Fuel Crime Conceptualization through Specialization of Ontology for Investigation Management System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cybulka, Jolanta

We undertook the task of building the conceptual model of a particular economic offense, called "a fuel crime". This model is thought of as a part of a larger conceptualization, which comprises consensual semantics underlying the knowledge base of a system, aimed at supporting the teamwork of investigators of economic crimes. Because such a knowledge-based system represents a perspective on economic crimes, it should be carefully modeled. This can be done with the help of an expressive enough ontology. To achieve our goal we use the constructive descriptions and situations (c.DnS) design pattern, which enables us to construct an extensible, layered ontology in a top-down manner: c.DnS top layer is specialized by the reference ontology for investigation management system, that in turn, is specialized by the ontology of the fuel crime.

The XSD-Builder Specification Language—Toward a Semantic View of XML Schema Definition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fong, Joseph; Cheung, San Kuen

In the present database market, XML database model is a main structure for the forthcoming database system in the Internet environment. As a conceptual schema of XML database, XML Model has its limitation on presenting its data semantics. System analyst has no toolset for modeling and analyzing XML system. We apply XML Tree Model (shown in Figure 2) as a conceptual schema of XML database to model and analyze the structure of an XML database. It is important not only for visualizing, specifying, and documenting structural models, but also for constructing executable systems. The tree model represents inter-relationship among elements inside different logical schema such as XML Schema Definition (XSD), DTD, Schematron, XDR, SOX, and DSD (shown in Figure 1, an explanation of the terms in the figure are shown in Table 1). The XSD-Builder consists of XML Tree Model, source language, translator, and XSD. The source language is called XSD-Source which is mainly for providing an environment with concept of user friendliness while writing an XSD. The source language will consequently be translated by XSD-Translator. Output of XSD-Translator is an XSD which is our target and is called as an object language.

The Multidimensionality of Calling: Conceptualization, Measurement and a Bicultural Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagmaier, Tamara; Abele, Andrea E.

2012-01-01

The experience of a calling may be seen as the ultimate form of subjective career success that has many positive consequences for individuals and organizations. We are here concerned with the conceptualization of a new multidimensional measure of calling, the MCM. In the first two studies we employed a qualitative approach and came up with five…

History Places: A Case Study for Relational Database and Information Retrieval System Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendry, David G.

2007-01-01

This article presents a project-based case study that was developed for students with diverse backgrounds and varied inclinations for engaging technical topics. The project, called History Places, requires that student teams develop a vision for a kind of digital library, propose a conceptual model, and use the model to derive a logical model and…

Logic Models in Out-of-School Time Programs: What Are They and Why Are They Important? Research-to-Results Brief. Publication #2007-01

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Jenny; Bronte-Tinkew, Jacinta

2007-01-01

A logic model, also called a conceptual model and theory-of-change model, is a visual representation of how a program is expected to "work." It relates resources, activities, and the intended changes or impacts that a program is expected to create. Typically, logic models are diagrams or flow charts with illustrations, text, and arrows that…

Towards a Dialogical Pedagogy: Some Characteristics of a Community of Mathematical Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Nadia Stoyanova

2009-01-01

This paper discusses a teaching model called community of mathematical inquiry (CMI), characterized by dialogical and inquiry-driven communication and a dynamic structure of intertwined cognitive processes including distributed thinking, mathematical argumentation, integrated reasoning, conceptual transformation, internalization of critical…

A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR ECOSYSTEM - HUMAN HEALTH INTERCONNECTIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Much environmental policy fails to consider the relationships that exist among component parts of the natural and social world. The linkages that exist between natural and social systems are intricate and varied and call for new and creative approaches to environmental policy and...

The standard-based open workflow system in GeoBrain (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di, L.; Yu, G.; Zhao, P.; Deng, M.

2013-12-01

GeoBrain is an Earth science Web-service system developed and operated by the Center for Spatial Information Science and Systems, George Mason University. In GeoBrain, a standard-based open workflow system has been implemented to accommodate the automated processing of geospatial data through a set of complex geo-processing functions for advanced production generation. The GeoBrain models the complex geoprocessing at two levels, the conceptual and concrete. At the conceptual level, the workflows exist in the form of data and service types defined by ontologies. The workflows at conceptual level are called geo-processing models and cataloged in GeoBrain as virtual product types. A conceptual workflow is instantiated into a concrete, executable workflow when a user requests a product that matches a virtual product type. Both conceptual and concrete workflows are encoded in Business Process Execution Language (BPEL). A BPEL workflow engine, called BPELPower, has been implemented to execute the workflow for the product generation. A provenance capturing service has been implemented to generate the ISO 19115-compliant complete product provenance metadata before and after the workflow execution. The generation of provenance metadata before the workflow execution allows users to examine the usability of the final product before the lengthy and expensive execution takes place. The three modes of workflow executions defined in the ISO 19119, transparent, translucent, and opaque, are available in GeoBrain. A geoprocessing modeling portal has been developed to allow domain experts to develop geoprocessing models at the type level with the support of both data and service/processing ontologies. The geoprocessing models capture the knowledge of the domain experts and are become the operational offering of the products after a proper peer review of models is conducted. An automated workflow composition has been experimented successfully based on ontologies and artificial intelligence technology. The GeoBrain workflow system has been used in multiple Earth science applications, including the monitoring of global agricultural drought, the assessment of flood damage, the derivation of national crop condition and progress information, and the detection of nuclear proliferation facilities and events.

A Theory of Information Genetics: How Four Subforces Generate Information and the Implications for Total Quality Knowledge Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Bor-sheng

2002-01-01

Proposes a model called information genetics to elaborate on the origin of information generating. Explains conceptual and data models; and describes a software program that was developed for citation data mining, infomapping, and information repackaging for total quality knowledge management in Web representation. (Contains 112 references.)…

Authentic Oral Language Production and Interaction in CALL: An Evolving Conceptual Framework for the Use of Learning Analytics within the SpeakApps Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nic Giolla Mhichíl, Mairéad; van Engen, Jeroen; Ó Ciardúbháin, Colm; Ó Cléircín, Gearóid; Appel, Christine

2014-01-01

This paper sets out to construct and present the evolving conceptual framework of the SpeakApps projects to consider the application of learning analytics to facilitate synchronous and asynchronous oral language skills within this CALL context. Drawing from both the CALL and wider theoretical and empirical literature of learner analytics, the…

Communities of practice as a professional and organizational development strategy in local public health organizations in Quebec, Canada: an evaluation model.

PubMed

Richard, Lucie; Chiocchio, François; Essiembre, Hélène; Tremblay, Marie-Claude; Lamy, Geneviève; Champagne, François; Beaudet, Nicole

2014-02-01

Communities of practice (CoPs) are among the professional development strategies most widely used in such fields as management and education. Though the approach has elicited keen interest, knowledge pertaining to its conceptual underpinnings is still limited, thus hindering proper assessment of CoPs' effects and the processes generating the latter. To address this shortcoming, this paper presents a conceptual model that was developed to evaluate an initiative based on a CoP strategy: Health Promotion Laboratories are a professional development intervention that was implemented in local public health organizations in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). The model is based on latest theories on work-group effectiveness and organizational learning and can be usefully adopted by evaluators who are increasingly called upon to illuminate decision-making about CoPs. Ultimately, validation of this conceptual model will help advance knowledge and practice pertaining to CoPs as well as professional and organizational development strategies in public health. Copyright © 2014 Longwoods Publishing.

A Conceptual Analysis of Key Concepts in Inclusive Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boston-Kemple, Thomas Ernest

2012-01-01

The concepts of an inclusive classroom, inclusion, co-teaching, and disability have been called poorly defined and in need of fresh conceptual analyses. In Chapter 1, I respond to this call for further analysis and then demonstrate, using current educational headlines, that these concepts of "an inclusive classroom,"…

A Study on the Employee Turnover Antecedents in ITES/BPO Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sree Rekha, K. R.; Kamalanabhan, T. J.

2010-01-01

This paper aims at testing a conceptual model connecting variables of the internal and external work environment to ITES/BPO employee turnover. Based on the gaps identified from the literature that no single model explains in a comprehensive way as to why, people choose to leave and the lack of turnover studies on call centers located in India.…

Conceptualizing Fraudulent Studies as Viruses: New Models for Handling Retractions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montgomery, Kathleen; Oliver, Amalya L.

2017-01-01

This paper addresses the growing problem of retractions in the scientific literature of publications that contain bad data (i.e., fabricated, falsified, or containing error), also called "false science." While the problem is particularly acute in the biomedical literature because of the life-threatening implications when treatment…

Curriculum Development in History Using Systems Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acun, Ramazan

2011-01-01

This work provides a conceptual framework for developing coherent history curricula at university level. It can also be used for evaluating existing curricula in terms of coherence. For this purpose, two models that are closely inter-connected called History Education System (Tarih Egitim Sistemi or TES) and History Research System (Tarih…

Analyzing Conceptual Gains in Introductory Calculus with Interactively-Engaged Teaching Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Matthew

2013-01-01

This dissertation examines the relationship between an instructional style called Interactive-Engagement (IE) and gains on a measure of conceptual knowledge called the Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI). The data comes from two semesters of introductory calculus courses (Fall 2010 and Spring 2011), consisting of a total of 482 students from the…

Conversion of Component-Based Point Definition to VSP Model and Higher Order Meshing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ordaz, Irian

2011-01-01

Vehicle Sketch Pad (VSP) has become a powerful conceptual and parametric geometry tool with numerous export capabilities for third-party analysis codes as well as robust surface meshing capabilities for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. However, a capability gap currently exists for reconstructing a fully parametric VSP model of a geometry generated by third-party software. A computer code called GEO2VSP has been developed to close this gap and to allow the integration of VSP into a closed-loop geometry design process with other third-party design tools. Furthermore, the automated CFD surface meshing capability of VSP are demonstrated for component-based point definition geometries in a conceptual analysis and design framework.

What conceptual spaces can do for Carnap's late inductive logic.

PubMed

Sznajder, Marta

2016-04-01

In the last published account of his late inductive logic, the Basic System of Inductive Logic, Rudolf Carnap introduced a new element to the systems of inductive logic, namely the so-called attribute spaces. These geometrical structures model the meanings of the predicates of the object language and have a similar structure as the conceptual spaces employed by cognitive scientists like Peter Gärdenfors. I show how the development of the theory of conceptual spaces helps us to see the addition of attribute spaces as a step forward in explicating the concept of confirmation. I discuss the differences and similarities of the two theories and investigate the possibilities for developing further connections. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Checking a Conceptual Model for Groundwater Flow in the Fractured Rock at Äspö, Sweden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kröhn, K. P.

2015-12-01

The underground Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL) at Äspö, Sweden, is located in granitic rock and dedicated to investigations concerning deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. Several in-situ experiments have been performed in the HRL, among them the recent Buffer-Rock Interaction Experiment (BRIE) and, on a much larger scale, the long-term Prototype Repository (PR) experiment.Interpretation of such experiments requires a profound understanding of the groundwater flow system. Often assumed is a conceptual model where the so-called "intact rock" is interspersed with stochastically distributed fractures. It is also a common assumption, though, that fractures in granite exist on all length-scales implying that the hydraulically relevant rock porosity is basically made up of micro fractures. The conceptual approach of GRS' groundwater flow code d3f thus appeared to be fitting where large fractures are represented discretely by lower-dimensional features while the remaining set of smaller fractures - also called "background fractures" - is assumed to act like an additional homogeneous continuum besides what is believed to be the undisturbed matrix. This approach was applied to a hydraulic model of the BRIE in a cube-like domain of 40 m side length including drifts, boreholes and three intersecting large fractures. According to observations at the underground rock laboratories Stripa and the HRL a narrow zone of reduced permeability - called "skin" - was additionally arranged around all geotechnical openings. Calibration of the model resulted in a considerable increase of matrix permeability due to adding the effect of the background fractures. To check the validity of this approach the calibrated data for the BRIE were applied to a model for the PR which is also located in the HRL but at quite some distance. The related brick-shaped model domain has a size of 200 m x 150 m x 50 m. Fitting the calculated outflow from the rock to the measured outflow distribution along the PR-tunnel and the outflow into the six "deposition boreholes" nevertheless required only a moderate modification of the initially used permeabilities. By and large the chosen approach for the BRIE can thus be considered to have been successfully transferred to the PR.

Openness to Experience Rather than Overexcitabilities: Call It Like It Is

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vuyk, M. Alexandra; Krieshok, Thomas S.; Kerr, Barbara A.

2016-01-01

Openness to experience is a personality factor in the five-factor model of personality, and it is composed of six facets. Facets of openness appear conceptually analogous to overexcitabilities (OEs), which are displays of inner energy guiding individuals toward advanced potential according to the theory of positive disintegration. This study…

The Dialectical Development of "Storytelling" Learning Organizations: A Case Study of a Public Research University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hillon, Yue Cai; Boje, David M.

2017-01-01

Purpose: Calls for dialectical learning process model development in learning organizations have largely gone unheeded, thereby limiting conceptual understanding and application in the field. This paper aims to unify learning organization theory with a new understanding of Hegelian dialectics to trace the development of the storytelling learning…

Facilitating Attuned Interactions: Using the FAN Approach to Family Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilkerson, Linda

2015-01-01

Erikson Institute's Fussy Baby Network® (FBN) is a national model prevention program known for its approach to family engagement called the FAN (Gilkerson & Gray, 2014; Gilkerson et al., 2012). The FAN is both a conceptual framework and a practical tool to facilitate attunement in helping relationships and promote reflective practice. This…

Strengthening the case for saproxylic arthropod conservation: a call for ecosystem services research

Treesearch

Michael Ulyshen

2013-01-01

While research on the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity is becoming widely embraced as an important tool in conservation, the services provided by saproxylic arthropods - an especially diverse and threatened assemblage dependent on dead or dying wood - remain unmeasured. A conceptual model depicting the reciprocal relationships between dead wood and...

Group Work during International Disaster Outreach Projects: A Model to Advance Cultural Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West-Olatunji, Cirecie; Henesy, Rachel; Varney, Melanie

2015-01-01

Given the rise in disasters worldwide, counselors will increasingly be called upon to respond. Current accreditation standards require that programs train students to become skillful in disaster/crisis interventions. Group processing to enhance self-awareness and improve conceptualization skills is an essential element of such training. This…

Rethinking the Measurement of Training and Development in the Professions: A Conceptual Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynch, Doug; Thomas, Chris; Green, Wendy; Gottfried, Michael; Varga, Matthew

2010-01-01

The 21st century is often called the "age of talent." Globalization has influenced both organizational processes and employee training, creating an increased need for educated, skilled, and adaptable employees. Training and development has become an integral part of most organizations' efforts to develop and maintain competitive…

National Study of Excellence and Innovation in Physical Therapist Education: Part 2-A Call to Reform.

PubMed

Jensen, Gail M; Hack, Laurita M; Nordstrom, Terrence; Gwyer, Janet; Mostrom, Elizabeth

2017-09-01

This perspective shares recommendations that draw from (1) the National Study of Excellence and Innovation in Physical Therapist Education research findings and a conceptual model of excellence in physical therapist education, (2) the Carnegie Foundation's Preparation for the Professions Program (PPP), and (3) research in the learning sciences. The 30 recommendations are linked to the dimensions described in the conceptual model for excellence in physical therapist education: Culture of Excellence, Praxis of Learning, and Organizational Structures and Resources. This perspective proposes a transformative call for reform framed across 3 core categories: (1) creating a culture of excellence, leadership, and partnership, (2) advancing the learning sciences and understanding and enacting the social contract, and (3) implementing organizational imperatives. Similar to the Carnegie studies, this perspective identifies action items (9) that should be initiated immediately in a strategic and systematic way by the major organizational stakeholders in physical therapist education. These recommendations and action items provide a transformative agenda for physical therapist education, and thus the profession, in meeting the changing needs of society through higher levels of excellence. © 2017 American Physical Therapy Association.

Constrained Stochastic Extended Redundancy Analysis.

PubMed

DeSarbo, Wayne S; Hwang, Heungsun; Stadler Blank, Ashley; Kappe, Eelco

2015-06-01

We devise a new statistical methodology called constrained stochastic extended redundancy analysis (CSERA) to examine the comparative impact of various conceptual factors, or drivers, as well as the specific predictor variables that contribute to each driver on designated dependent variable(s). The technical details of the proposed methodology, the maximum likelihood estimation algorithm, and model selection heuristics are discussed. A sports marketing consumer psychology application is provided in a Major League Baseball (MLB) context where the effects of six conceptual drivers of game attendance and their defining predictor variables are estimated. Results compare favorably to those obtained using traditional extended redundancy analysis (ERA).

The P3C2R+GIRD Paradigm of Creating a Reading Comprehension Lesson for EFL Students: From Conceptual Model to Model Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karanjakwut, Chalermsup

2017-01-01

This academic article is aiming at creating a reading comprehension lesson with a new paradigm called the P3C2R+GIRD model developed by a 9-year-experience author in teaching English reading skill who always found that one of the problems of EFL students in learning English language is the lack of reading comprehension which is an important skill…

Sequence modelling and an extensible data model for genomic database

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

Li, Peter Wei-Der

1992-01-01

The Human Genome Project (HGP) plans to sequence the human genome by the beginning of the next century. It will generate DNA sequences of more than 10 billion bases and complex marker sequences (maps) of more than 100 million markers. All of these information will be stored in database management systems (DBMSs). However, existing data models do not have the abstraction mechanism for modelling sequences and existing DBMS's do not have operations for complex sequences. This work addresses the problem of sequence modelling in the context of the HGP and the more general problem of an extensible object data modelmore » that can incorporate the sequence model as well as existing and future data constructs and operators. First, we proposed a general sequence model that is application and implementation independent. This model is used to capture the sequence information found in the HGP at the conceptual level. In addition, abstract and biological sequence operators are defined for manipulating the modelled sequences. Second, we combined many features of semantic and object oriented data models into an extensible framework, which we called the Extensible Object Model'', to address the need of a modelling framework for incorporating the sequence data model with other types of data constructs and operators. This framework is based on the conceptual separation between constructors and constraints. We then used this modelling framework to integrate the constructs for the conceptual sequence model. The Extensible Object Model is also defined with a graphical representation, which is useful as a tool for database designers. Finally, we defined a query language to support this model and implement the query processor to demonstrate the feasibility of the extensible framework and the usefulness of the conceptual sequence model.« less

Sequence modelling and an extensible data model for genomic database

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

Li, Peter Wei-Der

1992-01-01

The Human Genome Project (HGP) plans to sequence the human genome by the beginning of the next century. It will generate DNA sequences of more than 10 billion bases and complex marker sequences (maps) of more than 100 million markers. All of these information will be stored in database management systems (DBMSs). However, existing data models do not have the abstraction mechanism for modelling sequences and existing DBMS`s do not have operations for complex sequences. This work addresses the problem of sequence modelling in the context of the HGP and the more general problem of an extensible object data modelmore » that can incorporate the sequence model as well as existing and future data constructs and operators. First, we proposed a general sequence model that is application and implementation independent. This model is used to capture the sequence information found in the HGP at the conceptual level. In addition, abstract and biological sequence operators are defined for manipulating the modelled sequences. Second, we combined many features of semantic and object oriented data models into an extensible framework, which we called the ``Extensible Object Model``, to address the need of a modelling framework for incorporating the sequence data model with other types of data constructs and operators. This framework is based on the conceptual separation between constructors and constraints. We then used this modelling framework to integrate the constructs for the conceptual sequence model. The Extensible Object Model is also defined with a graphical representation, which is useful as a tool for database designers. Finally, we defined a query language to support this model and implement the query processor to demonstrate the feasibility of the extensible framework and the usefulness of the conceptual sequence model.« less

An industrial educational laboratory at Ducati Foundation: narrative approaches to mechanics based upon continuum physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corni, Federico; Fuchs, Hans U.; Savino, Giovanni

2018-02-01

This is a description of the conceptual foundations used for designing a novel learning environment for mechanics implemented as an Industrial Educational Laboratory - called Fisica in Moto (FiM) - at the Ducati Foundation in Bologna. In this paper, we will describe the motivation for and design of the conceptual approach to mechanics used in the lab - as such, the paper is theoretical in nature. The goal of FiM is to provide an approach to the teaching of mechanics based upon imaginative structures found in continuum physics suitable to engineering and science. We show how continuum physics creates models of mechanical phenomena by using momentum and angular momentum as primitive quantities. We analyse this approach in terms of cognitive linguistic concepts such as conceptual metaphor and narrative framing of macroscopic physical phenomena. The model discussed here has been used in the didactical design of the actual lab and raises questions for an investigation of student learning of mechanics in a narrative setting.

Alternative Approaches for Educating Future Global Marketing Professionals: A Comparison of Foreign Study and Research-Intensive Marketing Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Peter A.; Melton, Horace L.; Varner, Iris I.; Hoelscher, Mark; Schmidt, Klaus; Spaulding, Aslihan D.

2011-01-01

Using an experiential learning model as a conceptual background, this article discusses characteristics and learning objectives for well-known foreign study programs such as study tours, study abroad, and internships and compares them with a less common overseas program called the "Global Marketing Program" (GMP). GMP involves…

The Efficacy of a Low-Level Program Visualization Tool for Teaching Programming Concepts to Novice C Programmers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Philip A.; Webb, Geoffrey I.

2000-01-01

Describes "Glass-box Interpreter" a low-level program visualization tool called Bradman designed to provide a conceptual model of C program execution for novice programmers and makes visible aspects of the programming process normally hidden from the user. Presents an experiment that tests the efficacy of Bradman, and provides…

News as a Political Resource: Media Strategies and Political Identity in the U.S. Women's Movement, 1966-1975.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker-Plummer, Bernadette

1995-01-01

Elaborates a conceptualization of news as a discursive resource, and suggests a dialogical model for media-movement relationships. Describes how two "branches" of the United States women's movement understood news differently and developed different and specific strategies which are called "media pragmatism" and "media subversion." (SR)

Preparing the Principal to Drive the Goals of Education for All: A Conceptual Case Developmental Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutton, Disraeli M.

2014-01-01

The Education for All (EFA) goals, established for countries to improve educational performance, are most challenging for many developing countries. Notwithstanding the challenges, each country must implement suitable programme intervention in order to accomplish these goals. Goal 6 calls for the overall improvement of the education product, which…

The Effect of a Health Belief Intervention on Safer Sex Practices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rehnberg, Timothy; Barabasz, Marianne

Increases in HIV infection among young heterosexual women has prompted a call for the development of new safe sex interventions for this population. This study tested the effectiveness of an intervention conceptualized on the basis of the Health Belief Model and combined with Bandura's self-efficacy theory. Subjects (N=82) were sexually active…

A New Conceptualization of Human Visual Sensory-Memory.

PubMed

Öğmen, Haluk; Herzog, Michael H

2016-01-01

Memory is an essential component of cognition and disorders of memory have significant individual and societal costs. The Atkinson-Shiffrin "modal model" forms the foundation of our understanding of human memory. It consists of three stores: Sensory Memory (SM), whose visual component is called iconic memory, Short-Term Memory (STM; also called working memory, WM), and Long-Term Memory (LTM). Since its inception, shortcomings of all three components of the modal model have been identified. While the theories of STM and LTM underwent significant modifications to address these shortcomings, models of the iconic memory remained largely unchanged: A high capacity but rapidly decaying store whose contents are encoded in retinotopic coordinates, i.e., according to how the stimulus is projected on the retina. The fundamental shortcoming of iconic memory models is that, because contents are encoded in retinotopic coordinates, the iconic memory cannot hold any useful information under normal viewing conditions when objects or the subject are in motion. Hence, half-century after its formulation, it remains an unresolved problem whether and how the first stage of the modal model serves any useful function and how subsequent stages of the modal model receive inputs from the environment. Here, we propose a new conceptualization of human visual sensory memory by introducing an additional component whose reference-frame consists of motion-grouping based coordinates rather than retinotopic coordinates. We review data supporting this new model and discuss how it offers solutions to the paradoxes of the traditional model of sensory memory.

Studying the teaching of kindness: A conceptual model for evaluating kindness education programs in schools.

PubMed

Kaplan, Deanna M; deBlois, Madeleine; Dominguez, Violeta; Walsh, Michele E

2016-10-01

Recent research suggests that school-based kindness education programs may benefit the learning and social-emotional development of youth and may improve school climate and school safety outcomes. However, how and to what extent kindness education programming influences positive outcomes in schools is poorly understood, and such programs are difficult to evaluate in the absence of a conceptual model for studying their effectiveness. In partnership with Kind Campus, a widely adopted school-based kindness education program that uses a bottom-up program framework, a methodology called concept mapping was used to develop a conceptual model for evaluating school-based kindness education programs from the input of 123 middle school students and approximately 150 educators, school professionals, and academic scholars. From the basis of this model, recommendations for processes and outcomes that would be useful to assess in evaluations of kindness education programs are made, and areas where additional instrument development may be necessary are highlighted. The utility of the concept mapping method as an initial step in evaluating other grassroots or non-traditional educational programming is also discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Multi-Year Program Developing an Explicit Reflective Pedagogy for Teaching Pre-service Teachers the Nature of Science by Ostention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Mike U.; Scharmann, Lawrence

2008-02-01

This investigation delineates a multi-year action research agenda designed to develop an instructional model for teaching the nature of science (NOS) to preservice science teachers. Our past research strongly supports the use of explicit reflective instructional methods, which includes Thomas Kuhn’s notion of learning by ostention and treating science as a continuum (i.e., comparing fields of study to one another for relative placement as less to more scientific). Instruction based on conceptual change precepts, however, also exhibits promise. Thus, the investigators sought to ascertain the degree to which conceptual change took place among students (n = 15) participating in the NOS instructional model. Three case studies are presented to illustrate successful conceptual changes that took place as a result of the NOS instructional model. All three cases represent students who claim a very conservative Christian heritage and for whom evolution was not considered a legitimate scientific theory prior to participating in the NOS instructional model. All three case study individuals, along with their twelve classmates, placed evolution as most scientific when compared to intelligent design and a fictional field of study called “Umbrellaology.”

A New Conceptualization of Human Visual Sensory-Memory

PubMed Central

Öğmen, Haluk; Herzog, Michael H.

2016-01-01

Memory is an essential component of cognition and disorders of memory have significant individual and societal costs. The Atkinson–Shiffrin “modal model” forms the foundation of our understanding of human memory. It consists of three stores: Sensory Memory (SM), whose visual component is called iconic memory, Short-Term Memory (STM; also called working memory, WM), and Long-Term Memory (LTM). Since its inception, shortcomings of all three components of the modal model have been identified. While the theories of STM and LTM underwent significant modifications to address these shortcomings, models of the iconic memory remained largely unchanged: A high capacity but rapidly decaying store whose contents are encoded in retinotopic coordinates, i.e., according to how the stimulus is projected on the retina. The fundamental shortcoming of iconic memory models is that, because contents are encoded in retinotopic coordinates, the iconic memory cannot hold any useful information under normal viewing conditions when objects or the subject are in motion. Hence, half-century after its formulation, it remains an unresolved problem whether and how the first stage of the modal model serves any useful function and how subsequent stages of the modal model receive inputs from the environment. Here, we propose a new conceptualization of human visual sensory memory by introducing an additional component whose reference-frame consists of motion-grouping based coordinates rather than retinotopic coordinates. We review data supporting this new model and discuss how it offers solutions to the paradoxes of the traditional model of sensory memory. PMID:27375519

Conceptualizing Conceptual Teaching: Practical Strategies for Large Instrumental Ensembles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Leonard

2016-01-01

Half a century ago, calls had already been made for instrumental ensemble directors to move beyond performance to include the teaching of musical concepts in the rehearsal hall. Relatively recent research, however, suggests that conceptual teaching remains relatively infrequent during rehearsals. Given the importance of teaching for long-term…

Social learning: medical student perceptions of geriatric house calls.

PubMed

Abbey, Linda; Willett, Rita; Selby-Penczak, Rachel; McKnight, Roberta

2010-01-01

Bandura's social learning theory provides a useful conceptual framework to understand medical students' perceptions of a house calls experience at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Social learning and role modeling reflect Liaison Committee on Medical Education guidelines for "Medical schools (to) ensure that the learning environment for medical students promotes the development of explicit and appropriate professional attributes (attitudes, behaviors, and identity) in their medical students." This qualitative study reports findings from open-ended survey questions from 123 medical students who observed a preceptor during house calls to elderly homebound patients. Their comments included reflections on the medical treatment as well as interactions with family and professional care providers. Student insights about the social learning process they experienced during house calls to geriatric patients characterized physician role models as dedicated, compassionate, and communicative. They also described patient care in the home environment as comprehensive, personalized, more relaxed, and comfortable. Student perceptions reflect an appreciation of the richness and complexity of details learned from home visits and social interaction with patients, families, and caregivers.

ACSYNT - A standards-based system for parametric, computer aided conceptual design of aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jayaram, S.; Myklebust, A.; Gelhausen, P.

1992-01-01

A group of eight US aerospace companies together with several NASA and NAVY centers, led by NASA Ames Systems Analysis Branch, and Virginia Tech's CAD Laboratory agreed, through the assistance of Americal Technology Initiative, in 1990 to form the ACSYNT (Aircraft Synthesis) Institute. The Institute is supported by a Joint Sponsored Research Agreement to continue the research and development in computer aided conceptual design of aircraft initiated by NASA Ames Research Center and Virginia Tech's CAD Laboratory. The result of this collaboration, a feature-based, parametric computer aided aircraft conceptual design code called ACSYNT, is described. The code is based on analysis routines begun at NASA Ames in the early 1970's. ACSYNT's CAD system is based entirely on the ISO standard Programmer's Hierarchical Interactive Graphics System and is graphics-device independent. The code includes a highly interactive graphical user interface, automatically generated Hermite and B-Spline surface models, and shaded image displays. Numerous features to enhance aircraft conceptual design are described.

Changing Faculty Perceptions and Perspectives: A Case Study at a Private, Midwestern, Liberal Arts University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimpel, Lucina

2010-01-01

This research was comprised of a case study conducted at Grand View University to determine faculty perceptions and perspectives of outcomes related to a Title III grant-funded, professional development program. The conceptual framework for the study was based on a systematic process called the logic model (W. K. Kellogg Foundation, 2004). A…

A Conceptual Model for Training After-School Program Staffers to Promote Physical Activity and Nutrition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Robert Glenn; Beets, Michael W.; Webster, Collin; Beighle, Aaron; Huberty, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Background: After-school programs (ASPs, 3 pm to 6 pm) have been called upon to increase the amount of daily physical activity children accumulate and improve the nutritional quality of the snacks served. To this end, state and national physical activity and nutrition (PAaN) policies have been proposed. Frontline staff who directly interact with…

A Person-in-Context Approach to Student Engagement in Science: Examining Learning Activities and Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Jennifer A.; Rosenberg, Joshua M.; Beymer, Patrick N.

2018-01-01

Science education reform efforts in the Unites States call for a dramatic shift in the way students are expected to engage with scientific concepts, core ideas, and practices in the classroom. This new vision of science learning demands a more complex conceptual understanding of student engagement and research models that capture both the…

Evolution of the Students' Conceptual Understanding in the Case of a Teaching Sequence in Mechanics: Concept of Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Küçüközer, Asuman

2006-01-01

This study aims to better understand the construction of the meaning of physics concepts in mechanics during a teaching sequence at the upper secondary school level. In the teaching sessions, students were introduced to the concepts of interaction and force. During this teaching sequence the models called "interactions" and "laws of…

A Conceptual Model for Youth-Led Programs as a Promising Approach to Early Childhood Care and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ponguta, Liliana Angelica; Rasheed, Muneera Abdul; Reyes, Chin Regina; Yousafzai, Aisha Khizar

2018-01-01

The international community has set forth global targets that include calls for universal access to high-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE), as indicated in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. One major impediment to achieving this target is the lack of a skilled workforce. In this paper, we argue the case for…

Links for Academic Learning (LAL): A Conceptual Model for Investigating Alignment of Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flowers, Claudia; Wakeman, Shawnee; Browder, Diane M.; Karvonen, Meagan

2009-01-01

This article describes an alignment procedure, called Links for Academic Learning (LAL), for examining the degree of alignment of alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) to grade-level content standards and instruction. Although some of the alignment criteria are similar to those used in general education…

Calling in Work: Secular or Sacred?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steger, Michael F.; Pickering, N. K.; Shin, J. Y.; Dik, B. J.

2010-01-01

Recent scholarship indicates that people who view their work as a calling are more satisfied with their work and their lives. Historically, calling has been regarded as a religious experience, although modern researchers frequently have adopted a more expansive and secular conceptualization of calling, emphasizing meaning and personal fulfillment…

Aerodynamic Modeling of Transonic Aircraft Using Vortex Lattice Coupled with Transonic Small Disturbance for Conceptual Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chaparro, Daniel; Fujiwara, Gustavo E. C.; Ting, Eric; Nguyen, Nhan

2016-01-01

The need to rapidly scan large design spaces during conceptual design calls for computationally inexpensive tools such as the vortex lattice method (VLM). Although some VLM tools, such as Vorview have been extended to model fully-supersonic flow, VLM solutions are typically limited to inviscid, subcritical flow regimes. Many transport aircraft operate at transonic speeds, which limits the applicability of VLM for such applications. This paper presents a novel approach to correct three-dimensional VLM through coupling of two-dimensional transonic small disturbance (TSD) solutions along the span of an aircraft wing in order to accurately predict transonic aerodynamic loading and wave drag for transport aircraft. The approach is extended to predict flow separation and capture the attenuation of aerodynamic forces due to boundary layer viscosity by coupling the TSD solver with an integral boundary layer (IBL) model. The modeling framework is applied to the NASA General Transport Model (GTM) integrated with a novel control surface known as the Variable Camber Continuous Trailing Edge Flap (VCCTEF).

Researching Social Capital in Education: Some Conceptual Considerations Relating to the Contribution of Network Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Moosung

2010-01-01

This article discusses conceptual considerations for social capital research in education from a social network perspective. Specifically, the article raises three key conceptual issues that call for further elaboration of concepts of social capital: redefining potential resources as accessible but un-utilized sources of social capital;…

Re-Conceptualizing ASD within a Dimensional Framework: Positive, Negative, and Cognitive Feature Clusters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foss-Feig, Jennifer H.; McPartland, James C.; Anticevic, Alan; Wolf, Julie

2016-01-01

Introduction of the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria and revision of diagnostic classification for Autism Spectrum Disorder in the latest diagnostic manual call for a new way of conceptualizing heterogeneous ASD features. We propose a novel conceptualization of ASD, borrowing from the schizophrenia literature in…

A Knowledge-Based and Model-Driven Requirements Engineering Approach to Conceptual Satellite Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dos Santos, Walter A.; Leonor, Bruno B. F.; Stephany, Stephan

Satellite systems are becoming even more complex, making technical issues a significant cost driver. The increasing complexity of these systems makes requirements engineering activities both more important and difficult. Additionally, today's competitive pressures and other market forces drive manufacturing companies to improve the efficiency with which they design and manufacture space products and systems. This imposes a heavy burden on systems-of-systems engineering skills and particularly on requirements engineering which is an important phase in a system's life cycle. When this is poorly performed, various problems may occur, such as failures, cost overruns and delays. One solution is to underpin the preliminary conceptual satellite design with computer-based information reuse and integration to deal with the interdisciplinary nature of this problem domain. This can be attained by taking a model-driven engineering approach (MDE), in which models are the main artifacts during system development. MDE is an emergent approach that tries to address system complexity by the intense use of models. This work outlines the use of SysML (Systems Modeling Language) and a novel knowledge-based software tool, named SatBudgets, to deal with these and other challenges confronted during the conceptual phase of a university satellite system, called ITASAT, currently being developed by INPE and some Brazilian universities.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Precarious Solidarity-Preferential Access in Canadian Health Care.

PubMed

Reid, Lynette

2017-06-01

Systems of universal health coverage may aspire to provide care based on need and not ability to pay; the complexities of this aspiration (conceptual, practical, and ethical) call for normative analysis. This special issue arises in the wake of a judicial inquiry into preferential access in the Canadian province of Alberta, the Vertes Commission. I describe this inquiry and set out a taxonomy of forms of differential and preferential access. Papers in this special issue focus on the conceptual specification of health system boundaries (the concept of medical need) and on the normative questions raised by complex models of funding and delivery of care, where patients, providers, and services cross system boundaries.

Hologram representation of design data in an expert system knowledge base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shiva, S. G.; Klon, Peter F.

1988-01-01

A novel representational scheme for design object descriptions is presented. An abstract notion of modules and signals is developed as a conceptual foundation for the scheme. This abstraction relates the objects to the meaning of system descriptions. Anchored on this abstraction, a representational model which incorporates dynamic semantics for these objects is presented. This representational model is called a hologram scheme since it represents dual level information, namely, structural and semantic. The benefits of this scheme are presented.

"But I'm Not a Racist!" Phenomenology, Racism, and the Body Schema in White, Pre-Service Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Tyson E.

2018-01-01

In this article, I call for a phenomenological turn in educating white, pre-service teachers. As opposed to dominant pedagogical models which focus on changing one's beliefs about race, phenomenology points toward the importance of pre-conceptual, pre-critical forms of racial embodiment. Here I draw upon recent work on the different between body…

Resilient cities: meaning, models, and metaphor for integrating the ecological, socio-economic, and planning realms

Treesearch

S.T.A. Pickett; M.L. Cadenasso; J.M. Grove

2004-01-01

Urban designers, ecologists, and social scientists have called for closer links among their disciplines. We examine a promising new tool for promoting this linkage—the metaphor of "cities of resilience." To put this tool to best use, we indicate how metaphor fits with other conceptual tools in science. We then present the two opposing definitions of...

Turning Teacher Education Upside Down: Enacting the Inversion of Teacher Preparation through the Symbiotic Relationship of Theory and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gelfuso, Andrea; Dennis, Danielle V.; Parker, Audra

2015-01-01

Recent calls for a shift to clinically-based models of teacher preparation prompt a research focus on the quality of classroom experiences in which pre-service teachers engage and the level to which theory and practice connect to inform those experiences. Developing a theoretical framework to conceptualize an approach to this work is an essential…

Misrepresentation and amendment of soil moisture in conceptual hydrological modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuo, Lu; Han, Dawei

2016-04-01

Although many conceptual models are very effective in simulating river runoff, their soil moisture schemes are generally not realistic in comparison with the reality (i.e., getting the right answers for the wrong reasons). This study reveals two significant misrepresentations in those models through a case study using the Xinanjiang model which is representative of many well-known conceptual hydrological models. The first is the setting of the upper limit of its soil moisture at the field capacity, due to the 'holding excess runoff' concept (i.e., runoff begins on repletion of its storage to the field capacity). The second is neglect of capillary rise of water movement. A new scheme is therefore proposed to overcome those two issues. The amended model is as effective as its original form in flow modelling, but represents more logically realistic soil water processes. The purpose of the study is to enable the hydrological model to get the right answers for the right reasons. Therefore, the new model structure has a better capability in potentially assimilating soil moisture observations to enhance its real-time flood forecasting accuracy. The new scheme is evaluated in the Pontiac catchment of the USA through a comparison with satellite observed soil moisture. The correlation between the XAJ and the observed soil moisture is enhanced significantly from 0.64 to 0.70. In addition, a new soil moisture term called SMDS (Soil Moisture Deficit to Saturation) is proposed to complement the conventional SMD (Soil Moisture Deficit).

Self-Regulated Learning: The Continuous-Change Conceptual Framework and a Vision of New Paradigm, Technology System, and Pedagogical Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huh, Yeol; Reigeluth, Charles M.

2017-01-01

A modified conceptual framework called the Continuous-Change Framework for self-regulated learning (SRL) is presented. Common elements and limitations among the past frameworks are discussed in relation to the modified conceptual framework. The iterative nature of the goal setting process and overarching presence of self-efficacy and motivational…

Greased Lightning (GL-10) Performance Flight Research: Flight Data Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McSwain, Robert G.; Glaab, Louis J.; Theodore, Colin R.; Rhew, Ray D. (Editor); North, David D. (Editor)

2017-01-01

Modern aircraft design methods have produced acceptable designs for large conventional aircraft performance. With revolutionary electronic propulsion technologies fueled by the growth in the small UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) industry, these same prediction models are being applied to new smaller, and experimental design concepts requiring a VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) capability for ODM (On Demand Mobility). A 50% sub-scale GL-10 flight model was built and tested to demonstrate the transition from hover to forward flight utilizing DEP (Distributed Electric Propulsion)[1][2]. In 2016 plans were put in place to conduct performance flight testing on the 50% sub-scale GL-10 flight model to support a NASA project called DELIVER (Design Environment for Novel Vertical Lift Vehicles). DELIVER was investigating the feasibility of including smaller and more experimental aircraft configurations into a NASA design tool called NDARC (NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft)[3]. This report covers the performance flight data collected during flight testing of the GL-10 50% sub-scale flight model conducted at Beaver Dam Airpark, VA. Overall the flight test data provides great insight into how well our existing conceptual design tools predict the performance of small scale experimental DEP concepts. Low fidelity conceptual design tools estimated the (L/D)( sub max)of the GL-10 50% sub-scale flight model to be 16. Experimentally measured (L/D)( sub max) for the GL-10 50% scale flight model was 7.2. The aerodynamic performance predicted versus measured highlights the complexity of wing and nacelle interactions which is not currently accounted for in existing low fidelity tools.

Integration of Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Secret Service/Department of Education Threat Assessment Models into a Conceptual Framework for Prevention of School Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Augustyniak, Kristine M.

2005-01-01

Professionals entered the 21st century with a heightened call to address school safety. Though notable contributions have been made to insure peaceful school communities through a wide range of primary and secondary prevention programs, research suggests that these programs are often an insufficient response to students who are at increased risk…

Mitigating hyperventilation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

PubMed

Nikolla, Dhimitri; Lewandowski, Tyler; Carlson, Jestin

2016-03-01

Although multiple airway management and ventilation strategies have been proposed during cardiac arrest, the ideal strategy is unknown. Current strategies call for advanced airways, such as endotracheal intubation and supraglottic airways. These may facilitate hyperventilation which is known to adversely affect cardiopulmonary physiology. We provide a summary of conceptual models linking hyperventilation to patient outcomes and identify methods for mitigating hyperventilation during cardiac arrest. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On Writing and Reading Artistic Computational Ecosystems.

PubMed

Antunes, Rui Filipe; Leymarie, Frederic Fol; Latham, William

2015-01-01

We study the use of the generative systems known as computational ecosystems to convey artistic and narrative aims. These are virtual worlds running on computers, composed of agents that trade units of energy and emulate cycles of life and behaviors adapted from biological life forms. In this article we propose a conceptual framework in order to understand these systems, which are involved in processes of authorship and interpretation that this investigation analyzes in order to identify critical instruments for artistic exploration. We formulate a model of narrative that we call system stories (after Mitchell Whitelaw), characterized by the dynamic network of material and conceptual processes that define these artefacts. They account for narrative constellations with multiple agencies from which meaning and messages emerge. Finally, we present three case studies to explore the potential of this model within an artistic and generative domain, arguing that this understanding expands and enriches the palette of the language of these systems.

Conceptualising forensic science and forensic reconstruction. Part I: A conceptual model.

PubMed

Morgan, R M

2017-11-01

There has been a call for forensic science to actively return to the approach of scientific endeavour. The importance of incorporating an awareness of the requirements of the law in its broadest sense, and embedding research into both practice and policy within forensic science, is arguably critical to achieving such an endeavour. This paper presents a conceptual model (FoRTE) that outlines the holistic nature of trace evidence in the 'endeavour' of forensic reconstruction. This model offers insights into the different components intrinsic to transparent, reproducible and robust reconstructions in forensic science. The importance of situating evidence within the whole forensic science process (from crime scene to court), of developing evidence bases to underpin each stage, of frameworks that offer insights to the interaction of different lines of evidence, and the role of expertise in decision making are presented and their interactions identified. It is argued that such a conceptual model has value in identifying the future steps for harnessing the value of trace evidence in forensic reconstruction. It also highlights that there is a need to develop a nuanced approach to reconstructions that incorporates both empirical evidence bases and expertise. A conceptual understanding has the potential to ensure that the endeavour of forensic reconstruction has its roots in 'problem-solving' science, and can offer transparency and clarity in the conclusions and inferences drawn from trace evidence, thereby enabling the value of trace evidence to be realised in investigations and the courts. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New parsimonious simulation methods and tools to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations

PubMed Central

Antle, John M.; Stoorvogel, Jetse J.; Valdivia, Roberto O.

2014-01-01

This article presents conceptual and empirical foundations for new parsimonious simulation models that are being used to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations. The conceptual framework integrates key features of the biophysical and economic processes on which the farming systems are based. The approach represents a methodological advance by coupling important behavioural processes, for example, self-selection in adaptive responses to technological and environmental change, with aggregate processes, such as changes in market supply and demand conditions or environmental conditions as climate. Suitable biophysical and economic data are a critical limiting factor in modelling these complex systems, particularly for the characterization of out-of-sample counterfactuals in ex ante analyses. Parsimonious, population-based simulation methods are described that exploit available observational, experimental, modelled and expert data. The analysis makes use of a new scenario design concept called representative agricultural pathways. A case study illustrates how these methods can be used to assess food and environmental security. The concluding section addresses generalizations of parametric forms and linkages of regional models to global models. PMID:24535388

New parsimonious simulation methods and tools to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations.

PubMed

Antle, John M; Stoorvogel, Jetse J; Valdivia, Roberto O

2014-04-05

This article presents conceptual and empirical foundations for new parsimonious simulation models that are being used to assess future food and environmental security of farm populations. The conceptual framework integrates key features of the biophysical and economic processes on which the farming systems are based. The approach represents a methodological advance by coupling important behavioural processes, for example, self-selection in adaptive responses to technological and environmental change, with aggregate processes, such as changes in market supply and demand conditions or environmental conditions as climate. Suitable biophysical and economic data are a critical limiting factor in modelling these complex systems, particularly for the characterization of out-of-sample counterfactuals in ex ante analyses. Parsimonious, population-based simulation methods are described that exploit available observational, experimental, modelled and expert data. The analysis makes use of a new scenario design concept called representative agricultural pathways. A case study illustrates how these methods can be used to assess food and environmental security. The concluding section addresses generalizations of parametric forms and linkages of regional models to global models.

Automating Structural Analysis of Spacecraft Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hrinda, Glenn A.

2004-01-01

A major effort within NASA's vehicle analysis discipline has been to automate structural analysis and sizing optimization during conceptual design studies of advanced spacecraft. Traditional spacecraft structural sizing has involved detailed finite element analysis (FEA) requiring large degree-of-freedom (DOF) finite element models (FEM). Creation and analysis of these models can be time consuming and limit model size during conceptual designs. The goal is to find an optimal design that meets the mission requirements but produces the lightest structure. A structural sizing tool called HyperSizer has been successfully used in the conceptual design phase of a reusable launch vehicle and planetary exploration spacecraft. The program couples with FEA to enable system level performance assessments and weight predictions including design optimization of material selections and sizing of spacecraft members. The software's analysis capabilities are based on established aerospace structural methods for strength, stability and stiffness that produce adequately sized members and reliable structural weight estimates. The software also helps to identify potential structural deficiencies early in the conceptual design so changes can be made without wasted time. HyperSizer's automated analysis and sizing optimization increases productivity and brings standardization to a systems study. These benefits will be illustrated in examining two different types of conceptual spacecraft designed using the software. A hypersonic air breathing, single stage to orbit (SSTO), reusable launch vehicle (RLV) will be highlighted as well as an aeroshell for a planetary exploration vehicle used for aerocapture at Mars. By showing the two different types of vehicles, the software's flexibility will be demonstrated with an emphasis on reducing aeroshell structural weight. Member sizes, concepts and material selections will be discussed as well as analysis methods used in optimizing the structure. Analysis based on the HyperSizer structural sizing software will be discussed. Design trades required to optimize structural weight will be presented.

Overview of MDX-A System for Medical Diagnosis

PubMed Central

Mittal, S.; Chandrasekaran, B.; Smith, J.

1979-01-01

We describe the design and performance of MDX, an experimental medical diagnosis system, which currently diagnoses in the syndrome called Cholestasis. The needed medical knowledge is represented in a scheme called conceptual structures, which can be viewed as a collection of conceptual experts interacting according to certain well-defined principles. MDX has three components: the diagnostic system, a patient data base and a radiology consultant. We describe these components, the inter-expert communication system and the query language used by these components. The system is illustrated by means of its performance on a real case.

Preliminary structural sizing of a Mach 3.0 high-speed civil transport model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackburn, Charles L.

1992-01-01

An analysis has been performed pertaining to the structural resizing of a candidate Mach 3.0 High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) conceptual design using a computer program called EZDESIT. EZDESIT is a computer program which integrates the PATRAN finite element modeling program to the COMET finite element analysis program for the purpose of calculating element sizes or cross sectional dimensions. The purpose of the present report is to document the procedure used in accomplishing the preliminary structural sizing and to present the corresponding results.

Teachers' Engagement with Research Texts: Beyond Instrumental, Conceptual or Strategic Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cain, Tim

2015-01-01

Recent policy statements have urged greater use of research to guide teaching, with some commentators calling for a "revolution" in evidence-based practice. Scholarly literature suggests that research can influence policy and practice in "instrumental," "conceptual" or "strategic" ways. This paper analyses…

The Invisible Impact of Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cain, Tim; Allan, David

2017-01-01

Although there are policy calls for educational research to discover "what works" and thereby inform decision making directly, the research literature argues instead for research to have a "conceptual" impact on practice. Empirical studies also suggest that, when teachers use research, their use is conceptual; research…

Callings in Career: A Typological Approach to Essential and Optional Components

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirschi, Andreas

2011-01-01

A sense of calling in career is supposed to have positive implications for individuals and organizations but current theoretical development is plagued with incongruent conceptualizations of what does or does not constitute a calling. The present study used cluster analysis to identify essential and optional components of a presence of calling…

Cyber Warfare as a Form of Conflict: Evaluation of Models of Cyber Conflict as a Prototype to Conceptual Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liles, Samuel P.

