An Intervention Framework Designed to Develop the Collaborative Problem-Solving Skills of Primary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gu, Xiaoqing; Chen, Shan; Zhu, Wenbo; Lin, Lin

2015-01-01

Considerable effort has been invested in innovative learning practices such as collaborative inquiry. Collaborative problem solving is becoming popular in school settings, but there is limited knowledge on how to develop skills crucial in collaborative problem solving in students. Based on the intervention design in social interaction of…

Students Problem-Solving Difficulties and Implications in Physics: An Empirical Study on Influencing Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reddy, M. Vijaya Bhaskara; Panacharoensawad, Buncha

2017-01-01

In twenty first century, abundant innovative tools have been identified by the researchers to evaluate the conceptual understandings, problem solving, beliefs and attitudes about physics. Nevertheless, lacking of wide variety of evaluation instruments with respect to problem solving in physics. It indicates that the complexity of the domain fields…

Team safety and innovation by learning from errors in long-term care settings.

PubMed

Buljac-Samardžić, Martina; van Woerkom, Marianne; Paauwe, Jaap

2012-01-01

Team safety and team innovation are underexplored in the context of long-term care. Understanding the issues requires attention to how teams cope with error. Team managers could have an important role in developing a team's error orientation and managing team membership instabilities. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of team member stability, team coaching, and a team's error orientation on team safety and innovation. A cross-sectional survey method was employed within 2 long-term care organizations. Team members and team managers received a survey that measured safety and innovation. Team members assessed member stability, team coaching, and team error orientation (i.e., problem-solving and blaming approach). The final sample included 933 respondents from 152 teams. Stable teams and teams with managers who take on the role of coach are more likely to adopt a problem-solving approach and less likely to adopt a blaming approach toward errors. Both error orientations are related to team member ratings of safety and innovation, but only the blaming approach is (negatively) related to manager ratings of innovation. Differences between members' and managers' ratings of safety are greater in teams with relatively high scores for the blaming approach and relatively low scores for the problem-solving approach. Team coaching was found to be positively related to innovation, especially in unstable teams. Long-term care organizations that wish to enhance team safety and innovation should encourage a problem-solving approach and discourage a blaming approach. Team managers can play a crucial role in this by coaching team members to see errors as sources of learning and improvement and ensuring that individuals will not be blamed for errors.

Individual differences in children's innovative problem-solving are not predicted by divergent thinking or executive functions

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Recent studies of children's tool innovation have revealed that there is variation in children's success in middle-childhood. In two individual differences studies, we sought to identify personal characteristics that might predict success on an innovation task. In Study 1, we found that although measures of divergent thinking were related to each other they did not predict innovation success. In Study 2, we measured executive functioning including: inhibition, working memory, attentional flexibility and ill-structured problem-solving. None of these measures predicted innovation, but, innovation was predicted by children's performance on a receptive vocabulary scale that may function as a proxy for general intelligence. We did not find evidence that children's innovation was predicted by specific personal characteristics. PMID:26926280

Why do children lack the flexibility to innovate tools?

PubMed

Cutting, Nicola; Apperly, Ian A; Beck, Sarah R

2011-08-01

Despite being proficient tool users, young children have surprising difficulty in innovating tools (making novel tools to solve problems). Two experiments found that 4- to 7-year-olds had difficulty on two tool innovation problems and explored reasons for this inflexibility. Experiment 1 (N=51) showed that children's performance was unaffected by the need to switch away from previously correct strategies. Experiment 2 (N=92) suggested that children's difficulty could not easily be explained by task pragmatics or permission issues. Both experiments found evidence that some children perseverated on a single incorrect strategy, but such perseveration was insufficient to explain children's tendency not to innovate tools. We suggest that children's difficulty lies not with switching, task pragmatics, or behavioral perseveration but rather with solving the fundamentally "ill-structured" nature of tool innovation problems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhancing Cross-functional Collaboration and Effective Problem Solving Through an Innovation Challenge for Point-of-Care Providers.

PubMed

Bakallbashi, Eni; Vyas, Anjali; Vaswani, Nikita; Rosales, David; Russell, David; Dowding, Dawn; Bernstein, Michael; Abdelaal, Hany; Hawkey, Regina

2015-01-01

An internal employee challenge competition is a way to promote staff engagement and generate innovative business solutions. This Spotlight on Leadership focuses on the approach that a large not-for-profit healthcare organization, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, took in designing and executing an innovation challenge. The challenge leveraged internal staff expertise and promoted wide participation. This model is 1 that can be replicated by organizations as leaders work to engage employees at the point of service in organization-wide problem solving.

Innovation design of medical equipment based on TRIZ.

PubMed

Gao, Changqing; Guo, Leiming; Gao, Fenglan; Yang, Bo

2015-01-01

Medical equipment is closely related to personal health and safety, and this can be of concern to the equipment user. Furthermore, there is much competition among medical equipment manufacturers. Innovative design is the key to success for those enterprises. The design of medical equipment usually covers vastly different domains of knowledge. The application of modern design methodology in medical equipment and technology invention is an urgent requirement. TRIZ (Russian abbreviation of what can be translated as `theory of inventive problem solving') was born in Russia, which contain some problem-solving methods developed by patent analysis around the world, including Conflict Matrix, Substance Field Analysis, Standard Solution, Effects, etc. TRIZ is an inventive methodology for problems solving. As an Engineering example, infusion system is analyzed and re-designed by TRIZ. The innovative idea is generated to liberate the caretaker from the infusion bag watching out. The research in this paper shows the process of the application of TRIZ in medical device inventions. It is proved that TRIZ is an inventive methodology for problems solving and can be used widely in medical device development.

Measures of Potential Flexibility and Practical Flexibility in Equation Solving.

PubMed

Xu, Le; Liu, Ru-De; Star, Jon R; Wang, Jia; Liu, Ying; Zhen, Rui

2017-01-01

Researchers interested in mathematical proficiency have recently begun to explore the development of strategic flexibility, where flexibility is defined as knowledge of multiple strategies for solving a problem and the ability to implement an innovative strategy for a given problem solving circumstance. However, anecdotal findings from this literature indicate that students do not consistently use an innovative strategy for solving a given problem, even when these same students demonstrate knowledge of innovative strategies. This distinction, sometimes framed in the psychological literature as competence vs. performance-has not been previously studied for flexibility. In order to explore the competence/performance distinction in flexibility, this study developed and validated measures for potential flexibility (e.g., competence, or knowledge of multiple strategies) and practical flexibility (e.g., performance, use of innovative strategies) for solving equations. The measures were administrated to a sample of 158 Chinese middle school students through a Tri-Phase Flexibility Assessment, in which the students were asked to solve each equation, generate additional strategies, and evaluate own multiple strategies. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model of potential and practical flexibility. Satisfactory internal consistency was found for the measures. Additional validity evidence included the significant association with flexibility measured with the previous method. Potential flexibility and practical flexibility were found to be distinct but related. The theoretical and practical implications of the concepts and their measures of potential flexibility and practical flexibility are discussed.

Measures of Potential Flexibility and Practical Flexibility in Equation Solving

PubMed Central

Xu, Le; Liu, Ru-De; Star, Jon R.; Wang, Jia; Liu, Ying; Zhen, Rui

2017-01-01

Researchers interested in mathematical proficiency have recently begun to explore the development of strategic flexibility, where flexibility is defined as knowledge of multiple strategies for solving a problem and the ability to implement an innovative strategy for a given problem solving circumstance. However, anecdotal findings from this literature indicate that students do not consistently use an innovative strategy for solving a given problem, even when these same students demonstrate knowledge of innovative strategies. This distinction, sometimes framed in the psychological literature as competence vs. performance—has not been previously studied for flexibility. In order to explore the competence/performance distinction in flexibility, this study developed and validated measures for potential flexibility (e.g., competence, or knowledge of multiple strategies) and practical flexibility (e.g., performance, use of innovative strategies) for solving equations. The measures were administrated to a sample of 158 Chinese middle school students through a Tri-Phase Flexibility Assessment, in which the students were asked to solve each equation, generate additional strategies, and evaluate own multiple strategies. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model of potential and practical flexibility. Satisfactory internal consistency was found for the measures. Additional validity evidence included the significant association with flexibility measured with the previous method. Potential flexibility and practical flexibility were found to be distinct but related. The theoretical and practical implications of the concepts and their measures of potential flexibility and practical flexibility are discussed. PMID:28848481

Outcomes-Based Authentic Learning, Portfolio Assessment, and a Systems Approach to "Complex Problem-Solving": Related Pillars for Enhancing the Innovative Role of PBL in Future Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Cameron

2015-01-01

The challenge of better reconciling individual and collective aspects of innovative problem-solving can be productively addressed to enhance the role of PBL as a key focus of the creative process in future higher education. This should involve "active learning" approaches supported by related processes of teaching, assessment and…

Productive and Re-Productive Thinking in Solving Insight Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, J. Barton; MacGregor, James N.

2014-01-01

Many innovations in organizations result when people discover insightful solutions to problems. Insightful problem-solving was considered by Gestalt psychologists to be associated with productive, as opposed to re-productive, thinking. Productive thinking is characterized by shifts in perspective which allow the problem solver to consider new,…

The Problems with Problem Solving: Reflections on the Rise, Current Status, and Possible Future of a Cognitive Research Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohlsson, Stellan

2012-01-01

The research paradigm invented by Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon in the late 1950s dominated the study of problem solving for more than three decades. But in the early 1990s, problem solving ceased to drive research on complex cognition. As part of this decline, Newell and Simon's most innovative research practices--especially their method for…

A Roadmap of Innovative Nuclear Energy System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sekimoto, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

Nuclear is a dense energy without CO2 emission. It can be used for more than 100,000 years using fast breeder reactors with uranium from the sea. However, it raises difficult problems associated with severe accidents, spent fuel waste and nuclear threats, which should be solved with acceptable costs. Some innovative reactors have attracted interest, and many designs have been proposed for small reactors. These reactors are considered much safer than conventional large reactors and have fewer technical obstructions. Breed-and-burn reactors have high potential to solve all inherent problems for peaceful use of nuclear energy. However, they have some technical problems with materials. A roadmap for innovative reactors is presented herein.

Eco-innovative design approach: Integrating quality and environmental aspects in prioritizing and solving engineering problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakroun, Mahmoud; Gogu, Grigore; Pacaud, Thomas; Thirion, François

2014-09-01

This study proposes an eco-innovative design process taking into consideration quality and environmental aspects in prioritizing and solving technical engineering problems. This approach provides a synergy between the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the nonquality matrix, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), morphological analysis and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). In the sequence of these tools, LCA assesses the environmental impacts generated by the system. Then, for a better consideration of environmental aspects, a new tool is developed, the non-quality matrix, which defines the problem to be solved first from an environmental point of view. The TRIZ method allows the generation of new concepts and contradiction resolution. Then, the morphological analysis offers the possibility of extending the search space of solutions in a design problem in a systematic way. Finally, the AHP identifies the promising solution(s) by providing a clear logic for the choice made. Their usefulness has been demonstrated through their application to a case study involving a centrifugal spreader with spinning discs.

Enhancing insight in scientific problem solving by highlighting the functional features of prototypes: an fMRI study.

PubMed

Hao, Xin; Cui, Shuai; Li, Wenfu; Yang, Wenjing; Qiu, Jiang; Zhang, Qinglin

2013-10-09

Insight can be the first step toward creating a groundbreaking product. As evident in anecdotes and major inventions in history, heuristic events (heuristic prototypes) prompted inventors to acquire insight when solving problems. Bionic imitation in scientific innovation is an example of this kind of problem solving. In particular, heuristic prototypes (e.g., the lotus effect; the very high water repellence exhibited by lotus leaves) help solve insight problems (e.g., non-stick surfaces). We speculated that the biological functional feature of prototypes is a critical factor in inducing insightful scientific problem solving. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we selected scientific innovation problems and utilized "learning prototypes-solving problems" two-phase paradigm to test the supposition. We also explored its neural mechanisms. Functional MRI data showed that the activation of the middle temporal gyrus (MTG, BA 37) and the middle occipital gyrus (MOG, BA 19) were associated with the highlighted functional feature condition. fMRI data also indicated that the MTG (BA 37) could be responsible for the semantic processing of functional features and for the formation of novel associations based on related functions. In addition, the MOG (BA 19) could be involved in the visual imagery of formation and application of function association between the heuristic prototype and problem. Our findings suggest that both semantic processing and visual imagery could be crucial components underlying scientific problem solving. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Innovation: Examining Workplace Learning in New Enterprises.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenwick, Tara

2003-01-01

A study of women entrepreneurs explored learning in the process of business start-up, conditions that foster innovative learning (challenge/variety, compelling social purpose, recognition and pride), and forms of innovative learning (generating multiple ideas, scanning, optimizing, problem solving, self-confidence). Innovative processes involved…

Perfecting scientists’ collaboration and problem-solving skills in the virtual team environment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Perfecting Scientists’ Collaboration and Problem-Solving Skills in the Virtual Team Environment Numerous factors have contributed to the proliferation of conducting work in virtual teams at the domestic, national, and global levels: innovations in technology, critical developments in software, co-lo...

Innovation in Health Care Delivery.

PubMed

Sharan, Alok D; Schroeder, Gregory D; West, Michael E; Vaccaro, Alexander R

2016-02-01

As reimbursement transitions from a volume-based to a value-based system, innovation in health care delivery will be needed. The process of innovation begins with framing the problem that needs to be solved along with the strategic vision that has to be achieved. Similar to scientific testing, a hypothesis is generated for a new solution to a problem. Innovation requires conducting a disciplined form of experimentation and then learning from the process. This manuscript will discuss the different types of innovation, and the key steps necessary for successful innovation in the health care field.

Realistic Approach to Innovation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawson, Garth C.

Part of the Omaha police in-service training program was devoted to innovative approaches to solving police department problems and improving community relations. The sessions were an attempt to use the brainstorming technique to elicit new solutions to everyday problems faced by the rank-and-file members of the police department. The report…

The "Iron Inventor": Using Creative Problem Solving to Spur Student Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Seung Hwan; Hoffman, K. Douglas

2014-01-01

Based on the popular television show the "Iron Chef," an innovative marketing activity called the "Iron Inventor" is introduced. Using the creative problem-solving approach and active learning techniques, the Iron Inventor facilitates student learning pertaining to the step-by-step processes of creating a new product and…

Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments. A Report from the NAEP Technology-Based Assessment Project, Research and Development Series. NCES 2007-466

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Randy Elliot; Persky, Hilary; Weiss, Andrew R.; Jenkins, Frank

2007-01-01

The Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments (TRE) study was designed to demonstrate and explore innovative use of computers for developing, administering, scoring, and analyzing the results of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments. Two scenarios (Search and Simulation) were created for measuring problem solving…

A New Business Model for Problem Solving-Infusing Open Collaboration and Innovation Health and Human Services

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Eliabeth E.; Fogarty, Jennifer A.; Rando, Cynthia M.

2011-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) new business model for problem solving, with emphasis on open collaboration and innovation. The topics that are discussed are: an overview of the work of the Space Life Sciences Directorate and the strategic initiatives that arrived at the new business model. A new business model was required to infuse open collaboration/innovation tools into existing models for research, development and operations (research announcements, procurements, SBIR/STTR etc). This new model involves use of several open innovation partnerships: InnoCentive, Yet2.com, TopCoder and NASA@work. There is also a new organizational structure developed to facilitate the joint collaboration with other NASA centers, international partners, other U.S. Governmental organizations, Academia, Corporate, and Non-Profit organizations: the NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC).

The Technology of Forming of Innovative Content for Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kayumova, Lilija A.; Savva, Lubov I.; Soldatchenko, Aleksandr L.; Sirazetdinov, Rustem M.; Akhmetov, Linar G.

2016-01-01

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the modernization of engineering education aimed at specialists' training to solve engineering and economic problems effectively. The goal of the paper is to develop the technology of the innovative content's formation for engineering education. The leading method to the study of this problem is a…

Exploring creativity and critical thinking in traditional and innovative problem-based learning groups.

PubMed

Chan, Zenobia C Y

2013-08-01

To explore students' attitude towards problem-based learning, creativity and critical thinking, and the relevance to nursing education and clinical practice. Critical thinking and creativity are crucial in nursing education. The teaching approach of problem-based learning can help to reduce the difficulties of nurturing problem-solving skills. However, there is little in the literature on how to improve the effectiveness of a problem-based learning lesson by designing appropriate and innovative activities such as composing songs, writing poems and using role plays. Exploratory qualitative study. A sample of 100 students participated in seven semi-structured focus groups, of which two were innovative groups and five were standard groups, adopting three activities in problem-based learning, namely composing songs, writing poems and performing role plays. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. There are three themes extracted from the conversations: 'students' perceptions of problem-based learning', 'students' perceptions of creative thinking' and 'students' perceptions of critical thinking'. Participants generally agreed that critical thinking is more important than creativity in problem-based learning and clinical practice. Participants in the innovative groups perceived a significantly closer relationship between critical thinking and nursing care, and between creativity and nursing care than the standard groups. Both standard and innovative groups agreed that problem-based learning could significantly increase their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Further, by composing songs, writing poems and using role plays, the innovative groups had significantly increased their awareness of the relationship among critical thinking, creativity and nursing care. Nursing educators should include more types of creative activities than it often does in conventional problem-based learning classes. The results could help nurse educators design an appropriate curriculum for preparing professional and ethical nurses for future clinical practice. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Creativity and Inspiration for Problem Solving in Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordstrom, Katrina; Korpelainen, Paivi

2011-01-01

Problem solving is a critical skill for engineering students and essential to development of creativity and innovativeness. Essential to such learning is an ease of communication and allowing students to address the issues at hand via the terminology, attitudes, humor and empathy, which is inherent to their frame of mind as novices, without the…

Bringing us back to our creative senses: Fostering creativity in graduate-level nursing education: A literary review.

PubMed

Duhamel, Karen V

2016-10-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore empirical findings of five studies related to graduate-level nurse educators' and nursing students' perceptions about the roles of creativity and creative problem-solving in traditional and innovative pedagogies, and examines conceptual differences in the value of creativity from teacher and student viewpoints. Five peer-reviewed scholarly articles; professional nursing organizations; conceptual frameworks of noted scholars specializing in creativity and creative problem-solving; business-related sources; primary and secondary sources of esteemed nurse scholars. Quantitative and qualitative studies were examined that used a variety of methodologies, including surveys, focus groups, 1:1 interviews, and convenience sampling of both nursing and non-nursing college students and faculty. Innovative teaching strategies supported student creativity and creative problem-solving development. Teacher personality traits and teaching styles receptive to students' needs led to greater student success in creative development. Adequate time allocation and perceived usefulness of creativity and creative problem-solving by graduate-level nurse educators must be reflected in classroom activities and course design. Findings indicated conservative teaching norms, evident in graduate nursing education today, should be revised to promote creativity and creative problem-solving development in graduate-level nursing students for best practice outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Innovative Approach To Teaching High School Students about Indoor Air Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neumann, Catherine M.; Bloomfield, Molly M.; Harding, Anna K.; Sherburne, Holly

1999-01-01

Describes an innovative approach used to help high school students develop critical thinking and real-world problem-solving skills while learning about indoor air quality. (Contains 13 references.) (Author/WRM)

Quality-Oriented Management of Educational Innovation at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sofanudin, Aji; Rokhman, Fathur; Wasino; Rusdarti

2016-01-01

This study aims to explore the quality-oriented management of educational innovation at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah. Quality-Oriented Management of Educational Innovation is the process of managing new resources (ideas, practices, objects, methods) in the field of education to achieve educational goals or solve the problem of education. New ideas,…

Complex Problem Solving in Educational Contexts--Something beyond "g": Concept, Assessment, Measurement Invariance, and Construct Validity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greiff, Samuel; Wustenberg, Sascha; Molnar, Gyongyver; Fischer, Andreas; Funke, Joachim; Csapo, Beno

2013-01-01

Innovative assessments of cross-curricular competencies such as complex problem solving (CPS) have currently received considerable attention in large-scale educational studies. This study investigated the nature of CPS by applying a state-of-the-art approach to assess CPS in high school. We analyzed whether two processes derived from cognitive…

Novel Problem Solving - The NASA Solution Mechanism Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keeton, Kathryn E.; Richard, Elizabeth E.; Davis, Jeffrey R.

2014-01-01

Over the past five years, the Human Health and Performance (HH&P) Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) has conducted a number of pilot and ongoing projects in collaboration and open innovation. These projects involved the use of novel open innovation competitions that sought solutions from "the crowd", non-traditional problem solvers. The projects expanded to include virtual collaboration centers such as the NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) and more recently a collaborative research project between NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF). These novel problem-solving tools produced effective results and the HH&P wanted to capture the knowledge from these new tools, to teach the results to the directorate, and to implement new project management tools and coursework. The need to capture and teach the results of these novel problem solving tools, the HH&P decided to create a web-based tool to capture best practices and case studies, to teach novice users how to use new problem solving tools and to change project management training/. This web-based tool was developed with a small, multi-disciplinary group and named the Solution Mechanism Guide (SMG). An alpha version was developed that was tested against several sessions of user groups to get feedback on the SMG and determine a future course for development. The feedback was very positive and the HH&P decided to move to the beta-phase of development. To develop the web-based tool, the HH&P utilized the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL) to develop the software with TopCoder under an existing contract. In this way, the HH&P is using one new tool (the NTL and TopCoder) to develop the next generation tool, the SMG. The beta-phase of the SMG is planed for release in the spring of 2014 and results of the beta-phase testing will be available for the IAC meeting in September. The SMG is intended to disrupt the way problem solvers and project managers approach problem solving and to increase the use of novel and more cost and time effective problem solving tools such as open innovation, collaborative research, and virtual collaborative project centers. The HH&P envisions changing project management coursework by including the SMG in the teaching of project management problem solving tools.

SOIL AND SEDIMENT SAMPLING METHODS

EPA Science Inventory

The EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response's (OSWER) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) needs innovative methods and techniques to solve new and difficult sampling and analytical problems found at the numerous Superfund sites throughout th...

Contemporary HIV/AIDS research: Insights from knowledge management theory.

PubMed

Callaghan, Chris William

2017-12-01

Knowledge management as a field is concerned with the management of knowledge, including the management of knowledge in research processes. Knowledge management theory has the potential to support research into problems such as HIV, antibiotic resistance and others, particularly in terms of aspects of scientific research related to the contribution of social science. To date, however, these challenges remain with us, and theoretical contributions that can complement natural science efforts to eradicate these problems are needed. This paper seeks to offer a theoretical contribution grounded in Kuhn's paradigm theory of innovation, and in the argument by Lakatos that scientific research can be fundamentally non-innovative, which suggests that social science aspects of knowledge creation may hold the key to more effective biomedical innovation. Given the consequences of ongoing and emerging global crises, and the failure of knowledge systems of scientific research to solve such problems outright, this paper provides a review of theory and literature arguing for a new paradigm in scientific research, based on the development of global systems to maximise research collaborations. A global systems approach effectively includes social science theory development as an important complement to the natural sciences research process. Arguably, information technology and social media technology have developed to the point at which solutions to knowledge aggregation challenges can enable solutions to knowledge problems on a scale hitherto unimaginable. Expert and non-expert crowdsourced inputs can enable problem-solving through exponentially increasing problem-solving inputs, using the 'crowd,' thereby increasing collaborations dramatically. It is argued that these developments herald a new era of participatory research, or a democratisation of research, which offers new hope for solving global social problems. This paper seeks to contribute to this end, and to the recognition of the important role of social theory in the scientific research process.

Innovation, imitation, and problem-solving in a networked group.

PubMed

Wisdom, Thomas N; Goldstone, Robert L

2011-04-01

We implemented a problem-solving task in which groups of participants simultaneously played a simple innovation game in a complex problem space, with score feedback provided after each of a number of rounds. Each participant in a group was allowed to view and imitate the guesses of others during the game. The results showed the use of social learning strategies previously studied in other species, and demonstrated benefits of social learning and nonlinear effects of group size on strategy and performance. Rather than simply encouraging conformity, groups provided information to each individual about the distribution of useful innovations in the problem space. Imitation facilitated innovation rather than displacing it, because the former allowed good solutions to be propagated and preserved for further cumulative innovations in the group. Participants generally improved their solutions through the use of fairly conservative strategies, such as changing only a small portion of one's solution at a time, and tending to imitate solutions similar to one's own. Changes in these strategies over time had the effect of making solutions increasingly entrenched, both at individual and group levels. These results showed evidence of nonlinear dynamics in the decentralization of innovation, the emergence of group phenomena from complex interactions of individual efforts, stigmergy in the use of social information, and dynamic tradeoffs between exploration and exploitation of solutions. These results also support the idea that innovation and creativity can be recognized at the group level even when group members are generally cautious and imitative.

Can Innovation Save Gifted Education? 2010 NAGC Presidential Address

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Ann

2012-01-01

Connecting innovation with gifted education is a necessity not only in the current political climate but also because it is a field with deeply held beliefs about the importance of problem solving, creativity, imagination, and invention--all critical components of innovation. In this address, the author focuses on three key ideas. First, she…

Social Innovation Fund: Finding What Works, Making It Work for More People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corporation for National and Community Service, 2017

2017-01-01

The Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), supports the growth of effective programs, and the development of innovative approaches to solve the country's most intractable problems. The SIF directs resources towards efforts in the areas of youth development, economic opportunity, and…

The Electrophysiological Correlates of Scientific Innovation Induced by Heuristic Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luo, Junlong; Du, Xiumin; Tang, Xiaochen; Zhang, Entao; Li, Haijiang; Zhang, Qinglin

2013-01-01

In this study, novel and old scientific innovations (NSI and OSI) were selected as materials to explore the electrophysiological correlates of scientific innovation induced by heuristic information. Using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to do so, college students solved NSI problems (for which they did not know the answers) and OSI problems…

Can you teach an old parrot new tricks? Cognitive development in wild kaka (Nestor meridionalis)

PubMed Central

Shaw, Rachael C.; Burns, Kevin C.

2016-01-01

Despite recent efforts to characterize innovative individuals within a species, we still know very little about the ontogeny of innovation ability. A number of studies have found that innovation rates are correlated with personality traits, such as neophilia and exploration. Juvenile birds are frequently more neophilic and explorative, yet few studies have found evidence of age-related differences in innovative problem-solving success. Here, we show consistently higher innovation efficiency in juveniles of a wild, omnivorous parrot species across a variety of tasks and contexts. We tested 104 kaka (Nestor meridionalis), ranging in age from four months to 13 years. Twenty-four individuals participated in all three of our problem-solving tasks, two of which involved a familiar feeder and one an entirely novel apparatus. Juveniles were the most efficient problem-solvers in all three tasks. By contrast, the adults’ success was context dependent and limited to the novel apparatus, which did not require modification of a pre-learned behavioural response. This suggests greater behavioural flexibility in the juvenile birds, who also showed higher persistence and exploratory diversity than adults. These traits may enable young kaka to discover efficient foraging techniques, which are then maintained throughout adulthood. PMID:27252018

Conceptualization of an R&D Based Learning-to-Innovate Model for Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, Oiki Sylvia

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research was to conceptualize an R & D based learning-to-innovate (LTI) model. The problem to be addressed was the lack of a theoretical L TI model, which would inform science pedagogy. The absorptive capacity (ACAP) lens was adopted to untangle the R & D LTI phenomenon into four learning processes: problem-solving via…

Uniting Active and Deep Learning to Teach Problem-Solving Skills: Strategic Tools and the Learning Spiral

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diamond, Nina; Koernig, Stephen K.; Iqbal, Zafar

2008-01-01

This article describes an innovative strategic tools course designed to enhance the problem-solving skills of marketing majors. The course serves as a means of preparing students to capitalize on opportunities afforded by a case-based capstone course and to better meet the needs and expectations of prospective employers. The course format utilizes…

How Does the Degree of Guidance Support Students' Metacognitive and Problem Solving Skills in Educational Robotics?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atmatzidou, Soumela; Demetriadis, Stavros; Nika, Panagiota

2018-01-01

Educational robotics (ER) is an innovative learning tool that offers students opportunities to develop higher-order thinking skills. This study investigates the development of students' metacognitive (MC) and problem-solving (PS) skills in the context of ER activities, implementing different modes of guidance in two student groups (11-12 years…

A Study of Multi-Representation of Geometry Problem Solving with Virtual Manipulatives and Whiteboard System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Wu-Yuin; Su, Jia-Han; Huang, Yueh-Min; Dong, Jian-Jie

2009-01-01

In this paper, the development of an innovative Virtual Manipulatives and Whiteboard (VMW) system is described. The VMW system allowed users to manipulate virtual objects in 3D space and find clues to solve geometry problems. To assist with multi-representation transformation, translucent multimedia whiteboards were used to provide a virtual 3D…

The Space Apps Challenge: Using Open Innovation Competitions to Engage The Public in the Scientific Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, S. S.

2016-12-01

NASA's Space Apps Challenge encourages innovation, creativity and collaborative problem solving by gathering coders, builders, artists, designers, and storytellers in a 48-hour hackathon. Open Innovation competitions such as the Space Apps Challenge bring the scientific world to members of the public, regardless of age, experience, credentials, or expertise. In the past five years, this model of public engagement has been widely employed by government, nonprofit and academic institutions, allowing the building of partnerships between the scientific community and the individuals and communities they serve. Furthermore, advances in technology and challenge models have lowered the barriers and costs to scientific collaboration with and for the public. NASA's Space Apps Challenge, structured as a competition seeking solutions from the public to posed problems, brings together teams and forges collaborations between individuals and groups who would otherwise have never worked together for a short but high intensity problem solving session, Space Apps has has created a pathway to public engagement and innovation that is often faster, cheaper, and more impactful than traditional approaches.

On Creativity: A Case Study of Military Innovation

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

HSI theses, it does not aim to define or refine the HSI process, nor does it seek to demonstrate how aspects of a problem pertain to or influence...Neuroscientists have found that the brain operates in both an externally focused, goal-directed mode, solving problems by the use of known patterns, and an...The entire brain is active when engaged in creative problem solving. During the creative process, an increase of new neurological connections between

Using the crowd as an innovation partner.

PubMed

Boudreau, Kevin J; Lakhani, Karim R

2013-04-01

From Apple to Merck to Wikipedia, more and more organizations are turning to crowds for help in solving their most vexing innovation and research questions, but managers remain understandably cautious. It seems risky and even unnatural to push problems out to vast groups of strangers distributed around the world, particularly for companies built on a history of internal innovation. How can intellectual property be protected? How can a crowd-sourced solution be integrated into corporate operations? What about the costs? These concerns are all reasonable, the authors write, but excluding crowdsourcing from the corporate innovation tool kit means losing an opportunity. After a decade of study, they have identified when crowds tend to outperform internal organizations (or not). They outline four ways to tap into crowd-powered problem solving--contests, collaborative communities, complementors, and labor markets--and offer a system for picking the best one in a given situation. Contests, for example, are suited to highly challenging technical, analytical, and scientific problems; design problems; and creative or aesthetic projects. They are akin to running a series of independent experiments that generate multiple solutions--and if those solutions cluster at some extreme, a company can gain insight into where a problem's "technical frontier" lies. (Internal R&D may generate far less information.)

Proposed Social Spending Innovation Research (SSIR) Program: Harnessing American Entrepreneurial Talent to Solve Major U.S. Social Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, 2015

2015-01-01

The Social Spending Innovation Research (SSIR) proposal seeks to replicate, in social spending, the great success of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program in technology development. The SBIR program funds technology development by entrepreneurial small companies. The program has spawned breakthrough technologies in diverse areas…

[Problem-solving approach in the training of healthcare professionals].

PubMed

Batista, Nildo; Batista, Sylvia Helena; Goldenberg, Paulete; Seiffert, Otília; Sonzogno, Maria Cecília

2005-04-01

To discuss the problem-solving approach in the training of healthcare professionals who would be able to act both in academic life and in educational practices in services and communities. This is an analytical description of an experience of problem-based learning in specialization-level training that was developed within a university-level healthcare education institution. The analysis focuses on three perspectives: course design, student-centered learning and the teacher's role. The problem-solving approach provided impetus to the learning experience for these postgraduate students. There was increased motivation, leadership development and teamworking. This was translated through their written work, seminars and portfolio preparation. The evaluation process for these experiences presupposes well-founded practices that express the views of the subjects involved: self-assessment and observer assessment. The impact of this methodology on teaching practices is that there is a need for greater knowledge of the educational theories behind the principles of significant learning, teachers as intermediaries and research as an educational axiom. The problem-solving approach is an innovative response to the challenges of training healthcare professionals. Its potential is recognized, while it is noted that educational innovations are characterized by causing ruptures in consolidated methods and by establishing different ways of responding to demands presented at specific moments. The critical problems were identified, while highlighting the risk of considering this approach to be a technical tool that is unconnected with the design of the teaching policy. Experiences and analyses based on the problem-solving assumptions need to be shared, thus enabling the production of knowledge that strengthens the transformation of educational practices within healthcare.

Combining Computational and Social Effort for Collaborative Problem Solving

PubMed Central

Wagy, Mark D.; Bongard, Josh C.

2015-01-01

Rather than replacing human labor, there is growing evidence that networked computers create opportunities for collaborations of people and algorithms to solve problems beyond either of them. In this study, we demonstrate the conditions under which such synergy can arise. We show that, for a design task, three elements are sufficient: humans apply intuitions to the problem, algorithms automatically determine and report back on the quality of designs, and humans observe and innovate on others’ designs to focus creative and computational effort on good designs. This study suggests how such collaborations should be composed for other domains, as well as how social and computational dynamics mutually influence one another during collaborative problem solving. PMID:26544199

Teaching Innovation: Equipping Students to Overcome Real-World Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Jamye; Yaoyuneyong, Gallayanee

2016-01-01

Business students beginning their careers find that they must innovate to solve nebulous problems, work in interdisciplinary groups and environments, and effectively communicate their knowledge to colleagues and clients with diverse backgrounds. Addressing this, researchers devised a flipped classroom cross-disciplinary (CD) client-based project…

Curriculum Innovation for Marketing Analytics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Elizabeth J.; McCabe, Catherine; Smith, Robert S.

2018-01-01

College graduates need better preparation for and experience in data analytics for higher-quality problem solving. Using the curriculum innovation framework of Borin, Metcalf, and Tietje (2007) and case study research methods, we offer rich insights about one higher education institution's work to address the marketing analytics skills gap.…

Contemporary HIV/AIDS research: Insights from knowledge management theory

PubMed Central

Callaghan, Chris William

2017-01-01

Abstract Knowledge management as a field is concerned with the management of knowledge, including the management of knowledge in research processes. Knowledge management theory has the potential to support research into problems such as HIV, antibiotic resistance and others, particularly in terms of aspects of scientific research related to the contribution of social science. To date, however, these challenges remain with us, and theoretical contributions that can complement natural science efforts to eradicate these problems are needed. This paper seeks to offer a theoretical contribution grounded in Kuhn’s paradigm theory of innovation, and in the argument by Lakatos that scientific research can be fundamentally non-innovative, which suggests that social science aspects of knowledge creation may hold the key to more effective biomedical innovation. Given the consequences of ongoing and emerging global crises, and the failure of knowledge systems of scientific research to solve such problems outright, this paper provides a review of theory and literature arguing for a new paradigm in scientific research, based on the development of global systems to maximise research collaborations. A global systems approach effectively includes social science theory development as an important complement to the natural sciences research process. Arguably, information technology and social media technology have developed to the point at which solutions to knowledge aggregation challenges can enable solutions to knowledge problems on a scale hitherto unimaginable. Expert and non-expert crowdsourced inputs can enable problem-solving through exponentially increasing problem-solving inputs, using the ‘crowd,’ thereby increasing collaborations dramatically. It is argued that these developments herald a new era of participatory research, or a democratisation of research, which offers new hope for solving global social problems. This paper seeks to contribute to this end, and to the recognition of the important role of social theory in the scientific research process. PMID:28922967

Effective pedagogies for teaching math to nursing students: a literature review.

PubMed

Hunter Revell, Susan M; McCurry, Mary K

2013-11-01

Improving mathematical competency and problem-solving skills in undergraduate nursing students has been an enduring challenge for nurse educators. A number of teaching strategies have been used to address this problem with varying degrees of success. This paper discusses a literature review which examined undergraduate nursing student challenges to learning math, methods used to teach math and problem-solving skills, and the use of innovative pedagogies for teaching. The literature was searched using the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Education Resource Information Center databases. Key search terms included: math*, nurs*, nursing student, calculation, technology, medication administration, challenges, problem-solving, personal response system, clickers, computer and multi-media. Studies included in the review were published in English from 1990 to 2011. Results support four major themes which include: student challenges to learning, traditional pedagogies, curriculum strategies, and technology and integrative methods as pedagogy. The review concludes that there is a need for more innovative pedagogical strategies for teaching math to student nurses. Nurse educators in particular play a central role in helping students learn the conceptual basis, as well as practical hands-on methods, to problem solving and math competency. It is recommended that an integrated approach inclusive of technology will benefit students through better performance, increased understanding, and improved student satisfaction. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This month's offerings: Why are they important?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A limitation of current research on games for health is a lack of innovative thinking in considering the problem to be solved. The articles in the December 2013 issue of the Games for Health Journal exhibited substantial innovation from requiring physical activity from some game players to permit t...

NREL Technologies Win National Awards

Science.gov Websites

Development Magazine. The annual awards recognize the years 100 most important, unique and useful innovations . The magazine recognized PV Optics as one of the most important technological advances of 1997. PV these innovations reflects the breadth of resources that the labs are using to solve practical problems

Promoting Meaningful Learning: Innovations in Educating Early Childhood Professionals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yelland, Nicola J., Ed.

