges Pedagogiques, 1971.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lonchamp, F.

    This is a presentation of the results of a factor analysis of a battery of tests intended to measure listening and reading comprehension in English as a second language. The analysis sought to answer the following questions: (1) whether the factor analysis method yields results when applied to tests which are not specifically designed for this…

  3. The influence of question type, reasoning level, and wait time on student participation rates when using clicker questions with large classes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hartman, K.; Koh, J.; Murty, S. A.; Ramos, R. D. P.; Goodkin, N.

    2017-12-01

    "Wait time" is defined as the length of the pause between an instructor initiating a question and either the student answering it or the instructor interjecting (Rowe, 1974). However, the nature of the question-answer dynamic changes with student response systems that allow hundreds of students to answer the same question simultaneously before displaying the results to the class. In this study, we looked at 129 student response questions asked across 240 minutes of class lectures to determine if longer wait times were associated with higher student response rates. We also examined whether the type and reasoning level of the questions were diagnostic of their response rates. 644 undergraduate science students enrolled in an interdisciplinary environmental science course. During each of the course's lessons, the instructor presented a mix of lecture content, short student response activities (clicker questions), and small group discussion opportunities. Using the recorded videos, we coded each student response question for its question type and reasoning level. We divided the question types into three categories: yes/no questions, yes/no/maybe questions, and other questions. To code for the reasoning level necessary to answer each question, we used a collapsed version of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy (Krathwohl, 2002). Questions that had a definite answer and relied on recalling facts or paraphrasing the lecture content were coded as "knowledge" questions. Questions that required students to apply what they had learned to analyze a new scenario, or come to a judgement were coded as "higher order" questions. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the question type and reasoning level as fixed factors and wait time as a covariate to predict student response rate indicated a strong interaction between question type and reasoning level F(6, 94) = 4.53, p<.01. In general, knowledge questions were answered by a higher percentage (M=91%) of students than higher order questions (M

  4. Manufacturer Tier 3 Questions and EPA Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This document contains a record of EPA responses to manufacturer questions received prior to October 16, 2015 with respect to implementation of the Tier 3 final rule intended to aid regulated parties in achieving compliance with regulations for light-duty

  5. Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance.

    PubMed

    Walsh, Jason L; Harris, Benjamin H L; Denny, Paul; Smith, Phil

    2018-02-01

    There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions. We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality. Over two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman's rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 'most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2). Item analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool. © 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.

  6. Using Text Message Surveys to Evaluate a Mobile Sexual Health Question-and-Answer Service.

    PubMed

    Willoughby, Jessica Fitts; L'Engle, Kelly Ladin; Jackson, Kennon; Brickman, Jared

    2018-01-01

    Text message programs for sexual health are becoming increasingly popular as practitioners aim to meet youth on media they use frequently. Two-way mobile health (mHealth) interventions allow for feedback solicitation from participants. This study explores the use of a text message survey to assess demographics and program feedback from users of an adolescent sexual health text message question-and-answer service. Development and feasibility of the short-message service survey are discussed. The text message survey achieved a 43.9% response rate, which is comparable to response rates of surveys conducted via other methods. When compared to respondents who used the service and completed an online in-school questionnaire, text survey respondents were more likely to be female and older. They also reported higher service satisfaction. Results have implications for text message service providers and researchers. This article examines a community application of a new intervention strategy and research methodology.

  7. Managerial Skills Teaching: Ten Questions and Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McEnrue, Mary Pat

    2002-01-01

    Presents considerations for design and delivery of management skills courses as sets of questions in three categories: (1) preteaching (understanding and teaching skills, teacher qualities); (2) class (skills learning, learning barriers, cultural elements, learning assessment); and application/evaluation (lifelong learning, course evaluation,…

  8. Introductory Biology Students' Use of Enhanced Answer Keys and Reflection Questions to Engage in Metacognition and Enhance Understanding.

    PubMed

    Sabel, Jaime L; Dauer, Joseph T; Forbes, Cory T

    2017-01-01

    Providing feedback to students as they learn to integrate individual concepts into complex systems is an important way to help them to develop robust understanding, but it is challenging in large, undergraduate classes for instructors to provide feedback that is frequent and directed enough to help individual students. Various scaffolds can be used to help students engage in self-regulated learning and generate internal feedback to improve their learning. This study examined the use of enhanced answer keys with added reflection questions and instruction as scaffolds for engaging undergraduate students in self-regulated learning within an introductory biology course. Study findings show that both the enhanced answer keys and reflection questions helped students to engage in metacognition and develop greater understanding of biological concepts. Further, students who received additional instruction on the use of the scaffolds changed how they used them and, by the end of the semester, were using the scaffolds in significantly different ways and showed significantly higher learning gains than students who did not receive the instruction. These findings provide evidence for the benefit of designing scaffolds within biology courses that will support students in engaging in metacognition and enhancing their understanding of biological concepts. © 2017 J. L. Sabel et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  9. Difficulties That English Teachers Encounter While Teaching Listening Comprehension and Their Attitudes towards Them

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alrawashdeh, Ayah Isam; Al-zayed, Norma Nawaf

    2017-01-01

    This study is aimed at investigating the difficulties that English teachers encountered while teaching listening comprehension and their attitudes towards the subjectin Karak schools. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used two instruments: a teacher's questionnaire and informal interviews. In order to answer the questions of…

  10. New to Teaching: WebQuests as a Tool to Support Children in Carrying out Research Using Secondary Sources to Answer Their Scientific Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barker, James; Pope, Deborah

    2016-01-01

    The "working scientifically" strand of the new primary science curriculum for England has re-emphasised the importance of children having opportunities to carry out different types of enquiries to answer their scientific questions. To promote this as an ongoing aim of primary science education, it is equally important for trainee primary…

  11. Comprehension and engagement in survey interviews with virtual agents

    PubMed Central

    Conrad, Frederick G.; Schober, Michael F.; Jans, Matt; Orlowski, Rachel A.; Nielsen, Daniel; Levenstein, Rachel

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates how an onscreen virtual agent's dialog capability and facial animation affect survey respondents' comprehension and engagement in “face-to-face” interviews, using questions from US government surveys whose results have far-reaching impact on national policies. In the study, 73 laboratory participants were randomly assigned to respond in one of four interviewing conditions, in which the virtual agent had either high or low dialog capability (implemented through Wizard of Oz) and high or low facial animation, based on motion capture from a human interviewer. Respondents, whose faces were visible to the Wizard (and videorecorded) during the interviews, answered 12 questions about housing, employment, and purchases on the basis of fictional scenarios designed to allow measurement of comprehension accuracy, defined as the fit between responses and US government definitions. Respondents answered more accurately with the high-dialog-capability agents, requesting clarification more often particularly for ambiguous scenarios; and they generally treated the high-dialog-capability interviewers more socially, looking at the interviewer more and judging high-dialog-capability agents as more personal and less distant. Greater interviewer facial animation did not affect response accuracy, but it led to more displays of engagement—acknowledgments (verbal and visual) and smiles—and to the virtual interviewer's being rated as less natural. The pattern of results suggests that a virtual agent's dialog capability and facial animation differently affect survey respondents' experience of interviews, behavioral displays, and comprehension, and thus the accuracy of their responses. The pattern of results also suggests design considerations for building survey interviewing agents, which may differ depending on the kinds of survey questions (sensitive or not) that are asked. PMID:26539138

  12. Examining the Effects of Skill Level and Reading Modality on Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dickens, Rachel H.; Meisinger, Elizabeth B.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of reading skill and reading modality (oral versus silent) on reading comprehension. A normative sample of sixth-grade students (N = 74) read texts aloud and silently and then answered questions about what they read. Skill in word reading fluency was assessed by the Test of Word Reading…

  13. The Comprehension and Production of Wh-Questions in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friedmann, Naama; Szterman, Ronit

    2011-01-01

    Hearing loss during the critical period for language acquisition restricts spoken language input. This input limitation, in turn, may hamper syntactic development. This study examined the comprehension, production, and repetition of Wh-questions in deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. The participants were 11 orally trained Hebrew-speaking…

  14. High Precision Positioning at Field Camp: Using GNSS as the primary data source to answer geologic questions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crosby, B. T.; Lauer, I. H.; Pratt-Sitaula, B.

    2017-12-01

    Thanks to the availability and accessibility of GPS/GNSS enabled consumer grade positioning devices, GNSS are nearly ubiquitous in both geologic field research and education. Though the devices offer sufficient precision to geotag images, digital field book entries or measurements, positions themselves are not precise enough to accomplish independent geodetic analysis. As a consequence, most students learn about GNSS at a tool that aids other forms of geologic data acquisition rather serving as the primary source itself. To resolve this, we developed and tested a three-unit teaching module within the GETSI - SERC curriculum framework that reinforces high precision positioning as a primary source of geologic data. Units focus on three core topics: GNSS Fundamentals, Kinematic GNSS and Static GNSS Methods. Module goals enable students to (a) design and conduct a GNSS survey to answer a geologic question, (b) justify why their GNSS technique is appropriate to their question and (c) to articulate how answering their question benefits society. Skill building is via quantitative and qualitative analysis, concept sketches, and both field and office based data acquisition and interrogation. Exercises are site-independent and include example datasets for those unable to travel. In the summer of 2017, we tested the module with 20 undergraduate students over two days at the ISU field geology course. Located in the Lost River Range of Idaho, positioned among active normal faults, we not only explored the use of static GNSS data for active tectonics but visited a station in person. For a summative assessment, we focused on kinematic GNSS, using RTK rovers to reoccupy leveling monuments spanning the active Lost River fault that ruptured in 1983 (M 7.0). The data collected by our class quantified aseismic deformation occurring in the 30+ years since that event. Displacements were significantly larger than the instrumental uncertainty, confirming that RTK was an appropriate tool

  15. Computers into Classrooms: More Questions than Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beynon, John, Ed.; Mackay, Hughie, Ed.