2012-01-01

In April 2007, what has been incorrectly called the first cyber war and since then referred more correctly as a cyber riot, an attack on the domain name systems and the various servers of Estonia occurred. It was perpetrated by ethnic Russians living in Estonia who were incensed by the movement of a bronze war memorial for Russian soldiers to a…

Spiritual AIM and the work of the chaplain: a model for assessing spiritual needs and outcomes in relationship.

PubMed

Shields, Michele; Kestenbaum, Allison; Dunn, Laura B

2015-02-01

Distinguishing the unique contributions and roles of chaplains as members of healthcare teams requires the fundamental step of articulating and critically evaluating conceptual models that guide practice. However, there is a paucity of well-described spiritual assessment models. Even fewer of the extant models prescribe interventions and describe desired outcomes corresponding to spiritual assessments. This article describes the development, theoretical underpinnings, and key components of one model, called the Spiritual Assessment and Intervention Model (Spiritual AIM). Three cases are presented that illustrate Spiritual AIM in practice. Spiritual AIM was developed over the past 20 years to address the limitations of existing models. The model evolved based in part on observing how different people respond to a health crisis and what kinds of spiritual needs appear to emerge most prominently during a health crisis. Spiritual AIM provides a conceptual framework for the chaplain to diagnose an individual's primary unmet spiritual need, devise and implement a plan for addressing this need through embodiment/relationship, and articulate and evaluate the desired and actual outcome of the intervention. Spiritual AIM's multidisciplinary theory is consistent with the goals of professional chaplaincy training and practice, which emphasize the integration of theology, recognition of interpersonal dynamics, cultural humility and competence, ethics, and theories of human development. Further conceptual and empirical work is needed to systematically refine, evaluate, and disseminate well-articulated spiritual assessment models such as Spiritual AIM. This foundational work is vital to advancing chaplaincy as a theoretically grounded and empirically rigorous healthcare profession.

Design Requirements for Communication-Intensive Interactive Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolchini, Davide; Garzotto, Franca; Paolini, Paolo

Online interactive applications call for new requirements paradigms to capture the growing complexity of computer-mediated communication. Crafting successful interactive applications (such as websites and multimedia) involves modeling the requirements for the user experience, including those leading to content design, usable information architecture and interaction, in profound coordination with the communication goals of all stakeholders involved, ranging from persuasion to social engagement, to call for action. To face this grand challenge, we propose a methodology for modeling communication requirements and provide a set of operational conceptual tools to be used in complex projects with multiple stakeholders. Through examples from real-life projects and lessons-learned from direct experience, we draw on the concepts of brand, value, communication goals, information and persuasion requirements to systematically guide analysts to master the multifaceted connections of these elements as drivers to inform successful communication designs.

Gender and Leadership: A Call to Action.

PubMed

Shea, Heather D; Renn, Kristen A

2017-06-01

In the final chapter of this volume, the authors provide a call to action for changes in the way educators conceptualize gender, particularly within the context of leadership development and education. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Structure and Content in Social Cognition: Conceptual and Empirical Analyses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edelstein, Wolfgang; And Others

1984-01-01

Conceptual analysis of two perspective-taking tasks identified a number of subtasks calling for equivalent operations of social reasoning within tasks of different content. Subtasks hypothetically formed a logical and developmental sequence of abilities required for decentering. The developmental significance of the hierarchy was tested among 121…

Measuring a conceptual model of the relationship between compulsive cell phone use, in-vehicle cell phone use, and motor vehicle crash.

PubMed

O'Connor, Stephen S; Shain, Lindsey M; Whitehill, Jennifer M; Ebel, Beth E

2017-02-01

Previous research suggests that anticipation of incoming phone calls or messages and impulsivity are significantly associated with motor vehicle crash. We took a more explanative approach to investigate a conceptual model regarding the direct and indirect effect of compulsive cell phone use and impulsive personality traits on crash risk. We recruited a sample of 307 undergraduate college students to complete an online survey that included measures of cell phone use, impulsivity, and history of motor vehicle crash. Using a structural equation model, we examined the direct and indirect relationships between factors of the Cell Phone Overuse Scale-II (CPOS-II), impulsivity, in-vehicle phone use, and severity and frequency of previous motor vehicle crash. Self-reported miles driven per week and year in college were included as covariates in the model. Our findings suggest that anticipation of incoming communication has a direct association with greater in-vehicle phone use, but was not directly or indirectly associated with increasing risk of previous motor vehicle crash. Of the three latent factors comprising the CPOS-II, only anticipation was significantly associated with elevated cell phone use while driving. Greater impulsivity and use of in-vehicle cell phone use while driving were directly and significantly associated with greater risk of motor vehicle crash. Anticipation of incoming cellular contacts (calls or texts) is associated with greater in-vehicle phone use, while greater in-vehicle cell phone use and impulsive traits are associated with elevated risk of motor vehicle crashes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does the Discussion of Socio-Scientific Issues require a Paradigm Shift in Science Teachers' Thinking?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Day, Stephen P.; Bryce, Tom G. K.

2011-08-01

The purpose of this study was to characterise secondary school science teachers' conceptual models of discussion, against the background that a number of researchers have found that discussion of socio-scientific issues in science classrooms is rare, somewhat discomforting for teachers and its purpose unclear. Recent research indicates that when science teachers do engage in socio-scientific discussion, the quality is poor and is teacher-centred where pupils' views do not figure prominently (far less be clarified and integrated with their scientific learning). This has led to calls for such dialogue to be conducted by humanities teachers. The question arising from such thinking is: Do science teachers hold different conceptual models of discussion from their humanities colleagues? Using semi-structured interviews, three groups each of six teachers (experienced science teachers, experienced humanities teachers, and newly qualified science teachers) were interviewed in-depth in order to characterise their conceptual understanding of discussion as a teaching strategy. Analysis of the interview transcripts utilised the constant comparison approach of grounded theory. Five conceptual models of discussion emerged from an analysis of the data-discussion: (1) as a teacher-mediated discourse; (2) as open-ended inquiry; (3) for the development of reasoning skills; (4) as mediated transfer of knowledge to real-life contexts; and (5) as practice for democratic citizenship. The results confirmed that the science teachers' emphasis tended to stress practice for democratic citizenship whereas the humanities teachers' emphasis was more towards open-ended inquiry and for the development of reasoning skills.

The impact of CmapTools utilization towards students' conceptual change on optics topic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rofiuddin, Muhammad Rifqi; Feranie, Selly

2017-05-01

Science teachers need to help students identify their prior ideas and modify them based on scientific knowledge. This process is called as conceptual change. One of essential tools to analyze students' conceptual change is by using concept map. Concept Maps are graphical representations of knowledge that are comprised of concepts and the relationships between them. Constructing concept map is implemented by adapting the role of technology to support learning process, as it is suitable with Educational Ministry Regulation No.68 year 2013. Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) has developed CmapTools, a client-server software for easily construct and visualize concept maps. This research aims to investigate secondary students' conceptual change after experiencing five-stage conceptual teaching model by utilizing CmapTools in learning Optics. Weak experimental method through one group pretest-posttest design is implemented in this study to collect preliminary and post concept map as qualitative data. Sample was taken purposively of 8th grade students (n= 22) at one of private schools Bandung, West Java. Conceptual change based on comparison of preliminary and post concept map construction is assessed based on rubric of concept map scoring and structure. Results shows significance conceptual change differences at 50.92 % that is elaborated into concept map element such as prepositions and hierarchical level in high category, cross links in medium category and specific examples in low category. All of the results are supported with the students' positive response towards CmapTools utilization that indicates improvement of motivation, interest, and behavior aspect towards Physics lesson.

Abnormal pressures as hydrodynamic phenomena

USGS Publications Warehouse

Neuzil, C.E.

1995-01-01

So-called abnormal pressures, subsurface fluid pressures significantly higher or lower than hydrostatic, have excited speculation about their origin since subsurface exploration first encountered them. Two distinct conceptual models for abnormal pressures have gained currency among earth scientists. The static model sees abnormal pressures generally as relict features preserved by a virtual absence of fluid flow over geologic time. The hydrodynamic model instead envisions abnormal pressures as phenomena in which flow usually plays an important role. This paper develops the theoretical framework for abnormal pressures as hydrodynamic phenomena, shows that it explains the manifold occurrences of abnormal pressures, and examines the implications of this approach. -from Author

Learning in Earth and Space Science: A Review of Conceptual Change Instructional Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Reece; Tomas, Louisa; Lewthwaite, Brian

2016-01-01

In response to calls for research into effective instruction in the Earth and space sciences, and to identify directions for future research, this systematic review of the literature explores research into instructional approaches designed to facilitate conceptual change. In total, 52 studies were identified and analyzed. Analysis focused on the…

Promoting Conceptual Development in Physics Teacher Education: Cognitive-Historical Reconstruction of Electromagnetic Induction Law

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mantyla, Terhi

2013-01-01

In teaching physics, the history of physics offers fruitful starting points for designing instruction. I introduce here an approach that uses historical cognitive processes to enhance the conceptual development of pre-service physics teachers' knowledge. It applies a method called cognitive-historical approach, introduced to the cognitive sciences…

Safe, Positive and Queering Moments in Teaching Education and Schooling: A Conceptual Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldstein, Tara; Russell, Vanessa; Daley, Andrea

2007-01-01

This article introduces a conceptual framework for thinking about the development of anti-homophobia education in teacher education and schooling contexts. We bring the safe, positive, and queering moments framework to bear on three distinct anti-homophobia education practices: coming out stories, homophobic name-calling analysis, and Pride Week…

A new framework for comprehensive, robust, and efficient global sensitivity analysis: 2. Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razavi, Saman; Gupta, Hoshin V.

2016-01-01

Based on the theoretical framework for sensitivity analysis called "Variogram Analysis of Response Surfaces" (VARS), developed in the companion paper, we develop and implement a practical "star-based" sampling strategy (called STAR-VARS), for the application of VARS to real-world problems. We also develop a bootstrap approach to provide confidence level estimates for the VARS sensitivity metrics and to evaluate the reliability of inferred factor rankings. The effectiveness, efficiency, and robustness of STAR-VARS are demonstrated via two real-data hydrological case studies (a 5-parameter conceptual rainfall-runoff model and a 45-parameter land surface scheme hydrology model), and a comparison with the "derivative-based" Morris and "variance-based" Sobol approaches are provided. Our results show that STAR-VARS provides reliable and stable assessments of "global" sensitivity across the full range of scales in the factor space, while being 1-2 orders of magnitude more efficient than the Morris or Sobol approaches.

“And Yet It Was a Blessing”: The Case for Existential Maturity

PubMed Central

Reddy, Neha; Hauser, Joshua; Sonnenfeld, Sarah B.

2017-01-01

Abstract We are interested in the kind of well-being that can occur as a person approaches death; we call it “existential maturity.” We describe a conceptual model of this state that we felt was realized in an individual case, illustrating the state by describing the case. Our goal is to articulate a generalizable, working model of existential maturity in concepts and terms taken from fundamentals of psychodynamic theory. We hope that a recognizable case and a model-based way of thinking about what was going on can both help guide care that fosters existential maturity and stimulate more theoretical modeling of the state. PMID:28128674

Evaluation of Alternative Conceptual Models Using Interdisciplinary Information: An Application in Shallow Groundwater Recharge and Discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Y.; Bajcsy, P.; Valocchi, A. J.; Kim, C.; Wang, J.

2007-12-01

Natural systems are complex, thus extensive data are needed for their characterization. However, data acquisition is expensive; consequently we develop models using sparse, uncertain information. When all uncertainties in the system are considered, the number of alternative conceptual models is large. Traditionally, the development of a conceptual model has relied on subjective professional judgment. Good judgment is based on experience in coordinating and understanding auxiliary information which is correlated to the model but difficult to be quantified into the mathematical model. For example, groundwater recharge and discharge (R&D) processes are known to relate to multiple information sources such as soil type, river and lake location, irrigation patterns and land use. Although hydrologists have been trying to understand and model the interaction between each of these information sources and R&D processes, it is extremely difficult to quantify their correlations using a universal approach due to the complexity of the processes, the spatiotemporal distribution and uncertainty. There is currently no single method capable of estimating R&D rates and patterns for all practical applications. Chamberlin (1890) recommended use of "multiple working hypotheses" (alternative conceptual models) for rapid advancement in understanding of applied and theoretical problems. Therefore, cross analyzing R&D rates and patterns from various estimation methods and related field information will likely be superior to using only a single estimation method. We have developed the Pattern Recognition Utility (PRU), to help GIS users recognize spatial patterns from noisy 2D image. This GIS plug-in utility has been applied to help hydrogeologists establish alternative R&D conceptual models in a more efficient way than conventional methods. The PRU uses numerical methods and image processing algorithms to estimate and visualize shallow R&D patterns and rates. It can provide a fast initial estimate prior to planning labor intensive and time consuming field R&D measurements. Furthermore, the Spatial Pattern 2 Learn (SP2L) was developed to cross analyze results from the PRU with ancillary field information, such as land coverage, soil type, topographic maps and previous estimates. The learning process of SP2L cross examines each initially recognized R&D pattern with the ancillary spatial dataset, and then calculates a quantifiable reliability index for each R&D map using a supervised machine learning technique called decision tree. This JAVA based software package is capable of generating alternative R&D maps if the user decides to apply certain conditions recognized by the learning process. The reliability indices from SP2L will improve the traditionally subjective approach to initiating conceptual models by providing objectively quantifiable conceptual bases for further probabilistic and uncertainty analyses. Both the PRU and SP2L have been designed to be user-friendly and universal utilities for pattern recognition and learning to improve model predictions from sparse measurements by computer-assisted integration of spatially dense geospatial image data and machine learning of model dependencies.

Is dust acoustic wave a new plasma acoustic mode?

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

Dwivedi, C.B.

1997-09-01

In this Brief Communication, the claim of the novelty of the dust acoustic wave in a dusty plasma within the constant dust charge model is questioned. Conceptual lacunas behind the claim have been highlighted and appropriate physical arguments have been forwarded against the claim. It is demonstrated that the so-called dust acoustic wave could better be termed as a general acoustic fluctuation response with a dominant characteristic feature of the acoustic-like mode (ALM) fluctuation response reported by Dwivedi {ital et al.} [J. Plasma Phys. {bold 41}, 219 (1989)]. It is suggested that both correct and more usable nomenclature of themore » ALM should be the so-called acoustic mode. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Medication-assisted recovery from opioid addiction: historical and contemporary perspectives.

PubMed

White, William L

2012-01-01

Recovery is being used as a conceptual fulcrum for the redesign of addiction treatment and related support services in the United States. Efforts by policy, research, and clinical leaders to define recovery and calls for assertive models of long-term recovery management raise critical questions about how transformation efforts of recovery-focused systems will affect the pharmacotherapeutic treatment of opioid addiction and the status of patients participating in such treatment. This article highlights recent work advocating a recovery-oriented approach to medication-assisted treatment.

Formal verification of mathematical software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutherland, D.

1984-01-01

Methods are investigated for formally specifying and verifying the correctness of mathematical software (software which uses floating point numbers and arithmetic). Previous work in the field was reviewed. A new model of floating point arithmetic called the asymptotic paradigm was developed and formalized. Two different conceptual approaches to program verification, the classical Verification Condition approach and the more recently developed Programming Logic approach, were adapted to use the asymptotic paradigm. These approaches were then used to verify several programs; the programs chosen were simplified versions of actual mathematical software.

Korean Secondary Students' Perception of Scientific Literacy as Global Citizens: Using Global Scientific Literacy Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mun, Kongju; Shin, Namsoo; Lee, Hyunju; Kim, Sung-Won; Choi, Kyunghee; Choi, Sung-Youn; Krajcik, Joseph S.

2015-01-01

We re-conceptualized the meaning of scientific literacy and developed an instrument, which we call the Global Scientific Literacy Questionnaire (GSLQ) based on a new conceptual framework for scientific literacy in the twenty-first century. We identified five dimensions, each with key elements. The five dimensions are (1) content knowledge (core…

The Contribution of Constructivist Instruction Accompanied by Concept Mapping in Enhancing Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of Chemistry in the Laboratory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydin, Sevgi; Aydemir, Nurdane; Boz, Yezdan; Cetin-Dindar, Ayla; Bektas, Oktay

2009-01-01

The present study aimed to evaluate whether a chemistry laboratory course called "Laboratory Experiments in Science Education" based on constructivist instruction accompanied with concept mapping enhanced pre-service chemistry teachers' conceptual understanding. Data were collected from five pre-service chemistry teachers at a university…

How to Help Students Conceptualize the Rigorous Definition of the Limit of a Sequence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roh, Kyeong Hah

2010-01-01

This article suggests an activity, called the epsilon-strip activity, as an instructional method for conceptualization of the rigorous definition of the limit of a sequence via visualization. The article also describes the learning objectives of each instructional step of the activity, and then provides detailed instructional methods to guide…

Conceptual Principles of Quality of Life: An Empirical Exploration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bramston, P.; Chipuer, H.; Pretty, G.

2005-01-01

Background: Quality of life is a popular measure of outcomes and its widespread use has led to recent calls for a better understanding of the construct, emphasizing the need to build a substantial body of knowledge around what determines perceptions of life quality. Three widely reported and used conceptual principles are examined in this study.…

An Industrial Educational Laboratory at Ducati Foundation: Narrative Approaches to Mechanics Based upon Continuum Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corni, Federico; Fuchs, Hans U.; Savino, Giovanni

2018-01-01

This is a description of the conceptual foundations used for designing a novel learning environment for mechanics implemented as an "Industrial Educational Laboratory"--called Fisica in Moto (FiM)--at the Ducati Foundation in Bologna. In this paper, we will describe the motivation for and design of the conceptual approach to mechanics…

Using formative research to conceptualize and develop a marketing plan for student health services.

PubMed

Stephenson, M T

1999-03-01

Conceptualization and development of a health services awareness campaign at the University of Kentucky followed the steps in a communication process called formative research. Preproduction surveys and subsequent testing of possible initiatives led to creation of a popular video featuring the university mascot that is being used in new-student orientation.

Personalizing knowledge delivery services: a conceptual framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Majchrzak, Ann; Chelleppa, Ramnath K.; Cooper, Lynne P.; Hars, Alexander

2003-01-01

Consistent with the call of the Minnesota Symposium for new theory in knowledge management, we offer a new conceptualization of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) as a portfolio of personalized knowledge delivery services. Borrowing from research on online consumer behavior, we describe the challenges imposed by personalized knowledge delivery services, and suggest design parameters that can help to overcome these challenges. We develop our design constructs through a set of hypotheses and discuss the research implications of our new conceptualization. Finally, we describe practical implications suggested by our conceptualization - practical suggestions that we hope to gain some experience with as part of an ongoing action research project at our partner organization.

Rethinking Transfer: Learning from CALL Teacher Education as Consequential Transition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chao, Chin-chi

2015-01-01

Behind CALL teacher education (CTE) there is an unproblematized consensus of transfer, which suggests a positivist and tool-centered view of learning gains that differs from the sociocultural focus of recent teacher education research. Drawing on Beach's (2003) conceptualization of transfer as "consequential transition," this qualitative…

Linguistic Globalization and the Call Center Industry: Imperialism, Hegemony or Cosmopolitanism?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sonntag, Selma K.

2009-01-01

Linguistic imperialism, linguistic hegemony and linguistic cosmopolitanism are broad and contrasting conceptualizations of linguistic globalization that are frequently, if implicitly, invoked in the literature, both academic and non-academic, on language practices and perceptions in the call center industry. I begin with outlining each of these…

Conceptualizing Skill within a Participatory Ecological Approach to Outdoor Adventure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mullins, Philip M.

2014-01-01

To answer calls for an ecological approach to outdoor adventure that can respond to the crisis of sustainability, this paper suggests greater theoretical and empirical attention to skill and skill development as shaping participant interactions with and experiences of environments, landscapes, places, and inhabitants. The paper reviews calls for…

The Distributive Property in Grade 3?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benson, Christine C.; Wall, Jennifer J.; Malm, Cheryl

2013-01-01

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) call for an in depth, integrated look at elementary school mathematical concepts. Some topics have been realigned to support an integration of topics leading to conceptual understanding. For example, the third-grade standards call for relating the concept of area (geometry) to multiplication…

The Endpoint Hypothesis: A Topological-Cognitive Assessment of Geographic Scale Movement Patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klippel, Alexander; Li, Rui

Movement patterns of individual entities at the geographic scale are becoming a prominent research focus in spatial sciences. One pertinent question is how cognitive and formal characterizations of movement patterns relate. In other words, are (mostly qualitative) formal characterizations cognitively adequate? This article experimentally evaluates movement patterns that can be characterized as paths through a conceptual neighborhood graph, that is, two extended spatial entities changing their topological relationship gradually. The central questions addressed are: (a) Do humans naturally use topology to create cognitive equivalent classes, that is, is topology the basis for categorizing movement patterns spatially? (b) Are ‘all’ topological relations equally salient, and (c) does language influence categorization. The first two questions are addressed using a modification of the endpoint hypothesis stating that: movement patterns are distinguished by the topological relation they end in. The third question addresses whether language has an influence on the classification of movement patterns, that is, whether there is a difference between linguistic and non-linguistic category construction. In contrast to our previous findings we were able to document the importance of topology for conceptualizing movement patterns but also reveal differences in the cognitive saliency of topological relations. The latter aspect calls for a weighted conceptual neighborhood graph to cognitively adequately model human conceptualization processes.

Conceptual Models in Health Informatics Research: A Literature Review and Suggestions for Development

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background Contributing to health informatics research means using conceptual models that are integrative and explain the research in terms of the two broad domains of health science and information science. However, it can be hard for novice health informatics researchers to find exemplars and guidelines in working with integrative conceptual models. Objectives The aim of this paper is to support the use of integrative conceptual models in research on information and communication technologies in the health sector, and to encourage discussion of these conceptual models in scholarly forums. Methods A two-part method was used to summarize and structure ideas about how to work effectively with conceptual models in health informatics research that included (1) a selective review and summary of the literature of conceptual models; and (2) the construction of a step-by-step approach to developing a conceptual model. Results The seven-step methodology for developing conceptual models in health informatics research explained in this paper involves (1) acknowledging the limitations of health science and information science conceptual models; (2) giving a rationale for one’s choice of integrative conceptual model; (3) explicating a conceptual model verbally and graphically; (4) seeking feedback about the conceptual model from stakeholders in both the health science and information science domains; (5) aligning a conceptual model with an appropriate research plan; (6) adapting a conceptual model in response to new knowledge over time; and (7) disseminating conceptual models in scholarly and scientific forums. Conclusions Making explicit the conceptual model that underpins a health informatics research project can contribute to increasing the number of well-formed and strongly grounded health informatics research projects. This explication has distinct benefits for researchers in training, research teams, and researchers and practitioners in information, health, and other disciplines. PMID:26912288

Conceptual Models in Health Informatics Research: A Literature Review and Suggestions for Development.

PubMed

Gray, Kathleen; Sockolow, Paulina

2016-02-24

Contributing to health informatics research means using conceptual models that are integrative and explain the research in terms of the two broad domains of health science and information science. However, it can be hard for novice health informatics researchers to find exemplars and guidelines in working with integrative conceptual models. The aim of this paper is to support the use of integrative conceptual models in research on information and communication technologies in the health sector, and to encourage discussion of these conceptual models in scholarly forums. A two-part method was used to summarize and structure ideas about how to work effectively with conceptual models in health informatics research that included (1) a selective review and summary of the literature of conceptual models; and (2) the construction of a step-by-step approach to developing a conceptual model. The seven-step methodology for developing conceptual models in health informatics research explained in this paper involves (1) acknowledging the limitations of health science and information science conceptual models; (2) giving a rationale for one's choice of integrative conceptual model; (3) explicating a conceptual model verbally and graphically; (4) seeking feedback about the conceptual model from stakeholders in both the health science and information science domains; (5) aligning a conceptual model with an appropriate research plan; (6) adapting a conceptual model in response to new knowledge over time; and (7) disseminating conceptual models in scholarly and scientific forums. Making explicit the conceptual model that underpins a health informatics research project can contribute to increasing the number of well-formed and strongly grounded health informatics research projects. This explication has distinct benefits for researchers in training, research teams, and researchers and practitioners in information, health, and other disciplines.

How are learning physics and student beliefs about learning physics connected? Measuring epistemological self-reflection in an introductory course and investigating its relationship to conceptual learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

May, David B.

2002-11-01

To explore students' epistemological beliefs in a variety of conceptual domains in physics, and in a specific and novel context of measurement, this Dissertation makes use of Weekly Reports, a class assignment in which students reflect in writing on what they learn each week and how they learn it. Reports were assigned to students in the introductory physics course for honors engineering majors at The Ohio State University in two successive years. The Weekly Reports of several students from the first year were analyzed for the kinds of epistemological beliefs exhibited therein, called epistemological self-reflection, and a coding scheme was developed for categorizing and quantifying this reflection. The connection between epistemological self-reflection and conceptual learning in physics seen in a pilot study was replicated in a larger study, in which the coded reflections from the Weekly Reports of thirty students were correlated with their conceptual learning gains. Although the total amount of epistemological self-reflection was not found to be related to conceptual gain, different kinds of epistemological self-reflection were. Describing learning physics concepts in terms of logical reasoning and making personal connections were positively correlated with gains; describing learning from authority figures or by observing phenomena without making inferences were negatively correlated. Linear regression equations were determined in order to quantify the effects on conceptual gain of specific ways of describing learning. In an experimental test of this model, the regression equations and the Weekly Report coding scheme developed from the first year's data were used to predict the conceptual gains of thirty students from the second year. The prediction was unsuccessful, possibly because these students were not given as much feedback on their reflections as were the first-year students. These results show that epistemological beliefs are important factors affecting the conceptual learning of physics students. Also, getting students to reflect meaningfully on their knowledge and learning is difficult and requires consistent feedback. Research into the epistemological beliefs of physics students in different contexts and from different populations can help us develop more complete models of epistemological beliefs, and ultimately improve the conceptual and epistemological knowledge of all students.

Towards elicitation of users requirements for hospital information system: from a care process modelling technique to a web based collaborative tool.

PubMed Central

Staccini, Pascal M.; Joubert, Michel; Quaranta, Jean-Francois; Fieschi, Marius

2002-01-01

Growing attention is being given to the use of process modeling methodology for user requirements elicitation. In the analysis phase of hospital information systems, the usefulness of care-process models has been investigated to evaluate the conceptual applicability and practical understandability by clinical staff and members of users teams. Nevertheless, there still remains a gap between users and analysts in their mutual ability to share conceptual views and vocabulary, keeping the meaning of clinical context while providing elements for analysis. One of the solutions for filling this gap is to consider the process model itself in the role of a hub as a centralized means of facilitating communication between team members. Starting with a robust and descriptive technique for process modeling called IDEF0/SADT, we refined the basic data model by extracting concepts from ISO 9000 process analysis and from enterprise ontology. We defined a web-based architecture to serve as a collaborative tool and implemented it using an object-oriented database. The prospects of such a tool are discussed notably regarding to its ability to generate data dictionaries and to be used as a navigation tool through the medium of hospital-wide documentation. PMID:12463921

Towards elicitation of users requirements for hospital information system: from a care process modelling technique to a web based collaborative tool.

PubMed

Staccini, Pascal M; Joubert, Michel; Quaranta, Jean-Francois; Fieschi, Marius

2002-01-01

Growing attention is being given to the use of process modeling methodology for user requirements elicitation. In the analysis phase of hospital information systems, the usefulness of care-process models has been investigated to evaluate the conceptual applicability and practical understandability by clinical staff and members of users teams. Nevertheless, there still remains a gap between users and analysts in their mutual ability to share conceptual views and vocabulary, keeping the meaning of clinical context while providing elements for analysis. One of the solutions for filling this gap is to consider the process model itself in the role of a hub as a centralized means of facilitating communication between team members. Starting with a robust and descriptive technique for process modeling called IDEF0/SADT, we refined the basic data model by extracting concepts from ISO 9000 process analysis and from enterprise ontology. We defined a web-based architecture to serve as a collaborative tool and implemented it using an object-oriented database. The prospects of such a tool are discussed notably regarding to its ability to generate data dictionaries and to be used as a navigation tool through the medium of hospital-wide documentation.

Don't panic--prepare: towards crisis-aware models of emergency department operations.

PubMed

Ceglowski, Red; Churilov, Leonid; Wasserheil, Jeff

2005-12-01

The existing models of Emergency Department (ED) operations that are based on the "flow-shop" management logic do not provide adequate decision support in dealing with the ED overcrowding crises. A conceptually different crisis-aware approach to ED modelling and operational decision support is introduced in this paper. It is based on Perrow's theory of "normal accidents" and calls for recognizing the inevitable nature of ED overcrowding crises within current health system setup. Managing the crisis before it happens--a standard approach in crisis management area--should become an integral part of ED operations management. The potential implications of adopting such a crisis-aware perspective for health services research and ED management are outlined.

Integration of multi-objective structural optimization into cementless hip prosthesis design: Improved Austin-Moore model.

PubMed

Kharmanda, G

2016-11-01

A new strategy of multi-objective structural optimization is integrated into Austin-Moore prosthesis in order to improve its performance. The new resulting model is so-called Improved Austin-Moore. The topology optimization is considered as a conceptual design stage to sketch several kinds of hollow stems according to the daily loading cases. The shape optimization presents the detailed design stage considering several objectives. Here, A new multiplicative formulation is proposed as a performance scale in order to define the best compromise between several requirements. Numerical applications on 2D and 3D problems are carried out to show the advantages of the proposed model.

An ecological process model of systems change.

PubMed

Peirson, Leslea J; Boydell, Katherine M; Ferguson, H Bruce; Ferris, Lorraine E

2011-06-01

In June 2007 the American Journal of Community Psychology published a special issue focused on theories, methods and interventions for systems change which included calls from the editors and authors for theoretical advancement in this field. We propose a conceptual model of systems change that integrates familiar and fundamental community psychology principles (succession, interdependence, cycling of resources, adaptation) and accentuates a process orientation. To situate our framework we offer a definition of systems change and a brief review of the ecological perspective and principles. The Ecological Process Model of Systems Change is depicted, described and applied to a case example of policy driven systems level change in publicly funded social programs. We conclude by identifying salient implications for thinking and action which flow from the Model.

Effects of the Physical Laboratory versus the Virtual Laboratory in Teaching Simple Electric Circuits on Conceptual Achievement and Attitudes Towards the Subject

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tekbiyik, Ahmet; Ercan, Orhan

2015-01-01

Current study examined the effects of virtual and physical laboratory practices on students' conceptual achievement in the subject of electricity and their attitudes towards simple electric circuits. Two groups (virtual and physical) selected through simple random sampling was taught with web-aided material called "Electricity in Our…

The Modular Modeling System (MMS): A modeling framework for water- and environmental-resources management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leavesley, G.H.; Markstrom, S.L.; Viger, R.J.

2004-01-01

The interdisciplinary nature and increasing complexity of water- and environmental-resource problems require the use of modeling approaches that can incorporate knowledge from a broad range of scientific disciplines. The large number of distributed hydrological and ecosystem models currently available are composed of a variety of different conceptualizations of the associated processes they simulate. Assessment of the capabilities of these distributed models requires evaluation of the conceptualizations of the individual processes, and the identification of which conceptualizations are most appropriate for various combinations of criteria, such as problem objectives, data constraints, and spatial and temporal scales of application. With this knowledge, "optimal" models for specific sets of criteria can be created and applied. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Modular Modeling System (MMS) is an integrated system of computer software that has been developed to provide these model development and application capabilities. MMS supports the integration of models and tools at a variety of levels of modular design. These include individual process models, tightly coupled models, loosely coupled models, and fully-integrated decision support systems. A variety of visualization and statistical tools are also provided. MMS has been coupled with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) object-oriented reservoir and river-system modeling framework, RiverWare, under a joint USGS-BOR program called the Watershed and River System Management Program. MMS and RiverWare are linked using a shared relational database. The resulting database-centered decision support system provides tools for evaluating and applying optimal resource-allocation and management strategies to complex, operational decisions on multipurpose reservoir systems and watersheds. Management issues being addressed include efficiency of water-resources management, environmental concerns such as meeting flow needs for endangered species, and optimizing operations within the constraints of multiple objectives such as power generation, irrigation, and water conservation. This decision support system approach is being developed, tested, and implemented in the Gunni-son, Yakima, San Juan, Rio Grande, and Truckee River basins of the western United States. Copyright ASCE 2004.

Instrumentalism, Ideals and Imaginaries: Theorising the Contested Space of Global Citizenship Education in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Harriet

2011-01-01

This paper exposes the tensions between different agendas and calls for what is loosely called "global citizenship education" by developing a set of sociological conceptual tools useful for engaging with associated educational forms and ideals. It presents the instrumentalist and normative agendas at play within global citizenship education…

An Analysis of Culturalism in Latino Mental Health: Folk Medicine as a Case in Point.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De La Cancela, Victor; Martinez, Iris Zavala

1983-01-01

Identifies limitations of culturalist perspective often advocated by Latino mental health workers outlines folk healing practices they favor. Notes that culturalist perspective suffers from ahistorical/asocial/static conceptualization, and lacks analysis of class/sex/structural dimensions of so-called cultural expressions. Calls for recognition of…

Cognitive Modeling of Social Behaviors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancey, William J.; Sierhuis, Maarten; Damer. Bruce; Brodsky, Boris

2004-01-01

The driving theme of cognitive modeling for many decades has been that knowledge affects how and which goals are accomplished by an intelligent being (Newell 1991). But when one examines groups of people living and working together, one is forced to recognize that whose knowledge is called into play, at a particular time and location, directly affects what the group accomplishes. Indeed, constraints on participation, including roles, procedures, and norms, affect whether an individual is able to act at all (Lave & Wenger 1991; Jordan 1992; Scribner & Sachs 1991). To understand both individual cognition and collective activity, perhaps the greatest opportunity today is to integrate the cognitive modeling approach (which stresses how beliefs are formed and drive behavior) with social studies (which stress how relationships and informal practices drive behavior). The crucial insight is that norms are conceptualized in the individual &nd as ways of carrying out activities (Clancey 1997a, 2002b). This requires for the psychologist a shift from only modeling goals and tasks - why people do what they do - to modeling behavioral patterns-what people do-as they are engaged in purposeful activities. Instead of a model that exclusively deduces actions from goals, behaviors are also, if not primarily, driven by broader patterns of chronological and located activities (akin to scripts). This analysis is particular inspired by activity theory (Leont ev 1979). While acknowledging that knowledge (relating goals and operations) is fundamental for intelligent behavior, activity theory claims that a broader driver is the person s motives and conceptualization of activities. Such understanding of human interaction is normative (i.e., viewed with respect to social standards), affecting how knowledge is called into play and applied in practice. Put another way, how problems are discovered and framed, what methods are chosen, and indeed who even cares or has the authority to act, are all constrained by norms, which are conceived and enacted by individuals.

Negotiating energy dynamics through embodied action in a materially structured environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherr, Rachel E.; Close, Hunter G.; Close, Eleanor W.; Flood, Virginia J.; McKagan, Sarah B.; Robertson, Amy D.; Seeley, Lane; Wittmann, Michael C.; Vokos, Stamatis

2013-12-01

We provide evidence that a learning activity called Energy Theater engages learners with key conceptual issues in the learning of energy, including disambiguating matter flow and energy flow and theorizing mechanisms for energy transformation. A participationist theory of learning, in which learning is indicated by changes in speech and behavior, supports ethnographic analysis of learners’ embodied interactions with each other and the material setting. We conduct detailed analysis to build plausible causal links between specific features of Energy Theater and the conceptual engagement that we observe. Disambiguation of matter and energy appears to be promoted especially by the material structure of the Energy Theater environment, in which energy is represented by participants, while objects are represented by areas demarcated by loops of rope. Theorizing mechanisms of energy transformation is promoted especially by Energy Theater’s embodied action, which necessitates modeling the time ordering of energy transformations.

Multiscale analysis of restoration priorities for marine shoreline planning.

PubMed

Diefenderfer, Heida L; Sobocinski, Kathryn L; Thom, Ronald M; May, Christopher W; Borde, Amy B; Southard, Susan L; Vavrinec, John; Sather, Nichole K

2009-10-01

Planners are being called on to prioritize marine shorelines for conservation status and restoration action. This study documents an approach to determining the management strategy most likely to succeed based on current conditions at local and landscape scales. The conceptual framework based in restoration ecology pairs appropriate restoration strategies with sites based on the likelihood of producing long-term resilience given the condition of ecosystem structures and processes at three scales: the shorezone unit (site), the drift cell reach (nearshore marine landscape), and the watershed (terrestrial landscape). The analysis is structured by a conceptual ecosystem model that identifies anthropogenic impacts on targeted ecosystem functions. A scoring system, weighted by geomorphic class, is applied to available spatial data for indicators of stress and function using geographic information systems. This planning tool augments other approaches to prioritizing restoration, including historical conditions and change analysis and ecosystem valuation.

Conceptual search in electronic patient record.

PubMed

Baud, R H; Lovis, C; Ruch, P; Rassinoux, A M

2001-01-01

Search by content in a large corpus of free texts in the medical domain is, today, only partially solved. The so-called GREP approach (Get Regular Expression and Print), based on highly efficient string matching techniques, is subject to inherent limitations, especially its inability to recognize domain specific knowledge. Such methods oblige the user to formulate his or her query in a logical Boolean style; if this constraint is not fulfilled, the results are poor. The authors present an enhancement to string matching search by the addition of a light conceptual model behind the word lexicon. The new system accepts any sentence as a query and radically improves the quality of results. Efficiency regarding execution time is obtained at the expense of implementing advanced indexing algorithms in a pre-processing phase. The method is described and commented and a brief account of the results illustrates this paper.

Social Anhedonia Is Not Just Extreme Introversion: Empirical Evidence of Distinct Constructs.

PubMed

Martin, Elizabeth A; Cicero, David C; Bailey, Drew H; Karcher, Nicole R; Kerns, John G

2016-08-01

Social anhedonia and introversion, two closely related constructs associated with decreased positive emotions and decreased sociability, are common in schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorders. In light of a myriad of mixed findings regarding positive emotionality in anhedonia, there has been a call to reconceptualize "anhedonia." To clarify the nature of social anhedonia, we used confirmatory factor analysis to investigate the relationship between social anhedonia and introversion. Findings were consistent with the conceptualization of social anhedonia as a separate construct from introversion-the best fitting model was one in which social anhedonia and introversion measures loaded separately. Also consistent with the conceptualization of social anhedonia as separate, we found evidence that it was associated with aspects of alexithymia above and beyond any relationship with introversion. Overall, these results have implications for the understanding of social anhedonia and for the use of it as a discriminating factor between personality disorders characterized by introversion.

An agent-based hydroeconomic model to evaluate water policies in Jordan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, J.; Gorelick, S.

2014-12-01

Modern water systems can be characterized by a complex network of institutional and private actors that represent competing sectors and interests. Identifying solutions to enhance water security in such systems calls for analysis that can adequately account for this level of complexity and interaction. Our work focuses on the development of a hierarchical, multi-agent, hydroeconomic model that attempts to realistically represent complex interactions between hydrologic and multi-faceted human systems. The model is applied to Jordan, one of the most water-poor countries in the world. In recent years, the water crisis in Jordan has escalated due to an ongoing drought and influx of refugees from regional conflicts. We adopt a modular approach in which biophysical modules simulate natural and engineering phenomena, and human modules represent behavior at multiple scales of decision making. The human modules employ agent-based modeling, in which agents act as autonomous decision makers at the transboundary, state, organizational, and user levels. A systematic nomenclature and conceptual framework is used to characterize model agents and modules. Concepts from the Unified Modeling Language (UML) are adopted to promote clear conceptualization of model classes and process sequencing, establishing a foundation for full deployment of the integrated model in a scalable object-oriented programming environment. Although the framework is applied to the Jordanian water context, it is generalizable to other regional human-natural freshwater supply systems.

Information model for digital exchange of soil-related data - potential modifications on ISO 28258

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulz, Sina; Eberhardt, Einar; Reznik, Tomas

2017-04-01

ABSTRACT The International Standard ISO 28258 "Digital exchange of soil-related data" provides an information model that describes the organization of soil data to facilitate data transfer between data producers, holders and users. The data model contains a fixed set of "core" soil feature types, data types and properties, whereas its customization is on the data provider level, e.g. by adding user-specific properties. Rules for encoding these information are given by a customized XML-based format (called "SoilML"). Some technical shortcomings are currently under consideration in the ISO working group. Directly after publication of ISO 28258 in 2013, also several conceptual and implementation issues concerning the information model had been identified, such as renaming of feature types, modification of data types, and enhancement of definitions or addition of super-classes are part of the current revision process. Conceptual changes for the current ISO data model that are compatible with the Australian/New Zealand soil data model ANZSoilML and the EU INSPIRE Data Specifications Soil are also discussed. The concept of a model with a limited set of properties that can be extended by the data provider should remain unaffected. This presentation aims to introduce and comment on the current ISO soil information model and the proposed modifications. Moreover, we want to discuss these adjustments with respect to enhanced applicability of this International Standard.

Datacomputer Project

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-06-30

assigned small inte- gers called Job File Numbers or JFNs with which future references are made. Since the name of the device on which a file...what could reasonably be called the "Datacomputer proper", and are the primary output of the Datacomputer project. They are conceptually and func...sections, each of which is broken into 512 word blocks called pages. When the Request Handler - 18 - MHM^MMMMMM 1 P ■■" Li..i..ii.i »I

Models as Relational Categories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kokkonen, Tommi

2017-11-01

Model-based learning (MBL) has an established position within science education. It has been found to enhance conceptual understanding and provide a way for engaging students in authentic scientific activity. Despite ample research, few studies have examined the cognitive processes regarding learning scientific concepts within MBL. On the other hand, recent research within cognitive science has examined the learning of so-called relational categories. Relational categories are categories whose membership is determined on the basis of the common relational structure. In this theoretical paper, I argue that viewing models as relational categories provides a well-motivated cognitive basis for MBL. I discuss the different roles of models and modeling within MBL (using ready-made models, constructive modeling, and generative modeling) and discern the related cognitive aspects brought forward by the reinterpretation of models as relational categories. I will argue that relational knowledge is vital in learning novel models and in the transfer of learning. Moreover, relational knowledge underlies the coherent, hierarchical knowledge of experts. Lastly, I will examine how the format of external representations may affect the learning of models and the relevant relations. The nature of the learning mechanisms underlying students' mental representations of models is an interesting open question to be examined. Furthermore, the ways in which the expert-like knowledge develops and how to best support it is in need of more research. The discussion and conceptualization of models as relational categories allows discerning students' mental representations of models in terms of evolving relational structures in greater detail than previously done.

Methods of Conceptual Clustering and their Relation to Numerical Taxonomy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-22

the conceptual clustering problem is to first solve theaggregation problem, and then the characterization problem. In machine learning, the...cluster- ings by first generating some number of possible clusterings. For each clustering generated, one calls a learning from examples subroutine, which...class 1 from class 2, and vice versa, only the first combination implies a partition over the set of theoretically possible objects. The first

Conceptualizing Group Dynamics from Our Clients' Perspective: Development of the Conceptualization of Group Dynamics Inventory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tate, Kevin A.; Rivera, Edil Torres; Conwill, William L.; Miller, M. David; Puig, Ana

2013-01-01

There is a clear call in group counseling practice and training for evidence-based practice (ACA, 2005; ASGW, 2008; CACREP, 2009). At the same time, group counselors also are asked to keep clients' experience at the center of their work (ASGW, 2012). This article outlines the authors' effort to develop and study an instrument designed to measure…

Investigating the Relationship between Instructors' Use of Active-Learning Strategies and Students' Conceptual Understanding and Affective Changes in Introductory Biology: A Comparison of Two Active-Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cleveland, Lacy M.; Olimpo, Jeffrey T.; DeChenne-Peters, Sue Ellen

2017-01-01

In response to calls for reform in undergraduate biology education, we conducted research examining how varying active-learning strategies impacted students' conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in two sections of a large-lecture introductory cell and molecular biology course. Using a quasi-experimental design, we collected…

Education Funding and Student Outcomes: A Conceptual Framework for Measurement of the Alignment of State Education Finance and Academic Accountability Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knoeppel, Robert C.; Della Sala, Matthew R.

2015-01-01

The conceptualization and measurement of education finance equity and adequacy has engaged researchers for more than three decades. At the same time, calls for increased academic accountability and higher student achievement in K-12 public education have reached new levels at both the national and state levels. Aligning these represents an…

A Call for Integrated and Coordinated Palliative Care

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Abstract Integrated palliative care is viewed as having the potential to improve service coordination, efficiency, and quality outcomes for patients and family carers. However, the majority of Canadians do not have access to regional, comprehensive, integrated palliative care. Work needs to be directed toward planning palliative care services that is integrated into the healthcare and social care system. To further this goal, it is important to have a conceptual understanding of the meaning of integrated care and its expression in organizational models for the provision of palliative care. PMID:29283874

The Challenges to Coupling Dynamic Geospatial Models

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

Goldstein, N

2006-06-23

Many applications of modeling spatial dynamic systems focus on a single system and a single process, ignoring the geographic and systemic context of the processes being modeled. A solution to this problem is the coupled modeling of spatial dynamic systems. Coupled modeling is challenging for both technical reasons, as well as conceptual reasons. This paper explores the benefits and challenges to coupling or linking spatial dynamic models, from loose coupling, where information transfer between models is done by hand, to tight coupling, where two (or more) models are merged as one. To illustrate the challenges, a coupled model of Urbanizationmore » and Wildfire Risk is presented. This model, called Vesta, was applied to the Santa Barbara, California region (using real geospatial data), where Urbanization and Wildfires occur and recur, respectively. The preliminary results of the model coupling illustrate that coupled modeling can lead to insight into the consequences of processes acting on their own.« less

Introduction of the 2nd Phase of the Integrated Hydrologic Model Intercomparison Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kollet, Stefan; Maxwell, Reed; Dages, Cecile; Mouche, Emmanuel; Mugler, Claude; Paniconi, Claudio; Park, Young-Jin; Putti, Mario; Shen, Chaopeng; Stisen, Simon; Sudicky, Edward; Sulis, Mauro; Ji, Xinye

2015-04-01

The 2nd Phase of the Integrated Hydrologic Model Intercomparison Project commenced in June 2013 with a workshop at Bonn University funded by the German Science Foundation and US National Science Foundation. Three test cases were defined and compared that are available online at www.hpsc-terrsys.de including a tilted v-catchment case; a case called superslab based on multiple slab-heterogeneities in the hydraulic conductivity along a hillslope; and the Borden site case, based on a published field experiment. The goal of this phase is to further interrogate the coupling of surface-subsurface flow implemented in various integrated hydrologic models; and to understand and quantify the impact of differences in the conceptual and technical implementations on the simulation results, which may constitute an additional source of uncertainty. The focus has been broadened considerably including e.g. saturated and unsaturated subsurface storages, saturated surface area, ponded surface storage in addition to discharge, and pressure/saturation profiles and cross-sections. Here, first results are presented and discussed demonstrating the conceptual and technical challenges in implementing essentially the same governing equations describing highly non-linear moisture redistribution processes and surface-groundwater interactions.

HELIOGate, a Portal for the Heliophysics Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierantoni; Gabriele; Carley, Eoin

2014-10-01

Heliophysics is the branch of physics that investigates the interactions between the Sun and the other bodies of the solar system. Heliophysicists rely on data collected from numerous sources scattered across the Solar System. The data collected from these sources is processed to extract metadata and the metadata extracted in this fashion is then used to build indexes of features and events called catalogues. Heliophysicists also develop conceptual and mathematical models of the phenomena and the environment of the Solar System. More specifically, they investigate the physical characteristics of the phenomena and they simulate how they propagate throughout the Solar System with mathematical and physical abstractions called propagation models. HELIOGate aims at addressing the need to combine and orchestrate existing web services in a flexible and easily configurable fashion to tackle different scientific questions. HELIOGate also offers a tool capable of connecting to size! able computation and storage infrastructures to execute data processing codes that are needed to calibrate raw data and to extract metadata.

A drug procurement, storage and distribution model in public hospitals in a developing country.

PubMed

Kjos, Andrea L; Binh, Nguyen Thanh; Robertson, Caitlin; Rovers, John

2016-01-01

There is growing interest in pharmaceutical supply chains and distribution of medications at national and international levels. Issues of access and efficiency have been called into question. However, evaluations of system outcomes are not possible unless there are contextual data to describe the systems in question. Available guidelines provided by international advisory bodies such as the World Health Organization and the International Pharmacy Federation may be useful for developing countries like Vietnam when seeking to describe the pharmaceutical system. The purpose of this study was to describe a conceptual model for drug procurement, storage, and distribution in four government-owned hospitals in Vietnam. This study was qualitative and used semi-structured interviews with key informants from within the Vietnamese pharmaceutical system. Translated transcriptions were used to conduct a content analysis of the data. A conceptual model for the Vietnamese pharmaceutical system was described using structural and functional components. This model showed that in Vietnam, governmental policy influences the structural framework of the system, but allows for flexibility at the functional level of practice. Further, this model can be strongly differentiated from the models described by international advisory bodies. This study demonstrates a method for health care systems to describe their own models of drug distribution to address quality assurance, systems design and benchmarking for quality improvement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aerodynamics model for a generic ASTOVL lift-fan aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birckelbaw, Lourdes G.; Mcneil, Walter E.; Wardwell, Douglas A.

1995-01-01

This report describes the aerodynamics model used in a simulation model of an advanced short takeoff and vertical landing (ASTOVL) lift-fan fighter aircraft. The simulation model was developed for use in piloted evaluations of transition and hover flight regimes, so that only low speed (M approximately 0.2) aerodynamics are included in the mathematical model. The aerodynamic model includes the power-off aerodynamic forces and moments and the propulsion system induced aerodynamic effects, including ground effects. The power-off aerodynamics data were generated using the U.S. Air Force Stability and Control Digital DATCOM program and a NASA Ames in-house graphics program called VORVIEW which allows the user to easily analyze arbitrary conceptual aircraft configurations using the VORLAX program. The jet-induced data were generated using the prediction methods of R. E. Kuhn et al., as referenced in this report.