Grounded in active learning, inquiry, and problem solving embedded in a social and cultural context, this book presents a collection of ideas illustrating innovative practices for educating early childhood professionals in university and other contexts. The book is presented in three parts. Part 1, "Listening to Student Voices," is…

Holistic Mentoring and Coaching to Sustain Organizational Change and Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollywood, Kathryn G.; Blaess, Donna A.; Santin, Claudia; Bloom, Lisa

2016-01-01

Collaborative problem solving, creativity, innovation, and continuously improved performance outcomes are the normative expectations for organizations in the early 21st century. At the same time, workers seek not only equitable compensation for their efforts, but also opportunities for professional growth and development as well as acknowledgement…

Talk aloud problem solving: Exploration of acquisition and frequency building in science text

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dembek, Ginny

Discovering new ways to help students attain higher levels of scientific knowledge and to think critically is a national goal (Educate to Innovate campaign). Despite the best intentions, many students struggle to achieve a basic level of science knowledge (NAEP, 2011). The present study examined Talk Aloud Pair Problem Solving and frequency building with five students who were diagnosed with a disability and receive specialized reading instruction in a special education setting. Acquisition was obtained through scripted lessons and frequency building or practice strengthened the student's verbal repertoire making the problem solving process a durable behavior. Overall, students all demonstrated improvements in problem solving performance when compared to baseline. Students became more significantly accurate in performance and maintenance in learning was demonstrated. Generalization probes indicated improvement in student performance. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Innovative Technological Development of Russian Mining Regions (on Example of Kemerovo Region)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shavina, Evgeniya; Kalenov, Oleg

2017-11-01

A characteristic trend of many countries modern development is the transition to an innovative economy. At present, this is the only opportunity to secure and maintain a high standard of living for the population. Moreover, innovative development of Russian can be achieved during technological progress in its regions. In this regard, it is necessary to assess the innovative potential of the region and identify the most actual problems that impede the transition to the trajectory of innovative development. The authors outline several main indicators that help to determine the level of innovation and technological development of one of the largest industrial areas of Russia - Kemerovo region. The special economic role of Kemerovo region as a large territorial old-industrial complex of Western Siberia requires a large-scale work to solve the most acute problems of regional development. It is necessary to find the answer for existing problems through the implementation of a system of state regulation aimed at making the innovation component a leading factor of the regional economy competitiveness.

Retooling Asian-Pacific Teachers to Promote Creativity, Innovation and Problem Solving in Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Kar-Tin; Chalmers, Christina; Chandra, Vinesh; Yeh, Andy; Nason, Rod

2014-01-01

This paper reports on a Professional Learning Programme undertaken by primary school teachers in China that aimed to facilitate the development of "adaptive expertise" in using technology to facilitate innovative science teaching and learning such as that envisaged by the Chinese Ministry of Education's (2010--2020) education reforms.…

Reconsidering the Promise of Systemwide Innovation for Urban Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hess, Frederick

1998-01-01

Many of the problems school reform is expected to solve are aggravated by the ways schools use reform. Macro-level innovations are rarely designed to work. Meaningful change requires time and focus. Reforms may be more about politics than about change. A constant churn of policy change and reform has become the norm. (SK)

Grading Innovation in an International Marketing Course: Promoting Student Collaboration and Individual Accountability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chelminski, Piotr

2017-01-01

In this article, the author proposes an innovative, exam-based homework grading method to facilitate both collaboration among students and individual accountability while learning a complex theory and applying it to solve a problem. Results from this novel approach to grading a "comparative advantage theory" homework assignment, using an…

Student Learning Outcomes from a Pilot Medical Innovations Course with Nursing, Engineering, and Biology Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludwig, Patrice M.; Nagel, Jacquelyn K.; Lewis, Erica J.

2017-01-01

Background: Preparing today's undergraduate students from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and related health professions to solve wide-sweeping healthcare challenges is critical. Moreover, it is imperative that educators help students develop the capabilities needed to meet those challenges, including problem solving,…

Driving into the future: how imaging technology is shaping the future of cars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Buyue

2015-03-01

Fueled by the development of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), autonomous vehicles, and the proliferation of cameras and sensors, automotive is becoming a rich new domain for innovations in imaging technology. This paper presents an overview of ADAS, the important imaging and computer vision problems to solve for automotive, and examples of how some of these problems are solved, through which we highlight the challenges and opportunities in the automotive imaging space.

High-rise housing construction as a way of solving the problem of providing people with comfortable habitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misailovov, Andrey

2018-03-01

The article analyzes the role of high-rise construction in solving the problem of providing people with comfortable habitation. High-rise construction is considered as a part of urban environment of big cities, a way of effective land use and development of entrepreneurship, including small and medium-sized enterprises. The economic efficiency of high-rise construction, an increase in budgetary financing and the number of introduced innovations are discussed.

Inquiry-based problem solving in introductory physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koleci, Carolann

What makes problem solving in physics difficult? How do students solve physics problems, and how does this compare to an expert physicist's strategy? Over the past twenty years, physics education research has revealed several differences between novice and expert problem solving. The work of Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser demonstrates that novices tend to categorize problems based on surface features, while experts categorize according to theory, principles, or concepts1. If there are differences between how problems are categorized, then are there differences between how physics problems are solved? Learning more about the problem solving process, including how students like to learn and what is most effective, requires both qualitative and quantitative analysis. In an effort to learn how novices and experts solve introductory electricity problems, a series of in-depth interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. One-way ANOVA tests were performed in order to learn if there are any significant problem solving differences between: (a) novices and experts, (b) genders, (c) students who like to answer questions in class and those who don't, (d) students who like to ask questions in class and those who don't, (e) students employing an interrogative approach to problem solving and those who don't, and (f) those who like physics and those who dislike it. The results of both the qualitative and quantitative methods reveal that inquiry-based problem solving is prevalent among novices and experts, and frequently leads to the correct physics. These findings serve as impetus for the third dimension of this work: the development of Choose Your Own Adventure Physics(c) (CYOAP), an innovative teaching tool in physics which encourages inquiry-based problem solving. 1Chi, M., P. Feltovich, R. Glaser, "Categorization and Representation of Physics Problems by Experts and Novices", Cognitive Science, 5, 121--152 (1981).

Methodological Innovations in Public Health Education: Transdisciplinary Problem Solving

PubMed Central

Lawlor, Edward F.; Sebert-Kuhlmann, Anne K.; McBride, Timothy D.

2015-01-01

In 2008, the faculty of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis designed a Master of Public Health program centered on transdisciplinary problem solving in public health. We have described the rationale for our approach, guiding principles and pedagogy for the program, and specific transdisciplinary competencies students acquire. We have explained how transdisciplinary content has been organized and delivered, how the program is being evaluated, and how we have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach for a Master of Public Health degree. PMID:25706031

Methodological innovations in public health education: transdisciplinary problem solving.

PubMed

Lawlor, Edward F; Kreuter, Matthew W; Sebert-Kuhlmann, Anne K; McBride, Timothy D

2015-03-01

In 2008, the faculty of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis designed a Master of Public Health program centered on transdisciplinary problem solving in public health. We have described the rationale for our approach, guiding principles and pedagogy for the program, and specific transdisciplinary competencies students acquire. We have explained how transdisciplinary content has been organized and delivered, how the program is being evaluated, and how we have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach for a Master of Public Health degree.

Interrelation of Evaluation and Self-Evaluation in the Diagnostic Procedures to Assess Teachers' Readiness for Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyunnikov, Yurii S.

2016-01-01

The paper solves the problem of the relationship of external diagnosis and self-diagnosis of readiness of teachers to innovative activity. It highlights major disadvantages of measurement tools that are used to this process. The author demonstrates an alternative approach to harmonizing the diagnosis, based on a modular diagnostic model, general…

New York City's iZone. CRPE Working Paper #2011-1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake, Robin; Gross, Betheny

2011-01-01

Can public schools learn to embrace innovation and employ cutting edge technology to solve students' most persistent learning problems? In 2010, New York City's Department of Education (NYCDOE) created the Innovation Zone (iZone) to try to accomplish just that. This report reflects the findings of a CRPE study of the iZone, its goals and…

Gamification for Non-Majors Mathematics: An Innovative Assignment Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leong, Siow Hoo; Tang, Howe Eng

2017-01-01

The most important ingredient of the pedagogy for teaching non-majors is getting their engagement. This paper proposes to use gamification to engage non-majors. An innovative game termed as Cover the Hungarian's Zeros is designed to tackle the common weakness of non-majors mathematics in solving the assignment problem using the Hungarian Method.…

Measuring Performance Of Salaried Salespeople

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riola, Peter W.

1974-01-01

A Sales By Objectives (SBO) program offers the sales manager results by using the resources around him--his sales personnel--to set their own personal, routine, problem solving, and innovative goals. (MW)

A design thinking framework for healthcare management and innovation.

PubMed

Roberts, Jess P; Fisher, Thomas R; Trowbridge, Matthew J; Bent, Christine

2016-03-01

The business community has learned the value of design thinking as a way to innovate in addressing people's needs--and health systems could benefit enormously from doing the same. This paper lays out how design thinking applies to healthcare challenges and how systems might utilize this proven and accessible problem-solving process. We show how design thinking can foster new approaches to complex and persistent healthcare problems through human-centered research, collective and diverse teamwork and rapid prototyping. We introduce the core elements of design thinking for a healthcare audience and show how it can supplement current healthcare management, innovation and practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MPA-11: Materials Synthesis and Integrated Devices; Overview of an Applied Energy Group

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

Dattelbaum, Andrew Martin

Our mission is to provide innovative and creative chemical synthesis and materials science solutions to solve materials problems across the LANL missions. Our group conducts basic and applied research in areas related to energy security as well as problems relevant to the Weapons Program.

Modeling operation of mechanism of holistic management of technological processes at enterprise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Igorevich Shanin, Igor; Aleksandrovna Boris, Olga

2018-03-01

Enterprises applying modeling and technological process management approaches represent a sector of a new innovative economic system. First of all, they are innovators using innovative proposals and various resources to solve practical problems. Their work leads to balanced positive technological changes. In other words, they constitute industrial entrepreneurship with innovative goals and vice versa - innovative entrepreneurship with industrial objectives. It should be noted that the mechanism of holistic management of technological processes at the enterprise combines a traditional industrial organization of production, an innovative and technological enterprise. The enterprise borrows industrial targets from the latter one, an innovative component - from innovative activity and entrepreneurial approaches to holistic management - from a commercial firm.

Impact on Learning Awards, 2001.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Planning & Management, 2001

2001-01-01

Recognizes 14 architectural firms for their innovative designs, which helped solve real-world problems in K-12 school facilities. Designs for retrofits, safety and security, and specialized learning environments are profiled and critiqued. (GR)

Application of Innovative P&E Method at Technical Universities in Slovakia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nemec, Miroslav; Krišták, Luboš; Hockicko, Peter; Danihelová, Zuzana; Velmovská, Klára

2017-01-01

The paper deals with innovative teaching methods at universities. The result of this effort is the interactive P&E method, whose main idea is the interactive work with students while solving problem tasks. The main aim of the given method is to change the students' position, by means of experiment analyses and qualitative tasks, from a passive…

Learning from the Implementers in a Design Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toh, Tin Lam; Dindyal, Jaguthsing; Tay, Eng Guan

2013-01-01

In a design experiment, the feedback from the teacher-implementer is crucial to the success of the innovation simply because the teacher is finally the one that brings the innovation to life in front of the students. We describe in this paper the feedback made by the teacher-implementer after teaching one cycle of the problem solving module in a…

La Formacion Docente y la Educacion Primaria en Una Propuesta de Cambio (Teacher Training on Education: A Proposal for Change).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandez, Enrique Alonso, Ed.

In order to raise the quality of teaching and teacher education in Uruguay, a program of innovation and change was considered at a 1986 educational conference. Conference goals included identifying ways to: (1) increase opportunities to promote innovation and change; (2) search for strategies to encourage creative problem solving; (3) increase…

Demystify Math, Science, and Technology: Creativity, Innovation, and Problem-Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Dennis; Hamm, Mary

2010-01-01

Technology is viewed as a powerful force both in and out of school and has long been linked with math and science. Although concepts and activities of this book apply to any grade, the primary focus is on the elementary and middle school levels. This book provides principles and practical strategies for promoting creative and innovative work in…

Education of Sustainability Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oleschko, K.; Perrier, E.; Tarquis, A. M.

2010-05-01

It's not the same to educate the sustainable engineers as to prepare the engineers of Sustainability. In the latter case all existing methods of inventive creativity (Altshuller, 1988) should be introduced in the teaching and research processes in order to create a culture of innovation at a group. The Theory of Inventing Problem Solving (TRIZ) is based on the pioneer works of Genrich Altshuller (1988) and his associated. Altshuller reviewed over 2 million patents beginning in 1946 (Orlov, 2006) and developed the Laws of Evolution of Technological Systems; An Algorithm for Inventive Problem Solving (ARIZ); forty typical Techniques for Overcoming System Conflicts (TOSC); a system of 76 Standard Approaches to Inventive Problems (Standards) etc. (Fey and Rivin, 1997). Nowadays, "a theory and constructive instrument package for the controlled synthesis of ideas and the focused transformation of the object to be improved" (Orlov, 2006) are used with high efficacy as the teaching and thinking inventive problem-solving methods in some high schools (Barak and Mesika, 2006; Sokoi et al., 2008) as well as a framework for research (Moehrle, 2005) in construction industry (Zhang et al., 2009); chemical engineering (Cortes Robles et al., 2008) etc. In 2005 US Congress passed the innovation act with the intent of increasing research investment (Gupta, 2007), while China had included inventive principles of TRIZ in strategy and decision making structure design (Kai Yang, 2010). The integrating of TRIZ into eco-innovation diminishes the common conflicts between technology and environment (Chang and Chen, 2004). In our presentation we show discuss some examples of future patents elaborated by the master degree students of Queretaro University, Faculty of Engineering, Mexico using TRIZ methods. References 1. Altshuller, G., 1988. Creativity as an Exact Science. Gordon and Breach, New York. 2. Chang, Hsiang-Tang and Chen, Jahau Lewis, 2004. The conflict-problem-solving CAD software integrating TRIZ into eco-innovation. Advances in Engineering Software, 35: 553-566. 3. Cortes Robles, G., Negny, S. and Le Lann, J.M., 2008. Case-based reasoning and TRIZ: A coupling for innovative conception in Chemical Engineering. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, 48 (1): 239-249. 4. Gupta, P., 2007. Real Innovation Commentary. http://www. RealInnovation.com. 5. Kai Yang, 2010. Inventive principles of TRIZ with Chinás 36 strategies. TRIZ J., 1-20. 6. Moehrle, M. G., 2005. What is TRIZ? From conceptual basics to a framework for research. Social Science research Network, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol13/papers.cfm?abstract_id=674062. 7. Orlov, M., 2006. Inventive Thinking through TRIZ. A practical Guide, Springer, Berlin, 351. 8. Zhang, X., Mao, X. and AbouRizk, S.M, 2009. Developing a knowledge management system for improved value engineering practices in the construction industry. Automation in Construction, 18 (6): 777-789. 9. Sokol, A., Oget, D., Sonntag, M. and Khomenko, N., 2008. The development of inventive thinking skills in the upper secondary language classroom. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 3 (1): 34-46.

Very Large Scale Optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanderplaats, Garrett; Townsend, James C. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The purpose of this research under the NASA Small Business Innovative Research program was to develop algorithms and associated software to solve very large nonlinear, constrained optimization tasks. Key issues included efficiency, reliability, memory, and gradient calculation requirements. This report describes the general optimization problem, ten candidate methods, and detailed evaluations of four candidates. The algorithm chosen for final development is a modern recreation of a 1960s external penalty function method that uses very limited computer memory and computational time. Although of lower efficiency, the new method can solve problems orders of magnitude larger than current methods. The resulting BIGDOT software has been demonstrated on problems with 50,000 variables and about 50,000 active constraints. For unconstrained optimization, it has solved a problem in excess of 135,000 variables. The method includes a technique for solving discrete variable problems that finds a "good" design, although a theoretical optimum cannot be guaranteed. It is very scalable in that the number of function and gradient evaluations does not change significantly with increased problem size. Test cases are provided to demonstrate the efficiency and reliability of the methods and software.

Intelligent Transportation Systems Early Deployment Planning Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-06-01

INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (ITS) REFER TO INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO SOLVING TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS AND PROVIDING SERVICES TO TRAVELERS. ITS SOLUTIONS ARE TYPICALLY BASED ON A USER'S VIEW OF THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, AND RELY ON PARTNERSHIPS ...

High-Performance Computing Unlocks Innovation at NREL

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

None

Need to fly around a wind farm? Or step inside a molecule? NREL scientists use a super powerful (and highly energy-efficient) computer to visualize and solve big problems in renewable energy research.

Addressing Economic Development Goals through Innovative Teaching of University Statistics: A Case Study of Statistical Modelling in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ezepue, Patrick Oseloka; Ojo, Adegbola

2012-01-01

A challenging problem in some developing countries such as Nigeria is inadequate training of students in effective problem solving using the core concepts of their disciplines. Related to this is a disconnection between their learning and socio-economic development agenda of a country. These problems are more vivid in statistical education which…

Recursive heuristic classification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkins, David C.

1994-01-01

The author will describe a new problem-solving approach called recursive heuristic classification, whereby a subproblem of heuristic classification is itself formulated and solved by heuristic classification. This allows the construction of more knowledge-intensive classification programs in a way that yields a clean organization. Further, standard knowledge acquisition and learning techniques for heuristic classification can be used to create, refine, and maintain the knowledge base associated with the recursively called classification expert system. The method of recursive heuristic classification was used in the Minerva blackboard shell for heuristic classification. Minerva recursively calls itself every problem-solving cycle to solve the important blackboard scheduler task, which involves assigning a desirability rating to alternative problem-solving actions. Knowing these ratings is critical to the use of an expert system as a component of a critiquing or apprenticeship tutoring system. One innovation of this research is a method called dynamic heuristic classification, which allows selection among dynamically generated classification categories instead of requiring them to be prenumerated.

Simultaneous optimization of loading pattern and burnable poison placement for PWRs

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

Alim, F.; Ivanov, K.; Yilmaz, S.

2006-07-01

To solve in-core fuel management optimization problem, GARCO-PSU (Genetic Algorithm Reactor Core Optimization - Pennsylvania State Univ.) is developed. This code is applicable for all types and geometry of PWR core structures with unlimited number of fuel assembly (FA) types in the inventory. For this reason an innovative genetic algorithm is developed with modifying the classical representation of the genotype. In-core fuel management heuristic rules are introduced into GARCO. The core re-load design optimization has two parts, loading pattern (LP) optimization and burnable poison (BP) placement optimization. These parts depend on each other, but it is difficult to solve themore » combined problem due to its large size. Separating the problem into two parts provides a practical way to solve the problem. However, the result of this method does not reflect the real optimal solution. GARCO-PSU achieves to solve LP optimization and BP placement optimization simultaneously in an efficient manner. (authors)« less

Personality-dependent differences in problem-solving performance in a social context reflect foraging strategies.

PubMed

Zandberg, Lies; Quinn, John L; Naguib, Marc; van Oers, Kees

2017-01-01

Individuals develop innovative behaviours to solve foraging challenges in the face of changing environmental conditions. Little is known about how individuals differ in their tendency to solve problems and in their subsequent use of this solving behaviour in social contexts. Here we investigated whether individual variation in problem-solving performance could be explained by differences in the likelihood of solving the task, or if they reflect differences in foraging strategy. We tested this by studying the use of a novel foraging skill in groups of great tits (Parus major), consisting of three naive individuals with different personality, and one knowledgeable tutor. We presented them with multiple, identical foraging devices over eight trials. Though birds of different personality type did not differ in solving latency; fast and slow explorers showed a steeper increase over time in their solving rate, compared to intermediate explorers. Despite equal solving potential, personality influenced the subsequent use of the skill, as well as the pay-off received from solving. Thus, variation in the tendency to solve the task reflected differences in foraging strategy among individuals linked to their personality. These results emphasize the importance of considering the social context to fully understand the implications of learning novel skills. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Computational Science and Innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dean, D. J.

2011-09-01

Simulations - utilizing computers to solve complicated science and engineering problems - are a key ingredient of modern science. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is a world leader in the development of high-performance computing (HPC), the development of applied math and algorithms that utilize the full potential of HPC platforms, and the application of computing to science and engineering problems. An interesting general question is whether the DOE can strategically utilize its capability in simulations to advance innovation more broadly. In this article, I will argue that this is certainly possible.

Problem-Solving Environments (PSEs) to Support Innovation Clustering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gill, Zann

1999-01-01

This paper argues that there is need for high level concepts to inform the development of Problem-Solving Environment (PSE) capability. A traditional approach to PSE implementation is to: (1) assemble a collection of tools; (2) integrate the tools; and (3) assume that collaborative work begins after the PSE is assembled. I argue for the need to start from the opposite premise, that promoting human collaboration and observing that process comes first, followed by the development of supporting tools, and finally evolution of PSE capability through input from collaborating project teams.

Pathways to Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, F. D.

1975-01-01

Measures for developing creativity by exploring inner space are recounted: the procedure for deliberate dreaming, exercises in producing new patterns, the steps in bioheuristics, a description of "wilderness seminars", and staying in bed to problem-solve while dozing. (AJ)

Marketing Your Advising Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flickinger, Jan

1989-01-01

A tour of centralized university advising centers revealed that the busiest centers had done an excellent job of marketing themselves to their campus clientele. Factors affecting successful marketing include image, location, service, advertising, and innovative problem-solving. (MSE)

Managing Risk on the Final Frontier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lengyel, David M.; Newman, J. S.

2009-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) has combined the Continuous Risk Management (CRM) discipline with innovative knowledge management (KM) practices to more effectively enable the accomplishment of work. CRM enables proactive problem identification and problem solving in the complex world of rocket science. while KM is used to improve this process.

Learning Factory--Assembling Learning Content with a Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steininger, Peter

2016-01-01

Many of the challenges currently facing lectures are symptoms of problems with learning content creation, development and presentation. Learning Factory solves these problems by integrating critical innovations that have been proven over the last ten to twenty years in different industrial areas, but have not yet been brought or ported together in…

Promoting Problem-Based Learning in Retailing and Services Marketing Course Curricula with Reality Television

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenbaum, Mark S.; Otalora, Mauricio Losada; Ramírez, Germán Contreras

2015-01-01

This research provides business educators who teach retailing and services courses with an innovative way to encourage students to engage in problem-based learning solving by incorporating reality television into their curricula. The authors explore the reality television genre from several theoretical perspectives to lend support to the…

School-Based Partnerships: A Problem-Solving Strategy. COPS Innovations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uchida, Craig D.; Solomon, Shellie; Katz, Charles M.; Pappas, Cynthia E.

2006-01-01

The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office funded the School-Based Partnerships (SBP) grant program for the purpose of partnering law enforcement agencies with schools to address crime and disorder problems in and around middle and high schools. In Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999, the COPS Office awarded 275 law enforcement agencies more…

Towards a Web-Based Handbook of Generic, Process-Oriented Learning Designs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marjanovic, Olivera

2005-01-01

Process-oriented learning designs are innovative learning activities that include a set of inter-related learning tasks and are generic (could be used across disciplines). An example includes a problem-solving process widely used in problem-based learning today. Most of the existing process-oriented learning designs are not documented, let alone…

Animal and human innovation: novel problems and novel solutions.

PubMed

Reader, Simon M; Morand-Ferron, Julie; Flynn, Emma

2016-03-19

This theme issue explores how and why behavioural innovation occurs, and the consequences of innovation for individuals, groups and populations. A vast literature on human innovation exists, from the development of problem-solving in children, to the evolution of technology, to the cultural systems supporting innovation. A more recent development is a growing literature on animal innovation, which has demonstrated links between innovation and personality traits, cognitive traits, neural measures, changing conditions, and the current state of the social and physical environment. Here, we introduce these fields, define key terms and discuss the potential for fruitful exchange between the diverse fields researching innovation. Comparisons of innovation between human and non-human animals provide opportunities, but also pitfalls. We also summarize some key findings specifying the circumstances in which innovation occurs, discussing factors such as the intrinsic nature of innovative individuals and the environmental and socio-ecological conditions that promote innovation, such as necessity, opportunity and free resources. We also highlight key controversies, including the relationship between innovation and intelligence, and the notion of innovativeness as an individual-level trait. Finally, we discuss current research methods and suggest some novel approaches that could fruitfully be deployed. © 2016 The Authors.

Animal and human innovation: novel problems and novel solutions

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

This theme issue explores how and why behavioural innovation occurs, and the consequences of innovation for individuals, groups and populations. A vast literature on human innovation exists, from the development of problem-solving in children, to the evolution of technology, to the cultural systems supporting innovation. A more recent development is a growing literature on animal innovation, which has demonstrated links between innovation and personality traits, cognitive traits, neural measures, changing conditions, and the current state of the social and physical environment. Here, we introduce these fields, define key terms and discuss the potential for fruitful exchange between the diverse fields researching innovation. Comparisons of innovation between human and non-human animals provide opportunities, but also pitfalls. We also summarize some key findings specifying the circumstances in which innovation occurs, discussing factors such as the intrinsic nature of innovative individuals and the environmental and socio-ecological conditions that promote innovation, such as necessity, opportunity and free resources. We also highlight key controversies, including the relationship between innovation and intelligence, and the notion of innovativeness as an individual-level trait. Finally, we discuss current research methods and suggest some novel approaches that could fruitfully be deployed. PMID:26926273

Clinical Immersion: An Approach for Fostering Cross-disciplinary Communication and Innovation in Nursing and Engineering Students.

PubMed

Geist, Melissa J; Sanders, Robby; Harris, Kevin; Arce-Trigatti, Andrea; Hitchcock-Cass, Cary

2018-05-24

A faculty team from nursing and chemical engineering developed a course that brought together students from each discipline for cross-disciplinary, team-based clinical immersion and collaboration. Health care processes and devices are rapidly changing, and nurses are uniquely positioned to be bedside innovators to improve patient care delivery. During each clinical immersion, the student teams rotated through various hospital units where they identified problems and worked together in the university's makerspace (iMaker Space) to design and build prototypes to improve health outcomes. Data from the Critical thinking Assessment Test provided evidence of gains in critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, while the problems identified in the clinical setting and prototypes developed demonstrated the impact of bringing nursing and engineering students together to design innovations. When challenged to identify authentic problems during their clinical immersion, the teams of nursing and engineering students proposed creative solutions and developed commercially viable prototypes.

The Professional Context as a Predictor for Response Distortion in the Adaption-Innovation Inventory--An Investigation Using Mixture Distribution Item Response Theory Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, Sebastian; Freund, Philipp Alexander

2014-01-01

The Adaption-Innovation Inventory (AII), originally developed by Kirton (1976), is a widely used self-report instrument for measuring problem-solving styles at work. The present study investigates how scores on the AII are affected by different response styles. Data are collected from a combined sample (N = 738) of students, employees, and…

Retooling Chinese Primary School Teachers to Use Technology Creatively to Promote Innovation and Problem Solving Skills in Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Kar-Tin; Chalmers, Christina; Vinesh, Chandra; Yeh, Andy; Nason, Rod

2014-01-01

This paper reports on the initial phase of a Professional Learning Program (PLP) undertaken by 100 primary school teachers in China that aimed to facilitate the development of adaptive expertise in using technology to facilitate innovative science teaching and learning such as that envisaged by the Chinese Ministry of Education's (2010-2020)…

A problem with problem solving: motivational traits, but not cognition, predict success on novel operant foraging tasks.

PubMed

van Horik, Jayden O; Madden, Joah R

2016-04-01

Rates of innovative foraging behaviours and success on problem-solving tasks are often used to assay differences in cognition, both within and across species. Yet the cognitive features of some problem-solving tasks can be unclear. As such, explanations that attribute cognitive mechanisms to individual variation in problem-solving performance have revealed conflicting results. We investigated individual consistency in problem-solving performances in captive-reared pheasant chicks, Phasianus colchicus , and addressed whether success depends on cognitive processes, such as trial-and-error associative learning, or whether performances may be driven solely via noncognitive motivational mechanisms, revealed through subjects' willingness to approach, engage with and persist in their interactions with an apparatus, or via physiological traits such as body condition. While subjects' participation and success were consistent within the same problems and across similar tasks, their performances were inconsistent across different types of task. Moreover, subjects' latencies to approach each test apparatus and their attempts to access the reward were not repeatable across trials. Successful individuals did not improve their performances with experience, nor were they consistent in their techniques in repeated presentations of a task. However, individuals that were highly motivated to enter the experimental chamber were more likely to participate. Successful individuals were also faster to approach each test apparatus and more persistent in their attempts to solve the tasks than unsuccessful individuals. Our findings therefore suggest that individual differences in problem-solving success can arise from inherent motivational differences alone and hence be achieved without inferring more complex cognitive processes.

A problem with problem solving: motivational traits, but not cognition, predict success on novel operant foraging tasks

PubMed Central

van Horik, Jayden O.; Madden, Joah R.

2016-01-01

Rates of innovative foraging behaviours and success on problem-solving tasks are often used to assay differences in cognition, both within and across species. Yet the cognitive features of some problem-solving tasks can be unclear. As such, explanations that attribute cognitive mechanisms to individual variation in problem-solving performance have revealed conflicting results. We investigated individual consistency in problem-solving performances in captive-reared pheasant chicks, Phasianus colchicus, and addressed whether success depends on cognitive processes, such as trial-and-error associative learning, or whether performances may be driven solely via noncognitive motivational mechanisms, revealed through subjects' willingness to approach, engage with and persist in their interactions with an apparatus, or via physiological traits such as body condition. While subjects' participation and success were consistent within the same problems and across similar tasks, their performances were inconsistent across different types of task. Moreover, subjects' latencies to approach each test apparatus and their attempts to access the reward were not repeatable across trials. Successful individuals did not improve their performances with experience, nor were they consistent in their techniques in repeated presentations of a task. However, individuals that were highly motivated to enter the experimental chamber were more likely to participate. Successful individuals were also faster to approach each test apparatus and more persistent in their attempts to solve the tasks than unsuccessful individuals. Our findings therefore suggest that individual differences in problem-solving success can arise from inherent motivational differences alone and hence be achieved without inferring more complex cognitive processes. PMID:27122637

Recognizing Value of Educational Collaboration between High Schools and Universities Facilitated by Modern ICT

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zielinski, K.; Czekierda, L.; Malawski, F.; Stras, R.; Zielinski, S.

2017-01-01

In this paper, we address the problem of an educational gap existing between high schools and universities: many students consider their choice of field of study as inappropriate, mostly due to insufficient information regarding the discipline and the university educational process. To solve this problem, we define an innovative, information and…

Technology Education in South Africa: Evaluating an Innovative Pilot Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stables, Kay; Kimbell, Richard

2001-02-01

Researchers from Goldsmiths College were asked to undertake an evaluation of a three year curriculum initiative introducing technology education, through a learner-centred, problem solving and collaborative approach. The program was developed in a group of high schools in the North West Province of South Africa. We visited ten schools involved in the project and ten parallel schools not involved who acted as a control group. We collected data on student capability (demonstrated through an innovative test activity) and on student attitudes towards technology (demonstrated in evaluation questionnaires and in semi-structured interviews). Collectively the data indicate that in areas of knowledge and skill and in certain aspects of procedures (most notably problem solving) the project has had a marked impact. We also illustrate that greater consideration could have been given in the project to developing skills in generating and developing ideas and in graphic communication. Gender differences are noted, particularly in terms of positive attitudes illustrated by both boys and girls from schools involved in the project. Attention is drawn to the critical impact the project has had on transforming the pedagogy of the teachers from a teacher-centred didactic model, to a learner-centred, problem solving model. Some wider implications of the successes of this project are debated.

The Disintegrating World of Library Automation: Working Together, Librarians and Vendors Can Solve the Problems that Hamper Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dietz, Roland; Grant, Carl

2005-01-01

Innovations from Google[TM] and Amazon[R] are clear wake-up calls that as a profession and an industry things need to be done differently. Automation vendors and librarians must work together to ensure that the profession is positioned to take advantage of changing culture and technology to assume a rightful place at the table where rich and…

The NOx Budget Trading Program: A Collaborative, Innovative Approach to Solving a Regional Air Pollution Problem

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This article examines the development and implementation of the NOx Budget Trading Program (NBP) and the lessons the Environmental Protection Agency has learned from this seasonal emissions cap-and-trade program.

Training of Engineering Personnel for the Innovative Coal Industry: Problems and Ways of Solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaruba, Natalya; Fraltsova, Tamara; Snegireva, Tatyana

2017-11-01

The article is written based on some results of the long-term scientific research of the problem related to the urgent need to find the ways of training personnel for the innovative coal industry in the higher education system. This is due to the fundamental changes in the Russian social and economic conditions: the change in the social system and the owner of the coal industry, the emergence of new technologies in the field of coal mining and processing, and in the management of these processes. At the same time, the system of training specialists for the coal industry in the higher education institutions has largely remained unchanged: technologies and principles of training, scientific approaches and concepts take little account of the changed situation, traditional views of specialists work-ing in the university continue to dominate innovative ideas. Many innovations, especially related to technology and the principles of education, struggle to make their way into the higher education system. The article substantiates the urgency of the problem of training personnel for the innovative coal industry in the higher education system, as well as the importance of scientific analysis of the problem in order to find the ways to solve it.

Eight-dimensional methodology for innovative thinking about the case and ethics of the Mount Graham, Large Binocular Telescope project.

PubMed

Berne, Rosalyn W; Raviv, Daniel

2004-04-01

This paper introduces the Eight Dimensional Methodology for Innovative Thinking (the Eight Dimensional Methodology), for innovative problem solving, as a unified approach to case analysis that builds on comprehensive problem solving knowledge from industry, business, marketing, math, science, engineering, technology, arts, and daily life. It is designed to stimulate innovation by quickly generating unique "out of the box" unexpected and high quality solutions. It gives new insights and thinking strategies to solve everyday problems faced in the workplace, by helping decision makers to see otherwise obscure alternatives and solutions. Daniel Raviv, the engineer who developed the Eight Dimensional Methodology, and paper co-author, technology ethicist Rosalyn Berne, suggest that this tool can be especially useful in identifying solutions and alternatives for particular problems of engineering, and for the ethical challenges which arise with them. First, the Eight Dimensional Methodology helps to elucidate how what may appear to be a basic engineering problem also has ethical dimensions. In addition, it offers to the engineer a methodology for penetrating and seeing new dimensions of those problems. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the Eight Dimensional Methodology as an analytical tool for thinking about ethical challenges to engineering, the paper presents the case of the construction of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount Graham in Arizona. Analysis of the case offers to decision makers the use of the Eight Dimensional Methodology in considering alternative solutions for how they can proceed in their goals of exploring space. It then follows that same process through the second stage of exploring the ethics of each of those different solutions. The LBT project pools resources from an international partnership of universities and research institutes for the construction and maintenance of a highly sophisticated, powerful new telescope. It will soon mark the erection of the world's largest and most powerful optical telescope, designed to see fine detail otherwise visible only from space. It also represents a controversial engineering project that is being undertaken on land considered to be sacred by the local, native Apache people. As presented, the case features the University of Virginia, and its challenges in consideration of whether and how to join the LBT project consortium.

Imitation by combination: preschool age children evidence summative imitation in a novel problem-solving task.

PubMed

Subiaul, Francys; Krajkowski, Edward; Price, Elizabeth E; Etz, Alexander

2015-01-01

Children are exceptional, even 'super,' imitators but comparatively poor independent problem-solvers or innovators. Yet, imitation and innovation are both necessary components of cumulative cultural evolution. Here, we explored the relationship between imitation and innovation by assessing children's ability to generate a solution to a novel problem by imitating two different action sequences demonstrated by two different models, an example of imitation by combination, which we refer to as "summative imitation." Children (N = 181) from 3 to 5 years of age and across three experiments were tested in a baseline condition or in one of six demonstration conditions, varying in the number of models and opening techniques demonstrated. Across experiments, more than 75% of children evidenced summative imitation, opening both compartments of the problem box and retrieving the reward hidden in each. Generally, learning different actions from two different models was as good (and in some cases, better) than learning from 1 model, but the underlying representations appear to be the same in both demonstration conditions. These results show that summative imitation not only facilitates imitation learning but can also result in new solutions to problems, an essential feature of innovation and cumulative culture.

Problem-Oriented and Project-Based Learning (POPBL) as an Innovative Learning Strategy for Sustainable Development in Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehmann, M.; Christensen, P.; Du, X.; Thrane, M.

2008-01-01

In a world where systems are increasingly larger, where their boundaries are often difficult to identify, and where societal rather than technical issues play increasingly bigger roles, problems cannot be solved by applying a technical solution alone. It thus becomes important for engineers to be skilled not only in terms of their particular…

Vocabulary Notebook: A Digital Solution to General and Specific Vocabulary Learning Problems in a CLIL Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bazo, Plácido; Rodríguez, Romén; Fumero, Dácil

2016-01-01

In this paper, we will introduce an innovative software platform that can be especially useful in a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) context. This tool is called Vocabulary Notebook, and has been developed to solve all the problems that traditional (paper) vocabulary notebooks have. This tool keeps focus on the personalisation of…

Students’ Representation in Mathematical Word Problem-Solving: Exploring Students’ Self-efficacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahendra, A.; Budiarto, M. T.; Fuad, Y.

2018-01-01

This descriptive qualitative research aims at investigating student represented in mathematical word problem solving based on self-efficacy. The research subjects are two eighth graders at a school in Surabaya with equal mathematical ability consisting of two female students with high and low self-efficacy. The subjects were chosen based on the results of test of mathematical ability, documentation of the result of middle test in even semester of 2016/2017 academic year, and results of questionnaire of mathematics word problem in terms of self-efficacy scale. The selected students were asked to do mathematical word problem solving and be interviewed. The result of this study shows that students with high self-efficacy tend to use multiple representations of sketches and mathematical models, whereas students with low self-efficacy tend to use single representation of sketches or mathematical models only in mathematical word problem-solving. This study emphasizes that teachers should pay attention of student’s representation as a consideration of designing innovative learning in order to increase the self-efficacy of each student to achieve maximum mathematical achievement although it still requires adjustment to the school situation and condition.