    This is one of a series of three books addressing the question of the nature of technological literacy. This volume, consisting of an introduction, an epilogue, and 12 chapters, focuses on classrooms and classroom processes involving computers and deals directly with teacher and student usage of microcomputers in teaching and learning. The 12…

  16. Getting Answers to Natural Language Questions on the Web.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Radev, Dragomir R.; Libner, Kelsey; Fan, Weiguo

    2002-01-01

    Describes a study that investigated the use of natural language questions on Web search engines. Highlights include query languages; differences in search engine syntax; and results of logistic regression and analysis of variance that showed aspects of questions that predicted significantly different performances, including the number of words,…

  17. Comparison of individual answer and group answer with and without structured peer assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kablan, Zeynel

    2014-09-01

    Background:Cooperative learning activities provide active participation of students leading to better learning. The literature suggests that cooperative learning activities need to be structured for a more effective and productive interaction. Purpose: This study aimed to test the differences among three instructional conditions in terms of science achievement. Sample:A total of 79 fifth-grade students, 42 males (53%) and 37 females (47%), participated in the study. Design and Methods:In the first condition, students answered the teacher's questions individually by raising hands. In the second condition, students discussed the answer in groups and came up with a single group answer. In this condition, the teacher provided only verbal directions to the groups without using any strategy or material. In the third condition, students used a 'peer assessment form' before giving the group answer. A pre-/post-test experimental design was used. Multiple-choice and open-ended tests were used for data collection. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to test the differences in the test scores between the three groups (individual answer, unstructured group answer and structured group answer). Results:Results showed that there were no significant differences among the three learning conditions in terms of their multiple-choice test scores. In terms of the open-ended test scores, students in the structured group answer condition scored significantly higher than the students in the individual answer condition. Conclusions:Structuring the group work through peer assessment helped to monitor the group discussion, provided a better learning compared to the individual answer condition, and helped students to participate in the activity equally.

  18. Detecting Bot-Answerable Questions in Ubuntu Chat

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-10-01

    another user’s question (see 1http://ubottu.com/ [13:19] <p5yx> is the netbook remix not available anymore? [13:20] <histo> !unr | p5yx [13:20...ubottu> p5yx: Starting with Ubuntu 11.04, the Ubuntu Netbook Edition is no longer being offered as a separate install as Unity is now standard for all

  19. CMU OAQA at TREC 2015 LiveQA: Discovering the Right Answer with Clues

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-11-20

    QA) system that was evaluated in the TREC 2015 LiveQA Challenge. This system answers real-user questions freshly submitted to the Yahoo ! Answers...questions on the Yahoo ! Answers site 1, which have not yet received a human answer. As per the requirements for this track, participants must deploy their... Yahoo ! Answers. We also designed and im- plemented a new data model and novel relevance ranking methods for LiveQA. During the official run, our QA web

  20. A Support System for Error Correction Questions in Programming Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hachisu, Yoshinari; Yoshida, Atsushi

    2014-01-01

    For supporting the education of debugging skills, we propose a system for generating error correction questions of programs and checking the correctness. The system generates HTML files for answering questions and CGI programs for checking answers. Learners read and answer questions on Web browsers. For management of error injection, we have…

  1. Questions and Answers About the Effects of Septic Systems on Water Quality in the La Pine Area, Oregon

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Williams, John S.; Morgan, David S.; Hinkle, Stephen R.

    2007-01-01

    Nitrate levels in the ground-water aquifer underlying the central Oregon city of La Pine and the surrounding area are increasing due to contamination from residential septic systems. This contamination has public health implications because ground water is the sole source of drinking water for area residents. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Deschutes County and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, studied the movement and chemistry of nitrate in the aquifer and developed computer models that can be used to predict future nitrate levels and to evaluate alternatives for protecting water quality. This fact sheet summarizes the results of that study in the form of questions and answers.

  2. Quality assessment of expert answers to lay questions about cystic fibrosis from various language zones in Europe: the ECORN-CF project.

    PubMed

    d'Alquen, Daniela; De Boeck, Kris; Bradley, Judy; Vávrová, Věra; Dembski, Birgit; Wagner, Thomas O F; Pfalz, Annette; Hebestreit, Helge

    2012-02-06

    The European Centres of Reference Network for Cystic Fibrosis (ECORN-CF) established an Internet forum which provides the opportunity for CF patients and other interested people to ask experts questions about CF in their mother language. The objectives of this study were to: 1) develop a detailed quality assessment tool to analyze quality of expert answers, 2) evaluate the intra- and inter-rater agreement of this tool, and 3) explore changes in the quality of expert answers over the time frame of the project. The quality assessment tool was developed by an expert panel. Five experts within the ECORN-CF project used the quality assessment tool to analyze the quality of 108 expert answers published on ECORN-CF from six language zones. 25 expert answers were scored at two time points, one year apart. Quality of answers was also assessed at an early and later period of the project. Individual rater scores and group mean scores were analyzed for each expert answer. A scoring system and training manual were developed analyzing two quality categories of answers: content and formal quality. For content quality, the grades based on group mean scores for all raters showed substantial agreement between two time points, however this was not the case for the grades based on individual rater scores. For formal quality the grades based on group mean scores showed only slight agreement between two time points and there was also poor agreement between time points for the individual grades. The inter-rater agreement for content quality was fair (mean kappa value 0.232 ± 0.036, p < 0.001) while only slight agreement was observed for the grades of the formal quality (mean kappa value 0.105 ± 0.024, p < 0.001). The quality of expert answers was rated high (four language zones) or satisfactory (two language zones) and did not change over time. The quality assessment tool described in this study was feasible and reliable when content quality was assessed by a group of raters. Within

  3. The Impact of Question-Answer Relationships on Thai Reading Comprehension of Economically Disadvantaged Students: A Mixed Methods Study in Thailand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mongkolrat, Raveema

    2017-01-01

    Thailand's education has not succeeded in meeting the Ministry of Education Thailand's goals for Thai language. The problem manifests in students' substandard Thai reading comprehension. Results of the Thailand's standardized national test showed that students, especially those with economical disadvantages, have performed poorly in Thai reading…

  4. The myopia of crowds: Cognitive load and collective evaluation of answers on Stack Exchange

    PubMed Central

    Burghardt, Keith; Alsina, Emanuel F.; Girvan, Michelle; Rand, William; Lerman, Kristina

    2017-01-01

    Crowds can often make better decisions than individuals or small groups of experts by leveraging their ability to aggregate diverse information. Question answering sites, such as Stack Exchange, rely on the “wisdom of crowds” effect to identify the best answers to questions asked by users. We analyze data from 250 communities on the Stack Exchange network to pinpoint factors affecting which answers are chosen as the best answers. Our results suggest that, rather than evaluate all available answers to a question, users rely on simple cognitive heuristics to choose an answer to vote for or accept. These cognitive heuristics are linked to an answer’s salience, such as the order in which it is listed and how much screen space it occupies. While askers appear to depend on heuristics to a greater extent than voters when choosing an answer to accept as the most helpful one, voters use acceptance itself as a heuristic, and they are more likely to choose the answer after it has been accepted than before that answer was accepted. These heuristics become more important in explaining and predicting behavior as the number of available answers to a question increases. Our findings suggest that crowd judgments may become less reliable as the number of answers grows. PMID:28301531

  5. Further Support for Changing Multiple-Choice Answers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fabrey, Lawrence J.; Case, Susan M.

    1985-01-01

    The effect on test scores of changing answers to multiple-choice questions was studied and compared to earlier research. The current setting was a nationally administered, in-training, specialty examination for medical residents in obstetrics and gynecology. Both low and high scorers improved their scores when they changed answers. (SW)

  6. Essential Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilhelm, Jeffrey D.

    2012-01-01

    The secret to teaching may be as simple as asking students good questions--and then giving them the opportunity to find the answers. The author shares how he uses essential questions that set the class off on an inquiry. Rather than consuming information that he distributes and then repeating it on a test, students carry out their own…

  7. The Influence of Question Type, Text Availability, Answer Confidence and Language Background on Student Comprehension of an Expository Text

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marmolejo-Ramos, Fernando; Miller, Julia; Habel, Chad

    2014-01-01

    Reading is an essential activity for learning at university, but lecturers are not always experienced in setting appropriate questions to test understanding of texts. In other words, their assessments may not be "constructively aligned" with the learning outcomes they hope their students to exhibit. In examination conditions, questions…

  8. Pre-test of questions on health-related resource use and expenditure, using behaviour coding and cognitive interviewing techniques.

    PubMed

    Chernyak, Nadja; Ernsting, Corinna; Icks, Andrea

    2012-09-06

    Validated instruments collecting data on health-related resource use are lacking, but required, for example, to investigate predictors of healthcare use or for health economic evaluation.The objective of the study was to develop, test and refine a questionnaire collecting data on health-related resource use and expenditure in patients with diabetes. The questionnaire was tested in 43 patients with diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2 in Germany. Response behaviour suggestive of problems with questions (item non-response, request for clarification, comments, inadequate answer, "don't know") was systematically registered. Cognitive interviews focusing on information retrieval and comprehension problems were carried out. Many participants had difficulties answering questions pertaining to frequency of visits to the general practitioner (26%), time spent receiving healthcare services (39%), regular medication currently taken (35%) and out of pocket expenditure on medication (42%). These difficulties seem to result mainly from poor memory. A number of comprehension problems were established and relevant questions were revised accordingly. The questionnaire on health-related resource use and expenditure for use in diabetes research in Germany was developed and refined after careful testing. Ideally, the questionnaire should be externally validated for different modes of administration and recall periods within a variety of populations.