A conceptual framework for dynamic extension of the red clearance interval as a countermeasure for red-light-running.

PubMed

Gates, Timothy J; Noyce, David A

2016-11-01

This manuscript describes the development and evaluation of a conceptual framework for real-time operation of dynamic on-demand extension of the red clearance interval as a countermeasure for red-light-running. The framework includes a decision process for determining, based on the real-time status of vehicles arriving at the intersection, when extension of the red clearance interval should occur and the duration of each extension. A zonal classification scheme was devised to assess whether an approaching vehicle requires additional time to safely clear the intersection based on the remaining phase time, type of vehicle, current speed, and current distance from the intersection. Expected performance of the conceptual framework was evaluated through modeling of replicated field operations using vehicular event data collected as part of this research. The results showed highly accurate classification of red-light-running vehicles needing additional clearance time and relatively few false extension calls from stopping vehicles, thereby minimizing the expected impacts to signal and traffic operations. Based on the recommended parameters, extension calls were predicted to occur once every 26.5cycles. Assuming a 90scycle, 1.5 extensions per hour were expected per approach, with an estimated extension time of 2.30s/h. Although field implementation was not performed, it is anticipated that long-term reductions in targeted red-light-running conflicts and crashes will likely occur if red clearance interval extension systems are implemented at locations where start-up delay on the conflicting approach is generally minimal, such as intersections with lag left-turn phasing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heuristic Programming Project: October 1979-September 1982

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-03-27

the research on ROGET focused on acquiring the initial conceptual structure needed to design the knowedge base in the first place. ROGET’s special...the user in constructing and specifying the details of the components. A component is a collection of functions and variables that support conceptual ...other framwork , called the Backchain framework, is for building programs that use backward-chaind production rules as the primary mechanism of generating

Towards a category theory approach to analogy: Analyzing re-representation and acquisition of numerical knowledge.

PubMed

Navarrete, Jairo A; Dartnell, Pablo

2017-08-01

Category Theory, a branch of mathematics, has shown promise as a modeling framework for higher-level cognition. We introduce an algebraic model for analogy that uses the language of category theory to explore analogy-related cognitive phenomena. To illustrate the potential of this approach, we use this model to explore three objects of study in cognitive literature. First, (a) we use commutative diagrams to analyze an effect of playing particular educational board games on the learning of numbers. Second, (b) we employ a notion called coequalizer as a formal model of re-representation that explains a property of computational models of analogy called "flexibility" whereby non-similar representational elements are considered matches and placed in structural correspondence. Finally, (c) we build a formal learning model which shows that re-representation, language processing and analogy making can explain the acquisition of knowledge of rational numbers. These objects of study provide a picture of acquisition of numerical knowledge that is compatible with empirical evidence and offers insights on possible connections between notions such as relational knowledge, analogy, learning, conceptual knowledge, re-representation and procedural knowledge. This suggests that the approach presented here facilitates mathematical modeling of cognition and provides novel ways to think about analogy-related cognitive phenomena.

Towards a category theory approach to analogy: Analyzing re-representation and acquisition of numerical knowledge

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Category Theory, a branch of mathematics, has shown promise as a modeling framework for higher-level cognition. We introduce an algebraic model for analogy that uses the language of category theory to explore analogy-related cognitive phenomena. To illustrate the potential of this approach, we use this model to explore three objects of study in cognitive literature. First, (a) we use commutative diagrams to analyze an effect of playing particular educational board games on the learning of numbers. Second, (b) we employ a notion called coequalizer as a formal model of re-representation that explains a property of computational models of analogy called “flexibility” whereby non-similar representational elements are considered matches and placed in structural correspondence. Finally, (c) we build a formal learning model which shows that re-representation, language processing and analogy making can explain the acquisition of knowledge of rational numbers. These objects of study provide a picture of acquisition of numerical knowledge that is compatible with empirical evidence and offers insights on possible connections between notions such as relational knowledge, analogy, learning, conceptual knowledge, re-representation and procedural knowledge. This suggests that the approach presented here facilitates mathematical modeling of cognition and provides novel ways to think about analogy-related cognitive phenomena. PMID:28841643

MPF: A portable message passing facility for shared memory multiprocessors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malony, Allen D.; Reed, Daniel A.; Mcguire, Patrick J.

1987-01-01

The design, implementation, and performance evaluation of a message passing facility (MPF) for shared memory multiprocessors are presented. The MPF is based on a message passing model conceptually similar to conversations. Participants (parallel processors) can enter or leave a conversation at any time. The message passing primitives for this model are implemented as a portable library of C function calls. The MPF is currently operational on a Sequent Balance 21000, and several parallel applications were developed and tested. Several simple benchmark programs are presented to establish interprocess communication performance for common patterns of interprocess communication. Finally, performance figures are presented for two parallel applications, linear systems solution, and iterative solution of partial differential equations.

The ABLe change framework: a conceptual and methodological tool for promoting systems change.

PubMed

Foster-Fishman, Pennie G; Watson, Erin R

2012-06-01

This paper presents a new approach to the design and implementation of community change efforts like a System of Care. Called the ABLe Change Framework, the model provides simultaneous attention to the content and process of the work, ensuring effective implementation and the pursuit of systems change. Three key strategies are employed in this model to ensure the integration of content and process efforts and effective mobilization of broad scale systems change: Systemic Action Learning Teams, Simple Rules, and Small Wins. In this paper we describe the ABLe Change Framework and present a case study in which we successfully applied this approach to one system of care effort in Michigan.

ONCHIT security in distributed environments: a proposed model for implantable devices.

PubMed

Lorence, Daniel; Lee, James; Richards, Michael

2010-08-01

Recent ONCHIT mandates call for increased individual health data collection efforts as well as heightened security measures. To date most healthcare organizations have been reluctant to exchange information, citing confidentiality concerns and unshared costs incurred by specific organizations. Implantable monitoring and treatment devices are rapidly emerging as data collection interface tools in response to such mandates. Proposed here is a translational, device-independent consumer-based solution, which focuses on information controlled by specific patients, and functions within a distributed (organization neutral) environment. While the conceptual applications employed in this technology set are provided by way of illustration, they may also serve as a transformative model for emerging EMR/EHR requirements.

Framework for a clinical information system.

PubMed

Van de Velde, R

2000-01-01

The current status of our work towards the design and implementation of a reference architecture for a Clinical Information System is presented. This architecture has been developed and implemented based on components following a strong underlying conceptual and technological model. Common Object Request Broker and n-tier technology featuring centralised and departmental clinical information systems as the back-end store for all clinical data are used. Servers located in the 'middle' tier apply the clinical (business) model and application rules to communicate with so-called 'thin client' workstations. The main characteristics are the focus on modelling and reuse of both data and business logic as there is a shift away from data and functional modelling towards object modelling. Scalability as well as adaptability to constantly changing requirements via component driven computing are the main reasons for that approach.

A Conceptual Overview of the History of the CALICO Journal: The Phases of CALL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, Robert

2013-01-01

Over the 30-year history of the "CALICO Journal", various areas of research and development in CALL have come to the fore in articles published in the journal at different points in time. These areas, which reflect the general concerns of the profession, can be conveniently categorized under the general acronym of ICT: Information and…

A Call for Onto-Epistemological Diversity in Early Childhood Education and Care: Centering Global South Conceptualizations of Childhood/s

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pérez, Michelle Salazar; Saavedra, Cinthya M.

2017-01-01

In this chapter, we call for onto-epistemological diversity in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Specifically, we discuss the need to center the brilliance of children and communities of color, which we argue, can be facilitated by foregrounding global south perspectives, such as Black and Chicana feminisms. Mainstream…

The role of conceptual knowledge in understanding synaesthesia: Evaluating contemporary findings from a “hub-and-spokes” perspective

PubMed Central

Chiou, Rocco

2014-01-01

Synesthesia is a phenomenon in which stimulation in one sensory modality triggers involuntary experiences typically not associated with that stimulation. Inducing stimuli (inducers) and synesthetic experiences (concurrents) may occur within the same modality (e.g., seeing colors while reading achromatic text) or span across different modalities (e.g., tasting flavors while listening to music). Although there has been considerable progress over the last decade in understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms of synesthesia, the focus of current neurocognitive models of synesthesia does not encompass many crucial psychophysical characteristics documented in behavioral research. Prominent theories of the neurophysiological basis of synesthesia construe it as a perceptual phenomenon and hence focus primarily on the modality-specific brain regions for perception. Many behavioral studies, however, suggest an essential role for conceptual-level information in synesthesia. For example, there is evidence that synesthetic experience arises subsequent to identification of an inducing stimulus, differs substantially from real perceptual events, can be akin to perceptual memory, and is susceptible to lexical/semantic contexts. These data suggest that neural mechanisms lying beyond the realm of the perceptual cortex (especially the visual system), such as regions subserving conceptual knowledge, may play pivotal roles in the neural architecture of synesthesia. Here we discuss the significance of non-perceptual mechanisms that call for a re-evaluation of the emphasis on synesthesia as a perceptual phenomenon. We also review recent studies which hint that some aspects of synesthesia resemble our general conceptual knowledge for object attributes, at both psychophysical and neural levels. We then present a conceptual-mediation model of synesthesia in which the inducer and concurrent are linked within a conceptual-level representation. This “inducer-to-concurrent” nexus is maintained within a supramodal “hub,” while the subjective (bodily) experience of its resultant concurrent (e.g., a color) may then require activation of “spokes” in the perception-related cortices. This hypothesized “hub-and-spoke” structure would engage a distributed network of cortical regions and may account for the full breadth of this intriguing phenomenon. PMID:24653707

Global health and development: conceptualizing health between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

PubMed

Borowy, Iris

2013-07-01

After World War II, health was firmly integrated into the discourse about national development. Transition theories portrayed health improvements as part of an overall development pattern based on economic growth as modeled by the recent history of industrialization in high-income countries. In the 1970s, an increasing awareness of the environmental degradation caused by industrialization challenged the conventional model of development. Gradually, it became clear that health improvements depended on poverty-reduction strategies including industrialization. Industrialization, in turn, risked aggravating environmental degradation with its negative effects on public health. Thus, public health in low-income countries threatened to suffer from lack of economic development as well as from the results of global economic development. Similarly, demands of developing countries risked being trapped between calls for global wealth redistribution, a political impossibility, and calls for unrestricted material development, which, in a world of finite land, water, air, energy, and resources, increasingly looked like a physical impossibility, too. Various international bodies, including the WHO, the Brundtland Commission, and the World Bank, tried to capture the problem and solution strategies in development theories. Broadly conceived, two models have emerged: a "localist model," which analyzes national health data and advocates growth policies with a strong focus on poverty reduction, and a "globalist" model, based on global health data, which calls for growth optimization, rather than maximization. Both models have focused on different types of health burdens and have received support from different institutions. In a nutshell, the health discourse epitomized a larger controversy regarding competing visions of development.

A simple conceptual model to interpret the 100 000 years dynamics of paleo-climate records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quiroga Lombard, C. S.; Balenzuela, P.; Braun, H.; Chialvo, D. R.

2010-10-01

Spectral analyses performed on records of cosmogenic nuclides reveal a group of dominant spectral components during the Holocene period. Only a few of them are related to known solar cycles, i.e., the De Vries/Suess, Gleissberg and Hallstatt cycles. The origin of the others remains uncertain. On the other hand, time series of North Atlantic atmospheric/sea surface temperatures during the last ice age display the existence of repeated large-scale warming events, called Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events, spaced around multiples of 1470 years. The De Vries/Suess and Gleissberg cycles with periods close to 1470/7 (~210) and 1470/17 (~86.5) years have been proposed to explain these observations. In this work we found that a conceptual bistable model forced with the De Vries/Suess and Gleissberg cycles plus noise displays a group of dominant frequencies similar to those obtained in the Fourier spectra from paleo-climate during the Holocene. Moreover, we show that simply changing the noise amplitude in the model we obtain similar power spectra to those corresponding to GISP2 δ18O (Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2) during the last ice age. These results give a general dynamical framework which allows us to interpret the main characteristic of paleoclimate records from the last 100 000 years.

The Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Non-Science Undergraduate Students' Attitudes towards Mathematics in an Egyptian Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizkallah, Mohammed W.

While Problem-based Learning (PBL) has been established in the literature in different contexts, there remains few studies on how PBL has an impact on students' attitude towards mathematics and their conceptual understanding of it in Egyptian classrooms. This study was conducted in an international university in Egypt, and the participants were non-science undergraduate students who took a course called "Fun with Problem-Solving" as a requirement core class. The study shows that students' attitude towards mathematics developed throughout the course, and this was tested using the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scale, where students had a pretest and posttest. While the sample size was small, there was statistical significance in the change of the means of how students perceived mathematics as a male domain, and how teachers perceived students' achievements. This notion was coupled with students' development of conceptual understanding, which was tracked throughout the semester by mapping students' work with the Lesh Translation Model.

Conceptual Design Optimization of an Augmented Stability Aircraft Incorporating Dynamic Response Performance Constraints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welstead, Jason

2014-01-01

This research focused on incorporating stability and control into a multidisciplinary de- sign optimization on a Boeing 737-class advanced concept called the D8.2b. A new method of evaluating the aircraft handling performance using quantitative evaluation of the sys- tem to disturbances, including perturbations, continuous turbulence, and discrete gusts, is presented. A multidisciplinary design optimization was performed using the D8.2b transport air- craft concept. The con guration was optimized for minimum fuel burn using a design range of 3,000 nautical miles. Optimization cases were run using xed tail volume coecients, static trim constraints, and static trim and dynamic response constraints. A Cessna 182T model was used to test the various dynamic analysis components, ensuring the analysis was behaving as expected. Results of the optimizations show that including stability and con- trol in the design process drastically alters the optimal design, indicating that stability and control should be included in conceptual design to avoid system level penalties later in the design process.

Towards a conceptual framework of OSH risk management in smart working environments based on smart PPE, ambient intelligence and the Internet of Things technologies.

PubMed

Podgórski, Daniel; Majchrzycka, Katarzyna; Dąbrowska, Anna; Gralewicz, Grzegorz; Okrasa, Małgorzata

2017-03-01

Recent developments in domains of ambient intelligence (AmI), Internet of Things, cyber-physical systems (CPS), ubiquitous/pervasive computing, etc., have led to numerous attempts to apply ICT solutions in the occupational safety and health (OSH) area. A literature review reveals a wide range of examples of smart materials, smart personal protective equipment and other AmI applications that have been developed to improve workers' safety and health. Because the use of these solutions modifies work methods, increases complexity of production processes and introduces high dynamism into thus created smart working environments (SWE), a new conceptual framework for dynamic OSH management in SWE is called for. A proposed framework is based on a new paradigm of OSH risk management consisting of real-time risk assessment and the capacity to monitor the risk level of each worker individually. A rationale for context-based reasoning in SWE and a respective model of the SWE-dedicated CPS are also proposed.

Dendritic trafficking faces physiologically critical speed-precision tradeoffs

DOE PAGES

Williams, Alex H.; O'Donnell, Cian; Sejnowski, Terrence J.; ...

2016-12-30

Nervous system function requires intracellular transport of channels, receptors, mRNAs, and other cargo throughout complex neuronal morphologies. Local signals such as synaptic input can regulate cargo trafficking, motivating the leading conceptual model of neuron-wide transport, sometimes called the ‘sushi-belt model’. Current theories and experiments are based on this model, yet its predictions are not rigorously understood. We formalized the sushi belt model mathematically, and show that it can achieve arbitrarily complex spatial distributions of cargo in reconstructed morphologies. However, the model also predicts an unavoidable, morphology dependent tradeoff between speed, precision and metabolic efficiency of cargo transport. With experimental estimatesmore » of trafficking kinetics, the model predicts delays of many hours or days for modestly accurate and efficient cargo delivery throughout a dendritic tree. In conclusion, these findings challenge current understanding of the efficacy of nucleus-to-synapse trafficking and may explain the prevalence of local biosynthesis in neurons.« less

Dendritic trafficking faces physiologically critical speed-precision tradeoffs

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

Williams, Alex H.; O'Donnell, Cian; Sejnowski, Terrence J.

Nervous system function requires intracellular transport of channels, receptors, mRNAs, and other cargo throughout complex neuronal morphologies. Local signals such as synaptic input can regulate cargo trafficking, motivating the leading conceptual model of neuron-wide transport, sometimes called the ‘sushi-belt model’. Current theories and experiments are based on this model, yet its predictions are not rigorously understood. We formalized the sushi belt model mathematically, and show that it can achieve arbitrarily complex spatial distributions of cargo in reconstructed morphologies. However, the model also predicts an unavoidable, morphology dependent tradeoff between speed, precision and metabolic efficiency of cargo transport. With experimental estimatesmore » of trafficking kinetics, the model predicts delays of many hours or days for modestly accurate and efficient cargo delivery throughout a dendritic tree. In conclusion, these findings challenge current understanding of the efficacy of nucleus-to-synapse trafficking and may explain the prevalence of local biosynthesis in neurons.« less

The topology of non-linear global carbon dynamics: from tipping points to planetary boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderies, J. M.; Carpenter, S. R.; Steffen, Will; Rockström, Johan

2013-12-01

We present a minimal model of land use and carbon cycle dynamics and use it to explore the relationship between non-linear dynamics and planetary boundaries. Only the most basic interactions between land cover and terrestrial, atmospheric, and marine carbon stocks are considered in the model. Our goal is not to predict global carbon dynamics as it occurs in the actual Earth System. Rather, we construct a conceptually reasonable heuristic model of a feedback system between different carbon stocks that captures the qualitative features of the actual Earth System and use it to explore the topology of the boundaries of what can be called a ‘safe operating space’ for humans. The model analysis illustrates the existence of dynamic, non-linear tipping points in carbon cycle dynamics and the potential complexity of planetary boundaries. Finally, we use the model to illustrate some challenges associated with navigating planetary boundaries.

Meditations on birth weight: is it better to reduce the variance or increase the mean?

PubMed

Haig, David

2003-07-01

A conceptual model is presented here in which the birth weight distribution is decomposed into a distribution of target weights and a distribution of perturbations from the target. The target weight is the adaptive goal of fetal development. In the simplest model, perinatal mortality is independent of variation in target weight and determined solely by the magnitude of the perturbation of birth weight from the target. In this model, mortality risk is concentrated in the tails of the birth weight distribution. A difference between populations in their distributions of target weights will be associated with a corresponding shift in their curves of weight-specific risk, without any difference between the populations in overall risk. In this model, risk would be reduced by decreasing the variance of the distribution of perturbations. The model is discussed in the context of the so-called "paradoxes of low birth weight."

Augmenting Conceptual Design Trajectory Tradespace Exploration with Graph Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dees, Patrick D.; Zwack, Mathew R.; Steffens, Michael; Edwards, Stephen

2016-01-01

Within conceptual design changes occur rapidly due to a combination of uncertainty and shifting requirements. To stay relevant in this fluid time, trade studies must also be performed rapidly. In order to drive down analysis time while improving the information gained by these studies, surrogate models can be created to represent the complex output of a tool or tools within a specified tradespace. In order to create this model however, a large amount of data must be collected in a short amount of time. By this method, the historical approach of relying on subject matter experts to generate the data required is schedule infeasible. However, by implementing automation and distributed analysis the required data can be generated in a fraction of the time. Previous work focused on setting up a tool called multiPOST capable of orchestrating many simultaneous runs of an analysis tool assessing these automated analyses utilizing heuristics gleaned from the best practices of current subject matter experts. In this update to the previous work, elements of graph theory are included to further drive down analysis time by leveraging data previously gathered. It is shown to outperform the previous method in both time required, and the quantity and quality of data produced.

Learning Particle Physics with DIY Play Dough Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thunyaniti, T.; Toedtanya, K.; Wuttiprom, S.

2017-09-01

The scientists once believed an atom was the smallest particle, nothing was smaller than this tiny particle. Later, they discovered an atom which consists of protons, neutrons and electrons, and they believed that these particles cannot be broken into the smaller particles. According to advanced technology, the scientists have discovered these particles are consisted of a smaller particles. The new particles are called quarks leptons and bosons which we called fundamental particle. Atomic structure cannot be observed directly, so it is complicated for studying these particles. To help the students get more understanding of its properties, so the researcher develops the learning pattern of fundamental particles from Play Dough Model for high school to graduate students. Four step of learning are 1) to introduces the concept of the fundamental particles discovery 2) to play the Happy Families game by using fundamental particles cards 3) to design and make their particle in a way that reflects its properties 4) to represents their particles from Play Dough Model. After doing activities, the students had more conceptual understanding and better memorability on fundamental particles. In addition, the students gained collaborative working experience among their friends also.

Transforming reflectance spectra into Munsell color space by using prime colors.

PubMed

Romney, A Kimball; Fulton, James T

2006-10-17

Independent researchers have proved mathematically that, given a set of color-matching functions, there exists a unique set of three monochromatic spectral lights that optimizes luminous efficiency and color gamut. These lights are called prime colors. We present a method for transforming reflectance spectra into Munsell color space by using hypothetical absorbance curves based on Gaussian approximations of the prime colors and a simplified version of opponent process theory. The derived color appearance system is represented as a 3D color system that is qualitatively similar to a conceptual representation of the Munsell color system. We illustrate the application of the model and compare it with existing models by using reflectance spectra obtained from 1,269 Munsell color samples.

Understanding and Optimizing Asynchronous Low-Precision Stochastic Gradient Descent

PubMed Central

De Sa, Christopher; Feldman, Matthew; Ré, Christopher; Olukotun, Kunle

2018-01-01

Stochastic gradient descent (SGD) is one of the most popular numerical algorithms used in machine learning and other domains. Since this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, it is important to study techniques that can make it run fast on parallel hardware. In this paper, we provide the first analysis of a technique called Buckwild! that uses both asynchronous execution and low-precision computation. We introduce the DMGC model, the first conceptualization of the parameter space that exists when implementing low-precision SGD, and show that it provides a way to both classify these algorithms and model their performance. We leverage this insight to propose and analyze techniques to improve the speed of low-precision SGD. First, we propose software optimizations that can increase throughput on existing CPUs by up to 11×. Second, we propose architectural changes, including a new cache technique we call an obstinate cache, that increase throughput beyond the limits of current-generation hardware. We also implement and analyze low-precision SGD on the FPGA, which is a promising alternative to the CPU for future SGD systems. PMID:29391770

Stereotype threat? Effects of inquiring about test takers' gender on conceptual test performance in physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maries, Alexandru; Singh, Chandralekha

2015-12-01

It has been found that activation of a stereotype, for example by indicating one's gender before a test, typically alters performance in a way consistent with the stereotype, an effect called "stereotype threat." On a standardized conceptual physics assessment, we found that asking test takers to indicate their gender right before taking the test did not deteriorate performance compared to an equivalent group who did not provide gender information. Although a statistically significant gender gap was present on the standardized test whether or not students indicated their gender, no gender gap was observed on the multiple-choice final exam students took, which included both quantitative and conceptual questions on similar topics.

Embodied and exbodied mind in clinical psychology. A proposal for a psycho-social interpretation of mental disorders.

PubMed

Zatti, Alberto; Zarbo, Cristina

2015-01-01

A brief theoretical review of the current state of the art of embodiment research in clinical psychology has been expounded in order to highlight the key role that embodied conceptualization has on the understanding and explanation of several mental disorders, such as eating disorders, schizophrenia and depression. Evidence has suggested that mental disorders may be explained as disturbances of embodiment, from the disembodiment to the hyperembodiment. In order to understand how some clinical conditions are affected by cultural models, we propose and define a new framework called Exbodiment, complementary to the Embodiment approach to cognition. Mental disorder is strictly related to the subject-culture interaction that may be explained as a two way process in which embodiment and exbodiment are complementary points of view. In this perspective, embodiment may be seen as the "top-down" process, while exbodiment the "bottom-up" one. The introduction of exbodiment conceptualization highlights how subject is both receiver and interpreter of social influence. Subject is the target of a cultural pressure and, at the same time, enacts its own embodied culture in world. Exbodiment conceptualization may help clinicians to better understand and explain the role of culture in the onset and maintenance of mental disorders.

Embodied and exbodied mind in clinical psychology. A proposal for a psycho-social interpretation of mental disorders

PubMed Central

Zatti, Alberto; Zarbo, Cristina

2015-01-01

A brief theoretical review of the current state of the art of embodiment research in clinical psychology has been expounded in order to highlight the key role that embodied conceptualization has on the understanding and explanation of several mental disorders, such as eating disorders, schizophrenia and depression. Evidence has suggested that mental disorders may be explained as disturbances of embodiment, from the disembodiment to the hyperembodiment. In order to understand how some clinical conditions are affected by cultural models, we propose and define a new framework called Exbodiment, complementary to the Embodiment approach to cognition. Mental disorder is strictly related to the subject-culture interaction that may be explained as a two way process in which embodiment and exbodiment are complementary points of view. In this perspective, embodiment may be seen as the “top-down” process, while exbodiment the “bottom-up” one. The introduction of exbodiment conceptualization highlights how subject is both receiver and interpreter of social influence. Subject is the target of a cultural pressure and, at the same time, enacts its own embodied culture in world. Exbodiment conceptualization may help clinicians to better understand and explain the role of culture in the onset and maintenance of mental disorders. PMID:25784894

A User-Centered Framework for Deriving A Conceptual Design From User Experiences: Leveraging Personas and Patterns to Create Usable Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javahery, Homa; Deichman, Alexander; Seffah, Ahmed; Taleb, Mohamed

Patterns are a design tool to capture best practices, tackling problems that occur in different contexts. A user interface (UI) design pattern spans several levels of design abstraction ranging from high-level navigation to low-level idioms detailing a screen layout. One challenge is to combine a set of patterns to create a conceptual design that reflects user experiences. In this chapter, we detail a user-centered design (UCD) framework that exploits the novel idea of using personas and patterns together. Personas are used initially to collect and model user experiences. UI patterns are selected based on personas pecifications; these patterns are then used as building blocks for constructing conceptual designs. Through the use of a case study, we illustrate how personas and patterns can act as complementary techniques in narrowing the gap between two major steps in UCD: capturing users and their experiences, and building an early design based on that information. As a result of lessons learned from the study and by refining our framework, we define a more systematic process called UX-P (User Experiences to Pattern), with a supporting tool. The process introduces intermediate analytical steps and supports designers in creating usable designs.

Symmetry laws improve electronegativity equalization by orders of magnitude and call for a paradigm shift in conceptual density functional theory.

PubMed

von Szentpály, László

2015-03-05

The strict Wigner-Witmer symmetry constraints on chemical bonding are shown to determine the accuracy of electronegativity equalization (ENE) to a high degree. Bonding models employing the electronic chemical potential, μ, as the negative of the ground-state electronegativity, χ(GS), frequently collide with the Wigner-Witmer laws in molecule formation. The violations are presented as the root of the substantially disturbing lack of chemical potential equalization (CPE) in diatomic molecules. For the operational chemical potential, μ(op), the relative deviations from CPE fall between -31% ≤ δμ(op) ≤ +70%. Conceptual density functional theory (cDFT) cannot claim to have operationally (not to mention, rigorously) proven and unified the CPE and ENE principles. The solution to this limitation of cDFT and the symmetry violations is found in substituting μ(op) (i) by Mulliken's valence-state electronegativity, χ(M), for atoms and (ii) its new generalization, the valence-pair-affinity, α(VP), for diatomic molecules. Mulliken's χ(M) is equalized into the α(VP) of the bond, and the accuracy of ENE is orders of magnitude better than that of CPE using μ(op). A paradigm shift replacing the dominance of ground states by emphasizing valence states seems to be in order for conceptual DFT.

Business ethics and health care: a stakeholder perspective.

PubMed

Gilmartin, Mattia J; Freeman, R Edward

2002-01-01

This article examines the recent controversy in health care delivery about whether it should be conceptualized as a business. The current debate implicitly appeals to a common understanding of business and business practices that is no longer very useful. This common notion, which the authors call "cowboy capitalism," conceptualizes business as a competitive jungle resting on self-interest and an urge for competition in order to survive. The authors suggest that stakeholder capitalism offers a more useful framework for the dialogue about health care reform.

Caring Economics: A New Framework for Conceptualizing and Measuring Economic Activity.

PubMed

Ghosh, Indradeep

2015-01-01

This article introduces the reader to a new framework for conceptualizing and measuring economic activity called caring economics. Going beyond the conventional understanding of economic activity as that which unfolds in markets, caring economics highlights the work of care and caregiving that occurs within households and is often unpaid. This article also unveils a new set of measures based on the framework of caring economics that are urgently needed by policymakers and business leaders to foster personal, business, and national economic success.

Conceptual and logical level of database modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunka, Frantisek; Matula, Jiri

2016-06-01

Conceptual and logical levels form the top most levels of database modeling. Usually, ORM (Object Role Modeling) and ER diagrams are utilized to capture the corresponding schema. The final aim of business process modeling is to store its results in the form of database solution. For this reason, value oriented business process modeling which utilizes ER diagram to express the modeling entities and relationships between them are used. However, ER diagrams form the logical level of database schema. To extend possibilities of different business process modeling methodologies, the conceptual level of database modeling is needed. The paper deals with the REA value modeling approach to business process modeling using ER-diagrams, and derives conceptual model utilizing ORM modeling approach. Conceptual model extends possibilities for value modeling to other business modeling approaches.

Presence of Old Individuals in a Population Accelerates and Optimizes the Process of Selection: in silico Experiments.

PubMed

Chistyakov, V A; Denisenko, Y V; Bren, A B

2018-02-01

One of the important components of the concept of aging-phenoptosis (programmed aging) is the notion of aging as an accelerator of evolution having the rank of subconcept. For many reasons, the main being the problematic experimental testing of evolutionary hypotheses, verification of the above-mentioned subconcept can be based primarily on analysis of the internal inconsistency of heuristic models and their correspondence to undisputedly observed facts. To illustrate the acceleration mechanism, and most importantly to structure the evolutionary process in communities that include naturally weakened individuals, V. P. Skulachev offered in 2003 a conceptual model that he later called a "fable about hares". Despite its simplicity, this model has undoubted internal logic. The natural trend in the development of conceptual models is their translation into the language of mathematics. The purpose of the present work was to create a variation of the known multi-agent model "predator-prey" that would allow us to "see" how the presence in the prey population of naturally weakened (old) members stimulates the selection of individuals with traits whose adaptive potential is not devaluated with age. The model (http://homebear.ru/PD) was developed on the Java platform, version 6, NetBeans development environment 8.2. Statistical analysis and preparation of illustrative materials were carried out using environment R, version 3.4.1. The results of numerical experiments set using our model correspond in principle to the provisions of the heuristic model of Skulachev and, consequently, confirm the absence in it of logical contradictions.

Assessment of Alternative Conceptual Models Using Reactive Transport Modeling with Monitoring Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Z.; Price, V.; Heffner, D.; Hodges, R.; Temples, T.; Nicholson, T.

2005-12-01

Monitoring data proved very useful in evaluating alternative conceptual models, simulating contaminant transport behavior, and reducing uncertainty. A graded approach using three alternative conceptual site models was formulated to simulate a field case of tetrachloroethene (PCE) transport and biodegradation. These models ranged from simple to complex in their representation of subsurface heterogeneities. The simplest model was a single-layer homogeneous aquifer that employed an analytical reactive transport code, BIOCHLOR (Aziz et al., 1999). Due to over-simplification of the aquifer structure, this simulation could not reproduce the monitoring data. The second model consisted of a multi-layer conceptual model, in combination with numerical modules, MODFLOW and RT3D within GMS, to simulate flow and reactive transport. Although the simulation results from the second model were comparatively better than those from the simple model, they still did not adequately reproduce the monitoring well concentrations because the geological structures were still inadequately defined. Finally, a more realistic conceptual model was formulated that incorporated heterogeneities and geologic structures identified from well logs and seismic survey data using the Petra and PetraSeis software. This conceptual model included both a major channel and a younger channel that were detected in the PCE source area. In this model, these channels control the local ground-water flow direction and provide a preferential chemical transport pathway. Simulation results using this conceptual site model proved compatible with the monitoring concentration data. This study demonstrates that the bias and uncertainty from inadequate conceptual models are much larger than those introduced from an inadequate choice of model parameter values (Neuman and Wierenga, 2003; Meyer et al., 2004; Ye et al., 2004). This case study integrated conceptual and numerical models, based on interpreted local hydrogeologic and geochemical data, with detailed monitoring plume data. It provided key insights for confirming alternative conceptual site models and assessing the performance of monitoring networks. A monitoring strategy based on this graded approach for assessing alternative conceptual models can provide the technical bases for identifying critical monitoring locations, adequate monitoring frequency, and performance indicator parameters for performance monitoring involving ground-water levels and PCE concentrations.

A Structural Equation Model of Conceptual Change in Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taasoobshirazi, Gita; Sinatra, Gale M.

2011-01-01

A model of conceptual change in physics was tested on introductory-level, college physics students. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to conceptual change in physics including an approach goal orientation, need for cognition, motivation, and course grade. Conceptual change in physics…

The brain, self and society: a social-neuroscience model of predictive processing.

PubMed

Kelly, Michael P; Kriznik, Natasha M; Kinmonth, Ann Louise; Fletcher, Paul C

2018-05-10

This paper presents a hypothesis about how social interactions shape and influence predictive processing in the brain. The paper integrates concepts from neuroscience and sociology where a gulf presently exists between the ways that each describe the same phenomenon - how the social world is engaged with by thinking humans. We combine the concepts of predictive processing models (also called predictive coding models in the neuroscience literature) with ideal types, typifications and social practice - concepts from the sociological literature. This generates a unified hypothetical framework integrating the social world and hypothesised brain processes. The hypothesis combines aspects of neuroscience and psychology with social theory to show how social behaviors may be "mapped" onto brain processes. It outlines a conceptual framework that connects the two disciplines and that may enable creative dialogue and potential future research.

Trauma-related dissociation and altered states of consciousness: a call for clinical, treatment, and neuroscience research

PubMed Central

Lanius, Ruth A.

2015-01-01

The primary aim of this commentary is to describe trauma-related dissociation and altered states of consciousness in the context of a four-dimensional model that has recently been proposed (Frewen & Lanius, 2015). This model categorizes symptoms of trauma-related psychopathology into (1) those that occur within normal waking consciousness and (2) those that are dissociative and are associated with trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC) along four dimensions: (1) time; (2) thought; (3) body; and (4) emotion. Clinical applications and future research directions relevant to each dimension are discussed. Conceptualizing TRASC across the dimensions of time, thought, body, and emotion has transdiagnostic implications for trauma-related disorders described in both the Diagnostic Statistical Manual and the International Classifications of Diseases. The four-dimensional model provides a framework, guided by existing models of dissociation, for future research examining the phenomenological, neurobiological, and physiological underpinnings of trauma-related dissociation. PMID:25994026

The Internal Structure of Jupiter Family Comet Nuclei: The Talps or Layered Pile Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belton, Michael J.; Members of theDeep Impact Science Team

2006-09-01

The characteristics of layered structures seen on the nucleus of Tempel 1 in the Deep Impact images, and also seen on Wild 2 and Borrelly are noted. We consider the implications of the hypothesis that such structures are ubiquitous on Jupiter Family Comets and is an essential element of their internal stucture. If correct this hypothesis implies that the internal structure of JFCs are primordial remnants of the early agglomeration phase and that the physical structure of their interiors, except for possible compositional changes, is essentially as it was when they were formed. This hypothesis has implications for their place of origin and their subsequent collisional evolution. Current models of the latter are in conflict with this hypothesis. Possible resolutions of this conflict are noted. A new conceptual model of the interior of a typical JFC called the Talps or "layered pile" model is presented.

Towards a visual modeling approach to designing microelectromechanical system transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewey, Allen; Srinivasan, Vijay; Icoz, Evrim

1999-12-01

In this paper, we address initial design capture and system conceptualization of microelectromechanical system transducers based on visual modeling and design. Visual modeling frames the task of generating hardware description language (analog and digital) component models in a manner similar to the task of generating software programming language applications. A structured topological design strategy is employed, whereby microelectromechanical foundry cell libraries are utilized to facilitate the design process of exploring candidate cells (topologies), varying key aspects of the transduction for each topology, and determining which topology best satisfies design requirements. Coupled-energy microelectromechanical system characterizations at a circuit level of abstraction are presented that are based on branch constitutive relations and an overall system of simultaneous differential and algebraic equations. The resulting design methodology is called visual integrated-microelectromechanical VHDL-AMS interactive design (VHDL-AMS is visual hardware design language for analog and mixed signal).

Evaluating quantitative and conceptual models of speech production: how does SLAM fare?

PubMed

Walker, Grant M; Hickok, Gregory

2016-04-01

In a previous publication, we presented a new computational model called SLAM (Walker & Hickok, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review doi: 10.3758/s13423-015-0903 ), based on the hierarchical state feedback control (HSFC) theory (Hickok Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(2), 135-145, 2012). In his commentary, Goldrick (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review doi: 10.3758/s13423-015-0946-9 ) claims that SLAM does not represent a theoretical advancement, because it cannot be distinguished from an alternative lexical + postlexical (LPL) theory proposed by Goldrick and Rapp (Cognition, 102(2), 219-260, 2007). First, we point out that SLAM implements a portion of a conceptual model (HSFC) that encompasses LPL. Second, we show that SLAM accounts for a lexical bias present in sound-related errors that LPL does not explain. Third, we show that SLAM's explanatory advantage is not a result of approximating the architectural or computational assumptions of LPL, since an implemented version of LPL fails to provide the same fit improvements as SLAM. Finally, we show that incorporating a mechanism that violates some core theoretical assumptions of LPL-making it more like SLAM in terms of interactivity-allows the model to capture some of the same effects as SLAM. SLAM therefore provides new modeling constraints regarding interactions among processing levels, while also elaborating on the structure of the phonological level. We view this as evidence that an integration of psycholinguistic, neuroscience, and motor control approaches to speech production is feasible and may lead to substantial new insights.

Theory and implementation of summarization: Improving sensor interpretation for spacecraft operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swartwout, Michael Alden

New paradigms in space missions require radical changes in spacecraft operations. In the past, operations were insulated from competitive pressures of cost, quality and time by system infrastructures, technological limitations and historical precedent. However, modern demands now require that operations meet competitive performance goals. One target for improvement is the telemetry downlink, where significant resources are invested to acquire thousands of measurements for human interpretation. This cost-intensive method is used because conventional operations are not based on formal methodologies but on experiential reasoning and incrementally adapted procedures. Therefore, to improve the telemetry downlink it is first necessary to invent a rational framework for discussing operations. This research explores operations as a feedback control problem, develops the conceptual basis for the use of spacecraft telemetry, and presents a method to improve performance. The method is called summarization, a process to make vehicle data more useful to operators. Summarization enables rational trades for telemetry downlink by defining and quantitatively ranking these elements: all operational decisions, the knowledge needed to inform each decision, and all possible sensor mappings to acquire that knowledge. Summarization methods were implemented for the Sapphire microsatellite; conceptual health management and system models were developed and a degree-of-observability metric was defined. An automated tool was created to generate summarization methods from these models. Methods generated using a Sapphire model were compared against the conventional operations plan. Summarization was shown to identify the key decisions and isolate the most appropriate sensors. Secondly, a form of summarization called beacon monitoring was experimentally verified. Beacon monitoring automates the anomaly detection and notification tasks and migrates these responsibilities to the space segment. A set of experiments using Sapphire demonstrated significant cost and time savings compared to conventional operations. Summarization is based on rational concepts for defining and understanding operations. Therefore, it enables additional trade studies that were formerly not possible and also can form the basis for future detailed research into spacecraft operations.

Derivation of a GIS-based watershed-scale conceptual model for the St. Jones River Delaware from habitat-scale conceptual models.

PubMed

Reiter, Michael A; Saintil, Max; Yang, Ziming; Pokrajac, Dragoljub

2009-08-01

Conceptual modeling is a useful tool for identifying pathways between drivers, stressors, Valued Ecosystem Components (VECs), and services that are central to understanding how an ecosystem operates. The St. Jones River watershed, DE is a complex ecosystem, and because management decisions must include ecological, social, political, and economic considerations, a conceptual model is a good tool for accommodating the full range of inputs. In 2002, a Four-Component, Level 1 conceptual model was formed for the key habitats of the St. Jones River watershed, but since the habitat level of resolution is too fine for some important watershed-scale issues we developed a functional watershed-scale model using the existing narrowed habitat-scale models. The narrowed habitat-scale conceptual models and associated matrices developed by Reiter et al. (2006) were combined with data from the 2002 land use/land cover (LULC) GIS-based maps of Kent County in Delaware to assemble a diagrammatic and numerical watershed-scale conceptual model incorporating the calculated weight of each habitat within the watershed. The numerical component of the assembled watershed model was subsequently subjected to the same Monte Carlo narrowing methodology used for the habitat versions to refine the diagrammatic component of the watershed-scale model. The narrowed numerical representation of the model was used to generate forecasts for changes in the parameters "Agriculture" and "Forest", showing that land use changes in these habitats propagated through the results of the model by the weighting factor. Also, the narrowed watershed-scale conceptual model identified some key parameters upon which to focus research attention and management decisions at the watershed scale. The forecast and simulation results seemed to indicate that the watershed-scale conceptual model does lead to different conclusions than the habitat-scale conceptual models for some issues at the larger watershed scale.

Conceptual Frameworks in the Doctoral Research Process: A Pedagogical Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berman, Jeanette; Smyth, Robyn

2015-01-01

This paper contributes to consideration of the role of conceptual frameworks in the doctoral research process. Through reflection on the two authors' own conceptual frameworks for their doctoral studies, a pedagogical model has been developed. The model posits the development of a conceptual framework as a core element of the doctoral…

Influence of patient and provider factors on the workload of on-call physicians

PubMed Central

Hsu, Nin-Chieh; Huang, Chun-Che; Jerng, Jih-Shuin; Hsu, Chia-Hao; Yang, Ming-Chin; Chang, Ray-E; Ko, Wen-Je; Yu, Chong-Jen

2016-01-01

Abstract Factors associated with the physician workload are scarcely reported. The study aims to investigate the associated factors of on-call physician workload based on a published conceptual framework. The study was conducted in a general internal medicine unit of National Taiwan University Hospital. On-call physician workloads were recorded on a shift basis from 1198 hospitalized patients between May 2010 and April 2011. The proxy of on-call workloads included night calls, bedside evaluation/management (E/M), and performing clinical procedures in a shift. Multivariable logistic and negative binomial regression models were used to determine the factors associated with the workloads of on-call physicians. During the study period, 378 (31.6%) of patients had night calls with related workloads. Multivariate analysis showed that the number of patients with unstable conditions in a shift (odds ratio [OR] 1.89 and 1.66, respectively) and the intensive care unit (ICU) training of the nurse leader (OR 2.87 and 3.08, respectively) resulted in higher likelihood of night calls to and bedside E/M visits by the on-call physician. However, ICU training of nurses (OR = 0.37, 95% confidence interval: 0.16–0.86) decreased the demand of performing clinical procedures by the on-call physician. Moreover, number of patients with unstable conditions (risk ratio [RR] 1.52 and 1.55, respectively) had significantly increased the number of night calls and bedside E/M by on-call physicians by around 50%. Nurses with N1 level (RR 2.16 and 2.71, respectively) were more likely to place night calls and facilitate bedside E/M by the on-call physician compared to nurses with N0 level. In addition, the nurse leaders with ICU training (RR 1.72 and 3.07, respectively) had significant increases in night calls and bedside E/M by the on-call physician compared to those without ICU training. On-call physician workload is associated with patient factors and the training of nurses. Number of unstable patients in a shift may be considered in predicting workload. The training of nurses may improve patient safety and decrease demand for clinical procedure. PMID:27583910

Influence of patient and provider factors on the workload of on-call physicians: A general internal medicine cohort observational study.

PubMed

Hsu, Nin-Chieh; Huang, Chun-Che; Jerng, Jih-Shuin; Hsu, Chia-Hao; Yang, Ming-Chin; Chang, Ray-E; Ko, Wen-Je; Yu, Chong-Jen

2016-08-01

Factors associated with the physician workload are scarcely reported. The study aims to investigate the associated factors of on-call physician workload based on a published conceptual framework.The study was conducted in a general internal medicine unit of National Taiwan University Hospital. On-call physician workloads were recorded on a shift basis from 1198 hospitalized patients between May 2010 and April 2011. The proxy of on-call workloads included night calls, bedside evaluation/management (E/M), and performing clinical procedures in a shift. Multivariable logistic and negative binomial regression models were used to determine the factors associated with the workloads of on-call physicians.During the study period, 378 (31.6%) of patients had night calls with related workloads. Multivariate analysis showed that the number of patients with unstable conditions in a shift (odds ratio [OR] 1.89 and 1.66, respectively) and the intensive care unit (ICU) training of the nurse leader (OR 2.87 and 3.08, respectively) resulted in higher likelihood of night calls to and bedside E/M visits by the on-call physician. However, ICU training of nurses (OR = 0.37, 95% confidence interval: 0.16-0.86) decreased the demand of performing clinical procedures by the on-call physician. Moreover, number of patients with unstable conditions (risk ratio [RR] 1.52 and 1.55, respectively) had significantly increased the number of night calls and bedside E/M by on-call physicians by around 50%. Nurses with N1 level (RR 2.16 and 2.71, respectively) were more likely to place night calls and facilitate bedside E/M by the on-call physician compared to nurses with N0 level. In addition, the nurse leaders with ICU training (RR 1.72 and 3.07, respectively) had significant increases in night calls and bedside E/M by the on-call physician compared to those without ICU training.On-call physician workload is associated with patient factors and the training of nurses. Number of unstable patients in a shift may be considered in predicting workload. The training of nurses may improve patient safety and decrease demand for clinical procedure.

Conceptual Change Texts in Chemistry Teaching: A Study on the Particle Model of Matter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beerenwinkel, Anne; Parchmann, Ilka; Grasel, Cornelia

2011-01-01

This study explores the effect of a conceptual change text on students' awareness of common misconceptions on the particle model of matter. The conceptual change text was designed based on principles of text comprehensibility, of conceptual change instruction and of instructional approaches how to introduce the particle model. It was evaluated in…

Knowledge Acquisition of Generic Queries for Information Retrieval

PubMed Central

Seol, Yoon-Ho; Johnson, Stephen B.; Cimino, James J.

2002-01-01

Several studies have identified clinical questions posed by health care professionals to understand the nature of information needs during clinical practice. To support access to digital information sources, it is necessary to integrate the information needs with a computer system. We have developed a conceptual guidance approach in information retrieval, based on a knowledge base that contains the patterns of information needs. The knowledge base uses a formal representation of clinical questions based on the UMLS knowledge sources, called the Generic Query model. To improve the coverage of the knowledge base, we investigated a method for extracting plausible clinical questions from the medical literature. This poster presents the Generic Query model, shows how it is used to represent the patterns of clinical questions, and describes the framework used to extract knowledge from the medical literature.

Entrepreneurship.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kent, Calvin A.; And Others

1985-01-01

Beginning with a conceptual introduction focusing on the nature of entrepreneurship, this issue offers four instructional units for preschool through sixth grade students. Beginning with the preschool and kindergarten unit called "Early Entrepreneurs," young students are introduced to a collection of activities, including creating a new…

International Marketplace.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wells, Donald A.; And Others

1985-01-01

This issue begins with a conceptual introduction to economic specialization, exports and imports, and the importance of international trade. Four instructional units follow this introduction, beginning with a preschool and kindergarten unit called "Traders and Travelers," which involves young students in five activities that illustrate…

Learning in Earth and space science: a review of conceptual change instructional approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, Reece; Tomas, Louisa; Lewthwaite, Brian

2016-03-01

In response to calls for research into effective instruction in the Earth and space sciences, and to identify directions for future research, this systematic review of the literature explores research into instructional approaches designed to facilitate conceptual change. In total, 52 studies were identified and analyzed. Analysis focused on the general characteristics of the research, the conceptual change instructional approaches that were used, and the methods employed to evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches. The findings of this review support four assertions about the existing research: (1) astronomical phenomena have received greater attention than geological phenomena; (2) most studies have viewed conceptual change from a cognitive perspective only; (3) data about conceptual change were generated pre- and post-intervention only; and (4) the interventions reviewed presented limited opportunities to involve students in the construction and manipulation of multiple representations of the phenomenon being investigated. Based upon these assertions, the authors recommend that new research in the Earth and space science disciplines challenges traditional notions of conceptual change by exploring the role of affective variables on learning, focuses on the learning of geological phenomena through the construction of multiple representations, and employs qualitative data collection throughout the implementation of an instructional approach.

Validation of the Continuum of Care Conceptual Model for Athletic Therapy

PubMed Central

Lafave, Mark R.; Butterwick, Dale; Eubank, Breda

2015-01-01

Utilization of conceptual models in field-based emergency care currently borrows from existing standards of medical and paramedical professions. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a comprehensive conceptual model that could account for injuries ranging from nonurgent to catastrophic events including events that do not follow traditional medical or prehospital care protocols. The conceptual model should represent the continuum of care from the time of initial injury spanning to an athlete's return to participation in their sport. Finally, the conceptual model should accommodate both novices and experts in the AT profession. This paper chronicles the content validation steps of the Continuum of Care Conceptual Model for Athletic Therapy (CCCM-AT). The stages of model development were domain and item generation, content expert validation using a three-stage modified Ebel procedure, and pilot testing. Only the final stage of the modified Ebel procedure reached a priori 80% consensus on three domains of interest: (1) heading descriptors; (2) the order of the model; (3) the conceptual model as a whole. Future research is required to test the use of the CCCM-AT in order to understand its efficacy in teaching and practice within the AT discipline. PMID:26464897

When an event sparks behavior change: an introduction to the sentinel event method of dynamic model building and its application to emergency medicine.