Investment in Open Innovation Service Providers: NASA's Innovative Strategy for Solving Space Exploration Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fogarty, Jennifer A.; Rando, Cynthia; Baumann, David; Richard, Elizabeth; Davis, Jeffrey

2010-01-01

In an effort to expand routes for open communication and create additional opportunities for public involvement with NASA, Open Innovation Service Provider (OISP) methodologies have been incorporated as a tool in NASA's problem solving strategy. NASA engaged the services of two OISP providers, InnoCentive and Yet2.com, to test this novel approach and its feasibility in solving NASA s space flight challenges. The OISPs were chosen based on multiple factors including: network size and knowledge area span, established process, methodology, experience base, and cost. InnoCentive and Yet2.com each met the desired criteria; however each company s approach to Open Innovation is distinctly different. InnoCentive focuses on posting individual challenges to an established web-based network of approximately 200,000 solvers; viable solutions are sought and granted a financial award if found. Based on a specific technological need, Yet2.com acts as a talent scout providing a broad external network of experts as potential collaborators to NASA. A relationship can be established with these contacts to develop technologies and/or maintained as an established network of future collaborators. The results from the first phase of the pilot study have shown great promise for long term efficacy of utilizing the OISP methodologies. Solution proposals have been received for the challenges posted on InnoCentive and are currently under review for final disposition. In addition, Yet2.com has identified new external partners for NASA and we are in the process of understanding and acting upon these new opportunities. Compared to NASA's traditional routes for external problem solving, the OISP methodologies offered NASA a substantial savings in terms of time and resources invested. In addition, these strategies will help NASA extend beyond its current borders to build an ever expanding network of experts and global solvers.

Bringing NASA Technology Down to Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lockney, Daniel P.; Taylor, Terry L.

2018-01-01

Whether putting rovers on Mars or sustaining life in extreme conditions, NASA develops technologies to solve some of the most difficult challenges ever faced. Through its Technology Transfer Program, the agency makes the innovations behind space exploration available to industry, academia, and the general public. This paper describes the primary mechanisms through which NASA disseminates technology to solve real-life problems; illustrates recent program accomplishments; and provides examples of spinoff success stories currently impacting everyday life.

Studying PubMed usages in the field for complex problem solving: Implications for tool design

PubMed Central

Song, Jean; Tonks, Jennifer Steiner; Meng, Fan; Xuan, Weijian; Ameziane, Rafiqa

2012-01-01

Many recent studies on MEDLINE-based information seeking have shed light on scientists’ behaviors and associated tool innovations that may improve efficiency and effectiveness. Few if any studies, however, examine scientists’ problem-solving uses of PubMed in actual contexts of work and corresponding needs for better tool support. Addressing this gap, we conducted a field study of novice scientists (14 upper level undergraduate majors in molecular biology) as they engaged in a problem solving activity with PubMed in a laboratory setting. Findings reveal many common stages and patterns of information seeking across users as well as variations, especially variations in cognitive search styles. Based on findings, we suggest tool improvements that both confirm and qualify many results found in other recent studies. Our findings highlight the need to use results from context-rich studies to inform decisions in tool design about when to offer improved features to users. PMID:24376375

Encouragement for Thinking Critically

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olivares, Sonia; Saiz, Carlos; Rivas, Silvia F.

2013-01-01

Introduction: Here we report the results obtained in an innovative teaching experience that encourages the development of Critical Thinking skills through motivational intervention. Understanding Critical Thinking as a theory of action, "we think to solve problems", and accompanying this concept with a program aimed at teaching/learning…

Business Games: "A Neglected Pedagogical Tool"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gupta, Vinay K.

1972-01-01

The major value of games is the development of problem-solving and decision-making skills--a value that has not always been achieved under traditional methods of teaching or by some of the other recent innovations, such as programmed or televised lessons. (Author/JS)

Learning to be a Capable Systems Agriculturalist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bawden, Richard; Valentine, Ian

1984-01-01

Outlines innovations associated with development of a learning environment designed around problem-solving/situation-improving strategies for farming and other agricultural systems at Australia's Hawkesbury Agricultural College. The situation at the school is described; observations and reflections are noted; and conceptualizations and actions for…

A New Strategic Approach to Technology Transfer

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The principal goal of Federal research and development (R&D) is to solve problems for public benefit. Technology transfer, innovation, entrepreneurship: words and concepts that once belonged exclusively in the domain of private research enterprises, have quickly become part of everyday lexicon in Fe...

Inventive Performance Improvement of Integrated Optical Rate Sensor Using TIPS/TRIZ

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blosiu, Julian O.; Youmans, Bruce R.; Kowalick, Jim

1996-01-01

The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TIPS or also known as TRIZ) is a new scientific approach to innovative improvements of products and processes. This methodology was applied to inventively improve performance of an Integrated Optic Rate Sensor (IORS).

Undergraduate Student Advising: Options for Advertising Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marra, James L.; Schweitzer, John C.

1992-01-01

Investigates issues surrounding undergraduate student advising in advertising. Examines adviser work loads, advising practices, rewards or recognition for advising, and faculty attitudes toward advising. Finds that innovative solutions for solving advising problems are in scarce supply in business, advertising, and, presumably, journalism and mass…

Making the EZ Choice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. (AMA), of Hampton, Virginia, created the EZopt software application through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from NASA's Langley Research Center. The new software is a user-friendly tool kit that provides quick and logical solutions to complex optimal control problems. In its most basic form, EZopt converts process data into math equations and then proceeds to utilize those equations to solve problems within control systems. EZopt successfully proved its advantage when applied to short-term mission planning and onboard flight computer implementation. The technology has also solved multiple real-life engineering problems faced in numerous commercial operations. For instance, mechanical engineers use EZopt to solve control problems with robots, while chemical plants implement the application to overcome situations with batch reactors and temperature control. In the emerging field of commercial aerospace, EZopt is able to optimize trajectories for launch vehicles and perform potential space station- keeping tasks. Furthermore, the software also helps control electromagnetic devices in the automotive industry.

Wicked Problem Solvers.

PubMed

Edmondson, Amy C

2016-06-01

Companies today increasingly rely on teams that span many industries for radical innovation, especially to solve "wicked problems." So leaders have to understand how to promote collaboration when roles are uncertain, goals are shifting, expertise and organizational cultures are varied, and participants have clashing or even antagonistic perspectives. HBS professor Amy Edmondson has studied more than a dozen cross-industry innovation projects, among them the creation of a new city, a mango supply-chain transformation, and the design and construction of leading-edge buildings. She has identified the leadership practices that make successful cross-industry teams work: fostering an adaptable vision, promoting psychological safety, enabling knowledge sharing, and encouraging collaborative innovation. Though these practices are broadly familiar, their application within cross-industry teams calls for unique leadership approaches that combine flexibility, open-mindedness, humility, and fierce resolve.

Optimizing Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sisk, Dorothy A.

2014-01-01

Transforming education or business starts with transforming one's mind, and that inner transformation starts with opening up to--indeed welcoming--the inevitable bursts of creativity available to everyone. Sidney J Parnes, one of the world's leading experts on creative problem-solving (CPSI), innovation and creativity, said, "I dream a dream,…

Integrating Conceptual and Quantitative Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metzgar, Matthew

2013-01-01

There has been an emphasis in some science courses to focus more on teaching conceptual knowledge. Though certain innovations have been successful in increasing student conceptual knowledge, performance on quantitative problem-solving tasks often remains unaffected. Research also shows that students tend to maintain conceptual and quantitative…

Six Concepts to Enhance School Effectiveness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gleave, Doug

1984-01-01

An action research method, consisting of data collection, diagnosis, action planning, and evaluation, was used by the Saskatoon Schools (Canada) to facilitate school self-diagnosis and problem solving. The organizational model that helped categorize research findings on school effectiveness and innovation is explored in this article. (DF)

Discovering the Business Studio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barry, Daved; Meisiek, Stefan

2015-01-01

Over the past decade, numerous business schools have begun experimenting with studio-based inquiry, often drawing inspiration from professional studios used within art and design schools and from business and governmental studios used for problem-solving and innovation. Business school studios vary considerably in form, ranging from temporary…

Communication Technologies Promoting Educational Communities with Scholarship of Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgakopoulos, Alexia; Hawkins, Steven T.

2013-01-01

Purpose: This study aims to present Dramatic Problem Solving Facilitation Model (DPSFM) and Interactive Management (IM) as innovative alternative dispute resolution approaches that incorporate communication technologies in recording and analyzing data. DPSFM utilizes performance-based actions with facilitation methods to help participants design…

Developer/Demonstrator Directory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Far West Lab. for Educational Research and Development, San Francisco, CA.

The National Diffusion Network (NDN) was established to bring together representatives of federal, state, and local agencies to promote widespread adoption of new and innovative programs within and across state boundaries. The goal in publishing this directory is to help local educators solve problems through program improvements gleaned from…

The life-history basis of behavioural innovations

PubMed Central

Sol, Daniel; Sayol, Ferran; Ducatez, Simon; Lefebvre, Louis

2016-01-01

The evolutionary origin of innovativeness remains puzzling because innovating means responding to novel or unusual problems and hence is unlikely to be selected by itself. A plausible alternative is considering innovativeness as a co-opted product of traits that have evolved for other functions yet together predispose individuals to solve problems by adopting novel behaviours. However, this raises the question of why these adaptations should evolve together in an animal. Here, we develop the argument that the adaptations enabling animals to innovate evolve together because they are jointly part of a life-history strategy for coping with environmental changes. In support of this claim, we present comparative evidence showing that in birds, (i) innovative propensity is linked to life histories that prioritize future over current reproduction, (ii) the link is in part explained by differences in brain size, and (iii) innovative propensity and life-history traits may evolve together in generalist species that frequently expose themselves to novel or unusual conditions. Combined with previous evidence, these findings suggest that innovativeness is not a specialized adaptation but more likely part of a broader general adaptive system to cope with changes in the environment. PMID:26926277

Why Major Programs Need Innovation Support Labs: An Example from the Space Shuttle Launch Program at KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert C.; Starr, Stanley O.; Stevenson, G.; Rivera, Jorge E.; Sullivan, Steven J.

2011-01-01

For over 30 years the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has processed the Space Shuttle; handling all hands-on aspects from receiving the Orbiter, External Tanks, Solid Rocket Booster Segments, and Payloads, through certification, check-out, and assembly, and ending with fueling, count-down, and launch. A team of thousands have worked this highly complicated, yet supremely organized, process and have, as a consequence, generated an exceptional amount of technology to solve a host of problems. This paper describes the contributions of one team that formed with the express purpose to help solve some of these diverse Shuttle ground processing problems.

Effect of differentiation of self on adolescent risk behavior: test of the theoretical model.

PubMed

Knauth, Donna G; Skowron, Elizabeth A; Escobar, Melicia

2006-01-01

Innovative theoretical models are needed to explain the occurrence of high-risk sexual behaviors, alcohol and other-drug (AOD) use, and academic engagement among ethnically diverse, inner-city adolescents. The aim of this study was to test the credibility of a theoretical model based on the Bowen family systems theory to explain adolescent risk behavior. Specifically tested was the relationship between the predictor variables of differentiation of self, chronic anxiety, and social problem solving and the dependent variables of high-risk sexual behaviors, AOD use, and academic engagement. An ex post facto cross-sectional design was used to test the usefulness of the theoretical model. Data were collected from 161 racially/ethnically diverse, inner-city high school students, 14 to 19 years of age. Participants completed self-report written questionnaires, including the Differentiation of Self Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Social Problem Solving for Adolescents, Drug Involvement Scale for Adolescents, and the Sexual Behavior Questionnaire. Consistent with the model, higher levels of differentiation of self related to lower levels of chronic anxiety (p < .001) and higher levels of social problem solving (p < .01). Higher chronic anxiety was related to lower social problem solving (p < .001). A test of mediation showed that chronic anxiety mediates the relationship between differentiation of self and social problem solving (p < .001), indicating that differentiation influences social problem solving through chronic anxiety. Higher levels of social problem solving were related to less drug use (p < .05), less high-risk sexual behaviors (p < .01), and an increase in academic engagement (p < .01). Findings support the theoretical model's credibility and provide evidence that differentiation of self is an important cognitive factor that enables adolescents to manage chronic anxiety and motivates them to use effective problem solving, resulting in less involvement in health-comprising behaviors and increased academic engagement.

Personality and problem-solving performance explain competitive ability in the wild.

PubMed

Cole, Ella F; Quinn, John L

2012-03-22

Competitive ability is a major determinant of fitness, but why individuals vary so much in their competitiveness remains only partially understood. One increasingly prevalent view is that realized competitive ability varies because it represents alternative strategies that arise because of the costs associated with competitiveness. Here we use a population of great tits (Parus major) to explore whether individual differences in competitive ability when foraging can be explained by two traits that have previously been linked to alternative behavioural strategies: the personality trait 'exploration behaviour' and a simple cognitive trait, 'innovative problem-solving performance'. We assayed these traits under standardized conditions in captivity and then measured competitive ability at feeders with restricted access in the wild. Competitive ability was repeatable within individual males across days and correlated positively with exploration behaviour, representing the first such demonstration of a link between a personality trait and both competitive ability and food intake in the wild. Competitive ability was also simultaneously negatively correlated with problem-solving performance; individuals who were poor competitors were good at problem-solving. Rather than being the result of variation in 'individual quality', our results support the hypothesis that individual variation in competitive ability can be explained by alternative behavioural strategies.

Teambuilding, Innovation and the Engineering Communication Interface

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prescott, David; El-Sakran, Tharwat; Albasha, Lutfi; Aloul, Fadi; Al-Assaf, Yousef

2012-01-01

Recent engineering industry-based research has identified a number of skill deficiencies in graduating engineers. Emphasis on communication and teamwork informed by attributes of self management, problem solving and mutual accountability have been recognized as important needs by The Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET of the United…

Methods & Strategies: Sculpt-a-Scientist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Julie; Rich, Ann

2014-01-01

Elementary science experiences help develop students' views of science and scientific interests. As a result, teachers have been charged with the task of inspiring, cultivating, recruiting, and training the scientists needed to create tomorrow's innovations and solve future problems (Business Roundtable 2005). Who will these future…

Using Interactive Whiteboards in Teaching Retail Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greene, Marla; Kirpalani, Nicole

2013-01-01

Undergraduate marketing students have sometimes been found to lack mathematical skills. It can therefore be challenging for instructors to effectively teach courses that depend on mathematical problem-solving skills. This paper discusses the use of interactive whiteboards as an innovative way to teach retail mathematics effectively. The authors…

Evaluation of Learning Gains through Integrated STEM Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corlu, Mehmet Ali; Aydin, Emin

2016-01-01

New approaches to instruction are needed in all educational levels in order to develop the skills suited to the twenty-first century (i.e., inquiry, problem solving, innovation, entrepreneurship, technological communication, experimental design, and investigativeness). This research evaluated the outcomes of an approach aiming to develop such…

Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills in the Workplace.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wojcik, Thomas T.

1996-01-01

Hoechst Celanese, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical and chemical companies, used an Innovation Model as a framework for integrating the technology, business, and human factors needed to solve problems and create business successes. The model involved three elements (expertise, skills, and motivation). An experiential course in principles…

Pull and Push in Educational Innovation: Study of an Interfaculty Programme.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, S. A.; Brown, Valerie A.

1981-01-01

A multidisciplinary, holistic course was introduced at the Australian National University to relate scientific evidence to the demands of decision making and problem solving. Student participants are shown to improve in independent judgment and decline in dogmatism. Program design and implementation are discussed. (MSE)

How Does the Degree of Guidance Support Students' Metacognitive and Problem Solving Skills in Educational Robotics?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atmatzidou, Soumela; Demetriadis, Stavros; Nika, Panagiota

2018-02-01

Educational robotics (ER) is an innovative learning tool that offers students opportunities to develop higher-order thinking skills. This study investigates the development of students' metacognitive (MC) and problem-solving (PS) skills in the context of ER activities, implementing different modes of guidance in two student groups (11-12 years old, N1 = 30, and 15-16 years old, N2 = 22). The students of each age group were involved in an 18-h group-based activity after being randomly distributed in two conditions: "minimal" (with minimal MC and PS guidance) and "strong" (with strong MC and PS guidance). Evaluations were based on the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory measuring students' metacognitive awareness and on a think-aloud protocol asking students to describe the process they would follow to solve a certain robot-programming task. The results suggest that (a) strong guidance in solving problems can have a positive impact on students' MC and PS skills and (b) students reach eventually the same level of MC and PS skills development independently of their age and gender.

Imitation by combination: preschool age children evidence summative imitation in a novel problem-solving task

PubMed Central

Subiaul, Francys; Krajkowski, Edward; Price, Elizabeth E.; Etz, Alexander

2015-01-01

Children are exceptional, even ‘super,’ imitators but comparatively poor independent problem-solvers or innovators. Yet, imitation and innovation are both necessary components of cumulative cultural evolution. Here, we explored the relationship between imitation and innovation by assessing children’s ability to generate a solution to a novel problem by imitating two different action sequences demonstrated by two different models, an example of imitation by combination, which we refer to as “summative imitation.” Children (N = 181) from 3 to 5 years of age and across three experiments were tested in a baseline condition or in one of six demonstration conditions, varying in the number of models and opening techniques demonstrated. Across experiments, more than 75% of children evidenced summative imitation, opening both compartments of the problem box and retrieving the reward hidden in each. Generally, learning different actions from two different models was as good (and in some cases, better) than learning from 1 model, but the underlying representations appear to be the same in both demonstration conditions. These results show that summative imitation not only facilitates imitation learning but can also result in new solutions to problems, an essential feature of innovation and cumulative culture. PMID:26441782

Environmental and genetic determinants of innovativeness in a natural population of birds

PubMed Central

Quinn, John L.; Cole, Ella F.; Reed, Thomas E.

2016-01-01

Much of the evidence for the idea that individuals differ in their propensity to innovate and solve new problems has come from studies on captive primates. Increasingly, behavioural ecologists are studying innovativeness in wild populations, and uncovering links with functional behaviour and fitness-related traits. The relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in driving this variation, however, remains unknown. Here, we present the results of the first large-scale study to examine a range of causal factors underlying innovative problem-solving performance (PSP) among 831 great tits (Parus major) temporarily taken into captivity. Analyses show that PSP in this population: (i) was linked to a variety of individual factors, including age, personality and natal origin (immigrant or local-born); (ii) was influenced by natal environment, because individuals had a lower PSP when born in poor-quality habitat, or where local population density was high, leading to cohort effects. Links with many of the individual and environmental factors were present only in some years. In addition, PSP (iii) had little or no measurable heritability, as estimated by a Bayesian animal model; and (iv) was not influenced by maternal effects. Despite previous reports of links between PSP and a range of functional traits in this population, the analyses here suggest that innovativeness had weak if any evolutionary potential. Instead most individual variation was caused by phenotypic plasticity driven by links with other behavioural traits and by environmentally mediated developmental stress. Heritability estimates are population, time and context specific, however, and more studies are needed to determine the generality of these effects. Our results shed light on the causes of innovativeness within populations, and add to the debate on the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in driving phenotypic variation within populations. PMID:26926275

Research on Capturing of Customer Requirements Based on Innovation Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

junwu, Ding; dongtao, Yang; zhenqiang, Bao

To exactly and effectively capture customer requirements information, a new customer requirements capturing modeling method was proposed. Based on the analysis of function requirement models of previous products and the application of technology system evolution laws of the Theory of Innovative Problem Solving (TRIZ), the customer requirements could be evolved from existing product designs, through modifying the functional requirement unit and confirming the direction of evolution design. Finally, a case study was provided to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.

DEFENSE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Adopting Best Practices Can Improve Innovation Investments and Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

automation, and digitalization technologies. Siemens’s products include gas, steam, and wind turbines , integrated power plant solutions, power grid...Quick Reaction responds to urgent technology needs and solves problems for warfighters. Existing systems refers to projects responsive to immediate...polymer, chemical and biological science to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems , such as the need for fresh food, safer and

Enabling School Structure, Mindfulness, and Teacher Empowerment: Test of a Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watts, Donald M.

2009-01-01

This study looked at the relationship of an enabling school structure and mindfulness toward teacher empowerment. An enabling school structure is the perception in which leadership fosters collaboration, innovation, and trust among participants. Its rules and procedures are flexible and promote problem-solving (Hoy & Sweetland, 2000, 2001).…

Teachers' Innovative Change within Countrywide Reform: A Case Study in Rwanda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uworwabayeho, Alphonse

2009-01-01

This article presents practical perspectives on mathematics teacher change through results of collaborative research with two mathematics secondary school teachers in order to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics in Rwanda. The 2006 national mathematics curriculum reform stresses pedagogies that enhance problem-solving, critical…

Critical Skills Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 2010

2010-01-01

As the U.S. economy begins to show signs of improvement, executives say they need a workforce fully equipped with skills beyond just the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic (the three Rs). Skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation (the four Cs) will become even more…

A Model Technology Educator: Thomas A. Edison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pretzer, William S.; Rogers, George E.; Bush, Jeffery

2007-01-01

Reflecting back over a century ago to the small village of Menlo Park, New Jersey provides insight into a remarkable visionary and an exceptional role model for today's problem-solving and design-focused technology educator: Thomas A. Edison, inventor, innovator, and model technology educator. Since Edison could not simply apply existing knowledge…

76 FR 37090 - Final Priorities; Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-24

... development of innovative technologies that are designed to solve particular rehabilitation problems, or to... of universal design in its product research and development. Universal design is the design of... adaptation or specialized design (North Carolina State University, 1997, The Center for Universal Design...

Integrating Innovation Skills in an Introductory Engineering Design-Build Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liebenberg, Leon; Mathews, Edward Henry

2012-01-01

Modern engineering curricula have started to emphasize design, mostly in the form of design-build experiences. Apart from instilling important problem-solving skills, such pedagogical frameworks address the critical social skill aspects of engineering education due to their team-based, project-based nature. However, it is required of the…

Robots, Programming and Coding, Oh My!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geist, Eugene

2016-01-01

Today's children need learning opportunities from cradle to career that build the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in our interconnected and constantly changing world. This means putting 21st century skills, including creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and problem solving, at the center of learning, both in and out of school. As…

Design Features of Pedagogically-Sound Software in Mathematics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haase, Howard; And Others

Weaknesses in educational software currently available in the domain of mathematics are discussed. A technique that was used for the design and production of mathematics software aimed at improving problem-solving skills which combines sound pedagogy and innovative programming is presented. To illustrate the design portion of this technique, a…

Facilitating Proportional Reasoning through Worked Examples: Two Classroom-Based Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bentley, Brendan; Yates, Gregory C. R.

2017-01-01

Within mathematics teaching, ways to help students resolve proportional reasoning problems remains a topical issue. This study sought to investigate how a simple innovative procedure could be introduced to enhance skill acquisition. In two classroom-based experiments, 12-year-old students were asked to solve proportional reasoning mathematics…

Big Ideas and Small Solutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tennant, Roy

2004-01-01

Small solutions solve discrete, well-bounded problems and can be pieces of larger solutions. They can move things forward by mixing and matching available components in new and previously unimagined ways. A number of innovations, which at first glance are completely unrelated, can come together and create important synergics. This article…

Hidden in the Middle: Culture, Value and Reward in Bioinformatics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Jamie; Bartlett, Andrew; Atkinson, Paul

2016-01-01

Bioinformatics--the so-called shotgun marriage between biology and computer science--is an interdiscipline. Despite interdisciplinarity being seen as a virtue, for having the capacity to solve complex problems and foster innovation, it has the potential to place projects and people in anomalous categories. For example, valorised…

Innovative Model for Information Assurance Curriculum: A Teaching Hospital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goel, Sanjay; Pon, Damira; Bloniarz, Peter; Bangert-Drowns, Robert; Berg, George; Delio, Vince; Iwan, Laura; Hurbanek, Thomas; Schuman, Sandoor P.; Gangolly, Jagdish; Baykal, Adnan; Hobbs, Jon

2006-01-01

A novel idea for information security education created by the New York State Center for Information Forensics and Assurance (CIFA) is presented. This new approach incorporates a teaching hospital model originally developed for medical training. In this model, information security problems from industry and government are solved and abstracted…

Dancing with STEAM: Creative Movement Generates Electricity for Young Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson Steele, Jamie; Fulton, Lori; Fanning, Lisa

2016-01-01

The integration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) serves to develop creative thinking and twenty-first-century skills in the classroom (Maeda 2012). Learning through STEAM promotes novelty, innovation, ingenuity, and task-specific purposefulness to solve real-world problems--all aspects that define creativity. Lisa…

Identifying Key Components of Teaching and Learning in a STEM School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, Judith; Roth McDuffie, Amy; French, Brian

2015-01-01

This study was conducted at an innovative science, technology, engineering, and mathematics high school, providing a rich contextual description of the teaching and learning at the school, specifically focusing on problem solving and inquiry approaches, and students' motivation, social interactions, and collaborative work. Data were collected…

Coding Skills as a Success Factor for a Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuomi, Pauliina; Multisilta, Jari Antero; Saarikoski, Petri; Suominen, Jaakko

2018-01-01

Digitalization is one of the most promising ways to increase productivity in the public sector and is needed to reform the economy by creating new innovation related jobs. The implementation of digital services requires problem solving, design skills, logical thinking, an understanding of how computers and networks operate, and programming…

Technology to Enhance Learning in the Multi-Lingual Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollenbeck, James E.; Hollenbeck, Darina Z.

2004-01-01

Research and various studies have showed that using multimedia in the classroom increases creativity, innovation problem solving and improves communication between people. Technology addresses equity and access issues for learners. Technology allows educators to refine teaching strategies and learning processes, and to be more inclusive of all…

Using Technology to Bridge the Cultures Together in the Multicultural Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollenbeck, James; Hollenbeck, Darina

2009-01-01

Research and various studies have showed that using multimedia in the classroom increases creativity, innovation problem solving and improves communication between people. Technology addresses equity and access issues for learners. Using technology allows educators to refine teaching strategies and learning processes, and to be more inclusive of…

Presenting: Research and Educational Innovation with Video Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Méndez, Laura; del Moral, M. Esther

2015-01-01

Video games are starting to be considered for uses other than mere entertainment or recreation--as vehicles that promote implicit learning, given their attractive formula for training different types of cognitive skills (observation, memory, problem solving, etc.); as catalysts for learning processes; and even as learning contexts in themselves.…

Computational Participation: Understanding Coding as an Extension of Literacy Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Quinn; O'Byrne, W. Ian; Kafai, Yasmin B.

2016-01-01

Understanding the computational concepts on which countless digital applications run offers learners the opportunity to no longer simply read such media but also become more discerning end users and potentially innovative "writers" of new media themselves. To think computationally--to solve problems, to design systems, and to process and…

Project-Based Learning in Electronic Technology: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Li

2015-01-01

A case study of project-based learning (PBL) implemented in Tianjin University of Technology and Education is presented. This multidiscipline project is innovated to meet the novel requirements of industry while keeping its traditional effectiveness in driving students to apply knowledge to practice and problem-solving. The implementation of PBL…

Steps toward a Technology for the Diffusion of Innovations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stolz, Stephanie B.

Research-based technologies for solving problems currently exist but are not being widely implemented. Although user variables, program effectiveness, and political considerations have been documented as correlates of implementation, general non-implementation of the technology still exists, due to a lack of methods. A technology of dissemination…

Technology Education in Elementary School: Why and How?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alamaki, Ari

This paper discusses using technology education in the elementary school to encourage innovation and adaptation, technological literacy, and creative problem solving. Technology education is seen based on hands-on activities where pupils make things and become familiar with their technological environment. The hands-on activity should evolve like…

Push-Back Leadership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tetenbaum, Toby J.; Tetenbaum, Hilary

2003-01-01

Describes push-back leadership, a model of leadership based on the work of Ronald Heifetz and Martin Linksky. Argues that the two key roles of the leader are to give the work back to people and to keep them within a healthy range of disequilibrium that generates creativity and innovation to solve organizational problems. (Author/LRW)

TPACK Updated to Measure Pre-Service Teachers' Twenty-First Century Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valtonen, Teemu; Sointu, Erkko; Kukkonen, Jari; Kontkanen, Sini; Lambert, Matthew C.; Mäkitalo-Siegl, Kati

2017-01-01

Twenty-first century skills have attracted significant attention in recent years. Students of today and the future are expected to have the skills necessary for collaborating, problem solving, creative and innovative thinking, and the ability to take advantage of information and communication technology (ICT) applications. Teachers must be…

Team-Based Activities to Promote Engaged Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lightner, Sharon; Bober, Marcie J.; Willi, Caroline

2007-01-01

Like their counterparts in other disciplines, accounting educators are gradually moving away from talk-and-chalk lectures to project-based learning, real-world problem solving, and team collaboration. Slower to change are the ways in which the impact of these innovative teaching methods have been assessed, with student reactions and traditional…

PGDnet: A New Problem-Solving Virtual Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez, Emilio; Rodriguez-Marciel, Cristina

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to provide information about the virtual learning environment known as PGDnet (the Spanish acronym for "Plataforma de Gestion Docente" or Educational Management Platform in English), which was developed by the innovative education group at the Technical University of Madrid known as "Nuevas metodologias…

Innovative Product Design Based on Comprehensive Customer Requirements of Different Cognitive Levels

PubMed Central

Zhao, Wu; Zheng, Yake; Wang, Rui; Wang, Chen

2014-01-01

To improve customer satisfaction in innovative product design, a topology structure of customer requirements is established and an innovative product approach is proposed. The topology structure provides designers with reasonable guidance to capture the customer requirements comprehensively. With the aid of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the importance of the customer requirements is evaluated. Quality function deployment (QFD) is used to translate customer requirements into product and process design demands and pick out the technical requirements which need urgent improvement. In this way, the product is developed in a more targeted way to satisfy the customers. the theory of innovative problems solving (TRIZ) is used to help designers to produce innovative solutions. Finally, a case study of automobile steering system is used to illustrate the application of the proposed approach. PMID:25013862

Innovative product design based on comprehensive customer requirements of different cognitive levels.

PubMed

Li, Xiaolong; Zhao, Wu; Zheng, Yake; Wang, Rui; Wang, Chen

2014-01-01

To improve customer satisfaction in innovative product design, a topology structure of customer requirements is established and an innovative product approach is proposed. The topology structure provides designers with reasonable guidance to capture the customer requirements comprehensively. With the aid of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the importance of the customer requirements is evaluated. Quality function deployment (QFD) is used to translate customer requirements into product and process design demands and pick out the technical requirements which need urgent improvement. In this way, the product is developed in a more targeted way to satisfy the customers. the theory of innovative problems solving (TRIZ) is used to help designers to produce innovative solutions. Finally, a case study of automobile steering system is used to illustrate the application of the proposed approach.

A new prize system for drug innovation.

PubMed

Gandjour, Afschin; Chernyak, Nadja

2011-10-01

We propose a new prize (reward) system for drug innovation which pays a price based on the value of health benefits accrued over time. Willingness to pay for a unit of health benefit is determined based on the cost-effectiveness ratio of palliative/nursing care. We solve the problem of limited information on the value of health benefits by mathematically relating reward size to the uncertainty of information including information on potential drug overuse. The proposed prize system offers optimal incentives to invest in research and development because it rewards the innovator for the social value of drug innovation. The proposal is envisaged as a non-voluntary alternative to the current patent system and reduces excessive marketing of innovators and generic drug producers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solving problems in social-ecological systems: definition, practice and barriers of transdisciplinary research.

PubMed

Angelstam, Per; Andersson, Kjell; Annerstedt, Matilda; Axelsson, Robert; Elbakidze, Marine; Garrido, Pablo; Grahn, Patrik; Jönsson, K Ingemar; Pedersen, Simen; Schlyter, Peter; Skärbäck, Erik; Smith, Mike; Stjernquist, Ingrid

2013-03-01

Translating policies about sustainable development as a social process and sustainability outcomes into the real world of social-ecological systems involves several challenges. Hence, research policies advocate improved innovative problem-solving capacity. One approach is transdisciplinary research that integrates research disciplines, as well as researchers and practitioners. Drawing upon 14 experiences of problem-solving, we used group modeling to map perceived barriers and bridges for researchers' and practitioners' joint knowledge production and learning towards transdisciplinary research. The analysis indicated that the transdisciplinary research process is influenced by (1) the amount of traditional disciplinary formal and informal control, (2) adaptation of project applications to fill the transdisciplinary research agenda, (3) stakeholder participation, and (4) functional team building/development based on self-reflection and experienced leadership. Focusing on implementation of green infrastructure policy as a common denominator for the delivery of ecosystem services and human well-being, we discuss how to diagnose social-ecological systems, and use knowledge production and collaborative learning as treatments.

Technology Management Education for Students with Educational Background of Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoyama, Atsushi; Abe, Atsushi

Japanese industry has been encouraged to transform from a mode of ‘recovery’ to one of 'front-runner' in effective innovation and creation of new businesses and markets based in accomplishments of basic research. Graduate School of Technology Management at Ritsumeikan University strives to not only offer knowledge and skills, but also business experiences to its students so that they may acquire the abilities to discover and solve practical problems logically, analytically and systematically. To achieve these aims, it has inaugurated the Ritsumeikan University Practicum Program by enhancing existing internship programs. Under the guidance of its faculties, this program will allow its students a chance to set and solve actual problems in real world business environments.

Curriculum system for experimental teaching in optoelectronic information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di, Hongwei; Chen, Zhenqiang; Zhang, Jun; Luo, Yunhan

2017-08-01

The experimental curriculum system is directly related to talent training quality. Based on the careful investigation of the developing request of the optoelectronic information talents in the new century, the experimental teaching goal and the content, the teaching goal was set to cultivate students' innovative consciousness, innovative thinking, creativity and problem solving ability. Through straightening out the correlation among the experimental teaching in the main courses, the whole structure design was phased out, as well as the hierarchical curriculum connotation. According to the ideas of "basic, comprehensive, applied and innovative", the construction of experimental teaching system called "triple-three" was put forward for the optoelectronic information experimental teaching practice.

Public-Private Collaborations with Earth-Space Benefits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Elizabeth E.

2014-01-01

The NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) was established in October 2010 to promote collaborative problem solving and project development to advance human health and performance innovations benefiting life in space and on Earth. The NHHPC, which now boasts over 135 corporate, government, academic and non-profit members, has convened four successful workshops and engaged in multiple collaborative projects. The center is currently developing a streamlined partner engagement process to capture technical needs and opportunities of NHHPC members, facilitate partnership development, and establish and manage collaborative projects for NASA. The virtual center facilitates member engagement through a variety of vehicles, including annual inperson workshops, webcasts, quarterly electronic newsletters, web postings, and the new system for partner engagement. The most recent NHHPC workshop was conducted in November 2013 on the topic of "Accelerating Innovation: New Organizational Business Models," and focused on various collaborative approaches successfully used by organizations to achieve their goals. The powerful notion of collaboration across sectors to solve intractable problems was recently highlighted in Williams Eggers' book "The Solution Revolution,"i which provides numerous examples of how business, government and social enterprises partner to solve tough problems. Mr. Eggers was a keynote speaker at the workshop, along with Harvard Business School, Jump Associates, and the Conrad Foundation. The robust program also included an expert panel addressing collaboration across sectors, four interactive breakout sessions, and a concluding keynote on innovative ways to increase science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education by NASA Associate Administrator for Education, Leland Melvin. The NHHPC forum also provides a platform for international partners to interact on many topics. Members from around the world include ISS International Partner JAXA; the World Biomimetic Foundation in Spain who is interested in advancing the use of biomimicry to provide technical solutions in many industries; Satellite Application Catapult in London, England who interested in pursuing U.S. collaborations with the Space and Life Sciences Innovation Centre under development in Scotland; and DLR in Cologne, Germany who developed :envihab, a collaborative facility for partners to pursue research and technology projects of mutual interest. The NHHPC has sponsored two global networking forums on innovation by partners Wyle, NASA, and DLR, was featured in the 2013 Humans in Space Symposium Panel on "NHHPC and :envihab - reach out to Future Markets," and is working on an international meeting for Spring 2014 in Cologne with :envihab.

Adoption and implementation of mandated diabetes registries by community health centers.

PubMed

Helfrich, Christian D; Savitz, Lucy A; Swiger, Kathleen D; Weiner, Bryan J

2007-07-01

Innovations adopted by healthcare organizations are often externally mandated. However, few studies examine how mandated innovations progress from adoption to sustained effective use. This study uses Rogers's model of organizational innovation to explore community health centers' (CHCs') mandated adoption and implementation of disease registries in the federal Health Disparities Collaborative (HDC). Case studies were conducted on six CHCs in North Carolina participating in the HDC on type 2 diabetes mellitus. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with key staff, and from site-level and individual-level surveys. Although disease registry adoption and implementation were mandated, CHCs exercised prerogative in the timing of registry adoption and the functions emphasized. Executive and medical director involvement, often directly on the HDC teams, was the single most salient influence on adoption and implementation. Staff members' personal experience with diabetes also provided context and gave registries added significance. Participants lauded HDC's technique of small-scale, rapid-cycle change, but valued even more shared problem solving and peer learning among HDC teams. However, lack of cross-training, inadequate resources, and staff turnover posed serious threats to sustainability of the registries. The present study illustrates the usefulness of Rogers's model for studying mandated innovation and highlights several key factors, including direct, personal involvement of organizational leadership, and shared problem solving and peer learning facilitated by the HDC. However, these six CHCs elected to participate early in the HDC, and may not be typical of North Carolina's remaining CHCs. Furthermore, most face important long-term challenges that threaten routinization.

An innovative artificial bee colony algorithm and its application to a practical intercell scheduling problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dongni; Guo, Rongtao; Zhan, Rongxin; Yin, Yong

2018-06-01

In this article, an innovative artificial bee colony (IABC) algorithm is proposed, which incorporates two mechanisms. On the one hand, to provide the evolutionary process with a higher starting level, genetic programming (GP) is used to generate heuristic rules by exploiting the elements that constitute the problem. On the other hand, to achieve a better balance between exploration and exploitation, a leading mechanism is proposed to attract individuals towards a promising region. To evaluate the performance of IABC in solving practical and complex problems, it is applied to the intercell scheduling problem with limited transportation capacity. It is observed that the GP-generated rules incorporate the elements of the most competing human-designed rules, and they are more effective than the human-designed ones. Regarding the leading mechanism, the strategies of the ageing leader and multiple challengers make the algorithm less likely to be trapped in local optima.