  9. A Hybrid Approach to Clinical Question Answering

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-11-01

    participation in TREC, we submitted a single run using a hybrid Natural Language Processing ( NLP )-driven approach to accomplish the given task. Evaluation re...for the CDS track uses a variety of NLP - based techniques to address the clinical questions provided. We present a description of our approach, and...discuss our experimental setup, results and eval- uation in the subsequent sections. 2 Description of Our Approach Our hybrid NLP -driven method presents a

  10. Neural signatures of response planning occur midway through an incoming question in conversation

    PubMed Central

    Bögels, Sara; Magyari, Lilla; Levinson, Stephen C.

    2015-01-01

    A striking puzzle about language use in everyday conversation is that turn-taking latencies are usually very short, whereas planning language production takes much longer. This implies overlap between language comprehension and production processes, but the nature and extent of such overlap has never been studied directly. Combining an interactive quiz paradigm with EEG measurements in an innovative way, we show that production planning processes start as soon as possible, that is, within half a second after the answer to a question can be retrieved (up to several seconds before the end of the question). Localization of ERP data shows early activation even of brain areas related to late stages of production planning (e.g., syllabification). Finally, oscillation results suggest an attention switch from comprehension to production around the same time frame. This perspective from interactive language use throws new light on the performance characteristics that language competence involves. PMID:26242909

  11. The free energy principle and autopoiesis. Comment on "Answering Schrödinger's question: A free-energy formulation" by Maxwell James Désormeau Ramstead, Paul Benjamin Badcock, Karl John Friston

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bitbol, M.; Gallagher, S.

    2018-03-01

    Ramstead, Badcock and Friston's paper [1] is an ambitious and credible contemporary attempt to answer Schrödinger's question: "What is life?" The authors, however, overemphasize the thermodynamical aspect of the question, while they are content with only general statements about its structural aspect, and tend to ignore the standpoint of the living being itself.

  12. Expert panel answers questions for Super Safety and Health Day at KSC.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1999-01-01

    A panel of NASA and contractor senior staff, plus officers from the 45th Space Wing, discuss safety- and health-related concerns in front of an audience of KSC employees as part of Super Safety and Health Day. Moderating at the podium is Loren Shriver, deputy director for Launch & Payload Processing. Seated left to right are Burt Summerfield, associate director of the Biomedical Office; Colonel William S. Swindling, commander, 45th Medical Group, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.; Ron Dittemore, manager, Space Shuttle Programs, Johnson Space Center; Roy Bridges, Center Director; Col. Tom Deppe, vice commander, 45th Space Wing, Patrick Air Force Base; Jim Schoefield, program manager, Payload Ground Operations, Boeing; Bill Hickman, program manager, Space Gateway Support; and Ed Adamek, vice president and associate program manager for Ground Operations, United Space Alliance. Answering a question at the microphone on the floor is Dave King, director, Shuttle Processing. The panel was one of the presentations during KSC's second annual day-long dedication to safety. Most normal work activities were suspended to allow personnel to attend related activities. The theme, 'Safety and Health Go Hand in Hand,' emphasized KSC's commitment to place the safety and health of the public, astronauts, employees and space- related resources first and foremost. Events also included a keynote address, vendor exhibits, and safety training in work groups. The keynote address and panel session were also broadcast internally over NASA television.

  13. How To Talk to Your Kids about Really Important Things: For Children Four to Twelve. Specific Questions and Answers and Useful Things To Say.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schaefer, Charles E.; DiGeronimo, Theresa Foy

    Intended to help parents find the words they need to talk to their children and answer their children's practical questions, this book offers practical guidance on a wide range of life's experiences, from family changes such as divorce and remarriage, to controversial subjects such as child abuse and AIDS. The major focus is on children ages 4 to…

  14. Regulation of memory accuracy with multiple answers: the plurality option.

    PubMed

    Luna, Karlos; Higham, Philip A; Martín-Luengo, Beatriz

    2011-06-01

    We report two experiments that investigated the regulation of memory accuracy with a new regulatory mechanism: the plurality option. This mechanism is closely related to the grain-size option but involves control over the number of alternatives contained in an answer rather than the quantitative boundaries of a single answer. Participants were presented with a slideshow depicting a robbery (Experiment 1) or a murder (Experiment 2), and their memory was tested with five-alternative multiple-choice questions. For each question, participants were asked to generate two answers: a single answer consisting of one alternative and a plural answer consisting of the single answer and two other alternatives. Each answer was rated for confidence (Experiment 1) or for the likelihood of being correct (Experiment 2), and one of the answers was selected for reporting. Results showed that participants used the plurality option to regulate accuracy, selecting single answers when their accuracy and confidence were high, but opting for plural answers when they were low. Although accuracy was higher for selected plural than for selected single answers, the opposite pattern was evident for confidence or likelihood ratings. This dissociation between confidence and accuracy for selected answers was the result of marked overconfidence in single answers coupled with underconfidence in plural answers. We hypothesize that these results can be attributed to overly dichotomous metacognitive beliefs about personal knowledge states that cause subjective confidence to be extreme.

  15. Examining the Impact of Question Surface Features on Students' Answers to Constructed-Response Questions on Photosynthesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weston, Michele; Haudek, Kevin C.; Prevost, Luanna; Urban-Lurain, Mark; Merrill, John

    2015-01-01

    One challenge in science education assessment is that students often focus on surface features of questions rather than the underlying scientific principles. We investigated how student written responses to constructed-response questions about photosynthesis vary based on two surface features of the question: the species of plant and the order of…

  16. The Place of Health Information and Socio-Emotional Support in Social Questioning and Answering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Worrall, Adam; Oh, Sanghee

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: Little is known about the quality of health information in social contexts or how socio-emotional factors impact users' evaluations of quality. We explored how librarians, nurses and users assessed the quality of health answers posted on Yahoo! Answers, focusing on socio-emotional reactions displayed, advice given to users and…

  17. Short Answers to Deep Questions: Supporting Teachers in Large-Class Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonald, J.; Bird, R. J.; Zouaq, A.; Moskal, A. C. M.

    2017-01-01

    In large class settings, individualized student-teacher interaction is difficult. However, teaching interactions (e.g., formative feedback) are central to encouraging deep approaches to learning. While there has been progress in automatic short-answer grading, analysing student responses to support formative feedback at scale is arguably some way…

  18. Soliciting and Responding to Patients' Questions about Diabetes Through Online Sources.

    PubMed

    Crangle, Colleen E; Bradley, Colin; Carlin, Paul F; Esterhay, Robert J; Harper, Roy; Kearney, Patricia M; Lorig, Kate; McCarthy, Vera J C; McTear, Michael F; Tuttle, Mark S; Wallace, Jonathan G; Savage, Eileen

    2017-03-01

    When patients cannot get answers from health professionals or retain the information given, increasingly they search online for answers, with limited success. Researchers from the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom explored this problem for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In 2014, patients attending an outpatient clinic (UK) were asked to submit questions about diabetes. Ten questions judged representative of different types of patient concerns were selected by the researchers and submitted to search engines within trusted and vetted websites in the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Two researchers independently assessed if answers could be found in the three top-ranked documents returned at each website. The 2014 search was repeated in June, 2016, examining the two top-ranked documents returned. One hundred and sixty-four questions were collected from 120 patients during 12 outpatient clinics. Most patients had T2DM (95%). Most questions were about diabetes (N = 155) with the remainder related to clinic operation (N = 9). Of the questions on diabetes, 152 were about T2DM. The 2014 assessment found no adequate answers to the questions in 90 documents (10 questions, 3 websites, 3 top documents). In the 2016 assessment, 1 document out of 60 (10 questions, 3 websites, 2 top documents) provided an adequate answer relating to 1 of the 10 questions. Available online sources of information do not provide answers to questions from patients with diabetes. Our results highlight the urgent need to develop novel ways of providing answers to patient questions about T2DM.

  19. The Impact of the 2004 Hurricanes on Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Scores: Implications for School Counselors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baggerly, Jennifer; Ferretti, Larissa K.

    2008-01-01

    What is the impact of natural disasters on students' statewide assessment scores? To answer this question, Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores of 55,881 students in grades 4 through 10 were analyzed to determine if there were significant decreases after the 2004 hurricanes. Results reveal that there was statistical but no practical…

  20. Mental juggling: when does multitasking impair reading comprehension?

    PubMed

    Cho, Kit W; Altarriba, Jeanette; Popiel, Maximilian

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated the conditions under which multitasking impairs reading comprehension. Participants read prose passages (the primary task), some of which required them to perform a secondary task. In Experiment 1, we compared two different types of secondary tasks (answering trivia questions and solving math problems). Reading comprehension was assessed using a multiple-choice test that measured both factual and conceptual knowledge. The results showed no observable detrimental effects associated with multitasking. In Experiment 2, the secondary task was a cognitive load task that required participants to remember a string of numbers while reading the passages. Performance on the reading comprehension test was lower in the cognitive load conditions relative to the no-load condition. The present study delineates the conditions under which multitasking can impair or have no effect on reading comprehension. These results further our understanding of our capacity to multitask and have practical implications in our technologically advanced society in which multitasking has become commonplace.