PubMed

Boudreaux, Edwin D; Bock, Beth; O'Hea, Erin

2012-03-01

Experiencing a negative consequence related to one's health behavior, like a medical problem leading to an emergency department (ED) visit, can promote behavior change, giving rise to the popular concept of the "teachable moment." However, the mechanisms of action underlying this process of change have received scant attention. In particular, most existing health behavior theories are limited in explaining why such events can inspire short-term change in some and long-term change in others. Expanding on recommendations published in the 2009 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference on public health in emergency medicine (EM), we propose a new method for developing conceptual models that explain how negative events, like medical emergencies, influence behavior change, called the Sentinel Event Method. The method itself is atheoretical; instead, it defines steps to guide investigations that seek to relate specific consequences or events to specific health behaviors. This method can be used to adapt existing health behavior theories to study the event-behavior change relationship or to guide formulation of completely new conceptual models. This paper presents the tenets underlying the Sentinel Event Method, describes the steps comprising the process, and illustrates its application to EM through an example of a cardiac-related ED visit and tobacco use. © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

The General Adaptation Syndrome: A Foundation for the Concept of Periodization.

PubMed

Cunanan, Aaron J; DeWeese, Brad H; Wagle, John P; Carroll, Kevin M; Sausaman, Robert; Hornsby, W Guy; Haff, G Gregory; Triplett, N Travis; Pierce, Kyle C; Stone, Michael H

2018-04-01

Recent reviews have attempted to refute the efficacy of applying Selye's general adaptation syndrome (GAS) as a conceptual framework for the training process. Furthermore, the criticisms involved are regularly used as the basis for arguments against the periodization of training. However, these perspectives fail to consider the entirety of Selye's work, the evolution of his model, and the broad applications he proposed. While it is reasonable to critically evaluate any paradigm, critics of the GAS have yet to dismantle the link between stress and adaptation. Disturbance to the state of an organism is the driving force for biological adaptation, which is the central thesis of the GAS model and the primary basis for its application to the athlete's training process. Despite its imprecisions, the GAS has proven to be an instructive framework for understanding the mechanistic process of providing a training stimulus to induce specific adaptations that result in functional enhancements. Pioneers of modern periodization have used the GAS as a framework for the management of stress and fatigue to direct adaptation during sports training. Updates to the periodization concept have retained its founding constructs while explicitly calling for scientifically based, evidence-driven practice suited to the individual. Thus, the purpose of this review is to provide greater clarity on how the GAS serves as an appropriate mechanistic model to conceptualize the periodization of training.

A system dynamics model of human-water interaction in anthropogenic droughts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blair, Peter; Buytaert, Wouter

2016-04-01

Modelling is set to be a key part of socio-hydrology's quest to understand the dynamics and long-term consequences of human-water interactions. As a subject in its infancy, still learning the questions to ask, conceptual models are of particular use in trying to understand the general nature of human-water systems. The conceptual model of Di Baldassarre et al. (2013), which investigates human-flood interactions, has been widely discussed, prompting great steps forward in understanding and coverage of socio-hydrology. The development of further conceptual models could generate further discussion and understanding. Flooding is one archetypal example of a system of human-water interaction; another is the case of water stress and drought. There has been a call to recognise and understand anthropogenic drought (Aghakouchak et al. 2015), and so this study investigates the nature of the socio-hydrological dynamics involved in these situations. Here we present a system dynamics model to simulate human-water interactions in the context of water-stressed areas, where drought is induced via a combination of lower than usual water availability and relatively high water use. It is designed based on an analysis of several case-studies where recent droughts have occurred, or where the prospect of drought looms. The locations investigated are Spain, Southeast Brazil, Northeast China and California. The numerical system dynamics model is based on causal loop, and stocks and flows diagrams, which are in turn developed from the qualitative analysis of the different cases studied. The study uses a comparative approach, which has the advantage of eliciting general system characteristics from the similarities between cases, while using the differences to determine the important factors which lead to different system behaviours. References: Aghakouchak, A., Feldman, D., Hoerling, M., Huxman, T., Lund, J., 2015. Recognize anthropogenic drought. Nature, 524, pp.409-411. Di Baldassarre, G., Viglione, A., Carr, G., Kuil, L., Salinas, J. L., Blöschl, G., 2013. Socio-hydrology: conceptualising human-flood interactions. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 17(8), pp.3295-3303. Available at: http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/17/3295/2013/ [Accessed August 8, 2014].

Behavior-based network management: a unique model-based approach to implementing cyber superiority

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seng, Jocelyn M.

2016-05-01

Behavior-Based Network Management (BBNM) is a technological and strategic approach to mastering the identification and assessment of network behavior, whether human-driven or machine-generated. Recognizing that all five U.S. Air Force (USAF) mission areas rely on the cyber domain to support, enhance and execute their tasks, BBNM is designed to elevate awareness and improve the ability to better understand the degree of reliance placed upon a digital capability and the operational risk.2 Thus, the objective of BBNM is to provide a holistic view of the digital battle space to better assess the effects of security, monitoring, provisioning, utilization management, allocation to support mission sustainment and change control. Leveraging advances in conceptual modeling made possible by a novel advancement in software design and implementation known as Vector Relational Data Modeling (VRDM™), the BBNM approach entails creating a network simulation in which meaning can be inferred and used to manage network behavior according to policy, such as quickly detecting and countering malicious behavior. Initial research configurations have yielded executable BBNM models as combinations of conceptualized behavior within a network management simulation that includes only concepts of threats and definitions of "good" behavior. A proof of concept assessment called "Lab Rat," was designed to demonstrate the simplicity of network modeling and the ability to perform adaptation. The model was tested on real world threat data and demonstrated adaptive and inferential learning behavior. Preliminary results indicate this is a viable approach towards achieving cyber superiority in today's volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment.

How to clarify the aims of empathy in medicine.

PubMed

Betzler, Riana J

2018-03-22

This paper argues that enthusiasm for empathy has grown to the point at which empathy has taken on the status of an "ideal" in modern medicine. We need to pause and scrutinize this ideal before moving forward with empathy training programs for medical students. Taking empathy as an ideal obscures the distinction between the multiple aims that calls for empathy seek to achieve. While these aims may work together, they also come apart and yield different recommendations about the sort of behavior physicians should cultivate in a given situation. I begin by demonstrating how enthusiasm for empathy has increased dramatically. I then specify precisely what I mean in calling empathy an "ideal." I then describe some dangers associated with taking empathy to be an ideal unreflectively. I discuss the merits of works that provide conceptualizations of empathy that are specifically tailored for the medical domain and conclude that although these works move discussions about empathy in medical care forward, they could do more to foreground the goals and aims underlying calls for increased empathy. I provide specific suggestions as to how exactly we might foreground these goals and aims to further avoid conceptual confusion about empathy in medical education.

Improved Conceptual Models Methodology (ICoMM) for Validation of Non-Observable Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

distribution is unlimited IMPROVED CONCEPTUAL MODELS METHODOLOGY (ICoMM) FOR VALIDATION OF NON-OBSERVABLE SYSTEMS by Sang M. Sok December 2015...REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Dissertation 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE IMPROVED CONCEPTUAL MODELS METHODOLOGY (ICoMM) FOR VALIDATION OF NON-OBSERVABLE...importance of the CoM. The improved conceptual model methodology (ICoMM) is developed in support of improving the structure of the CoM for both face and

Atmospheric Dispersal and Dispostion of Tephra From a Potential Volcanic Eruption at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

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

G. Keating; W.Statham

2004-02-12

The purpose of this model report is to provide documentation of the conceptual and mathematical model (ASHPLUME) for atmospheric dispersal and subsequent deposition of ash on the land surface from a potential volcanic eruption at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This report also documents the ash (tephra) redistribution conceptual model. The ASHPLUME conceptual model accounts for incorporation and entrainment of waste fuel particles associated with a hypothetical volcanic eruption through the Yucca Mountain repository and downwind transport of contaminated tephra. The ASHPLUME mathematical model describes the conceptual model in mathematical terms to allow for prediction of radioactive waste/ash deposition on the groundmore » surface given that the hypothetical eruptive event occurs. This model report also describes the conceptual model for tephra redistribution from a basaltic cinder cone. Sensitivity analyses and model validation activities for the ash dispersal and redistribution models are also presented. Analyses documented in this model report will improve and clarify the previous documentation of the ASHPLUME mathematical model and its application to the Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) for the License Application (TSPA-LA) igneous scenarios. This model report also documents the redistribution model product outputs based on analyses to support the conceptual model.« less

Information performances and illative sequences: Sequential organization of explanations of chemical phase equilibrium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Nathaniel James Swanton

While there is consensus that conceptual change is surprisingly difficult, many competing theories of conceptual change co-exist in the literature. This dissertation argues that this discord is partly the result of an inadequate account of the unwritten rules of human social interaction that underlie the field's preferred methodology---semi-structured interviewing. To better understand the contributions of interaction during explanations, I analyze eight undergraduate general chemistry students as they attempt to explain to various people, for various reasons, why phenomena involving chemical phase equilibrium occur. Using the methods of interaction analysis, I characterize the unwritten, but systematic, rules that these participants follow as they explain. The result is a description of the contributions of interaction to explaining. Each step in each explanation is a jointly performed expression of a subject-predicate relation, an interactive accomplishment I call an information performance (in-form, for short). Unlike clauses, in-forms need not have a coherent grammatical structure. Unlike speaker turns, in-forms have the clear function of expressing information. Unlike both clauses and speaker turns, in-forms are a co-construction, jointly performed by both the primary speaker and the other interlocutor. The other interlocutor strongly affects the form and content of each explanation by giving or withholding feedback at the end of each in-form, moments I call feedback-relevant places. While in-forms are the bricks out of which the explanation is constructed, they are secured by a series of inferential links I call an illative sequence. Illative sequences are forward-searching, starting with a remembered fact or observation and following a chain of inferences in the hope it leads to the target phenomenon. The participants treat an explanation as a success if the illative sequence generates an in-form that describes the phenomenon. If the illative sequence does not, it is partly or entirely scrubbed, a new in-form is introduced as a starting point, and the illative sequence begins anew. Knowledge of these interactional contributions to the production of explanations could allow researchers to better characterize conceptual understanding, be in a stronger position to support particular theories of conceptual change over others, improve assessments of conceptual understanding, and improve interviewing practices.

E-learning process maturity level: a conceptual framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmah, A.; Santoso, H. B.; Hasibuan, Z. A.

2018-03-01

ICT advancement is a sure thing with the impact influencing many domains, including learning in both formal and informal situations. It leads to a new mindset that we should not only utilize the given ICT to support the learning process, but also improve it gradually involving a lot of factors. These phenomenon is called e-learning process evolution. Accordingly, this study attempts to explore maturity level concept to provide the improvement direction gradually and progression monitoring for the individual e-learning process. Extensive literature review, observation, and forming constructs are conducted to develop a conceptual framework for e-learning process maturity level. The conceptual framework consists of learner, e-learning process, continuous improvement, evolution of e-learning process, technology, and learning objectives. Whilst, evolution of e-learning process depicted as current versus expected conditions of e-learning process maturity level. The study concludes that from the e-learning process maturity level conceptual framework, it may guide the evolution roadmap for e-learning process, accelerate the evolution, and decrease the negative impact of ICT. The conceptual framework will be verified and tested in the future study.

Regoaling: a conceptual model of how parents of children with serious illness change medical care goals

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Parents of seriously ill children participate in making difficult medical decisions for their child. In some cases, parents face situations where their initial goals, such as curing the condition, may have become exceedingly unlikely. While some parents continue to pursue these goals, others relinquish their initial goals and generate new goals such as maintaining the child’s quality of life. We call this process of transitioning from one set of goals to another regoaling. Discussion Regoaling involves factors that either promote or inhibit the regoaling process, including disengagement from goals, reengagement in new goals, positive and negative affect, and hopeful thinking. We examine these factors in the context of parental decision making for a seriously ill child, presenting a dynamic conceptual model of regoaling. This model highlights four research questions that will be empirically tested in an ongoing longitudinal study of medical decision making among parents of children with serious illness. Additionally, we consider potential clinical implications of regoaling for the practice of pediatric palliative care. Summary The psychosocial model of regoaling by parents of children with a serious illness predicts that parents who experience both positive and negative affect and hopeful patterns of thought will be more likely to relinquish one set of goals and pursue a new set of goals. A greater understanding of how parents undergo this transition may enable clinicians to better support them through this difficult process. PMID:24625345

Causality in cancer research: a journey through models in molecular epidemiology and their philosophical interpretation.

PubMed

Vineis, Paolo; Illari, Phyllis; Russo, Federica

2017-01-01

In the last decades, Systems Biology (including cancer research) has been driven by technology, statistical modelling and bioinformatics. In this paper we try to bring biological and philosophical thinking back. We thus aim at making different traditions of thought compatible: (a) causality in epidemiology and in philosophical theorizing-notably, the "sufficient-component-cause framework" and the "mark transmission" approach; (b) new acquisitions about disease pathogenesis, e.g. the "branched model" in cancer, and the role of biomarkers in this process; (c) the burgeoning of omics research, with a large number of "signals" and of associations that need to be interpreted. In the paper we summarize first the current views on carcinogenesis, and then explore the relevance of current philosophical interpretations of "cancer causes". We try to offer a unifying framework to incorporate biomarkers and omic data into causal models, referring to a position called "evidential pluralism". According to this view, causal reasoning is based on both "evidence of difference-making" (e.g. associations) and on "evidence of underlying biological mechanisms". We conceptualize the way scientists detect and trace signals in terms of information transmission , which is a generalization of the mark transmission theory developed by philosopher Wesley Salmon. Our approach is capable of helping us conceptualize how heterogeneous factors such as micro and macro-biological and psycho-social-are causally linked. This is important not only to understand cancer etiology, but also to design public health policies that target the right causal factors at the macro-level.

Risk factors for pressure ulcer development in critically Ill patients: a conceptual model to guide research.

PubMed

Benoit, Richard; Mion, Lorraine

2012-08-01

This paper presents a proposed conceptual model to guide research on pressure ulcer risk in critically ill patients, who are at high risk for pressure ulcer development. However, no conceptual model exists that guides risk assessment in this population. Results from a review of prospective studies were evaluated for design quality and level of statistical reporting. Multivariate findings from studies having high or medium design quality by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence standards were conceptually grouped. The conceptual groupings were integrated into Braden and Bergstrom's (Braden and Bergstrom [1987] Rehabilitation Nursing, 12, 8-12, 16) conceptual model, retaining their original constructs and augmenting their concept of intrinsic factors for tissue tolerance. The model could enhance consistency in research on pressure ulcer risk factors. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Rheological separation of the megathrust seismogenic zone and episodic tremor and slip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Xiang; Wang, Kelin

2017-03-01

Episodic tremor and accompanying slow slip, together called ETS, is most often observed in subduction zones of young and warm subducting slabs. ETS should help us to understand the mechanics of subduction megathrusts, but its mechanism is still unclear. It is commonly assumed that ETS represents a transition from seismic to aseismic behaviour of the megathrust with increasing depth, but this assumption is in contradiction with an observed spatial separation between the seismogenic zone and the ETS zone. Here we propose a unifying model for the necessary geological condition of ETS that explains the relationship between the two zones. By developing numerical thermal models, we examine the governing role of thermo-petrologically controlled fault zone rheology (frictional versus viscous shear). High temperatures in the warm-slab environment cause the megathrust seismogenic zone to terminate before reaching the depth of the intersection of the continental Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho) and the subduction interface, called the mantle wedge corner. High pore-fluid pressures around the mantle wedge corner give rise to an isolated friction zone responsible for ETS. Separating the two zones is a segment of semi-frictional or viscous behaviour. The new model reconciles a wide range of seemingly disparate observations and defines a conceptual framework for the study of slip behaviour and the seismogenesis of major faults.

Developing High-Performance Lithium Metal Anode in Liquid Electrolytes: Challenges and Progress.

PubMed

Li, Sa; Jiang, Mengwen; Xie, Yong; Xu, Hui; Jia, Junyao; Li, Ju

2018-04-01

Lithium metal anodes are potentially key for next-generation energy-dense batteries because of the extremely high capacity and the ultralow redox potential. However, notorious safety concerns of Li metal in liquid electrolytes have significantly retarded its commercialization: on one hand, lithium metal morphological instabilities (LMI) can cause cell shorting and even explosion; on the other hand, breaking of the grown Li arms induces the so-called "dead Li"; furthermore, the continuous consumption of the liquid electrolyte and cycleable lithium also shortens cell life. The research community has been seeking new strategies to protect Li metal anodes and significant progress has been made in the last decade. Here, an overview of the fundamental understandings of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, conceptual models, and advanced real-time characterizations of LMI are presented. Instructed by the conceptual models, strategies including increasing the donatable fluorine concentration (DFC) in liquid to enrich LiF component in SEI, increasing salt concentration (ionic strength) and sacrificial electrolyte additives, building artificial SEI to boost self-healing of natural SEI, and 3D electrode frameworks to reduce current density and delay Sand's extinction are summarized. Practical challenges in competing with graphite and silicon anodes are outlined. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Bidirectional associations between coparenting relations and family member anxiety: a review and conceptual model.

PubMed

Majdandžić, Mirjana; de Vente, Wieke; Feinberg, Mark E; Aktar, Evin; Bögels, Susan M

2012-03-01

Research into anxiety has largely ignored the dynamics of family systems in anxiety development. Coparenting refers to the quality of coordination between individuals responsible for the upbringing of children and links different subsystems within the family, such as the child, the marital relationship, and the parents. This review discusses the potential mechanisms and empirical findings regarding the bidirectional relations of parent and child anxiety with coparenting. The majority of studies point to bidirectional associations between greater coparenting difficulties and higher levels of anxiety. For example, the few available studies suggest that paternal and perhaps maternal anxiety is linked to lower coparental support. Also, research supports the existence of inverse links between coparenting quality and child anxiety. A child's reactive temperament appears to have adverse effects on particularly coparenting of fathers. A conceptual model is proposed that integrates the role of parental and child anxiety, parenting, and coparenting, to guide future research and the development of clinical interventions. Future research should distinguish between fathers' and mothers' coparenting behaviors, include parental anxiety, and investigate the coparental relationship longitudinally. Clinicians should be aware of the reciprocal relations between child anxiety and coparenting quality, and families presenting for treatment who report child (or parent) anxiety should be assessed for difficulties in coparenting. Clinical approaches to bolster coparenting quality are called for.

"Interactive Classification Technology"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

deBessonet, Cary

1999-01-01

The investigators are upgrading a knowledge representation language called SL (Symbolic Language) and an automated reasoning system called SMS (Symbolic Manipulation System) to enable the technologies to be used in automated reasoning and interactive classification systems. The overall goals of the project are: a) the enhancement of the representation language SL to accommodate multiple perspectives and a wider range of meaning; b) the development of a sufficient set of operators to enable the interpreter of SL to handle representations of basic cognitive acts; and c) the development of a default inference scheme to operate over SL notation as it is encoded. As to particular goals the first-year work plan focused on inferencing and.representation issues, including: 1) the development of higher level cognitive/ classification functions and conceptual models for use in inferencing and decision making; 2) the specification of a more detailed scheme of defaults and the enrichment of SL notation to accommodate the scheme; and 3) the adoption of additional perspectives for inferencing.

Rural Active Living: A Call to Action.

PubMed

Umstattd Meyer, M Renée; Moore, Justin B; Abildso, Christiaan; Edwards, Michael B; Gamble, Abigail; Baskin, Monica L

2016-01-01

Rural residents are less physically active than their urban counterparts and disproportionately affected by chronic diseases and conditions associated with insufficient activity. While the ecological model has been successful in promoting and translating active living research in urban settings, relatively little research has been conducted in rural settings. The resulting research gap prohibits a comprehensive understanding and application of solutions for active living in rural America. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to assess the evidence base for an ecological model of active living for rural populations and outline key scientific gaps that inhibit the development and application of solutions. Specifically, we reexamined the 4 domains conceptualized by the model and suggest that there is a dearth of research specific to rural communities across all areas of the framework. Considering the limited rural-specific efforts, we propose areas that need addressing to mobilize rural active living researchers and practitioners into action.

Unintended consequences of information technologies in health care--an interactive sociotechnical analysis.

PubMed

Harrison, Michael I; Koppel, Ross; Bar-Lev, Shirly

2007-01-01

Many unintended and undesired consequences of Healthcare Information Technologies (HIT) flow from interactions between the HIT and the healthcare organization's sociotechnical system-its workflows, culture, social interactions, and technologies. This paper develops and illustrates a conceptual model of these processes that we call Interactive Sociotechnical Analysis (ISTA). ISTA captures common types of interaction with special emphasis on recursive processes, i.e., feedback loops that alter the newly introduced HIT and promote second-level changes in the social system. ISTA draws on prior studies of unintended consequences, along with research in sociotechnical systems, ergonomics, social informatics, technology-in-practice, and social construction of technology. We present five types of sociotechnical interaction and illustrate each with cases from published research. The ISTA model should further research on emergent and recursive processes in HIT implementation and their unintended consequences. Familiarity with the model can also foster practitioners' awareness of unanticipated consequences that only become evident during HIT implementation.

Rural Active Living: A Call to Action

PubMed Central

Meyer, M. Renée Umstattd; Moore, Justin B.; Abildso, Christiaan; Edwards, Michael B.; Gamble, Abigail; Baskin, Monica L.

2015-01-01

Rural residents are less physically active than their urban counterparts and disproportionately affected by chronic diseases and conditions associated with insufficient activity. While the ecological model has been successful in promoting and translating active living research in urban settings, relatively little research has been conducted in rural settings. The resulting research gap prohibits a comprehensive understanding and application of solutions for active living in rural America. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to assess the evidence-base for an ecological model of active living for rural populations and outline key scientific gaps that inhibit the development and application of solutions. Specifically, we reexamined the four domains conceptualized by the model and suggest there is a dearth of research specific to rural communities across all areas of the framework. Considering the limited rural-specific efforts, we propose areas that need addressing in order to mobilize rural active living researchers and practitioners into action. PMID:26327514

Systems analysis of a closed loop ECLSS using the ASPEN simulation tool. Thermodynamic efficiency analysis of ECLSS components. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterjee, Sharmista

1993-01-01

Our first goal in this project was to perform a systems analysis of a closed loop Environmental Control Life Support System (ECLSS). This pertains to the development of a model of an existing real system from which to assess the state or performance of the existing system. Systems analysis is applied to conceptual models obtained from a system design effort. For our modelling purposes we used a simulator tool called ASPEN (Advanced System for Process Engineering). Our second goal was to evaluate the thermodynamic efficiency of the different components comprising an ECLSS. Use is made of the second law of thermodynamics to determine the amount of irreversibility of energy loss of each component. This will aid design scientists in selecting the components generating the least entropy, as our penultimate goal is to keep the entropy generation of the whole system at a minimum.

The role of 3D visualisation as an analytical tool preparatory to numerical modelling [rapid communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robins, N. S.; Rutter, H. K.; Dumpleton, S.; Peach, D. W.

2005-01-01

Groundwater investigation has long depended on the process of developing a conceptual flow model as a precursor to developing a mathematical model, which in turn may lead in complex aquifers to the development of a numerical approximation model. The assumptions made in the development of the conceptual model depend heavily on the geological framework defining the aquifer, and if the conceptual model is inappropriate then subsequent modelling will also be incorrect. Paradoxically, the development of a robust conceptual model remains difficult, not least because this 3D paradigm is usually reduced to 2D plans and sections. 3D visualisation software is now available to facilitate the development of the conceptual model, to make the model more robust and defensible and to assist in demonstrating the hydraulics of the aquifer system. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the role and cost-effectiveness of the visualisation process.

Theory and knowledge translation: setting some coordinates.

PubMed

Rycroft-Malone, Jo

2007-01-01

In a healthcare context in which research evidence is not used routinely in practice, there have been increasingly loud calls for the use of theory from investigators working in the field of knowledge translation. Implementation researchers argue that theory should be used to guide the design of testable and practical intervention strategies, and thus, contribute to generalizable knowledge about implementation interventions. The purpose of this commentary is to critique model papers writing by a team of scholars who aimed to disentangle some of the relationships determining research utilization, by scrutinizing an existing conceptual framework that acknowledges, along with other factors, the importance of contextual factors in knowledge translation. These papers are used as a vehicle to explore theory application in knowledge translation research. As theory use and development is in its infancy, some key issues, including different ideological perspectives, factors for and against theory use, ensuring conceptual clarity, selecting coherent overarching frameworks, and choosing appropriately among theories, are considered. Finally, an agenda for theory-informed research is outlined, which highlights the need for scholarly, pluralistic, and collaborative activity if the state of knowledge translation science is to advance.

Combining conceptual graphs and argumentation for aiding in the teleexpertise.

PubMed

Doumbouya, Mamadou Bilo; Kamsu-Foguem, Bernard; Kenfack, Hugues; Foguem, Clovis

2015-08-01

Current medical information systems are too complex to be meaningfully exploited. Hence there is a need to develop new strategies for maximising the exploitation of medical data to the benefit of medical professionals. It is against this backdrop that we want to propose a tangible contribution by providing a tool which combines conceptual graphs and Dung׳s argumentation system in order to assist medical professionals in their decision making process. The proposed tool allows medical professionals to easily manipulate and visualise queries and answers for making decisions during the practice of teleexpertise. The knowledge modelling is made using an open application programming interface (API) called CoGui, which offers the means for building structured knowledge bases with the dedicated functionalities of graph-based reasoning via retrieved data from different institutions (hospitals, national security centre, and nursing homes). The tool that we have described in this study supports a formal traceable structure of the reasoning with acceptable arguments to elucidate some ethical problems that occur very often in the telemedicine domain. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wandering Minds: Tracing Inner Worlds Through a Historical-Geographical Art Installation

PubMed Central

Powell, Hilary; Morrison, Hazel; Callard, Felicity

2018-01-01

The human act of wandering across landscapes and cityscapes has carved the research interests of scholars in cultural, urban, and historical geography, as well as in the humanities. Here we call for—and take the first steps toward—a historical geography of wandering that is pursued in the head rather than with the legs. We do so through analyzing how our audiovisual installation on mind wandering opened up epistemological and ontological questions facing historical geographies of the mind. This installation both modeled mind wandering as conceptualized at different historical moments and aimed to induce mental perambulation in its visitors. In so doing, it was intended both to stage and to disrupt relations between body and mind, the internal and external, attention and inattention, motion and stillness—and, importantly, between the archival and that which resists archival capture. We reflect on how we interspersed traditional scholarly historical and geographical enquiry with methods gleaned from creative practices. In particular, we consider the challenges that such practices pose for how we conceptualize archives—not least when the focus of attention comprises fugitive mental phenomena.

New linked data on research investments: scientific workforce, productivity, and public value

PubMed Central

Lane, Julia; Owen-Smith, Jason; Rosen, Rebecca; Weinberg, Bruce

2015-01-01

Longitudinal micro-data derived from transaction level information about wage and vendor payments made by federal grants on multiple U.S. campuses are being developed in a partnership involving researchers, university administrators, representatives of federal agencies, and others. This paper describes the UMETRICS data initiative that has been implemented under the auspices of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. The resulting data set reflects an emerging conceptual framework for analyzing the process, products, and impact of research. It grows from and engages the work of a diverse and vibrant community. This paper situates the UMETRICS effort in the context of research evaluation and ongoing data infrastructure efforts in order to highlight its novel and valuable features. Refocusing data construction in this field around individuals, networks, and teams offers dramatic possibilities for data linkage, the evaluation of research investments, and the development of rigorous conceptual and empirical models. Two preliminary analyses of the scientific workforce and network approaches to characterizing scientific teams ground a discussion of future directions and a call for increased community engagement. PMID:26335785

Solidarity-conflict and ambivalence: testing two conceptual frameworks and their impact on quality of life for older family members.

PubMed

Lowenstein, Ariela

2007-03-01

The purpose of this study was to test empirically two major conceptualizations of parent-child relations in later adulthood-intergenerational solidarity-conflict and ambivalence paradigms-and their predictive validity on elders' quality of life using comparative cross-national data. Data were from a sample of 2,064 elders (aged 75 and older) from the five-country OASIS study (Old Age and Autonomy: The Role of Service Systems and Intergenerational Family Solidarity; Norway, England, Germany, Spain, and Israel). Multivariate and block-recursive regression models estimated the predictivity of the two conceptualizations of family dynamics on quality of life controlling for country, personal characteristics, and activity of daily living functioning. Descriptive analyses indicated that family solidarity, especially the affective/cognitive component (called Solidarity A), was high in all five countries, whereas conflict and ambivalence were low. When I entered all three constructs into the regression Solidarity A, reciprocal intergenerational support and ambivalence predicted quality of life. Controlling for activity of daily living functioning, socioeconomics status, and country, intergenerational relations had only a weak explanatory power, and personal resources explained most of the variance. The data suggest that the three constructs exist simultaneously but in varying combinations, confirming that in cross-cultural contexts family cohesion predominates, albeit with low degrees of conflict and ambivalence. The solidarity construct evidenced relatively robust measurement. More work is required to enhance the ambivalence measurement.

Implications of Simulation Conceptual Model Development for Simulation Management and Uncertainty Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pace, Dale K.

2000-01-01

A simulation conceptual model is a simulation developers way of translating modeling requirements (i. e., what is to be represented by the simulation or its modification) into a detailed design framework (i. e., how it is to be done), from which the software, hardware, networks (in the case of distributed simulation), and systems/equipment that will make up the simulation can be built or modified. A conceptual model is the collection of information which describes a simulation developers concept about the simulation and its pieces. That information consists of assumptions, algorithms, characteristics, relationships, and data. Taken together, these describe how the simulation developer understands what is to be represented by the simulation (entities, actions, tasks, processes, interactions, etc.) and how that representation will satisfy the requirements to which the simulation responds. Thus the conceptual model is the basis for judgment about simulation fidelity and validity for any condition that is not specifically tested. The more perspicuous and precise the conceptual model, the more likely it is that the simulation development will both fully satisfy requirements and allow demonstration that the requirements are satisfied (i. e., validation). Methods used in simulation conceptual model development have significant implications for simulation management and for assessment of simulation uncertainty. This paper suggests how to develop and document a simulation conceptual model so that the simulation fidelity and validity can be most effectively determined. These ideas for conceptual model development apply to all simulation varieties. The paper relates these ideas to uncertainty assessments as they relate to simulation fidelity and validity. The paper also explores implications for simulation management from conceptual model development methods, especially relative to reuse of simulation components.

Dendritic trafficking faces physiologically critical speed-precision tradeoffs

PubMed Central

Williams, Alex H; O'Donnell, Cian; Sejnowski, Terrence J; O'Leary, Timothy

2016-01-01

Nervous system function requires intracellular transport of channels, receptors, mRNAs, and other cargo throughout complex neuronal morphologies. Local signals such as synaptic input can regulate cargo trafficking, motivating the leading conceptual model of neuron-wide transport, sometimes called the ‘sushi-belt model’ (Doyle and Kiebler, 2011). Current theories and experiments are based on this model, yet its predictions are not rigorously understood. We formalized the sushi belt model mathematically, and show that it can achieve arbitrarily complex spatial distributions of cargo in reconstructed morphologies. However, the model also predicts an unavoidable, morphology dependent tradeoff between speed, precision and metabolic efficiency of cargo transport. With experimental estimates of trafficking kinetics, the model predicts delays of many hours or days for modestly accurate and efficient cargo delivery throughout a dendritic tree. These findings challenge current understanding of the efficacy of nucleus-to-synapse trafficking and may explain the prevalence of local biosynthesis in neurons. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.20556.001 PMID:28034367

Discriminative least squares regression for multiclass classification and feature selection.

PubMed

Xiang, Shiming; Nie, Feiping; Meng, Gaofeng; Pan, Chunhong; Zhang, Changshui

2012-11-01

This paper presents a framework of discriminative least squares regression (LSR) for multiclass classification and feature selection. The core idea is to enlarge the distance between different classes under the conceptual framework of LSR. First, a technique called ε-dragging is introduced to force the regression targets of different classes moving along opposite directions such that the distances between classes can be enlarged. Then, the ε-draggings are integrated into the LSR model for multiclass classification. Our learning framework, referred to as discriminative LSR, has a compact model form, where there is no need to train two-class machines that are independent of each other. With its compact form, this model can be naturally extended for feature selection. This goal is achieved in terms of L2,1 norm of matrix, generating a sparse learning model for feature selection. The model for multiclass classification and its extension for feature selection are finally solved elegantly and efficiently. Experimental evaluation over a range of benchmark datasets indicates the validity of our method.

The Cancer Family Caregiving Experience: An Updated and Expanded Conceptual Model

PubMed Central

Fletcher, Barbara Swore; Miaskowski, Christine; Given, Barbara; Schumacher, Karen

2011-01-01

Objective The decade from 2000–2010 was an era of tremendous growth in family caregiving research specific to the cancer population. This research has implications for how cancer family caregiving is conceptualized, yet the most recent comprehensive model of cancer family caregiving was published ten years ago. Our objective was to develop an updated and expanded comprehensive model of the cancer family caregiving experience, derived from concepts and variables used in research during past ten years. Methods A conceptual model was developed based on cancer family caregiving research published from 2000–2010. Results Our updated and expanded model has three main elements: 1) the stress process, 2) contextual factors, and 3) the cancer trajectory. Emerging ways of conceptualizing the relationships between and within model elements are addressed, as well as an emerging focus on caregiver-patient dyads as the unit of analysis. Conclusions Cancer family caregiving research has grown dramatically since 2000 resulting in a greatly expanded conceptual landscape. This updated and expanded model of the cancer family caregiving experience synthesizes the conceptual implications of an international body of work and demonstrates tremendous progress in how cancer family caregiving research is conceptualized. PMID:22000812

Free-energy landscape of ion-channel voltage-sensor–domain activation

PubMed Central

Delemotte, Lucie; Kasimova, Marina A.; Klein, Michael L.; Tarek, Mounir; Carnevale, Vincenzo

2015-01-01

Voltage sensor domains (VSDs) are membrane-bound protein modules that confer voltage sensitivity to membrane proteins. VSDs sense changes in the transmembrane voltage and convert the electrical signal into a conformational change called activation. Activation involves a reorganization of the membrane protein charges that is detected experimentally as transient currents. These so-called gating currents have been investigated extensively within the theoretical framework of so-called discrete-state Markov models (DMMs), whereby activation is conceptualized as a series of transitions across a discrete set of states. Historically, the interpretation of DMM transition rates in terms of transition state theory has been instrumental in shaping our view of the activation process, whose free-energy profile is currently envisioned as composed of a few local minima separated by steep barriers. Here we use atomistic level modeling and well-tempered metadynamics to calculate the configurational free energy along a single transition from first principles. We show that this transition is intrinsically multidimensional and described by a rough free-energy landscape. Remarkably, a coarse-grained description of the system, based on the use of the gating charge as reaction coordinate, reveals a smooth profile with a single barrier, consistent with phenomenological models. Our results bridge the gap between microscopic and macroscopic descriptions of activation dynamics and show that choosing the gating charge as reaction coordinate masks the topological complexity of the network of microstates participating in the transition. Importantly, full characterization of the latter is a prerequisite to rationalize modulation of this process by lipids, toxins, drugs, and genetic mutations. PMID:25535341

Free-energy landscape of ion-channel voltage-sensor-domain activation.

PubMed

Delemotte, Lucie; Kasimova, Marina A; Klein, Michael L; Tarek, Mounir; Carnevale, Vincenzo

2015-01-06

Voltage sensor domains (VSDs) are membrane-bound protein modules that confer voltage sensitivity to membrane proteins. VSDs sense changes in the transmembrane voltage and convert the electrical signal into a conformational change called activation. Activation involves a reorganization of the membrane protein charges that is detected experimentally as transient currents. These so-called gating currents have been investigated extensively within the theoretical framework of so-called discrete-state Markov models (DMMs), whereby activation is conceptualized as a series of transitions across a discrete set of states. Historically, the interpretation of DMM transition rates in terms of transition state theory has been instrumental in shaping our view of the activation process, whose free-energy profile is currently envisioned as composed of a few local minima separated by steep barriers. Here we use atomistic level modeling and well-tempered metadynamics to calculate the configurational free energy along a single transition from first principles. We show that this transition is intrinsically multidimensional and described by a rough free-energy landscape. Remarkably, a coarse-grained description of the system, based on the use of the gating charge as reaction coordinate, reveals a smooth profile with a single barrier, consistent with phenomenological models. Our results bridge the gap between microscopic and macroscopic descriptions of activation dynamics and show that choosing the gating charge as reaction coordinate masks the topological complexity of the network of microstates participating in the transition. Importantly, full characterization of the latter is a prerequisite to rationalize modulation of this process by lipids, toxins, drugs, and genetic mutations.

Conceptualizing Effectiveness in Disability Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Bruin, Catriona L.

2017-01-01

Policies promoting evidence-based practice in education typically endorse evaluations of the effectiveness of teaching strategies through specific experimental research designs and methods. A number of researchers have critiqued this approach to evaluation as narrow and called for greater methodological sophistication. This paper discusses the…

Government in the Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curran, Donald J.; And Others

1985-01-01

This issue begins with information on new economic education curriculum materials and includes a conceptual introduction to the relationship between local government and the economy. Following this, four instructional units are provided. The first unit, called "Communities Need Rules," is intended for preschool and kindergarten children.…

Music Education and Spirituality: A Philosophical Exploration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Anthony J.

1995-01-01

Examines spirituality in music, not as a historical perspective, but as an essential, experiential component. Discusses transcendent states engendered in religion, music, and art. Calls for a new conceptualization of arts education and curriculum incorporating spirituality into humanistic education and self actualization. (MJP)

Personal Finance: An Interdisciplinary Profession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuchardt, Jane; Bagwell, Dorothy C; Bailey, William C.; DeVaney, Sharon A.; Grable, John E.; Leech, Irene E.; Lown, Jean M.; Sharpe, Deanna L.; Xiao, Jing J.

2007-01-01

This commentary recommends that financial counseling and planning research, education, and practice be framed as an interdisciplinary profession called personal finance. Authors summarize the history of the profession and key theories providing the conceptual foundation. In order for the emerging profession of personal finance to achieve…

Why College Students Cheat: A Conceptual Model of Five Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Hongwei; Glanzer, Perry L.; Johnson, Byron R.; Sriram, Rishi; Moore, Brandon

2018-01-01

Though numerous studies have identified factors associated with academic misconduct, few have proposed conceptual models that could make sense of multiple factors. In this study, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a conceptual model of five factors using data from a relatively large sample of 2,503 college students. The results…

A conceptual modeling framework for discrete event simulation using hierarchical control structures.

PubMed

Furian, N; O'Sullivan, M; Walker, C; Vössner, S; Neubacher, D

2015-08-01

Conceptual Modeling (CM) is a fundamental step in a simulation project. Nevertheless, it is only recently that structured approaches towards the definition and formulation of conceptual models have gained importance in the Discrete Event Simulation (DES) community. As a consequence, frameworks and guidelines for applying CM to DES have emerged and discussion of CM for DES is increasing. However, both the organization of model-components and the identification of behavior and system control from standard CM approaches have shortcomings that limit CM's applicability to DES. Therefore, we discuss the different aspects of previous CM frameworks and identify their limitations. Further, we present the Hierarchical Control Conceptual Modeling framework that pays more attention to the identification of a models' system behavior, control policies and dispatching routines and their structured representation within a conceptual model. The framework guides the user step-by-step through the modeling process and is illustrated by a worked example.

Conceptualizing Telehealth in Nursing Practice: Advancing a Conceptual Model to Fill a Virtual Gap.

PubMed

Nagel, Daniel A; Penner, Jamie L

2016-03-01

Increasingly nurses use various telehealth technologies to deliver health care services; however, there has been a lag in research and generation of empirical knowledge to support nursing practice in this expanding field. One challenge to generating knowledge is a gap in development of a comprehensive conceptual model or theoretical framework to illustrate relationships of concepts and phenomena inherent to adoption of a broad range of telehealth technologies to holistic nursing practice. A review of the literature revealed eight published conceptual models, theoretical frameworks, or similar entities applicable to nursing practice. Many of these models focus exclusively on use of telephones and four were generated from qualitative studies, but none comprehensively reflect complexities of bridging nursing process and elements of nursing practice into use of telehealth. The purpose of this article is to present a review of existing conceptual models and frameworks, discuss predominant themes and features of these models, and present a comprehensive conceptual model for telehealth nursing practice synthesized from this literature for consideration and further development. This conceptual model illustrates characteristics of, and relationships between, dimensions of telehealth practice to guide research and knowledge development in provision of holistic person-centered care delivery to individuals by nurses through telehealth technologies. © The Author(s) 2015.

Preface to RIGiM 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rolland, Colette; Yu, Eric; Salinesi, Camille; Castro, Jaelson

The use of intentional concepts, the notion of "goal" in particular, has been prominent in recent approaches to requirement engineering (RE). Goal-oriented frameworks and methods for requirements engineering (GORE) have been keynote topics in requirements engineering, conceptual modelling, and more generally in software engineering. What are the conceptual modelling foundations in these approaches? RIGiM (Requirements Intentions and Goals in Conceptual Modelling) aims to provide a forum for discussing the interplay between requirements engineering and conceptual modelling, and in particular, to investigate how goal- and intention-driven approaches help in conceptualising purposeful systems. What are the fundamental objectives and premises of requirements engineering and conceptual modelling respectively, and how can they complement each other? What are the demands on conceptual modelling from the standpoint of requirements engineering? What conceptual modelling techniques can be further taken advantage of in requirements engineering? What are the upcoming modelling challenges and issues in GORE? What are the unresolved open questions? What lessons are there to be learnt from industrial experiences? What empirical data are there to support the cost-benefit analysis when adopting GORE methods? Are there application domains or types of project settings for which goals and intentional approaches are particularly suitable or not suitable? What degree of formalization and automation, or interactivity is feasible and appropriate for what types of participants during requirements engineering?

The relevance of the philosophical 'mind-body problem' for the status of psychosomatic medicine: a conceptual analysis of the biopsychosocial model.

PubMed

Van Oudenhove, Lukas; Cuypers, Stefaan

2014-05-01

Psychosomatic medicine, with its prevailing biopsychosocial model, aims to integrate human and exact sciences with their divergent conceptual models. Therefore, its own conceptual foundations, which often remain implicit and unknown, may be critically relevant. We defend the thesis that choosing between different metaphysical views on the 'mind-body problem' may have important implications for the conceptual foundations of psychosomatic medicine, and therefore potentially also for its methods, scientific status and relationship with the scientific disciplines it aims to integrate: biomedical sciences (including neuroscience), psychology and social sciences. To make this point, we introduce three key positions in the philosophical 'mind-body' debate (emergentism, reductionism, and supervenience physicalism) and investigate their consequences for the conceptual basis of the biopsychosocial model in general and its 'psycho-biological' part ('mental causation') in particular. Despite the clinical merits of the biopsychosocial model, we submit that it is conceptually underdeveloped or even flawed, which may hamper its use as a proper scientific model.

Conceptual frameworks in astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pundak, David

2016-06-01

How to evaluate students' astronomy understanding is still an open question. Even though some methods and tools to help students have already been developed, the sources of students' difficulties and misunderstanding in astronomy is still unclear. This paper presents an investigation of the development of conceptual systems in astronomy by 50 engineering students, as a result of learning a general course on astronomy. A special tool called Conceptual Frameworks in Astronomy (CFA) that was initially used in 1989, was adapted to gather data for the present research. In its new version, the tool included 23 questions, and five to six optional answers were given for each question. Each of the answers was characterized by one of the four conceptual astronomical frameworks: pre-scientific, geocentric, heliocentric and sidereal or scientific. The paper describes the development of the tool and discusses its validity and reliability. Using the CFA we were able to identify the conceptual frameworks of the students at the beginning of the course and at its end. CFA enabled us to evaluate the paradigmatic change of students following the course and also the extent of the general improvement in astronomical knowledge. It was found that the measure of the students’ improvement (gain index) was g = 0.37. Approximately 45% of the students in the course improved their understanding of conceptual frameworks in astronomy and 26% deepened their understanding of the heliocentric or sidereal conceptual frameworks.

Accurate Modeling of Galaxy Clustering on Small Scales: Testing the Standard ΛCDM + Halo Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinha, Manodeep; Berlind, Andreas A.; McBride, Cameron; Scoccimarro, Roman

2015-01-01

The large-scale distribution of galaxies can be explained fairly simply by assuming (i) a cosmological model, which determines the dark matter halo distribution, and (ii) a simple connection between galaxies and the halos they inhabit. This conceptually simple framework, called the halo model, has been remarkably successful at reproducing the clustering of galaxies on all scales, as observed in various galaxy redshift surveys. However, none of these previous studies have carefully modeled the systematics and thus truly tested the halo model in a statistically rigorous sense. We present a new accurate and fully numerical halo model framework and test it against clustering measurements from two luminosity samples of galaxies drawn from the SDSS DR7. We show that the simple ΛCDM cosmology + halo model is not able to simultaneously reproduce the galaxy projected correlation function and the group multiplicity function. In particular, the more luminous sample shows significant tension with theory. We discuss the implications of our findings and how this work paves the way for constraining galaxy formation by accurate simultaneous modeling of multiple galaxy clustering statistics.

Modeling in the Classroom: An Evolving Learning Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Few, A. A.; Marlino, M. R.; Low, R.

2006-12-01

Among the early programs (early 1990s) focused on teaching Earth System Science were the Global Change Instruction Program (GCIP) funded by NSF through UCAR and the Earth System Science Education Program (ESSE) funded by NASA through USRA. These two programs introduced modeling as a learning tool from the beginning, and they provided workshops, demonstrations and lectures for their participating universities. These programs were aimed at university-level education. Recently, classroom modeling is experiencing a revival of interest. Drs John Snow and Arthur Few conducted two workshops on modeling at the ESSE21 meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska, in August 2005. The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) at http://www.dlese.org provides web access to STELLA models and tutorials, and UCAR's Education and Outreach (EO) program holds workshops that include training in modeling. An important innovation to the STELLA modeling software by isee systems, http://www.iseesystems.com, called "isee Player" is available as a free download. The Player allows users to view and run STELLA models, change model parameters, share models with colleagues and students, and make working models available on the web. This is important because the expert can create models, and the user can learn how the modeled system works. Another aspect of this innovation is that the educational benefits of modeling concepts can be extended throughout most of the curriculum. The procedure for building a working computer model of an Earth Science System follows this general format: (1) carefully define the question(s) for which you seek the answer(s); (2) identify the interacting system components and inputs contributing to the system's behavior; (3) collect the information and data that will be required to complete the conceptual model; (4) construct a system diagram (graphic) of the system that displays all of system's central questions, components, relationships and required inputs. At this stage in the process the conceptual model of the system is compete and a clear understanding of how the system works is achieved. When appropriate software is available the advanced classes can proceed to (5) creating a computer model of the system and testing the conceptual model. For classes lacking these advanced capabilities they may view and run models using the free isee Player and shared working models. In any event there is understanding to be gained in every step of the procedure outlined above. You can view some examples at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~few/. We plan to populate this site with samples of Earth science systems for use in Earth system science education.

Development of a semi-automated model identification and calibration tool for conceptual modelling of sewer systems.

PubMed

Wolfs, Vincent; Villazon, Mauricio Florencio; Willems, Patrick

2013-01-01

Applications such as real-time control, uncertainty analysis and optimization require an extensive number of model iterations. Full hydrodynamic sewer models are not sufficient for these applications due to the excessive computation time. Simplifications are consequently required. A lumped conceptual modelling approach results in a much faster calculation. The process of identifying and calibrating the conceptual model structure could, however, be time-consuming. Moreover, many conceptual models lack accuracy, or do not account for backwater effects. To overcome these problems, a modelling methodology was developed which is suited for semi-automatic calibration. The methodology is tested for the sewer system of the city of Geel in the Grote Nete river basin in Belgium, using both synthetic design storm events and long time series of rainfall input. A MATLAB/Simulink(®) tool was developed to guide the modeller through the step-wise model construction, reducing significantly the time required for the conceptual modelling process.

Conceptual Models and Guidelines for Clinical Assessment of Financial Capacity

PubMed Central

Marson, Daniel

2016-01-01

The ability to manage financial affairs is a life skill of critical importance, and neuropsychologists are increasingly asked to assess financial capacity across a variety of settings. Sound clinical assessment of financial capacity requires knowledge and appreciation of applicable clinical conceptual models and principles. However, the literature has presented relatively little conceptual guidance for clinicians concerning financial capacity and its assessment. This article seeks to address this gap. The article presents six clinical models of financial capacity : (1) the early gerontological IADL model of Lawton, (2) the clinical skills model and (3) related cognitive psychological model developed by Marson and colleagues, (4) a financial decision-making model adapting earlier decisional capacity work of Appelbaum and Grisso, (5) a person-centered model of financial decision-making developed by Lichtenberg and colleagues, and (6) a recent model of financial capacity in the real world developed through the Institute of Medicine. Accompanying presentation of the models is discussion of conceptual and practical perspectives they represent for clinician assessment. Based on the models, the article concludes by presenting a series of conceptually oriented guidelines for clinical assessment of financial capacity. In summary, sound assessment of financial capacity requires knowledge and appreciation of clinical conceptual models and principles. Awareness of such models, principles and guidelines will strengthen and advance clinical assessment of financial capacity. PMID:27506235

An investigation of constraint-based component-modeling for knowledge representation in computer-aided conceptual design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolb, Mark A.

1990-01-01

Originally, computer programs for engineering design focused on detailed geometric design. Later, computer programs for algorithmically performing the preliminary design of specific well-defined classes of objects became commonplace. However, due to the need for extreme flexibility, it appears unlikely that conventional programming techniques will prove fruitful in developing computer aids for engineering conceptual design. The use of symbolic processing techniques, such as object-oriented programming and constraint propagation, facilitate such flexibility. Object-oriented programming allows programs to be organized around the objects and behavior to be simulated, rather than around fixed sequences of function- and subroutine-calls. Constraint propagation allows declarative statements to be understood as designating multi-directional mathematical relationships among all the variables of an equation, rather than as unidirectional assignments to the variable on the left-hand side of the equation, as in conventional computer programs. The research has concentrated on applying these two techniques to the development of a general-purpose computer aid for engineering conceptual design. Object-oriented programming techniques are utilized to implement a user-extensible database of design components. The mathematical relationships which model both geometry and physics of these components are managed via constraint propagation. In addition, to this component-based hierarchy, special-purpose data structures are provided for describing component interactions and supporting state-dependent parameters. In order to investigate the utility of this approach, a number of sample design problems from the field of aerospace engineering were implemented using the prototype design tool, Rubber Airplane. The additional level of organizational structure obtained by representing design knowledge in terms of components is observed to provide greater convenience to the program user, and to result in a database of engineering information which is easier both to maintain and to extend.