Prototypes Are Key Heuristic Information in Insight Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Wenjing; Dietrich, Arne; Liu, Peiduo; Ming, Dan; Jin, Yule; Nusbaum, Howard C.; Qiu, Jiang; Zhang, Qinglin

2016-01-01

Evidence from a range of fields indicates that inventions are often inspired by drawing a parallel to solutions found in nature. However, the cognitive mechanism of this process is not well understood. The cognitive mechanism of heuristic prototype in scientific innovation was tested with 3 experiments. First, 84 historical accounts of important…

A Case Study of 21st Century Skills Programs and Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLachlan, Kurt

2012-01-01

Skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation are necessary for the 21st Century. The economy and the forums of international business and globalization demand skilled workers. Some schools in the United States are producing such workers, however it is unclear the programs and practices these schools utilize. This study…

Take a Technowalk: To Learn about Materials & Structures. Springboards for Teaching Series. Teaching Innovations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Peter; Jacobson, Saryl

A Technowalk is a walk through the community to explore the technology found there, looking for common materials or particular kinds of structures. Technowalks involve the investigating, designing, testing, trouble-shooting, and problem-solving that the technological process provides. This book provides suggestions for 10 Technowalk activities for…

An Evaluation of the Assessment of Graphical Education at Junior Cycle in the Irish System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delahunty, Thomas; Seery, Niall; Lynch, Raymond

2012-01-01

Junior Certificate Technical Graphics was introduced in Ireland in 1991 and aimed to develop innovative problem solving aptitudes and knowledge of plane and descriptive geometry (NCCA 1991). Despite the philosophy of breadth and balance (NCCA 2004) associated with educational outcomes in the Junior Certificate curriculum, many subjects, Technical…

The Effect of Interactive Computerized Simulation on Approach to Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Claudia

2010-01-01

Competency standards require baccalaureate nursing graduates to demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and the ability to solve complex problems. In an effort to achieve these program outcomes, educators seek empirical evidence related to the learning process and the effect of innovative teaching strategies, such as simulation, on the learner.…

Collaborative Research Seed Grants for Integrating Knowledges and Creating New Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freitag, Amy

2015-01-01

Incorporating different ways of knowing in research and management has the potential to bring creativity to environmental problem-solving through integrating ways of knowing and innovation via co-producing knowledge. To gain these benefits, North Carolina Sea Grant Extension offers small annual grants called Fisheries Resource Grants to paired…

Realization of a Desired Future: Innovation in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Findikoglu, Fuat; Ilhan, Dilek

2016-01-01

Today and tomorrow, the world needs individuals who can manipulate critical and creative thinking skills to solve problems as a team. With technology, the way knowledge is obtained, constructed and communicated have completely transformed and altered. When it comes to education, it is a matter of question whether education is capable of creating…

Mathematical Connections and Their Relationship to Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching Geometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eli, Jennifer A.; Mohr-Schroeder, Margaret J.; Lee, Carl W.

2013-01-01

Effective competition in a rapidly growing global economy places demands on a society to produce individuals capable of higher-order critical thinking, creative problem solving, connection making, and innovation. We must look to our teacher education programs to help prospective middle grades teachers build the mathematical habits of mind that…

Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age, Second Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisenberg, Michael B.; Lowe, Carrie A.; Spitzer, Kathleen L.

2004-01-01

This is the definitive work on information literacy. Michael Eisenberg, known worldwide as one of the originators of the innovative Big6 Information Problem Solving Process, and frequent presenters on the subject Carrie A. Lowe and Kathleen L. Spitzer have extensively revised and updated this long-awaited second edition. Tracing the history of…

Grand Challenges and Chemical Engineering Curriculum--Developments at TU Dortmund University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kockmann, Norbert; Lutze, Philip; Gorak, Andrzej

2016-01-01

Chemical processing industry is progressively focusing their research activities and product placements in the areas of Grand Challenges (or Global Megatrends) such as mobility, energy, communication, or health care and food. Innovation in all these fields requires solving high complex problems, rapid product development as well as dealing with…

Decisions Matter: Using a Decision-Making Framework with Contemporary Student Affairs Case Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaccaro, Annemarie; McCoy, Brian; Champagne, Delight; Siegel, Michael

2013-01-01

"Decisions Matter" is an innovative guide designed to help novice student affairs professionals develop effective decision-making skills. Written by seasoned student affairs educators and practitioners, this book contains a systematic method for solving a wide range of complex problems. In this exceptional instructional tool, the authors…

A 21st-Century Art Room: The Remix of "Creativity" and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, Courtney

2010-01-01

This article describes the author's innovative approach to facilitating students' imaginations and critical thinking through a computer animation project. The author conducted a qualitative case study in a computer animation unit and explored urban high school students' use of creative problem-solving strategies, defined as techniques that offer…

Educating for Creativity and Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treffinger, Donald J.; Schoonover, Patricia F.; Selby, Edwin C.

2012-01-01

Today, more than ever before, we must all be able to think creatively, manage change, and solve complex, open-ended problems. Education today is different in its structure and practice than it was in any previous generation, not just because of the impact of technology and the Internet, but also because, across the lifespan, every person studies,…

Secondary Science Teachers, the Internet, and Curriculum Development: A Community of Explorers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saferstein, Barry; Souviney, Randall

1998-01-01

In the Community of Explorers Project (CoE) high school teachers and students engaged in scientific problem solving using advanced network technology and innovative pedagogy. Analysis of e-mail indicated the important effects of organizational and occupational cultures on the application of technology in classrooms and on the development of a…

User Acceptance of Mobile Knowledge Management Learning System: Design and Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Hong-Ren; Huang, Hui-Ling

2010-01-01

Thanks to advanced developments in wireless technology, learners can now utilize digital learning websites at anytime and anywhere. Mobile learning captures more and more attention in the wave of digital learning. Evolving use of knowledge management plays an important role to enhance problem solving skills. Recently, innovative approaches for…

Innovative and Creative K-12 Engineering Strategies: Implications of Pre-Service Teacher Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mativo, John M.; Park, Jae H.

2012-01-01

This study sought to find student perceptions of how the engineering design process is learned and applied by pre-service teachers at the University of Georgia. The course description read "demonstration and hands-on learning, including problem solving, designing, construction and testing of prototypes, and activities that increase aesthetic,…

Preparing Early Childhood Practitioners for Work in Multiple Settings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roderick, Jessie A.

A number of professional qualities might be developed in a program designed to prepare early childhood teachers to function in multiple settings. Solving problems, assessing situations, communicating with a range of people, and being flexible and innovative are such qualities. But one can also view prepararing educators to function in multiple…

Learning Domains and the Process of Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, Anna; Petocz, Peter

2004-01-01

Creativity is viewed in different ways in different disciplines: in education it is called "innovation", in business it is "entrepreneurship", in mathematics it is often equated with "problem solving", and in music it is "performance" or "composition". A creative product in different domains is measured against the norms of that domain, with its…

Fifth Graders' Creativity in Inventions with and without Creative Articulation Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kress, Darcie K.; Rule, Audrey C.

2017-01-01

Industry and authors of 21st Century Skill Frameworks are calling for student proficiency in creativity, problem-solving, innovation, collaboration, and communication skills. This project involved 13 fifth grade gifted students in inventing products for a specified audience with a set of given materials, time limit, and topic constraints. The…

The Power of Noticing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Betty K.

2013-01-01

Students are so creative! How can teachers help them use that creativity to learn? This question haunted the author while she was teaching art in a K-8 public school. In art class, she frequently saw students demonstrate refreshingly original ideas in their drawings and paintings as well as innovative problem solving related to their projects.…

Using the Internet and Computer Technologies in Learning/Teaching Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geladze, Darejan

2015-01-01

According to the new national curriculum innovations are in a successful outcome for the introduction of many factors, the most important things are learning environment, which includes the suitable equipment, place, space utilization, and the selection of learning resources to support teaching and learning problem solving process, by creating the…

Ohio's Economic Advantage. Enhancing Workforce Performance. Improving Business Results. Increasing Global Competitiveness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio Board of Regents, Columbus.

This booklet contains 36 one-page "success stories" that reveal how the two-year colleges and the vocational and adult education system in Ohio are responding to business and industry needs with innovative problem solving and effective partnerships. Each profile includes a challenge, a solution, results, and comments from business…

Kidding around with Design Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fouché, Jaunine; Crowley, Joel

2017-01-01

Elementary students at the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania, don't just learn knowledge and skills; they put it to work. The school's Innovation Lab for grades K-4 offers students hands-on opportunities to use design thinking to solve problems. In this article, two of the school's educators describe how 2nd graders used design…

Climate change: could it help develop 'adaptive expertise'?

PubMed

Bell, Erica; Horton, Graeme; Blashki, Grant; Seidel, Bastian M

2012-05-01

Preparing health practitioners to respond to the rising burden of disease from climate change is emerging as a priority in health workforce policy and planning. However, this issue is hardly represented in the medical education research. The rapidly evolving wide range of direct and indirect consequences of climate change will require health professionals to have not only broad content knowledge but also flexibility and responsiveness to diverse regional conditions as part of complex health problem-solving and adaptation. It is known that adaptive experts may not necessarily be quick at solving familiar problems, but they do creatively seek to better solve novel problems. This may be the result of an acquired approach to practice or a pathway that can be fostered by learning environments. It is also known that building adaptive expertise in medical education involves putting students on a learning pathway that requires them to have, first, the motivation to innovatively problem-solve and, second, exposure to diverse content material, meaningfully presented. Including curriculum content on the health effects of climate change could help meet these two conditions for some students at least. A working definition and illustrative competencies for adaptive expertise for climate change, as well as examples of teaching and assessment approaches extrapolated from rural curricula, are provided.

Personality and problem-solving performance explain competitive ability in the wild

PubMed Central

Cole, Ella F.; Quinn, John L.

2012-01-01

Competitive ability is a major determinant of fitness, but why individuals vary so much in their competitiveness remains only partially understood. One increasingly prevalent view is that realized competitive ability varies because it represents alternative strategies that arise because of the costs associated with competitiveness. Here we use a population of great tits (Parus major) to explore whether individual differences in competitive ability when foraging can be explained by two traits that have previously been linked to alternative behavioural strategies: the personality trait ‘exploration behaviour’ and a simple cognitive trait, ‘innovative problem-solving performance’. We assayed these traits under standardized conditions in captivity and then measured competitive ability at feeders with restricted access in the wild. Competitive ability was repeatable within individual males across days and correlated positively with exploration behaviour, representing the first such demonstration of a link between a personality trait and both competitive ability and food intake in the wild. Competitive ability was also simultaneously negatively correlated with problem-solving performance; individuals who were poor competitors were good at problem-solving. Rather than being the result of variation in ‘individual quality’, our results support the hypothesis that individual variation in competitive ability can be explained by alternative behavioural strategies. PMID:21937498

Expecting innovation: psychoactive drug primes and the generation of creative solutions.

PubMed

Hicks, Joshua A; Pedersen, Sarah L; Pederson, Sarah L; Friedman, Ronald S; McCarthy, Denis M

2011-08-01

Many individuals expect that alcohol and drug consumption will enhance creativity. The present studies tested whether substance related primes would influence creative performance for individuals who possessed creativity-related substance expectancies. Participants (n = 566) were briefly exposed to stimuli related to psychoactive substances (alcohol, for Study 1, Sample 1, and Study 2; and marijuana, for Study 1, Sample 2) or neutral stimuli. Participants in Study 1 then completed a creative problem-solving task, while participants in Study 2 completed a divergent thinking task or a task unrelated to creative problem solving. The results of Study 1 revealed that exposure to the experimental stimuli enhanced performance on the creative problem-solving task for those who expected the corresponding substance would trigger creative functioning. In a conceptual replication, Study 2 showed that participants exposed to alcohol cues performed better on a divergent thinking task if they expected alcohol to enhance creativity. It is important to note that this same interaction did not influence performance on measures unrelated to creative problem solving, suggesting that the activation of creativity-related expectancies influenced creative performance, specifically. These findings highlight the importance of assessing expectancies when examining pharmacological effects of alcohol and marijuana. Future directions and implications for substance-related interventions are discussed. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Student peer reviewers' views on teaching innovations and imaginative learning.

PubMed

Chan, Zenobia C Y

2016-04-01

Various teaching innovations have been proven effective in promoting students' critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and active learning. However, little attention has been paid to the possibility of including students as peer reviewers to evaluate these innovations in light of imaginative learning. This study explored the perspective of senior students who played the role of the student peer reviewer on three teaching innovations, namely writing poetry, composing songs and creating role-plays in problem-based learning (PBL), specifically in relation to imaginative learning. A focus group interview. Ten senior nursing students who had experienced the conventional PBL approach but not the mentioned teaching innovations were invited to participate in reviewing a video recording of a PBL class using the above teaching innovations with a total of 18 junior year students. Five themes were identified using content analysis: (i) motivation to learn, (ii) increased empathy, (iii) information retention, (iv) development of critical thinking and creativity, and (v) drawbacks of teaching innovations. It is suggested that student peer reviewers should be considered, as they can bring an outsider-learner's views on understanding the impacts of teaching innovations on imaginative learning. A call should be made to invite student peer reviewers on teaching and learning approaches, and more effort should be devoted to promoting an understanding of how imaginative learning can be achieved via teaching innovations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Research on Computer Aided Innovation Model of Weapon Equipment Requirement Demonstration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yong; Guo, Qisheng; Wang, Rui; Li, Liang

Firstly, in order to overcome the shortcoming of using only AD or TRIZ solely, and solve the problems currently existed in weapon equipment requirement demonstration, the paper construct the method system of weapon equipment requirement demonstration combining QFD, AD, TRIZ, FA. Then, we construct a CAI model frame of weapon equipment requirement demonstration, which include requirement decomposed model, requirement mapping model and requirement plan optimization model. Finally, we construct the computer aided innovation model of weapon equipment requirement demonstration, and developed CAI software of equipment requirement demonstration.

Presentation of the 2007 Richard S. Hodes, M.D. Honor Lecture Award

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

McNamara, L.

Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. Chief Operating Officer Larry McNamara is the 2007 recipient of the distinguished Richard S. Hodes, M.D. Honor Lecture Award from the Southeast Compact Commission for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management. This award recognizes Mr. McNamara's innovation in the commercialization of mixed waste treatment processes for the nuclear industry, and the significant role that these innovations have played solving low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) management problems in the United States with specific emphasis on low-level mixed wastes. Low-level mixed wastes (LLMW) have historically been the most difficult wastes to treat because of the specialized equipment, permits and experience neededmore » to deal with a large variety of hazardous constituents. Prior to innovations in the mixed waste treatment industry championed by Mr. McNamara, wastes were stored at generator sites around the country in regulated storage areas, at great cost, and in many cases for decades. In this paper, Mr. McNamara shares lessons he has learned over the past seven years in developing and implementing innovative waste management solutions that have helped solve one of the nation's biggest challenges. He also describes the future challenges facing the industry. (authors)« less

A review of estimation of distribution algorithms in bioinformatics

PubMed Central

Armañanzas, Rubén; Inza, Iñaki; Santana, Roberto; Saeys, Yvan; Flores, Jose Luis; Lozano, Jose Antonio; Peer, Yves Van de; Blanco, Rosa; Robles, Víctor; Bielza, Concha; Larrañaga, Pedro

2008-01-01

Evolutionary search algorithms have become an essential asset in the algorithmic toolbox for solving high-dimensional optimization problems in across a broad range of bioinformatics problems. Genetic algorithms, the most well-known and representative evolutionary search technique, have been the subject of the major part of such applications. Estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs) offer a novel evolutionary paradigm that constitutes a natural and attractive alternative to genetic algorithms. They make use of a probabilistic model, learnt from the promising solutions, to guide the search process. In this paper, we set out a basic taxonomy of EDA techniques, underlining the nature and complexity of the probabilistic model of each EDA variant. We review a set of innovative works that make use of EDA techniques to solve challenging bioinformatics problems, emphasizing the EDA paradigm's potential for further research in this domain. PMID:18822112

In situ steam enhanced recovery process, Hughes Environmental Systems, Inc. innovative technology evaluation report

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

Cook, K.

1995-01-01

This Innovative Technology Evaluation report summarizes the findings of an evaluation of the in situ Steam Enhanced Recovery Process (SERP) operated by Hughes Environmental Systems, Inc. at the Rainbow Disposal facility in Huntington Beach, California. The technology demonstration was conducted concurrent with a full-scale remedial action using the technology on an underground diesel leak. From this demonstration, it was concluded that the SERP process did not achieve the remedial goals desired at this site and there were significant operational problems. It is believed that these operational problems can be solved and substantially better performance can be attained. The cost ofmore » treatment was quite low, as expected with an in-situ process.« less

Current Approaches in Implementing Citizen Science in the Classroom

PubMed Central

Shah, Harsh R.; Martinez, Luis R.

2016-01-01

Citizen science involves a partnership between inexperienced volunteers and trained scientists engaging in research. In addition to its obvious benefit of accelerating data collection, citizen science has an unexplored role in the classroom, from K–12 schools to higher education. With recent studies showing a weakening in scientific competency of American students, incorporating citizen science initiatives in the curriculum provides a means to address deficiencies in a fragmented educational system. The integration of traditional and innovative pedagogical methods to reform our educational system is therefore imperative in order to provide practical experiences in scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and problem solving for school-age individuals. Citizen science can be used to emphasize the recognition and use of systematic approaches to solve problems affecting the community. PMID:27047583

Current Approaches in Implementing Citizen Science in the Classroom.

PubMed

Shah, Harsh R; Martinez, Luis R

2016-03-01

Citizen science involves a partnership between inexperienced volunteers and trained scientists engaging in research. In addition to its obvious benefit of accelerating data collection, citizen science has an unexplored role in the classroom, from K-12 schools to higher education. With recent studies showing a weakening in scientific competency of American students, incorporating citizen science initiatives in the curriculum provides a means to address deficiencies in a fragmented educational system. The integration of traditional and innovative pedagogical methods to reform our educational system is therefore imperative in order to provide practical experiences in scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and problem solving for school-age individuals. Citizen science can be used to emphasize the recognition and use of systematic approaches to solve problems affecting the community.

Hypermedia and visual technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, Lloyd

1990-01-01

Applications of a codified professional practice that uses visual representations of the thoughts and ideas of a working group are reported in order to improve productivity, problem solving, and innovation. This visual technology process was developed under the auspices of General Foods as part of a multi-year study. The study resulted in the validation of this professional service as a way to use art and design to facilitate productivity and innovation and to define new opportunities. It was also used by NASA for planning Lunar/Mars exploration and by other companies for general business and advanced strategic planning, developing new product concepts, and litigation support. General Foods has continued to use the service for packaging innovation studies.

STEM-based workbook: Enhancing students' STEM competencies on lever system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sejati, Binar Kasih; Firman, Harry; Kaniawati, Ida

2017-05-01

Twenty-first century is a century of technology, a rapid development of scientific studies and technology make them relied heavily on each other. This research investigated about the effect of STEM-based workbook in enhancing students' STEM competencies in terms of knowledge understanding, problem solving skill, innovative abilities, and responsibility. The workbook was tried on 24 students that applied engineering design processes together with mathematics and science knowledge to design and create an egg cracker. The result showed that the implementation of STEM-based workbook on lever system in human body is effective to improve students' STEM competencies, it can be proven by students' result on their knowledge understanding improvement which can be seen from normalized gain () score is 0.41 and categorized as medium improvement, students' problem solving skill is also improving where it obtained a medium improvement with normalized gain as much as 0.45. Innovative abilities also encountered an the improvement, the workbook analysis obtained a higher score which means students can be more innovative after finishing their workbook. Last, students' responsibility is keep improving day by day, students' effort gain the highest score it means that the students become more responsible after implementation of STEM-based workbook. All of the results are supported with the response of students towards STEM-based workbook implementation which showed positive response in all indicators.

Shaping the Future with Math, Science, and Technology: Solutions and Lesson Plans to Prepare Tomorrow's Innovators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Dennis; Hamm, Mary

2011-01-01

"Shaping the Future with Math, Science, and Technology" examines how ingenuity, creativity, and teamwork skills are part of an intellectual toolbox associated with math, science, and technology. The book provides new ideas, proven processes, practical tools, and examples useful to educators who want to encourage students to solve problems and…

Bridging the Gender Gap: The demographics of scientists in the USDA Forest Service and academia

Treesearch

Christel C. Kern; Laura S. Kenefic; Susan L. Stout

2015-01-01

Past research has established that diverse scientific communities foster innovation and problem solving more effectively than communities with a narrow range of knowledge, skills, and experience. However, gender diversity among scientists is limited, particularly in natural-resource fields. We compared data on scientist gender and rank from the US Department of...

Creating Safe and Healthy Futures: Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrel-Samuels, Susan; Zimmerman, Marc A.; Reischl, Thomas M.

2013-01-01

Youth are in the cross-fire of gun violence, and the highest rate in the nation is in Flint, Michigan. This article highlights six innovative strategies that prepare youth to solve problems at home and in their communities in peaceful ways. The Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center (MI-YVPC) works with community groups to strengthen…

College for Kids, An Innovative Enrichment Program for Gifted Elementary Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clasen, Donna Rae; Subkoviak, Michael J.

One hundred fifty-six gifted elementary students (grades 3 through 6) responded to the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory on a pre- and posttest basis during a 3 week, 45 hour College for Kids program, designed as an enrichment program with focus on critical thinking, problem solving, inquiry, research, and questioning. Thirty students responded to…

Pedagogy Matters: Engaging Diverse Students as Community Researchers in Three Computer Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryoo, Jean Jinsun

2013-01-01

Computing occupations are among the fastest growing in the U.S. and technological innovations are central to solving world problems. Yet only our most privileged students are learning to use technology for creative purposes through rigorous computer science education opportunities. In order to increase access for diverse students and females who…

Measuring Twenty-First Century Skills: Development and Validation of a Scale for In-Service and Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jia, Yueming; Oh, Youn Joo; Sibuma, Bernadette; LaBanca, Frank; Lorentson, Mhora

2016-01-01

A self-report scale that measures teachers' confidence in teaching students about twenty-first century skills was developed and validated with pre-service and in-service teachers. First, 16 items were created to measure teaching confidence in six areas: information literacy, collaboration, communication, innovation and creativity, problem solving,…

Transforming an Introductory Programming Course: From Lectures to Active Learning via Wireless Laptops

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barak, Miri; Harward, Judson; Kocur, George; Lerman, Steven

2007-01-01

Within the framework of MIT's course 1.00: Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving, this paper describes an innovative project entitled: "Studio 1.00" that integrates lectures with in-class demonstrations, active learning sessions, and on-task feedback, through the use of wireless laptop computers. This paper also describes a…

Contestation and Continuity in Educational Reform: A Critical Study of Innovations in Environmental Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robottom, Ian Morris

Contestation can be defined as a process in which self-interested individuals and groups in a social organization cooperate, compete, and negotiate in a complex interaction aimed at solving social problems. This dissertation explores the notion of contestation in the field of environmental education. In the first part of the document a framework…

Integration of Digital Technology and Innovative Strategies for Learning and Teaching Large Classes: A Calculus Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vajravelu, Kuppalapalle; Muhs, Tammy

2016-01-01

Successful science and engineering programs require proficiency and dynamics in mathematics classes to enhance the learning of complex subject matter with a sufficient amount of practical problem solving. Improving student performance and retention in mathematics classes requires inventive approaches. At the University of Central Florida (UCF) the…

Prevent-Teach-Reinforce: The School-Based Model of Individualized Positive Behavior Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunlap, Glen; Iovannone, Rose; Kincaid, Donald; Wilson, Kelly; Christiansen, Kathy; Strain, Phillip; English, Carie

2010-01-01

Solve serious behavior challenges in K-8 classrooms with this easy-to-use book, the first practical guide to the research-proven Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model. Developed by some of the most respected authorities on positive behavior support, this innovative model gives school-based teams a five-step plan for reducing problems unresolved by…

The NO{sub x} Budget trading program: a collaborative, innovative approach to solving a regional air pollution problem

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

Napolitano, Sam; Stevens, Gabrielle; Schreifels, Jeremy

2007-11-15

The NO{sub x} Budget Trading Program showed that regional cap-and-trade programs are adaptable to more than one pollutant, time period, and geographic scale, and can achieve compliance results similar to the Acid Rain Program. Here are 11 specific lessons that have emerged from the experience. (author)

Learning Outcomes from Business Simulation Exercises: Challenges for the Implementation of Learning Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Elizabeth

2009-01-01

Purpose: High order leadership, problem solving skills, and the capacity for innovation in new markets, and technologically complex and multidimensional contexts, are the new set of skills that are most valued by companies and employers alike. Business simulation exercises are one way of enhancing these skills. This article aims to examine the…

Selections from the ABC 2014 Annual Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania A Well-Stitched Banner of Favorite Assignments: Leadership and Other-Focused Communication and Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whalen, D. Joel

2015-01-01

This article, the second of a two-part series, features 11 teaching innovations presented at the 2014 Association for Business Communication annual conference. These 11 assignments included leadership and other-focused communication--detecting communication style, adaptive communication, personality type, delivering feedback, problem solving, and…

Individual Differences and Age-Related Changes in Divergent Thinking in Toddlers and Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bijvoet-van den Berg, Simone; Hoicka, Elena

2014-01-01

Divergent thinking shows the ability to search for new ideas, which is an important factor contributing to innovation and problem solving. Current divergent thinking tests allow researchers to study children's divergent thinking from the age of 3 years on. This article presents the first measure of divergent thinking that can be used with children…

Selections from the ABC 2016 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico: Teaching Innovations Soaring Like a Flight of Balloons over Albuquerque

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whalen, D. Joel, Ed.

2017-01-01

This article, the second of a two-part series, presents 12 assignments designed to help students increase their online communication skills, conduct professional conferences, use advanced presentation software, develop problem-solving and critical thinking, gain greater awareness of gender effects in communication, and perform community service.…

Formative Assessment in Complex Problem-Solving Domains: The Emerging Role of Assessment Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhagat, Kaushal Kumar; Spector, J. Michael

2017-01-01

Much of the focus on learning technologies has been on structuring innovative learning experiences and on managing distance and hybrid learning environments. This article focuses on the use of technology as an important formative assessment and feedback tool. The rationale for this focus is based on prior research findings that suggest that timely…

Innovative approach to solving "stickies" problem and developing environmentally benign pressure sensitive adhesives through partnerships

Treesearch

Said M. Abubakr; Joe Peng

1999-01-01

As a result of a United States Postal Service (USPS) initiative, a work team consisting of the USPS, the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL),Springborn Testing and Research (STR), and industry representatives wasformed. The industry representatives include papermakers, paper recyclers,paper collectors, equipment manufacturers, paper users, and adhesive and chemical...

The Impact of E-Learning on Medical Education in Russia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trukhacheva, N.; Tchernysheva, S.; Krjaklina, T.

2011-01-01

New educational technologies prove to be capable of solving many problems in medical training. Students do not see e-learning as replacing traditional instructor-led training but as a complement to it, forming part of a blended-learning strategy. Innovations in e-learning technologies point toward a revolution in education, allowing learning to be…

Relationships between Students' Engagement and the Dissimilar Cognitive Styles of Their Undergraduate Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedel, Curtis R.; Rudd, Rick D.

2009-01-01

This study was conducted to determine if the dissimilarity of cognitive style between the instructor and the student was related to student engagement in nine undergraduate classes. Kirton's Adaption-Innovation Inventory was used to measure cognitive style as a preference to a method of solving problems: either more adaptively or more…

A comparison of spontaneous problem-solving abilities in three estrildid finch (Taeniopygia guttata, Lonchura striata var. domestica, Stagonopleura guttata) species.

PubMed

Schmelz, Martin; Krüger, Oliver; Call, Josep; Krause, E Tobias

2015-11-01

Cognition has been extensively studied in primates while other, more distantly related taxa have been neglected for a long time. More recently, there has been an increased interest in avian cognition, with the focus mostly on big-brained species like parrots and corvids. However, the majority of bird species has never systematically been studied in diverse cognitive tasks other than memory and learning tasks, so not much can yet be concluded about the relevant factors for the evolution of cognition. Here we examined 3 species of the estrildid finch family in problem-solving tasks. These granivorous, non-tool-using birds are distributed across 3 continents and are not known for high levels of innovation or spontaneous problem solving in the wild. In this study, our aim was to find such abilities in these species, assess what role domestication might play with a comparison of 4 genetically separated zebra finch strains, and to look for between-species differences between zebra finches, Bengalese finches, and diamond firetails. Furthermore, we established a 3-step spontaneous problem-solving procedure with increasing levels of complexity. Results showed that some estrildid finches were generally capable of spontaneously solving problems of variable complexity to obtain food. We found striking differences in these abilities between species, but not between strains within species, and offer a discussion of potential reasons. Our established methodology can now be applied to a larger number of bird species for phylogenetic comparisons on the behavioral level to get a deeper understanding of the evolution of cognitive abilities. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Addressing economic development goals through innovative teaching of university statistics: a case study of statistical modelling in Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oseloka Ezepue, Patrick; Ojo, Adegbola

2012-12-01

A challenging problem in some developing countries such as Nigeria is inadequate training of students in effective problem solving using the core concepts of their disciplines. Related to this is a disconnection between their learning and socio-economic development agenda of a country. These problems are more vivid in statistical education which is dominated by textbook examples and unbalanced assessment 'for' and 'of' learning within traditional curricula. The problems impede the achievement of socio-economic development objectives such as those stated in the Nigerian Vision 2020 blueprint and United Nations Millennium Development Goals. They also impoverish the ability of (statistics) graduates to creatively use their knowledge in relevant business and industry sectors, thereby exacerbating mass graduate unemployment in Nigeria and similar developing countries. This article uses a case study in statistical modelling to discuss the nature of innovations in statistics education vital to producing new kinds of graduates who can link their learning to national economic development goals, create wealth and alleviate poverty through (self) employment. Wider implications of the innovations for repositioning mathematical sciences education globally are explored in this article.

Predicting Innovation Acceptance by Simulation in Virtual Environments (Theoretical Foundations)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

León, Noel; Duran, Roberto; Aguayo, Humberto; Flores, Myrna

This paper extends the current development of a methodology for Computer Aided Innovation. It begins with a presentation of concepts related to the perceived capabilities of virtual environments in the Innovation Cycle. The main premise establishes that it is possible to predict the acceptance of a new product in a specific market, by releasing an early prototype in a virtual scenario to quantify its general reception and to receive early feedback from potential customers. The paper continues to focus this research on a synergistic extension of techniques that have their origins in optimization and innovation disciplines. TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving), extends the generation of variants with Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) and finally to present the designer and the intended customer, creative and innovative alternatives. All of this developed on a virtual software interface (Virtual World). The work continues with a general description of the project as a step forward to improve the overall strategy.

Reassembling the Information Technology Innovation Process: An Actor Network Theory Method for Managing the Initiation, Production, and Diffusion of Innovations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zendejas, Gerardo; Chiasson, Mike

This paper will propose and explore a method to enhance focal actors' abilities to enroll and control the many social and technical components interacting during the initiation, production, and diffusion of innovations. The reassembling and stabilizing of such components is the challenging goal of the focal actors involved in these processes. To address this possibility, a healthcare project involving the initiation, production, and diffusion of an IT-based innovation will be influenced by the researcher, using concepts from actor network theory (ANT), within an action research methodology (ARM). The experiences using this method, and the nature of enrolment and translation during its use, will highlight if and how ANT can provide a problem-solving method to help assemble the social and technical actants involved in the diffusion of an innovation. Finally, the paper will discuss the challenges and benefits of implementing such methods to attain widespread diffusion.

An innovations approach to decoupling of multibody dynamics and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriguez, G.

1989-01-01

The problem of hinged multibody dynamics is solved using an extension of the innovations approach of linear filtering and prediction theory to the problem of mechanical system modeling and control. This approach has been used quite effectively to diagonalize the equations for filtering and prediction for linear state space systems. It has similar advantages in the study of dynamics and control of multibody systems. The innovations approach advanced here consists of expressing the equations of motion in terms of two closely related processes: (1) the innovations process e, a sequence of moments, obtained from the applied moments T by means of a spatially recursive Kalman filter that goes from the tip of the manipulator to its base; (2) a residual process, a sequence of velocities, obtained from the joint-angle velocities by means of an outward smoothing operations. The innovations e and the applied moments T are related by means of the relationships e = (I - L)T and T = (I + K)e. The operation (I - L) is a causal lower triangular matrix which is generated by a spatially recursive Kalman filter and the corresponding discrete-step Riccati equation. Hence, the innovations and the applied moments can be obtained from each other by means of a causal operation which is itself casually invertible.

Crowdsourcing for Challenging Technical Problems - It Works!

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.

2011-01-01

The NASA Johnson Space Center Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) and Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering (Wyle) will conduct a one-day business cluster at the 62nd IAC so that IAC attendees will understand the benefits of open innovation (crowdsourcing), review successful results of conducting technical challenges in various open innovation projects, and learn how an organization can effectively deploy these new problem solving tools to innovate more efficiently and effectively. Results from both the SLSD open innovation pilot program and the open innovation workshop conducted by the NASA Human Health and Performance Center will be discussed. NHHPC members will be recruited to participate in the business cluster (see membership http://nhhpc.nasa.gov) and as IAF members. Crowdsourcing may be defined as the act of outsourcing tasks that are traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to an undefined, generally large group of people or community (a crowd) in the form of an open call. The open call may be issued by the organization wishing to find a solution to a particular problem or complete a task, or by an open innovation service provider on behalf of that organization. In 2008, the SLSD, with the support of Wyle, established and implemented pilot projects in open innovation (crowdsourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical challenges. These unsolved technical problems were converted to problem statements, called Challenges by some open innovation service providers, and were then posted externally to seek solutions to these problems. In addition, an open call was issued internally to NASA employees Agency wide (11 Field Centers and NASA HQ) using an open innovation service provider crowdsourcing platform to post NASA challenges from each Center for the others to propose solutions). From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external problems or challenges were posted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive crowdsourcing platform designed for use internal to an organization and customized for NASA use, and promoted as NASA@Work. The results were significant. Of the seven InnoCentive external challenges, two full and five partial awards were made in complex technical areas such as predicting solar flares and long-duration food packaging.

Optimal control of LQR for discrete time-varying systems with input delays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Yue-Zhu; Yang, Zhong-Lian; Yin, Zhi-Xiang; Xu, Feng

2018-04-01

In this work, we consider the optimal control problem of linear quadratic regulation for discrete time-variant systems with single input and multiple input delays. An innovative and simple method to derive the optimal controller is given. The studied problem is first equivalently converted into a problem subject to a constraint condition. Last, with the established duality, the problem is transformed into a static mathematical optimisation problem without input delays. The optimal control input solution to minimise performance index function is derived by solving this optimisation problem with two methods. A numerical simulation example is carried out and its results show that our two approaches are both feasible and very effective.

Computer-Aided Analysis of Patents for Product Technology Maturity Forecasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Yanhong; Gan, Dequan; Guo, Yingchun; Zhang, Peng

Product technology maturity foresting is vital for any enterprises to hold the chance for innovation and keep competitive for a long term. The Theory of Invention Problem Solving (TRIZ) is acknowledged both as a systematic methodology for innovation and a powerful tool for technology forecasting. Based on TRIZ, the state -of-the-art on the technology maturity of product and the limits of application are discussed. With the application of text mining and patent analysis technologies, this paper proposes a computer-aided approach for product technology maturity forecasting. It can overcome the shortcomings of the current methods.

A Tale of Two Paradigms: The Impact of Psychological Capital and Reinforcing Feedback on Problem Solving and Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luthans, Fred; Youssef, Carolyn M.; Rawski, Shannon L.

2011-01-01

This study drew from two distinct paradigms: the social cognitively based emerging field of positive organizational behavior or POB and the more established behaviorally based area of organizational behavior modification or OB Mod. The intent was to show that both can contribute to complex challenges facing today's organizations. Using a…

How Does Science Learning Occur in the Classroom? Students' Perceptions of Science Instruction during the Implementation of REAPS Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez-Arizaga, Maria P.; Bahar, A. Kadir; Maker, C. June; Zimmerman, Robert; Pease, Randal

2016-01-01

In this qualitative study the researchers explored children's perceptions of their participation in a science class in which an elementary science curriculum, the Full Option Science System (FOSS), was combined with an innovative teaching model, Real Engagement in Active Problem Solving (REAPS). The children were capable of articulating views…

Learning Innovative Maternal Instinct: Activity Designing Semantic Factors of Alcohol Modification in Rural Communities of Thailand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yodmongkol, Pitipong; Jaimung, Thunyaporn; Chakpitak, Nopasit; Sureephong, Pradorn

2014-01-01

At present, Thailand is confronting a serious problem of alcohol drinking behavior which needs to be solved urgently. This research aimed to identify the semantic factors on alcohol drinking behavior and to use maternal instinct driving for housewives as village health volunteers in rural communities, Thailand. Two methods were implemented as the…

Inquiry-Based Learning for a Virtual Learning Community to Enhance Problem-Solving Ability of Applied Thai Traditional Medicine Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chanprasitchai, Ong-art; Khlaisang, Jintavee

2016-01-01

The recent growth in collaborative and interactive virtual learning communities integrating innovative digital technologies and contemporary learning frameworks is contributing enormously to the use of e-learning in higher education in the twenty-first century. The purpose of this study was to describe the development of a virtual learning…

Off target.

PubMed

Hudson, T; Haugh, R; Serb, C

1999-01-01

Leave it to the market. It's our collective corrective, the American way of problem-solving. So it's no surprise that we looked to the market to stop runaway health care costs. For awhile, it seemed to work. Medicare HMOs, physician practice management, risk contracting, and other innovations boomed. Then came the setbacks, exposing health care's complexities and contradictions--and reminding us that nothing escapes market discipline.

A Web Environment to Encourage Students to Do Exercises outside the Classroom: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capus, Laurence; Curvat, Frederic; Leclair, Olivier; Tourigny, Nicole

2006-01-01

For the past five years, our students have been passing less and less time preparing for lectures and exams. To encourage them to do more exercises, a pedagogical activity was offered outside the classroom. With the goal of making students more active during the problem-solving process, an innovative online environment, Sphinx, was developed.…

Building Student Success Using Problem-Based Learning Approach in the Accounting Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shawver, Todd A.

2015-01-01

A major area of concern in academia is that of student retention at the university, college, and departmental levels. As academics, there is a considerable amount that we can do to improve student retention, and reduce the attrition rates in our departments. One way to solve this is to take an innovative approach in the classroom to enhance the…

Using Literature and Innovative Assessments to Ignite Interest and Cultivate Critical Thinking Skills in an Undergraduate Neuroscience Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynd-Balta, Eileen

2006-01-01

Science education reform initiatives emphasize (1) the value of concepts over facts; (2) the benefits of open-ended, inquiry-based problem-solving rather than protocols leading to a single correct answer; and (3) the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to teaching that is not confined by departmental boundaries. Neuroscientists should be at…

Adapting the Survivor Game to Create a Group Learning Term Project in Business Finance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Robert D.