  1. Automatic Chinese Factual Question Generation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Ming; Rus, Vasile; Liu, Li

    2017-01-01

    Question generation is an emerging research area of artificial intelligence in education. Question authoring tools are important in educational technologies, e.g., intelligent tutoring systems, as well as in dialogue systems. Approaches to generate factual questions, i.e., questions that have concrete answers, mainly make use of the syntactical…

  2. Breast cancer information communicated on a public online platform: an analysis of 'Yahoo! Answer Japan'.

    PubMed

    Ohigashi, An; Ahmed, Salim; Afzal, Arfan R; Shigeta, Naoko; Tam-Tham, Helen; Kanda, Hideyuki; Ishikawa, Yoshihiro; Turin, Tanvir C

    2017-06-01

    INTRODUCTION Japan is a developed country with high use of Internet and online platforms for health information. 'Yahoo! Answer Japan' is the most commonly used question-and-answer service in Japan. AIM To explore the information users seek regarding breast cancer from the 'Yahoo! Answer Japan' web portal. METHODS The 'Yahoo! Answer Japan' portal was searched for the key word 'breast cancer' and all questions searched for the period of 1 January to 31 December 2014 were obtained. The selected questions related to human breast cancer and were not advertisements or promotional material. The questions were categorized using a coding schema. High and low access of the questions were defined by the number of view-counts. RESULTS Among the 2392 selected questions, six major categories were identified; (1) suspected breast cancer, (2) breast cancer screening, (3) treatment of breast cancer, (4) life with breast cancer, (5) prevention of breast cancer and (6) others. The highest number of questions were treatment related (28.8%) followed by suspected breast cancer-related questions (23.4%) and screening-related questions (20%). Statistical analysis revealed that the treatment-related questions were more likely to be highly accessed. CONCLUSION Content analysis of Internet question-answer communities is important, as questions posted on these sites would serve as a rich source of direct reflection regarding the health-related information needs of the general population.

  3. Testing Audiovisual Comprehension Tasks with Questions Embedded in Videos as Subtitles: A Pilot Multimethod Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Núñez, Juan Carlos Casañ

    2017-01-01

    Listening, watching, reading and writing simultaneously in a foreign language is very complex. This paper is part of wider research which explores the use of audiovisual comprehension questions imprinted in the video image in the form of subtitles and synchronized with the relevant fragments for the purpose of language learning and testing.…

  4. Story Grammar Ability in Children with and without Language Disorder: Story Generation, Story Retelling, and Story Comprehension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Merritt, Donna DiSegna; Liles, Betty Z.

    1987-01-01

    Twenty language-impaired and 20 unimpaired children, aged 9-11, generated and retold stories and answered comprehension questions. The stories produced by language-disordered children contained fewer complete story episodes, fewer main and subordinate clauses per complete episode, and a lower frequency of use of story grammar components than those…

  5. Frequent Questions on Recycling

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This is a list of frequent questions on recycling, broken down into five categories. These are answers to common questions that EPA has received from press and web inquiries. This list is located on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle website.

  6. Capacity for self-monitoring reading comprehension in Elementary School.

    PubMed

    Bueno, Gabriela Juliane; Carvalho, Carolina Alves Ferreira; Ávila, Clara Regina Brandão de

    2017-06-08

    To investigate the capacity for self-monitoring reading comprehension in Brazilian Elementary School students. Fifty-three Elementary students in the 5th and 9th grades from two Public Schools in the city of São Paulo were assessed. They were selected based on their oral reading rate and grouped according to their performance in reading comprehension in the following categories: Group with best comprehension: students with adequate rate and accuracy, without difficulties in reading comprehension; Group with worst comprehension: students with adequate rate and accuracy but with difficulties in reading comprehension. Two narrative texts followed by eight questions to assess reading comprehension were presented. Two sentences and two words were replaced by ungrammatical elements and pseudo-words. Under the condition of spontaneous monitoring, students read the text aloud and answered the questions. The analysis considered the calculation of hesitation, self-correction, repetitions and mistakes. Under the condition of directed monitoring, students were instructed to read the text, either aloud or silently, after being told that certain parts of the text could not make sense, and they were oriented to underline such parts. The analysis was carried out by counting of underlined items. The comparisons were made with the Mann-Whitney test. A difference was observed between the groups only at the sentence level among the 9th grade schoolchildren under the spontaneous monitoring and among the 5th grade schoolchildren under directed monitoring. Students with worst comprehension had a poorer performance to monitor the presence of ungrammatical sentences than their peers with best comprehension.

  7. Predictors of nutrition information comprehension in adulthood.

    PubMed

    Miller, Lisa M Soederberg; Gibson, Tanja N; Applegate, Elizabeth A

    2010-07-01

    The goal of the present study was to examine relationships among several predictors of nutrition comprehension. We were particularly interested in exploring whether nutrition knowledge or motivation moderated the effects of attention on comprehension across a wide age range of adults. Ninety-three participants, ages 18-80, completed measures of nutrition knowledge and motivation and then read nutrition information (from which attention allocation was derived) and answered comprehension questions. In general, predictor variables were highly intercorrelated. However, knowledge, but not motivation, had direct effects on comprehension accuracy. In contrast, motivation influenced attention, which in turn influenced accuracy. Results also showed that comprehension accuracy decreased-and knowledge increased-with age. When knowledge was statistically controlled, age declines in comprehension increased. Knowledge is an important predictor of nutrition information comprehension and its role increases in later life. Motivation is also important; however, its effects on comprehension differ from knowledge. Health educators and clinicians should consider cognitive skills such as knowledge as well as motivation and age of patients when deciding how to best convey health information. The increased role of knowledge among older adults suggests that lifelong educational efforts may have important payoffs in later life. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Predictors of Nutrition Information Comprehension in Adulthood

    PubMed Central

    Miller, Lisa M. Soederberg; Gibson, Tanja N.; Applegate, Elizabeth A.

    2009-01-01

    Objective The goal of the present study was to examine relationships among several predictors of nutrition comprehension. We were particularly interested in exploring whether nutrition knowledge or motivation moderated the effects of attention on comprehension across a wide age range of adults. Methods Ninety-three participants, ages 18 to 80, completed measures of nutrition knowledge and motivation and then read nutrition information (from which attention allocation was derived) and answered comprehension questions. Results In general, predictor variables were highly intercorrelated. However, knowledge, but not motivation, had direct effects on comprehension accuracy. In contrast, motivation influenced attention, which in turn influenced accuracy. Results also showed that comprehension accuracy decreased- and knowledge increased -with age. When knowledge was statistically controlled, age declines in comprehension increased. Conclusion Knowledge is an important predictor of nutrition information comprehension and its role increases in later life. Motivation is also important; however, its effects on comprehension differ from knowledge. Practice Implications Health educators and clinicians should consider cognitive skills such as knowledge as well as motivation and age of patients when deciding how to best convey health information. The increased role of knowledge among older adults suggests that lifelong educational efforts may have important payoffs in later life. PMID:19854605

  9. One Answer to "What Is Calculus?"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shilgalis, Thomas W.

    1979-01-01

    A number of questions are posed that can be answered with the aid of calculus. These include best value problems, best shape problems, problems involving integration, and growth and decay problems. (MP)

  10. A text of two titles: Kant's 'A renewed attempt to answer the question: "is the human race continually improving"?

    PubMed

    Zammito, John H

    2008-12-01

    The essay, 'A renewed attempt to answer the question: "Is the human race continually improving?"' appeared as Part II of Kant's 1798 publication, The conflict of the faculties, where it was subordinated under a second title: 'The conflict of the philosophy faculty with the faculty of law'. How did this new situation (and title) affects the meaning of the essay? My argument considers first, the conflict of the faculty of philosophy with the faculty of law; second, the earlier philosophy of history Kant had developed; and, finally, the revision of this position in 'A renewed attempt'. The situation of his argument in the contest between the philosophical and the legal faculties points to other veins of argumentation in Kant's political theory, particularly his appeal to a principle of publicity, but they hardly achieve the theoretical clarity or the systematic centrality they should command. They are displaced in the quest for prediction of the future history of mankind. The question of human progress exceeds the frame of the coordination of the university, and the main question must remain: what was new in Kant's approach to the question of human progress, and was it in fact an enhancement of his philosophy of history? In those terms, 'A renewed attempt' must be regarded a distinct failure. Its innovations prove problematic. Its retreats and equivocations, moreover, threaten to undermine the grander vision of Kant's philosophical history and his political theory, entangling them in an unacceptably theological recourse.

  11. On the placement of practice questions during study.

    PubMed

    Weinstein, Yana; Nunes, Ludmila D; Karpicke, Jeffrey D

    2016-03-01

    Retrieval practice improves retention of information on later tests. A question remains: When should retrieval occur during learning-interspersed throughout study or at the end of each study period? In a lab experiment, an online experiment, and a classroom study, we aimed to determine the ideal placement (interspersed vs. at-the-end) of retrieval practice questions. In the lab experiment, 64 subjects viewed slides about APA style and answered short-answer practice questions about the content or restudied the slides (restudy condition). The practice questions either appeared 1 every 1-2 slides (interspersed condition), or all at the end of the presentation (at-the-end condition). One week later, subjects returned and answered the same questions on a final test. In the online experiment, 175 subjects completed the same procedure. In the classroom study, 62 undergraduate students took quizzes as part of class lectures. Short-answer practice questions appeared either throughout the lectures (interspersed condition) or at the end of the lectures (at-the-end condition). Nineteen days after the last quiz, students were given a surprise final test. Results from the 3 experiments converge in demonstrating an advantage for interspersing practice questions on the initial tests, but an absence of this advantage on the final test. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. A short review of primary aldosteronism in a question and answer fashion.