CONCEPTUAL MODELS AND METHODS TO GUIDE DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH INTO CAUSES OF IMPAIRMENT TO AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

Methods and conceptual models to guide the development of tools for diagnosing the causes of biological impairment within aquatic ecosystems of the United States are described in this report. The conceptual models developed here address nutrients, suspended and bedded sediments (...

The effectiveness of a head-heart-hands model for natural and environmental science learning in urban schools.

PubMed

Jagannathan, Radha; Camasso, Michael J; Delacalle, Maia

2018-02-01

We describe an environmental and natural science program called Nurture thru Nature (NtN) that seeks to improve mathematics and science performance of students in disadvantaged communities, and to increase student interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. The program draws conceptual guidance from the Head-Heart-Hands model that informs the current educational movement to foster environmental understanding and sustainability. Employing an experimental design and data from seven cohorts of students, we find some promising, albeit preliminary, indications that the program can increase students' science knowledge and grades in mathematics, science and language arts. We discuss the special adaptations that environmental and sustainability education programs need to incorporate if they are to be successful in today's resource depleted urban schools. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring the gender gap in the conceptual survey of electricity and magnetism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, Rachel; Stewart, Gay; Stewart, John; Michaluk, Lynnette; Traxler, Adrienne

2017-12-01

The "gender gap" on various physics conceptual evaluations has been extensively studied. Men's average pretest scores on the Force Concept Inventory and Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation are 13% higher than women's, and post-test scores are on average 12% higher than women's. This study analyzed the gender differences within the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) in which the gender gap has been less well studied and is less consistent. In the current study, data collected from 1407 students (77% men, 23% women) in a calculus-based physics course over ten semesters showed that male students outperformed female students on the CSEM pretest (5%) and post-test (6%). Separate analyses were conducted for qualitative and quantitative problems on lab quizzes and course exams and showed that male students outperformed female students by 3% on qualitative quiz and exam problems. Male and female students performed equally on the quantitative course exam problems. The gender gaps within CSEM post-test scores, qualitative lab quiz scores, and qualitative exam scores were insignificant for students with a CSEM pretest score of 25% or less but grew as pretest scores increased. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that a latent variable, called Conceptual Physics Performance/Non-Quantitative (CPP/NonQnt), orthogonal to quantitative test performance was useful in explaining the differences observed in qualitative performance; this variable was most strongly related to CSEM post-test scores. The CPP/NonQnt of male students was 0.44 standard deviations higher than female students. The CSEM pretest measured CPP/NonQnt much less accurately for women (R2=4 % ) than for men (R2=17 % ). The failure to detect a gender gap for students scoring 25% or less on the pretest suggests that the CSEM instrument itself is not gender biased. The failure to find a performance difference in quantitative test performance while detecting a gap in qualitative performance suggests the qualitative differences do not result from psychological factors such as science anxiety or stereotype threat.

Continuous state-space representation of a bucket-type rainfall-runoff model: a case study with the GR4 model using state-space GR4 (version 1.0)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Léonard; Thirel, Guillaume; Perrin, Charles

2018-04-01

In many conceptual rainfall-runoff models, the water balance differential equations are not explicitly formulated. These differential equations are solved sequentially by splitting the equations into terms that can be solved analytically with a technique called operator splitting. As a result, only the solutions of the split equations are used to present the different models. This article provides a methodology to make the governing water balance equations of a bucket-type rainfall-runoff model explicit and to solve them continuously. This is done by setting up a comprehensive state-space representation of the model. By representing it in this way, the operator splitting, which makes the structural analysis of the model more complex, could be removed. In this state-space representation, the lag functions (unit hydrographs), which are frequent in rainfall-runoff models and make the resolution of the representation difficult, are first replaced by a so-called Nash cascade and then solved with a robust numerical integration technique. To illustrate this methodology, the GR4J model is taken as an example. The substitution of the unit hydrographs with a Nash cascade, even if it modifies the model behaviour when solved using operator splitting, does not modify it when the state-space representation is solved using an implicit integration technique. Indeed, the flow time series simulated by the new representation of the model are very similar to those simulated by the classic model. The use of a robust numerical technique that approximates a continuous-time model also improves the lag parameter consistency across time steps and provides a more time-consistent model with time-independent parameters.

The Truth about PEDMAS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ameis, Jerry A.

2011-01-01

When learning the order of operations, students are instructed to adhere to a directive when determining the numerical value of an arithmetic expression. A more typical approach is the use of a popular mnemonic called PEDMAS (parentheses, exponents, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction). The literature is scant on conceptual approaches…

Systematic Planning for Educational Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGuffey, Carroll W.

This monograph provides a systematic approach to the problem of planning educational facilities. It first presents a conceptual framework for a general facilities planning and management system called Facilities Resource Allocation Management Evaluation System (FRAMES). The main components of FRAMES are identified as: (1) needs assessment, (2)…

Enacting Post-Reflexive Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vagle, Mark D.; Monette, Rachel; Thiel, Jaye Johnson; Wester-Neal, Katie

2017-01-01

The purpose of this article is to re-conceptualize Schön's call for a phenomenology of practice--moving away from reflection and towards "post-reflexion"--by explicitly drawing on philosophical and methodological tenets of phenomenology, specifically some of Vagle's theorizing of a "post-intentional phenomenology." Finally, we…

Designing Effective Supports for Causal Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jonassen, David H.; Ionas, Ioan Gelu

2008-01-01

Causal reasoning represents one of the most basic and important cognitive processes that underpin all higher-order activities, such as conceptual understanding and problem solving. Hume called causality the "cement of the universe" [Hume (1739/2000). Causal reasoning is required for making predictions, drawing implications and…

Interactive computer aided shift scheduling.

PubMed

Gaertner, J

2001-12-01

This paper starts with a discussion of computer aided shift scheduling. After a brief review of earlier approaches, two conceptualizations of this field are introduced: First, shift scheduling as a field that ranges from extremely stable rosters at one pole to rather market-like approaches on the other pole. Unfortunately, already small alterations of a scheduling problem (e.g., the number of groups, the number of shifts) may call for rather different approaches and tools. Second, their environment shapes scheduling problems and scheduling has to be done within idiosyncratic organizational settings. This calls for the amalgamation of scheduling with other tasks (e.g., accounting) and for reflections whether better solutions might become possible by changes in the problem definition (e.g., other service levels, organizational changes). Therefore shift scheduling should be understood as a highly connected problem. Building upon these two conceptualizations, a few examples of software that ease scheduling in some areas of this field are given and future research questions are outlined.

A conceptual modeling framework for discrete event simulation using hierarchical control structures

PubMed Central

Furian, N.; O’Sullivan, M.; Walker, C.; Vössner, S.; Neubacher, D.

2015-01-01

Conceptual Modeling (CM) is a fundamental step in a simulation project. Nevertheless, it is only recently that structured approaches towards the definition and formulation of conceptual models have gained importance in the Discrete Event Simulation (DES) community. As a consequence, frameworks and guidelines for applying CM to DES have emerged and discussion of CM for DES is increasing. However, both the organization of model-components and the identification of behavior and system control from standard CM approaches have shortcomings that limit CM’s applicability to DES. Therefore, we discuss the different aspects of previous CM frameworks and identify their limitations. Further, we present the Hierarchical Control Conceptual Modeling framework that pays more attention to the identification of a models’ system behavior, control policies and dispatching routines and their structured representation within a conceptual model. The framework guides the user step-by-step through the modeling process and is illustrated by a worked example. PMID:26778940

Can the Neuman Systems Model be adapted to the Malaysian nursing context?

PubMed

Shamsudin, Nafsiah

2002-04-01

Nursing in Malaysia is still developing as a profession. Issues such as using nursing conceptual models or frameworks in the delivery of nursing care have not been addressed by the majority of nurses. One reason for this has been the level of education and preparation of nurses, while another reason lies with the origins of existing nursing conceptual models. Most nursing conceptual models have their origins in North America. Their utility by nurses of different cultures and academic preparations might not be appropriate. Nursing is a social activity, an interaction between the nurse and the patient. It is carried out in a social environment within a particular culture. Conceptual models developed in one culture might not be readily implanted into another culture. This paper discusses how a conceptual model developed in North America; that is, the Neuman Systems Model, can be adapted into the Malaysian nursing context.

CLARA conceptual design report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarke, J. A.; Angal-Kalinin, D.; Bliss, N.; Buckley, R.; Buckley, S.; Cash, R.; Corlett, P.; Cowie, L.; Cox, G.; Diakun, G. P.; Dunning, D. J.; Fell, B. D.; Gallagher, A.; Goudket, P.; Goulden, A. R.; Holland, D. M. P.; Jamison, S. P.; Jones, J. K.; Kalinin, A. S.; Liggins, W.; Ma, L.; Marinov, K. B.; Martlew, B.; McIntosh, P. A.; McKenzie, J. W.; Middleman, K. J.; Militsyn, B. L.; Moss, A. J.; Muratori, B. D.; Roper, M. D.; Santer, R.; Saveliev, Y.; Snedden, E.; Smith, R. J.; Smith, S. L.; Surman, M.; Thakker, T.; Thompson, N. R.; Valizadeh, R.; Wheelhouse, A. E.; Williams, P. H.; Bartolini, R.; Martin, I.; Barlow, R.; Kolano, A.; Burt, G.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Newton, D.; Wolski, A.; Appleby, R. B.; Owen, H. L.; Serluca, M.; Xia, G.; Boogert, S.; Lyapin, A.; Campbell, L.; McNeil, B. W. J.; Paramonov, V. V.

2014-05-01

This report describes the conceptual design of a proposed free electron laser test facility called CLARA that will be a major upgrade to the existing VELA accelerator test facility at Daresbury Laboratory in the UK. CLARA will be able to test a number of new free electron laser schemes that have been proposed but require a proof of principle experiment to confirm that they perform as predicted. The primary focus of CLARA will be on ultra short photon pulse generation which will take free electron lasers into a whole new regime, enabling a new area of photon science to emerge.

Improving Education and Public Outreach Through Astronomy Education Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Timothy F.

2005-04-01

Following in the footsteps of physics education research, the relatively new field of astronomy education research is already making dramatic improvements to the teaching and learning of astronomy. Whereas physics education research has focused predominantly on the introductory physics course, astronomy education is working on developing instruments and models to understand widely ranging domains that span K-12, undergraduate majors and non-majors, and even into the realms of public outreach. As one example, the repeated call for a more student-centered approach to teaching due to the ineffectiveness of lecture has been gaining prominence in the astronomy teaching community. At the beginning of a large-enrollment introductory astronomy survey course, we administered 68-multiple choice items as a pretest to 81 students. At the end of each lecture we administered the specific items related to that particular day's lecture a second time as a posttest. The pretest was 30% correct and the test, when given after lecture alone showed 52% correct. These results illustrate that instructor-centered strategies are largely ineffective at promoting meaningful conceptual gains. Alternatively, when using curriculum materials created from a basis of astronomy education research, we find that the posttest average score grows beyond 70%. Each 15-minute Lecture-Tutorial poses a carefully crafted sequence of conceptually challenging, Socratic-dialogue driven questions, along with graphs and data tables, all designed to encourage students to reason critically about difficult concepts in astronomy. A significant effort was focused on carefully evaluating changes in students' conceptual understanding and attitudes toward learning astronomy. The quantitative and qualitative results strongly suggest that the Lecture-Tutorials help students make significant conceptual gains.

Conceptualizing patient empowerment in cancer follow-up by combining theory and qualitative data.

PubMed

Johnsen, Anna Thit; Eskildsen, Nanna Bjerg; Thomsen, Thora Grothe; Grønvold, Mogens; Ross, Lone; Jørgensen, Clara R

2017-02-01

Patient empowerment (PE) may be defined as the opportunity for patients to master issues important to their own health. The aim of this study was to conceptualize PE and how the concept manifests itself for cancer patients attending follow-up, in order to develop a relevant and sensitive questionnaire for this population. A theoretical model of PE was made, based on Zimmerman's theory of psychological empowerment. Patients who were in follow-up after first line treatment for their cancer (n = 16) were interviewed about their experiences with follow-up. A deductive thematic analysis was conducted to contextualize the theory and find concrete manifestations of empowerment. Data were analyzed to find situations that expressed empowerment or lack of empowerment. We then analyzed what abilities these situations called for and we further analyzed how these abilities fitted Zimmerman's theory. In all, 16 patients from two different hospitals participated in the interviews. PE in cancer follow-up was conceptualized as: (1) the perception that one had the possibility of mastering treatment and care (e.g. the possibility of 'saying no' to treatment and getting in contact with health care when needed); (2) having knowledge and skills regarding, for example treatment, care, plan of treatment and care, normal reactions and late effects, although knowledge and information was not always considered positively; and (3) being able to make the health care system address one's concerns and needs and, for some patients, also being able to monitor one's treatment, tests and care. We conceptualized PE based on Zimmerman's theory and empirical data to contextualize the concept in cancer follow-up. When developing a patient reported outcome measure measuring PE for this group of patients, one needs to be attentive to differences in wishes regarding mastery.

Conceptual Model Learning Objects and Design Recommendations for Small Screens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Churchill, Daniel

2011-01-01

This article presents recommendations for the design of conceptual models for applications via handheld devices such as personal digital assistants and some mobile phones. The recommendations were developed over a number of years through experience that involves design of conceptual models, and applications of these multimedia representations with…

Semantic Description of Educational Adaptive Hypermedia Based on a Conceptual Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papasalouros, Andreas; Retalis, Symeon; Papaspyrou, Nikolaos

2004-01-01

The role of conceptual modeling in Educational Adaptive Hypermedia Applications (EAHA) is especially important. A conceptual model of an educational application depicts the instructional solution that is implemented, containing information about concepts that must be ac-quired by learners, tasks in which learners must be involved and resources…

A Multivariate Model of Conceptual Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taasoobshirazi, Gita; Heddy, Benjamin; Bailey, MarLynn; Farley, John

2016-01-01

The present study used the Cognitive Reconstruction of Knowledge Model (CRKM) model of conceptual change as a framework for developing and testing how key cognitive, motivational, and emotional variables are linked to conceptual change in physics. This study extends an earlier study developed by Taasoobshirazi and Sinatra ("J Res Sci…

Conceptual Model of Research to Reduce Stigma Related to Mental Disorders in Adolescents

PubMed Central

Pinto-Foltz, Melissa D.; Logsdon, M. Cynthia

2010-01-01

Purpose: To explicate an initial conceptual model that is amenable to testing and guiding anti-stigma interventions with adolescents. Design/Sources Used: Multidisciplinary research and theoretical articles were reviewed. . Conclusions: The conceptual model may guide anti-stigma interventions, and undergo testing and refinement in the future to reflect scientific advances in stigma reduction among adolescents. Use of a conceptual model enhances empirical evaluation of anti-stigma interventions yielding a casual explanation for the intervention effects and enhances clinical applicability of interventions across settings. PMID:19916813

[Self-Determination in Medical Rehabilitation - Development of a Conceptual Model for Further Theoretical Discussion].

PubMed

Senin, Tatjana; Meyer, Thorsten

2018-01-22

Aim was to gather theoretical knowledge about self-determination and to develop a conceptual model for medical rehabilitation- which serves as a basis for discussion. We performed a literature research in electronic databases. Various theories and research results were adopted and transferred to the context of medical rehabilitation and into a conceptual model. The conceptual model of self-determination reflects on a continuum which forms of self-determination may be present in situations of medical rehabilitation treatments. The location on the continuum depends theoretically on the manifestation of certain internal and external factors that may influence each other. The model provides a first conceptualization of self-determination focusing on medical rehabilitation which should be further refined and tested empirically. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Data Modeling & the Infrastructural Nature of Conceptual Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lesh, Richard; Caylor, Elizabeth; Gupta, Shweta

2007-01-01

The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the infrastructural nature of many modern conceptual technologies. The focus of this paper is on conceptual tools associated with elementary types of data modeling. We intend to show a variety of ways in which these conceptual tools not only express thinking, but also mold and shape thinking. And those ways…

A Conceptual Model for Increasing Use of Electronic Medical Records by Primary Care Physicians Through End-User Support.

PubMed

Randhawa, Gurprit K

2017-01-01

A conceptual model for exploring the relationship between end-user support (EUS) and electronic medical record (EMR) use by primary care physicians is presented. The model was developed following a review of conceptual and theoretical frameworks related to technology adoption/use and EUS. The model includes (a) one core construct (facilitating conditions), (b) four antecedents and one postcedent of facilitating conditions, and (c) four moderators. EMR use behaviour is the key outcome of the model. The proposed conceptual model should be tested. The model may be used to inform planning and decision-making for EMR implementations to increase EMR use for benefits realization.

Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions and models.

PubMed

Sørensen, Kristine; Van den Broucke, Stephan; Fullam, James; Doyle, Gerardine; Pelikan, Jürgen; Slonska, Zofia; Brand, Helmut

2012-01-25

Health literacy concerns the knowledge and competences of persons to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. Although its importance is increasingly recognised, there is no consensus about the definition of health literacy or about its conceptual dimensions, which limits the possibilities for measurement and comparison. The aim of the study is to review definitions and models on health literacy to develop an integrated definition and conceptual model capturing the most comprehensive evidence-based dimensions of health literacy. A systematic literature review was performed to identify definitions and conceptual frameworks of health literacy. A content analysis of the definitions and conceptual frameworks was carried out to identify the central dimensions of health literacy and develop an integrated model. The review resulted in 17 definitions of health literacy and 12 conceptual models. Based on the content analysis, an integrative conceptual model was developed containing 12 dimensions referring to the knowledge, motivation and competencies of accessing, understanding, appraising and applying health-related information within the healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion setting, respectively. Based upon this review, a model is proposed integrating medical and public health views of health literacy. The model can serve as a basis for developing health literacy enhancing interventions and provide a conceptual basis for the development and validation of measurement tools, capturing the different dimensions of health literacy within the healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion settings.

Primary School Teachers' Understanding of Science Process Skills in Relation to Their Teaching Qualifications and Teaching Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahali, Edy H. M.; Halim, Lilia; Treagust, David F.; Won, Mihye; Chandrasegaran, A. L.

2017-04-01

This study investigated the understanding of science process skills (SPS) of 329 science teachers from 52 primary schools selected by random sampling. The understanding of SPS was measured in terms of conceptual and operational aspects of SPS using an instrument called the Science Process Skills Questionnaire (SPSQ) with a Cronbach's alpha reliability of 0.88. The findings showed that the teachers' conceptual understanding of SPS was much weaker than their practical application of SPS. The teachers' understanding of SPS differed by their teaching qualifications but not so much by their teaching experience. Emphasis needs to be given to both conceptual and operational understanding of SPS during pre-service and in-service teacher education to enable science teachers to use the skills and implement inquiry-based lessons in schools.

Revivalist Thinking and Student Conceptualizations of Science/Religion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koul, Ravinder

2003-01-01

Worldview theory in science education has generally proceeded from an assumption that there exist distinguishable entities called "science" and "indigenous knowledge" in all times and every place in the world. This assumption has been the philosophical ground point of typologies that describe the relationship between science…

"Stone Walks": Inhuman Animacies and Queer Archives of Feeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springgay, Stephanie; Truman, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

Excavating what Jeffrey Cohen [2015. "Stone: An ecology of the inhuman." Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press] calls "lithic ecomateriality," in this paper we illustrate how rocks have traditionally been conceptualized through three tropes: rocks as insensate; rocks as personified; and rocks as transformative. We take up…

Recognition-Based Pedagogy: Teacher Candidates' Experience of Deficit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkison, Paul T.; DaoJensen, Thuy

2014-01-01

This study seeks to introduce what we call "recognition-based pedagogy" as a conceptual frame through which teachers and instructors can collaboratively develop educative experiences with students. Recognition-based pedagogy connects the theories of critical pedagogy, identity politics, and the politics of recognition with the educative…

A Conceptual Structure of Visual Metaphor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serig, Daniel

2006-01-01

The study of metaphor involves numerous fields in recent history from cognitive neuroscience to linguistics. Visual metaphor research occupies an underrepresented area of inquiry. With the development of the cognitive sciences, a cognitive view of metaphoric thinking is emerging. This calls for a reconsideration of visual metaphor in the…

The Challenging Academic Development (CAD) Collective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peseta, Tai

2005-01-01

This article discusses the Challenging Academic Development (CAD) Collective and describes how it came out of a symposium called "Liminality, identity, and hybridity: On the promise of new conceptual frameworks for theorising academic/faculty development." The CAD Collective is and represents a space where people can open up their…

Doing the Meiosis Shuffle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krauskopf, Sara

1999-01-01

Presents a game called the Meiosis Shuffle that helps students simulate the process of meiosis in which homologous cards representing chromosomes pair up, line up, and split apart. Students respond well to the simulation and are better able to conceptualize what chromosomes do and how independent assortment causes genetic variation. (CCM)

Cultivating Research Pedagogies with Adolescents: Created Spaces, Engaged Participation, and Embodied Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wissman, Kelly K.; Staples, Jeanine M.; Vasudevan, Lalitha; Nichols, Rachel E.

2015-01-01

This paper conceptualizes an approach to adolescent literacies research we call "research pedagogies." This approach recognizes the pedagogical features of the research process and includes three dimensions: created spaces, engaged participation, and embodied inquiry. By drawing upon and sometimes recasting foundational anthropological…

An Exemplar for Teaching and Learning Qualitative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Leech, Nancy L.; Slate, John R.; Stark, Marcella; Sharma, Bipin; Frels, Rebecca; Harris, Kristin; Combs, Julie P.

2012-01-01

In this article, we outline a course wherein the instructors teach students how to conduct rigorous qualitative research. We discuss the four major distinct, but overlapping, phases of the course: conceptual/theoretical, technical, applied, and emergent scholar. Students write several qualitative reports, called qualitative notebooks, which…

Qualitative Research in Counseling Psychology: Conceptual Foundations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrow, Susan L.

2007-01-01

Beginning with calls for methodological diversity in counseling psychology, this article addresses the history and current state of qualitative research in counseling psychology. It identifies the historical and disciplinary origins as well as basic assumptions and underpinnings of qualitative research in general, as well as within counseling…

Building Entrepreneurial Architectures: A Conceptual Interpretation of the Third Mission

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vorley, Tim; Nelles, Jen

2009-01-01

Universities are increasingly being challenged to become more socially and economically relevant institutions under the guise of the so-called "Third Mission". This phenomenon, articulated in policy, has prompted the emergence of a growing literature documenting the evolution of the contemporary university, and specifically addressing…

Cognitive balanced model: a conceptual scheme of diagnostic decision making.

PubMed

Lucchiari, Claudio; Pravettoni, Gabriella

2012-02-01

Diagnostic reasoning is a critical aspect of clinical performance, having a high impact on quality and safety of care. Although diagnosis is fundamental in medicine, we still have a poor understanding of the factors that determine its course. According to traditional understanding, all information used in diagnostic reasoning is objective and logically driven. However, these conditions are not always met. Although we would be less likely to make an inaccurate diagnosis when following rational decision making, as described by normative models, the real diagnostic process works in a different way. Recent work has described the major cognitive biases in medicine as well as a number of strategies for reducing them, collectively called debiasing techniques. However, advances have encountered obstacles in achieving implementation into clinical practice. While traditional understanding of clinical reasoning has failed to consider contextual factors, most debiasing techniques seem to fail in raising sound and safer medical praxis. Technological solutions, being data driven, are fundamental in increasing care safety, but they need to consider human factors. Thus, balanced models, cognitive driven and technology based, are needed in day-to-day applications to actually improve the diagnostic process. The purpose of this article, then, is to provide insight into cognitive influences that have resulted in wrong, delayed or missed diagnosis. Using a cognitive approach, we describe the basis of medical error, with particular emphasis on diagnostic error. We then propose a conceptual scheme of the diagnostic process by the use of fuzzy cognitive maps. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The clinical educator and complexity: a review.

PubMed

Schoo, Adrian; Kumar, Koshila

2018-02-08

Complexity science perspectives have helped in examining fundamental assumptions about learning and teaching in the health professions. The implications of complexity thinking for how we understand the role and development of the clinical educator is less well articulated. This review article outlines: the key principles of complexity science; a conceptual model that situates the clinical educator in a complex system; and the implications for the individual, organisation and the system. Our conceptual model situates the clinical educator at the centre of a complex and dynamic system spanning four domains and multiple levels. The four domains are: personal (encompassing personal/professional needs and expectations); health services (health agencies and their consumers); educational (educational institutions and their health students); and societal (local community/region and government). The system also comprises: micro or individual, meso or organisational, and macro or socio-political levels. Our model highlights that clinical educators are situated within a complex system comprising different agents and connections. It emphasises that individuals, teams and organisations need to recognise and be responsive to the unpredictability, interconnectedness and evolving nature of this system. Importantly, our article also calls for an epistemological shift from faculty development to capacity building in health professions education, aimed at developing individual, team, organisational and system capabilities to work with(in) complexity. Clinical educators are situated within a complex system comprising different agents and connections. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

Leading change: a concept analysis.

PubMed

Nelson-Brantley, Heather V; Ford, Debra J

2017-04-01

To report an analysis of the concept of leading change. Nurses have been called to lead change to advance the health of individuals, populations, and systems. Conceptual clarity about leading change in the context of nursing and healthcare systems provides an empirical direction for future research and theory development that can advance the science of leadership studies in nursing. Concept analysis. CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, Health Business Elite and Business Source Premier databases were searched using the terms: leading change, transformation, reform, leadership and change. Literature published in English from 2001 - 2015 in the fields of nursing, medicine, organizational studies, business, education, psychology or sociology were included. Walker and Avant's method was used to identify descriptions, antecedents, consequences and empirical referents of the concept. Model, related and contrary cases were developed. Five defining attributes of leading change were identified: (a) individual and collective leadership; (b) operational support; (c) fostering relationships; (d) organizational learning; and (e) balance. Antecedents were external or internal driving forces and organizational readiness. The consequences of leading change included improved organizational performance and outcomes and new organizational culture and values. A theoretical definition and conceptual model of leading change were developed. Future studies that use and test the model may contribute to the refinement of a middle-range theory to advance nursing leadership research and education. From this, empirically derived interventions that prepare and enable nurses to lead change to advance health may be realized. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Including policy and management in socio-hydrology models: initial conceptualizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hermans, Leon; Korbee, Dorien

2017-04-01

Socio-hydrology studies the interactions in coupled human-water systems. So far, the use of dynamic models that capture the direct feedback between societal and hydrological systems has been dominant. What has not yet been included with any particular emphasis, is the policy or management layer, which is a central element in for instance integrated water resources management (IWRM) or adaptive delta management (ADM). Studying the direct interactions between human-water systems generates knowledges that eventually helps influence these interactions in ways that may ensure better outcomes - for society and for the health and sustainability of water systems. This influence sometimes occurs through spontaneous emergence, uncoordinated by societal agents - private sector, citizens, consumers, water users. However, the term 'management' in IWRM and ADM also implies an additional coordinated attempt through various public actors. This contribution is a call to include the policy and management dimension more prominently into the research focus of the socio-hydrology field, and offers first conceptual variables that should be considered in attempts to include this policy or management layer in socio-hydrology models. This is done by drawing on existing frameworks to study policy processes throughout both planning and implementation phases. These include frameworks such as the advocacy coalition framework, collective learning and policy arrangements, which all emphasis longer-term dynamics and feedbacks between actor coalitions in strategic planning and implementation processes. A case about longter-term dynamics in the management of the Haringvliet in the Netherlands is used to illustrate the paper.

Multiparadigm Design Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

following results: 1. New methods for programming in terms of conceptual models 2. Design of object-oriented languages 3. Compiler optimization and...experimented with object-based methods for programming directly in terms of conceptual models, object-oriented language design, computer program...expect the3e results to have a strong influence on future ,,j :- ...... L ! . . • a mm ammmml ll Illlll • l I 1 Conceptual Programming Conceptual

Combining Different Conceptual Change Methods within 5E Model: A Sample Teaching Design of "Cell" Concept and its Organelles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urey, Mustafa; Calik, Muammer

2008-01-01

Since students' misconceptions are not completely remedied by means of only one conceptual change method, the authors assume that using different conceptual methods embedded within the 5E model will not only be more effective in enhancing students' conceptual understanding, but also may eliminate all students' misconceptions. The aim of this study…

The Value of Conceptual Models in Coping with Complexity and Interdisciplinarity in Environmental Sciences Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fortuin, Karen P. J.; van Koppen, C. S. A.; Leemans, Rik

2011-01-01

Conceptual models are useful for facing the challenges of environmental sciences curriculum and course developers and students. These challenges are inherent to the interdisciplinary and problem-oriented character of environmental sciences curricula. In this article, we review the merits of conceptual models in facing these challenges. These…

OBO to UML: Support for the development of conceptual models in the biomedical domain.

PubMed

Waldemarin, Ricardo C; de Farias, Cléver R G

2018-04-01

A conceptual model abstractly defines a number of concepts and their relationships for the purposes of understanding and communication. Once a conceptual model is available, it can also be used as a starting point for the development of a software system. The development of conceptual models using the Unified Modeling Language (UML) facilitates the representation of modeled concepts and allows software developers to directly reuse these concepts in the design of a software system. The OBO Foundry represents the most relevant collaborative effort towards the development of ontologies in the biomedical domain. The development of UML conceptual models in the biomedical domain may benefit from the use of domain-specific semantics and notation. Further, the development of these models may also benefit from the reuse of knowledge contained in OBO ontologies. This paper investigates the support for the development of conceptual models in the biomedical domain using UML as a conceptual modeling language and using the support provided by the OBO Foundry for the development of biomedical ontologies, namely entity kind and relationship types definitions provided by the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) and the OBO Core Relations Ontology (OBO Core), respectively. Further, the paper investigates the support for the reuse of biomedical knowledge currently available in OBOFFF ontologies in the development these conceptual models. The paper describes a UML profile for the OBO Core Relations Ontology, which basically defines a number of stereotypes to represent BFO entity kinds and OBO Core relationship types definitions. The paper also presents a support toolset consisting of a graphical editor named OBO-RO Editor, which directly supports the development of UML models using the extensions defined by our profile, and a command-line tool named OBO2UML, which directly converts an OBOFFF ontology into a UML model. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrating health and environmental impact analysis.

PubMed

Reis, S; Morris, G; Fleming, L E; Beck, S; Taylor, T; White, M; Depledge, M H; Steinle, S; Sabel, C E; Cowie, H; Hurley, F; Dick, J McP; Smith, R I; Austen, M

2015-10-01

Scientific investigations have progressively refined our understanding of the influence of the environment on human health, and the many adverse impacts that human activities exert on the environment, from the local to the planetary level. Nonetheless, throughout the modern public health era, health has been pursued as though our lives and lifestyles are disconnected from ecosystems and their component organisms. The inadequacy of the societal and public health response to obesity, health inequities, and especially global environmental and climate change now calls for an ecological approach which addresses human activity in all its social, economic and cultural complexity. The new approach must be integral to, and interactive, with the natural environment. We see the continuing failure to truly integrate human health and environmental impact analysis as deeply damaging, and we propose a new conceptual model, the ecosystems-enriched Drivers, Pressures, State, Exposure, Effects, Actions or 'eDPSEEA' model, to address this shortcoming. The model recognizes convergence between the concept of ecosystems services which provides a human health and well-being slant to the value of ecosystems while equally emphasizing the health of the environment, and the growing calls for 'ecological public health' as a response to global environmental concerns now suffusing the discourse in public health. More revolution than evolution, ecological public health will demand new perspectives regarding the interconnections among society, the economy, the environment and our health and well-being. Success must be built on collaborations between the disparate scientific communities of the environmental sciences and public health as well as interactions with social scientists, economists and the legal profession. It will require outreach to political and other stakeholders including a currently largely disengaged general public. The need for an effective and robust science-policy interface has never been more pressing. Conceptual models can facilitate this by providing theoretical frameworks and supporting stakeholder engagement process simplifications for inherently complex situations involving environment and human health and well-being. They can be tools to think with, to engage, to communicate and to help navigate in a sea of complexity. We believe models such as eDPSEEA can help frame many of the issues which have become the challenges of the new public health era and can provide the essential platforms necessary for progress. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Common Core for Active Conceptual Modeling for Learning from Surprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liddle, Stephen W.; Embley, David W.

The new field of active conceptual modeling for learning from surprises (ACM-L) may be helpful in preserving life, protecting property, and improving quality of life. The conceptual modeling community has developed sound theory and practices for conceptual modeling that, if properly applied, could help analysts model and predict more accurately. In particular, we need to associate more semantics with links, and we need fully reified high-level objects and relationships that have a clear, formal underlying semantics that follows a natural, ontological approach. We also need to capture more dynamic aspects in our conceptual models to more accurately model complex, dynamic systems. These concepts already exist, and the theory is well developed; what remains is to link them with the ideas needed to predict system evolution, thus enabling risk assessment and response planning. No single researcher or research group will be able to achieve this ambitious vision alone. As a starting point, we recommend that the nascent ACM-L community agree on a common core model that supports all aspects—static and dynamic—needed for active conceptual modeling in support of learning from surprises. A common core will more likely gain the traction needed to sustain the extended ACM-L research effort that will yield the advertised benefits of learning from surprises.

Abstraction of complex concepts with a refined partial-area taxonomy of SNOMED

PubMed Central

Wang, Yue; Halper, Michael; Wei, Duo; Perl, Yehoshua; Geller, James

2012-01-01

An algorithmically-derived abstraction network, called the partial-area taxonomy, for a SNOMED hierarchy has led to the identification of concepts considered complex. The designation “complex” is arrived at automatically on the basis of structural analyses of overlap among the constituent concept groups of the partial-area taxonomy. Such complex concepts, called overlapping concepts, constitute a tangled portion of a hierarchy and can be obstacles to users trying to gain an understanding of the hierarchy’s content. A new methodology for partitioning the entire collection of overlapping concepts into singly-rooted groups, that are more manageable to work with and comprehend, is presented. Different kinds of overlapping concepts with varying degrees of complexity are identified. This leads to an abstract model of the overlapping concepts called the disjoint partial-area taxonomy, which serves as a vehicle for enhanced, high-level display. The methodology is demonstrated with an application to SNOMED’s Specimen hierarchy. Overall, the resulting disjoint partial-area taxonomy offers a refined view of the hierarchy’s structural organization and conceptual content that can aid users, such as maintenance personnel, working with SNOMED. The utility of the disjoint partial-area taxonomy as the basis for a SNOMED auditing regimen is presented in a companion paper. PMID:21878396

Simulation of green roof runoff under different substrate depths and vegetation covers by coupling a simple conceptual and a physically based hydrological model.

PubMed

Soulis, Konstantinos X; Valiantzas, John D; Ntoulas, Nikolaos; Kargas, George; Nektarios, Panayiotis A

2017-09-15

In spite of the well-known green roof benefits, their widespread adoption in the management practices of urban drainage systems requires the use of adequate analytical and modelling tools. In the current study, green roof runoff modeling was accomplished by developing, testing, and jointly using a simple conceptual model and a physically based numerical simulation model utilizing HYDRUS-1D software. The use of such an approach combines the advantages of the conceptual model, namely simplicity, low computational requirements, and ability to be easily integrated in decision support tools with the capacity of the physically based simulation model to be easily transferred in conditions and locations other than those used for calibrating and validating it. The proposed approach was evaluated with an experimental dataset that included various green roof covers (either succulent plants - Sedum sediforme, or xerophytic plants - Origanum onites, or bare substrate without any vegetation) and two substrate depths (either 8 cm or 16 cm). Both the physically based and the conceptual models matched very closely the observed hydrographs. In general, the conceptual model performed better than the physically based simulation model but the overall performance of both models was sufficient in most cases as it is revealed by the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency index which was generally greater than 0.70. Finally, it was showcased how a physically based and a simple conceptual model can be jointly used to allow the use of the simple conceptual model for a wider set of conditions than the available experimental data and in order to support green roof design. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Conceptual Models for Internet Search: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uden, Lorna; Tearne, Stephen; Alderson, Albert

This paper describes the creation and evaluation of a World Wide Web-based courseware module, using conceptual models based on constructivism, that teaches novices how to use the Internet for searching. Questionnaires and interviews were used to understand the difficulties of a group of novices. The conceptual model of the experts for the task was…

Feasibility of Implementing an All-Volunteer Force for the ROK Armed Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

Korea’s current military/economic/political/social factors for voluntary recruitment through an open-systems conceptual model. Results indicate that the...recruitment through an open-systems conceptual model. Results indicate that the draft should be maintained for the near future, but this does not...7 A. A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR DEFENSE ORGANIZATION

Teacher Emotion Research: Introducing a Conceptual Model to Guide Future Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fried, Leanne; Mansfield, Caroline; Dobozy, Eva

2015-01-01

This article reports on the development of a conceptual model of teacher emotion through a review of teacher emotion research published between 2003 and 2013. By examining 82 publications regarding teacher emotion, the main aim of the review was to identify how teacher emotion was conceptualised in the literature and develop a conceptual model to…

Showing Automatically Generated Students' Conceptual Models to Students and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez-Marin, Diana; Pascual-Nieto, Ismael

2010-01-01

A student conceptual model can be defined as a set of interconnected concepts associated with an estimation value that indicates how well these concepts are used by the students. It can model just one student or a group of students, and can be represented as a concept map, conceptual diagram or one of several other knowledge representation…

Applying a Conceptual Model in Sport Sector Work- Integrated Learning Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agnew, Deborah; Pill, Shane; Orrell, Janice

2017-01-01

This paper applies a conceptual model for work-integrated learning (WIL) in a multidisciplinary sports degree program. Two examples of WIL in sport will be used to illustrate how the conceptual WIL model is being operationalized. The implications for practice are that curriculum design must recognize a highly flexible approach to the nature of…

Using Item Response Theory to Conduct a Distracter Analysis on Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Battisti, Bryce Thomas; Hanegan, Nikki; Sudweeks, Richard; Cates, Rex

2010-01-01

Concept inventories are often used to assess current student understanding although conceptual change models are problematic. Due to controversies with conceptual change models and the realities of student assessment, it is important that concept inventories are evaluated using a variety of theoretical models to improve quality. This study used a…

Delivering "Virtual Ethnicity" Drama: A Pedagogical Design for Bridging Digital and Diversity Barriers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, E. Vincent

2015-01-01

This study examines an original dramaturgical method for creating virtual world experience called virtual world drama. The instructional focus is improving students' aptitude for analyzing ethnic identity by instilling both conceptual and multicultural competency. An exploratory research method is used, relying on observation (disguised and…

Toward a Conceptual Framework for Measuring the Effectiveness of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences in Undergraduate Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brownell, Sara E.; Kloser, Matthew J.

2015-01-01

Recent calls for reform have advocated for extensive changes to undergraduate science lab experiences, namely providing more authentic research experiences for students. Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have attempted to eschew the limitations of traditional "cookbook" laboratory exercises and have received…

Forum: Learning Outcomes in Communication. "Diversity Matters" Continued: Student Learning Outcomes in Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahl, Shawn T.; Williams, Kesha Morant; Berkos, Kristen M.; Disbrow, Lynn M.

2016-01-01

Using the conceptual foundation "diversity matters" (Orbe & Allen, 2008), this essay calls for research examining the NCA learning outcomes in communication related to diversity, inclusion, privilege, and intercultural communication (mostly existing in LOC 8). The authors argue this research will serve as a relevant and vital…

Organizational Justice as a Framework for Understanding Union-Management Relations in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poole, Wendy L.

2007-01-01

In this article, I have conceptualized union-management relations using an organizational justice framework. I consider organizational justice theory, including distributive, procedural, interactional, and what I call relational justice perspectives. Utilizing examples from my experience and research, I illustrate and discuss various forms of…

A Critical Review of Erickson's Readings in Educational Organization and Administration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charters, W. W., Jr.

In this review of Donald A. Erickson's book, "Educational Organization and Administration," the author focuses on what Erickson calls a "paradigm shift" in research and in the conceptualizations that undergird research. Erickson argues that research should be concerned primarily with productivity in the educational system, and…

The Perils of Repressive Tolerance in Music Education Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perrine, William M.

2017-01-01

In recent years, philosophers of music education have called for a greater degree of political engagement by music education practitioners. Using Marcuse's discussion of "repressive tolerance" as a conceptual framework, I argue that a politicized curriculum in music education works against the liberal ideas of free speech and a free…

Logical Demonomy Among the Ewe in West Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dzobo, N. K.

1974-01-01

Examines the indigenous pattern of moral behavior among the Ewe, an ethnic and linguistic group in West Africa, and assesses its role in moral education within the African context. The author develops a conceptual framework he calls "logical demonomy" that he uses to define the Ewe system of moral laws. (JT)

Inner-City Children's Graphics Call for Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Lucia Y.

2010-01-01

In a graduate literacy course, the author as the teacher educator conceptualized "Visual Literacy" into the course. In-service and pre-service teachers from inner-city schools in Georgia and Virginia invited struggling writers to create graphic novels by envisioning life activities, using drawings, and invented spellings as well as…

Managing Contraction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, William

The major thesis of this paper on declining resources and enrollment is that the management of decline, or, as the author calls it, "contraction," is not simply an economic and technical problem; it is basically a conceptual and political one. The author first considers the effects of contraction on schools, buildings, and courses,…

Empirical Investigations of the Intraverbal: 2005-2015

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aguirre, Angelica A.; Valentino, Amber L.; LeBlanc, Linda A.

2016-01-01

Several papers have reviewed the literature based on Skinner's conceptual framework presented in his 1957 book, "Verbal Behavior." These reviews have called for more research on the topic of verbal behavior generally and often for more research on particular verbal operants. For example, Sautter and LeBlanc (2006) urged the…

Love as Ethico-Political Practice: Inventing Reparative Pedagogies of Aimance in "Disjointed" Times

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zembylas, Michalinos

2017-01-01

This article draws on the conceptualization of love as ethico-political practice and a nonidentitarian strategy for political communities to present possibilities for thinking pedagogically about what the late Moroccan writer and philosopher Abdelkebir Khatibi called "aimance". Khatibis's constructed term for affinity, affection,…

Omani Twelfth Grade Students' Most Common Misconceptions in Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.; Ambusaidi, Abdullah K.; Al-Shuaili, Ali H.; Taylor, Neil

2012-01-01

The current study, undertaken in the Sultanate of Oman, explored twelfth grade students' common misconceptions in seven chemistry conceptual areas. The sample included 786 twelfth grade students in Oman while the instrument was a two-tier test called Chemistry Misconceptions Diagnostic Test (CMDT), consisting of 25 items with 12 items…

Exploring Our Ecological Selves within Learning Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Katrina S.

2012-01-01

Purpose: The paper's aim is to explore the connection between individual worldviews, called ecological selves, and organizational change, which allows people to create the conditions to confront the global environmental challenges they face as a species. Design/methodology/approach: The essay is a conceptual one, with reference to a small…

Crystallizing Conditions, Developmental Advance and Education. First Annual Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feldman, David

This research report outlines progress made in the development of a conceptual framework (called "crystallization") which is intended to explain the conditions found to be critical to the child's potential for developmental change. The research completed and proposed on crystallization has centered around four main areas of activity: (1)…

Using Student Development Theories as Conceptual Frameworks in Leadership Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Julie E.

2012-01-01

Theories of student learning and development are particularly important in leadership education because they make prescriptions about how people can adopt increasingly complex ways of being, knowing, and doing--essential forms of development for leadership learning. Increasingly, there is a call for leadership educators to adopt interdisciplinary…

Dynamical Systems Approaches to Emotional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camras, Linda A.; Witherington, David C.

2005-01-01

Within the last 20 years, transitions in the conceptualization of emotion and its development have given rise to calls for an explanatory framework that captures emotional development in all its organizational complexity and variability. Recent attempts have been made to couch emotional development in terms of a dynamical systems approach through…

77 FR 60680 - Development of the Nationwide Interoperable Public Safety Broadband Network

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-04

... public comment on the conceptual network architecture presentation made at the FirstNet Board of... business plan considerations. NTIA also seeks comment on the general concept of how to develop applications... network based on a single, nationwide network architecture called for under the Middle Class Tax Relief...

Performative Somaesthetics: Principles and Scope

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mullis, Eric C.

2006-01-01

John Dewey's aesthetic has been invoked in recent discussions because many have realized that it resists the pull toward conceptualism that characterizes a great deal of aesthetic theory. Further, Art as Experience--Dewey's chief work on the philosophy of art--is rich with ideas that call for development. Richard Shusterman's work does just this…

An examination of the language construct in NIMH's research domain criteria: Time for reconceptualization!

PubMed Central

Wolters, Maria K.; Whalley, Heather C.; Gountouna, Viktoria‐Eleni; Kuznetsova, Ksenia A.; Watson, Andrew R.

2016-01-01

The National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Initiative “calls for the development of new ways of classifying psychopathology based on dimensions of observable behavior.” As a result of this ambitious initiative, language has been identified as an independent construct in the RDoC matrix. In this article, we frame language within an evolutionary and neuropsychological context and discuss some of the limitations to the current measurements of language. Findings from genomics and the neuroimaging of performance during language tasks are discussed in relation to serious mental illness and within the context of caveats regarding measuring language. Indeed, the data collection and analysis methods employed to assay language have been both aided and constrained by the available technologies, methodologies, and conceptual definitions. Consequently, different fields of language research show inconsistent definitions of language that have become increasingly broad over time. Individually, they have also shown significant improvements in conceptual resolution, as well as in experimental and analytic techniques. More recently, language research has embraced collaborations across disciplines, notably neuroscience, cognitive science, and computational linguistics and has ultimately re‐defined classical ideas of language. As we move forward, the new models of language with their remarkably multifaceted constructs force a re‐examination of the NIMH RDoC conceptualization of language and thus the neuroscience and genetics underlying this concept. © 2016 The Authors. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:26968151

The dual process model of coping with bereavement: rationale and description.

PubMed

Stroebe, M; Schut, H

1999-01-01

There are shortcomings in traditional theorizing about effective ways of coping with bereavement, most notably, with respect to the so-called "grief work hypothesis." Criticisms include imprecise definition, failure to represent dynamic processing that is characteristic of grieving, lack of empirical evidence and validation across cultures and historical periods, and a limited focus on intrapersonal processes and on health outcomes. Therefore, a revised model of coping with bereavement, the dual process model, is proposed. This model identifies two types of stressors, loss- and restoration-oriented, and a dynamic, regulatory coping process of oscillation, whereby the grieving individual at times confronts, at other times avoids, the different tasks of grieving. This model proposes that adaptive coping is composed of confrontation--avoidance of loss and restoration stressors. It also argues the need for dosage of grieving, that is, the need to take respite from dealing with either of these stressors, as an integral part of adaptive coping. Empirical research to support this conceptualization is discussed, and the model's relevance to the examination of complicated grief, analysis of subgroup phenomena, as well as interpersonal coping processes, is described.

Differential morphology and image processing.

PubMed

Maragos, P

1996-01-01

Image processing via mathematical morphology has traditionally used geometry to intuitively understand morphological signal operators and set or lattice algebra to analyze them in the space domain. We provide a unified view and analytic tools for morphological image processing that is based on ideas from differential calculus and dynamical systems. This includes ideas on using partial differential or difference equations (PDEs) to model distance propagation or nonlinear multiscale processes in images. We briefly review some nonlinear difference equations that implement discrete distance transforms and relate them to numerical solutions of the eikonal equation of optics. We also review some nonlinear PDEs that model the evolution of multiscale morphological operators and use morphological derivatives. Among the new ideas presented, we develop some general 2-D max/min-sum difference equations that model the space dynamics of 2-D morphological systems (including the distance computations) and some nonlinear signal transforms, called slope transforms, that can analyze these systems in a transform domain in ways conceptually similar to the application of Fourier transforms to linear systems. Thus, distance transforms are shown to be bandpass slope filters. We view the analysis of the multiscale morphological PDEs and of the eikonal PDE solved via weighted distance transforms as a unified area in nonlinear image processing, which we call differential morphology, and briefly discuss its potential applications to image processing and computer vision.

Neighborhood income and major depressive disorder in a large Dutch population: results from the LifeLines Cohort study.

PubMed

Klijs, Bart; Kibele, Eva U B; Ellwardt, Lea; Zuidersma, Marij; Stolk, Ronald P; Wittek, Rafael P M; Mendes de Leon, Carlos M; Smidt, Nynke

2016-08-11

Previous studies are inconclusive on whether poor socioeconomic conditions in the neighborhood are associated with major depressive disorder. Furthermore, conceptual models that relate neighborhood conditions to depressive disorder have not been evaluated using empirical data. In this study, we investigated whether neighborhood income is associated with major depressive episodes. We evaluated three conceptual models. Conceptual model 1: The association between neighborhood income and major depressive episodes is explained by diseases, lifestyle factors, stress and social participation. Conceptual model 2: A low individual income relative to the mean income in the neighborhood is associated with major depressive episodes. Conceptual model 3: A high income of the neighborhood buffers the effect of a low individual income on major depressive disorder. We used adult baseline data from the LifeLines Cohort Study (N = 71,058) linked with data on the participants' neighborhoods from Statistics Netherlands. The current presence of a major depressive episode was assessed using the MINI neuropsychiatric interview. The association between neighborhood income and major depressive episodes was assessed using a mixed effect logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, marital status, education and individual (equalized) income. This regression model was sequentially adjusted for lifestyle factors, chronic diseases, stress, and social participation to evaluate conceptual model 1. To evaluate conceptual models 2 and 3, an interaction term for neighborhood income*individual income was included. Multivariate regression analysis showed that a low neighborhood income is associated with major depressive episodes (OR (95 % CI): 0.82 (0.73;0.93)). Adjustment for diseases, lifestyle factors, stress, and social participation attenuated this association (ORs (95 % CI): 0.90 (0.79;1.01)). Low individual income was also associated with major depressive episodes (OR (95 % CI): 0.72 (0.68;0.76)). The interaction of individual income*neighborhood income on major depressive episodes was not significant (p = 0.173). Living in a low-income neighborhood is associated with major depressive episodes. Our results suggest that this association is partly explained by chronic diseases, lifestyle factors, stress and poor social participation, and thereby partly confirm conceptual model 1. Our results do not support conceptual model 2 and 3.