2017-01-01

A large and growing body of research supports the view that the small-group learning structure can be an effective tool to enhance student performance and encourage innovative problem solving. This paper explains in detail how the framework of the popular television reality show Survivor has been adapted to form a vehicle for a college level group…

Examining Music Teachers' Self-Confidence Levels in Using Information and Communication Technologies for Education Based on Measurable Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilic, Deniz Beste Çevik

2017-01-01

Rapid developments and innovations in technology have impact on individuals. The use of technology for one's daily life has become a necessity; therefore, the development and popularization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is use as a tool for solving educational problems. Because educational technologies play a major role both…

Kodiak Star: A Success in Partnership

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skrobot, Garrett L.

2008-01-01

The Kodiak Star Mission was very challenging and offers significant lesson for future missions. A multinational fully integrated team had the opportunity to perform a truly first of a kind mission from a new launch complex with a unique manifest of experimental spacecraft. The integration goal of 10-months was met utilizing quick identification of the issues, and determining innovative ways to solve the problems

Microgravity Research, An Agency-Wide Asset: Using NASA-Generated Knowledge to Solve its Own Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

The National Center for Microgravity Research (NCMR) is a vital and successful operation, effectively supporting NASA's program in many ways beyond technical monitoring. NCMR is supplying leadership for certain new initiatives important to NASA's future. NASA might regard NCMR as kind of a small laboratory of innovative research management, and should support it generously.

Sixty years of aeronautical research, 1917-1977. [Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderton, D. A.

1978-01-01

The history of Langley Research Center and its contributions to solving problems related to flight over the past six decades is recounted. Technical innovations described include those related to air craft construction materials, jet and rocket propulsion, flight testing and simulation, wind tunnel tests, noise reduction, supersonic flight, air traffic control, structural analysis, computational aerodynamics, and fuel efficiency.

Learning to Love the Questions: How Essential Questions Promote Creativity and Deep Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D.

2014-01-01

Educators know that creativity and innovation involve questioning and the capacity to frame topics as problems to be solved. They know that we are living in a time of a new generation of standards, including the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In the U.S., compliance with these standards requires that educators encourage students to ask…

Hope for High Impact Aid: Real Challenges, Real Opportunities and Real Solutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Visscher, Ronald S.

2008-01-01

In a 2004 interview with the late Everett Rogers, author of the book "Diffusion of Innovation", Rogers lamented that in 1963, he and other members of a prominent research group expected to solve the remaining international development problems and end poverty within ten to fifteen years. Now, forty-five years hence, it is time for a "reality…

Enhancing the Connection to Undergraduate Engineering Students: A Hands-On and Team-Based Approach to Fluid Mechanics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wei, Tie; Ford, Julie

2015-01-01

This article provides information about the integration of innovative hands-on activities within a sophomore-level Fluid Mechanics course at New Mexico Tech. The course introduces students to the fundamentals of fluid mechanics with emphasis on teaching key equations and methods of analysis for solving real-world problems. Strategies and examples…

Supporting Assessment Autonomy: How One Small School Articulated the Infrastructure Needed to Own and Use Student Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quartz, Karen Hunter; Kawasaki, Jarod; Sotelo, Daniel; Merino, Kimberly

2014-01-01

This paper reports the results of an 18-month integrated, problem-solving research study of one new school's efforts to create a K-12 system of student assessment data that reflects their innovative vision for personalized and student-centered instruction. Based on interview, observational, and documentary data, the authors report how…

Interface between Physics and Biology: Training a New Generation of Creative Bilingual Scientists.

PubMed

Riveline, Daniel; Kruse, Karsten

2017-08-01

Whereas physics seeks for universal laws underlying natural phenomena, biology accounts for complexity and specificity of molecular details. Contemporary biological physics requires people capable of working at this interface. New programs prepare scientists who transform respective disciplinary views into innovative approaches for solving outstanding problems in the life sciences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

English as a Second Language on a Virtual Platform--Tradition and Innovation in a New Medium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansson, Thomas

2005-01-01

A pilot study at a local school explores a virtual world during English lessons. The objective of applying a Vygotskian experimental design to the study is to investigate the potential of software, interaction and integration related to problem-solving defined as text composition in a foreign language. Focus of research and practices is on the…

[The Development of Social Innovations in Health Care and the Role of Science and Research].

PubMed

Richter, Stefanie

2017-12-01

In the course of demographic, epidemiological and social changes, various challenges arise concerning the organization of health care and health promotion for the population. Innovative approaches are needed to face these challenges. The focus in the theoretical work is on the analysis of the development of social innovations and on the role of science and research to solve social problems. First of all, the notion of innovation based on technologies will be expanded by social innovations. 2 approaches to promote social innovations are discussed: the systematic discovery and development of solutions in practice as well as the co-productive development in the terms of transdisciplinary research. It will be demonstrated that a cooperative and co-productive research and development process brings new requirements regarding scientific practice so that a discussion about the organisation and general conditions of transdisciplinary research and development in the health (service) research has to be strengthened. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Cross-disciplinary problem-solving workshop: a pedagogical approach to anticipate ergonomist engineering design collaboration.

PubMed

Brunier, Elisabeth; Le Chapellier, Michel; Dejean, Pierre Henri

2012-01-01

The aims of this paper are to present concept and results of an innovative educational model approach based on ergonomics involvement in industrial project. First we present Cross disciplinary Problem solving Workshop by answering three questions:1) What is a CPW: A partnership between Universities and one or several companies, purposes of it are first to increase health, well being, companies teams competencies, and competitiveness, second to train the "IPOD generation" to include risks prevention in design. 2) How does it work? CPW allows cooperation between experience and new insight through inductive methods. This model follows the Piaget (1) philosophy linking concrete world to abstraction by a learning system associating realization and abstraction. 3) Is it successful? In order to answer this third question we will show examples of studies and models performed during CPWs.It appears that the CPWs produce visible results in companies such as new process designs, new methods, and also changes in lectures. However some less visible results remain unclear: How the company personnel evolve during and after CPW? Does CPW motivate our future engineers enough to continuously improve their skills in risk prevention and innovative design?

Exploring tool innovation: a comparison of Western and Bushman children.

PubMed

Nielsen, Mark; Tomaselli, Keyan; Mushin, Ilana; Whiten, Andrew

2014-10-01

A capacity for constructing new tools, or using old tools in new ways, to solve novel problems is a core feature of what it means to be human. Yet current evidence suggests that young children are surprisingly poor at innovating tools. However, all studies of tool innovation to date have been conducted with children from comparatively privileged Western backgrounds. This raises questions as to whether or not previously documented tool innovation failure is culturally and economically specific. In the current study, thus, we explored the innovation capacities of children from Westernized urban backgrounds and from remote communities of South African Bushmen. Consistent with past research, we found tool innovation to occur at extremely low rates and that cultural background had no bearing on this. The current study is the first to empirically test tool innovation in children from non-Western backgrounds, with our data being consistent with the view that despite its key role in human evolution, a capacity for innovation in tool making remains remarkably undeveloped during early childhood. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research and exploration of product innovative design for function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Donglin; Wei, Zihui; Wang, Youjiang; Tan, Runhua

2009-07-01

Products innovation is under the prerequisite of realizing the new function, the realization of the new function must solve the contradiction. A new process model of new product innovative design was proposed based on Axiomatic Design (AD) Theory and Functional Structure Analysis (FSA), imbedded Principle of Solving Contradiction. In this model, employ AD Theory to guide FSA, determine the contradiction for the realization of the principle solution. To provide powerful support for innovative design tools in principle solution, Principle of Solving Contradiction in the model were imbedded, so as to boost up the innovation of principle solution. As a case study, an innovative design of button battery separator paper punching machine has been achieved with application of the proposed model.

Interactive training model of TRIZ for mechanical engineers in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Runhua; Zhang, Huangao

2014-03-01

Innovation is a process of taking an original idea and converting it into a business value, in which the engineers face some inventive problems which can be solved hardly by experience. TRIZ, as a new theory for companies in China, provides both conceptual and procedural knowledge for finding and solving inventive problems. Because the government plays a leading role in the diffusion of TRIZ, too many companies from different industries are waiting to be trained, but the quantity of the trainers mastering TRIZ is incompatible with that requirement. In this context, to improve the training effect, an interactive training model of TRIZ for the mechanical engineers in China is developed and the implementation in the form of training classes is carried out. The training process is divided into 6 phases as follows: selecting engineers, training stage-1, finding problems, training stage-2, finding solutions and summing up. The government, TRIZ institutions and companies to join the programs interact during the process. The government initiates and monitors a project in form of a training class of TRIZ and selects companies to join the programs. Each selected companies choose a few engineers to join the class and supervises the training result. The TRIZ institutions design the training courses and carry out training curriculum. With the beginning of the class, an effective communication channel is established by means of interview, discussion face to face, E-mail, QQ and so on. After two years training practices, the results show that innovative abilities of the engineers to join and pass the final examinations increased distinctly, and most of companies joined the training class have taken congnizance of the power of TRIZ for product innovation. This research proposes an interactive training model of TRIZ for mechanical engineers in China to expedite the knowledge diffusion of TRIZ.

Neural basis of scientific innovation induced by heuristic prototype.

PubMed

Luo, Junlong; Li, Wenfu; Qiu, Jiang; Wei, Dongtao; Liu, Yijun; Zhang, Qinlin

2013-01-01

A number of major inventions in history have been based on bionic imitation. Heuristics, by applying biological systems to the creation of artificial devices and machines, might be one of the most critical processes in scientific innovation. In particular, prototype heuristics propositions that innovation may engage automatic activation of a prototype such as a biological system to form novel associations between a prototype's function and problem-solving. We speculated that the cortical dissociation between the automatic activation and forming novel associations in innovation is critical point to heuristic creativity. In the present study, novel and old scientific innovations (NSI and OSI) were selected as experimental materials in using learning-testing paradigm to explore the neural basis of scientific innovation induced by heuristic prototype. College students were required to resolve NSI problems (to which they did not know the answers) and OSI problems (to which they knew the answers). From two fMRI experiments, our results showed that the subjects could resolve NSI when provided with heuristic prototypes. In Experiment 1, it was found that the lingual gyrus (LG; BA18) might be related to prototype heuristics in college students resolving NSI after learning a relative prototype. In Experiment 2, the LG (BA18) and precuneus (BA31) were significantly activated for NSI compared to OSI when college students learned all prototypes one day before the test. In addition, the mean beta-values of these brain regions of NSI were all correlated with the behavior accuracy of NSI. As our hypothesis indicated, the findings suggested that the LG might be involved in forming novel associations using heuristic information, while the precuneus might be involved in the automatic activation of heuristic prototype during scientific innovation.

Neural Basis of Scientific Innovation Induced by Heuristic Prototype

PubMed Central

Qiu, Jiang; Wei, Dongtao; Liu, Yijun; Zhang, Qinlin

2013-01-01

A number of major inventions in history have been based on bionic imitation. Heuristics, by applying biological systems to the creation of artificial devices and machines, might be one of the most critical processes in scientific innovation. In particular, prototype heuristics propositions that innovation may engage automatic activation of a prototype such as a biological system to form novel associations between a prototype's function and problem-solving. We speculated that the cortical dissociation between the automatic activation and forming novel associations in innovation is critical point to heuristic creativity. In the present study, novel and old scientific innovations (NSI and OSI) were selected as experimental materials in using learning-testing paradigm to explore the neural basis of scientific innovation induced by heuristic prototype. College students were required to resolve NSI problems (to which they did not know the answers) and OSI problems (to which they knew the answers). From two fMRI experiments, our results showed that the subjects could resolve NSI when provided with heuristic prototypes. In Experiment 1, it was found that the lingual gyrus (LG; BA18) might be related to prototype heuristics in college students resolving NSI after learning a relative prototype. In Experiment 2, the LG (BA18) and precuneus (BA31) were significantly activated for NSI compared to OSI when college students learned all prototypes one day before the test. In addition, the mean beta-values of these brain regions of NSI were all correlated with the behavior accuracy of NSI. As our hypothesis indicated, the findings suggested that the LG might be involved in forming novel associations using heuristic information, while the precuneus might be involved in the automatic activation of heuristic prototype during scientific innovation. PMID:23372641

Neophilia Ranking of Scientific Journals.

PubMed

Packalen, Mikko; Bhattacharya, Jay

2017-01-01

The ranking of scientific journals is important because of the signal it sends to scientists about what is considered most vital for scientific progress. Existing ranking systems focus on measuring the influence of a scientific paper (citations)-these rankings do not reward journals for publishing innovative work that builds on new ideas. We propose an alternative ranking based on the proclivity of journals to publish papers that build on new ideas, and we implement this ranking via a text-based analysis of all published biomedical papers dating back to 1946. In addition, we compare our neophilia ranking to citation-based (impact factor) rankings; this comparison shows that the two ranking approaches are distinct. Prior theoretical work suggests an active role for our neophilia index in science policy. Absent an explicit incentive to pursue novel science, scientists underinvest in innovative work because of a coordination problem: for work on a new idea to flourish, many scientists must decide to adopt it in their work. Rankings that are based purely on influence thus do not provide sufficient incentives for publishing innovative work. By contrast, adoption of the neophilia index as part of journal-ranking procedures by funding agencies and university administrators would provide an explicit incentive for journals to publish innovative work and thus help solve the coordination problem by increasing scientists' incentives to pursue innovative work.

The Use of History of Science Texts in Teaching Science: Two Cases of an Innovative, Constructivist Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koliopoulos, Dimitris; Dossis, Sotiris; Stamoulis, Efthymios

2007-01-01

This study proposes an empirical classification of ways to introduce elements of the history of science into science teaching, as well as describing a special way to do so characterized by the introduction of short extracts from historical texts. The aim is to motivate students to participate in problem-solving activities and to transform their…

Introducing the Use of a Semi-Structured Video Diary Room to Investigate Students' Learning Experiences during an Outdoor Adventure Education Groupwork Skills Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooley, Sam J.; Holland, Mark J.; Cumming, Jennifer; Novakovic, Emily G.; Burns, Victoria E.

2014-01-01

Outdoor adventure education courses are used in higher education to develop transferable skills such as groupwork and problem-solving skills. There is a need for exploratory investigation into students' perceptions of this experience. This study aimed to develop an innovative qualitative data collection method, and to use it to explore…

How States Can Promote Local Innovation, Options, and Problem-Solving in Public Education. Linking State and Local School Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Posamentier, Jordan; Lake, Robin; Hill, Paul

2017-01-01

State policy plays a critical role in determining whether and how well local education improvement strategies can be implemented. As states rework their education policies under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), state and local leaders need a way to assess their current policy environment and identify the changes needed to encourage local…

FIST at 5: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

Innovative Problem Solving ( TRIZ ) is a master’s class in design, with a strong em- phasis on simplicity and speed. Altshuller’s TRIZ contradiction matrix...and 40 principles are powerful, elegant, and efficient. They should be required reading across the acquisition com- munity (learn more at triz ...shortcuts. As with any tool, expertise comes from practice. Truly mastering Agile, Lean, TRIZ , or MOSA requires concentrated study, experimentation, and

How To Steal From Nature

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-07-23

Field Principal TRIZ Tools TRIZ offers a comprehensive series of creativity and innovation tools, methods and strategies. The main tools include...Algorithm for Inventive Problem Solving) The tools shown in red can use information from nature. Hence TRIZ can drive biomimetics by organising and...targeting information. Biomimetics can drive TRIZ with new “patents”. Lessons • It’s possible to learn from nature • Huge changes in context are

Collaborate and Innovate: One Department's Perspective on Factors Supporting and Sustaining Pedagogical Change in Calculus I

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schroeder, Larissa Bucchi; McGivney-Burelle, Jean; Haruta, Mako E.; Xue, Fei

2018-01-01

At the University of Hartford we transformed our approach to Calculus I--moving it away from a lecture-dominant format to one that focuses squarely on students solving problems and discussing and presenting their mathematical ideas for the majority of class time. In this article, we discuss our Flipping Calculus project and how a departmental…

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, USSR: Science & Technology Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-28

Biliary, Post-Operative, and Chronic Pancreatites ." 12. Doctor of Technical Sciences Oleg Nikolayevich Kukushkin and Candidate of Technical...Motorygin: What is amazing here: established production in case of the absence of a market and in case of a chronic shortage does not like innovations...tremendous losses due to chronic shortages of serviceable equipment. Dozens of original technological processes are aimed at solving this problem

The importance of design thinking in medical education.

PubMed

Badwan, Basil; Bothara, Roshit; Latijnhouwers, Mieke; Smithies, Alisdair; Sandars, John

2018-04-01

Design thinking provides a creative and innovate approach to solve a complex problem. The discover, define, develop and delivery phases of design thinking lead to the most effective solution and this approach can be widely applied in medical education, from technology intervention projects to curriculum development. Participants in design thinking acquire essential transferable life-long learning skills in dealing with uncertainty and collaborative team working.

Class and Home Problems. Identify-Solve-Broadcast Your Own Transport Phenomenon: Student-Created YouTube Videos to Foster Active Learning in Mass and Heat Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wen, Fei; Khera, Eshita

2016-01-01

Despite the instinctive perception of mass and heat transfer principles in daily life, productive learning in this course continues to be one of the greatest challenges for undergraduate students in chemical engineering. In an effort to enhance student learning in classroom, we initiated an innovative active-learning method titled…

Training in Influencing Skills from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (Modelled from Hypnosis and Family Therapy), in Combination with Innovative Maths Pedagogy, Raises Maths Attainment in Adult Numeracy Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allan, F.; Bourne, J.; Bouch, D.; Churches, R.; Dennison, J.; Evans, J.; Fowler, J.; Jeffers, A.; Prior, E.; Rhodes, L.

2012-01-01

Case study research suggests that NLP [neuro-linguistic programming] influencing strategies benefit teacher effectiveness. Maths pedagogy involving higher-order questioning, challenge, problem solving and collaborative working may be a way of improving attainment in adult numeracy learning, however, such strategies may be less effective if the…

Sculpting in cyberspace: Parallel processing the development of new software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Rob

1993-01-01

Stimulating creativity in problem solving, particularly where software development is involved, is applicable to many disciplines. Metaphorical thinking keeps the problem in focus but in a different light, jarring people out of their mental ruts and sparking fresh insights. It forces the mind to stretch to find patterns between dissimilar concepts, in the hope of discovering unusual ideas in odd associations (Technology Review January 1993, p. 37). With a background in Engineering and Visual Design from MIT, I have for the past 30 years pursued a career as a sculptor of interdisciplinary monumental artworks that bridge the fields of science, engineering and art. Since 1979, I have pioneered the application of computer simulation to solve the complex problems associated with these projects. A recent project for the roof of the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh made particular use of the metaphoric creativity technique described above. The problem-solving process led to the creation of hybrid software combining scientific, architectural and engineering visualization techniques. David Steich, a Doctoral Candidate in Electrical Engineering at Penn State, was commissioned to develop special software that enabled me to create innovative free-form sculpture. This paper explores the process of inventing the software through a detailed analysis of the interaction between an artist and a computer programmer.

A Bright Future: Innovation Transforming Public Health in Chicago

PubMed Central

Choucair, Bechara; Bhatt, Jay; Mansour, Raed

2015-01-01

Big cities continue to be centers for innovative solutions and services. Governments are quickly identifying opportunities to take advantage of this energy and revolutionize the means by which they deliver services to the public. The governmental public health sector is rapidly evolving in this respect, and Chicago is an emerging example of some of the changes to come. Governments are gradually adopting innovative informatics and big data tools and strategies, led by pioneering jurisdictions that are piecing together the standards, policy frameworks, and leadership structures fundamental to effective analytics use. They give an enticing glimpse of the technology's potential and a sense of the challenges that stand in the way. This is a rapidly evolving environment, and cities can work with partners to capitalize on the innovative energies of civic tech communities, health care systems, and emerging markets to introduce new methods to solve old problems. PMID:25423057

A bright future: innovation transforming public health in Chicago.

PubMed

Choucair, Bechara; Bhatt, Jay; Mansour, Raed

2015-01-01

Big cities continue to be centers for innovative solutions and services. Governments are quickly identifying opportunities to take advantage of this energy and revolutionize the means by which they deliver services to the public. The governmental public health sector is rapidly evolving in this respect, and Chicago is an emerging example of some of the changes to come. Governments are gradually adopting innovative informatics and big data tools and strategies, led by pioneering jurisdictions that are piecing together the standards, policy frameworks, and leadership structures fundamental to effective analytics use. They give an enticing glimpse of the technology's potential and a sense of the challenges that stand in the way. This is a rapidly evolving environment, and cities can work with partners to capitalize on the innovative energies of civic tech communities, health care systems, and emerging markets to introduce new methods to solve old problems.

Manage Your Life Online (MYLO): a pilot trial of a conversational computer-based intervention for problem solving in a student sample.

PubMed

Gaffney, Hannah; Mansell, Warren; Edwards, Rachel; Wright, Jason

2014-11-01

Computerized self-help that has an interactive, conversational format holds several advantages, such as flexibility across presenting problems and ease of use. We designed a new program called MYLO that utilizes the principles of METHOD of Levels (MOL) therapy--based upon Perceptual Control Theory (PCT). We tested the efficacy of MYLO, tested whether the psychological change mechanisms described by PCT mediated its efficacy, and evaluated effects of client expectancy. Forty-eight student participants were randomly assigned to MYLO or a comparison program ELIZA. Participants discussed a problem they were currently experiencing with their assigned program and completed measures of distress, resolution and expectancy preintervention, postintervention and at 2-week follow-up. MYLO and ELIZA were associated with reductions in distress, depression, anxiety and stress. MYLO was considered more helpful and led to greater problem resolution. The psychological change processes predicted higher ratings of MYLO's helpfulness and reductions in distress. Positive expectancies towards computer-based problem solving correlated with MYLO's perceived helpfulness and greater problem resolution, and this was partly mediated by the psychological change processes identified. The findings provide provisional support for the acceptability of the MYLO program in a non-clinical sample although its efficacy as an innovative computer-based aid to problem solving remains unclear. Nevertheless, the findings provide tentative early support for the mechanisms of psychological change identified within PCT and highlight the importance of client expectations on predicting engagement in computer-based self-help.

Can small institutes address some problems facing biomedical researchers?

PubMed

Sheetz, Michael P

2014-11-01

At a time of historically low National Institutes of Health funding rates and many problems with the conduct of research (unfunded mandates, disgruntled reviewers, and rampant paranoia), there is a concern that biomedical research as a profession is waning in the United States (see "Rescuing US biomedical research from its systemic flaws" by Alberts and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). However, it is wonderful to discover something new and to tackle tough puzzles. If we could focus more of our effort on discussing scientific problems and doing research, then we could be more productive and perhaps happier. One potential solution is to focus efforts on small thematic institutes in the university structure that can provide a stimulating and supportive environment for innovation and exploration. With an open-lab concept, there are economies of scale that can diminish paperwork and costs, while providing greater access to state-of-the-art equipment. Merging multiple disciplines around a common theme can catalyze innovation, and this enables individuals to develop new concepts without giving up the credit they deserve, because it is usually clear who did the work. Small institutes do not solve larger systemic problems but rather enable collective efforts to address the noisome aspects of the system and foster an innovative community effort to address scientific problems. © 2014 Sheetz.

Comparing and contrasting 'innovation platforms' with other forms of professional networks for strengthening primary healthcare systems for Indigenous Australians.

PubMed

Bailie, Jodie; Cunningham, Frances Clare; Bainbridge, Roxanne Gwendalyn; Passey, Megan E; Laycock, Alison Frances; Bailie, Ross Stewart; Larkins, Sarah L; Brands, Jenny S M; Ramanathan, Shanthi; Abimbola, Seye; Peiris, David

2018-01-01

Efforts to strengthen health systems require the engagement of diverse, multidisciplinary stakeholder networks. Networks provide a forum for experimentation and knowledge creation, information exchange and the spread of good ideas and practice. They might be useful in addressing complex issues or 'wicked' problems, the solutions to which go beyond the control and scope of any one agency. Innovation platforms are proposed as a novel type of network because of their diverse stakeholder composition and focus on problem solving within complex systems. Thus, they have potential applicability to health systems strengthening initiatives, even though they have been predominantly applied in the international agricultural development sector. In this paper, we compare and contrast the concept of innovation platforms with other types of networks that can be used in efforts to strengthen primary healthcare systems, such as communities of practice, practice-based research networks and quality improvement collaboratives. We reflect on our ongoing research programme that applies innovation platform concepts to drive large-scale quality improvement in primary healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and outline our plans for evaluation. Lessons from our experience will find resonance with others working on similar initiatives in global health.

Solutions that stick: activating cross-disciplinary collaboration in a graduate-level public health innovations course at the University of California, Berkeley.

PubMed

Sandhu, Jaspal S; Hosang, Robert Nap; Madsen, Kristine A

2015-03-01

Since 2011 we have taught a public health innovations course at the University of California, Berkeley. Students gain skills in systematic innovation, or human-centered design, while working in small interdisciplinary teams on domestic and global health projects with client organizations. To support acquisition of meaningful problem-solving skills, we structured the course so that the majority of learning happens in scenarios that do not involve faculty. Taken by students representing 26 graduate programs (as diverse as epidemiology, city planning, and mechanical engineering), it is one of the 10 highest-rated courses offered by the School of Public Health. We present the blueprints for our course with the hope that other institutions whose students could benefit will borrow from our model.

Perspectives on Industrial Innovation from Agilent, HP, and Bell Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollenhorst, James

2014-03-01

Innovation is the life blood of technology companies. I will give perspectives gleaned from a career in research and development at Bell Labs, HP Labs, and Agilent Labs, from the point of view of an individual contributor and a manager. Physicists bring a unique set of skills to the corporate environment, including a desire to understand the fundamentals, a solid foundation in physical principles, expertise in applied mathematics, and most importantly, an attitude: namely, that hard problems can be solved by breaking them into manageable pieces. In my experience, hiring managers in industry seldom explicitly search for physicists, but they want people with those skills.

Crowdsourcing biomedical research: leveraging communities as innovation engines

PubMed Central

Saez-Rodriguez, Julio; Costello, James C.; Friend, Stephen H.; Kellen, Michael R.; Mangravite, Lara; Meyer, Pablo; Norman, Thea; Stolovitzky, Gustavo

2018-01-01

The generation of large-scale biomedical data is creating unprecedented opportunities for basic and translational science. Typically, the data producers perform initial analyses, but it is very likely that the most informative methods may reside with other groups. Crowdsourcing the analysis of complex and massive data has emerged as a framework to find robust methodologies. When the crowdsourcing is done in the form of collaborative scientific competitions, known as Challenges, the validation of the methods is inherently addressed. Challenges also encourage open innovation, create collaborative communities to solve diverse and important biomedical problems, and foster the creation and dissemination of well-curated data repositories. PMID:27418159

Crowdsourcing biomedical research: leveraging communities as innovation engines.

PubMed

Saez-Rodriguez, Julio; Costello, James C; Friend, Stephen H; Kellen, Michael R; Mangravite, Lara; Meyer, Pablo; Norman, Thea; Stolovitzky, Gustavo

2016-07-15

The generation of large-scale biomedical data is creating unprecedented opportunities for basic and translational science. Typically, the data producers perform initial analyses, but it is very likely that the most informative methods may reside with other groups. Crowdsourcing the analysis of complex and massive data has emerged as a framework to find robust methodologies. When the crowdsourcing is done in the form of collaborative scientific competitions, known as Challenges, the validation of the methods is inherently addressed. Challenges also encourage open innovation, create collaborative communities to solve diverse and important biomedical problems, and foster the creation and dissemination of well-curated data repositories.

Innovative intelligent technology of distance learning for visually impaired people

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samigulina, Galina; Shayakhmetova, Assem; Nuysuppov, Adlet

2017-12-01

The aim of the study is to develop innovative intelligent technology and information systems of distance education for people with impaired vision (PIV). To solve this problem a comprehensive approach has been proposed, which consists in the aggregate of the application of artificial intelligence methods and statistical analysis. Creating an accessible learning environment, identifying the intellectual, physiological, psychophysiological characteristics of perception and information awareness by this category of people is based on cognitive approach. On the basis of fuzzy logic the individually-oriented learning path of PIV is con- structed with the aim of obtaining high-quality engineering education with modern equipment in the joint use laboratories.

An Elementary Introduction to Recently Developed Computational Methods for Solving Singularly Perturbed Partial Differential Equations Arising in Science and Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Manoj; Srivastava, Akanksha

2013-01-01

This paper presents a survey of innovative approaches of the most effective computational techniques for solving singular perturbed partial differential equations, which are useful because of their numerical and computer realizations. Many applied problems appearing in semiconductors theory, biochemistry, kinetics, theory of electrical chains, economics, solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, quantum mechanics, and many others can be modelled as singularly perturbed systems. Here, we summarize a wide range of research articles published by numerous researchers during the last ten years to get a better view of the present scenario in this area of research.

Nanobiotechnology for the Environment: Innovative Solutions for the Management of Harmful Algal Blooms.

PubMed

Gellert, Matthew R; Kim, Beum Jun; Reffsin, Samuel E; Jusuf, Sebastian E; Wagner, Nicole D; Winans, Stephen C; Wu, Mingming

2017-12-04

Nanobiotechnology has played important roles in solving contemporary health problems, including cancer and diabetes, but has not yet been widely exploited for problems in food security and environmental protection. Water scarcity is an emerging worldwide problem as a result of climate change and population increase. Current methods of managing water resources are not efficient or sustainable. In this perspective, we focus on harmful algal blooms to demonstrate how nanobiotechnology can be explored to understand microbe-environment interactions and allow for toxin/pollutant detection with significantly improved sensitivity. These capabilities hold potential for future development of sustainable solutions for drinking water management.

Networked Community Change: Understanding Community Systems Change through the Lens of Social Network Analysis.

PubMed

Lawlor, Jennifer A; Neal, Zachary P

2016-06-01

Addressing complex problems in communities has become a key area of focus in recent years (Kania & Kramer, 2013, Stanford Social Innovation Review). Building on existing approaches to understanding and addressing problems, such as action research, several new approaches have emerged that shift the way communities solve problems (e.g., Burns, 2007, Systemic Action Research; Foth, 2006, Action Research, 4, 205; Kania & Kramer, 2011, Stanford Social Innovation Review, 1, 36). Seeking to bring clarity to the emerging literature on community change strategies, this article identifies the common features of the most widespread community change strategies and explores the conditions under which such strategies have the potential to be effective. We identify and describe five common features among the approaches to change. Then, using an agent-based model, we simulate network-building behavior among stakeholders participating in community change efforts using these approaches. We find that the emergent stakeholder networks are efficient when the processes are implemented under ideal conditions. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

A New Approach to Teaching Biomechanics Through Active, Adaptive, and Experiential Learning.

PubMed

Singh, Anita

2017-07-01

Demand of biomedical engineers continues to rise to meet the needs of healthcare industry. Current training of bioengineers follows the traditional and dominant model of theory-focused curricula. However, the unmet needs of the healthcare industry warrant newer skill sets in these engineers. Translational training strategies such as solving real world problems through active, adaptive, and experiential learning hold promise. In this paper, we report our findings of adding a real-world 4-week problem-based learning unit into a biomechanics capstone course for engineering students. Surveys assessed student perceptions of the activity and learning experience. While students, across three cohorts, felt challenged to solve a real-world problem identified during the simulation lab visit, they felt more confident in utilizing knowledge learned in the biomechanics course and self-directed research. Instructor evaluations indicated that the active and experiential learning approach fostered their technical knowledge and life-long learning skills while exposing them to the components of adaptive learning and innovation.

An alter-centric perspective on employee innovation: The importance of alters' creative self-efficacy and network structure.

PubMed

Grosser, Travis J; Venkataramani, Vijaya; Labianca, Giuseppe Joe

2017-09-01

While most social network studies of employee innovation behavior examine the focal employees' ("egos'") network structure, we employ an alter-centric perspective to study the personal characteristics of employees' network contacts-their "alters"-to better understand employee innovation. Specifically, we examine how the creative self-efficacy (CSE) and innovation behavior of employees' social network contacts affects their ability to generate and implement novel ideas. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 144 employees in a U.S.-based product development organization. We find that the average CSE of alters in an employee's problem solving network is positively related to that employee's innovation behavior, with this relationship being mediated by these alters' average innovation behavior. The relationship between the alters' average innovation behavior and the employee's own innovation behavior is strengthened when these alters have less dense social networks. Post hoc results suggest that having network contacts with high levels of CSE also leads to an increase in ego's personal CSE 1 year later in cases where the employee's initial level of CSE was relatively low. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Creative Product Problem-Solving Game: Exploring Torrance's Creative Strengths by Making an Object from a Set of Given Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rule, Audrey C.; Zhbanova, Ksenia; Webb, Angela Hileman; Evans, Judy; Schneider, Jean S.; Parpucu, Harun; Logan, Stephanie; Van Meeteren, Beth; Alkouri, Zaid; Ruan, Bin

2011-01-01

Creativity is a talent that undergirds invention and innovation, making it an important skill in today's society. Although students are often told to "be creative," they many times do not know how and have little practice in this skill. This document presents an analysis of 33 creative products made by adult participants at a state conference for…

Overview of microoptics: Past, present, and future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Veldkamp, Wilfrid B.

1993-01-01

Through advances in semiconductor miniaturization technology, microrelief patterns, with characteristic dimensions as small as the wavelength of light, can now be mass reproduced to form high-quality and low-cost optical components. In a unique example of technology transfer, from electronics to optics, this capability is allowing optics designers to create innovative optical components that promise to solve key problems in optical sensors, optical communication channels, and optical processors.

Study on the development trend and practice of sponge cities with Chinese Characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Baihao; Zhang, Cunkuan; Lin, Hua

2018-03-01

The design of sponge city is the innovation and development of theory of rainwater utilization, which provides a new idea for the city to solve the problem of waterlogging and water shortage. The paper expounds the “sponge city” concept of the origins, development and application in engineering construction, and puts forward some suggestions for future research of “sponge city” for our city construction.

X-ray topography as a process control tool in semiconductor and microcircuit manufacture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, D. L.; Porter, W. A.

1977-01-01

A bent wafer camera, designed to identify crystal lattice defects in semiconductor materials, was investigated. The camera makes use of conventional X-ray topographs and an innovative slightly bent wafer which allows rays from the point source to strike all portions of the wafer simultaneously. In addition to being utilized in solving production process control problems, this camera design substantially reduces the cost per topograph.

Computer-Aided TRIZ Ideality and Level of Invention Estimation Using Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Christopher; Tate, Derrick

Patent textual descriptions provide a wealth of information that can be used to understand the underlying design approaches that result in the generation of novel and innovative technology. This article will discuss a new approach for estimating Degree of Ideality and Level of Invention metrics from the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) using patent textual information. Patent text includes information that can be used to model both the functions performed by a design and the associated costs and problems that affect a design’s value. The motivation of this research is to use patent data with calculation of TRIZ metrics to help designers understand which combinations of system components and functions result in creative and innovative design solutions. This article will discuss in detail methods to estimate these TRIZ metrics using natural language processing and machine learning with the use of neural networks.

An efficient numerical method for solving the Boltzmann equation in multidimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimarco, Giacomo; Loubère, Raphaël; Narski, Jacek; Rey, Thomas

2018-01-01

In this paper we deal with the extension of the Fast Kinetic Scheme (FKS) (Dimarco and Loubère, 2013 [26]) originally constructed for solving the BGK equation, to the more challenging case of the Boltzmann equation. The scheme combines a robust and fast method for treating the transport part based on an innovative Lagrangian technique supplemented with conservative fast spectral schemes to treat the collisional operator by means of an operator splitting approach. This approach along with several implementation features related to the parallelization of the algorithm permits to construct an efficient simulation tool which is numerically tested against exact and reference solutions on classical problems arising in rarefied gas dynamic. We present results up to the 3 D × 3 D case for unsteady flows for the Variable Hard Sphere model which may serve as benchmark for future comparisons between different numerical methods for solving the multidimensional Boltzmann equation. For this reason, we also provide for each problem studied details on the computational cost and memory consumption as well as comparisons with the BGK model or the limit model of compressible Euler equations.

Psychiatric Aspects of Dementia

PubMed Central

Onyike, Chiadi U.

2016-01-01

Purpose of Review: The psychiatric aspects of dementia are increasingly recognized as significant contributors to distress, disability, and care burden, and, thus, are of increasing interest to practicing neurologists. This article examines how psychiatric disorders are entwined with dementia and describes the predictive, diagnostic, and therapeutic implications of the psychiatric symptoms of dementia. Recent Findings: Psychiatric disorders, particularly depression and schizophrenia, are associated with higher risk for late-life dementia. Psychiatric phenomena also define phenotypes such as frontotemporal dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies, cause distress, and amplify dementia-related disabilities. Management requires a multidisciplinary team, a problem-solving stance, programs of care, and pharmacologic management. Recent innovations include model programs that provide structured problem-solving interventions and tailored in-home care. Summary: There is new appreciation of the complexity of the relationship between psychiatric disorders and dementia as well as the significance of this relationship for treatment, community services, and research. PMID:27042910

Method for Evaluating Information to Solve Problems of Control, Monitoring and Diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasil'ev, V. A.; Dobrynina, N. V.

2017-06-01

The article describes a method for evaluating information to solve problems of control, monitoring and diagnostics. It is necessary for reducing the dimensionality of informational indicators of situations, bringing them to relative units, for calculating generalized information indicators on their basis, ranking them by characteristic levels, for calculating the efficiency criterion of a system functioning in real time. The design of information evaluation system has been developed on its basis that allows analyzing, processing and assessing information about the object. Such object can be a complex technical, economic and social system. The method and the based system thereof can find a wide application in the field of analysis, processing and evaluation of information on the functioning of the systems, regardless of their purpose, goals, tasks and complexity. For example, they can be used to assess the innovation capacities of industrial enterprises and management decisions.

Perfecting Scientists' Collaboration and Problem-Solving Skills in the Virtual Team Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jabro, A.; Jabro, J.