    PubMed

    Farrugia, Frederick-Anthony; Zavras, Nicolaos; Martikos, Georgios; Tzanetis, Panagiotis; Charalampopoulos, Anestis; Misiakos, Evangelos P; Sotiropoulos, Dimitrios; Koliakos, Nikolaos

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to present up to date information concerning the diagnosis and treatment of primary aldosteronism (PA). PA is the most common cause of endocrine hypertension. It has been reported up to 24% of selective referred hypertensive patients. We did a search in Pub-Med and Google Scholar using the terms: PA, hyperaldosteronism, idiopathic adrenal hyperplasia, diagnosis of PA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, adrenalectomy, and surgery. We also did cross-referencing search with the above terms. We had divided our study into five sections: Introduction, Diagnosis, Genetics, Treatment, and Conclusions. We present our results in a question and answer fashion in order to make reading more interesting. PA should be searched in all high-risk populations. The gold standard for diagnosis PA is the plasma aldosterone/plasma renin ratio (ARR). If this test is positive, then we proceed with one of the four confirmatory tests. If positive, then we proceed with a localizing technique like adrenal vein sampling (AVS) and CT scan. If the lesion is unilateral, after proper preoperative preparation, we proceed, in adrenalectomy. If the lesion is bilateral or the patient refuses or is not fit for surgery, we treat them with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, usually spironolactone. Primary aldosteronism is the most common and a treatable case of secondary hypertension. Only patients with unilateral adrenal diseases are eligible for surgery, while patients with bilateral and non-surgically correctable PA are usually treated by mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA). Thus, the distinction between unilateral and bilateral aldosterone hypersecretion is crucial.

  13. Prereading Questions and Online Text Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Mark Rose; Mensink, Michael C.

    2012-01-01

    Prereading questions can be an effective tool for directing students' learning. However, it is not always clear what the online effects of a set of prereading questions will be. In two experiments, this study investigated whether readers direct additional attention to and learn more from sentences that are potentially relevant to a set of…

  14. A Combination of Hand-held Models and Computer Imaging Programs Helps Students Answer Oral Questions about Molecular Structure and Function: A Controlled Investigation of Student Learning

    PubMed Central

    Peck, Ronald F.; Colton, Shannon; Morris, Jennifer; Chaibub Neto, Elias; Kallio, Julie

    2009-01-01

    We conducted a controlled investigation to examine whether a combination of computer imagery and tactile tools helps introductory cell biology laboratory undergraduate students better learn about protein structure/function relationships as compared with computer imagery alone. In all five laboratory sections, students used the molecular imaging program, Protein Explorer (PE). In the three experimental sections, three-dimensional physical models were made available to the students, in addition to PE. Student learning was assessed via oral and written research summaries and videotaped interviews. Differences between the experimental and control group students were not found in our typical course assessments such as research papers, but rather were revealed during one-on-one interviews with students at the end of the semester. A subset of students in the experimental group produced superior answers to some higher-order interview questions as compared with students in the control group. During the interview, students in both groups preferred to use either the hand-held models alone or in combination with the PE imaging program. Students typically did not use any tools when answering knowledge (lower-level thinking) questions, but when challenged with higher-level thinking questions, students in both the control and experimental groups elected to use the models. PMID:19255134

  15. The recent evolution of the question "What is life"?

    PubMed

    Morange, Michel

    2012-01-01

    The question "What is life?" is absent from the writings of present-day biologists and scientists. However, an answer to this question, even if only partial, is needed for successful completion of projects in astrobiology and synthetic biology. The reasons for this absence are metaphysical, epistemological, and historical. No one has a full answer to this question, but there are many good reasons to keep posing it. Answers are no longer sought in the existence of strengths or mechanisms specific to life. The secret of life has been unveiled and it is nothing other than physical chemistry. What remains to be understood is the way the characteristics of organisms have emerged and been combined within one unique "object." The answer to the question "What is life?" is now looked for in the scenario that generated life.

  16. Communicative competence in Alzheimer's disease: metaphor and sarcasm comprehension.

    PubMed

    Maki, Yohko; Yamaguchi, Tomoharu; Koeda, Tatsuya; Yamaguchi, Haruyasu

    2013-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the deficits of metaphor and sarcasm comprehension in Alzheimer's disease (AD), as pragmatic interpretation such as metaphor and sarcasm comprehension is required in social communication. A total of 31 young normal controls, 104 aged normal controls (ANC), 42 patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 30 patients with mild AD were evaluated by Metaphoric and Sarcastic Scenario Test, which consists of 5 metaphoric and 5 sarcastic questions with 5 answer choices. Scores were analyzed using the repeated measures analysis of variance (metaphor/sarcasm vs 4 participant groups). Sarcasm comprehension, which requires second-order Theory of Mind (ToM), started to deteriorate in ANC, and metaphor comprehension, which requires first-order ToM, started to deteriorate in aMCI, and both deteriorated as disease progressed. Literal interpretation of pragmatic language is characteristic in patients with mild AD. Such misinterpretation would result in social miscommunication, even if they still retained semantic-lexical competence.

  17. Regional Screening Levels Frequent Questions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Regional Screening Level RSL frequently asked question FAQ page provides risk assessors answers to common questions about the preliminary remediation goal PRG risk based concentration RBC and risk calculator for the assessment of human Health.

  18. The Value Question in Metaphysics

    PubMed Central

    Kahane, Guy

    2012-01-01

    Much seems to be at stake in metaphysical questions about, for example, God, free will or morality. One thing that could be at stake is the value of the universe we inhabit—how good or bad it is. We can think of competing philosophical positions as describing possibilities, ways the world might turn out to be, and to which value can be assigned. When, for example, people hope that God exists, or fear that we do not possess free will, they express attitudes towards these possibilities, attitudes that presuppose answers to questions about their comparative value. My aim in this paper is to distinguish these evaluative questions from related questions with which they can be confused, to identify structural constraints on their proper pursuit, and to address objections to their very coherence. Answers to such evaluative questions offer one measure of the importance of philosophical disputes. PMID:23024399

  19. The Value Question in Metaphysics.

    PubMed

    Kahane, Guy

    2012-07-01

    Much seems to be at stake in metaphysical questions about, for example, God, free will or morality. One thing that could be at stake is the value of the universe we inhabit-how good or bad it is. We can think of competing philosophical positions as describing possibilities, ways the world might turn out to be, and to which value can be assigned. When, for example, people hope that God exists, or fear that we do not possess free will, they express attitudes towards these possibilities, attitudes that presuppose answers to questions about their comparative value. My aim in this paper is to distinguish these evaluative questions from related questions with which they can be confused, to identify structural constraints on their proper pursuit, and to address objections to their very coherence. Answers to such evaluative questions offer one measure of the importance of philosophical disputes.

  20. Lesion Analysis of Cortical Regions Associated with the Comprehension of Nonreversible and Reversible Yes/No Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Race, David S.; Ochfeld, Elisa; Leigh, Richard; Hillis, Argye E.

    2012-01-01

    We investigated the association between yes/no sentence comprehension and dysfunction in anterior and posterior left-hemisphere cortical regions in acute stroke patients. More specifically, we manipulated whether questions were Nonreversible (e.g., Are limes sour?) or Reversible (e.g., Is a horse larger than a dog?) to investigate the regions…

  1. Using the regulation of accuracy to study performance when the correct answer is not known.

    PubMed

    Luna, Karlos; Martín-Luengo, Beatriz

    2017-08-01

    We examined memory performance in multiple-choice questions when correct answers were not always present. How do participants answer when they are aware that the correct alternative may not be present? To answer this question we allowed participants to decide on the number of alternatives in their final answer (the plurality option), and whether they wanted to report or withhold their answer (report option). We also studied the memory benefits when both the plurality and the report options were available. In two experiments participants watched a crime and then answered questions with five alternatives. Half of the questions were presented with the correct alternative and half were not. Participants selected one alternative and rated confidence, then selected three alternatives and again rated confidence, and finally indicated whether they preferred the answer with one or with three alternatives (plurality option). Lastly, they decided whether to report or withhold the answer (report option). Results showed that participants' confidence in their selections was higher, that they chose more single answers, and that they preferred to report more often when the correct alternative was presented. We also attempted to classify a posteriori questions as either presented with or without the correct alternative from participants' selection. Classification was better than chance, and encouraging, but the forensic application of the classification technique is still limited since there was a large percentage of responses that were incorrectly classified. Our results also showed that the memory benefits of both plurality and report options overlap. © 2017 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Asking good clinical research questions and choosing the right study design.

    PubMed

    Bragge, P

    2010-07-01

    Clinicians and researchers seek answers to clinical research questions, primarily by accessing the results of clinical research studies. This paper moves the focus of research enquiry from getting answers to developing good clinical research questions. Using worked examples, the steps involved in refining questions drawn from various sources to create 'answerable' clinical research questions using the 'PICO' principle are described. Issues to consider in prioritising clinical research questions are also identified. Theoretical and practical considerations involved in choosing the right study design for a clinical research question are then discussed using the worked examples. These include: Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Merchandise Display, a Distributive Education Manual and Answer Book.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hatchett, Melvin S.

    This revised manual in basic merchandise display for trainees in distributive education, together with a separate answer key, contains 23 self-study assignments, each with training objectives, questions to answer, and student projects. Developed by a distributive education coordinator, these assignments cover a wide range of topics, from the…

  4. Quora.com: Another Place for Users to Ask Questions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ovadia, Steven

    2011-01-01

    Quora (www.quora.com) is a contemporary, web-based take on reference. Users post questions within Quora and other users answer the questions. Users can vote for and against answers (or not vote at all). It is users asking questions of friends and strangers and then sorting through the results. If the model sounds familiar, it's because it is.…

  5. 29 CFR 2509.75-5 - Questions and answers relating to fiduciary responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    .... 2509.75-5 Section 2509.75-5 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR GENERAL INTERPRETIVE BULLETINS RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME... answers relating to certain aspects of the recently enacted Employee Retirement Income Security Act of...