Health literacy and public health: A systematic review and integration of definitions and models

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Health literacy concerns the knowledge and competences of persons to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. Although its importance is increasingly recognised, there is no consensus about the definition of health literacy or about its conceptual dimensions, which limits the possibilities for measurement and comparison. The aim of the study is to review definitions and models on health literacy to develop an integrated definition and conceptual model capturing the most comprehensive evidence-based dimensions of health literacy. Methods A systematic literature review was performed to identify definitions and conceptual frameworks of health literacy. A content analysis of the definitions and conceptual frameworks was carried out to identify the central dimensions of health literacy and develop an integrated model. Results The review resulted in 17 definitions of health literacy and 12 conceptual models. Based on the content analysis, an integrative conceptual model was developed containing 12 dimensions referring to the knowledge, motivation and competencies of accessing, understanding, appraising and applying health-related information within the healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion setting, respectively. Conclusions Based upon this review, a model is proposed integrating medical and public health views of health literacy. The model can serve as a basis for developing health literacy enhancing interventions and provide a conceptual basis for the development and validation of measurement tools, capturing the different dimensions of health literacy within the healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion settings. PMID:22276600

Relational Autonomy in Assisted Living: A Focus on Diverse Care Settings for Older Adults

PubMed Central

Perkins, Molly M.; Ball, Mary M.; Whittington, Frank J.; Hollingsworth, Carole

2012-01-01

Consistent with Western cultural values, the traditional liberal theory of autonomy, which places emphasis on self-determination, liberty of choice, and freedom from interference by others, has been a leading principle in health care discourse for several decades. In context to aging, chronic illness, disability, and long-term care, increasingly there has been a call for a relational conception of autonomy that acknowledges issues of dependency, interdependence, and care relationships. Although autonomy is a core philosophy of assisted living (AL) and a growing number of studies focus on this issue, theory development in this area is lagging and little research has considered race, class, or cultural differences, despite the growing diversity of AL. We present a conceptual model of autonomy in AL based on over a decade of research conducted in diverse facility settings. This relational model provides an important conceptual lens for understanding the dynamic linkages between varieties of factors at multiple levels of social structure that shape residents' ability to maintain a sense of autonomy in this often socially challenging care environment. Social and institutional change, which is ongoing, as well as the multiple and ever-changing cultural contexts within which residents are embedded, are important factors that shape residents' experiences over time and impact resident-facility fit and residents' ability to age in place. PMID:22707852

A Systematic Review of Conceptual Frameworks of Medical Complexity and New Model Development.

PubMed

Zullig, Leah L; Whitson, Heather E; Hastings, Susan N; Beadles, Chris; Kravchenko, Julia; Akushevich, Igor; Maciejewski, Matthew L

2016-03-01

Patient complexity is often operationalized by counting multiple chronic conditions (MCC) without considering contextual factors that can affect patient risk for adverse outcomes. Our objective was to develop a conceptual model of complexity addressing gaps identified in a review of published conceptual models. We searched for English-language MEDLINE papers published between 1 January 2004 and 16 January 2014. Two reviewers independently evaluated abstracts and all authors contributed to the development of the conceptual model in an iterative process. From 1606 identified abstracts, six conceptual models were selected. One additional model was identified through reference review. Each model had strengths, but several constructs were not fully considered: 1) contextual factors; 2) dynamics of complexity; 3) patients' preferences; 4) acute health shocks; and 5) resilience. Our Cycle of Complexity model illustrates relationships between acute shocks and medical events, healthcare access and utilization, workload and capacity, and patient preferences in the context of interpersonal, organizational, and community factors. This model may inform studies on the etiology of and changes in complexity, the relationship between complexity and patient outcomes, and intervention development to improve modifiable elements of complex patients.

Open Vehicle Sketch Pad Aircraft Modeling Strategies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hahn, Andrew S.

2013-01-01

Geometric modeling of aircraft during the Conceptual design phase is very different from that needed for the Preliminary or Detailed design phases. The Conceptual design phase is characterized by the rapid, multi-disciplinary analysis of many design variables by a small engineering team. The designer must walk a line between fidelity and productivity, picking tools and methods with the appropriate balance of characteristics to achieve the goals of the study, while staying within the available resources. Identifying geometric details that are important, and those that are not, is critical to making modeling and methodology choices. This is true for both the low-order analysis methods traditionally used in Conceptual design as well as the highest-order analyses available. This paper will highlight some of Conceptual design's characteristics that drive the designer s choices as well as modeling examples for several aircraft configurations using the open source version of the Vehicle Sketch Pad (Open VSP) aircraft Conceptual design geometry modeler.

Towards a representation of priming on soil carbon decomposition in the global land biosphere model ORCHIDEE (version 1.9.5.2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guenet, Bertrand; Esteban Moyano, Fernando; Peylin, Philippe; Ciais, Philippe; Janssens, Ivan A.

2016-03-01

Priming of soil carbon decomposition encompasses different processes through which the decomposition of native (already present) soil organic matter is amplified through the addition of new organic matter, with new inputs typically being more labile than the native soil organic matter. Evidence for priming comes from laboratory and field experiments, but to date there is no estimate of its impact at global scale and under the current anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon cycle. Current soil carbon decomposition models do not include priming mechanisms, thereby introducing uncertainty when extrapolating short-term local observations to ecosystem and regional to global scale. In this study we present a simple conceptual model of decomposition priming, called PRIM, able to reproduce laboratory (incubation) and field (litter manipulation) priming experiments. Parameters for this model were first optimized against data from 20 soil incubation experiments using a Bayesian framework. The optimized parameter values were evaluated against another set of soil incubation data independent from the ones used for calibration and the PRIM model reproduced the soil incubations data better than the original, CENTURY-type soil decomposition model, whose decomposition equations are based only on first-order kinetics. We then compared the PRIM model and the standard first-order decay model incorporated into the global land biosphere model ORCHIDEE (Organising Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic Ecosystems). A test of both models was performed at ecosystem scale using litter manipulation experiments from five sites. Although both versions were equally able to reproduce observed decay rates of litter, only ORCHIDEE-PRIM could simulate the observed priming (R2 = 0.54) in cases where litter was added or removed. This result suggests that a conceptually simple and numerically tractable representation of priming adapted to global models is able to capture the sign and magnitude of the priming of litter and soil organic matter.

Towards a representation of priming on soil carbon decomposition in the global land biosphere model ORCHIDEE (version 1.9.5.2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guenet, B.; Moyano, F. E.; Peylin, P.; Ciais, P.; Janssens, I. A.

2015-10-01

Priming of soil carbon decomposition encompasses different processes through which the decomposition of native (already present) soil organic matter is amplified through the addition of new organic matter, with new inputs typically being more labile than the native soil organic matter. Evidence for priming comes from laboratory and field experiments, but to date there is no estimate of its impact at global scale and under the current anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon cycle. Current soil carbon decomposition models do not include priming mechanisms, thereby introducing uncertainty when extrapolating short-term local observations to ecosystem and regional to global scale. In this study we present a simple conceptual model of decomposition priming, called PRIM, able to reproduce laboratory (incubation) and field (litter manipulation) priming experiments. Parameters for this model were first optimized against data from 20 soil incubation experiments using a Bayesian framework. The optimized parameter values were evaluated against another set of soil incubation data independent from the ones used for calibration and the PRIM model reproduced the soil incubations data better than the original, CENTURY-type soil decomposition model, whose decomposition equations are based only on first order kinetics. We then compared the PRIM model and the standard first order decay model incorporated into the global land biosphere model ORCHIDEE. A test of both models was performed at ecosystem scale using litter manipulation experiments from 5 sites. Although both versions were equally able to reproduce observed decay rates of litter, only ORCHIDEE-PRIM could simulate the observed priming (R2 = 0.54) in cases where litter was added or removed. This result suggests that a conceptually simple and numerically tractable representation of priming adapted to global models is able to capture the sign and magnitude of the priming of litter and soil organic matter.

Challenges in Requirements Engineering: A Research Agenda for Conceptual Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

March, Salvatore T.; Allen, Gove N.

Domains for which information systems are developed deal primarily with social constructions—conceptual objects and attributes created by human intentions and for human purposes. Information systems play an active role in these domains. They document the creation of new conceptual objects, record and ascribe values to their attributes, initiate actions within the domain, track activities performed, and infer conclusions based on the application of rules that govern how the domain is affected when socially-defined and identified causal events occur. Emerging applications of information technologies evaluate such business rules, learn from experience, and adapt to changes in the domain. Conceptual modeling grammars aimed at representing their system requirements must include conceptual objects, socially-defined events, and the rules pertaining to them. We identify challenges to conceptual modeling research and pose an ontology of the artificial as a step toward meeting them.

Application of the human needs conceptual model to dental hygiene practice.

PubMed

Darby, M L; Walsh, M M

2000-01-01

The Human Needs Conceptual Model is relevant to dental hygiene because of the need for dental hygienists to be client focused, humanistic, and accountable in practice. Application of the Human Needs Conceptual Model provides a formal framework for identifying and understanding the unique needs of the client that can be met through dental hygiene care. Practitioners find that the Human Needs Conceptual Model can not only help them in assessment and diagnosis, but also in client education, decision-making, care implementation, and the evaluation of treatment outcomes. By using the model, the dental hygienist is able to manage client care humanistically and holistically, and ensure that care is client-centered rather than task-oriented. With the model, a professional practice can be made operational.

Conceptualizing race in economic models of medical utilization: a case study of community-based elders and the emergency room.

PubMed Central

White-Means, S I

1995-01-01

There is no consensus on the appropriate conceptualization of race in economic models of health care. This is because race is rarely the primary focus for analysis of the market. This article presents an alternative framework for conceptualizing race in health economic models. A case study is analyzed to illustrate the value of the alternative conceptualization. The case study findings clearly document the importance of model stratification according to race. Moreover, the findings indicate that empirical results are improved when medical utilization models are refined in a way that reflects the unique experiences of the population that is studied. PMID:7721593

Conceptual Design of an APT Reusable Spaceplane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corpino, S.; Viola, N.

This paper concerns the conceptual design of an Aerial Propellant Transfer reusable spaceplane carried out during our PhD course under the supervision of prof. Chiesa. The new conceptual design methodology employed in order to develop the APT concept and the main characteristics of the spaceplane itself will be presented and discussed. The methodology for conceptual design has been worked out during the last three years. It was originally thought for atmospheric vehicle design but, thanks to its modular structure which makes it very flexible, it has been possible to convert it to space transportation systems design by adding and/or modifying a few modules. One of the major improvements has been for example the conception and development of the mission simulation and trajectory optimisation module. The methodology includes as main characteristics and innovations the latest techniques of geometric modelling and logistic, operational and cost aspects since the first stages of the project. Computer aided design techniques are used to obtain a better definition of the product at the end of the conceptual design phase and virtual reality concepts are employed to visualise three-dimensional installation and operational aspects, at least in part replacing full-scale mock- ups. The introduction of parametric three-dimensional CAD software integrated into the conceptual design methodology represents a great improvement because it allows to carry out different layouts and to assess them immediately. It is also possible to link the CAD system to a digital prototyping software which combines 3D visualisation and assembly analysis, useful to define the so-called Digital Mock-Up at Conceptual Level (DMUCL) which studies the integration between the on board systems, sized with simulation algorithms, and the airframe. DMUCL represents a very good means to integrate the conceptual design with a methodology turned towards dealing with Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety characteristics. Several applications of this conceptual design methodology have been carried out in order to validate it. Here we will show one of the most challenging case studies: the APT73 spaceplane. Today the demand for getting access to space is increasing and fully reusable launch vehicles are likely to play a key role in future space activities, but up until now this kind of space system has not been successfully developed. The ideal reusable launcher should be a vehicle able to maintain physical integrity during its mission, to takeoff and land at any conventional airport, to be operated with a minimum maintenance effort and to guarantee an adequate safety level. Thanks to its flexibility it should be able to enter the desired orbital plane and to abort its mission any time in case of mishap. Moreover considerable cost reduction could be expected only by having extremely high launch rates comparable to today's aircraft fleets in the commercial airlines business. In our opinion the solution which better meets these specifications is the Aerial Propellant Transfer spaceplane concept, the so called "one stage and a half" space vehicle, which takes off and climbs to meet a tanker aircraft to be aerially re-fuelled and then, after disconnecting from the tanker, it flies to reach the orbit. The APT73 has been designed to reach the Low Earth Orbit to perform two kinds of mission: 1) to release payloads; 2) to be flown as crew return vehicle from the ISS. The concept has emerged from a set of preliminary choices established at the beginning of the project: Possible variants to the basic plan have been investigated and a trade off analysis has been carried out in order to obtain the optimum configuration. Listed below are the options that have been evaluated: This paper provides a technical description of the APT73 and illustrates the design challenges encountered in the development of the project.

The site-scale saturated zone flow model for Yucca Mountain: Calibration of different conceptual models and their impact on flow paths

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zyvoloski, G.; Kwicklis, E.; Eddebbarh, A.-A.; Arnold, B.; Faunt, C.; Robinson, B.A.

2003-01-01

This paper presents several different conceptual models of the Large Hydraulic Gradient (LHG) region north of Yucca Mountain and describes the impact of those models on groundwater flow near the potential high-level repository site. The results are based on a numerical model of site-scale saturated zone beneath Yucca Mountain. This model is used for performance assessment predictions of radionuclide transport and to guide future data collection and modeling activities. The numerical model is calibrated by matching available water level measurements using parameter estimation techniques, along with more informal comparisons of the model to hydrologic and geochemical information. The model software (hydrologic simulation code FEHM and parameter estimation software PEST) and model setup allows for efficient calibration of multiple conceptual models. Until now, the Large Hydraulic Gradient has been simulated using a low-permeability, east-west oriented feature, even though direct evidence for this feature is lacking. In addition to this model, we investigate and calibrate three additional conceptual models of the Large Hydraulic Gradient, all of which are based on a presumed zone of hydrothermal chemical alteration north of Yucca Mountain. After examining the heads and permeabilities obtained from the calibrated models, we present particle pathways from the potential repository that record differences in the predicted groundwater flow regime. The results show that Large Hydraulic Gradient can be represented with the alternate conceptual models that include the hydrothermally altered zone. The predicted pathways are mildly sensitive to the choice of the conceptual model and more sensitive to the quality of calibration in the vicinity on the repository. These differences are most likely due to different degrees of fit of model to data, and do not represent important differences in hydrologic conditions for the different conceptual models. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Deaf and hard of hearing students' problem-solving strategies with signed arithmetic story problems.

PubMed

Pagliaro, Claudia M; Ansell, Ellen

2012-01-01

The use of problem-solving strategies by 59 deaf and hard of hearing children, grades K-3, was investigated. The children were asked to solve 9 arithmetic story problems presented to them in American Sign Language. The researchers found that while the children used the same general types of strategies that are used by hearing children (i.e., modeling, counting, and fact-based strategies), they showed an overwhelming use of counting strategies for all types of problems and at all ages. This difference may have its roots in language or instruction (or in both), and calls attention to the need for conceptual rather than procedural mathematics instruction for deaf and hard of hearing students.

Conceptual Models and Guidelines for Clinical Assessment of Financial Capacity.

PubMed

Marson, Daniel

2016-09-01

The ability to manage financial affairs is a life skill of critical importance, and neuropsychologists are increasingly asked to assess financial capacity across a variety of settings. Sound clinical assessment of financial capacity requires knowledge and appreciation of applicable clinical conceptual models and principles. However, the literature has presented relatively little conceptual guidance for clinicians concerning financial capacity and its assessment. This article seeks to address this gap. The article presents six clinical models of financial capacity : (1) the early gerontological IADL model of Lawton, (2) the clinical skills model and (3) related cognitive psychological model developed by Marson and colleagues, (4) a financial decision-making model adapting earlier decisional capacity work of Appelbaum and Grisso, (5) a person-centered model of financial decision-making developed by Lichtenberg and colleagues, and (6) a recent model of financial capacity in the real world developed through the Institute of Medicine. Accompanying presentation of the models is discussion of conceptual and practical perspectives they represent for clinician assessment. Based on the models, the article concludes by presenting a series of conceptually oriented guidelines for clinical assessment of financial capacity. In summary, sound assessment of financial capacity requires knowledge and appreciation of clinical conceptual models and principles. Awareness of such models, principles and guidelines will strengthen and advance clinical assessment of financial capacity. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

An Empirical Study of Enterprise Conceptual Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anaby-Tavor, Ateret; Amid, David; Fisher, Amit; Ossher, Harold; Bellamy, Rachel; Callery, Matthew; Desmond, Michael; Krasikov, Sophia; Roth, Tova; Simmonds, Ian; de Vries, Jacqueline

Business analysts, business architects, and solution consultants use a variety of practices and methods in their quest to understand business. The resulting work products could end up being transitioned into the formal world of software requirement definitions or as recommendations for all kinds of business activities. We describe an empirical study about the nature of these methods, diagrams, and home-grown conceptual models as reflected in real practice at IBM. We identify the models as artifacts of "enterprise conceptual modeling". We study important features of these models, suggest practical classifications, and discuss their usage. Our survey shows that the "enterprise conceptual modeling" arena presents a variety of descriptive models, each used by a relatively small group of colleagues. Together they form a "long tail" that extends from "drawings" on one end to "standards" on the other.

Time perception impairs sensory-motor integration in Parkinson’s disease

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

It is well known that perception and estimation of time are fundamental for the relationship between humans and their environment. However, this temporal information processing is inefficient in patients with Parkinson’ disease (PD), resulting in temporal judgment deficits. In general, the pathophysiology of PD has been described as a dysfunction in the basal ganglia, which is a multisensory integration station. Thus, a deficit in the sensorimotor integration process could explain many of the Parkinson symptoms, such as changes in time perception. This physiological distortion may be better understood if we analyze the neurobiological model of interval timing, expressed within the conceptual framework of a traditional information-processing model called “Scalar Expectancy Theory”. Therefore, in this review we discuss the pathophysiology and sensorimotor integration process in PD, the theories and neural basic mechanisms involved in temporal processing, and the main clinical findings about the impact of time perception in PD. PMID:24131660

Minimum Information about a Cardiac Electrophysiology Experiment (MICEE): Standardised Reporting for Model Reproducibility, Interoperability, and Data Sharing

PubMed Central

Quinn, TA; Granite, S; Allessie, MA; Antzelevitch, C; Bollensdorff, C; Bub, G; Burton, RAB; Cerbai, E; Chen, PS; Delmar, M; DiFrancesco, D; Earm, YE; Efimov, IR; Egger, M; Entcheva, E; Fink, M; Fischmeister, R; Franz, MR; Garny, A; Giles, WR; Hannes, T; Harding, SE; Hunter, PJ; Iribe, G; Jalife, J; Johnson, CR; Kass, RS; Kodama, I; Koren, G; Lord, P; Markhasin, VS; Matsuoka, S; McCulloch, AD; Mirams, GR; Morley, GE; Nattel, S; Noble, D; Olesen, SP; Panfilov, AV; Trayanova, NA; Ravens, U; Richard, S; Rosenbaum, DS; Rudy, Y; Sachs, F; Sachse, FB; Saint, DA; Schotten, U; Solovyova, O; Taggart, P; Tung, L; Varró, A; Volders, PG; Wang, K; Weiss, JN; Wettwer, E; White, E; Wilders, R; Winslow, RL; Kohl, P

2011-01-01

Cardiac experimental electrophysiology is in need of a well-defined Minimum Information Standard for recording, annotating, and reporting experimental data. As a step toward establishing this, we present a draft standard, called Minimum Information about a Cardiac Electrophysiology Experiment (MICEE). The ultimate goal is to develop a useful tool for cardiac electrophysiologists which facilitates and improves dissemination of the minimum information necessary for reproduction of cardiac electrophysiology research, allowing for easier comparison and utilisation of findings by others. It is hoped that this will enhance the integration of individual results into experimental, computational, and conceptual models. In its present form, this draft is intended for assessment and development by the research community. We invite the reader to join this effort, and, if deemed productive, implement the Minimum Information about a Cardiac Electrophysiology Experiment standard in their own work. PMID:21745496

Archetypal dynamics, emergent situations, and the reality game.

PubMed

Sulis, William

2010-07-01

The classical approach to the modeling of reality is founded upon its objectification. Although successful dealing with inanimate matter, objectification has proven to be much less successful elsewhere, sometimes to the point of paradox. This paper discusses an approach to the modeling of reality based upon the concept of process as formulated within the framework of archetypal dynamics. Reality is conceptualized as an intermingling of information-transducing systems, together with the semantic frames that effectively describe and ascribe meaning to each system, along with particular formal representations of same which constitute the archetypes. Archetypal dynamics is the study of the relationships between systems, frames and their representations and the flow of information among these different entities. In this paper a specific formal representation of archetypal dynamics using tapestries is given, and a dynamics is founded upon this representation in the form of a combinatorial game called a reality game. Some simple examples are presented.

Conceptual Coordination Bridges Information Processing and Neurophysiology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancey, William J.; Norrig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Information processing theories of memory and skills can be reformulated in terms of how categories are physically and temporally related, a process called conceptual coordination. Dreaming can then be understood as a story understanding process in which two mechanisms found in everyday comprehension are missing: conceiving sequences (chunking categories in time as a categorization) and coordinating across modalities (e.g., relating the sound of a word and the image of its meaning). On this basis, we can readily identify isomorphisms between dream phenomenology and neurophysiology, and explain the function of dreaming as facilitating future coordination of sequential, cross-modal categorization (i.e., REM sleep lowers activation thresholds, "unlearning").

Educational Criteria for Evaluating Simple Class Diagrams Made by Novices for Conceptual Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kayama, Mizue; Ogata, Shinpei; Asano, David K.; Hashimoto, Masami

2016-01-01

Conceptual modeling is one of the most important learning topics for higher education and secondary education. The goal of conceptual modeling in this research is to draw a class diagram using given notation to satisfy the given requirements. In this case, the subjects are asked to choose concepts to satisfy the given requirements and to correctly…

Using a Systematic Conceptual Model for a Process Evaluation of a Middle School Obesity Risk-Reduction Nutrition Curriculum Intervention: "Choice, Control & Change"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Heewon; Contento, Isobel R.; Koch, Pamela

2013-01-01

Objective: To use and review a conceptual model of process evaluation and to examine the implementation of a nutrition education curriculum, "Choice, Control & Change", designed to promote dietary and physical activity behaviors that reduce obesity risk. Design: A process evaluation study based on a systematic conceptual model. Setting: Five…

Conceptual models of information processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, L. J.

1983-01-01

The conceptual information processing issues are examined. Human information processing is defined as an active cognitive process that is analogous to a system. It is the flow and transformation of information within a human. The human is viewed as an active information seeker who is constantly receiving, processing, and acting upon the surrounding environmental stimuli. Human information processing models are conceptual representations of cognitive behaviors. Models of information processing are useful in representing the different theoretical positions and in attempting to define the limits and capabilities of human memory. It is concluded that an understanding of conceptual human information processing models and their applications to systems design leads to a better human factors approach.

Conceptual principles of quality of life: an empirical exploration.

PubMed

Bramston, P; Chipuer, H; Pretty, G

2005-10-01

Quality of life is a popular measure of outcomes and its widespread use has led to recent calls for a better understanding of the construct, emphasizing the need to build a substantial body of knowledge around what determines perceptions of life quality. Three widely reported and used conceptual principles are examined in this study. Self-ratings of life quality and three likely determinants at an individual level (stress), an interactional level (social support) and a community level (neighbourhood belonging) were used. The study involved two groups of young adults from an urban community, one identified as having an intellectual disability (ID). RESULTS Young adults with ID rated their satisfaction with health significantly higher and intimacy and community involvement lower than the comparison group. Social support emerged as the strongest predictor of life satisfaction across both groups. The conceptual principles of subjective quality of life provide a useful framework to discuss findings and to stimulate further research.

SECONDARY WASTE/ETF (EFFLUENT TREATMENT FACILITY) PRELIMINARY PRE-CONCEPTUAL ENGINEERING STUDY

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

MAY TH; GEHNER PD; STEGEN GARY

2009-12-28

This pre-conceptual engineering study is intended to assist in supporting the critical decision (CD) 0 milestone by providing a basis for the justification of mission need (JMN) for the handling and disposal of liquid effluents. The ETF baseline strategy, to accommodate (WTP) requirements, calls for a solidification treatment unit (STU) to be added to the ETF to provide the needed additional processing capability. This STU is to process the ETF evaporator concentrate into a cement-based waste form. The cementitious waste will be cast into blocks for curing, storage, and disposal. Tis pre-conceptual engineering study explores this baseline strategy, in additionmore » to other potential alternatives, for meeting the ETF future mission needs. Within each reviewed case study, a technical and facility description is outlined, along with a preliminary cost analysis and the associated risks and benefits.« less

Conceptual Challenges of the Systemic Approach in Understanding Cell Differentiation.

PubMed

Paldi, Andras

2018-01-01

The cells of a multicellular organism are derived from a single zygote and genetically identical. Yet, they are phenotypically very different. This difference is the result of a process commonly called cell differentiation. How the phenotypic diversity emerges during ontogenesis or regeneration is a central and intensely studied but still unresolved issue in biology. Cell biology is facing conceptual challenges that are frequently confused with methodological difficulties. How to define a cell type? What stability or change means in the context of cell differentiation and how to deal with the ubiquitous molecular variations seen in the living cells? What are the driving forces of the change? We propose to reframe the problem of cell differentiation in a systemic way by incorporating different theoretical approaches. The new conceptual framework is able to capture the insights made at different levels of cellular organization and considered previously as contradictory. It also provides a formal strategy for further experimental studies.

"It all depends": conceptualizing public involvement in the context of health technology assessment agencies.

PubMed

Gauvin, Francois-Pierre; Abelson, Julia; Giacomini, Mita; Eyles, John; Lavis, John N

2010-05-01

There have been calls in recent years for greater public involvement in health technology assessment (HTA). Yet the concept of public involvement is poorly articulated and little attention has been paid to the context of HTA agencies. This article investigates how public involvement is conceptualized in the HTA agency environment. Using qualitative concept analysis methods, we reviewed the HTA literature and the websites of HTA agencies and conducted semi-structured interviews with informants in Canada, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. Our analysis reveals that HTA agencies' role as bridges or boundary organizations situated at the frontier of research and policymaking causes the agencies to struggle with the idea of public involvement. The HTA community is concerned with conceptualizing public involvement in such a way as to meet scientific and methodological standards without neglecting its responsibilities to healthcare policymakers. We offer a conceptual tool for analyzing the nature of public involvement across agencies, characterizing different domains, levels of involvement, and types of publics. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Conceptual Framework for SAHRA Integrated Multi-resolution Modeling in the Rio Grande Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.; Gupta, H.; Springer, E.; Wagener, T.; Brookshire, D.; Duffy, C.

2004-12-01

The sustainable management of water resources in a river basin requires an integrated analysis of the social, economic, environmental and institutional dimensions of the problem. Numerical models are commonly used for integration of these dimensions and for communication of the analysis results to stakeholders and policy makers. The National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) has been developing integrated multi-resolution models to assess impacts of climate variability and land use change on water resources in the Rio Grande Basin. These models not only couple natural systems such as surface and ground waters, but will also include engineering, economic and social components that may be involved in water resources decision-making processes. This presentation will describe the conceptual framework being developed by SAHRA to guide and focus the multiple modeling efforts and to assist the modeling team in planning, data collection and interpretation, communication, evaluation, etc. One of the major components of this conceptual framework is a Conceptual Site Model (CSM), which describes the basin and its environment based on existing knowledge and identifies what additional information must be collected to develop technically sound models at various resolutions. The initial CSM is based on analyses of basin profile information that has been collected, including a physical profile (e.g., topographic and vegetative features), a man-made facility profile (e.g., dams, diversions, and pumping stations), and a land use and ecological profile (e.g., demographics, natural habitats, and endangered species). Based on the initial CSM, a Conceptual Physical Model (CPM) is developed to guide and evaluate the selection of a model code (or numerical model) for each resolution to conduct simulations and predictions. A CPM identifies, conceptually, all the physical processes and engineering and socio-economic activities occurring (or to occur) in the real system that the corresponding numerical models are required to address, such as riparian evapotranspiration responses to vegetation change and groundwater pumping impacts on soil moisture contents. Simulation results from different resolution models and observations of the real system will then be compared to evaluate the consistency among the CSM, the CPMs, and the numerical models, and feedbacks will be used to update the models. In a broad sense, the evaluation of the models (conceptual or numerical), as well as the linkages between them, can be viewed as a part of the overall conceptual framework. As new data are generated and understanding improves, the models will evolve, and the overall conceptual framework is refined. The development of the conceptual framework becomes an on-going process. We will describe the current state of this framework and the open questions that have to be addressed in the future.

Loop Quantum Gravity and the Meaning of Diffeomorphism Invariance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rovelli, Carlo; Gaul, Marcus

This series of lectures gives an introduction to the non-perturbative and background-independent formulation for a quantum theory of gravitation which is called loop quantum gravity . The Hilbert space of kinematical quantum states is constructed and a complete basis of spin network states is introduced. Afterwards an application of the formalism is provided by the spectral analysis of the area operator, which is the quantum analogue of the classical area function. This leads to one of the key results of loop quantum gravity obtained in the last few years: the derivation of the discreteness of the geometry and the computation of the quanta of area. Special importance is attached to the role played by the diffeomorphism group in order to clarify the notion of observability in general relativity - a concept far from being trivial. Finally an outlock onto a possible dynamical extension of the theory is given, leading to a "sum over histories" approach, namely a so-called spin foam model . Throughout the whole lecture great significance is attached to conceptual and interpretational issues.

Association of ice and river channel morphology determined using ground-penetrationg radar in the Kuparuk River, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Best, Heather; McNamara, J.P.; Liberty, Lee M.

2005-01-01

We collected ground-penetrating radar data at 10 sites along the Kuparuk River and its main tributary, the Toolik River, to detect unfrozen water beneath river ice. We used 250 MHz and 500 MHz antennas to image both the ice-water interface and the river channel in late April 2001, when daily high temperatures were consistently freezing and river ice had attained its maximum seasonal thickness. The presence of water below the river ice appears as a strong, horizontal reflection observed in the radar data and is confirmed by drill hole data. A downstream transition occurs from ice that is frozen to the bed, called bedfast ice, to ice that is floating on unfrozen water, called floating ice. This transition in ice type corresponds to a downstream change in channel size that was detected in previously conducted hydraulic geometry surveys of the Kuparuk River. We propose a conceptual model wherein the downstream transition from bedfast ice to floating ice is responsible for an observed step change in channel size due to enhanced bank erosion in large channels by floating ice.

Estimate of the Reliability in Geological Forecasts for Tunnels: Toward a Structured Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perello, Paolo

2011-11-01

In tunnelling, a reliable geological model often allows providing an effective design and facing the construction phase without unpleasant surprises. A geological model can be considered reliable when it is a valid support to correctly foresee the rock mass behaviour, therefore preventing unexpected events during the excavation. The higher the model reliability, the lower the probability of unforeseen rock mass behaviour. Unfortunately, owing to different reasons, geological models are affected by uncertainties and a fully reliable knowledge of the rock mass is, in most cases, impossible. Therefore, estimating to which degree a geological model is reliable, becomes a primary requirement in order to save time and money and to adopt the appropriate construction strategy. The definition of the geological model reliability is often achieved by engineering geologists through an unstructured analytical process and variable criteria. This paper focusses on geological models for projects of linear underground structures and represents an effort to analyse and include in a conceptual framework the factors influencing such models. An empirical parametric procedure is then developed with the aim of obtaining an index called "geological model rating (GMR)", which can be used to provide a more standardised definition of a geological model reliability.

Characterize Framework for Igneous Activity at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

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

F. Perry; B. Youngs

2000-11-06

The purpose of this Analysis/Model (AMR) report is twofold. (1) The first is to present a conceptual framework of igneous activity in the Yucca Mountain region (YMR) consistent with the volcanic and tectonic history of this region and the assessment of this history by experts who participated in the Probabilistic Volcanic Hazard Analysis (PVHA) (CRWMS M&O 1996). Conceptual models presented in the PVHA are summarized and extended in areas in which new information has been presented. Alternative conceptual models are discussed as well as their impact on probability models. The relationship between volcanic source zones defined in the PVHA andmore » structural features of the YMR are described based on discussions in the PVHA and studies presented since the PVHA. (2) The second purpose of the AMR is to present probability calculations based on PVHA outputs. Probability distributions are presented for the length and orientation of volcanic dikes within the repository footprint and for the number of eruptive centers located within the repository footprint (conditional on the dike intersecting the repository). The probability of intersection of a basaltic dike within the repository footprint was calculated in the AMR ''Characterize Framework for Igneous Activity at Yucca Mountain, Nevada'' (CRWMS M&O 2000g) based on the repository footprint known as the Enhanced Design Alternative [EDA II, Design B (CRWMS M&O 1999a; Wilkins and Heath 1999)]. Then, the ''Site Recommendation Design Baseline'' (CRWMS M&O 2000a) initiated a change in the repository design, which is described in the ''Site Recommendation Subsurface Layout'' (CRWMS M&O 2000b). Consequently, the probability of intersection of a basaltic dike within the repository footprint has also been calculated for the current repository footprint, which is called the 70,000 Metric Tons of Uranium (MTU) No-Backfill Layout (CRWMS M&O 2000b). The calculations for both footprints are presented in this AMR. In addition, the probability of an eruptive center(s) forming within the repository footprint is calculated and presented in this AMR for both repository footprint designs. This latter type of calculation was not included in the PVHA.« less

Conceptual model of sediment processes in the upper Yuba River watershed, Sierra Nevada, CA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Curtis, J.A.; Flint, L.E.; Alpers, Charles N.; Yarnell, S.M.

2005-01-01

This study examines the development of a conceptual model of sediment processes in the upper Yuba River watershed; and we hypothesize how components of the conceptual model may be spatially distributed using a geographical information system (GIS). The conceptual model illustrates key processes controlling sediment dynamics in the upper Yuba River watershed and was tested and revised using field measurements, aerial photography, and low elevation videography. Field reconnaissance included mass wasting and channel storage inventories, assessment of annual channel change in upland tributaries, and evaluation of the relative importance of sediment sources and transport processes. Hillslope erosion rates throughout the study area are relatively low when compared to more rapidly eroding landscapes such as the Pacific Northwest and notable hillslope sediment sources include highly erodible andesitic mudflows, serpentinized ultramafics, and unvegetated hydraulic mine pits. Mass wasting dominates surface erosion on the hillslopes; however, erosion of stored channel sediment is the primary contributor to annual sediment yield. We used GIS to spatially distribute the components of the conceptual model and created hillslope erosion potential and channel storage models. The GIS models exemplify the conceptual model in that landscapes with low potential evapotranspiration, sparse vegetation, steep slopes, erodible geology and soils, and high road densities display the greatest hillslope erosion potential and channel storage increases with increasing stream order. In-channel storage in upland tributaries impacted by hydraulic mining is an exception. Reworking of stored hydraulic mining sediment in low-order tributaries continues to elevate upper Yuba River sediment yields. Finally, we propose that spatially distributing the components of a conceptual model in a GIS framework provides a guide for developing more detailed sediment budgets or numerical models making it an inexpensive way to develop a roadmap for understanding sediment dynamics at a watershed scale.

Organizational intellectual capital and the role of the nurse manager: A proposed conceptual model.

PubMed

Gilbert, Jason H; Von Ah, Diane; Broome, Marion E

Nurse managers must leverage both the human capital and social capital of the teams they lead in order to produce quality outcomes. Little is known about the relationship between human capital and social capital and how these concepts may work together to produce organizational outcomes through leadership of nurses. The purpose of this article was to explore the concepts of human capital and social capital as they relate to nursing leadership in health care organizations. Specific aims included (a) to synthesize the literature related to human capital and social capital in leadership, (b) to refine the conceptual definitions of human capital and social capital with associated conceptual antecedents and consequences, and (c) to propose a synthesized conceptual model guiding further empirical research of social capital and human capital in nursing leadership. A systematic integrative review of leadership literature using criteria informed by Whittemore and Knafl (2005) was completed. CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, Health Business FullTEXT, MEDLINE, and PsychINFO databases were searched for the years 1995 to 2016 using terms "human capital," "social capital," and "management." Analysis of conceptual definitions, theoretical and conceptual models, antecedents and consequences, propositions or hypotheses, and empirical support for 37 articles fitting review criteria resulted in the synthesis of the proposed Gilbert Conceptual Model of Organizational Intellectual Capital. The Gilbert Conceptual Model of Organizational Intellectual Capital advances the propositions of human capital theory and social capital theory and is the first model to conceptualize the direct and moderating effects that nurse leaders have on the human capital and social capital of the teams they lead. This model provides a framework for further empirical study and may have implications for practice, organizational policy, and education related to nursing leadership. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tolerance of uncertainty: Conceptual analysis, integrative model, and implications for healthcare.

PubMed

Hillen, Marij A; Gutheil, Caitlin M; Strout, Tania D; Smets, Ellen M A; Han, Paul K J

2017-05-01

Uncertainty tolerance (UT) is an important, well-studied phenomenon in health care and many other important domains of life, yet its conceptualization and measurement by researchers in various disciplines have varied substantially and its essential nature remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to: 1) analyze the meaning and logical coherence of UT as conceptualized by developers of UT measures, and 2) develop an integrative conceptual model to guide future empirical research regarding the nature, causes, and effects of UT. A narrative review and conceptual analysis of 18 existing measures of Uncertainty and Ambiguity Tolerance was conducted, focusing on how measure developers in various fields have defined both the "uncertainty" and "tolerance" components of UT-both explicitly through their writings and implicitly through the items constituting their measures. Both explicit and implicit conceptual definitions of uncertainty and tolerance vary substantially and are often poorly and inconsistently specified. A logically coherent, unified understanding or theoretical model of UT is lacking. To address these gaps, we propose a new integrative definition and multidimensional conceptual model that construes UT as the set of negative and positive psychological responses-cognitive, emotional, and behavioral-provoked by the conscious awareness of ignorance about particular aspects of the world. This model synthesizes insights from various disciplines and provides an organizing framework for future research. We discuss how this model can facilitate further empirical and theoretical research to better measure and understand the nature, determinants, and outcomes of UT in health care and other domains of life. Uncertainty tolerance is an important and complex phenomenon requiring more precise and consistent definition. An integrative definition and conceptual model, intended as a tentative and flexible point of departure for future research, adds needed breadth, specificity, and precision to efforts to conceptualize and measure UT. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Considerations of Culture and Social Class for Families Facing Cancer: The Need for a New Model for Health Promotion and Psychosocial Intervention

PubMed Central

Marshall, Catherine A.; Larkey, Linda K.; Curran, Melissa A.; Weihs, Karen L.; Badger, Terry A.; Armin, Julie; García, Francisco

2012-01-01

Cancer is a family experience, and family members often have as much, or more, difficulty in coping with cancer as does the person diagnosed with cancer. Using both family systems and sociocultural frameworks, we call for a new model of health promotion and psychosocial intervention that builds on the current understanding that family members, as well as the individuals diagnosed with cancer, are themselves survivors of cancer. We argue that considering culture, or the values, beliefs, and customs of the family, including their choice of language, is necessary to understand fully a family’s response to cancer. Likewise, acknowledging social class is necessary to understand how access to, and understanding of, otherwise available interventions for families facing cancer can be limited. Components of the model as conceptualized are discussed and provide guidance for psychosocial cancer health disparities research and the development of family-focused, strength-based, interventions. PMID:21688902

Shallow seismicity in volcanic system: what role does the edifice play?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bean, Chris; Lokmer, Ivan

2017-04-01

Seismicity in the upper two kilometres in volcanic systems is complex and very diverse in nature. The origins lie in the multi-physics nature of source processes and in the often extreme heterogeneity in near surface structure, which introduces strong seismic wave propagation path effects that often 'hide' the source itself. Other complicating factors are that we are often in the seismic near-field so waveforms can be intrinsically more complex than in far-field earthquake seismology. The traditional focus for an explanation of the diverse nature of shallow seismic signals is to call on the direct action of fluids in the system. Fits to model data are then used to elucidate properties of the plumbing system. Here we show that solutions based on these conceptual models are not unique and that models based on a diverse range of quasi-brittle failure of low stiffness near surface structures are equally valid from a data fit perspective. These earthquake-like sources also explain aspects of edifice deformation that are as yet poorly quantified.

Black hole evaporation: information loss but no paradox

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Modak, Sujoy K.; Ortíz, Leonardo; Peña, Igor; Sudarsky, Daniel

2015-10-01

The process of black hole evaporation resulting from the Hawking effect has generated an intense controversy regarding its potential conflict with quantum mechanics' unitary evolution. A recent set of works by a collaboration involving one of us, have revised the controversy with the aims of, on one hand, clarifying some conceptual issues surrounding it, and, at the same time, arguing that collapse theories have the potential to offer a satisfactory resolution of the so-called paradox. Here we show an explicit calculation supporting this claim using a simplified model of black hole creation and evaporation, known as the CGHS model, together with a dynamical reduction theory, known as CSL, and some speculative, but seemingly natural ideas about the role of quantum gravity in connection with the would-be singularity. This work represents a specific realization of general ideas first discussed in Okon and Sudarsky (Found Phys 44:114-143, 2014 and a complete and detailed analysis of a model first considered in Modak et al. (Phys Rev D 91(12):124009, 2015.

EIA models and capacity building in Viet Nam: an analysis of development aid programs

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

Doberstein, Brent

2004-04-01

There has been a decided lack of empirical research examining development aid agencies as 'agents of change' in environmental impact assessment (EIA) systems in developing countries, particularly research examining the model of environmental planning practice promoted by aid agencies as part of capacity building. This paper briefly traces a conceptual framework of EIA, then introduces the concept of 'EIA capacity building'. Using Viet Nam as a case study, the paper then outlines the empirical results of the research, focusing on the extent to which aid agency capacity-building programs promoted a Technical vs. Planning Model of EIA and on the coherencemore » of capacity-building efforts across all aid programs. A discussion follows, where research results are interpreted within the Vietnamese context, and implications of research results are identified for three main groups of actors. The paper concludes by calling for development aid agencies to reconceptualise EIA capacity building as an opportunity to transform developing countries' development planning processes.« less

Parental Depressive Symptoms and Adolescent Adjustment: A Prospective Test of an Explanatory Model for the Role of Marital Conflict

PubMed Central

Cummings, E. Mark; Cheung, Rebecca Y. M.; Koss, Kalsea; Davies, Patrick T.

2014-01-01

Despite calls for process-oriented models for child maladjustment due to heightened marital conflict in the context of parental depressive symptoms, few longitudinal tests of the mechanisms underlying these relations have been conducted. Addressing this gap, the present study examined multiple factors longitudinally that link parental depressive symptoms to adolescent adjustment problems, building on a conceptual model informed by emotional security theory (EST). Participants were 320 families (158 boys, 162 girls), including mothers and fathers, who took part when their children were in kindergarten (T1), second (T2), seventh (T3), eighth (T4) and ninth (T5) grades. Parental depressive symptoms (T1) were related to changes in adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing symptoms (T5), as mediated by parents’ negative emotional expressiveness (T2), marital conflict (T3), and emotional insecurity (T4). Evidence was thus advanced for emotional insecurity as an explanatory process in the context of parental depressive symptoms. PMID:24652484

Betterment, undermining, support and distortion: A heuristic model for the analysis of pressure on evaluators.

PubMed

Pleger, Lyn; Sager, Fritz

2016-09-18

Evaluations can only serve as a neutral evidence base for policy decision-making as long as they have not been altered along non-scientific criteria. Studies show that evaluators are repeatedly put under pressure to deliver results in line with given expectations. The study of pressure and influence to misrepresent findings is hence an important research strand for the development of evaluation praxis. A conceptual challenge in the area of evaluation ethics research is the fact that pressure can be not only negative, but also positive. We develop a heuristic model of influence on evaluations that does justice to this ambivalence of influence: the BUSD-model (betterment, undermining, support, distortion). The model is based on the distinction of two dimensions, namely 'explicitness of pressure' and 'direction of influence'. We demonstrate how the model can be applied to understand pressure and offer a practical tool to distinguish positive from negative influence in the form of three so-called differentiators (awareness, accordance, intention). The differentiators comprise a practical component by assisting evaluators who are confronted with influence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSAL AND DEPOSITION OF TEPHRA FROM A POTENTIAL VOLCANIC ERUPTION AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA

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

C. Harrington

2004-10-25

The purpose of this model report is to provide documentation of the conceptual and mathematical model (Ashplume) for atmospheric dispersal and subsequent deposition of ash on the land surface from a potential volcanic eruption at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This report also documents the ash (tephra) redistribution conceptual model. These aspects of volcanism-related dose calculation are described in the context of the entire igneous disruptive events conceptual model in ''Characterize Framework for Igneous Activity'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169989], Section 6.1.1). The Ashplume conceptual model accounts for incorporation and entrainment of waste fuel particles associated with a hypothetical volcanic eruption through themore » Yucca Mountain repository and downwind transport of contaminated tephra. The Ashplume mathematical model describes the conceptual model in mathematical terms to allow for prediction of radioactive waste/ash deposition on the ground surface given that the hypothetical eruptive event occurs. This model report also describes the conceptual model for tephra redistribution from a basaltic cinder cone. Sensitivity analyses and model validation activities for the ash dispersal and redistribution models are also presented. Analyses documented in this model report update the previous documentation of the Ashplume mathematical model and its application to the Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) for the License Application (TSPA-LA) igneous scenarios. This model report also documents the redistribution model product outputs based on analyses to support the conceptual model. In this report, ''Ashplume'' is used when referring to the atmospheric dispersal model and ''ASHPLUME'' is used when referencing the code of that model. Two analysis and model reports provide direct inputs to this model report, namely ''Characterize Eruptive Processes at Yucca Mountain, Nevada and Number of Waste Packages Hit by Igneous Intrusion''. This model report provides direct inputs to the TSPA, which uses the ASHPLUME software described and used in this model report. Thus, ASHPLUME software inputs are inputs to this model report for ASHPLUME runs in this model report. However, ASHPLUME software inputs are outputs of this model report for ASHPLUME runs by TSPA.« less

Learner factors associated with radical conceptual change among undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olson, Joanne Kay

Students frequently enter learning situations with knowledge inconsistent with scientific views. One goal of science instruction is to enable students to construct scientifically accepted ideas while rejecting inaccurate constructs. This process is called conceptual change. This study examined factors associated with students at three levels of conceptual change to elucidate possible influences on the conceptual change process. Factors studied included motivation (including utility value, interest, attainment value, mood, self efficacy, and task difficulty), prior experiences with science, perceptions of the nature of science, connections to objects or events outside the classroom, and specific activities that helped students learn. Four science classes for undergraduate preservice elementary teachers participated in the study, conducted during a three week unit on electricity. Data sources included concept maps, drawings, reflective journal entries, quizzes, a science autobiography assignment, and interviews. Concept maps, drawings, and quizzes were analyzed, and students were placed into high, moderate, and low conceptual change groups. Of the ninety-eight students in the study, fifty-seven were interviewed. Perhaps the most important finding of this study relates to the assessment of conceptual change. Interviews were conducted two months after the unit, and many items on the concept maps had decayed from students' memories. This indicates that time is an important factor. In addition, interview-derived data demonstrated conceptual change levels; concept maps were insufficient to indicate the depth of students' understanding. Factors associated with conceptual change include self efficacy and interest in topic. In addition, moderate conceptual change students cited specific activities as having helped them learn. Low and high students focused on the method of instruction rather than specific activities. Factors not found to be associated with conceptual change include: utility value, mood, task difficulty, and prior experiences with science, and connections to objects and events outside the classroom. Attainment value, perceptions of the nature of science, and mood cannot be ruled out as possible factors due to the problematic nature of assessing them within the context of this study.

Why joints are more abundant than faults. A conceptual model to estimate their ratio in layered carbonate rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caputo, Riccardo

2010-09-01

It is a commonplace field observation that extension fractures are more abundant than shear fractures. The questions of how much more abundant, and why, are posed in this paper and qualitative estimates of their ratio within a rock volume are made on the basis of field observations and mechanical considerations. A conceptual model is also proposed to explain the common range of ratios between extension and shear fractures, here called the j/ f ratio. The model considers three major genetic stress components originated from overburden, pore-fluid pressure and tectonics and assumes that some of the remote genetic stress components vary with time ( i.e. stress-rates are included). Other important assumptions of the numerical model are that: i) the strength of the sub-volumes is randomly attributed following a Weibull probabilistic distribution, ii) all fractures heal after a given time, thus simulating the cementation process, and therefore iii) both extensional jointing and shear fracturing could be recurrent events within the same sub-volume. As a direct consequence of these assumptions, the stress tensor at any point varies continuously in time and these variations are caused by both remote stresses and local stress drops associated with in-situ and neighbouring fracturing events. The conceptual model is implemented in a computer program to simulate layered carbonate rock bodies undergoing brittle deformation. The numerical results are obtained by varying the principal parameters, like depth ( viz. confining pressure), tensile strength, pore-fluid pressure and shape of the Weibull distribution function, in a wide range of values, therefore simulating a broad spectrum of possible mechanical and lithological conditions. The quantitative estimates of the j/ f ratio confirm the general predominance of extensional failure events during brittle deformation in shallow crustal rocks and provide useful insights for better understanding the role played by the different parameters. For example, as a general trend it is observed that the j/ f ratio is inversely proportional to depth ( viz. confining pressure) and directly proportional to pore-fluid pressure, while the stronger is the rock, the wider is the range of depths showing a finite value of the j/ f ratio and in general the deeper are the conditions where extension fractures can form. Moreover, the wider is the strength variability of rocks ( i.e. the lower is the m parameter of the Weibull probabilistic distribution function), the wider is the depth range where both fractures can form providing a finite value of the j/ f ratio. Natural case studies from different geological and tectonic settings are also used to test the conceptual model and the numerical results showing a good agreement between measured and predicted j/ f ratios.