2012-04-01

PPerfecting Scientists' Collaboration and Problem-Solving Skills in the Virtual Team Environment Numerous factors have contributed to the proliferation of conducting work in virtual teams at the domestic, national, and global levels: innovations in technology, critical developments in software, co-located research partners and diverse funding sources, dynamic economic and political environments, and a changing workforce. Today's scientists must be prepared to not only perform work in the virtual team environment, but to work effectively and efficiently despite physical and cultural barriers. Research supports that students who have been exposed to virtual team experiences are desirable in the professional and academic arenas. Research supports establishing and maintaining established protocols for communication behavior prior to task discussion provides for successful team outcomes. Research conducted on graduate and undergraduate virtual teams' behaviors led to the development of successful pedagogic practices and assessment strategies.

The Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh): Driving Innovation in Translational Research Through an Incentive-Based, Problem-Focused Competition

PubMed Central

Fitzpatrick, Nicole Edgar; Maier, John; Yasko, Laurel; Mathias, David; Qua, Kacy; Wagner, Erika; Miller, Elizabeth; Reis, Steven E.

2017-01-01

Problem Translational research aims to move scientific discoveries across the biomedical spectrum from the laboratory to humans, and to ultimately transform clinical practice and public health policies. Despite efforts to accelerate translational research through national initiatives, several major hurdles remain. Approach The authors created the Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh) as an incentive-based, problem-focused approach to solving identified clinical or public health problems at the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute in spring 2014. With input from a broad range of stakeholders, PInCh leadership arrived at the challenge question: How do we empower individuals to take control of their own health outcomes? The authors developed the PInCh’s three-round proposal submission and review process as well as an online contest management tool to support the process. Outcomes Ninety-two teams submitted videos proposals in round one. Proposals included mobile applications (29, 32%), other information technology (19, 21%), and community program (22, 24%) solutions. Ten teams advanced to the final round, where three were awarded $100,000 to implement their solution over twelve months. In a six-month follow-up survey, 6/11 (55%) team leaders stated the PInCh helped to facilitate connections outside their normal sphere of collaborators. Next Steps Additional educational training sessions related to problem-focused research will be developed. The PInCh will be expanded to engage investment and industry communities to facilitate the translation of solutions to clinical practice via commercialization pathways. External organizations and other universities will be engaged to use the PInCh as a mechanism to fuel innovation in their spaces. PMID:27508341

Is there a role for a test controller in the development of new ATC equipment?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Westrum, Ron

1994-01-01

Earl Wiener points out that human factors problems fixed during the R & D stage are paid for once. When they are not fixed during R & D, they are then paid for every day. How users are involved in the R & D process to assist in developing equipment is a critical issue. Effective involvement can produce real improvements. Ineffective involvement can produce inefficient kludges or systems that are actually dangerous. The underlying problem is the management of information and ideas. To develop a really generative system a great deal would have to change in the way that the FAA innovates. Use of test controllers would solve only some of the problems. For instance, we have cockpit resource management now for pilots; we may have it soon for controllers. But the management of ideas in the innovation process also needs intellectual resource management. Simply involving users is not enough. Brought in at the wrong point in the development process, users can block or compromise innovation. User involvement must be carefully considered. A test controller may be one solution to this problem. It might be necessary to have several kinds of test controllers (en route versus TRACON, for instance). No doubt further problems would surface in getting test controllers into operation. I would recommend that the FAA engage in a series of case studies of controller involvement in the innovation process. A systematic comparison of effective and ineffective cases would do much to clarify what we ought to do in the future. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any cases where test controllers have been used. Perhaps we need to create some, to see how they work.

Innovative Extension Models and Smallholders: How ICT platforms can Deliver Timely Information to Farmers in India.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagothu, U. S.

2016-12-01

Agricultural extension services, among others, contribute to improving rural livelihoods and enhancing economic development. Knowledge development and transfer from the cognitive science point of view, is about, how farmers use and apply their experiential knowledge as well as acquired new knowledge to solve new problems. This depends on the models adopted, the way knowledge is generated and delivered. New extension models based on ICT platforms and smart phones are promising. Results from a 5-year project (www.climaadapt.org) in India shows that farmer led-on farm validations of technologies and knowledge exchange through ICT based platforms outperformed state operated linear extension programs. Innovation here depends on the connectivity, net-working between stakeholders that are involved in generating, transferring and using the knowledge. Key words: Smallholders, Knowledge, Extension, Innovation, India

The Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh): Driving Innovation in Translational Research Through an Incentive-Based, Problem-Focused Competition.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, Nicole Edgar; Maier, John; Yasko, Laurel; Mathias, David; Qua, Kacy; Wagner, Erika; Miller, Elizabeth; Reis, Steven E

2017-05-01

Translational research aims to move scientific discoveries across the biomedical spectrum from the laboratory to humans, and to ultimately transform clinical practice and public health policies. Despite efforts to accelerate translational research through national initiatives, several major hurdles remain. The authors created the Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh) as an incentive-based, problem-focused approach to solving identified clinical or public health problems at the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute in spring 2014. With input from a broad range of stakeholders, PInCh leadership arrived at the challenge question: How do we empower individuals to take control of their own health outcomes? The authors developed the PInCh's three-round proposal submission and review process as well as an online contest management tool to support the process. Ninety-two teams submitted video proposals in round one. Proposals included mobile applications (29; 32%), other information technology (19; 21%), and community program (22; 24%) solutions. Ten teams advanced to the final round, where three were awarded $100,000 to implement their solution over 12 months. In a 6-month follow-up survey, 6/11 (55%) team leaders stated the PInCh helped to facilitate connections outside their normal sphere of collaborators. Additional educational training sessions related to problem-focused research will be developed. The PInCh will be expanded to engage investment and industry communities to facilitate the translation of solutions to clinical practice via commercialization pathways. External organizations and other universities will be engaged to use the PInCh as a mechanism to fuel innovation in their spaces.

Role-playing in the problem-based learning class.

PubMed

Chan, Zenobia C Y

2012-01-01

Learning and teaching have been conceptualized and executed in many styles, such as self-learning, peer learning, and interaction between the learner and mentor. Today, openness to alternative ideas and embracing innovative approaches in nursing education are encouraged in order to meet students' learning interests and needs, and to address ever-changing healthcare requests. Problem-based learning has been widely adopted in nursing education, with various positive effects on students' learning, such as motivated learning, team work, problem-solving skills and critical thinking. Role-plays have been demonstrated as an effective learning strategy that includes an active and experiential feature that facilitates students' autonomy in their health-related learning. However, there is a lack of discussion of whether and how role-play can be used in problem-based learning (PBL). This paper shows the development of a classroom-based innovation using role-play in the PBL class for higher diploma year-one nurse students (a total of 20 students, five per group). This paper consists of five sections: a) the literature on PBL and nurse education, and role-plays as the innovation; b) the PBL case scenario with the illustration of the two role-play scripts, c) student evaluation on role-play in the PBL class; d) discussions on both achievements and limitations of this innovation, and e) the conclusion. It is hoped that this paper will be an example to other nurse educators who are keen on exploring interactive and student-driven learning and teaching strategies in the PBL class. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of an engineering problem-solving methodology to address persistent problems in patient safety: a case study on retained surgical sponges after surgery.

PubMed

Anderson, Devon E; Watts, Bradley V

2013-09-01

Despite innumerable attempts to eliminate the postoperative retention of surgical sponges, the medical error persists in operating rooms worldwide and places significant burden on patient safety, quality of care, financial resources, and hospital/physician reputation. The failure of countless solutions, from new sponge counting methods to radio labeled sponges, to truly eliminate the event in the operating room requires that the emerging field of health-care delivery science find innovative ways to approach the problem. Accordingly, the VA National Center for Patient Safety formed a unique collaboration with a team at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College to evaluate the retention of surgical sponges after surgery and find a solution. The team used an engineering problem solving methodology to develop the best solution. To make the operating room a safe environment for patients, the team identified a need to make the sponge itself safe for use as opposed to resolving the relatively innocuous counting methods. In evaluation of this case study, the need for systematic engineering evaluation to resolve problems in health-care delivery becomes clear.

Innovation Best Practices in the Medical Device Industry.

PubMed

Ray, Partha P; Amaral, Joseph F; Hinoul, Piet

2017-06-01

Advances in patient care often germinate from keen clinical insights and a needs-based approach to innovation. Although there is an important role for incremental improvements to existing solutions, transformational innovation is what truly drives real shifts in clinical outcomes and subsequently patient satisfaction, market access, and economic value. A good example of this is the evolution of the coronary stent market. The best innovation programs are focused on unmet needs rather than solutions, call for a careful articulation of the specific problems to be solved, involve a deep dive within a clinical area, and seek to prioritize research and development investments into areas where the greatest impact can be expected. To enhance its ability to pursue breakthrough innovation, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) has organized itself along priority disease areas, created the global J&J Innovation organization to pursue external technology and know-how, and continues to partner closely with clinical practitioners. The process undertaken at J&J to acquire a microwave ablation technology and enter the interventional oncology space is a recent case study of these innovation principles and organizational focus in action. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neophilia Ranking of Scientific Journals

PubMed Central

Packalen, Mikko; Bhattacharya, Jay

2017-01-01

The ranking of scientific journals is important because of the signal it sends to scientists about what is considered most vital for scientific progress. Existing ranking systems focus on measuring the influence of a scientific paper (citations)—these rankings do not reward journals for publishing innovative work that builds on new ideas. We propose an alternative ranking based on the proclivity of journals to publish papers that build on new ideas, and we implement this ranking via a text-based analysis of all published biomedical papers dating back to 1946. In addition, we compare our neophilia ranking to citation-based (impact factor) rankings; this comparison shows that the two ranking approaches are distinct. Prior theoretical work suggests an active role for our neophilia index in science policy. Absent an explicit incentive to pursue novel science, scientists underinvest in innovative work because of a coordination problem: for work on a new idea to flourish, many scientists must decide to adopt it in their work. Rankings that are based purely on influence thus do not provide sufficient incentives for publishing innovative work. By contrast, adoption of the neophilia index as part of journal-ranking procedures by funding agencies and university administrators would provide an explicit incentive for journals to publish innovative work and thus help solve the coordination problem by increasing scientists' incentives to pursue innovative work. PMID:28713181

Exploration versus exploitation in space, mind, and society

PubMed Central

Hills, Thomas T.; Todd, Peter M.; Lazer, David; Redish, A. David; Couzin, Iain D.

2015-01-01

Search is a ubiquitous property of life. Although diverse domains have worked on search problems largely in isolation, recent trends across disciplines indicate that the formal properties of these problems share similar structures and, often, similar solutions. Moreover, internal search (e.g., memory search) shows similar characteristics to external search (e.g., spatial foraging), including shared neural mechanisms consistent with a common evolutionary origin across species. Search problems and their solutions also scale from individuals to societies, underlying and constraining problem solving, memory, information search, and scientific and cultural innovation. In summary, search represents a core feature of cognition, with a vast influence on its evolution and processes across contexts and requiring input from multiple domains to understand its implications and scope. PMID:25487706

Definition and use of Solution-focused Sustainability Assessment: A novel approach to generate, explore and decide on sustainable solutions for wicked problems.

PubMed

Zijp, Michiel C; Posthuma, Leo; Wintersen, Arjen; Devilee, Jeroen; Swartjes, Frank A

2016-05-01

This paper introduces Solution-focused Sustainability Assessment (SfSA), provides practical guidance formatted as a versatile process framework, and illustrates its utility for solving a wicked environmental management problem. Society faces complex and increasingly wicked environmental problems for which sustainable solutions are sought. Wicked problems are multi-faceted, and deriving of a management solution requires an approach that is participative, iterative, innovative, and transparent in its definition of sustainability and translation to sustainability metrics. We suggest to add the use of a solution-focused approach. The SfSA framework is collated from elements from risk assessment, risk governance, adaptive management and sustainability assessment frameworks, expanded with the 'solution-focused' paradigm as recently proposed in the context of risk assessment. The main innovation of this approach is the broad exploration of solutions upfront in assessment projects. The case study concerns the sustainable management of slightly contaminated sediments continuously formed in ditches in rural, agricultural areas. This problem is wicked, as disposal of contaminated sediment on adjacent land is potentially hazardous to humans, ecosystems and agricultural products. Non-removal would however reduce drainage capacity followed by increased risks of flooding, while contaminated sediment removal followed by offsite treatment implies high budget costs and soil subsidence. Application of the steps in the SfSA-framework served in solving this problem. Important elements were early exploration of a wide 'solution-space', stakeholder involvement from the onset of the assessment, clear agreements on the risk and sustainability metrics of the problem and on the interpretation and decision procedures, and adaptive management. Application of the key elements of the SfSA approach eventually resulted in adoption of a novel sediment management policy. The stakeholder participation and the intensive communication throughout the project resulted in broad support for both the scientific approaches and results, as well as for policy implementation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-agent cooperation pursuit based on an extension of AALAADIN organisational model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Souidi, Mohammed El Habib; Songhao, Piao; Guo, Li; Lin, Chang

2016-11-01

An approach of cooperative pursuit for multiple mobile targets based on multi-agents system is discussed. In this kind of problem the pursuit process is divided into two kinds of tasks. The first one (coalition problem) is designed to solve the problem of the pursuit team formation. To achieve this mission, we used an innovative method based on a dynamic organisation and reorganisation of the pursuers' groups. We introduce our coalition strategy extended from the organisational agent, group, role model by assigning an access mechanism to the groups inspired by fuzzy logic principles. The second task (motion problem) is the treatment of the pursuers' motion strategy. To manage this problem we applied the principles of the Markov decision process. Simulation results show the feasibility and validity of the given proposal.

Technology platforms: opportunities and development perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyakov, G. P.; Avramchikova, N. T.; Belyakova, G. Y.; Chuvashova, M. N.

2016-11-01

The term “technology platform” is used to define thematic scopes in terms of which technological priorities are formed concerning state, business, science and education cooperation that are aimed to solve the problem of state technological independence. The authors have examined the implementation of this tool so that to concentrate essential resources in priority-driven vectors of science and technological advancement of a guiding cluster of innovative technologies in the field of space applications.

Defense AT and L Magazine. Volume 47, Number 2, March-April 2018

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-03-01

laboratories, they are easily trans- ferable to government organizations and industry efforts to solve problems and improve the management of projects ...Instead, the change can occur at the funda- mental management level by suggesting a new, innovative way to lead DoD space projects . One DoD space program...payloads and managed services that can fill military needs. ALSO 20 MDAP/MAIS Program Manager Changes 42 2017 Defense Acquisition Workforce Awards

Comparative analysis of guide mode of government - oriented industry guidance funds under china’s new normal of economic growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Chunling; Cheng, Xuemei

2017-11-01

The government-oriented industry guidance Funds solve the problem of financing difficulty and high innovation under the background of China’s new normal. Through the provinces and cities of the policies and regulations of the collation and comparative analysis, it will be divided into three modes. And then compare among three modes and analyze applicability to guide the construction of provinces and cities.

Constrained and Unconstrained Variational Finite Element Formulation of Solutions to a Stress Wave Problem - a Numerical Comparison.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-10-01

Element Unconstrained Variational Formulations," Innovativ’e Numerical Analysis For the Applied Engineering Science, R. P. Shaw, et at, Fitor...Initial Boundary Value of Gun Dynamics Solved by Finite Element Unconstrained Variational Formulations," Innovative Numerical Analysis For the Applied ... Engineering Science, R. P. Shaw, et al, Editors, University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, pp. 733-741, 1980. 2 J. J. Wu, "Solutions to Initial

Incredibly Versatile Microbial Fuel Cells Innovative Ideas at HES-SO Valais-Wallis for Solving Topical Problems.

PubMed

Heinzelmann, Elsbeth

2016-01-01

At HES-SO Valais-Wallis, Prof. Fabian Fischer is specialized in microbial fuel cells for novel applications that meet the challenge of producing renewable energies. He and his team possess a unique expertise in bioelectric energy vector generation, phosphate extraction (CHIMIA 2015, 69, 296) and the testing of antimicrobial surfaces. Let's take a look behind the scenes of the Institute of Life Technologies in Sion.

Public service communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whalen, A. A.

1979-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to construct, for detailed analysis, satellite and terrestrial communications delivery system models. Attention is given to the Public Service Communications Delivery System Architectural Study, that takes advantage of the extensive experience which exists among the public service experimenters. The Application Test Pilot is examined, which is a program designed to help awareness, in a practical sense, of the technology available and by the users innovative talents, adapts the technology to solve their problems.

Spatial problem-solving strategies of middle school students: Wayfinding with geographic information systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wigglesworth, John C.

2000-06-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful computer software package that emphasizes the use of maps and the management of spatially referenced environmental data archived in a systems data base. Professional applications of GIS have been in place since the 1980's, but only recently has GIS gained significant attention in the K--12 classroom. Students using GIS are able to manipulate and query data in order to solve all manners of spatial problems. Very few studies have examined how this technological innovation can support classroom learning. In particular, there has been little research on how experience in using the software correlates with a child's spatial cognition and his/her ability to understand spatial relationships. This study investigates the strategies used by middle school students to solve a wayfinding (route-finding) problem using the ArcView GIS software. The research design combined an individual background questionnaire, results from the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) test, and analysis of reflective think-aloud sessions to define the characteristics of the strategies students' used to solve this particular class of spatial problem. Three uniquely different spatial problem solving strategies were identified. Visual/Concrete Wayfinders used a highly visual strategy; Logical/Abstract Wayfinders used GIS software tools to apply a more analytical and systematic approach; Transitional Wayfinders used an approach that showed evidence of one that was shifting from a visual strategy to one that was more analytical. The triangulation of data sources indicates that this progression of wayfinding strategy can be correlated both to Piagetian stages of logical thought and to experience with the use of maps. These findings suggest that GIS teachers must be aware that their students' performance will lie on a continuum that is based on cognitive development, spatial ability, and prior experience with maps. To be most effective, GIS teaching strategies and curriculum development should also represent a progression that correlates to the learners' current skills and experience.

Tackling the child malnutrition problem: from what and why to how much and how.

PubMed

McLachlan, Milla

2006-12-01

There is strong economic evidence to invest in improving the economic status of young children, yet programs remain underresourced. Returns on investment in child nutrition in terms of improved health, better education outcomes and increased productivity are substantial, and cost estimates for effective programs are in the range of $2.8 to $5.3 billion. These amounts are modest when compared with total international development assistance or current spending on luxury goods in wealthy nations. New initiatives to redefine nutrition science and to apply innovative problem-solving technologies to the global nutrition problem suggest that steps are being taken to accelerate progress toward a malnutrition-free world.

Documentation as Problem Solving for Literacy Outreach Programs

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

Girill, T R

2004-07-06

Age-appropriate technical writing lessons for underperforming high-school students can offer them an innovative, ''authentic'' way to improve how they read and write. Thus the techniques and principles of effective technical communication routinely applied at work also provide a positive response to one of today's great educational challenges. This workshop shows participants how to (1) introduce English and science teachers to the value of technical writing as a response to school literacy problems, (2) prepare plausible practice exercises to help students improve their basic literacy, and (3) recognize and respond to known literacy outreach pitfalls. Every effective literacy outreach project basedmore » on technical writing needs to address four key problems.« less

Investigating the Usability and Efficacy of Customizable Computer Coaches for Introductory Physics Problem Solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aryal, Bijaya

2016-03-01

We have studied the impacts of web-based Computer Coaches on educational outputs and outcomes. This presentation will describe the technical and conceptual framework related to the Coaches and discuss undergraduate students' favorability of the Coaches. Moreover, its impacts on students' physics problem solving performance and on their conceptual understanding of physics will be reported. We used a qualitative research technique to collect and analyze interview data from 19 undergraduate students who used the Coaches in the interview setting. The empirical results show that the favorability and efficacy of the Computer Coaches differ considerably across students of different educational backgrounds, preparation levels, attitudes and epistemologies about physics learning. The interview data shows that female students tend to have more favorability supporting the use of the Coach. Likewise, our assessment suggests that female students seem to benefit more from the Coaches in their problem solving performance and in conceptual learning of physics. Finally, the analysis finds evidence that the Coach has potential for increasing efficiency in usage and for improving students' educational outputs and outcomes under its customized usage. This work was partially supported by the Center for Educational Innovation, Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, University of Minnesota.

Innovations in glaucoma surgery from Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences.

PubMed

Dada, Tanuj; Midha, Neha; Shah, Pooja; Sidhu, Talvir; Angmo, Dewang; Sihota, Ramanjit

2017-02-01

Trabeculectomy surgery is the current standard of care in glaucoma for achieving a low target intraocular pressure if medical therapy is not adequate. Augmentation of trabeculectomy with antimetabolites brought a revolutionary change in the long-term success rates of trabeculectomy, but along with it came a plethora of complications. There still is a big window for therapeutic innovations on this subject. The foremost target for these innovations is to modulate the wound healing response after glaucoma drainage surgery. Achieving the desired balance between long-term success of filtering blebs versus early failure due to scarring of blebs and hypotony due to dysfunctional filtering blebs poses a unique challenge to the ophthalmologists. Alternatives to trabeculectomy such as glaucoma drainage devices and minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries cannot solve the problem of glaucoma blindness in our country, mainly due to their unpredictable results and unfavorable cost-benefit ratio. In this article, we present a summary of our innovations in glaucoma surgery to advance patient care by making it more effective, safer, and economical.

[Development and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline and Chinese herbal pieces industry].

PubMed

Xiao, Yong-Qing; Li, Li; Liu, Ying; Ma, Yin-Lian; Yu, Ding-Rong

2016-01-01

To elucidate the key issues in the development and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline and Chinese herbal pieces industry Chinese herbal pieces industry. According to the author's accumulated experience over years and demand of the development of the Chinese herbal pieces industry, the key issues in the development and innovation on the Chinese herbal pieces industry were summarized. According to the author, the traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline shall focus on a application basis research. The development of this discipline should be closely related to the development of Chinese herbal pieces. The traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline can be improved and its results can be transformed only if this discipline were correlated with the Chinese herbal pieces industry, matched with the development of the Chinese herbal pieces industry, and solved the problems in the development on the Chinese herbal pieces industry. The development of traditional Chinese medicine processing discipline and the Chinese herbal pieces industry also requires scientific researchers to make constant innovations, realize the specialty of the researches, and innovate based on inheritance. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Social Performance Cues Induce Behavioral Flexibility in Humans

PubMed Central

Toelch, Ulf; Bruce, Matthew J.; Meeus, Marius T. H.; Reader, Simon M.

2011-01-01

Behavioral flexibility allows individuals to react to environmental changes, but changing established behavior carries costs, with unknown benefits. Individuals may thus modify their behavioral flexibility according to the prevailing circumstances. Social information provided by the performance level of others provides one possible cue to assess the potential benefits of changing behavior, since out-performance in similar circumstances indicates that novel behaviors (innovations) are potentially useful. We demonstrate that social performance cues, in the form of previous players’ scores in a problem-solving computer game, influence behavioral flexibility. Participants viewed only performance indicators, not the innovative behavior of others. While performance cues (high, low, or no scores) had little effect on innovation discovery rates, participants that viewed high scores increased their utilization of innovations, allowing them to exploit the virtual environment more effectively than players viewing low or no scores. Perceived conspecific performance can thus shape human decisions to adopt novel traits, even when the traits employed cannot be copied. This simple mechanism, social performance feedback, could be a driver of both the facultative adoption of innovations and cumulative cultural evolution, processes critical to human success. PMID:21811477

The Spark of Disruptive Innovation for Space Physics and Aeronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacDonald, E.

2017-12-01

What is disruptive innovation and why does it matter for Space Physics and Aeronomy (SPA)? This presentation will define disruptive innovation and present several examples relevant to SPA. These examples range from Cubesats to Citizen Science. Disruptive innovation requires not just an idea but also execution. Why do we need disruptive innovation? Simply put, we need to break out of our comfortable rut to solve bigger problems and evolve as a field for the future. These opportunities are exciting and they are difficult. SPA is well-suited to these types of interdisciplinary applications, due to its dual fundamental and applied nature that dovetails with many other fields. Challenges are that we do not incentivize disruptive innovation, we do not recognize it, and we typically do not fund it. As a result we are risk averse and we suffer from the "Matthew effect" of accumulated advantage. We do not allow ourselves to learn from new and uncomfortable angles and recognize the innovation that comes from there. The strength of having a more diverse and inclusive field is that a range of more diverse ideas and perspectives will be promoted. The next big innovations for SPA may come from the outside, and the best way to capture such ideas may be to promote diversity and inclusion at all levels.

The effects of environment and ownership on children's innovation of tools and tool material selection.

PubMed

Sheridan, Kimberly M; Konopasky, Abigail W; Kirkwood, Sophie; Defeyter, Margaret A

2016-03-19

Research indicates that in experimental settings, young children of 3-7 years old are unlikely to devise a simple tool to solve a problem. This series of exploratory studies done in museums in the US and UK explores how environment and ownership of materials may improve children's ability and inclination for (i) tool material selection and (ii) innovation. The first study takes place in a children's museum, an environment where children can use tools and materials freely. We replicated a tool innovation task in this environment and found that while 3-4 year olds showed the predicted low levels of innovation rates, 4-7 year olds showed higher rates of innovation than the younger children and than reported in prior studies. The second study explores the effect of whether the experimental materials are owned by the experimenter or the child on tool selection and innovation. Results showed that 5-6 year olds and 6-7 year olds were more likely to select tool material they owned compared to tool material owned by the experimenter, although ownership had no effect on tool innovation. We argue that learning environments supporting tool exploration and invention and conveying ownership over materials may encourage successful tool innovation at earlier ages. © 2016 The Author(s).

Polarity related influence maximization in signed social networks.

PubMed

Li, Dong; Xu, Zhi-Ming; Chakraborty, Nilanjan; Gupta, Anika; Sycara, Katia; Li, Sheng

2014-01-01

Influence maximization in social networks has been widely studied motivated by applications like spread of ideas or innovations in a network and viral marketing of products. Current studies focus almost exclusively on unsigned social networks containing only positive relationships (e.g. friend or trust) between users. Influence maximization in signed social networks containing both positive relationships and negative relationships (e.g. foe or distrust) between users is still a challenging problem that has not been studied. Thus, in this paper, we propose the polarity-related influence maximization (PRIM) problem which aims to find the seed node set with maximum positive influence or maximum negative influence in signed social networks. To address the PRIM problem, we first extend the standard Independent Cascade (IC) model to the signed social networks and propose a Polarity-related Independent Cascade (named IC-P) diffusion model. We prove that the influence function of the PRIM problem under the IC-P model is monotonic and submodular Thus, a greedy algorithm can be used to achieve an approximation ratio of 1-1/e for solving the PRIM problem in signed social networks. Experimental results on two signed social network datasets, Epinions and Slashdot, validate that our approximation algorithm for solving the PRIM problem outperforms state-of-the-art methods.

Polarity Related Influence Maximization in Signed Social Networks

PubMed Central

Li, Dong; Xu, Zhi-Ming; Chakraborty, Nilanjan; Gupta, Anika; Sycara, Katia; Li, Sheng

2014-01-01

Influence maximization in social networks has been widely studied motivated by applications like spread of ideas or innovations in a network and viral marketing of products. Current studies focus almost exclusively on unsigned social networks containing only positive relationships (e.g. friend or trust) between users. Influence maximization in signed social networks containing both positive relationships and negative relationships (e.g. foe or distrust) between users is still a challenging problem that has not been studied. Thus, in this paper, we propose the polarity-related influence maximization (PRIM) problem which aims to find the seed node set with maximum positive influence or maximum negative influence in signed social networks. To address the PRIM problem, we first extend the standard Independent Cascade (IC) model to the signed social networks and propose a Polarity-related Independent Cascade (named IC-P) diffusion model. We prove that the influence function of the PRIM problem under the IC-P model is monotonic and submodular Thus, a greedy algorithm can be used to achieve an approximation ratio of 1-1/e for solving the PRIM problem in signed social networks. Experimental results on two signed social network datasets, Epinions and Slashdot, validate that our approximation algorithm for solving the PRIM problem outperforms state-of-the-art methods. PMID:25061986

Toward Sustainable Anticipatory Governance: Analyzing and Assessing Nanotechnology Innovation Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foley, Rider Williams

Cities around the globe struggle with socio-economic disparities, resource inefficiency, environmental contamination, and quality-of-life challenges. Technological innovation, as one prominent approach to problem solving, promises to address these challenges; yet, introducing new technologies, such as nanotechnology, into society and cities has often resulted in negative consequences. Recent research has conceptually linked anticipatory governance and sustainability science: to understand the role of technology in complex problems our societies face; to anticipate negative consequences of technological innovation; and to promote long-term oriented and responsible governance of technologies. This dissertation advances this link conceptually and empirically, focusing on nanotechnology and urban sustainability challenges. The guiding question for this dissertation research is: How can nanotechnology be innovated and governed in responsible ways and with sustainable outcomes? The dissertation: analyzes the nanotechnology innovation process from an actor- and activities-oriented perspective (Chapter 2); assesses this innovation process from a comprehensive perspective on sustainable governance (Chapter 3); constructs a small set of future scenarios to consider future implications of different nanotechnology governance models (Chapter 4); and appraises the amenability of sustainability problems to nanotechnological interventions (Chapter 5). The four studies are based on data collected through literature review, document analysis, participant observation, interviews, workshops, and walking audits, as part of process analysis, scenario construction, and technology assessment. Research was conducted in collaboration with representatives from industry, government agencies, and civic organizations. The empirical parts of the four studies focus on Metropolitan Phoenix. Findings suggest that: predefined mandates and economic goals dominate the nanotechnology innovation process; normative responsibilities identified by risk governance, sustainability-oriented governance, and anticipatory governance are infrequently considered in the nanotechnology innovation process; different governance models will have major impacts on the role and effects of nanotechnology in cities in the future; and nanotechnologies, currently, do not effectively address the root causes of urban sustainability challenges and require complementary solution approaches. This dissertation contributes to the concepts of anticipatory governance and sustainability science on how to constructively guide nanotechnological innovation in order to harvest its positive potential and safeguard against negative consequences.

Innovating With Rehabilitation Technology in the Real World: Promises, Potentials, and Perspectives.

PubMed

Chua, Karen Sui Geok; Kuah, Christopher Wee Keong

2017-10-01

In this article, we discuss robotic-assisted therapy as an emerging and significant field of clinical rehabilitation and its value proposition for innovating rehabilitation clinical practice. Attempts to achieve integration among clinicians' practices and bioengineers' machines often generate new challenges and controversies. To date, the literature is indicative of a sizeable number and variety of robotic devices in the field of clinical rehabilitation, some are commercially available; however, large-scale clinical outcomes are less positive than expected. The following main themes related to integrating rehabilitation technology in real-world clinical practice will be discussed: the application of current evidence-based practice and knowledge in relation to treatment in the rehabilitation clinic, perspectives from rehabilitation professionals using robotic-aided therapy with regard to challenges, and strategies for problem solving. Lastly, we present innovation philosophies with regard to sustainability of clinical rehabilitation technologies.

Innovating With Rehabilitation Technology in the Real World

PubMed Central

Chua, Karen Sui Geok; Kuah, Christopher Wee Keong

2017-01-01

Abstract In this article, we discuss robotic-assisted therapy as an emerging and significant field of clinical rehabilitation and its value proposition for innovating rehabilitation clinical practice. Attempts to achieve integration among clinicians' practices and bioengineers' machines often generate new challenges and controversies. To date, the literature is indicative of a sizeable number and variety of robotic devices in the field of clinical rehabilitation, some are commercially available; however, large-scale clinical outcomes are less positive than expected. The following main themes related to integrating rehabilitation technology in real-world clinical practice will be discussed: the application of current evidence-based practice and knowledge in relation to treatment in the rehabilitation clinic, perspectives from rehabilitation professionals using robotic-aided therapy with regard to challenges, and strategies for problem solving. Lastly, we present innovation philosophies with regard to sustainability of clinical rehabilitation technologies. PMID:28708632

To promote the engineering innovative abilities of undergraduates by taking projects as the guidance and competitions as the promotion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yishen; Wu, Di; Chen, Daqing; Gu, Jihua; Gao, Lei

2017-08-01

According to the inherent requirements of education for talents' knowledge, quality and comprehensive ability and the major training goals of optoelectronics information science and engineering, in order to enhance the undergraduates' comprehensive practical ability and consciousness of innovation, we carried out the reforms of teaching method and teaching mode, which took the training programs of innovation and entrepreneurship for undergraduates, extracurricular academic research fund, "Chun-Tsung Scholar" program or research projects of their tutors as the guidance, and took the all levels of relevant discipline competitions as the promotion. And the training mainline of engineering innovation talents as "undergraduate's tutorial system ->innovative training program or tutor's research project ->academic competition ->graduation projects (thesis)" was constructed stage by stage by combining the undergraduates' graduation projects and their participated academic competition into one for improving the quality of the graduation projects (thesis). The practical results of the last several years illuminate that the proposed training model can effectively stimulate the students' awareness of autonomous learning, enhance their comprehensive ability of analyzing and solving problems and improve their ability of engineering practice and innovation as well as their teamwork spirit.

Exploring or Avoiding Novel Food Resources? The Novelty Conflict in an Invasive Bird

PubMed Central

Sol, Daniel; Griffin, Andrea S.; Bartomeus, Ignasi; Boyce, Hayley

2011-01-01

For an animal invading a novel region, the ability to develop new behaviors should facilitate the use of novel food resources and hence increase its survival in the new environment. However, the need to explore new resources may entail costs such as exposing the animal to unfamiliar predators. These two opposing forces result in an exploration-avoidance conflict, which can be expected to interfere with the acquisition of new resources. However, its consequences should be less dramatic in highly urbanized environments where new food opportunities are common and predation risk is low. We tested this hypothesis experimentally by presenting three foraging tasks to introduced common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) from environments with low and high urbanization levels from Australia. Individuals from the highly urbanized environments, where mynas are both more opportunistic when foraging and less fearful to predators, resolved a technical task faster than those from less urbanized environments. These differences did not reflect innovative ‘personalities’ and were not confounded by sex, morphology or motivational state. Rather, the principal factors underlying differences in mynas' problem-solving ability were neophobic-neophilic responses, which varied across habitats. Thus, mynas seem to modulate their problem-solving ability according to the benefits and costs of innovating in their particular habitat, which may help us understand the great success of the species in highly urbanized environments. PMID:21611168

Re-Innovating Recycling for Turbulent Boundary Layer Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruan, Joseph; Blanquart, Guillaume

2017-11-01

Historically, turbulent boundary layers along a flat plate have been expensive to simulate numerically, in part due to the difficulty of initializing the inflow with ``realistic'' turbulence, but also due to boundary layer growth. The former has been resolved in several ways, primarily dedicating a region of at least 10 boundary layer thicknesses in width to rescale and recycle flow or by extending the region far enough downstream to allow a laminar flow to develop into turbulence. Both of these methods are relatively costly. We propose a new method to remove the need for an inflow region, thus reducing computational costs significantly. Leveraging the scale similarity of the mean flow profiles, we introduce a coordinate transformation so that the boundary layer problem can be solved as a parallel flow problem with additional source terms. The solutions in the new coordinate system are statistically homogeneous in the downstream direction and so the problem can be solved with periodic boundary conditions. The present study shows the stability of this method, its implementation and its validation for a few laminar and turbulent boundary layer cases.

Ethical issues in surgical innovation.

PubMed

Miller, Megan E; Siegler, Mark; Angelos, Peter

2014-07-01

Innovation is responsible for most advances in the field of surgery. Innovative approaches to solving clinical problems have significantly decreased morbidity and mortality for many surgical procedures, and have led to improved patient outcomes. While innovation is motivated by the surgeon's expectation that the new approach will be beneficial to patients, not all innovations are successful or result in improved patient care. The ethical dilemma of surgical innovation lies in the uncertainty of whether a particular innovation will prove to be a "good thing." This uncertainty creates challenges for surgeons, patients, and the healthcare system. By its very nature, innovation introduces a potential risk to patient safety, a risk that may not be fully known, and it simultaneously fosters an optimism bias. These factors increase the complexity of informed consent and shared decision making for the surgeon and the patient. Innovative procedures and their associated technology raise issues of cost and resource distribution in the contemporary, financially conscious, healthcare environment. Surgeons and institutions must identify and address conflicts of interest created by the development and application of an innovation, always preserving the best interest of the patient above the academic or financial rewards of success. Potential strategies to address the challenges inherent in surgical innovation include collecting and reporting objective outcomes data, enhancing the informed consent process, and adhering to the principles of disclosure and professionalism. As surgeons, we must encourage creativity and innovation while maintaining our ethical awareness and responsibility to patients.

Innovation processes in technologies for the processing of refractory mineral raw materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chanturiya, V. A.

2008-12-01

Analysis of the grade of mineral resources of Russia and other countries shows that end products that are competitive in terms of both technological and environmental criteria in the world market can only be obtained by the development and implementation of progressive technologies based on the up-to-date achievements of fundamental sciences. The essence of modern innovation processes in technologies developed in Russia for the complex and comprehensive processing of refractory raw materials with a complex composition is ascertained. These processes include (i) radiometric methods of concentration of valuable components, (ii) high-energy methods of disintegration of highly dispersed mineral components, and (iii) electrochemical methods of water conditioning to obtain target products for solving specific technological problems.

Biomedical engineering - A means to add new dimension to medicine and research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doerr, D. F.

1992-01-01

Biomedical engineering is an evolving science that seeks to insert technically oriented and trained personnel to assist medical professionals in solving technological problems in the pursuit of innovations in the delivery of health care. Consequently, engineering solutions are brought to bear on problems that previously were outside the training of physicians and beyond the understanding or appreciation of the conventionally educated electrical or mechanical engineers. This physician/scientist/engineer team has a capability to extend medicine and research far beyond the capability of a single entity operating alone. How biomedical engineering has added a new dimension to medical science at the Kennedy Space Center is described.