  6. Impression formation of tests: retrospective judgments of performance are higher when easier questions come first.

    PubMed

    Jackson, Abigail; Greene, Robert L

    2014-11-01

    Four experiments are reported on the importance of retrospective judgments of performance (postdictions) on tests. Participants answered general knowledge questions and estimated how many questions they answered correctly. They gave higher postdictions when easy questions preceded difficult questions. This was true when time to answer each question was equalized and constrained, when participants were instructed not to write answers, and when questions were presented in a multiple-choice format. Results are consistent with the notion that first impressions predominate in overall perception of test difficulty.

  7. A questions-based investigation of consumer mental-health information.

    PubMed

    Crangle, Colleen E; Kart, Joyce Brothers

    2015-01-01

    Despite the wealth of mental-health information available online to consumers, research has shown that the mental-health information needs of consumers are not being met. This study contributes to that research by soliciting consumer questions directly, categorizing them, analyzing their form, and assessing the extent to which they can be answered from a trusted and vetted source of online information, namely the website of the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). As an alternative to surveys and analyses of online activity, this study shows how consumer questions provide new insight into what consumers do not know and how they express their information needs. The study crowdsourced 100 consumer questions through Amazon Inc.'s Mechanical Turk. Categorization of the questions shows broad agreement with earlier studies in terms of the content of consumer questions. It also suggests that consumers' grasp of mental health issues may be low compared to other health topics. The majority of the questions (74%) were simple in form, with the remainder being multi-part, multifaceted or narrative. Even simple-form questions could, however, have complex interpretations. Fifty four questions were submitted to the search box at the NIMH website. For 32 questions, no answer could be found in the top one to three documents returned. Inadequacies in the search and retrieval technology deployed at websites account for some of the failure to find answers. The nature of consumer questions in mental health also plays a role. A question that has a false presupposition is less likely to have an answer in trusted and vetted sources of information. Consumer questions are also expressed with a degree of specificity that makes the retrieval of relevant information difficult. The significance of this study is that it shows what an analysis of consumer mental-health questions can tell us about consumer information needs and it provides new insight into the difficulties facing

  8. A questions-based investigation of consumer mental-health information

    PubMed Central

    Kart, Joyce Brothers

    2015-01-01

    Despite the wealth of mental-health information available online to consumers, research has shown that the mental-health information needs of consumers are not being met. This study contributes to that research by soliciting consumer questions directly, categorizing them, analyzing their form, and assessing the extent to which they can be answered from a trusted and vetted source of online information, namely the website of the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). As an alternative to surveys and analyses of online activity, this study shows how consumer questions provide new insight into what consumers do not know and how they express their information needs. The study crowdsourced 100 consumer questions through Amazon Inc.’s Mechanical Turk. Categorization of the questions shows broad agreement with earlier studies in terms of the content of consumer questions. It also suggests that consumers’ grasp of mental health issues may be low compared to other health topics. The majority of the questions (74%) were simple in form, with the remainder being multi-part, multifaceted or narrative. Even simple-form questions could, however, have complex interpretations. Fifty four questions were submitted to the search box at the NIMH website. For 32 questions, no answer could be found in the top one to three documents returned. Inadequacies in the search and retrieval technology deployed at websites account for some of the failure to find answers. The nature of consumer questions in mental health also plays a role. A question that has a false presupposition is less likely to have an answer in trusted and vetted sources of information. Consumer questions are also expressed with a degree of specificity that makes the retrieval of relevant information difficult. The significance of this study is that it shows what an analysis of consumer mental-health questions can tell us about consumer information needs and it provides new insight into the difficulties facing

  9. An Online Partner for Holocaust Remembrance Education: Students Approaching the Yahoo! Answers Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lazar, Alon; Litvak Hirsch, Tal

    2015-01-01

    Holocaust education has gained increased importance in recent decades and attention has latterly been directed to the role of the Internet within the field. Of major importance within the virtual space are Question and Answer communities. We investigated the interactions taking place within the Yahoo! Answers community following questions posted…

  10. Fostering the exchange of real world data across different countries to answer primary care research questions: an UNLOCK study from the IPCRG.

    PubMed

    Cragg, Liza; Williams, Siân; van der Molen, Thys; Thomas, Mike; Correia de Sousa, Jaime; Chavannes, Niels H

    2018-03-08

    There is growing awareness amongst healthcare planners, providers and researchers of the need to make better use of routinely collected health data by translating it into actionable information that improves efficiency of healthcare and patient outcomes. There is also increased acceptance of the importance of real world research that recruits patients representative of primary care populations and evaluates interventions realistically delivered by primary care professionals. The UNLOCK Group is an international collaboration of primary care researchers and practitioners from 15 countries. It has coordinated and shared datasets of diagnostic and prognostic variables for COPD and asthma to answer research questions meaningful to professionals working in primary care over a 6-year period. Over this time the UNLOCK Group has undertaken several studies using data from unselected primary care populations from diverse contexts to evaluate the burden of disease, multiple morbidities, treatment and follow-up. However, practical and structural constraints have hampered the UNLOCK Group's ability to translate research ideas into studies. This study explored the constraints, challenges and successes experienced by the UNLOCK Group and its participants' learning as researchers and primary care practitioners collaborating to answer primary care research questions. The study identified lessons for future studies and collaborations that require data sharing across borders. It also explored specific challenges to fostering the exchange of primary care data in comparison to other datasets such as public health, prescribing or hospital data and mechanisms that may be used to overcome these.

  11. Question analysis for Indonesian comparative question

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saelan, A.; Purwarianti, A.; Widyantoro, D. H.

    2017-01-01

    Information seeking is one of human needs today. Comparing things using search engine surely take more times than search only one thing. In this paper, we analyzed comparative questions for comparative question answering system. Comparative question is a question that comparing two or more entities. We grouped comparative questions into 5 types: selection between mentioned entities, selection between unmentioned entities, selection between any entity, comparison, and yes or no question. Then we extracted 4 types of information from comparative questions: entity, aspect, comparison, and constraint. We built classifiers for classification task and information extraction task. Features used for classification task are bag of words, whether for information extraction, we used lexical, 2 previous and following words lexical, and previous label as features. We tried 2 scenarios: classification first and extraction first. For classification first, we used classification result as a feature for extraction. Otherwise, for extraction first, we used extraction result as features for classification. We found that the result would be better if we do extraction first before classification. For the extraction task, classification using SMO gave the best result (88.78%), while for classification, it is better to use naïve bayes (82.35%).

  12. Pragmatic Language Development in Language Impaired and Typically Developing Children: Incorrect Answers in Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ryder, Nuala; Leinonen, Eeva

    2014-01-01

    This study focused on young children's incorrect answers to pragmatically demanding questions. Children with specific language impairment (SLI), including a subgroup with pragmatic language difficulties (PLD) and typically developing children answered questions targeting implicatures, based on a storybook and short verbal scenarios.…

  13. EFL Learners' Levels of Comprehension Across Text Structures: A Comparison of Literal and Inferential Comprehension of Descriptive and Enumerative Expository Texts.

    PubMed

    Saadatnia, Mahmood; Ketabi, Saeed; Tavakoli, Mansoor

    2016-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between text structure and two levels of reading comprehension, namely literal and inferential, in Iranian EFL learners. Studies have generally found that learners perform differently after they have read different text structures (Amiri et al. in Proc Soc Behav Sci 66:402-409, 2012). The text structures in focus were descriptive and enumerative expository texts. One hundred eighty upper-intermediate EFL learners were assigned four reading passages, two including descriptive and the other two enumerative text structure, followed by both literal and inferential multiple-choice items. A number of paired-samples t tests were run to provide answers to the research questions of this study. The results indicated that the participants meaningfully outperformed on the descriptive texts at both levels of literal and inferential comprehension. The findings also revealed that in both text structures of description and enumeration, literal comprehension significantly outweighed inferential comprehension. Implications were made for L2 materials developers, language teachers, and language testers regarding the consideration of text typical features in their practice.

  14. Ethanol-BDNF interactions: Still More Questions than Answers

    PubMed Central

    Davis, Margaret I.