Can color changes alter the neural correlates of recognition memory? Manipulation of processing affects an electrophysiological indicator of conceptual implicit memory.

PubMed

Cui, Xiaoyu; Gao, Chuanji; Zhou, Jianshe; Guo, Chunyan

2016-09-28

It has been widely shown that recognition memory includes two distinct retrieval processes: familiarity and recollection. Many studies have shown that recognition memory can be facilitated when there is a perceptual match between the studied and the tested items. Most event-related potential studies have explored the perceptual match effect on familiarity on the basis of the hypothesis that the specific event-related potential component associated with familiarity is the FN400 (300-500 ms mid-frontal effect). However, it is currently unclear whether the FN400 indexes familiarity or conceptual implicit memory. In addition, on the basis of the findings of a previous study, the so-called perceptual manipulations in previous studies may also involve some conceptual alterations. Therefore, we sought to determine the influence of perceptual manipulation by color changes on recognition memory when the perceptual or the conceptual processes were emphasized. Specifically, different instructions (perceptually or conceptually oriented) were provided to the participants. The results showed that color changes may significantly affect overall recognition memory behaviorally and that congruent items were recognized with a higher accuracy rate than incongruent items in both tasks, but no corresponding neural changes were found. Despite the evident familiarity shown in the two tasks (the behavioral performance of recognition memory was much higher than at the chance level), the FN400 effect was found in conceptually oriented tasks, but not perceptually oriented tasks. It is thus highly interesting that the FN400 effect was not induced, although color manipulation of recognition memory was behaviorally shown, as seen in previous studies. Our findings of the FN400 effect for the conceptual but not perceptual condition support the explanation that the FN400 effect indexes conceptual implicit memory.

Llama Herders and Urban Elites: Interdisciplinary Readings of Early Colonial Narratives in the Americas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaule, Christine D.; Quintana, Benito

2017-01-01

We argue for an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach that we call the Integration of Research and Education in the Classroom, which highlights and crosses disciplinary boundaries to challenge each field's assumptions, limitations, conceptual and interpretive purview. We use a set of examples that center on problematizing various aspects of the…

How Do Undergraduate Students Conceptualize Acid-Base Chemistry? Measurement of a Concept Progression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romine, William L.; Todd, Amber N.; Clark, Travis B.

2016-01-01

We developed and validated a new instrument, called "Measuring Concept progressions in Acid-Base chemistry" (MCAB) and used it to better understand the progression of undergraduate students' understandings about acid-base chemistry. Items were developed based on an existing learning progression for acid-base chemistry. We used the Rasch…

Shell Nouns as Cohesive Devices in Published and ESL Student Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aktas, Rahime Nur; Cortes, Viviana

2008-01-01

This paper analyzes the use of a special type of unspecific noun, called "shell nouns" [Hunston, S., & Francis, G. (1999). "Pattern grammar". Amsterdam: Benjamins; Schmid, H. (2000). "English abstract nouns as conceptual shells: From corpus to cognition". Berlin: Walter de Gruyter], which are frequently used as cohesive devices, in the written…

Complex Listening: Supporting Students to Listen as Mathematical Sense-Makers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hintz, Allison; Tyson, Kersti

2015-01-01

Participating in reform-oriented mathematical discussion calls on teachers and students to listen to one another in new and different ways. However, listening is an understudied dimension of teaching and learning mathematics. In this analysis, we draw on a sociocultural perspective and a conceptual framing of three types of listening--evaluative,…

Revisioning Curriculum in the Age of Transnational Mobility: Towards a Transnational and Transcultural Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Shibao; Maitra, Srabani

2017-01-01

Under the new mobilities paradigm, migration is conceptualized as circulatory and transnational, moving us beyond the framework of methodological nationalism. Transnational mobility has called into question dominant notions of migrant acculturation or assimilation. Migrants no longer feel obligated to remain tied to or locatable in a…

Sandia National Laboratories: Lighting up disease-carrying mosquitoes

Science.gov Websites

Sandia researchers added a different DNA fragment sequence called a quench probe that complements a short is so bright, QUASR can screen up to three different targets simultaneously, saving time and money international health emergency. "Conceptually, it's not difficult to adapt the assay for a different virus

Mentoring in Clinical Placements: Conceptualization of Role and Its Impact on Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinhardt, Kimberly S.

2017-01-01

Although the call for increased clinical experiences is clear and the influence of clinical preparation is recognized as the most influential portion of teacher preparation programs, more attention is being directed at investigating the role of cooperating teachers in the transformation of clinical practices. This study focused on how cooperating…

A New Academic Compact: Revisioning the Relationship between Faculty and Their Institutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMillin, Linda A., Ed.; Berberet, William G., Ed.

The chapters of this collection highlight the Associated New American Colleges' Faculty Work Project as they examine the call for redefining faculty roles and institutional relationships. The goal of the Project has been to lay the conceptual groundwork for bringing educational practices into alignment with the institutional mission. In the first…

Re-Conceptualization of Modified Angoff Standard Setting: Unified Statistical, Measurement, Cognitive, and Social Psychological Theories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iyioke, Ifeoma Chika

2013-01-01

This dissertation describes a design for training, in accordance with probability judgment heuristics principles, for the Angoff standard setting method. The new training with instruction, practice, and feedback tailored to the probability judgment heuristics principles was called the Heuristic training and the prevailing Angoff method training…

Three Mentor Texts that Support Code-Switching Pedagogies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Dara

2013-01-01

This article informs us about the need for facilitating code-switching pedagogies that call for teacher-led scaffolding of students' home languages to negotiate informal and formal contexts for writing and speaking. Varied strategies are guided by three mentor texts the author has conceptualized or enacted in practice and research among middle…

Dusty but Mighty: Using Radio in the Critical Media Literacy Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Todorova, Miglena S.

2015-01-01

In a culture dominated by images, what is the capacity of radio-making to enact the ideals and meet the objectives of critical medial literacy education that empowers learners and expands democracy? This article conceptualizes a radio-based critical media literacy approach drawing upon a course project called "Borderless Radio," where…

Reforming Science Education: Part II. Utilizing Kieran Egan's Educational Metatheory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schulz, Roland M.

2009-01-01

This paper is the second of two parts and continues the conversation which had called for a shift in the conceptual focus of science education towards philosophy of education, with the requirement to develop a discipline-specific "philosophy" of science education. In Part I, conflicting conceptions of science literacy were identified with…

Exploring "Shunyata" (Emptiness) and the Cultivation of Mindfulness Practices: Educators Finding Their Zero-Point Balance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bliss, S. A.

2017-01-01

Drawing from the conceptual framework of "shunyata" (emptiness), this article elucidates mindfulness practices and detachment from identity labels, offering a turn toward educators' and students' well-being. With a call for educators to consider a personal mindfulness practice prior to implementing techniques with children, the author…

Learning Progressions, Vertical Scales, and Testable Hypotheses: Promising Intuitions and Points for Clarification

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maul, Andrew

2015-01-01

Briggs and Peck [in "Using Learning Progressions to Design Vertical Scales That Support Coherent Inferences about Student Growth"] call for greater care in the conceptualization of the target attributes of students, or "what it is that is growing from grade to grade." In particular, they argue that learning progressions can…

The Summer Flood: The Invisible Gap among Low-Income Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Karen; Fleming, Shezwae; DeAnda, Mario; Castleman, Benjamin; Wartman, Katherine Lynk

2009-01-01

Despite national calls to conceptualize education as a continuous P-16 system, most high schools cease to serve their students at the point of graduation. For their part, colleges provide relatively few students with formal bridge programs during the summer transition between secondary and postsecondary education. Even among low-income students…

Moore and Less!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asghari, Amir

2012-01-01

This article is the story of a very non-standard, absolutely student-centered multivariable calculus course. The course advocates the so-called problem method in which the problems used are a bridge between what the learners know and what they are about to know. The main feature of the course is a unique conceptual story that runs through the…

Towards an Agile Approach to Adapting Dynamic Collaboration Support to Student Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamson, David; Dyke, Gregory; Jang, Hyeju; Rosé, Carolyn Penstein

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the use of conversational agents to scaffold on-line collaborative learning discussions through an approach called Academically Productive Talk (APT). In contrast to past work on dynamic support for collaborative learning, where agents were used to elevate conceptual depth by leading students through directed lines of…

Planning Sign Languages: Promoting Hearing Hegemony? Conceptualizing Sign Language Standardization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eichmann, Hanna

2009-01-01

In light of the absence of a codified standard variety in British Sign Language and German Sign Language ("Deutsche Gebardensprache") there have been repeated calls for the standardization of both languages primarily from outside the Deaf community. The paper is based on a recent grounded theory study which explored perspectives on sign…

Stability and Change in Positive Development during Young Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Mary T.; Letcher, Primrose; Sanson, Ann; O'Connor, Meredith; Toumbourou, John W.; Olsson, Craig

2011-01-01

Calls have been made for a greater focus on successful development and how positive functioning can be conceptualized in theory and empirical research. Drawing on a large Australian community sample (N = 890; 61.7% female), this article examines the structure and stability of positive development at two time points during young adulthood.…

"The Great Transformation" and Suicide: Local and Long-Lasting Effects of 1930 Bank Suspensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baller, Robert D.; Levchak, Phil; Schultz, Mark

2010-01-01

Depression-era bank suspensions and failures are conceptualized as products of the first part of what Polanyi (1994) called "The Great Transformation," which involved an imbalanced institutional arrangement in which the economy dominated other institutions. Relying on Durkheim (1897/1951) and Merton (1938, 1968), it is argued that these…

Conceptual Elements: A Detailed Framework to Support and Assess Student Learning of Biology Core Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cary, Tawnya; Branchaw, Janet

2017-01-01

The "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: Call to Action" report has inspired and supported a nationwide movement to restructure undergraduate biology curricula to address overarching disciplinary concepts and competencies. The report outlines the concepts and competencies generally but does not provide a detailed…

Systems-Based Framework for Continuing Medical Education and Improvements in Translating New Knowledge into Physicians' Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Harrison, R.

2004-01-01

Concerns about health care costs and quality are focusing increasing attention on physicians and their continuing medical education (CME). These concerns have produced several calls for "a new definition," "a new vision," "repositioning," "reinventing," and "transforming" CME. However, differences in conceptualizations and vocabularies have…

Climate Change and TESOL: Language, Literacies, and the Creation of Eco-Ethical Consciousness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goulah, Jason

2017-01-01

This article calls on the field of TESOL to respond to the planet's growing climatic and ecological crisis, conceptualizing climate change beyond just standards-based language and content curriculum. Climate change is also "cultural" and "religious," and thus warrants broader consideration in TESOL. Drawing on theories of value…

Investigating the Similarities and Differences between Practitioners of Second- and Third-Wave Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Lily A.; Gaudiano, Brandon A.; Miller, Ivan W.

2011-01-01

There has been much discussion in the literature recently regarding the conceptual and technical differences between so-called second- (e.g., Beckian cognitive therapy) and third-wave (e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy) behavioral therapies. Previous research has not addressed the potential similarities and differences among the…

Self-Assessment Methods in Writing Instruction: A Conceptual Framework, Successful Practices and Essential Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Kristen

2014-01-01

Student writing achievement is essential to lifelong learner success, but supporting writing can be challenging for teachers. Several large-scale analyses of publications on writing have called for further study of instructional methods, as the current literature does not sufficiently address the need to support best teaching practices.…

Eco-Literacy Development through a Framework for Indigenous and Environmental Educational Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kulnieks, Andrejs; Longboat, Dan Roronhiakewan; Young, Kelly

2013-01-01

In response to the call of curriculum reforms at the international, national, and local levels, we conceptualize an eco-mentorship program and envision a learning garden alternative practica. We aim to advance a framework enabling the innovation of Indigenous environmental studies, eco-justice education, and Western scientific environmental…

Call It What It Is: Monolingual Education in U.S. Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinton, Kip Austin

2016-01-01

In the U.S., non-bilingual education designed for English speakers goes by many names--mainstream, regular, normal, English, and others. Drawing from research on discourse, normality, and framing, this conceptual paper examines each of the popular labels for English-medium education in the U.S., and demonstrates their unsuitability. Inspired by…

Steam as Social Practice: Cultivating Creativity in Transdisciplinary Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guyotte, Kelly W.; Sochacka, Nicki W.; Costantino, Tracie E.; Walther, Joachim; Kellam, Nadia N.

2014-01-01

Recently there have been calls to expandSTEM education to include the arts and design, transforming STEM into STEAM in the K-20 classroom (Maeda, 2013). Like STEM, STEAM education stresses making connections between disciplines that were previously perceived as disparate. This has been conceptualized in different ways, such as: focusing on the…

Using Dramatic Role-Play to Develop Emotional Aptitude

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiNapoli, Russell

2009-01-01

As university educators, we need to prepare students for the transition from the information age to what Daniel H. Pink (2005) calls the conceptual age, which is governed by artistry, empathy and emotion, by including in the curricula activities that stimulate both hemispheres of the brain. This can be done by promoting activities that energize…

Negotiating Energy Dynamics through Embodied Action in a Materially Structured Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scherr, Rachel E.; Close, Hunter G.; Close, Eleanor W.; Flood, Virginia J.; McKagan, Sarah B.; Robertson, Amy D.; Seeley, Lane; Wittmann, Michael C.; Vokos, Stamatis

2013-01-01

We provide evidence that a learning activity called Energy Theater engages learners with key conceptual issues in the learning of energy, including disambiguating matter flow and energy flow and theorizing mechanisms for energy transformation. A participationist theory of learning, in which learning is indicated by changes in speech and behavior,…

Understanding What Makes for Productive Coaching Moves to Help Teachers Attend to Mathematical Tasks of Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jakopovic, Paula M.

2017-01-01

Reforms in mathematics education call for teaching to move away from "traditional" approaches (Carpenter, Ansell, & Levi, 2001) that are focused around rote procedures and skills, and toward practice that engages students in cognitively demanding tasks, discourse, and productive struggle to develop conceptual and procedural…

The Call To Pay Attention to Family Diversity: Constructing a Response.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallat, Cynthia; Steele, Carolyn I.

The objective of this paper is two-fold. First, to address continued criticism of a general lack of attention to diverse aspects of family development due to continued reliance on traditional ways of assessing and conceptualizing family interaction. Second, to address recent recommendations to educate professionals who are capable of promoting…

Toward an Embodied Liberal Arts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller-Lane, Jonathan

2012-01-01

The author believes there are three conceptual and somatic (from the Greek, meaning "of the body") changes that could be made in order to better educate the student body and, thereby, help sustain the intellectual and social relevance of the liberal arts as a program of study. First, the commitment to what Sir Ken Robinson has called "the…

An Artificial Intelligence-Based Distance Education System: Artimat

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nabiyev, Vasif; Karal, Hasan; Arslan, Selahattin; Erumit, Ali Kursat; Cebi, Ayca

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the artificial intelligence-based distance education system called ARTIMAT, which has been prepared in order to improve mathematical problem solving skills of the students, in terms of conceptual proficiency and ease of use with the opinions of teachers and students. The implementation has been performed…

Cooperative Learning and Middle Schools: What Would It Take to Really Do It Right?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sapon-Shevin, Mara

1994-01-01

The article identifies some of the problems with current cooperative-learning strategies and implementation, links those limitations to both the wider cooperative-learning movement and the nature of middle schools, and calls for conceptualizing and structuring cooperative learning within a much larger educational, social, economic, and political…

Enacting Conceptual Metaphor through Blending: Learning activities embodying the substance metaphor for energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Close, Hunter G.; Scherr, Rachel E.

2015-04-01

We demonstrate that a particular blended learning space is especially productive in developing understanding of energy transfers and transformations. In this blended space, naturally occurring learner interactions like body movement, gesture, and metaphorical speech are blended with a conceptual metaphor of energy as a substance in a class of activities called Energy Theater. We illustrate several mechanisms by which the blended aspect of the learning environment promotes productive intellectual engagement with key conceptual issues in the learning of energy, including distinguishing among energy processes, disambiguating matter and energy, identifying energy transfer, and representing energy as a conserved quantity. Conceptual advancement appears to be promoted especially by the symbolic material and social structure of the Energy Theater environment, in which energy is represented by participants and objects are represented by areas demarcated by loops of rope, and by Energy Theater's embodied action, including body locomotion, gesture, and coordination of speech with symbolic spaces in the Energy Theater arena. Our conclusions are (1) that specific conceptual metaphors can be leveraged to benefit science instruction via the blending of an abstract space of ideas with multiple modes of concrete human action, and (2) that participants' structured improvisation plays an important role in leveraging the blend for their intellectual development.

Challenges of CAC in Heterogeneous Wireless Cognitive Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jiazheng; Fu, Xiuhua

Call admission control (CAC) is known as an effective functionality in ensuring the QoS of wireless networks. The vision of next generation wireless networks has led to the development of new call admission control (CAC) algorithms specifically designed for heterogeneous wireless Cognitive networks. However, there will be a number of challenges created by dynamic spectrum access and scheduling techniques associated with the cognitive systems. In this paper for the first time, we recommend that the CAC policies should be distinguished between primary users and secondary users. The classification of different methods of cac policies in cognitive networks contexts is proposed. Although there have been some researches within the umbrella of Joint CAC and cross-layer optimization for wireless networks, the advent of the cognitive networks adds some additional problems. We present the conceptual models for joint CAC and cross-layer optimization respectively. Also, the benefit of Cognition can only be realized fully if application requirements and traffic flow contexts are determined or inferred in order to know what modes of operation and spectrum bands to use at each point in time. The process model of Cognition involved per-flow-based CAC is presented. Because there may be a number of parameters on different levels affecting a CAC decision and the conditions for accepting or rejecting a call must be computed quickly and frequently, simplicity and practicability are particularly important for designing a feasible CAC algorithm. In a word, a more thorough understanding of CAC in heterogeneous wireless cognitive networks may help one to design better CAC algorithms.

The design of two sonic boom wind tunnel models from conceptual aircraft which cruise at Mach numbers of 2.0 and 3.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mack, Robert J.; Needleman, Kathy E.

1990-01-01

A method for designing wind tunnel models of conceptual, low-boom, supersonic cruise aircraft is presented. Also included is a review of the procedures used to design the conceptual low-boom aircraft. In the discussion, problems unique to, and encountered during, the design of both the conceptual aircraft and the wind tunnel models are outlined. The sensitivity of low-boom characteristics in the aircraft design to control the volume and lift equivalent area distributions was emphasized. Solutions to these problems are reported; especially the two which led to the design of the wind tunnel model support stings.

The Model-Building Process in Introductory College Geography: An Illustrative Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cadwallader, Martin

1978-01-01

Illustrates the five elements of conceptual models by developing a model of consumer behavior in choosing among alternative supermarkets. The elements are: identifying the problem, constructing a conceptual model, translating it into a symbolic model, operationalizing the model, and testing. (Author/AV)

Preliminary results from the hydrodynamic element of the 1994 entrapment zone study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burau, J.R.; Stacey, M.; Gartner, J.W.

1995-01-01

This article discusses preliminary results from analyses of USGS hydrodynamic data collected as part of the 1994 Interagency Ecological Program entrapment zone study. The USGS took part in three 30-hour cruises and deployed instruments for measuring currents and salinity from April to June. This article primarily focuses on the analysis of data from five Acoustic Doppler Current ProUers (ADCPs) deployed in Carquinez Strait, Suisun Bay, and the Western Delta. From these analyses a revised conceptual model of the hydrodynamics of the entrapment/null zone has evolved. The ideas discussed in this newsletter article are essentially working hypotheses, which are presented here to stimulate discussion and further analyses. In this article we discuss the currently-held conceptual model of entrapment and present data that are inconsistent with this conceptual model. Finally, we suggest a revised conceptual model that is consistent with all of the hydrodynamic data collected to date and describe how the 1995 study incorporates our revised conceptual model into its design.

Disentangling Mechanisms That Mediate the Balance Between Stochastic and Deterministic Processes in Microbial Succession

DOE PAGES

Dini-Andreote, Francisco; Stegen, James C.; van Elsas, Jan D.; ...

2015-03-17

Despite growing recognition that deterministic and stochastic factors simultaneously influence bacterial communities, little is known about mechanisms shifting their relative importance. To better understand underlying mechanisms, we developed a conceptual model linking ecosystem development during primary succession to shifts in the stochastic/deterministic balance. To evaluate the conceptual model we coupled spatiotemporal data on soil bacterial communities with environmental conditions spanning 105 years of salt marsh development. At the local scale there was a progression from stochasticity to determinism due to Na accumulation with increasing ecosystem age, supporting a main element of the conceptual model. At the regional-scale, soil organic mattermore » (SOM) governed the relative influence of stochasticity and the type of deterministic ecological selection, suggesting scale-dependency in how deterministic ecological selection is imposed. Analysis of a new ecological simulation model supported these conceptual inferences. Looking forward, we propose an extended conceptual model that integrates primary and secondary succession in microbial systems.« less

Navigating Tensions Between Conceptual and Metaconceptual Goals in the Use of Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delgado, Cesar

2015-04-01

Science education involves learning about phenomena at three levels: concrete (facts and generalizations), conceptual (concepts and theories), and metaconceptual (epistemology) (Snir et al. in J Sci Educ Technol 2(2):373-388, 1993). Models are key components in science, can help build conceptual understanding, and may also build metaconceptual understanding. Technology can transform teaching and learning by turning models into interactive simulations that learners can investigate. This paper identifies four characteristics of models and simulations that support conceptual learning but misconstrue models and science at a metaconceptual level. Ahistorical models combine the characteristics of several historical models; they conveniently compile ideas but misrepresent the history of science (Gilbert in Int J Sci Math Educ 2(2):115-130, 2004). Teleological models explain behavior in terms of a final cause; they can lead to useful heuristics but imply purpose in processes driven by chance and probability (Talanquer in Int J Sci Educ 29(7):853-870, 2007). Epistemological overreach occurs when models or simulations imply greater certainty and knowledge about phenomena than warranted; conceptualizing nature as being well known (e.g., having a mathematical structure) poses the danger of conflating model and reality or data and theory. Finally, models are inevitably ontologically impoverished. Real-world deviations and many variables are left out of models, as models' role is to simplify. Models and simulations also lose much of the sensory data present in phenomena. Teachers, designers, and professional development designers and facilitators must thus navigate the tension between conceptual and metaconceptual learning when using models and simulations. For each characteristic, examples are provided, along with recommendations for instruction and design. Prompts for explicit reflective activities around models are provided for each characteristic

INEEL Subregional Conceptual Model Report; Volume 1 - Summary of Existing Knowledge of Natural and Anthropogenic Influences Governing Subsurface Contaminant Transport in the INEEL Subregion of the Eastern Snake River Plain

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

Wichlacz, Paul Louis; Orr, Brennan

2002-08-01

The National Research Council has defined a conceptual model as ''an evolving hypothesis identifying the important features, processes, and events controlling fluid flow and contaminant transport of consequence at a specific field site in the context of a recognized problem''. Presently, several subregional conceptual models are under development at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). Additionally, facility-specific conceptual models have been described as part of INEEL environmental restoration activities. Compilation of these models is required to develop a comprehensive conceptual model that can be used to strategically plan for future groundwater research activities at the INEEL. Conceptual modelsmore » of groundwater flow and contaminant transport at the INEEL include the description of the geologic framework, matrix hydraulic properties, and inflows and outflows. They also include definitions of the contaminant source term and contaminant transport mechanisms. The geologic framework of the INEEL subregion is described by the geometry of the system, stratigraphic units within the system, and structural features that affect groundwater flow and contaminant transport. These elements define geohydrologic units that make up the Snake River Plain Aquifer (SRPA). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) conceptual model encompasses approximately 1,920 mi2 of the eastern Snake River Plain. The Waste Area Group (WAG)-10 model includes the USGS area and additional areas to the northeast and southeast. Both conceptual models are bounded to the northwest by the Pioneer Mountains, Lost River Range, and Lemhi Mountains. They are bounded to the southeast by groundwater flow paths determined from aquifer water-level contours. The upgradient extent of the USGS model is a water-level contour that includes the northeastern boundary of the INEEL. The WAG-10 model includes more of the Mud Lake area to utilize previous estimates of underflow into the subregion. Both conceptual models extend approximately 25 miles to the southwest of the INEEL, a distance sufficient to include known concentrations of contaminant tracers. Several hypotheses have been developed concerning the effective thickness of the SRPA at the INEEL. The USGS model has defined the effective thickness from electrical resistivity and borehole data to be as much as 2,500 ft in the eastern part of the subregion and as much as 4,000 ft in the southwestern part. The WAG-10 model has developed two alternatives using aquifer-temperature and electrical resistivity data. The ''thick'' aquifer interpretation utilizes colder temperature data and includes a northtrending zone in which the thickness exceeds 1,300 ft and with a maximum thickness of 1,700 ft. The ''thin'' aquifer interpretation minimizes aquifer thickness, with thickness ranging from 328 to 1,300 ft. Facility-specific models generally have focused efforts on the upper 250 ft of saturation. Conceptual models have utilized a stratigraphic data set to define geohydrologic units within the INEEL subregion. This data set, compiled from geophysical logs and cores from boreholes, correlates the thick, complex stack of basalt flows across the subregion. Conceptual models generally concur that the upper geohydrologic unit consists of a section of highly fractured, multiple, thin basalt flows and sedimentary interbeds. Beneath this unit is an areally extensive, thick, unfractured basalt flow that rises above the water table southwest of the INEEL. The bottom unit consists of a thick section of slightly- to moderately-altered basalt. A key objective of the DOE water-integration project at the INEEL is to coordinate development of a subregional conceptual model of groundwater flow and contaminant transport that is based on the best available understanding of geologic and hydrologic features. The first step in this process is to compile and summarize the current conceptual models of groundwater flow and contaminant transport at the INEEL that have been developed from extensive geohydrologic studies conducted during the last 50 years.« less

Analyzing Students' Learning Progressions Throughout a Teaching Sequence on Acoustic Properties of Materials with a Model-Based Inquiry Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernández, María Isabel; Couso, Digna; Pintó, Roser

2015-04-01

The study we have carried out aims to characterize 15- to 16-year-old students' learning progressions throughout the implementation of a teaching-learning sequence on the acoustic properties of materials. Our purpose is to better understand students' modeling processes about this topic and to identify how the instructional design and actual enactment influences students' learning progressions. This article presents the design principles which elicit the structure and types of modeling and inquiry activities designed to promote students' development of three conceptual models. Some of these activities are enhanced by the use of ICT such as sound level meters connected to data capture systems, which facilitate the measurement of the intensity level of sound emitted by a sound source and transmitted through different materials. Framing this study within the design-based research paradigm, it consists of the experimentation of the designed teaching sequence with two groups of students ( n = 29) in their science classes. The analysis of students' written productions together with classroom observations of the implementation of the teaching sequence allowed characterizing students' development of the conceptual models. Moreover, we could evidence the influence of different modeling and inquiry activities on students' development of the conceptual models, identifying those that have a major impact on students' modeling processes. Having evidenced different levels of development of each conceptual model, our results have been interpreted in terms of the attributes of each conceptual model, the distance between students' preliminary mental models and the intended conceptual models, and the instructional design and enactment.

Augmenting Parametric Optimal Ascent Trajectory Modeling with Graph Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dees, Patrick D.; Zwack, Matthew R.; Edwards, Stephen; Steffens, Michael

2016-01-01

It has been well documented that decisions made in the early stages of Conceptual and Pre-Conceptual design commit up to 80% of total Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) while engineers know the least about the product they are designing [1]. Once within Preliminary and Detailed design however, making changes to the design becomes far more difficult to enact in both cost and schedule. Primarily this has been due to a lack of detailed data usually uncovered later during the Preliminary and Detailed design phases. In our current budget-constrained environment, making decisions within Conceptual and Pre-Conceptual design which minimize LCC while meeting requirements is paramount to a program's success. Within the arena of launch vehicle design, optimizing the ascent trajectory is critical for minimizing the costs present within such concerns as propellant, aerodynamic, aeroheating, and acceleration loads while meeting requirements such as payload delivered to a desired orbit. In order to optimize the vehicle design its constraints and requirements must be known, however as the design cycle proceeds it is all but inevitable that the conditions will change. Upon that change, the previously optimized trajectory may no longer be optimal, or meet design requirements. The current paradigm for adjusting to these updates is generating point solutions for every change in the design's requirements [2]. This can be a tedious, time-consuming task as changes in virtually any piece of a launch vehicle's design can have a disproportionately large effect on the ascent trajectory, as the solution space of the trajectory optimization problem is both non-linear and multimodal [3]. In addition, an industry standard tool, Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST), requires an expert analyst to produce simulated trajectories that are feasible and optimal [4]. In a previous publication the authors presented a method for combatting these challenges [5]. In order to bring more detailed information into Conceptual and Pre-Conceptual design, knowledge of the effects originating from changes to the vehicle must be calculated. In order to do this, a model capable of quantitatively describing any vehicle within the entire design space under consideration must be constructed. This model must be based upon analysis of acceptable fidelity, which in this work comes from POST. Design space interrogation can be achieved with surrogate modeling, a parametric, polynomial equation representing a tool. A surrogate model must be informed by data from the tool with enough points to represent the solution space for the chosen number of variables with an acceptable level of error. Therefore, Design Of Experiments (DOE) is used to select points within the design space to maximize information gained on the design space while minimizing number of data points required. To represent a design space with a non-trivial number of variable parameters the number of points required still represent an amount of work which would take an inordinate amount of time via the current paradigm of manual analysis, and so an automated method was developed. The best practices of expert trajectory analysts working within NASA Marshall's Advanced Concepts Office (ACO) were implemented within a tool called multiPOST. These practices include how to use the output data from a previous run of POST to inform the next, determining whether a trajectory solution is feasible from a real-world perspective, and how to handle program execution errors. The tool was then augmented with multiprocessing capability to enable analysis on multiple trajectories simultaneously, allowing throughput to scale with available computational resources. In this update to the previous work the authors discuss issues with the method and solutions.

A conceptual model for vision rehabilitation

PubMed Central

Roberts, Pamela S.; Rizzo, John-Ross; Hreha, Kimberly; Wertheimer, Jeffrey; Kaldenberg, Jennifer; Hironaka, Dawn; Riggs, Richard; Colenbrander, August

2017-01-01

Vision impairments are highly prevalent after acquired brain injury (ABI). Conceptual models that focus on constructing intellectual frameworks greatly facilitate comprehension and implementation of practice guidelines in an interprofessional setting. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the vision literature in ABI, describe a conceptual model for vision rehabilitation, explain its potential clinical inferences, and discuss its translation into rehabilitation across multiple practice settings and disciplines. PMID:27997671

A conceptual model for vision rehabilitation.

PubMed

Roberts, Pamela S; Rizzo, John-Ross; Hreha, Kimberly; Wertheimer, Jeffrey; Kaldenberg, Jennifer; Hironaka, Dawn; Riggs, Richard; Colenbrander, August

2016-01-01

Vision impairments are highly prevalent after acquired brain injury (ABI). Conceptual models that focus on constructing intellectual frameworks greatly facilitate comprehension and implementation of practice guidelines in an interprofessional setting. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the vision literature in ABI, describe a conceptual model for vision rehabilitation, explain its potential clinical inferences, and discuss its translation into rehabilitation across multiple practice settings and disciplines.

Using Computational Modeling to Assess the Impact of Clinical Decision Support on Cancer Screening within Community Health Centers

PubMed Central

Carney, Timothy Jay; Morgan, Geoffrey P.; Jones, Josette; McDaniel, Anna M.; Weaver, Michael; Weiner, Bryan; Haggstrom, David A.

2014-01-01

Our conceptual model demonstrates our goal to investigate the impact of clinical decision support (CDS) utilization on cancer screening improvement strategies in the community health care (CHC) setting. We employed a dual modeling technique using both statistical and computational modeling to evaluate impact. Our statistical model used the Spearman’s Rho test to evaluate the strength of relationship between our proximal outcome measures (CDS utilization) against our distal outcome measure (provider self-reported cancer screening improvement). Our computational model relied on network evolution theory and made use of a tool called Construct-TM to model the use of CDS measured by the rate of organizational learning. We employed the use of previously collected survey data from community health centers Cancer Health Disparities Collaborative (HDCC). Our intent is to demonstrate the added valued gained by using a computational modeling tool in conjunction with a statistical analysis when evaluating the impact a health information technology, in the form of CDS, on health care quality process outcomes such as facility-level screening improvement. Significant simulated disparities in organizational learning over time were observed between community health centers beginning the simulation with high and low clinical decision support capability. PMID:24953241

Navigating Tensions between Conceptual and Metaconceptual Goals in the Use of Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delgado, Cesar

2015-01-01

Science education involves learning about phenomena at three levels: concrete (facts and generalizations), conceptual (concepts and theories), and metaconceptual (epistemology) (Snir et al. in "J Sci Educ Technol" 2(2):373-388, 1993). Models are key components in science, can help build conceptual understanding, and may also build…

A Scoping Review: Conceptualizations and Pedagogical Models of Learning in Nursing Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poikela, Paula; Teräs, Marianne

2015-01-01

Simulations have been implemented globally in nursing education for years with diverse conceptual foundations. The aim of this scoping review is to examine the literature regarding the conceptualizations of learning and pedagogical models in nursing simulations. A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2013 was…

Conceptualization of preferential flow for hillslope stability assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukemilks, Karlis; Wagner, Jean-Frank; Saks, Tomas; Brunner, Philip

2018-03-01

This study uses two approaches to conceptualize preferential flow with the goal to investigate their influence on hillslope stability. Synthetic three-dimensional hydrogeological models using dual-permeability and discrete-fracture conceptualization were subsequently integrated into slope stability simulations. The slope stability simulations reveal significant differences in slope stability depending on the preferential flow conceptualization applied, despite similar small-scale hydrogeological responses of the system. This can be explained by a local-scale increase of pore-water pressures observed in the scenario with discrete fractures. The study illustrates the critical importance of correctly conceptualizing preferential flow for slope stability simulations. It further demonstrates that the combination of the latest generation of physically based hydrogeological models with slope stability simulations allows for improvement to current modeling approaches through more complex consideration of preferential flow paths.

A New Method for Conceptual Modelling of Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gustas, Remigijus; Gustiene, Prima

Service architecture is not necessarily bound to the technical aspects of information system development. It can be defined by using conceptual models that are independent of any implementation technology. Unfortunately, the conventional information system analysis and design methods cover just a part of required modelling notations for engineering of service architectures. They do not provide effective support to maintain semantic integrity between business processes and data. Service orientation is a paradigm that can be applied for conceptual modelling of information systems. The concept of service is rather well understood in different domains. It can be applied equally well for conceptualization of organizational and technical information system components. This chapter concentrates on analysis of the differences between service-oriented modelling and object-oriented modelling. Service-oriented method is used for semantic integration of information system static and dynamic aspects.

Implementation of nursing conceptual models: observations of a multi-site research team.

PubMed

Shea, H; Rogers, M; Ross, E; Tucker, D; Fitch, M; Smith, I

1989-01-01

The general acceptance by nursing of the nursing process as the methodology of practice enabled nurses to have a common grounding for practice, research and theory development in the 1970s. It has become clear, however, that the nursing process is just that--a process. What is sorely needed is the nursing content for that process and consequently in the past 10 years nursing theorists have further developed their particular conceptual models (CM). Three major teaching hospitals in Toronto have instituted a conceptual model (CM) of nursing as a basis of nursing practice. Mount Sinai Hospital has adopted Roy's adaptation model; Sunnybrook Medical Centre, Kings's goal attainment model; and Toronto General Hospital, Orem's self-care deficit theory model. All of these hospitals are affiliated through a series of cross appointments with the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. Two community hospitals, Mississauga and Scarborough General, have also adopted Orem's model and are related to the University through educational, community and interest groups. A group of researchers from these hospitals and the University of Toronto have proposed a collaborative project to determine what impact using a conceptual model will make on nursing practice. Discussions among the participants of this research group indicate that there are observations associated with instituting conceptual models that can be identified early in the process of implementation. These observations may be of assistance to others contemplating the implementation of conceptually based practice in their institution.

Mass discharge estimation from contaminated sites: Multi-model solutions for assessment of conceptual uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomsen, N. I.; Troldborg, M.; McKnight, U. S.; Binning, P. J.; Bjerg, P. L.

2012-04-01

Mass discharge estimates are increasingly being used in the management of contaminated sites. Such estimates have proven useful for supporting decisions related to the prioritization of contaminated sites in a groundwater catchment. Potential management options can be categorised as follows: (1) leave as is, (2) clean up, or (3) further investigation needed. However, mass discharge estimates are often very uncertain, which may hamper the management decisions. If option 1 is incorrectly chosen soil and water quality will decrease, threatening or destroying drinking water resources. The risk of choosing option 2 is to spend money on remediating a site that does not pose a problem. Choosing option 3 will often be safest, but may not be the optimal economic solution. Quantification of the uncertainty in mass discharge estimates can therefore greatly improve the foundation for selecting the appropriate management option. The uncertainty of mass discharge estimates depends greatly on the extent of the site characterization. A good approach for uncertainty estimation will be flexible with respect to the investigation level, and account for both parameter and conceptual model uncertainty. We propose a method for quantifying the uncertainty of dynamic mass discharge estimates from contaminant point sources on the local scale. The method considers both parameter and conceptual uncertainty through a multi-model approach. The multi-model approach evaluates multiple conceptual models for the same site. The different conceptual models consider different source characterizations and hydrogeological descriptions. The idea is to include a set of essentially different conceptual models where each model is believed to be realistic representation of the given site, based on the current level of information. Parameter uncertainty is quantified using Monte Carlo simulations. For each conceptual model we calculate a transient mass discharge estimate with uncertainty bounds resulting from the parametric uncertainty. To quantify the conceptual uncertainty from a given site, we combine the outputs from the different conceptual models using Bayesian model averaging. The weight for each model is obtained by integrating available data and expert knowledge using Bayesian belief networks. The multi-model approach is applied to a contaminated site. At the site a DNAPL (dense non aqueous phase liquid) spill consisting of PCE (perchloroethylene) has contaminated a fractured clay till aquitard overlaying a limestone aquifer. The exact shape and nature of the source is unknown and so is the importance of transport in the fractures. The result of the multi-model approach is a visual representation of the uncertainty of the mass discharge estimates for the site which can be used to support the management options.

OWL references in ORM conceptual modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matula, Jiri; Belunek, Roman; Hunka, Frantisek

2017-07-01

Object Role Modelling methodology is the fact-based type of conceptual modelling. The aim of the paper is to emphasize a close connection to OWL documents and its possible mutual cooperation. The definition of entities or domain values is an indispensable part of the conceptual schema design procedure defined by the ORM methodology. Many of these entities are already defined in OWL documents. Therefore, it is not necessary to declare entities again, whereas it is possible to utilize references from OWL documents during modelling of information systems.

Estimation of Model's Marginal likelihood Using Adaptive Sparse Grid Surrogates in Bayesian Model Averaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, X.

2015-12-01

A large number of model executions are required to obtain alternative conceptual models' predictions and their posterior probabilities in Bayesian model averaging (BMA). The posterior model probability is estimated through models' marginal likelihood and prior probability. The heavy computation burden hinders the implementation of BMA prediction, especially for the elaborated marginal likelihood estimator. For overcoming the computation burden of BMA, an adaptive sparse grid (SG) stochastic collocation method is used to build surrogates for alternative conceptual models through the numerical experiment of a synthetical groundwater model. BMA predictions depend on model posterior weights (or marginal likelihoods), and this study also evaluated four marginal likelihood estimators, including arithmetic mean estimator (AME), harmonic mean estimator (HME), stabilized harmonic mean estimator (SHME), and thermodynamic integration estimator (TIE). The results demonstrate that TIE is accurate in estimating conceptual models' marginal likelihoods. The BMA-TIE has better predictive performance than other BMA predictions. TIE has high stability for estimating conceptual model's marginal likelihood. The repeated estimated conceptual model's marginal likelihoods by TIE have significant less variability than that estimated by other estimators. In addition, the SG surrogates are efficient to facilitate BMA predictions, especially for BMA-TIE. The number of model executions needed for building surrogates is 4.13%, 6.89%, 3.44%, and 0.43% of the required model executions of BMA-AME, BMA-HME, BMA-SHME, and BMA-TIE, respectively.

Revisiting the choice of the driving temperature for eddy covariance CO2 flux partitioning

PubMed Central

Wohlfahrt, Georg; Galvagno, Marta

2017-01-01

So-called CO2 flux partitioning algorithms are widely used to partition the net ecosystem CO2 exchange into the two component fluxes, gross primary productivity and ecosystem respiration. Common CO2 flux partitioning algorithms conceptualize ecosystem respiration to originate from a single source, requiring the choice of a corresponding driving temperature. Using a conceptual dual-source respiration model, consisting of an above- and a below-ground respiration source each driven by a corresponding temperature, we demonstrate that the typical phase shift between air and soil temperature gives rise to a hysteresis relationship between ecosystem respiration and temperature. The hysteresis proceeds in a clockwise fashion if soil temperature is used to drive ecosystem respiration, while a counter-clockwise response is observed when ecosystem respiration is related to air temperature. As a consequence, nighttime ecosystem respiration is smaller than daytime ecosystem respiration when referenced to soil temperature, while the reverse is true for air temperature. We confirm these qualitative modelling results using measurements of day and night ecosystem respiration made with opaque chambers in a short-statured mountain grassland. Inferring daytime from nighttime ecosystem respiration or vice versa, as attempted by CO2 flux partitioning algorithms, using a single-source respiration model is thus an oversimplification resulting in biased estimates of ecosystem respiration. We discuss the likely magnitude of the bias, options for minimizing it and conclude by emphasizing that the systematic uncertainty of gross primary productivity and ecosystem respiration inferred through CO2 flux partitioning needs to be better quantified and reported. PMID:28439145

Evaluating Conceptual Site Models with Multicomponent Reactive Transport Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Z.; Heffner, D.; Price, V.; Temples, T. J.; Nicholson, T. J.

2005-05-01

Modeling ground-water flow and multicomponent reactive chemical transport is a useful approach for testing conceptual site models and assessing the design of monitoring networks. A graded approach with three conceptual site models is presented here with a field case of tetrachloroethene (PCE) transport and biodegradation near Charleston, SC. The first model assumed a one-layer homogeneous aquifer structure with semi-infinite boundary conditions, in which an analytical solution of the reactive solute transport can be obtained with BIOCHLOR (Aziz et al., 1999). Due to the over-simplification of the aquifer structure, this simulation cannot reproduce the monitoring data. In the second approach we used GMS to develop the conceptual site model, a layer-cake multi-aquifer system, and applied a numerical module (MODFLOW and RT3D within GMS) to solve the flow and reactive transport problem. The results were better than the first approach but still did not fit the plume well because the geological structures were still inadequately defined. In the third approach we developed a complex conceptual site model by interpreting log and seismic survey data with Petra and PetraSeis. We detected a major channel and a younger channel, through the PCE source area. These channels control the local ground-water flow direction and provide a preferential chemical transport pathway. Results using the third conceptual site model agree well with the monitoring concentration data. This study confirms that the bias and uncertainty from inadequate conceptual models are much larger than those introduced from an inadequate choice of model parameter values (Neuman and Wierenga, 2003; Meyer et al., 2004). Numerical modeling in this case provides key insight into the hydrogeology and geochemistry of the field site for predicting contaminant transport in the future. Finally, critical monitoring points and performance indicator parameters are selected for future monitoring to confirm system performance.

Conducting quality of life research in people with coronary artery disease in non-English-speaking countries: conceptual and operationalization issues.

PubMed

Saengsiri, Aem-orn; Hacker, Eileen Danaher

2015-01-01

Health-related quality of life is an important clinical outcome to measure in patients with cardiovascular disease. International nurse researchers with limited English skills and novice cardiovascular nurse researchers face numerous challenges when conducting quality of life research because of the conceptual ambiguity of the construct and subsequent operationalization issues as well as difficulty identifying conceptual models to guide their quality of life research. The overall purpose of this article was to provide guidance to cardiovascular nurse researchers (using Thailand as an example) who are interested in examining quality of life in their native country but lack access to quality of life conceptual models and instruments because of language barriers. This article will examine definitions of health-related quality of life, selection of a conceptual model to guide quality of life research, use of the conceptual model to guide selection and measurement of variables, and translation of instruments when reliable and valid instruments are not available in the native language. Ferrans' definition of quality of life and the Wilson and Cleary Revised Model of Patient Outcomes were selected to guide the research. Selection of variables/instruments flowed directly from the conceptualization of constructs identified in this model. Our study, "Examining HRQOL in Thai People With Coronary Artery Disease Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention," serves as an exemplar to illustrate the conceptual and operational challenges associated with conducting quality of life research in Thailand. The ultimate goal of cardiovascular nursing is to help patients achieve their optimal quality of life. Thai clinicians implementing quality of life assessment in clinical practice face similar conceptual and operationalization issues, especially when using instruments that are not well established or easily interpreted. Although quality of life assessment in clinical practice improves communication between patients and healthcare providers, clear guidelines for making changes to treatment strategies based on changes in quality of life must be established.

Big data need big theory too

PubMed Central

Dougherty, Edward R.; Highfield, Roger R.

2016-01-01

The current interest in big data, machine learning and data analytics has generated the widespread impression that such methods are capable of solving most problems without the need for conventional scientific methods of inquiry. Interest in these methods is intensifying, accelerated by the ease with which digitized data can be acquired in virtually all fields of endeavour, from science, healthcare and cybersecurity to economics, social sciences and the humanities. In multiscale modelling, machine learning appears to provide a shortcut to reveal correlations of arbitrary complexity between processes at the atomic, molecular, meso- and macroscales. Here, we point out the weaknesses of pure big data approaches with particular focus on biology and medicine, which fail to provide conceptual accounts for the processes to which they are applied. No matter their ‘depth’ and the sophistication of data-driven methods, such as artificial neural nets, in the end they merely fit curves to existing data. Not only do these methods invariably require far larger quantities of data than anticipated by big data aficionados in order to produce statistically reliable results, but they can also fail in circumstances beyond the range of the data used to train them because they are not designed to model the structural characteristics of the underlying system. We argue that it is vital to use theory as a guide to experimental design for maximal efficiency of data collection and to produce reliable predictive models and conceptual knowledge. Rather than continuing to fund, pursue and promote ‘blind’ big data projects with massive budgets, we call for more funding to be allocated to the elucidation of the multiscale and stochastic processes controlling the behaviour of complex systems, including those of life, medicine and healthcare. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Multiscale modelling at the physics–chemistry–biology interface’. PMID:27698035

Big data need big theory too.

PubMed

Coveney, Peter V; Dougherty, Edward R; Highfield, Roger R

2016-11-13

The current interest in big data, machine learning and data analytics has generated the widespread impression that such methods are capable of solving most problems without the need for conventional scientific methods of inquiry. Interest in these methods is intensifying, accelerated by the ease with which digitized data can be acquired in virtually all fields of endeavour, from science, healthcare and cybersecurity to economics, social sciences and the humanities. In multiscale modelling, machine learning appears to provide a shortcut to reveal correlations of arbitrary complexity between processes at the atomic, molecular, meso- and macroscales. Here, we point out the weaknesses of pure big data approaches with particular focus on biology and medicine, which fail to provide conceptual accounts for the processes to which they are applied. No matter their 'depth' and the sophistication of data-driven methods, such as artificial neural nets, in the end they merely fit curves to existing data. Not only do these methods invariably require far larger quantities of data than anticipated by big data aficionados in order to produce statistically reliable results, but they can also fail in circumstances beyond the range of the data used to train them because they are not designed to model the structural characteristics of the underlying system. We argue that it is vital to use theory as a guide to experimental design for maximal efficiency of data collection and to produce reliable predictive models and conceptual knowledge. Rather than continuing to fund, pursue and promote 'blind' big data projects with massive budgets, we call for more funding to be allocated to the elucidation of the multiscale and stochastic processes controlling the behaviour of complex systems, including those of life, medicine and healthcare.This article is part of the themed issue 'Multiscale modelling at the physics-chemistry-biology interface'. © 2015 The Authors.

Scrutinizing UML Activity Diagrams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Fedaghi, Sabah

Building an information system involves two processes: conceptual modeling of the “real world domain” and designing the software system. Object-oriented methods and languages (e.g., UML) are typically used for describing the software system. For the system analysis process that produces the conceptual description, object-oriented techniques or semantics extensions are utilized. Specifically, UML activity diagrams are the “flow charts” of object-oriented conceptualization tools. This chapter proposes an alternative to UML activity diagrams through the development of a conceptual modeling methodology based on the notion of flow.