Locating the fourth helix: Rethinking the role of civil society in developing smart learning cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borkowska, Katarzyna; Osborne, Michael

2018-06-01

In the Global North and increasingly in the Global South, smart city technologies are enthusiastically seen as a solution to urban problems and as an alternative to austerity. However, to move beyond a narrow technological focus, it is necessary to explore the degree to which smart initiatives are committed to building socially inclusive innovation with learning at its core. Using the particular case of the Future City Demonstrator Initiative in Glasgow, United Kingdom, the most high-profile initiative of its kind funded by government, the authors of this article assess the extent to which this smart city adopts such an inclusive approach. They use the quadruple helix model (government - academia - industry - civil society) as a starting point and develop an analytic framework composed of four strands: (1) supporting participation of citizens in decision-making; (2) implementing technological innovation which positions citizens as active users; (3) implementing technological innovation to benefit the community; and (4) evaluating technological innovation in the light of the experiences and needs of citizens. Unlike most analyses, the principal focus of this article is on the fourth element of the helix, civil society. The authors argue that Glasgow's rhetoric of smart urbanism, while aspiring to problem-solving, devalues certain principles of human agency. They emphasise that urban change, including the city's desire to become technologically innovative, would more fully facilitate active citizenship, social inclusion and learning opportunities for all if it were underpinned by the broader conceptions and frameworks of learning cities.

Brain size predicts problem-solving ability in mammalian carnivores

PubMed Central

Benson-Amram, Sarah; Dantzer, Ben; Stricker, Gregory; Swanson, Eli M.; Holekamp, Kay E.

2016-01-01

Despite considerable interest in the forces shaping the relationship between brain size and cognitive abilities, it remains controversial whether larger-brained animals are, indeed, better problem-solvers. Recently, several comparative studies have revealed correlations between brain size and traits thought to require advanced cognitive abilities, such as innovation, behavioral flexibility, invasion success, and self-control. However, the general assumption that animals with larger brains have superior cognitive abilities has been heavily criticized, primarily because of the lack of experimental support for it. Here, we designed an experiment to inquire whether specific neuroanatomical or socioecological measures predict success at solving a novel technical problem among species in the mammalian order Carnivora. We presented puzzle boxes, baited with food and scaled to accommodate body size, to members of 39 carnivore species from nine families housed in multiple North American zoos. We found that species with larger brains relative to their body mass were more successful at opening the boxes. In a subset of species, we also used virtual brain endocasts to measure volumes of four gross brain regions and show that some of these regions improve model prediction of success at opening the boxes when included with total brain size and body mass. Socioecological variables, including measures of social complexity and manual dexterity, failed to predict success at opening the boxes. Our results, thus, fail to support the social brain hypothesis but provide important empirical support for the relationship between relative brain size and the ability to solve this novel technical problem. PMID:26811470

Brain size predicts problem-solving ability in mammalian carnivores.

PubMed

Benson-Amram, Sarah; Dantzer, Ben; Stricker, Gregory; Swanson, Eli M; Holekamp, Kay E

2016-03-01

Despite considerable interest in the forces shaping the relationship between brain size and cognitive abilities, it remains controversial whether larger-brained animals are, indeed, better problem-solvers. Recently, several comparative studies have revealed correlations between brain size and traits thought to require advanced cognitive abilities, such as innovation, behavioral flexibility, invasion success, and self-control. However, the general assumption that animals with larger brains have superior cognitive abilities has been heavily criticized, primarily because of the lack of experimental support for it. Here, we designed an experiment to inquire whether specific neuroanatomical or socioecological measures predict success at solving a novel technical problem among species in the mammalian order Carnivora. We presented puzzle boxes, baited with food and scaled to accommodate body size, to members of 39 carnivore species from nine families housed in multiple North American zoos. We found that species with larger brains relative to their body mass were more successful at opening the boxes. In a subset of species, we also used virtual brain endocasts to measure volumes of four gross brain regions and show that some of these regions improve model prediction of success at opening the boxes when included with total brain size and body mass. Socioecological variables, including measures of social complexity and manual dexterity, failed to predict success at opening the boxes. Our results, thus, fail to support the social brain hypothesis but provide important empirical support for the relationship between relative brain size and the ability to solve this novel technical problem.

Advanced Computational Methods for Security Constrained Financial Transmission Rights

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

Kalsi, Karanjit; Elbert, Stephen T.; Vlachopoulou, Maria

Financial Transmission Rights (FTRs) are financial insurance tools to help power market participants reduce price risks associated with transmission congestion. FTRs are issued based on a process of solving a constrained optimization problem with the objective to maximize the FTR social welfare under power flow security constraints. Security constraints for different FTR categories (monthly, seasonal or annual) are usually coupled and the number of constraints increases exponentially with the number of categories. Commercial software for FTR calculation can only provide limited categories of FTRs due to the inherent computational challenges mentioned above. In this paper, first an innovative mathematical reformulationmore » of the FTR problem is presented which dramatically improves the computational efficiency of optimization problem. After having re-formulated the problem, a novel non-linear dynamic system (NDS) approach is proposed to solve the optimization problem. The new formulation and performance of the NDS solver is benchmarked against widely used linear programming (LP) solvers like CPLEX™ and tested on both standard IEEE test systems and large-scale systems using data from the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). The performance of the NDS is demonstrated to be comparable and in some cases is shown to outperform the widely used CPLEX algorithms. The proposed formulation and NDS based solver is also easily parallelizable enabling further computational improvement.« less

UCSF Small Molecule Discovery Center: innovation, collaboration and chemical biology in the Bay Area.

PubMed

Arkin, Michelle R; Ang, Kenny K H; Chen, Steven; Davies, Julia; Merron, Connie; Tang, Yinyan; Wilson, Christopher G M; Renslo, Adam R

2014-05-01

The Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC) at the University of California, San Francisco, works collaboratively with the scientific community to solve challenging problems in chemical biology and drug discovery. The SMDC includes a high throughput screening facility, medicinal chemistry, and research labs focused on fundamental problems in biochemistry and targeted drug delivery. Here, we outline our HTS program and provide examples of chemical tools developed through SMDC collaborations. We have an active research program in developing quantitative cell-based screens for primary cells and whole organisms; here, we describe whole-organism screens to find drugs against parasites that cause neglected tropical diseases. We are also very interested in target-based approaches for so-called "undruggable", protein classes and fragment-based lead discovery. This expertise has led to several pharmaceutical collaborations; additionally, the SMDC works with start-up companies to enable their early-stage research. The SMDC, located in the biotech-focused Mission Bay neighborhood in San Francisco, is a hub for innovative small-molecule discovery research at UCSF.

Apollo 13 creativity: in-the-box innovation.

PubMed

King, M J

1997-01-01

A study of the Apollo 13 mission, based on the themes showcased in the acclaimed 1995 film, reveals the grace under pressure that is the condition of optimal creativity. "Apollo 13 Creativity" is a cultural and creative problem-solving appreciation of the thinking style that made the Apollo mission succeed: creativity under severe limitations. Although creativity is often considered a "luxury good," of concern mainly for personal enrichment, the arts, and performance improvement, in life-or-death situations it is the critical pathway not only to success but to survival. In this case. the original plan for a moon landing had to be transformed within a matter of hours into a return to earth. By precluding failure as an option at the outset, both space and ground crews were forced to adopt a new perspective on their resources and options to solve for a successful landing. This now-classic problem provides a range of principles for creative practice and motivation applicable in any situation. The extreme situation makes these points dramatically.

Modeling of the Nonlinear Interface in Reinforced Concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curiel Sosa, J. L.

2010-04-01

This article presents a novel scheme for modeling of reinforced concrete. The strategy takes into account the nonlinear behavior of the concrete as well as the debonding in the interface. The proposed technique solves the kinematic and kinetic jump in the interface by performing sub-cycles over the constituents-reinforcing bar and concrete-jointly with an innovative interface constitutive law. Application to pull-out problems is performed to show the capabilities of the proposed methodology by means of comparison with available experimental data.

Advanced concepts in joining by conventional processes

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

Edwards, G.R.; Fasching-James, A.A.; Onsoien, M.I.

1994-12-31

Innovations which can be made to conventional arc welding processes so that advanced materials can be more efficiently joined are considered. Three examples are discussed: (1) GTA welding of iron aluminides, (2) GMA welding of advanced steels, and (3) SMA welding of structural steels. Advanced materials present new challenges for the materials joining specialist. The three examples discussed in this paper demonstrate, however, that modest but creative alterations of conventional GTAW, GMAW, or SMAW processes can provide new and better controls for solving advanced materials joining problems.

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

SLAC,

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) encourage innovation, creativity, originality and quality to maintain the Laboratory’s research activities and staff at the forefront of science and technology. To further advance its scientific research capabilities, the Laboratory allocates a portion of its funds for the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program. With DOE guidance, the LDRD program enables SLAC scientists to make rapid and significant contributions that seed new strategies for solving important national science and technology problems. The LDRD program is conducted using existing research facilities.

Selecting for creativity and innovation potential: implications for practice in healthcare education.

PubMed

Patterson, Fiona; Zibarras, Lara Dawn

2017-05-01

The ability to innovate is an important requirement in many organisations. Despite this pressing need, few selection systems in healthcare focus on identifying the potential for creativity and innovation and so this area has been vastly under-researched. As a first step towards understanding how we might select for creativity and innovation, this paper explores the use of a trait-based measure of creativity and innovation potential, and evaluates its efficacy for use in selection for healthcare education. This study uses a sample of 188 postgraduate physicians applying for education and training in UK General Practice. Participants completed two questionnaires (a trait-based measure of creativity and innovation, and a measure of the Big Five personality dimensions) and were also rated by assessors on creative problem solving measured during a selection centre. In exploring the construct validity of the trait-based measure of creativity and innovation, our research clarifies the associations between personality, and creativity and innovation. In particular, our study highlights the importance of motivation in the creativity and innovation process. Results also suggest that Openness to Experience is positively related to creativity and innovation whereas some aspects of Conscientiousness are negatively associated with creativity and innovation. Results broadly support the utility of using a trait-based measure of creativity and innovation in healthcare selection processes, although practically this may be best delivered as part of an interview process, rather than as a screening tool. Findings are discussed in relation to broader implications for placing more priority on creativity and innovation as selection criteria within healthcare education and training in future.

Effects of using multi-vide ruler kit in the acquisition of numeracy skills among PROTIM students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arumugan, Hemalatha A./P.; Obeng, Sharifah Nasriah Wan; Talib, Corrienna Abdul; Bunyamin, Muhammad Abdul Hadi; Ali, Marlina; Ibrahim, Norhasniza; Zawadzki, Rainer

2017-08-01

One effective way to teach arithmetic more interestingly and make it easier to learn is through the use of instructional materials. These can help students master certain mathematical skills, particularly multiplication and division, often considered difficult amongst primary school pupils. Nevertheless, the insufficiency of appropriate instructional materials causes difficulty in understanding how to use the proper technique or apply the concept, especially in multiplication. With this in mind, this study investigated whether the innovative and creative instructional material designed to assist and enhance numeracy skills, namely the Multi-vide Ruler kit, could increase students' ability in solving multiplication and division questions and whether it affected their interest in solving numeracy problems. Participants in this study included ten PROTIM (Program Tiga M [Three M Program] - membaca [reading], menulis [writing] dan mengira [calculate]) students, 9-10 years old, who had difficulties in reading, writing and arithmetic. In order to get appropriate support for qualitative research, a pre and post-test containing ten basic mathematical operations, was implemented together with the Multi-vide Ruler Kit. The findings of the qualitative case study, with the pre and post-tests, showed significant differences in their achievement and interest in two-digit multiplication and division operations. The results suggest that this approach could improve PROTIM student's ability to solve basic mathematical operations. What was most encouraging was the increase in students' interest in solving numeracy problems.

A case-based, problem-based learning approach to prepare master of public health candidates for the complexities of global health.

PubMed

Leon, Juan S; Winskell, Kate; McFarland, Deborah A; del Rio, Carlos

2015-03-01

Global health is a dynamic, emerging, and interdisciplinary field. To address current and emerging global health challenges, we need a public health workforce with adaptable and collaborative problem-solving skills. In the 2013-2014 academic year, the Hubert Department of Global Health at the Rollins School of Public Health-Emory University launched an innovative required core course for its first-year Master of Public Health students in the global health track. The course uses a case-based, problem-based learning approach to develop global health competencies. Small teams of students propose solutions to these problems by identifying learning issues and critically analyzing and synthesizing new information. We describe the course structure and logistics used to apply this approach in the context of a large class and share lessons learned.

The integral indicator of socio-economic assessment in regard to resource-oriented territories development in Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuvashova, M. N.; Avramchikova, N. T.; Zelenkov, P. V.; Petrosyan, M. O.

2016-04-01

Economic peculiarity of Russian resource-oriented territories are based on a focal type of industrial complex, differentiation of economies within a principle of mining and processing of natural resources. To improve the economic condition and integrate into the world innovative process is essential to solve the problem of eliminating the prevalence of resourse focus in the industrial economic structure that could ensure the overcoming of the existing spa- cial dissociation and market mechanisms development in innovative promotion. The monitoring system, involving the integral indicator of socioeconomic and territorial potential assessment, has suggested by the authors. The integral indicator could guarantee the objective evaluation of economic condition within a territory that is vital for the governmental authorities to design strategies providing the economic development of administrative territories.

Application of TRIZ Methodology in Diffusion Welding System Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravinder Reddy, N.; Satyanarayana, V. V.; Prashanthi, M.; Suguna, N.

2017-12-01

Welding is tremendously used in metal joining processes in the manufacturing process. In recent years, diffusion welding method has significantly increased the quality of a weld. Nevertheless, diffusion welding has some extent short research and application progress. Therefore, diffusion welding has a lack of relevant information, concerned with the joining of thick and thin materials with or without interlayers, on welding design such as fixture, parameters selection and integrated design. This article intends to combine innovative methods in the application of diffusion welding design. This will help to decrease trial and error or failure risks in the welding process being guided by the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) design method. This article hopes to provide welding design personnel with innovative design ideas under research and for practical application.

Mitigating Climate Change at the Carbon Water Nexus: A Call to Action for the Environmental Engineering Community

PubMed Central

Clarens, Andres F.; Peters, Catherine A.

2016-01-01

Abstract Environmental engineers have played a critical role in improving human and ecosystem health over the past several decades. These contributions have focused on providing clean water and air as well as managing waste streams and remediating polluted sites. As environmental problems have become more global in scale and more deeply entrenched in sociotechnical systems, the discipline of environmental engineering must grow to be ready to respond to the challenges of the coming decades. Here we make the case that environmental engineers should play a leadership role in the development of climate change mitigation technologies at the carbon-water nexus (CWN). Climate change, driven largely by unfettered emissions of fossil carbon into the atmosphere, is a far-reaching and enormously complex environmental risk with the potential to negatively affect food security, human health, infrastructure, and other systems. Solving this problem will require a massive mobilization of existing and innovative new technology. The environmental engineering community is uniquely positioned to do pioneering work at the CWN using a skillset that has been honed, solving related problems. The focus of this special issue, on “The science and innovation of emerging subsurface energy technologies,” provides one example domain within which environmental engineers and related disciplines are beginning to make important contributions at the CWN. In this article, we define the CWN and describe how environmental engineers can bring their considerable expertise to bear in this area. Then we review some of the topics that appear in this special issue, for example, mitigating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and geologic carbon storage, and we provide perspective on emergent research directions, for example, enhanced geothermal energy, energy storage in sedimentary formations, and others. PMID:28031695

Mitigating Climate Change at the Carbon Water Nexus: A Call to Action for the Environmental Engineering Community.

PubMed

Clarens, Andres F; Peters, Catherine A

2016-10-01

Environmental engineers have played a critical role in improving human and ecosystem health over the past several decades. These contributions have focused on providing clean water and air as well as managing waste streams and remediating polluted sites. As environmental problems have become more global in scale and more deeply entrenched in sociotechnical systems, the discipline of environmental engineering must grow to be ready to respond to the challenges of the coming decades. Here we make the case that environmental engineers should play a leadership role in the development of climate change mitigation technologies at the carbon-water nexus (CWN). Climate change, driven largely by unfettered emissions of fossil carbon into the atmosphere, is a far-reaching and enormously complex environmental risk with the potential to negatively affect food security, human health, infrastructure, and other systems. Solving this problem will require a massive mobilization of existing and innovative new technology. The environmental engineering community is uniquely positioned to do pioneering work at the CWN using a skillset that has been honed, solving related problems. The focus of this special issue, on "The science and innovation of emerging subsurface energy technologies," provides one example domain within which environmental engineers and related disciplines are beginning to make important contributions at the CWN. In this article, we define the CWN and describe how environmental engineers can bring their considerable expertise to bear in this area. Then we review some of the topics that appear in this special issue, for example, mitigating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and geologic carbon storage, and we provide perspective on emergent research directions, for example, enhanced geothermal energy, energy storage in sedimentary formations, and others.

Open Collaboration: A Problem Solving Strategy That Is Redefining NASA's Innovative Spirit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rando, Cynthia M.; Fogarty, Jennifer A.; Richard, Elizabeth E.; Davis, Jeffrey R.

2011-01-01

In 2010, NASA?s Space Life Sciences Directorate announced the successful results from pilot experiments with open innovation methodologies. Specifically, utilization of internet based external crowd sourcing platforms to solve challenging problems in human health and performance related to the future of spaceflight. The follow-up to this success was an internal crowd sourcing pilot program entitled NASA@work, which was supported by the InnoCentive@work software platform. The objective of the NASA@work pilot was to connect the collective knowledge of individuals from all areas within the NASA organization via a private web based environment. The platform provided a venue for NASA Challenge Owners, those looking for solutions or new ideas, to pose challenges to internal solvers, those within NASA with the skill and desire to create solutions. The pilot was launched in 57 days, a record for InnoCentive and NASA, and ran for three months with a total of 20 challenges posted Agency wide. The NASA@work pilot attracted over 6000 participants throughout NASA with a total of 183 contributing solvers for the 20 challenges posted. At the time of the pilot?s closure, solvers provided viable solutions and ideas for 17 of the 20 posted challenges. The solver community provided feedback on the pilot describing it as a barrier breaking activity, conveying that there was a satisfaction associated with helping co-workers, that it was "fun" to think about problems outside normal work boundaries, and it was nice to learn what challenges others were facing across the agency. The results and the feedback from the solver community have demonstrated the power and utility of an internal collaboration tool, such as NASA@work.

Open Collaboration: A Problem Solving Strategy That is Redefining NASA's Innovative Spirit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rando, Cynthia M.; Fogarty, Jennifer A.; Richard, E. E.; Davis, Jeffrey R.

2011-01-01

In 2010, NASA's Space Life Sciences Directorate announced the successful results from pilot experiments with open innovation methodologies. Specifically, utilization of internet based external crowdsourcing platforms to solve challenging problems in human health and performance related to the future of spaceflight. The follow-up to this success was an internal crowdsourcing pilot program entitled NASA@work, which was supported by the InnoCentive@work software platform. The objective of the NASA@work pilot was to connect the collective knowledge of individuals from all areas within the NASA organization via a private web based environment. The platform provided a venue for NASA Challenge Owners, those looking for solutions or new ideas, to pose challenges to internal solvers, those within NASA with the skill and desire to create solutions. The pilot was launched in 57 days, a record for InnoCentive and NASA, and ran for three months with a total of 20 challenges posted Agency wide. The NASA@work pilot attracted over 6,000 participants throughout NASA with a total of 183 contributing solvers for the 20 challenges posted. At the time of the pilot's closure, solvers provided viable solutions and ideas for 17 of the 20 posted challenges. The solver community provided feedback on the pilot describing it as a barrier breaking activity, conveying that there was a satisfaction associated with helping co-workers, that it was fun to think about problems outside normal work boundaries, and it was nice to learn what challenges others were facing across the agency. The results and the feedback from the solver community have demonstrated the power and utility of an internal collaboration tool, such as NASA@work.

Engineering Education in K-12 Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spence, Anne

2013-03-01

Engineers rely on physicists as well as other scientists and mathematicians to explain the world in which we live. Engineers take this knowledge of the world and use it to create the world that never was. The teaching of physics and other sciences as well as mathematics is critical to maintaining our national workforce. Science and mathematics education are inherently different, however, from engineering education. Engineering educators seek to enable students to develop the habits of mind critical for innovation. Through understanding of the engineering design process and how it differs from the scientific method, students can apply problem and project based learning to solve the challenges facing society today. In this talk, I will discuss the elements critical to a solid K-12 engineering education that integrates science and mathematics to solve challenges throughout the world.

Organic Electronics for Point-of-Care Metabolite Monitoring.

PubMed

Pappa, Anna-Maria; Parlak, Onur; Scheiblin, Gaetan; Mailley, Pascal; Salleo, Alberto; Owens, Roisin M

2018-01-01

In this review we focus on demonstrating how organic electronic materials can solve key problems in biosensing thanks to their unique material properties and implementation in innovative device configurations. We highlight specific examples where these materials solve multiple issues related to complex sensing environments, and we benchmark these examples by comparing them to state-of-the-art commercially available sensing using alternative technologies. We have categorized our examples by sample type, focusing on sensing from body fluids in vitro and on wearable sensors, which have attracted significant interest owing to their integration with everyday life activities. We finish by describing a future trend for in vivo, implantable sensors, which aims to build on current progress from sensing in biological fluids ex vivo. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disruptive innovation for social change.

PubMed

Christensen, Clayton M; Baumann, Heiner; Ruggles, Rudy; Sadtler, Thomas M

2006-12-01

Countries, organizations, and individuals around the globe spend aggressively to solve social problems, but these efforts often fail to deliver. Misdirected investment is the primary reason for that failure. Most of the money earmarked for social initiatives goes to organizations that are structured to support specific groups of recipients, often with sophisticated solutions. Such organizations rarely reach the broader populations that could be served by simpler alternatives. There is, however, an effective way to get to those underserved populations. The authors call it "catalytic innovation." Based on Clayton Christensen's disruptive-innovation model, catalytic innovations challenge organizational incumbents by offering simpler, good-enough solutions aimed at underserved groups. Unlike disruptive innovations, though, catalytic innovations are focused on creating social change. Catalytic innovators are defined by five distinct qualities. First, they create social change through scaling and replication. Second, they meet a need that is either overserved (that is, the existing solution is more complex than necessary for many people) or not served at all. Third, the products and services they offer are simpler and cheaper than alternatives, but recipients view them as good enough. Fourth, they bring in resources in ways that initially seem unattractive to incumbents. And fifth, they are often ignored, put down, or even encouraged by existing organizations, which don't see the catalytic innovators' solutions as viable. As the authors show through examples in health care, education, and economic development, both nonprofit and for-profit groups are finding ways to create catalytic innovation that drives social change.

Advanced imaging in acute and chronic deep vein thrombosis

PubMed Central

Karande, Gita Yashwantrao; Sanchez, Yadiel; Baliyan, Vinit; Mishra, Vishala; Ganguli, Suvranu; Prabhakar, Anand M.

2016-01-01

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) affecting the extremities is a common clinical problem. Prompt imaging aids in rapid diagnosis and adequate treatment. While ultrasound (US) remains the workhorse of detection of extremity venous thrombosis, CT and MRI are commonly used as the problem-solving tools either to visualize the thrombosis in central veins like superior or inferior vena cava (IVC) or to test for the presence of complications like pulmonary embolism (PE). The cross-sectional modalities also offer improved visualization of venous collaterals. The purpose of this article is to review the established modalities used for characterization and diagnosis of DVT, and further explore promising innovations and recent advances in this field. PMID:28123971

Transformational leadership can improve workforce competencies.

PubMed

Thompson, Juliana

2012-03-01

Staffing problems can arise because of poor delegation skills or a failure by leaders to respond appropriately to economic factors and patient demographics. Training dilemmas, meanwhile, can arise because of managers' confusion about what constitutes 'training' and what constitutes 'education', and where responsibility of provision lies, with the consequence that they neglect these activities. This article uses Kouzes and Posner's (2009) transformational leadership model to show how managers can respond. Leaders who challenge budgets, consider new ways of working and engage effectively with the workforce can improve productivity and care, while those who invest in appropriate learning will have a highly trained workforce. The author explains how integration of leadership roles and management functions can lead to innovative problem solving.

The development of tool manufacture in humans: what helps young children make innovative tools?

PubMed

Chappell, Jackie; Cutting, Nicola; Apperly, Ian A; Beck, Sarah R

2013-11-19

We know that even young children are proficient tool users, but until recently, little was known about how they make tools. Here, we will explore the concepts underlying tool making, and the kinds of information and putative cognitive abilities required for children to manufacture novel tools. We will review the evidence for novel tool manufacture from the comparative literature and present a growing body of data from children suggesting that innovation of the solution to a problem by making a tool is a much more challenging task than previously thought. Children's difficulty with these kinds of tasks does not seem to be explained by perseveration with unmodified tools, difficulty with switching to alternative strategies, task pragmatics or issues with permission. Rather, making novel tools (without having seen an example of the required tool within the context of the task) appears to be hard, because it is an example of an 'ill-structured problem'. In this type of ill-structured problem, the starting conditions and end goal are known, but the transformations and/or actions required to get from one to the other are not specified. We will discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the development of problem-solving in humans and other animals.

The why, what, and how of management innovation.

PubMed

Hamel, Gary

2006-02-01

For organizations like GE, P&G, and Visa, management innovation is the secret to success. But what is management innovation? Why is it so important? And how can other companies learn to become management innovators? This article from expert Gary Hamel answers those questions. A management breakthrough can deliver a strong advantage to the innovating company and produce a major shift in industry leadership. Few companies, however, have been able to come up with a formal process for fostering management innovation. The biggest challenge seems to be generating truly unique ideas. Four components can help: a big problem that demands fresh thinking, creative principles or paradigms that can reveal new approaches, an evaluation of the conventions that constrain novel thinking, and examples and analogies that help redefine what can be done. No doubt there are existing management processes in your organization that exacerbate the big problems you're hoping to solve. So how can you learn to identify them? Start by asking a series of questions for each one. For instance, Who owns the process? What are its objectives? What are the metrics for success? What are the decision-making criteria? How are decisions communicated, and to whom? After documenting these details, ask the people involved with the process to weigh in. This exploration may reveal opportunities to reinventyour management processes. A management innovation, the author says, creates long-lasting advantage when it meets at least one of three conditions: It is based on a novel principle that challenges the orthodoxy; it is systemic, involving a range of processes and methods; or it is part of a program of invention, where progress compounds over time. So far, management in this century isn't much different from management in the previous one, says Hamel. Therein lies the opportunity. You can wait for a competitor to come upon the next great management process and drive you out of business-or you can become a management innovator right now.

Function combined method for design innovation of children's bike

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiaoli; Qiu, Tingting; Chen, Huijuan

2013-03-01

As children mature, bike products for children in the market develop at the same time, and the conditions are frequently updated. Certain problems occur when using a bike, such as cycle overlapping, repeating function, and short life cycle, which go against the principles of energy conservation and the environmental protection intensive design concept. In this paper, a rational multi-function method of design through functional superposition, transformation, and technical implementation is proposed. An organic combination of frog-style scooter and children's tricycle is developed using the multi-function method. From the ergonomic perspective, the paper elaborates on the body size of children aged 5 to 12 and effectively extracts data for a multi-function children's bike, which can be used for gliding and riding. By inverting the body, parts can be interchanged between the handles and the pedals of the bike. Finally, the paper provides a detailed analysis of the components and structural design, body material, and processing technology of the bike. The study of Industrial Product Innovation Design provides an effective design method to solve the bicycle problems, extends the function problems, improves the product market situation, and enhances the energy saving feature while implementing intensive product development effectively at the same time.

From Disinformation to Wishful Thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oreskes, N.; Conway, E. M.

2014-12-01

In our book, Merchants of Doubt, we documented how deliberate disinformation campaigns served to confuse the American people about the reality and significance of climate change over more than two decades. We showed how a variety of strategies were used to persuade the public that the scientific "jury was still out" on climate change, including deliberate mispresentation of facts, cherry-picking of evidence, and personal attacks on scientists. And we documented the links, both conceptual and actual, between doubt-mongering about climate change and the rejection of scientific evidence of the harms of tobacco, acid rain, the ozone hole, nuclear winter, and DDT. These tactics are still in use today, but they are now reinforced by a new problem, the problem of wishful thinking. Increasingly, we see commentators who accept the reality of climate change assuring us that the problem can be solved by natural gas, or even by some as yet unknown and uninvented technological innovations. In this paper we argue that these forms of wishful thinking, while not malicious in the same way that previous doubt-mongering campaigns have been, contribute substantially to scientific illiteracy and misunderstanding both of the character of the challenges that we face and of the history of technological innovation.

Real-world educational experience through project-oriented graduate classes in collaboration with industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zurbuchen, Thomas H.

2007-04-01

There is a need for a motivated and innovative work force for the U.S. aerospace industry. The education of such engineers and scientists typically revolves around a fundamental knowledge of basic important technologies, such as the mechanics relevant to orbit-design, structures, avionics, and many others. A few years ago, the University of Michigan developed a Masters of Engineering program that provides students with skills that are not taught as part of a typical engineering curriculum. This program is focused on open problem solving, space systems, and space policy, as well as other classes that further their understanding of the connections between technologies and the nontechnical aspects of managing a space mission. The value of such an education is substantially increased through a direct connection to industry. An innovative problem-oriented approach has been developed that enables direct connections between industry and classroom teaching. The class works as a system study group and addresses problems of interest to and defined by a company with a specific application. We discuss such an application, a near-space lidar wind measurement system to enhance weather predictions, as well as the approach taken to link educational rationales.

Innovation and social transmission in experimental micro-societies: exploring the scope of cumulative culture in young children.

PubMed

McGuigan, Nicola; Burdett, Emily; Burgess, Vanessa; Dean, Lewis; Lucas, Amanda; Vale, Gillian; Whiten, Andrew

2017-12-05

The experimental study of cumulative culture and the innovations essential to it is a young science, with child studies so rare that the scope of cumulative cultural capacities in childhood remains largely unknown. Here we report a new experimental approach to the inherent complexity of these phenomena. Groups of 3-4-year-old children were presented with an elaborate array of challenges affording the potential cumulative development of a variety of techniques to gain increasingly attractive rewards. In contrast to a prior study, we found evidence for elementary forms of cumulative cultural progress, with inventions of solutions at lower levels spreading to become shared innovations, and some children then building on these to create more advanced but more rewarding innovations. This contrasted with markedly more constrained progress when children worked only by themselves, or if groups faced only the highest-level challenges from the start. Further experiments that introduced higher-level inventions via the inclusion of older children, or that created ecological change, with the easiest habitual solutions no longer possible, encouraged higher levels of cumulative innovation. Our results show children are not merely 'cultural sponges', but when acting in groups, display the beginnings of cycles of innovation and observational learning that sustain cumulative progress in problem solving.This article is part of the themed issue 'Process and pattern in innovations from cells to societies'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Studying primate learning in group contexts: Tests of social foraging, response to novelty, and cooperative problem solving.

PubMed

Drea, Christine M

2006-03-01

Learning commonly refers to the modification of behavior through experience, whereby an animal gains information about stimulus-response contingencies from interacting with its physical environment. Social learning, on the other hand, occurs when the same information originates, not from the animal's personal experience, but from the actions of others. Socially biased learning is the 'collective outcome of interacting physical, social, and individual factors' [D. Fragaszy, E. Visalberghi, Learn. Behav. 32 (2004) 24-35.] (see p. 24). Mounting interest in animal social learning has brought with it certain innovations in animal testing procedures. Variants of the observer-demonstrator and cooperation paradigms, for instance, have been used widely in captive settings to examine the transmission or coordination of behavior, respectively, between two animals. Relatively few studies, however, have examined social learning in more complex group settings and even fewer have manipulated the social environment to empirically test the effect of group dynamics on problem solving. The present paper outlines procedures for group testing captive non-human primates, in spacious arenas, to evaluate the social modulation of learning and performance. These methods are illustrated in the context of (1) naturalistic social foraging problems, modeled after traditional visual discrimination paradigms, (2) response to novel objects and novel extractive foraging tasks, and (3) cooperative problem solving. Each example showcases the benefits of experimentally manipulating social context to compare an animal's performance in intact groups (or even pairs) against its performance under different social circumstances. Broader application of group testing procedures and manipulation of group composition promise to provide meaningful insight into socially biased learning.

Analysis of problem solving on project based learning with resource based learning approach computer-aided program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuncoro, K. S.; Junaedi, I.; Dwijanto

2018-03-01

This study aimed to reveal the effectiveness of Project Based Learning with Resource Based Learning approach computer-aided program and analyzed problem-solving abilities in terms of problem-solving steps based on Polya stages. The research method used was mixed method with sequential explanatory design. The subject of this research was the students of math semester 4. The results showed that the S-TPS (Strong Top Problem Solving) and W-TPS (Weak Top Problem Solving) had good problem-solving abilities in each problem-solving indicator. The problem-solving ability of S-MPS (Strong Middle Problem Solving) and (Weak Middle Problem Solving) in each indicator was good. The subject of S-BPS (Strong Bottom Problem Solving) had a difficulty in solving the problem with computer program, less precise in writing the final conclusion and could not reflect the problem-solving process using Polya’s step. While the Subject of W-BPS (Weak Bottom Problem Solving) had not been able to meet almost all the indicators of problem-solving. The subject of W-BPS could not precisely made the initial table of completion so that the completion phase with Polya’s step was constrained.

2012 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit Keynote Presentation (Secretary of Energy Steven Chu)

ScienceCinema

Chu, Steven

2018-02-02

The third annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit was held in Washington D.C. in February, 2012. The event brought together key players from across the energy ecosystem - researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives, and government officials - to share ideas for developing and deploying the next generation of energy technologies. Dr. Steven Chu, Energy Secretary, gave the first keynote presentation of the day. He discusses how President Obama's all-of-the-above approach to energy will help the Unites States solve 21st century global energy challenges and maintain its leadership as an exporter of energy technology. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu highlighted our vulnerability to price fluctuations in the fuel markets, most recently to oil and gasoline, as well as our inability to drill our way out of the problem. Secretary Chu made the case for leveraging energy innovation in order to reduce our exposure to oil price fluctuations and improve the U.S.'s economic competitiveness.

Kangaroo Mother Care in Colombia: A Subaltern Health Innovation against For-profit Biomedicine.

PubMed

Abadía-Barrero, César Ernesto

2018-01-24

This ethnographic study presents the origins, growth, and collapse of the first Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) program, a well-established practice for neonatal care created in 1978 in Colombia. The WHO and UNICEF praised this zero-cost revolutionary technique for its promotion of skin-to-skin contact between premature and low-birth-weight newborns and family members. KMC facilitates early hospital discharge, brings many clinical and psychological benefits, and constitutes an excellent alternative to placing babies in incubators. However, these benefits and political potential against biomedical interventions were undermined after being relabeled as a "reverse innovation," a business concept that encourages corporate investments in low-income countries to develop technologies that can both solve global health problems and boost multinational corporations profits. In response, I propose "subaltern health innovations" as a label for KMC that accounts for the power dynamics in global health between health care initiatives that originate in the Global South and neoliberal configurations of for-profit biomedicine. © 2018 by the American Anthropological Association.

Understanding Innovation Engines: Automated Creativity and Improved Stochastic Optimization via Deep Learning.

PubMed

Nguyen, A; Yosinski, J; Clune, J

2016-01-01

The Achilles Heel of stochastic optimization algorithms is getting trapped on local optima. Novelty Search mitigates this problem by encouraging exploration in all interesting directions by replacing the performance objective with a reward for novel behaviors. This reward for novel behaviors has traditionally required a human-crafted, behavioral distance function. While Novelty Search is a major conceptual breakthrough and outperforms traditional stochastic optimization on certain problems, it is not clear how to apply it to challenging, high-dimensional problems where specifying a useful behavioral distance function is difficult. For example, in the space of images, how do you encourage novelty to produce hawks and heroes instead of endless pixel static? Here we propose a new algorithm, the Innovation Engine, that builds on Novelty Search by replacing the human-crafted behavioral distance with a Deep Neural Network (DNN) that can recognize interesting differences between phenotypes. The key insight is that DNNs can recognize similarities and differences between phenotypes at an abstract level, wherein novelty means interesting novelty. For example, a DNN-based novelty search in the image space does not explore in the low-level pixel space, but instead creates a pressure to create new types of images (e.g., churches, mosques, obelisks, etc.). Here, we describe the long-term vision for the Innovation Engine algorithm, which involves many technical challenges that remain to be solved. We then implement a simplified version of the algorithm that enables us to explore some of the algorithm's key motivations. Our initial results, in the domain of images, suggest that Innovation Engines could ultimately automate the production of endless streams of interesting solutions in any domain: for example, producing intelligent software, robot controllers, optimized physical components, and art.

Analysis and Design of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Management System based on School Enterprise Cooperation (Taking the School of Computer and Information Engineering of Beijing University of Agriculture as an example)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qianyi, Zhang; Xiaoshun, Li; Ping, Hu; Lu, Ning

2018-03-01

With the promotion of undergraduate training mode of “3+1” in Beijing University of Agriculture, the mode and direction of applied and compound talents training should be further visualized, at the same time, in order to make up for the shortage of Double Teachers in the school and the lack of teaching cases that cover the advanced technology in the industry, the school actively encourages the cooperation between the two teaching units and enterprises, and closely connects the enterprise resources with the school teaching system, using the “1” in “3+1” to carry out innovative training work for students. This method is beneficial for college students to integrate theory into practice and realize the purpose of applying knowledge in Higher Education. However, in the actual student training management, this kind of cooperation involves three party units and personnel, so it is difficult to form a unified management, on the other hand, it may also result from poor communication, which leads to unsatisfactory training results. At the same time, there is no good training supervision mechanism, causes the student training work specious. To solve the above problem,this paper designs a training management system of student innovation and Entrepreneurship Based on school enterprise cooperation,the system can effectively manage the relevant work of students’ training, and effectively solve the above problems. The subject is based on the training of innovation and entrepreneurship in the school of computer and information engineering of Beijing University of Agriculture. The system software architecture is designed using B/S architecture technology, the system is divided into three layers, the application of logic layer includes student training management related business, and realized the user’s basic operation management for student training, users can not only realize the basic information management of enterprises, colleges and students through the system, at the same time, it also realizes the information operation of student training management [1]. The data layer of the system creates database applications through Mysql technology, and provides data storage for the whole system.

Toward Solving the Problem of Problem Solving: An Analysis Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roesler, Rebecca A.