    2008-01-01

    Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) has emerged as a regulator of development, plasticity and, recently, addiction. Decreased neurotrophic activity may be involved in ethanol-induced neurodegeneration in the adult brain and in the etiology of alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorders. This can occur through decreased expression of BDNF or through inability of the receptor to transduce signals in the presence of ethanol. In contrast, recent studies implicate region-specific up-regulation of BDNF and associated signaling pathways in anxiety, addiction and homeostasis after ethanol exposure. Anxiety and depression are precipitating factors for substance abuse and these disorders also involve region-specific changes in BDNF in both pathogenesis and response to pharmacotherapy. Polymorphisms in the genes coding for BDNF and its receptor TrkB are linked to affective, substance abuse and appetitive disorders and therefore may play a role in the development of alcoholism. This review summarizes historical and pre-clinical data on BDNF and TrkB as it relates to ethanol toxicity and addiction. Many unresolved questions about region-specific changes in BDNF expression and the precise role of BDNF in neuropsychiatric disorders and addiction remain to be elucidated. Resolution of these questions will require significant integration of the literature on addiction and comorbid psychiatric disorders that contribute to the development of alcoholism. PMID:18394710

  15. Taylor dispersion in premixed combustion: Questions from turbulent combustion answered for laminar flames

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Daou, Joel; Pearce, Philip; Al-Malki, Faisal

    2018-02-01

    We present a study of Taylor dispersion in premixed combustion and use it to clarify fundamental issues related to flame propagation in a flow field. In particular, simple analytical formulas are derived for variable density laminar flames with arbitrary Lewis number Le providing clear answers to important questions arising in turbulent combustion, when these questions are posed for the case of one-scale laminar parallel flows. Exploiting, in the context of a laminar Poiseuille flow model, a thick flame distinguished asymptotic limit for which the flow amplitude is large with the Reynolds number Re fixed, three main contributions are made. First, a link is established between Taylor dispersion [G. Taylor, Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 219, 186 (1953), 10.1098/rspa.1953.0139] and Damköhler's second hypothesis [G. Damköhler, Ber. Bunsen. Phys. Chem. 46, 601 (1940)] by describing analytically the enhancement of the effective propagation speed UT due to small flow scales. More precisely, it is shown that Damköhler's hypothesis is only partially correct for one-scale parallel laminar flows. Specifically, while the increase in UT due to the flow is shown to be directly associated with the increase in the effective diffusivity as suggested by Damköhler, our results imply that UT˜Re (for Re≫1 ) rather than UT˜√{Re} , as implied by Damköhler's hypothesis. Second, it is demonstrated analytically and confirmed numerically that, when UT is plotted versus the flow amplitude for fixed values of Re, the curve levels off to a constant value depending on Re. We may refer to this effect as the laminar bending effect as it mimics a similar bending effect known in turbulent combustion. Third, somewhat surprising implications associated with the dependence of UT and of the effective Lewis number Leeff on the flow are reported. For example, Leeff is found to vary from Le to Le-1 as Re varies from small to large values. Also, UT is found to be a monotonically increasing function

  16. Improving English Reading Comprehension Ability through Survey, Questions, Read, Record, Recite, Review Strategy (SQ4R)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khusniyah, Nurul Lailatul; Lustyantie, Ninuk

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the survey, questions, read, record, recite, review (SQ4R) strategy of the reading comprehension ability students of 2nd semester. The research study was used action research method. The sampling was taken by 34 students. The validity of data used credibility, transferability, dependability, and…

  17. Differential effects of oral reading to improve comprehension with severe learning disabled and educable mentally handicapped students.

    PubMed

    Chang, S Q; Williams, R L; McLaughlin, T F

    1983-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of oral reading as a teaching technique for improving reading comprehension of 11 Educable Mentally Handicapped or Severe Learning Disabled adolescents. Students were tested on their ability to answer comprehension questions from a short factual article. Comprehension improved following the oral reading for students with a reading grade equivalent of less than 5.5 (measured from the Wide Range Achievement Test) but not for those students having a grade equivalent of greater than 5.5. This association was statistically significant (p = less than .01). Oral reading appeared to improve comprehension among the poorer readers but not for readers with moderately high ability.

  18. Testing Intercultural Competence in (International) English: Some Basic Questions and Suggested Answers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Camerer, Rudi

    2014-01-01

    The testing of intercultural competence has long been regarded as the field of psychometric test procedures, which claim to analyse an individual's personality by specifying and quantifying personality traits with the help of self-answer questionnaires and the statistical evaluation of these. The underlying assumption is that what is analysed and…

  19. Answering the question, "what is a clinical nurse leader?": transition experience of four direct-entry master's students.

    PubMed

    Bombard, Emily; Chapman, Kimberly; Doyle, Marcy; Wright, Danielle K; Shippee-Rice, Raelene V; Kasik, Dot Radius

    2010-01-01

    Understanding the experience of students learning the clinical nurse leader (CNL) role can be useful for faculty, preceptors, staff nurses, and interdisciplinary team members who guide them. This article analyzes the experience of four direct-entry master's students in the first cohort to complete the CNL curriculum and to sit for the pilot CNL certification examination. Using action research methodology, the students worked with the clinical immersion practicum faculty and a writing consultant to develop the study purpose, collect and analyze data, and prepare a manuscript. The main theme that emerged was, answering the question, "what is a CNL?" Subthemes supporting the main theme involved coming to the edge, trusting the process, rounding the corner, and valuing becoming. The analysis confirmed the value the CNL offers as a new vision to nursing education and practice. The students offered suggestions for the CNL curriculum and practicum. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Answers to Questions Frequently Asked About the Classified Student. A Professional Supplement Provided through the Central Burlington County Region for Special Education. Special Education Information Series. Booklet #5.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nissman, Blossom S.

    This booklet provides answers to questions that may arise when learning or socially disabled children are placed in regular classrooms. The introduction gives the background of classifying students in the New Jersey school system and lists the twelve classification categories: (1) emotionally disturbed; (2) neurologically impaired; (3) trainable…

  1. Therapeutic modulation of gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease: More questions to be answered.

    PubMed

    Qiao, Yu Qi; Cai, Chen Wen; Ran, Zhi Hua

    2016-12-01

    Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) exhibit impaired control of the microbiome in the gut, and 'dysbiosis' is commonly observed. Western diet is a risk factor for the development of IBD, but it may have different effects on gut microbiota between IBD and non-IBD individuals. Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) can induce remission in pediatric Crohn's disease with a decrease in gut microbial diversity. Although there are some theoretical benefits, actual treatment effects of prebiotics and probiotics in IBD vary. High-quality studies have shown that VSL#3 (a high-potency probiotic medical food containing eight different strains) exhibits benefits in treating ulcerative colitis, and gut microbial diversity is reduced after treated with VSL#3 in animal models. The effect of fecal microbiome transplantation on IBD is controversial. Increasing microbial diversity compared with impaired handling of bacteria presents a dilemma. Antibiotics are the strongest factors in the reduction of microbiome ecological diversity. Some antibiotics may help to induce remission of the disease. Microbiome alteration has been suggested to be an intrinsic property of IBD and a potential predictor in diagnosis and prognosis. However, the effects of therapeutic modulations are variable; thus, more questions remain to be answered. © 2016 Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  2. A Pilot Study of Biomedical Text Comprehension using an Attention-Based Deep Neural Reader: Design and Experimental Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Kyubum; Kim, Byounggun; Jeon, Minji; Kim, Jihye; Tan, Aik Choon

    2018-01-01

    Background With the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology centered on deep-learning, the computer has evolved to a point where it can read a given text and answer a question based on the context of the text. Such a specific task is known as the task of machine comprehension. Existing machine comprehension tasks mostly use datasets of general texts, such as news articles or elementary school-level storybooks. However, no attempt has been made to determine whether an up-to-date deep learning-based machine comprehension model can also process scientific literature containing expert-level knowledge, especially in the biomedical domain. Objective This study aims to investigate whether a machine comprehension model can process biomedical articles as well as general texts. Since there is no dataset for the biomedical literature comprehension task, our work includes generating a large-scale question answering dataset using PubMed and manually evaluating the generated dataset. Methods We present an attention-based deep neural model tailored to the biomedical domain. To further enhance the performance of our model, we used a pretrained word vector and biomedical entity type embedding. We also developed an ensemble method of combining the results of several independent models to reduce the variance of the answers from the models. Results The experimental results showed that our proposed deep neural network model outperformed the baseline model by more than 7% on the new dataset. We also evaluated human performance on the new dataset. The human evaluation result showed that our deep neural model outperformed humans in comprehension by 22% on average. Conclusions In this work, we introduced a new task of machine comprehension in the biomedical domain using a deep neural model. Since there was no large-scale dataset for training deep neural models in the biomedical domain, we created the new cloze-style datasets Biomedical Knowledge Comprehension Title (BMKC

  3. Responsiveness to Self-Report Interview Questions by Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disability.

    PubMed

    Stancliffe, Roger J; Tichá, Renáta; Larson, Sheryl A; Hewitt, Amy S; Nord, Derek

    2015-06-01

    An important line of research involves asking people with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) to self-report their experiences and opinions. We analyzed the responsiveness of 11,391 adult users of IDD services to interview questions from Section 1 of the 2008-2009 National Core Indicators-Adult Consumer Survey (NCI-ACS). Proxy responses were not allowed for the selected questions. Overall, 62.1% of participants answered the questions and were rated by interviewers as understanding the questions and as responding consistently. Most participants responded in an all-or-none fashion, answering either all or most questions or few to none. Individuals with milder levels of IDD and with speech as their primary means of expression were more likely to answer the questions and provide a scoreable response. Interviewer ratings of interviewees' answering questions, understanding of questions, and consistent responding were each related to responsiveness.

  4. Creating comprehensive, youth centered, culturally appropriate sex education: What do young gay, bisexual and questioning men want?

    PubMed

    Pingel, Emily Sweetnam; Thomas, Laura; Harmell, Chelsea; Bauermeister, José

    2013-12-01

    We examined young gay, bisexual and questioning men's (YGBQM) experiences with school-based sex education as they sought to learn about sex and sexual health, and their suggestions for improving same-sex education resources. Thematic analysis of 30 in-depth interviews with YGBQM (ages 18-24) underscored the discrepancies between the existing school-based sex education curricula and YGBQM's perceived sex education needs. Our results show that many youths' sexuality and same-sex sexual behaviors are excluded in sex education lessons; however, YGBQM noted that they sought out other resources (e.g., websites) to answer their questions. We discuss YGBQM's ideas for the creation of a sex and sexual health website that would be tailored for youth like themselves, including topics and features that an ideal website would contain. In addition, we present recommended changes to existing school-based sexual education curricula.