The conceptualization model problem—surprise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bredehoeft, John

2005-03-01

The foundation of model analysis is the conceptual model. Surprise is defined as new data that renders the prevailing conceptual model invalid; as defined here it represents a paradigm shift. Limited empirical data indicate that surprises occur in 20-30% of model analyses. These data suggest that groundwater analysts have difficulty selecting the appropriate conceptual model. There is no ready remedy to the conceptual model problem other than (1) to collect as much data as is feasible, using all applicable methods—a complementary data collection methodology can lead to new information that changes the prevailing conceptual model, and (2) for the analyst to remain open to the fact that the conceptual model can change dramatically as more information is collected. In the final analysis, the hydrogeologist makes a subjective decision on the appropriate conceptual model. The conceptualization problem does not render models unusable. The problem introduces an uncertainty that often is not widely recognized. Conceptual model uncertainty is exacerbated in making long-term predictions of system performance. C'est le modèle conceptuel qui se trouve à base d'une analyse sur un modèle. On considère comme une surprise lorsque le modèle est invalidé par des données nouvelles; dans les termes définis ici la surprise est équivalente à un change de paradigme. Des données empiriques limitées indiquent que les surprises apparaissent dans 20 à 30% des analyses effectuées sur les modèles. Ces données suggèrent que l'analyse des eaux souterraines présente des difficultés lorsqu'il s'agit de choisir le modèle conceptuel approprié. Il n'existe pas un autre remède au problème du modèle conceptuel que: (1) rassembler autant des données que possible en utilisant toutes les méthodes applicables—la méthode des données complémentaires peut conduire aux nouvelles informations qui vont changer le modèle conceptuel, et (2) l'analyste doit rester ouvert au fait que le modèle conceptuel peut bien changer lorsque des nouvelles informations apparaissent. Dans l'analyse finale le hydrogéologue prend une décision subjective sur le modèle conceptuel approprié. Le problème du le modèle conceptuel ne doit pas rendre le modèle inutilisable. Ce problème introduit une incertitude qui n'est pas toujours reconnue. Les incertitudes du modèle conceptuel deviennent plus importantes dans les cases de prévisions à long terme dans l'analyse de performance. La base para hacer un análisis de un modelo es el modelo conceptual. Se define aquí la sorpresa como los datos nuevos que convierten en incoherente al modelo conceptual previamente aceptado; tal como se define aquí esto representa un cambio de paradigma. Los datos empíricos limitados indican que estas sorpresas suceden entre un 20 a un 30% de los análisis de modelos. Esto sugiere que los analistas de modelos de agua subterránea tienen dificultades al seleccionar el modelo conceptual apropiado. No hayotra solución disponible a este problema del modelo conceptual diferente de: (1) Recolectar tanta información como sea posible, mediante la utilización de todos los métodos aplicables, lo cual puede resultar en que esta nueva información ayude a cambiar el modelo conceptual vigente, y (2) Que el analista de modelos se mantenga siempre abierto al hecho de que un modelo conceptual puede cambiar de manera total, en la medida en que se colecte mas información. En el análisis final el hidrogeólogo toma una decisión subjetiva en cuanto al modelo conceptual apropiado. El problema de la conceptualización no produce modelos inútiles. El problema presenta una incertidumbre, la cual a menudo no es tenida en cuentade manera adecuada. Esta incertidumbre en los modelos conceptuales se aumenta, cuando se hacen predicciones a largo plazo del comportamiento de un sistema dado.

An intelligent tutoring system for teaching fundamental physics concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albacete, Patricia Lucia

1999-12-01

Students in traditional elementary mechanics classes can master problem solving of a quantitative nature but not those of a qualitative type. Moreover, students' naive conceptions of physics remain unchanged after completing their class. A few approaches have been implemented to improve this situation however none have met with great success. Since elementary mechanics is the foundation for all of physics and it is a required course for most science majors there is a clear need to improve the instruction of the subject. To address this problem I developed a intelligent tutoring system, called the Conceptual Helper, which coaches students during homework problem solving. The tutor uses a unique cognitive based approach to teaching physics, which presents innovations in three areas. (1) The teaching strategy, which focuses on teaching those links among the concepts of the domain that are essential for conceptual understanding yet are seldom learned by the students. (2) The manner in which the knowledge is taught, which is based on a combination of effective human tutoring techniques (e.g., hinting), effective pedagogical methods (e.g., a microscopic view of matter), and less cognitively demanding approaches (e.g., anthropomorphism). (3) The way in which misconceptions are handled which uses the underlying scientific correct line of reasoning to describe to the student the phenomenon that is the basis for the misconception. From a technological point of view the Conceptual Helper was implemented as a model-tracing tutor which intervenes when students make errors and after completion of each problem, at which time the tutor scaffolds the students on post-problem reflection. The remediation is guided by probabilistic assessment of mastery and the interventions are adapted to the errors. The thesis also presents the results of the evaluation of the system which revealed that the gain scores of the experimental group were statistically significantly higher than those of the control group, suggesting that the Conceptual Helper was indeed capable of effectively teaching the conceptual aspects of physics as well as helped students abandon common misconceptions. Furthermore, the evaluation showed that the students' performance on a standardized test was comparable to those of other more complex approaches.

RAMI modeling of plant systems for proposed tritium production and extraction facilities

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

Blanchard, A.

2000-04-05

The control of life-cycle cost is a primary concern during the development, construction, operation, and decommissioning of DOE systems and facilities. An effective tool that can be used to control these costs, beginning with the design stage, is called a reliability, availability, maintainability, and inspectability analysis or, simply, RAMI for short. In 1997, RAMI technology was introduced to the Savannah River Site with applications at the conceptual design stage beginning with the Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) Project and later extended to the Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR) Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) Project. More recently it has been applied tomore » the as-build Water Treatment Facilities designed for ground water environmental restoration. This new technology and database was applied to the assessment of balance-of-plant systems for the APT Conceptual Design Report. Initial results from the Heat Removal System Assessment revealed that the system conceptual design would cause the APT to fall short of its annual production goal. Using RAM technology to immediately assess this situation, it was demonstrated that the product loss could be gained back by upgrading the system's chiller unit capacity at a cost of less than $1.3 million. The reclaimed production is worth approximately $100 million. The RAM technology has now been extended to assess the conceptual design for the CLWR-TEF Project. More specifically, this technology and database is being used to translate high level availability goals into lower level system design requirements that will ensure the TEF meets its production goal. Results, from the limited number of system assessments performed to date, have already been used to modify the conceptual design for a remote handling system, improving its availability to the point that a redundant system, with its associated costs of installation and operation may no longer be required. RAMI results were also used to justify the elimination of a metal uranium bed in the design of a water cracker system, producing a significant reduction in the estimated construction and operating costs.« less

Software Technology for Adaptable, Reliable Systems (STARS). Repository Integration AdaKNET Software User’s Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-10-03

9 4.1. Mapping the Conceptual Model to the Implementation ................................................ 9 4.2. Overview of...browser-editor application. Finally, appendix A provides a detailed description of the AdaKNET conceptual model; users of AdaKNET should fami...provide a brief summary of the semantics of the underlying conceptual model implemented by AdaKNET, use of the AdaKNET ADT will require a more thorough

Constructing a Conceptual Model Linking Drivers and Ecosystem Services in Piedmont Streams

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

to the Virginia-Maryland border and is bound by the Appalachian Mountains and Blue Ridge to the northwest and the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the south...demand on freshwater ecosystem services, and a growing appreciation for the value of functioning ecosystems, the Appalachian Piedmont has developed a...the model and how it can be adapted and ap - plied for specific projects. A FRAMEWORK FOR CONCEPTUAL MODELING The general approach to conceptual

Conceptual design for the space station Freedom modular combustion facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

A definition study and conceptual design for a combustion science facility that will be located in the Space Station Freedom's baseline U.S. Laboratory module is being performed. This modular, user-friendly facility, called the Modular Combustion Facility, will be available for use by industry, academic, and government research communities in the mid-1990's. The Facility will support research experiments dealing with the study of combustion and its byproducts. Because of the lack of gravity-induced convection, research into the mechanisms of combustion in the absence of gravity will help to provide a better understanding of the fundamentals of the combustion process. The background, current status, and future activities of the effort are covered.

Is Sexual Behavior Healthy for Adolescents? A Conceptual Framework for Research on Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Physical, Mental, and Social Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasilenko, Sara A.; Lefkowitz, Eva S.; Welsh, Deborah P.

2014-01-01

Although research has increasingly emphasized how adolescent sexual behavior may be associated with aspects of health beyond unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, no current theoretical or conceptual model fully explains associations between sexual behavior and multiple facets of health. We provide a conceptual model that…

On the Performance of Alternate Conceptual Ecohydrological Models for Streamflow Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naseem, Bushra; Ajami, Hoori; Cordery, Ian; Sharma, Ashish

2016-04-01

A merging of a lumped conceptual hydrological model with two conceptual dynamic vegetation models is presented to assess the performance of these models for simultaneous simulations of streamflow and leaf area index (LAI). Two conceptual dynamic vegetation models with differing representation of ecological processes are merged with a lumped conceptual hydrological model (HYMOD) to predict catchment scale streamflow and LAI. The merged RR-LAI-I model computes relative leaf biomass based on transpiration rates while the RR-LAI-II model computes above ground green and dead biomass based on net primary productivity and water use efficiency in response to soil moisture dynamics. To assess the performance of these models, daily discharge and 8-day MODIS LAI product for 27 catchments of 90 - 1600km2 in size located in the Murray - Darling Basin in Australia are used. Our results illustrate that when single-objective optimisation was focussed on maximizing the objective function for streamflow or LAI, the other un-calibrated predicted outcome (LAI if streamflow is the focus) was consistently compromised. Thus, single-objective optimization cannot take into account the essence of all processes in the conceptual ecohydrological models. However, multi-objective optimisation showed great strength for streamflow and LAI predictions. Both response outputs were better simulated by RR-LAI-II than RR-LAI-I due to better representation of physical processes such as net primary productivity (NPP) in RR-LAI-II. Our results highlight that simultaneous calibration of streamflow and LAI using a multi-objective algorithm proves to be an attractive tool for improved streamflow predictions.

A Study of the Use of Ontologies for Building Computer-Aided Control Engineering Self-Learning Educational Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García, Isaías; Benavides, Carmen; Alaiz, Héctor; Alonso, Angel

2013-08-01

This paper describes research on the use of knowledge models (ontologies) for building computer-aided educational software in the field of control engineering. Ontologies are able to represent in the computer a very rich conceptual model of a given domain. This model can be used later for a number of purposes in different software applications. In this study, domain ontology about the field of lead-lag compensator design has been built and used for automatic exercise generation, graphical user interface population and interaction with the user at any level of detail, including explanations about why things occur. An application called Onto-CELE (ontology-based control engineering learning environment) uses the ontology for implementing a learning environment that can be used for self and lifelong learning purposes. The experience has shown that the use of knowledge models as the basis for educational software applications is capable of showing students the whole complexity of the analysis and design processes at any level of detail. A practical experience with postgraduate students has shown the mentioned benefits and possibilities of the approach.

The biopsychosocial model and its potential for a new theory of homeopathy.

PubMed

Schmidt, Josef M

2012-04-01

Since the nineteenth century the theory of conventional medicine has been developed in close alignment with the mechanistic paradigm of natural sciences. Only in the twentieth century occasional attempts were made to (re)introduce the 'subject' into medical theory, as by Thure von Uexküll (1908-2004) who elaborated the so-called biopsychosocial model of the human being, trying to understand the patient as a unit of organic, mental, and social dimensions of life. Although widely neglected by conventional medicine, it is one of the most coherent, significant, and up-to-date models of medicine at present. Being torn between strict adherence to Hahnemann's original conceptualization and alienation caused by contemporary scientific criticism, homeopathy today still lacks a generally accepted, consistent, and definitive theory which would explain in scientific terms its strength, peculiarity, and principles without relapsing into biomedical reductionism. The biopsychosocial model of the human being implies great potential for a new theory of homeopathy, as may be demonstrated with some typical examples. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Introductory Statistics Students' Conceptual Understanding of Study Design and Conclusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fry, Elizabeth Brondos

Recommended learning goals for students in introductory statistics courses include the ability to recognize and explain the key role of randomness in designing studies and in drawing conclusions from those studies involving generalizations to a population or causal claims (GAISE College Report ASA Revision Committee, 2016). The purpose of this study was to explore introductory statistics students' understanding of the distinct roles that random sampling and random assignment play in study design and the conclusions that can be made from each. A study design unit lasting two and a half weeks was designed and implemented in four sections of an undergraduate introductory statistics course based on modeling and simulation. The research question that this study attempted to answer is: How does introductory statistics students' conceptual understanding of study design and conclusions (in particular, unbiased estimation and establishing causation) change after participating in a learning intervention designed to promote conceptual change in these areas? In order to answer this research question, a forced-choice assessment called the Inferences from Design Assessment (IDEA) was developed as a pretest and posttest, along with two open-ended assignments, a group quiz and a lab assignment. Quantitative analysis of IDEA results and qualitative analysis of the group quiz and lab assignment revealed that overall, students' mastery of study design concepts significantly increased after the unit, and the great majority of students successfully made the appropriate connections between random sampling and generalization, and between random assignment and causal claims. However, a small, but noticeable portion of students continued to demonstrate misunderstandings, such as confusion between random sampling and random assignment.

Dispersion Modeling in Complex Urban Systems

EPA Science Inventory

Models are used to represent real systems in an understandable way. They take many forms. A conceptual model explains the way a system works. In environmental studies, for example, a conceptual model may delineate all the factors and parameters for determining how a particle move...

Conceptual Design and Dynamics Testing and Modeling of a Mars Tumbleweed Rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calhoun Philip C.; Harris, Steven B.; Raiszadeh, Behzad; Zaleski, Kristina D.

2005-01-01

The NASA Langley Research Center has been developing a novel concept for a Mars planetary rover called the Mars Tumbleweed. This concept utilizes the wind to propel the rover along the Mars surface, bringing it the potential to cover vast distances not possible with current Mars rover technology. This vehicle, in its deployed configuration, must be large and lightweight to provide the ratio of drag force to rolling resistance necessary to initiate motion from rest on the Mars surface. One Tumbleweed design concept that satisfies these considerations is called the Eggbeater-Dandelion. This paper describes the basic design considerations and a proposed dynamics model of the concept for use in simulation studies. It includes a summary of rolling/bouncing dynamics tests that used videogrammetry to better understand, characterize, and validate the dynamics model assumptions, especially the effective rolling resistance in bouncing/rolling dynamic conditions. The dynamics test used cameras to capture the motion of 32 targets affixed to a test article s outer structure. Proper placement of the cameras and alignment of their respective fields of view provided adequate image resolution of multiple targets along the trajectory as the test article proceeded down the ramp. Image processing of the frames from multiple cameras was used to determine the target positions. Position data from a set of these test runs was compared with results of a three dimensional, flexible dynamics model. Model input parameters were adjusted to match the test data for runs conducted. This process presented herein provided the means to characterize the dynamics and validate the simulation of the Eggbeater-Dandelion concept. The simulation model was used to demonstrate full scale Tumbleweed motion from a stationary condition on a flat-sloped terrain using representative Mars environment parameters.

Towards understanding the guessing game: a dynamical systems’ perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reimann, Stefan

2004-08-01

The so-called “Guessing Game” or α-Beauty Contest serves as a paradigmatic conceptual framework for competitive price formation on financial markets beyond traditional equilibrium finance. It highlights features that are reasonable to consider when dealing with price formation on real markets. Nonetheless this game is still poorly understood. We propose a model which is essentially based on two assumptions: (1) players consider intervals rather than exact numbers to cope with incomplete knowledge and (2) players iteratively update their recent guesses. It provides an explanation for typical patterns observed in real data, such as the strict positivity of outcomes in the 1-shot setting, the skew background distribution of guessed numbers, as well as the polynomial convergence towards the game-theoretic Nash equilibrium in the iterative setting.

Anti-fouling properties of microstructured surfaces bio-inspired by rice leaves and butterfly wings.

PubMed

Bixler, Gregory D; Theiss, Andrew; Bhushan, Bharat; Lee, Stephen C

2014-04-01

Material scientists often look to biology for new engineering solutions to materials science problems. For example, unique surface characteristics of rice leaves and butterfly wings combine the shark skin (antifouling) and lotus leaf (self-cleaning) effects, producing the so-called rice and butterfly wing effect. In this paper, we study antifouling properties of four microstructured surfaces inspired by rice leaves and fabricated with photolithography and hot embossing techniques. Anti-biofouling effectiveness is determined with bioassays using Escherichia coli whilst inorganic fouling with simulated dirt particles. Antifouling data are presented to understand the role of surface geometrical features resistance to fouling. Conceptual modeling provides design guidance when developing novel antifouling surfaces for applications in the medical, marine, and industrial fields. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Coherent transport structures in magnetized plasmas. I. Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Giannatale, G.; Falessi, M. V.; Grasso, D.; Pegoraro, F.; Schep, T. J.

2018-05-01

In a pair of linked articles (called Papers I and II, respectively), we apply the concept of Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCSs) borrowed from the study of dynamical systems to magnetic field configurations in order to separate regions where field lines have a different kind of behaviour. In the present article, Paper I, after recalling the definition and the properties of the LCSs, we show how this conceptual framework can be applied to the study of particle transport in a magnetized plasma. Furthermore, we introduce a simplified model that allows us to consider explicitly the case where the magnetic configuration evolves in time on time scales comparable to the particle transit time through the configuration. In contrast with previous works on this topic, this analysis requires that a system that is aperiodic in time be investigated.

Conceptualizing a model: a report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force-2.

PubMed

Roberts, Mark; Russell, Louise B; Paltiel, A David; Chambers, Michael; McEwan, Phil; Krahn, Murray

2012-01-01

The appropriate development of a model begins with understanding the problem that is being represented. The aim of this article is to provide a series of consensus-based best practices regarding the process of model conceptualization. For the purpose of this series of papers, the authors consider the development of models whose purpose is to inform medical decisions and health-related resource allocation questions. They specifically divide the conceptualization process into two distinct components: the conceptualization of the problem, which converts knowledge of the health care process or decision into a representation of the problem, followed by the conceptualization of the model itself, which matches the attributes and characteristics of a particular modeling type to the needs of the problem being represented. Recommendations are made regarding the structure of the modeling team, agreement on the statement of the problem, the structure, perspective and target population of the model, and the interventions and outcomes represented. Best practices relating to the specific characteristics of model structure, and which characteristics of the problem might be most easily represented in a specific modeling method, are presented. Each section contains a number of recommendations that were iterated among the authors, as well as the wider modeling taskforce, jointly set up by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research and the Society for Medical Decision Making.

The Millennial model: in search of measurable pools and transformations for modeling soil carbon in the new century

DOE PAGES

Abramoff, Rose; Xu, Xiaofeng; Hartman, Melannie; ...

2017-12-20

Soil organic carbon (SOC) can be defined by measurable chemical and physical pools, such as mineral-associated carbon, carbon physically entrapped in aggregates, dissolved carbon, and fragments of plant detritus. Yet, most soil models use conceptual rather than measurable SOC pools. What would the traditional pool-based soil model look like if it were built today, reflecting the latest understanding of biological, chemical, and physical transformations in soils? We propose a conceptual model—the Millennial model—that defines pools as measurable entities. First, we discuss relevant pool definitions conceptually and in terms of the measurements that can be used to quantify pool size, formation,more » and destabilization. Then, we develop a numerical model following the Millennial model conceptual framework to evaluate against the Century model, a widely-used standard for estimating SOC stocks across space and through time. The Millennial model predicts qualitatively similar changes in total SOC in response to single factor perturbations when compared to Century, but different responses to multiple factor perturbations. Finally, we review important conceptual and behavioral differences between the Millennial and Century modeling approaches, and the field and lab measurements needed to constrain parameter values. Here, we propose the Millennial model as a simple but comprehensive framework to model SOC pools and guide measurements for further model development.« less

The Millennial model: in search of measurable pools and transformations for modeling soil carbon in the new century

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

Abramoff, Rose; Xu, Xiaofeng; Hartman, Melannie

Soil organic carbon (SOC) can be defined by measurable chemical and physical pools, such as mineral-associated carbon, carbon physically entrapped in aggregates, dissolved carbon, and fragments of plant detritus. Yet, most soil models use conceptual rather than measurable SOC pools. What would the traditional pool-based soil model look like if it were built today, reflecting the latest understanding of biological, chemical, and physical transformations in soils? We propose a conceptual model—the Millennial model—that defines pools as measurable entities. First, we discuss relevant pool definitions conceptually and in terms of the measurements that can be used to quantify pool size, formation,more » and destabilization. Then, we develop a numerical model following the Millennial model conceptual framework to evaluate against the Century model, a widely-used standard for estimating SOC stocks across space and through time. The Millennial model predicts qualitatively similar changes in total SOC in response to single factor perturbations when compared to Century, but different responses to multiple factor perturbations. Finally, we review important conceptual and behavioral differences between the Millennial and Century modeling approaches, and the field and lab measurements needed to constrain parameter values. Here, we propose the Millennial model as a simple but comprehensive framework to model SOC pools and guide measurements for further model development.« less

Conceptualizing Programme Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassan, Salochana

2013-01-01

The main thrust of this paper deals with the conceptualization of theory-driven evaluation pertaining to a tutor training programme. Conceptualization of evaluation, in this case, is an integration between a conceptualization model as well as a theoretical framework in the form of activity theory. Existing examples of frameworks of programme…

Parallel Leadership: A Clue to the Contents of the "Black Box" of School Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Dorothy; Crowther, Frank

2002-01-01

Examined a conceptualization of teacher leadership (derived from a 1997 study) in a range of school reform case studies. Focused on the interactivity of teacher leaders and administrator leaders and generated a concept called "parallel leadership," a strategy that appears to illuminate ways in which school-based leadership may contribute to…

Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-28

Research Service Summary The Coast Guard’s program of record (POR) calls for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters...3 Figure 2. Offshore Patrol Cutter (Generic Conceptual... Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). These 91 planned cutters are intended as replacements for 90 aging Coast Guard cutters

Accommodation Research to Guide Practice: Comments on What We Know and What We Need to Know

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malouf, David B.

2005-01-01

This article discusses the research reported in this special issue with respect to implications for policy, practice, and future research. The discussion focuses on the functions of research in reporting, enlightenment and conceptualization, short-run empiricism, and testing for replication. The article concludes by calling for systematic and…

The Effect of Conceptual and Contextual Familiarity on Transfer Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kulasegaram, Kulamakan; Min, Cynthia; Ames, Kimberly; Howey, Elizabeth; Neville, Alan; Norman, Geoffrey

2012-01-01

Applying a previously learned concept to a novel problem is an important but difficult process called transfer. It is suggested that a commonsense analogy aids in transfer by linking novel concepts to familiar ones. How the context of practice affects transfer when learning using analogies is still unclear. This study investigated the effect of a…

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods: Old Wine in New Bottles? On Understanding and Interpreting Educational Phenomena

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smeyers, Paul

2008-01-01

Generally educational research is grounded in the empirical traditions of the social sciences (commonly called quantitative and qualitative methods) and is as such distinguished from other forms of scholarship such as theoretical, conceptual or methodological essays, critiques of research traditions and practices and those studies grounded in the…

Conceptual Framework for Civic Education in Developing Societies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, C. Arnold

There is increasing evidence that what we call civic education embraces only a part of the influences operating on a people, and may well be among the less important. There are a number of practical obstacles to the success of civic education in political socialization. The multifunctionality that allows schools to have so many favorable effects,…

Assessments of Intellectually Gifted Students With(out) Characteristic(s) of ASD: An Explorative Evaluation among Diagnosticians in Various Psycho-Educational Organisations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burger-Veltmeijer, Agnes E. J.; Minnaert, Alexander E. M. G.; van den Bosch, Els J.

2015-01-01

Recently, Burger-Veltmeijer, Minnaert & Van den Bosch (2014) constructed a conceptual framework, called the Strengths and Weaknesses Heuristic ("S&W Heuristic") which might provide systematicity and coherence in research as well as psycho-educational praxis, regarding assessments of Intellectually Gifted (IG) students with…

[Re]Claiming "Inclusive Education" toward Cohesion in Educational Reform: Disability Studies Unravels the Myth of the Normal Child

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baglieri, Susan; Bejoian, Lynne M.; Broderick, Alicia A.; Connor, David J.; Valle, Jan

2011-01-01

Background/Context: This article calls attention to the restrictive notions of inclusive education promulgated within the discourse of special education in the United States and asserts the value of using disability studies in education to support broader conceptualizations of inclusion that potentially incorporate all students.…

British Values and British Identity: Muddles, Mixtures, and Ways Ahead

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Robin

2015-01-01

In the final eleven months of its five-year term, the Coalition Government placed much emphasis in the education system on what it called fundamental British values (FBV). The phrase had its origins in counter-terrorism strategies that were of dubious validity both conceptually and operationally, and the trigger for its introduction into the…

Collaborative Research Projects in the Technology-Enhanced Language Classroom: Preservice and In-Service Teachers Exchange Knowledge about Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmid, Euline Cutrim; Hegelheimer, Volker

2014-01-01

This paper presents research findings of a longitudinal empirical case study that investigated an innovative Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) professional development program for pre-service English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. The conceptualization of the program was based on the assumption that pre-service language teachers…

Constructing Scientific Explanations through Premise-Reasoning-Outcome (PRO): An Exploratory Study to Scaffold Students in Structuring Written Explanations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Kok-Sing

2016-01-01

This paper reports on the design and enactment of an instructional strategy aimed to support students in constructing scientific explanations. Informed by the philosophy of science and linguistic studies of science, a new instructional framework called premise--reasoning--outcome (PRO) was conceptualized, developed, and tested over two years in…

Developing Critically Thoughtful, Media-Rich Lessons in Science: Process and Product

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balcaen, Philip

2008-01-01

In this paper, I describe a professional development approach and a conceptual framework used to create critically thoughtful and media-rich science learning resources. Greater clarity about the nature of critical thinking and how to support teachers in learning to implement it are needed if we are to respond to broader calls for critical thinking…

The Multilingual Education (MLE) Network Phenomenon: Advocacy and Action for Minoritized Language Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trudell, Barbara

2014-01-01

This article examines a new phenomenon in language activism variously called the multilingual education working group or the multilingual education network, and abbreviated as MLEN. After an analysis of the conceptual and organizational contexts for these activist groups, the six MLENs in existence as of 2013 are described. The groups are then…

The Acquisition of New Student Affairs Professionals' Beliefs and Perceptions about Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Michele Ann

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to better understand how new student affairs professionals acquire their beliefs and perceptions about faculty. This study originates from a conceptual framework that includes: (1) a call for collaboration, (2) the link between organizational culture, beliefs, and perceptions, and (3) the propagation of beliefs through…

Development of the FOCUS (Focus on the Outcomes of Communication under Six), a Communication Outcome Measure for Preschool Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas-Stonell, Nancy L.; Oddson, Bruce; Robertson, Bernadette; Rosenbaum, Peter L.

2010-01-01

Aim: Our aim was to develop an outcome measure, called Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS), that captures real-world changes in preschool children's communication. Conceptually grounded in the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework, the FOCUS items were derived…

Don't Forget the Good Stuff! Incorporating Positive Messages of Sexual Pleasure into Sexuality Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

deFur, Kirsten M.

2012-01-01

Sexuality professionals have long called for the inclusion of sexual pleasure in sexuality education programs, however, facilitators are often ill-equipped to do so. This lesson plan will help educators conceptualize the topic of sexual pleasure in order to successfully integrate it into their lessons. This lesson also reviews challenges of…

Hybrid Augmented Reality for Participatory Learning: The Hidden Efficacy of Multi-User Game-Based Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oh, Seungjae; So, Hyo-Jeong; Gaydos, Matthew

2018-01-01

The goal for this research is to articulate and test a new hybrid Augmented Reality (AR) environment for conceptual understanding. From the theoretical lens of embodied interaction, we have designed a multi-user participatory simulation called ARfract where visitors in a science museum can learn about complex scientific concepts on the refraction…

Whose Heartland? The Politics of Place in a Rural-Urban Interface

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masuda, Jeffrey R.; Garvin, Theresa

2008-01-01

This article advances a conceptualization of the rural-urban interface that is centred on a historically and spatially informed politics of place situated within local-global connections. The research is a case study of an inter-municipal development plan called Alberta's Industrial Heartland. Located near the City of Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada,…

Two-Diffraction-Order, Beam-Splitting, Imaging Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Labaw, Clayton C.; Burns, Ronald N.

1995-01-01

Two-octave imaging spectrometer utilizes light of two harmonically related wavelengths diffracted to harmonically related orders at same angles, followed by separation via dichroic beam splitter before final imaging. Conceptual design of spectrometer calls for minimum number of optical elements to achieve coverage of required visible and near-infrared wavelengths in instrument of reduced size, weight, and cost.

Fussy Babies, Worried Families, and a New Service Network

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilkerson, Linda; Gray, Larry; Mork, Nancy

2005-01-01

The authors document the conceptualization, over time, of "fussy baby syndrome" and the establishment of a Fussy Baby Clinic. Excessive infant crying (commonly called colic) typically subsides in the first 3 months but may set up a cycle of parent-infant distress. Families studied felt a high degree of emotional stress and physical exhaustion;…

The Piagetian "Schème": A Framework to Study Professional Learning through Conceptualization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tourmen, Claire; Holgado, Otilia; Métral, Jean-françois; Mayen, Patrick; Olry, Paul

2017-01-01

Different theories of learning have been used in vocational education studies and Piaget is a common source of reference. Our intent is to present a specific and original way in which the Piagetian theory of "schèmes" has been developed since the 1990s in studies called "vocational didactics." Developed in French-speaking…

Can Slope Be Negative in 3-Space? Studying Concept Image of Slope through Collective Definition Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore-Russo, Deborah; Conner, AnnaMarie; Rugg, Kristina I.

2011-01-01

Developing deep conceptual understanding of what Ma (1999) calls fundamental mathematics is a well-accepted goal of teacher education. This paper presents a microanalysis of an intriguing episode within a course designed to encourage such understanding. An adaptation of Krummheuer's (1995) elaboration of Toulmin's (1958/2003) diagrams is used to…

Teacher Agency in the Canadian Context: Linking the "How" and the "What"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fu, Guopeng; Clarke, Anthony

2017-01-01

Even though there is no common conceptual basis guiding teacher education in Canada, over the past two decades teacher educators both in Canada and around the world have called for teacher candidates to become agents of change. While researchers across Canada strive to demonstrate "how" to prepare pre- and in-service teachers to be…

Towards a Well-Being Focussed Language Pedagogy: Enabling Arts-Based, Multilingual Learning Spaces for Young People with Refugee Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frimberger, Katja

2016-01-01

The following article explores the conceptual background and pedagogical realities of establishing a well-being focussed language pedagogy in the context of an informal educational event called "Language Fest". The event was organised as part of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded large grant project "Researching…

Did the Dream End There? Adult Education and Resurrection City 1968

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Robert

2013-01-01

This article considers the role played by adult education in a temporary community called Resurrection City in 1968. It draws on primary source documents and oral testimonies from three archives. Social movement theory and the ideas of Freire and Gramsci provide a conceptual framework. In May 1968 around 6,000 poor people from across the United…

Transfer of Life Skills in Sport-Based Youth Development Programs: A Conceptual Framework Bridging Learning to Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Jennifer M.; Wright, Paul M.

2018-01-01

Research has demonstrated that many quality sport-based youth development programs promote life skill acquisition (e.g., leadership, self-control) with the ultimate goal of facilitating positive outcomes in youth participants' social and academic environments. Researchers call this "transfer of life skills" (i.e., the idea that physical,…

An Exploration of Transformational Leadership and Its Role in Strategic Planning: A Conceptual Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turan, Selahattin; Sny, Christopher L.

The literature on transformational leadership is reviewed to provide a theoretical framework for leaders in educational organizations. Our rapidly changing society calls for a new type of educational leadership. Drawing on the work of J. M. Burns (1978) and B. M. Bass (1985) among others, transactional leaders are distinguished from…

Behavior Therapy for Tourette's Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder: A Web-Based Video Illustration of Treatment Components

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reese, Hannah E.; Timpano, Kiara R.; Siev, Jedidiah; Rowley, Theresa; Wilhelm, Sabine

2010-01-01

Tic disorders have traditionally been conceptualized as neurobiological conditions and consequently within the purview of neurologists. In the last few decades, however, a number of psychosocial treatments have been developed and tested. To date, a behavioral treatment called Habit Reversal Training (HRT) has garnered the most empirical support as…

The Mediating Role of Responsive Digital Materials: A Conceptual Investigation and Analytic Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiltse, Heather

2013-01-01

Digital technologies have become thoroughly enmeshed in everyday life, forming a backdrop of experience. We live not only with these technologies but also through them as they mediate our engagement with the world. This mediation calls for closer attention with respect to practical design concerns as well as more theoretical and philosophical…

A Review of Research Instruments Assessing Levels of Student Acceptance of Evolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yasri, Pratchayapong

2014-01-01

Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection, called evolution for short, is perceived as a unifying theme in biology, forming a major part of all biology syllabuses. It is reported that student acceptance of evolution associates with conceptual understandings of biological contents, nature of science, as well as motivations to…

Connecting Theory and Practice: Preservice Teachers' Construction of Practical Tools for Teaching Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobbe, Tim; Ross, Dorene D.; Caron, D. Alvarez; Barko, Timothy; Busi, Rich

2014-01-01

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has called for changes in mathematics teaching from a procedural to conceptual focus since 1980, yet the way mathematics is taught in many classrooms continues to contradict the recommended practices. The pervasiveness of this challenge has led some educators to suggest changes in university…

On Critiquing the Critique: Another Look at the Debate over Mass Society and Popular Culture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenfeld, Richard

The mass culture critique of advanced industrialized society calls forth such images as an omnipresent media; demagogic politics; a bleak, standardized aesthetic landscape; routinized work; and empty leisure; but the mass culture critique suffers from conceptual ambiguity and a paucity of research. The mass culture critique, from both radical and…

Placing Advanced Placement® Human Geography: Its Role in U.S. Geography Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bednarz, Sarah Witham

2016-01-01

This article examines Advanced Placement Human Geography (AP HG) in the context of its place in efforts to reform geography education. It presents a critical analysis of the AP program and its curriculum, asserting that it represents "powerful knowledge" as conceptualized by Young. It concludes with a call for research in AP HG aligned…

Identifying Hydrologic Processes in Agricultural Watersheds Using Precipitation-Runoff Models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Linard, Joshua I.; Wolock, David M.; Webb, Richard M.T.; Wieczorek, Michael

2009-01-01

Understanding the fate and transport of agricultural chemicals applied to agricultural fields will assist in designing the most effective strategies to prevent water-quality impairments. At a watershed scale, the processes controlling the fate and transport of agricultural chemicals are generally understood only conceptually. To examine the applicability of conceptual models to the processes actually occurring, two precipitation-runoff models - the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Model (WEBMOD) - were applied in different agricultural settings of the contiguous United States. Each model, through different physical processes, simulated the transport of water to a stream from the surface, the unsaturated zone, and the saturated zone. Models were calibrated for watersheds in Maryland, Indiana, and Nebraska. The calibrated sets of input parameters for each model at each watershed are discussed, and the criteria used to validate the models are explained. The SWAT and WEBMOD model results at each watershed conformed to each other and to the processes identified in each watershed's conceptual hydrology. In Maryland the conceptual understanding of the hydrology indicated groundwater flow was the largest annual source of streamflow; the simulation results for the validation period confirm this. The dominant source of water to the Indiana watershed was thought to be tile drains. Although tile drains were not explicitly simulated in the SWAT model, a large component of streamflow was received from lateral flow, which could be attributed to tile drains. Being able to explicitly account for tile drains, WEBMOD indicated water from tile drains constituted most of the annual streamflow in the Indiana watershed. The Nebraska models indicated annual streamflow was composed primarily of perennial groundwater flow and infiltration-excess runoff, which conformed to the conceptual hydrology developed for that watershed. The hydrologic processes represented in the parameter sets resulting from each model were comparable at individual watersheds, but varied between watersheds. The models were unable to show, however, whether hydrologic processes other than those included in the original conceptual models were major contributors to streamflow. Supplemental simulations of agricultural chemical transport could improve the ability to assess conceptual models.

Modelling in Primary School: Constructing Conceptual Models and Making Sense of Fractions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shahbari, Juhaina Awawdeh; Peled, Irit

2017-01-01

This article describes sixth-grade students' engagement in two model-eliciting activities offering students the opportunity to construct mathematical models. The findings show that students utilized their knowledge of fractions including conceptual and procedural knowledge in constructing mathematical models for the given situations. Some students…

Conceptual Models and the Future of Special Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kauffman, James M.

2007-01-01

A medical model has advantages over a legal model in thinking about special education, especially in responding supportively to difference, meeting individual needs, and practicing prevention. The legal conceptual model now dominates thinking about special education, but a medical model promises a brighter future for special education and for…

Computer-based creativity enhanced conceptual design model for non-routine design of mechanical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yutong; Wang, Yuxin; Duffy, Alex H. B.

2014-11-01

Computer-based conceptual design for routine design has made great strides, yet non-routine design has not been given due attention, and it is still poorly automated. Considering that the function-behavior-structure(FBS) model is widely used for modeling the conceptual design process, a computer-based creativity enhanced conceptual design model(CECD) for non-routine design of mechanical systems is presented. In the model, the leaf functions in the FBS model are decomposed into and represented with fine-grain basic operation actions(BOA), and the corresponding BOA set in the function domain is then constructed. Choosing building blocks from the database, and expressing their multiple functions with BOAs, the BOA set in the structure domain is formed. Through rule-based dynamic partition of the BOA set in the function domain, many variants of regenerated functional schemes are generated. For enhancing the capability to introduce new design variables into the conceptual design process, and dig out more innovative physical structure schemes, the indirect function-structure matching strategy based on reconstructing the combined structure schemes is adopted. By adjusting the tightness of the partition rules and the granularity of the divided BOA subsets, and making full use of the main function and secondary functions of each basic structure in the process of reconstructing of the physical structures, new design variables and variants are introduced into the physical structure scheme reconstructing process, and a great number of simpler physical structure schemes to accomplish the overall function organically are figured out. The creativity enhanced conceptual design model presented has a dominant capability in introducing new deign variables in function domain and digging out simpler physical structures to accomplish the overall function, therefore it can be utilized to solve non-routine conceptual design problem.

A conceptual hydrogeologic model for the hydrogeologic framework, geochemistry, and groundwater-flow system of the Edwards-Trinity and related aquifers in the Pecos County region, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomas, Jonathan V.; Stanton, Gregory P.; Bumgarner, Johnathan R.; Pearson, Daniel K.; Teeple, Andrew; Houston, Natalie A.; Payne, Jason; Musgrove, MaryLynn

2013-01-01

Several previous studies have been done to compile or collect physical and chemical data, describe the hydrogeologic processes, and develop conceptual and numerical groundwater-flow models of the Edwards-Trinity aquifer in the Trans-Pecos region. Documented methods were used to compile and collect groundwater, surface-water, geochemical, geophysical, and geologic information that subsequently were used to develop this conceptual model.

Mirror neurons and imitation: a computationally guided review.

PubMed

Oztop, Erhan; Kawato, Mitsuo; Arbib, Michael

2006-04-01

Neurophysiology reveals the properties of individual mirror neurons in the macaque while brain imaging reveals the presence of 'mirror systems' (not individual neurons) in the human. Current conceptual models attribute high level functions such as action understanding, imitation, and language to mirror neurons. However, only the first of these three functions is well-developed in monkeys. We thus distinguish current opinions (conceptual models) on mirror neuron function from more detailed computational models. We assess the strengths and weaknesses of current computational models in addressing the data and speculations on mirror neurons (macaque) and mirror systems (human). In particular, our mirror neuron system (MNS), mental state inference (MSI) and modular selection and identification for control (MOSAIC) models are analyzed in more detail. Conceptual models often overlook the computational requirements for posited functions, while too many computational models adopt the erroneous hypothesis that mirror neurons are interchangeable with imitation ability. Our meta-analysis underlines the gap between conceptual and computational models and points out the research effort required from both sides to reduce this gap.

Semantics-informed geological maps: Conceptual modeling and knowledge encoding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lombardo, Vincenzo; Piana, Fabrizio; Mimmo, Dario

2018-07-01

This paper introduces a novel, semantics-informed geologic mapping process, whose application domain is the production of a synthetic geologic map of a large administrative region. A number of approaches concerning the expression of geologic knowledge through UML schemata and ontologies have been around for more than a decade. These approaches have yielded resources that concern specific domains, such as, e.g., lithology. We develop a conceptual model that aims at building a digital encoding of several domains of geologic knowledge, in order to support the interoperability of the sources. We apply the devised terminological base to the classification of the elements of a geologic map of the Italian Western Alps and northern Apennines (Piemonte region). The digitally encoded knowledge base is a merged set of ontologies, called OntoGeonous. The encoding process identifies the objects of the semantic encoding, the geologic units, gathers the relevant information about such objects from authoritative resources, such as GeoSciML (giving priority to the application schemata reported in the INSPIRE Encoding Cookbook), and expresses the statements by means of axioms encoded in the Web Ontology Language (OWL). To support interoperability, OntoGeonous interlinks the general concepts by referring to the upper part level of ontology SWEET (developed by NASA), and imports knowledge that is already encoded in ontological format (e.g., ontology Simple Lithology). Machine-readable knowledge allows for consistency checking and for classification of the geological map data through algorithms of automatic reasoning.

An introduction to the multisystem model of knowledge integration and translation.

PubMed

Palmer, Debra; Kramlich, Debra

2011-01-01

Many nurse researchers have designed strategies to assist health care practitioners to move evidence into practice. While many have been identified as "models," most do not have a conceptual framework. They are unidirectional, complex, and difficult for novice research users to understand. These models have focused on empirical knowledge and ignored the importance of practitioners' tacit knowledge. The Communities of Practice conceptual framework allows for the integration of tacit and explicit knowledge into practice. This article describes the development of a new translation model, the Multisystem Model of Knowledge Integration and Translation, supported by the Communities of Practice conceptual framework.

A conceptual model to empower software requirements conflict detection and resolution with rule-based reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Sabrina; Jalil, Intan Ermahani A.; Ahmad, Sharifah Sakinah Syed

2016-08-01

It is seldom technical issues which impede the process of eliciting software requirements. The involvement of multiple stakeholders usually leads to conflicts and therefore the need of conflict detection and resolution effort is crucial. This paper presents a conceptual model to further improve current efforts. Hence, this paper forwards an improved conceptual model to assist the conflict detection and resolution effort which extends the model ability and improves overall performance. The significant of the new model is to empower the automation of conflicts detection and its severity level with rule-based reasoning.

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

Judd, Kathleen S.; Judd, Chaeli; Engel-Cox, Jill A.

This report presents the results of the Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaborative (GoMRC), a year-long project funded by NASA. The GoMRC project was organized around end user outreach activities, a science applications team, and a team for information technology (IT) development. Key outcomes are summarized below for each of these areas. End User Outreach; Successfully engaged federal and state end users in project planning and feedback; With end user input, defined needs and system functional requirements; Conducted demonstration to End User Advisory Committee on July 9, 2007 and presented at Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) meeting of Habitat Identification committee;more » Conducted significant engagement of other end user groups, such as the National Estuary Programs (NEP), in the Fall of 2007; Established partnership with SERVIR and Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System (HABSOS) programs and initiated plan to extend HABs monitoring and prediction capabilities to the southern Gulf; Established a science and technology working group with Mexican institutions centered in the State of Veracruz. Key team members include the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS), the Ecological Institute (INECOL) a unit of the National Council for science and technology (CONACYT), the Veracruz Aquarium (NOAA’s first international Coastal Ecology Learning Center) and the State of Veracruz. The Mexican Navy (critical to coastal studies in the Southern Gulf) and other national and regional entities have also been engaged; and Training on use of SERVIR portal planned for Fall 2007 in Veracruz, Mexico Science Applications; Worked with regional scientists to produce conceptual models of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) ecosystems; Built a logical framework and tool for ontological modeling of SAV and HABs; Created online guidance for SAV restoration planning; Created model runs which link potential future land use trends, runoff and SAV viability; Analyzed SAV cover change at five other bays in the Gulf of Mexico to demonstrate extensibility of the analytical tools; and Initiated development of a conceptual model for understanding the causes and effects of HABs in the Gulf of Mexico IT Tool Development; Established a website with the GoMRC web-based tools at www.gomrc.org; Completed development of an ArcGIS-based decision support tool for SAV restoration prioritization decisions, and demonstrated its use in Mobile Bay; Developed a web-based application, called Conceptual Model Explorer (CME), that enables non-GIS users to employ the prioritization model for SAV restoration; Created CME tool enabling scientists to view existing, and create new, ecosystem conceptual models which can be used to document cause-effect relationships within coastal ecosystems, and offer guidance on management solutions; Adapted the science-driven advanced web search engine, Noesis, to focus on an initial set of coastal and marine resource issues, including SAV and HABs; Incorporated map visualization tools with initial data layers related to coastal wetlands and SAVs; and Supported development of a SERVIR portal for data management and visualization in the southern Gulf of Mexico, as well as training of end users in Mexican Gulf States.« less

Understanding Co-development of Conceptual and Epistemic Understanding through Modeling Practices with Mobile Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryu, Suna; Han, Yuhwha; Paik, Seoung-Hey

2015-04-01

The present study explores how engaging in modeling practice, along with argumentation, leverages students' epistemic and conceptual understanding in an afterschool science/math class of 16 tenth graders. The study also explores how students used mobile Internet phones (smart phones) productively to support modeling practices. As the modeling practices became more challenging, student discussion occurred more often, from what to model to providing explanations for the phenomenon. Students came to argue about evidence that supported their model and how the model could explain target and related phenomena. This finding adds to the literature that modeling practice can help students improve conceptual understanding of subject knowledge as well as epistemic understanding.

Teaching 5th grade science for aesthetic understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girod, Mark A.

Many scientists speak with great zeal about the role of aesthetics and beauty in their science and inquiry. Few systematic efforts have been made to teach science in ways that appeal directly to aesthetics and this research is designed to do just that. Drawing from the aesthetic theory of Dewey, I describe an analytic lens called learning for aesthetic understanding that finds power in the degree to which our perceptions of the world are transformed, our interests and enthusiasm piqued, and our actions changed as we seek further experiences in the world. This learning theory is contrasted against two other current and popular theories of science learning, that of learning for conceptual understanding via conceptual change theory and learning for a language-oriented or discourse-based understanding. After a lengthy articulation of the pedagogical strategies used to teach for aesthetic understanding the research is described in which comparisons are drawn between students in two 5th grade classrooms---one taught for the goal of conceptual understanding and the other taught for the goal of aesthetic understanding. Results of this comparison show that more students in the treatment classroom had aesthetic experiences with science ideas and came to an aesthetic understanding when studying weather, erosion, and structure of matter than students in the control group. Also statistically significant effects are shown on measures of interest, affect, and efficacy for students in the treatment class. On measures of conceptual understanding it appears that treatment class students learned more and forgot less over time than control class students. The effect of the treatment does not generally depend on gender, ethnicity, or prior achievement except in students' identity beliefs about themselves as science learners. In this case, a significant interaction for treatment class females on science identity beliefs did occur. A discussion of these results as well as elaboration and extension of the pedagogical model used in teaching for aesthetic understanding is discussed.

CADDIS Volume 5. Causal Databases: Interactive Conceptual Diagrams (ICDs)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In Interactive Conceptual Diagram (ICD) section of CADDIS allows users to create conceptual model diagrams, search a literature-based evidence database, and then attach that evidence to their diagrams.

Evaluation of a distributed catchment scale water balance model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Troch, Peter A.; Mancini, Marco; Paniconi, Claudio; Wood, Eric F.

1993-01-01

The validity of some of the simplifying assumptions in a conceptual water balance model is investigated by comparing simulation results from the conceptual model with simulation results from a three-dimensional physically based numerical model and with field observations. We examine, in particular, assumptions and simplifications related to water table dynamics, vertical soil moisture and pressure head distributions, and subsurface flow contributions to stream discharge. The conceptual model relies on a topographic index to predict saturation excess runoff and on Philip's infiltration equation to predict infiltration excess runoff. The numerical model solves the three-dimensional Richards equation describing flow in variably saturated porous media, and handles seepage face boundaries, infiltration excess and saturation excess runoff production, and soil driven and atmosphere driven surface fluxes. The study catchments (a 7.2 sq km catchment and a 0.64 sq km subcatchment) are located in the North Appalachian ridge and valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Hydrologic data collected during the MACHYDRO 90 field experiment are used to calibrate the models and to evaluate simulation results. It is found that water table dynamics as predicted by the conceptual model are close to the observations in a shallow water well and therefore, that a linear relationship between a topographic index and the local water table depth is found to be a reasonable assumption for catchment scale modeling. However, the hydraulic equilibrium assumption is not valid for the upper 100 cm layer of the unsaturated zone and a conceptual model that incorporates a root zone is suggested. Furthermore, theoretical subsurface flow characteristics from the conceptual model are found to be different from field observations, numerical simulation results, and theoretical baseflow recession characteristics based on Boussinesq's groundwater equation.

Dealing with conflicts on knowledge in tutorial groups.

PubMed

Aarnio, Matti; Lindblom-Ylänne, Sari; Nieminen, Juha; Pyörälä, Eeva

2013-05-01

The aim of our study was to gain understanding of different types of conflicts on knowledge in the discussions of problem-based learning tutorial groups, and how such conflicts are dealt with. We examined first-year medical and dental students' (N = 33) conflicts on knowledge in four videotaped reporting phase tutorials. A coding scheme was created for analysing verbatim transcripts of 43 conflict episodes in order to find out whether the conflict episodes were about factual or conceptual knowledge and how the students elaborated the knowledge. Conflict episodes were relatively rare (taking up 7.6 % of the time) in the videotaped groups. Conflict episodes were more frequently about factual knowledge (58 %) than conceptual knowledge (42 %), but conflicts on conceptual knowledge lasted longer and were more often elaborated. Elaboration was, however, more frequently done individually than collaboratively. Conflict episodes were generally fairly short (mean duration 28 s). This was due to a lack of thorough argumentation and collaborative elaboration of conflicting ideas. The results suggest that students' skills to bring out differences in each other's conceptual thinking, the depth of argumentation and the use of questions that elicit elaboration need to be improved. Tutors' skills to facilitate the collaborative resolving of conflicts on knowledge call for further study.

An integrated conceptual framework for evaluating and improving 'understanding' in informed consent.

PubMed

Bossert, Sabine; Strech, Daniel

2017-10-17

The development of understandable informed consent (IC) documents has proven to be one of the most important challenges in research with humans as well as in healthcare settings. Therefore, evaluating and improving understanding has been of increasing interest for empirical research on IC. However, several conceptual and practical challenges for the development of understandable IC documents remain unresolved. In this paper, we will outline and systematize some of these challenges. On the basis of our own experiences in empirical user testing of IC documents as well as the relevant literature on understanding in IC, we propose an integrated conceptual model for the development of understandable IC documents. The proposed conceptual model integrates different methods for the participatory improvement of written information, including IC, as well as quantitative methods for measuring understanding in IC. In most IC processes, understandable written information is an important prerequisite for valid IC. To improve the quality of IC documents, a conceptual model for participatory procedures of testing, revising, and retesting can be applied. However, the model presented in this paper needs further theoretical and empirical elaboration and clarification of several conceptual and practical challenges.