  5. SHC Meeting Documents for November 2-4, 2016: Charge Questions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This document contains three (3) questions that the Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program is asking the BOSC Subcommitte to answer at the Nov 2-4 BOSC meeting. The answers to these questions will help SHC evaluate if their ongoing and future

  6. Roth 401(k): asking the right questions.

    PubMed

    Joyner, James F

    2006-01-01

    Roth 401(k) provisions are a newly available feature of 401(k) plans. Roth 401(k) provisions are after-tax savings that generally are tax-free at the time of distribution. Questions arise for plan sponsors about whether the new feature is beneficial, and to whom, and what needs to be done if the plan sponsor decides to offer this provision to its employees. This article tries to answer some of those common questions, including a simple computational analysis to try to answer the important question of how much an employee-participant genuinely benefits from this savings approach. Some practical issues of implementation are touched on, and some unanswered questions are identified.

  7. Interim Exceptional Events Rule Frequently Asked Questions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Air agencies and other stakeholders have raised technical questions and issues related to implementation since the EPA promulgated the EER. This Question and Answer (Q&A) document is intended to respond to some of these frequently asked questions.

  8. Topology of Innovation Spaces in the Knowledge Networks Emerging through Questions-And-Answers

    PubMed Central

    Andjelković, Miroslav; Tadić, Bosiljka; Mitrović Dankulov, Marija; Rajković, Milan; Melnik, Roderick

    2016-01-01

    The communication processes of knowledge creation represent a particular class of human dynamics where the expertise of individuals plays a substantial role, thus offering a unique possibility to study the structure of knowledge networks from online data. Here, we use the empirical evidence from questions-and-answers in mathematics to analyse the emergence of the network of knowledge contents (or tags) as the individual experts use them in the process. After removing extra edges from the network-associated graph, we apply the methods of algebraic topology of graphs to examine the structure of higher-order combinatorial spaces in networks for four consecutive time intervals. We find that the ranking distributions of the suitably scaled topological dimensions of nodes fall into a unique curve for all time intervals and filtering levels, suggesting a robust architecture of knowledge networks. Moreover, these networks preserve the logical structure of knowledge within emergent communities of nodes, labeled according to a standard mathematical classification scheme. Further, we investigate the appearance of new contents over time and their innovative combinations, which expand the knowledge network. In each network, we identify an innovation channel as a subgraph of triangles and larger simplices to which new tags attach. Our results show that the increasing topological complexity of the innovation channels contributes to network’s architecture over different time periods, and is consistent with temporal correlations of the occurrence of new tags. The methodology applies to a wide class of data with the suitable temporal resolution and clearly identified knowledge-content units. PMID:27171149

  9. The importance of causal connections in the comprehension of spontaneous spoken discourse.

    PubMed

    Cevasco, Jazmin; van den Broek, Paul

    2008-11-01

    In this study, we investigated the psychological processes in spontaneous discourse comprehension through a network theory of discourse representation. Existing models of narrative comprehension describe the importance of causality processing for forming a representation of a text, but usually in the context of deliberately composed texts rather than in spontaneous, unplanned discourse. Our aim was to determine whether spontaneous discourse components with many causal connections are represented more strongly than components with few connections--similar to the findings in text comprehension literature--and whether any such effects depend on the medium in which the spontaneous discourse is presented (oral vs. written). Participants either listened to or read a transcription of a section of a radio transmission. They then recalled the spontaneous discourse material and answered comprehension questions. Results indicate that the processing of causal connections plays an important role in the comprehension of spontaneous spoken discourse, and do not indicate that their effects on recall are weaker in the comprehension of oral discourse than in the comprehension of written discourse.

  10. Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID) Questions and Answers

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    eGRID is a comprehensive source of data on the environmental characteristics of almost all electric power generated in the United States. eGRID is based on available plant-specific data for all U.S. electricity generating plants that report data.

  11. A Very Different Non-Stressful Comprehensive Final Exam that Achieve Our Goals for Student Evaluation and Learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhavsar, Suketu

    2015-08-01

    I will introduce the radical concept of a final exam where the questions are given beforehand, a method I first encountered as a graduate student at Princeton University from an outstanding and well known astrophysicist and exceptional teacher, Lyman Spitzer.Every Instructor aspires for students to master all the material covered. A comprehensive final can assess the breadth and depth of their learning. Students are required to review early material in light of later topics, create connections and integrate understanding, thus retaining knowledge for the long term. Comprehensive finals can therefore be a significant basis for student learning and evaluation, but are especially daunting for non-STEM majors in required GE synthesis STEM classes. The exam format proposed here calmed student fears and encouraged thorough review.Ten days before the exam students received 20-30 challenging, well-crafted, numbered questions that interconnected and spanned the entire range of topics. The key is crafting questions that lead to deeply understanding the subject matter and mastering skills to solve problems. At the final, each student was required to pick a number out of a hat and answer that numbered question in a 5-minute presentation. They also had to critically comment on 10 other presentations of their peers. They are graded equally on both.The exam sets up definite goals for a student. Equally important, it enhances collaborative learning and peer mentoring. The conceptual questions and problems that students are required to answer can be studied together in study groups. The final presentation is theirs and they are not only encouraged but required to be constructively critical of their peer presentations.I will provide examples of some of the conceptual and problem solving questions I used. These were crafted to interconnect and span the entire range of topics. This method requires students to be prepared for all of the multitude of crafted question encouraging

  12. Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act: Questions & Answers. Fourth Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Partnership for Women and Families, Washington, DC.

    The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) provided workers with the right to take time off from work to care for their families or themselves without fear of losing their jobs. Although this law is relatively straightforward, some employees and employers may be unsure about how it actually works. This guide is designed to answer many…

  13. Doing Science and Asking Questions II: An Exercise That Generates Questions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hurt Middlecamp, Catherine; Nickel, Anne-Marie L.

    2005-08-01

    Given the importance of questions in science, it is critical that students learn to ask questions as well as learning to answer them. This paper describes a classroom exercise to help students better ask their own questions. It has been classroom-tested in multiple formats and has also been used for curriculum development workshops for faculty. This exercise in creating questions can be easily customized to suit different instructional contexts; some variations are outlined. More broadly, this paper also discusses the pedagogical significance of questioning, raising four salient points: (1) learners are more likely to have a personal interest in the questions they raise; (2) questions can serve as entry points for issues relating to ethnicity and gender; (3) questions give control to the person who asks them; and (4) questions can challenge existing structures, categories, and norms.

  14. Theorizing the Entrepreneurial University: Open Questions and Possible Answers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sotiris, Panagiotis

    2012-01-01

    This article attempts to address theoretical questions regarding the transition towards an entrepreneurial university and the changes associated with this process, namely the increased commodification, the competitive quest for private funding and the introduction of business management practices. The important theoretical advances made in the…

  15. How to Make Your Questions Essential

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiggins, Grant; Wilbur, Denise

    2015-01-01

    Good essential questions rarely emerge in the first draft. Common first-draft questions typically are convergent low-level questions designed to support content acquisition. They either point toward the one official "right" answer, or they elicit mere lists and thus no further inquiry. So how can teachers ensure that subsequent drafts…

  16. Ninety-three pictures and 108 questions for the elicitation of homophones

    PubMed Central

    FERREIRA, VICTOR S.; CUTTING, J. COOPER

    2007-01-01

    Homographs and homophones have interesting linguistic properties that make them useful in many experiments involving language. To assist researchers in the elicitation of homophones, this paper presents a set of 93 line-drawn pictures of objects with homophonic names and a set of 108 questions with homophonic answers. Statistics are also included for each picture and question: Picture statistics include name-agreement percentages, dominance, and frequency statistics of depicted referents, and picture-naming latencies both with and without study of the picture names. For questions, statistics include answer-agreement percentages, difficulty ratings, dominance, frequency statistics, and naming latencies for 60 of the most consistently answered questions. PMID:18185842

  17. Comprehension of a simplified assent form in a vaccine trial for adolescents.

    PubMed

    Lee, Sonia; Kapogiannis, Bill G; Flynn, Patricia M; Rudy, Bret J; Bethel, James; Ahmad, Sushma; Tucker, Diane; Abdalian, Sue Ellen; Hoffman, Dannie; Wilson, Craig M; Cunningham, Coleen K

    2013-06-01

    Future HIV vaccine efficacy trials with adolescents will need to ensure that participants comprehend study concepts in order to confer true informed assent. A Hepatitis B vaccine trial with adolescents offers valuable opportunity to test youth understanding of vaccine trial requirements in general. Youth reviewed a simplified assent form with study investigators and then completed a comprehension questionnaire. Once enrolled, all youth were tested for HIV and confirmed to be HIV-negative. 123 youth completed the questionnaire (mean age=15 years; 63% male; 70% Hispanic). Overall, only 69 (56%) youth answered all six questions correctly. Youth enrolled in a Hepatitis B vaccine trial demonstrated variable comprehension of the study design and various methodological concepts, such as treatment group masking.

  18. Multipurpose Grants to States and Tribes Frequent Questions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    These are Frequently Asked Questions about the grant guidance to states and tribes for FY 2016 multipurpose grant funding. EPA will add additional questions and answers as more questions come into the agency.

  19. Single-Concept Clicker Question Sequences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Albert; Ding, Lin; Reay, Neville W.; Bao, Lei

    2011-01-01

    Students typically use electronic polling systems, or clickers, to answer individual questions. Differing from this tradition, we have developed a new clicker methodology in which multiple clicker questions targeting the same underlying concept but with different surface features are grouped into a sequence. Here we present the creation,…

  20. Life, the Universe, and everything—42 fundamental questions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allen, Roland E.; Lidström, Suzy

    2017-01-01

    In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is found to be 42—but the meaning of this is left open to interpretation. We take it to mean that there are 42 fundamental questions which must be answered on the road to full enlightenment, and we attempt a first draft (or personal selection) of these ultimate questions, on topics ranging from the cosmological constant and origin of the Universe to the origin of life and consciousness.