2016-01-01

Teaching is replete with problem solving. Problem solving as a skill, however, is seldom addressed directly within music teacher education curricula, and research in music education has not examined problem solving systematically. A framework detailing problem-solving component skills would provide a needed foundation. I observed problem solving…

A Case-Based, Problem-Based Learning Approach to Prepare Master of Public Health Candidates for the Complexities of Global Health

PubMed Central

Winskell, Kate; McFarland, Deborah A.; del Rio, Carlos

2015-01-01

Global health is a dynamic, emerging, and interdisciplinary field. To address current and emerging global health challenges, we need a public health workforce with adaptable and collaborative problem-solving skills. In the 2013–2014 academic year, the Hubert Department of Global Health at the Rollins School of Public Health–Emory University launched an innovative required core course for its first-year Master of Public Health students in the global health track. The course uses a case-based, problem-based learning approach to develop global health competencies. Small teams of students propose solutions to these problems by identifying learning issues and critically analyzing and synthesizing new information. We describe the course structure and logistics used to apply this approach in the context of a large class and share lessons learned. PMID:25706029

Force sensing using 3D displacement measurements in linear elastic bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Xinzeng; Hui, Chung-Yuen

2016-07-01

In cell traction microscopy, the mechanical forces exerted by a cell on its environment is usually determined from experimentally measured displacement by solving an inverse problem in elasticity. In this paper, an innovative numerical method is proposed which finds the "optimal" traction to the inverse problem. When sufficient regularization is applied, we demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves the widely used approach using Green's functions. Motivated by real cell experiments, the equilibrium condition of a slowly migrating cell is imposed as a set of equality constraints on the unknown traction. Our validation benchmarks demonstrate that the numeric solution to the constrained inverse problem well recovers the actual traction when the optimal regularization parameter is used. The proposed method can thus be applied to study general force sensing problems, which utilize displacement measurements to sense inaccessible forces in linear elastic bodies with a priori constraints.

Environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology: in greater demand than ever.

PubMed

Scheringer, Martin

2017-01-01

Environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology have been losing support, resources, and recognition at universities for many years. What are the possible causes of this process? A first problem may be that the need for research and teaching in environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology is no longer seen because chemical pollution problems are considered as largely solved. Second, environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology may be seen as fields dominated by routine work and where there are not many interesting research questions left. A third part of the problem may be that other environmental impacts such as climate change are given higher priority than chemical pollution problems. Here, several cases are presented that illustrate the great demand for innovative research and teaching in environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology. It is crucial that environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology are rooted in academic science and are provided with sufficient equipment, resources, and prospects for development.

Future of the Pacific: Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists and Engineers Through Place-Based Problem-Solving Using Innovative STEM Curriculum and Technology Tools

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-30

lesson 8.4, " Wind Turbine Design Inquiry." 13 The goal of her project was to combine a1t and science in project-based learning. Although pmt of an...challenged to design, test, and redesign wind turbine blades, defining variables and measuring performance. Their goal was to optimize perfonnance through...hydroelectric. In each model there are more than one variable. For example, the wind farm activity enables the user to select number of turbines

Automated Loads Analysis System (ATLAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Stephen; Frere, Scot; O’Reilly, Patrick

2013-01-01

ATLAS is a generalized solution that can be used for launch vehicles. ATLAS is used to produce modal transient analysis and quasi-static analysis results (i.e., accelerations, displacements, and forces) for the payload math models on a specific Shuttle Transport System (STS) flight using the shuttle math model and associated forcing functions. This innovation solves the problem of coupling of payload math models into a shuttle math model. It performs a transient loads analysis simulating liftoff, landing, and all flight events between liftoff and landing. ATLAS utilizes efficient and numerically stable algorithms available in MSC/NASTRAN.

KSC-2011-2259

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-11

ORLANDO, Fla. – About 60 high school teams take part in the "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," or FIRST, competition at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. FIRST, founded in 1989, is a non-profit organization that designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue academic opportunities. The robotics competition challenges teams of high school students and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard kit of parts and a common set of rules. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

KSC-2011-2260

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-11

ORLANDO, Fla. – About 60 high school teams take part in the "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," or FIRST, competition at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. FIRST, founded in 1989, is a non-profit organization that designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue academic opportunities. The robotics competition challenges teams of high school students and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard kit of parts and a common set of rules. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

Practice and Educational Effect of a Project Based Learning Program Collaborated with Local Enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagashima, Masaaki; Kondo, Yasuo; Tanaka, Hisataka; Miyachika, Kouitsu; Akiyama, Masahiko; Ishibuchi, Nobutaka; Hayakawa, Motozo

The ICEE (Innovation Center for Engineering Education) was founded in April 2004 as an educational facility in the Faculty of Engineering of Tottori University. The ICEE plans the development and training of creative professionals in all fields of engineering through Project Based Learning (PBL) programs in collaboration with local enterprises. In this report, the outline and the educational effect of the education program are described. Through PBL programs, we can give problem finding and solving abilities, self-initiative and communicative skill to the students.

An auxiliary classification diagnosis software development of cervical cancer medical data based on various artificial neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Yong; Lei, Kai; Zhang, Lizeqing; Xing, Ximing; Gou, Wenyue

2018-06-01

This paper introduced the development of a self-serving medical data assisted diagnosis software of cervical cancer on the basis of artificial neural network (SVN, FNN, KNN). The system is developed based on the idea of self-service platform, supported by the application and innovation of neural network algorithm in medical data identification. Furthermore, it combined the advanced methods in various fields to effectively solve the complicated and inaccurate problem of cervical canceration data in the traditional manual treatment.

Intelligent tutoring systems as tools for investigating individual differences in learning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shute, Valerie J.

1987-01-01

The ultimate goal of this research is to build an improved model-based selection and classification system for the United States Air Force. Researchers are developing innovative approaches to ability testing. The Learning Abilities Measurement Program (LAMP) examines individual differences in learning abilities, seeking answers to the questions of why some people learn more and better than others and whether there are basic cognitive processes applicable across tasks and domains that are predictive of successful performance (or whether there are more complex problem solving behaviors involved).

Goals and everyday problem solving: examining the link between age-related goals and problem-solving strategy use.

PubMed

Hoppmann, Christiane A; Coats, Abby Heckman; Blanchard-Fields, Fredda

2008-07-01

Qualitative interviews on family and financial problems from 332 adolescents, young, middle-aged, and older adults, demonstrated that developmentally relevant goals predicted problem-solving strategy use over and above problem domain. Four focal goals concerned autonomy, generativity, maintaining good relationships with others, and changing another person. We examined both self- and other-focused problem-solving strategies. Autonomy goals were associated with self-focused instrumental problem solving and generative goals were related to other-focused instrumental problem solving in family and financial problems. Goals of changing another person were related to other-focused instrumental problem solving in the family domain only. The match between goals and strategies, an indicator of problem-solving adaptiveness, showed that young individuals displayed the greatest match between autonomy goals and self-focused problem solving, whereas older adults showed a greater match between generative goals and other-focused problem solving. Findings speak to the importance of considering goals in investigations of age-related differences in everyday problem solving.

The implications and outcomes of using problem-based learning to teach middle school science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowak, Jeffrey Andrew

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational approach where a purposefully ill-structured problem initiates learning and the teacher serves as a coach instead of an information repository (Gallagher & Stepien, 1996). This approach is becoming a very popular curricular innovation, especially at the middle and secondary levels. PBL is necessarily interdisciplinary: By modeling real-world problems, which are seldom unidisciplinary, students are required to cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries in their quest to solve the problem. PBL is also based upon the theories of situated cognition, which posit that transfer occurs infrequently and that learning requires situation-specific competence (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Plucker & Nowak, 2000; Resnick, 1987). Rather than present students with information that they may or may not be able to use to solve problems, situated cognition stresses that knowledge should be presented in context, preferably in a problem-solving scenario (Plucker & Nowak, 2000). In addition, PBL is consistent with the principles of constructivism (Savery & Duffy, 1995). Several questions have been raised about the appropriateness of using PBL in the K--12 classroom setting. The purpose of this study is to specifically address whether or not students learn as much via PBL techniques as they do in traditional classroom settings. This was accomplished by comparing two eighth grade gifted and talented science classes in a Midwest public middle school. Focused observations, interviews, test score analyses, and document analyses were incorporated into this study. Test score analyses of pretest and posttests indicate that students in a teacher-directed classroom learn factual content at a higher rate than students learning via a PBL instructional approach. Students engaged in PBL, however, have better retention than those who learn under a teacher-directed instructional approach. Interview analyses indicate that students favor learning via PBL, but many students suggest that embedding teacher-directed lessons within a PBL unit would benefit the students more than an exclusively PBL-based curriculum.

Resources in Technology: Problem-Solving.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Technology Teacher, 1986

1986-01-01

This instructional module examines a key function of science and technology: problem solving. It studies the meaning of problem solving, looks at techniques for problem solving, examines case studies that exemplify the problem-solving approach, presents problems for the reader to solve, and provides a student self-quiz. (Author/CT)

Knowledge Sharing as a Social Dilemma in Pharmaceutical Innovation.

PubMed

Kim, Daria

This article addresses the problem of restricted access to industry-sponsored clinical trial data. In particular, it analyzes the intersection of the competing claims that mandatory disclosure of pharmaceutical test data impedes drug sponsors’ innovation incentives and that access facilitates new drug development. These claims are characterized in terms of public-good and common-resource dilemmas. The analysis finds confidentiality protection of primary research data plays an ambiguous role. While secrecy, as such, does not solve the public-good problem in pharmaceutical innovation (in the presence of regulatory instruments that protect the originator drug against generic competition), it is likely to exacerbate the common-resource problem, in view of data as a source of scientific knowledge. It is argued that the claim by the research-based industry that disclosure of clinical data impedes innovation incentives is misplaced and should not be leveraged against pro-access policies. While much attention has been paid to the problem of appropriability of drug R&D investment, this analysis highlights another consequence resulting from the private provision of clinical trials, i.e., factual confidentiality and possession of data by drug sponsors. The associated social costs are qualified in terms of internalized knowledge externalities. Since, in a competitive environment, companies are unlikely to change the strategy of non-sharing of primary data, the resulting economic inefficiencies at the sector level call for regulatory intervention. To reconcile the competing policy objectives, it is proposed that the rules of access should be designed in such a way that third-party use of primary data does not interfere with protection against generic competition. At the same time, the long-term collective benefit can be maximized when the “cooperative choice” (i.e., when everyone shares data) becomes the “dominant strategy.” This can be achieved only when access is not subject to the authorization of the initial trial sponsors, and when primary data is aggregated, refined, and managed on the collective basis.

Understanding ill-structured engineering ethics problems through a collaborative learning and argument visualization approach.

PubMed

Hoffmann, Michael; Borenstein, Jason

2014-03-01

As a committee of the National Academy of Engineering recognized, ethics education should foster the ability of students to analyze complex decision situations and ill-structured problems. Building on the NAE's insights, we report about an innovative teaching approach that has two main features: first, it places the emphasis on deliberation and on self-directed, problem-based learning in small groups of students; and second, it focuses on understanding ill-structured problems. The first innovation is motivated by an abundance of scholarly research that supports the value of deliberative learning practices. The second results from a critique of the traditional case-study approach in engineering ethics. A key problem with standard cases is that they are usually described in such a fashion that renders the ethical problem as being too obvious and simplistic. The practitioner, by contrast, may face problems that are ill-structured. In the collaborative learning environment described here, groups of students use interactive and web-based argument visualization software called "AGORA-net: Participate - Deliberate!". The function of the software is to structure communication and problem solving in small groups. Students are confronted with the task of identifying possible stakeholder positions and reconstructing their legitimacy by constructing justifications for these positions in the form of graphically represented argument maps. The argument maps are then presented in class so that these stakeholder positions and their respective justifications become visible and can be brought into a reasoned dialogue. Argument mapping provides an opportunity for students to collaborate in teams and to develop critical thinking and argumentation skills.

Science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) as mathematics learning approach in 21st century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milaturrahmah, Naila; Mardiyana, Pramudya, Ikrar

2017-08-01

This 21st century demands competent human resources in science, technology, engineering design and mathematics so that education is expected to integrate the four disciplines. This paper aims to describe the importance of STEM as mathematics learning approach in Indonesia in the 21st century. This paper uses a descriptive analysis research method, and the method reveals that STEM education growing in developed countries today can be a framework for innovation mathematics in Indonesia in the 21st century. STEM education integrate understanding of science, math skills, and the available technology with the ability to perform engineering design process. Implementation of mathematics learning with STEM approach makes graduates trained in using of mathematics knowledge that they have to create innovative products that are able to solve the problems that exist in society.

New Challenges in Tribology: Wear Assessment Using 3D Optical Scanners

PubMed Central

Valigi, Maria Cristina; Logozzo, Silvia; Affatato, Saverio

2017-01-01

Wear is a significant mechanical and clinical problem. To acquire further knowledge on the tribological phenomena that involve freeform mechanical components or medical prostheses, wear tests are performed on biomedical and industrial materials in order to solve or reduce failures or malfunctions due to material loss. Scientific and technological advances in the field of optical scanning allow the application of innovative devices for wear measurements, leading to improvements that were unimaginable until a few years ago. It is therefore important to develop techniques, based on new instrumentations, for more accurate and reproducible measurements of wear. The aim of this work is to discuss the use of innovative 3D optical scanners and an experimental procedure to detect and evaluate wear, comparing this technique with other wear evaluation methods for industrial components and biomedical devices. PMID:28772905

New Challenges in Tribology: Wear Assessment Using 3D Optical Scanners.

PubMed

Valigi, Maria Cristina; Logozzo, Silvia; Affatato, Saverio

2017-05-18

Wear is a significant mechanical and clinical problem. To acquire further knowledge on the tribological phenomena that involve freeform mechanical components or medical prostheses, wear tests are performed on biomedical and industrial materials in order to solve or reduce failures or malfunctions due to material loss. Scientific and technological advances in the field of optical scanning allow the application of innovative devices for wear measurements, leading to improvements that were unimaginable until a few years ago. It is therefore important to develop techniques, based on new instrumentations, for more accurate and reproducible measurements of wear. The aim of this work is to discuss the use of innovative 3D optical scanners and an experimental procedure to detect and evaluate wear, comparing this technique with other wear evaluation methods for industrial components and biomedical devices.

The duality of health technology in chronic illness: how designers envision our future.

PubMed

Lehoux, Pascale

2008-06-01

This essay critically explores the role of technological innovation in the constitution of chronic states and illness. Drawing on the co-construction of technology and society perspective, it focuses more specifically on the way in which innovation designers envisage the enhancement of the chronically ill and build certain kinds of socio-technical configuration to deal with chronic illness. Using the case of ;intelligent distance patient monitoring' as an illustration, the paper argues that technology creates as much as it solves the problem of chronic illness. Technology is recursively embedded in chronic illness and it generates dual effects: it constrains and sustains users' daily practices. Only by recognizing technology's duality and eventually transcending it will research and policy initiatives be able to deal creatively and responsibly with the design of our future health experiences.

Innovative and applied research on big data platforms of smart heritage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, J.; Li, J.; Sun, H.

2015-08-01

Big data has huge commercial value and potential. Under the background of big data, a heritage site is faced with a number of questions and challenges such as, how to accelerate industrial innovation, benign competition and the creation of new business value. Based on the analysis of service data from the national archaeological site and park, Yuan Ming Yuan, this paper investigates the common problems of site management operations such as, inappropriate cultural interpretation, insufficient consumer demand and so on. In order to solve these operational problems, a new service system called the "one platform - three systems" was put forward. This system includes the smart heritage platform and three management systems: the smart heritage management system, the 3-O (Online-Offline-Onsite) service system and the digital explanation system. Combined with the 3-O marketing operation, the platform can realize bidirectional interaction between heritage site management units and tourists, which can also benefit visitors to the heritage site by explaining the culture and history of the heritage site, bring about more demand for cultural information and expand the social and economic benefits.

A Cognitive Analysis of Students’ Mathematical Problem Solving Ability on Geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusyda, N. A.; Kusnandi, K.; Suhendra, S.

2017-09-01

The purpose of this research is to analyze of mathematical problem solving ability of students in one of secondary school on geometry. This research was conducted by using quantitative approach with descriptive method. Population in this research was all students of that school and the sample was twenty five students that was chosen by purposive sampling technique. Data of mathematical problem solving were collected through essay test. The results showed the percentage of achievement of mathematical problem solving indicators of students were: 1) solve closed mathematical problems with context in math was 50%; 2) solve the closed mathematical problems with the context beyond mathematics was 24%; 3) solving open mathematical problems with contexts in mathematics was 35%; And 4) solving open mathematical problems with contexts outside mathematics was 44%. Based on the percentage, it can be concluded that the level of achievement of mathematical problem solving ability in geometry still low. This is because students are not used to solving problems that measure mathematical problem solving ability, weaknesses remember previous knowledge, and lack of problem solving framework. So the students’ ability of mathematical problems solving need to be improved with implement appropriate learning strategy.

Teaching Sustainability in the Anthropocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibarra, D. L.

2017-12-01

Human impact on our planet Earth and its ecosystems is well documented and a new epoch, Anthropocene, has been suggested within the scientific community. As educators in the 21st century we are tasked within our communities to teach both the impacts of mankind on our planet and help students to design solutions that will solve a multitude of life threatening challenges. At ISF Academy in Hong Kong, faculty are working collaboratively within the whole school community to educate students about the fundamental problems facing society today and give students to skills to creatively solve these problems locally, regionally, and globally. As a leading school in HK, the physical campus has been updated to provide students with hands-on opportunities to see the latest technologies used for sustainable development. Recently added infrastructure includes air pollution monitoring equipment, an energy management system, aerobic food waste composting, organic garden, bio-diverse landscaping, and photovoltaic renewable energy. The design of each of these systems allows for students to interact directly with the equipment, and conduct student-led research. The curriculum across the campus is designed for all students K-12 and there is an on-going effort to make cross-disciplinary links. The programs outside of the classroom include ecology trips in the Asia region, experiential learning programs that allow students to learn first hand the climate change challenges for communities in distress, and field trips where students work with local experts. Also within the context of the school, there is a new established maker-space that will allow students to work collaboratively together while testing and prototyping their solutions. Hong Kong will need to solve many pressing problems in the next few years and this will require expertise, new innovations, and behaviour changes on the part of all citizens. Our goal at ISF Academy is to equip our students with the required background knowledge to help solve these problems.

The Alpha-Helix Concept: Innovative utilization of the Space Station Program. A report to the National Aeronautical and Space Administration requesting establishment of a Sensory Physiology Laboratory on the Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bandurski, R. S.; Singh, N.

1983-01-01

A major laboratory dedicated to biological-medical research is proposed for the Space Platform. The laboratory would focus on sensor physiology and biochemistry since sensory physiology represents the first impact of the new space environment on living organisms. Microgravity and the high radiation environment of space would be used to help solve the problems of prolonged sojourns in space but, more importantly, to help solve terrestrial problems of human health and agricultural productivity. The emphasis would be on experimental use of microorganisms and small plants and small animals to minimize the space and time required to use the Space Platform for maximum human betterment. The Alpha Helix Concept, that is, the use of the Space Platform to bring experimental biomedicine to a new and extreme frontier is introduced so as to better understand the worldly environment. Staffing and instrumenting the Space Platform biomedical laboratory in a manner patterned after successful terrestrial sensory physiology laboratories is also proposed.

Performance Parameters Analysis of an XD3P Peugeot Engine Using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) Concept in MATLAB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangaswamy, T.; Vidhyashankar, S.; Madhusudan, M.; Bharath Shekar, H. R.

2015-04-01

The current trends of engineering follow the basic rule of innovation in mechanical engineering aspects. For the engineers to be efficient, problem solving aspects need to be viewed in a multidimensional perspective. One such methodology implemented is the fusion of technologies from other disciplines in order to solve the problems. This paper mainly deals with the application of Neural Networks in order to analyze the performance parameters of an XD3P Peugeot engine (used in Ministry of Defence). The basic propaganda of the work is divided into two main working stages. In the former stage, experimentation of an IC engine is carried out in order to obtain the primary data. In the latter stage the primary database formed is used to design and implement a predictive neural network in order to analyze the output parameters variation with respect to each other. A mathematical governing equation for the neural network is obtained. The obtained polynomial equation describes the characteristic behavior of the built neural network system. Finally, a comparative study of the results is carried out.

The Alpha-Helix Concept: Innovative utilization of the Space Station Program. A report to the National Aeronautical and Space Administration requesting establishment of a Sensory Physiology Laboratory on the Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandurski, R. S.; Singh, N.

1983-10-01

A major laboratory dedicated to biological-medical research is proposed for the Space Platform. The laboratory would focus on sensor physiology and biochemistry since sensory physiology represents the first impact of the new space environment on living organisms. Microgravity and the high radiation environment of space would be used to help solve the problems of prolonged sojourns in space but, more importantly, to help solve terrestrial problems of human health and agricultural productivity. The emphasis would be on experimental use of microorganisms and small plants and small animals to minimize the space and time required to use the Space Platform for maximum human betterment. The Alpha Helix Concept, that is, the use of the Space Platform to bring experimental biomedicine to a new and extreme frontier is introduced so as to better understand the worldly environment. Staffing and instrumenting the Space Platform biomedical laboratory in a manner patterned after successful terrestrial sensory physiology laboratories is also proposed.

Predicting flow at work: investigating the activities and job characteristics that predict flow states at work.

PubMed

Nielsen, Karina; Cleal, Bryan

2010-04-01

Flow (a state of consciousness where people become totally immersed in an activity and enjoy it intensely) has been identified as a desirable state with positive effects for employee well-being and innovation at work. Flow has been studied using both questionnaires and Experience Sampling Method (ESM). In this study, we used a newly developed 9-item flow scale in an ESM study combined with a questionnaire to examine the predictors of flow at two levels: the activities (brainstorming, planning, problem solving and evaluation) associated with transient flow states and the more stable job characteristics (role clarity, influence and cognitive demands). Participants were 58 line managers from two companies in Denmark; a private accountancy firm and a public elder care organization. We found that line managers in elder care experienced flow more often than accountancy line managers, and activities such as planning, problem solving, and evaluation predicted transient flow states. The more stable job characteristics included in this study were not, however, found to predict flow at work. Copyright 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Crowdsourcing for bioinformatics

PubMed Central

Good, Benjamin M.; Su, Andrew I.

2013-01-01

Motivation: Bioinformatics is faced with a variety of problems that require human involvement. Tasks like genome annotation, image analysis, knowledge-base population and protein structure determination all benefit from human input. In some cases, people are needed in vast quantities, whereas in others, we need just a few with rare abilities. Crowdsourcing encompasses an emerging collection of approaches for harnessing such distributed human intelligence. Recently, the bioinformatics community has begun to apply crowdsourcing in a variety of contexts, yet few resources are available that describe how these human-powered systems work and how to use them effectively in scientific domains. Results: Here, we provide a framework for understanding and applying several different types of crowdsourcing. The framework considers two broad classes: systems for solving large-volume ‘microtasks’ and systems for solving high-difficulty ‘megatasks’. Within these classes, we discuss system types, including volunteer labor, games with a purpose, microtask markets and open innovation contests. We illustrate each system type with successful examples in bioinformatics and conclude with a guide for matching problems to crowdsourcing solutions that highlights the positives and negatives of different approaches. Contact: bgood@scripps.edu PMID:23782614

Economic aspects of rare diseases.

PubMed

Borski, Krzysztof

2015-01-01

Economic problems related to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases are presented paying particular attention to the costs of financing treatment, including the issue of its refund, which is a fundamental and difficult to solve economic problem of the health care system. Rare diseases, despite the low frequency of occurrence, together cover a large group of diseases being a serious medical, social and economic problem. The adoption of Polish National Plan for Rare Diseases resulting from the recommendations of the Council of the European Union, the extension of institutional activities related to the area of public health and social initiatives seeking innovative solutions to create a model of social support for patients and their families, with very high complexity of the issues regarding rare diseases, results in the need for a coherent, comprehensive, system operations and adoption of comprehensive solutions.

The post-genomic era of biological network alignment.

PubMed

Faisal, Fazle E; Meng, Lei; Crawford, Joseph; Milenković, Tijana

2015-12-01

Biological network alignment aims to find regions of topological and functional (dis)similarities between molecular networks of different species. Then, network alignment can guide the transfer of biological knowledge from well-studied model species to less well-studied species between conserved (aligned) network regions, thus complementing valuable insights that have already been provided by genomic sequence alignment. Here, we review computational challenges behind the network alignment problem, existing approaches for solving the problem, ways of evaluating their alignment quality, and the approaches' biomedical applications. We discuss recent innovative efforts of improving the existing view of network alignment. We conclude with open research questions in comparative biological network research that could further our understanding of principles of life, evolution, disease, and therapeutics.

A convolutional neural network neutrino event classifier

DOE PAGES

Aurisano, A.; Radovic, A.; Rocco, D.; ...

2016-09-01

Here, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been widely applied in the computer vision community to solve complex problems in image recognition and analysis. We describe an application of the CNN technology to the problem of identifying particle interactions in sampling calorimeters used commonly in high energy physics and high energy neutrino physics in particular. Following a discussion of the core concepts of CNNs and recent innovations in CNN architectures related to the field of deep learning, we outline a specific application to the NOvA neutrino detector. This algorithm, CVN (Convolutional Visual Network) identifies neutrino interactions based on their topology withoutmore » the need for detailed reconstruction and outperforms algorithms currently in use by the NOvA collaboration.« less

Affinity-based biosensors as promising tools for gene doping detection.

PubMed

Minunni, Maria; Scarano, Simona; Mascini, Marco

2008-05-01

Innovative bioanalytical approaches can be foreseen as interesting means for solving relevant emerging problems in anti-doping control. Sport authorities fear that the newer form of doping, so-called gene doping, based on a misuse of gene therapy, will be undetectable and thus much less preventable. The World Anti-Doping Agency has already asked scientists to assist in finding ways to prevent and detect this newest kind of doping. In this Opinion article we discuss the main aspects of gene doping, from the putative target analytes to suitable sampling strategies. Moreover, we discuss the potential application of affinity sensing in this field, which so far has been successfully applied to a variety of analytical problems, from clinical diagnostics to food and environmental analysis.

A convolutional neural network neutrino event classifier

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

Aurisano, A.; Radovic, A.; Rocco, D.

Here, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been widely applied in the computer vision community to solve complex problems in image recognition and analysis. We describe an application of the CNN technology to the problem of identifying particle interactions in sampling calorimeters used commonly in high energy physics and high energy neutrino physics in particular. Following a discussion of the core concepts of CNNs and recent innovations in CNN architectures related to the field of deep learning, we outline a specific application to the NOvA neutrino detector. This algorithm, CVN (Convolutional Visual Network) identifies neutrino interactions based on their topology withoutmore » the need for detailed reconstruction and outperforms algorithms currently in use by the NOvA collaboration.« less

Black hole algorithm for determining model parameter in self-potential data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sungkono; Warnana, Dwa Desa

2018-01-01

Analysis of self-potential (SP) data is increasingly popular in geophysical method due to its relevance in many cases. However, the inversion of SP data is often highly nonlinear. Consequently, local search algorithms commonly based on gradient approaches have often failed to find the global optimum solution in nonlinear problems. Black hole algorithm (BHA) was proposed as a solution to such problems. As the name suggests, the algorithm was constructed based on the black hole phenomena. This paper investigates the application of BHA to solve inversions of field and synthetic self-potential (SP) data. The inversion results show that BHA accurately determines model parameters and model uncertainty. This indicates that BHA is highly potential as an innovative approach for SP data inversion.

Probe on training the practical ability of undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qiaohui; Meng, Xiuxia; Leng, Bing

2010-07-01

Practical ability means physical and psychological characteristics that ensure the individual to make use of the knowledge and skills to solve the practical problems smoothly. Only with practical ability, the man can sum up experience from practice, at the same time he can identify problems and make innovation. This article describes the meaning and characteristics of practice and introduces how to build the capacity of the practical ability of students in foreign university. As well as the article put forward how to set up a practical training teaching system which can improve practical ability of college students and a series of training programs to help Chinese universities students to improve the student's practical ability and cultivate student's with a strong practical ability and high-quality talent.

Editorial Comments, 1974-1986: The Case For and Against the Use of Computer-Assisted Decision Making

PubMed Central

Weaver, Robert R.

1987-01-01

Journal editorials are an important medium for communicating information about medical innovations. Evaluative statements contained in editorials pertain to the innovation's technical merits, as well as its probable economic, social and political, and ethical consequences. This information will either promote or impede the subsequent diffusion of innovations. This paper analyzes the evaluative information contained in thirty editorials that pertain to the topic of computer-assisted decision making (CDM). Most editorials agree that CDM technology is effective and economical in performing routine clinical tasks; controversy surrounds the use of more sophisticated CDM systems for complex problem solving. A few editorials argue that the innovation should play an integral role in transforming the established health care system. Most, however, maintain that it can or should be accommodated within the existing health care framework. Finally, while few editorials discuss the ethical ramifications of CDM technology, those that do suggest that it will contribute to more humane health care. The editorial analysis suggests that CDM technology aimed at routine clinical task will experience rapid diffusion. In contrast, the diffusion of more sophisticated CDM systems will, in the foreseeable future, likely be sporadic at best.

What does "Diversity" Mean for Public Engagement in Science? A New Metric for Innovation Ecosystem Diversity.

PubMed

Özdemir, Vural; Springer, Simon

2018-03-01

Diversity is increasingly at stake in early 21st century. Diversity is often conceptualized across ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual preference, and professional credentials, among other categories of difference. These are important and relevant considerations and yet, they are incomplete. Diversity also rests in the way we frame questions long before answers are sought. Such diversity in the framing (epistemology) of scientific and societal questions is important for they influence the types of data, results, and impacts produced by research. Errors in the framing of a research question, whether in technical science or social science, are known as type III errors, as opposed to the better known type I (false positives) and type II errors (false negatives). Kimball defined "error of the third kind" as giving the right answer to the wrong problem. Raiffa described the type III error as correctly solving the wrong problem. Type III errors are upstream or design flaws, often driven by unchecked human values and power, and can adversely impact an entire innovation ecosystem, waste money, time, careers, and precious resources by focusing on the wrong or incorrectly framed question and hypothesis. Decades may pass while technology experts, scientists, social scientists, funding agencies and management consultants continue to tackle questions that suffer from type III errors. We propose a new diversity metric, the Frame Diversity Index (FDI), based on the hitherto neglected diversities in knowledge framing. The FDI would be positively correlated with epistemological diversity and technological democracy, and inversely correlated with prevalence of type III errors in innovation ecosystems, consortia, and knowledge networks. We suggest that the FDI can usefully measure (and prevent) type III error risks in innovation ecosystems, and help broaden the concepts and practices of diversity and inclusion in science, technology, innovation and society.

Problem-solving variability in older spouses: how is it linked to problem-, person-, and couple-characteristics?

PubMed

Hoppmann, Christiane A; Blanchard-Fields, Fredda

2011-09-01

Problem-solving does not take place in isolation and often involves social others such as spouses. Using repeated daily life assessments from 98 older spouses (M age = 72 years; M marriage length = 42 years), the present study examined theoretical notions from social-contextual models of coping regarding (a) the origins of problem-solving variability and (b) associations between problem-solving and specific problem-, person-, and couple- characteristics. Multilevel models indicate that the lion's share of variability in everyday problem-solving is located at the level of the problem situation. Importantly, participants reported more proactive emotion regulation and collaborative problem-solving for social than nonsocial problems. We also found person-specific consistencies in problem-solving. That is, older spouses high in Neuroticism reported more problems across the study period as well as less instrumental problem-solving and more passive emotion regulation than older spouses low in Neuroticism. Contrary to expectations, relationship satisfaction was unrelated to problem-solving in the present sample. Results are in line with the stress and coping literature in demonstrating that everyday problem-solving is a dynamic process that has to be viewed in the broader context in which it occurs. Our findings also complement previous laboratory-based work on everyday problem-solving by underscoring the benefits of examining everyday problem-solving as it unfolds in spouses' own environment.

Reform of experimental teaching based on quality cultivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei; Yan, Xingwei; Liu, Wei; Yao, Tianfu; Shi, Jianhua; Lei, Bing; Hu, Haojun

2017-08-01

Experimental teaching plays an import part in quality education which devotes to cultivating students with innovative spirit, strong technological talents and practical ability. However, in the traditional experimental teaching mode, the experiments are treated as a vassal or supplementary mean of theoretical teaching, and students prefer focus on theory to practice. Therefore, the traditional experimental teaching mode is difficult to meet the requirements of quality education. To address this issue, the reform of experimental teaching is introduced in this paper taking the photoelectric detector experiment as the example. The new experimental teaching mode is designed from such aspects as experimental content, teaching method and experimental evaluation. With the purpose of cultivating students' practical ability, two different-level experimental content is designed. Not only the basic experiments used to verify the theory are set to consolidate the students' learned theoretical knowledge, but also comprehensive experiments are designed to encourage the students to apply their learned knowledge to solve practical problems. In the teaching process, heuristic teaching thought is adopt and the traditional `teacher-centered' teaching form is replaced by `student-centered' form, which aims to encourage students to design the experimental systems by their own with the teacher's guidance. In addition to depending on stimulating the students' interest of science research, experimental evaluation is necessary to urge students to complete the experiments efficiently. Multifaceted evaluation method is proposed to test the students' mastery of theoretical knowledge, practice ability, troubleshooting and problem solving skills, and innovation capability comprehensively. Practices demonstrated the satisfying effect of our experimental teaching mode.

Interweaving Knowledge Resources to Address Complex Environmental Health Challenges.

PubMed

Anderson, Beth Ellen; Naujokas, Marisa F; Suk, William A

2015-11-01

Complex problems do not respect academic disciplinary boundaries. Environmental health research is complex and often moves beyond these boundaries, integrating diverse knowledge resources to solve such challenges. Here we describe an evolving paradigm for interweaving approaches that integrates widely diverse resources outside of traditional academic environments in full partnerships of mutual respect and understanding. We demonstrate that scientists, social scientists, and engineers can work with government agencies, industry, and communities to interweave their expertise into metaphorical knowledge fabrics to share understanding, resources, and enthusiasm. Our goal is to acknowledge and validate how interweaving research approaches can contribute to research-driven, solution-oriented problem solving in environmental health, and to inspire more members of the environmental health community to consider this approach. The National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program (SRP), as mandated by Congress, has evolved to become a program that reaches across a wide range of knowledge resources. SRP fosters interweaving multiple knowledge resources to develop innovative multidirectional partnerships for research and training. Here we describe examples of how motivation, ideas, knowledge, and expertise from different people, institutions, and agencies can integrate to tackle challenges that can be as complex as the resources they bring to bear on it. By providing structure for interweaving science with its stakeholders, we are better able to leverage resources, increase potential for innovation, and proactively ensure a more fully developed spectrum of beneficial outcomes of research investments. Anderson BE, Naujokas MF, Suk WA. 2015. Interweaving knowledge resources to address complex environmental health challenges. Environ Health Perspect 123:1095-1099; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409525.

Resource Letter RPS-1: Research in problem solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Leonardo; Brewe, Eric; Foster, Thomas M.; Harper, Kathleen A.

2004-09-01

This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on research in problem solving, especially in physics. The references were compiled with two audiences in mind: physicists who are (or might become) engaged in research on problem solving, and physics instructors who are interested in using research results to improve their students' learning of problem solving. In addition to general references, journal articles and books are cited for the following topics: cognitive aspects of problem solving, expert-novice problem-solver characteristics, problem solving in mathematics, alternative problem types, curricular interventions, and the use of computers in problem solving.

Commentary: Teaching creativity and innovative thinking in medicine and the health sciences.

PubMed

Ness, Roberta B

2011-10-01

The National Academies of Science recently criticized the state of scientific innovation and competitiveness in the United States. Evaluations of already-established creativity training programs--examining a broad array of students, from school age to adult and with a wide range of abilities--have shown that such courses improve thinking skills, attitudes, and performance. Although academic medicine provides informal training in creativity and innovation, it has yet to incorporate formal instruction on these topics into medical education. A number of existing, thoughtfully constructed and evaluated creativity programs in other fields provide a pedagogical basis for developing creativity training programs for the health sciences. The content of creativity training programs typically includes instruction and application in (1) divergent thinking, (2) problem solving, and (3) creative production. Instructional formats that have been shown to elicit the best outcomes are an admixture of lectures, discussion, and guided practice. A pilot program to teach innovative thinking to health science students at the University of Texas includes instruction in recognizing and finding alternatives to frames or habitual cognitive patterns, in addition to the constructs already mentioned. As innovation is the engine of scientific progress, the author, founder of Innovative Thinking, the creativity training pilot program at the University of Texas, argues in this commentary that academic health centers should implement and evaluate new methods for enhancing science students' innovative thinking to keep the United States as a worldwide leader in scientific discovery.

Innovations in human genetics education. Incorporation of genetics into a problem-based medical school curriculum.

PubMed Central

Swinford, A E; McKeag, D B

1990-01-01

There has been recent interest in the development of problem-based human genetics curricula in U.S. medical schools. The College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University has had a problem-based curriculum since 1974. The vertical integration of genetics within the problem-based curriculum, called "Track II," has recently been revised. On first inspection, the curriculum appeared to lack a significant genetics component; however, on further analysis it was found that many genetics concepts were covered in the biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, and clinical science components. Both basic science concepts and clinical applications of genetics are covered in the curriculum by providing appropriate references for basic concepts and including inherited conditions within the differential diagnosis in the cases studied. Evaluations consist of a multiple-choice content exam and a modified essay exam based on a clinical case, allowing evaluation of both basic concepts and problem-solving ability. This curriculum prepares students to use genetics in a clinical context in their future careers. PMID:2220816

Open Innovation and the Evolving Federal R&D Enterprise

EPA Science Inventory

Open Innovation approaches, from crowdsourcing to prize competitions, are being adopted by federal agencies at an accelerating rate over the last ten years. Open Innovation is a problem‐solving approach that seeks to gather and develop external ideas and solutions in additi...

Students’ difficulties in probabilistic problem-solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arum, D. P.; Kusmayadi, T. A.; Pramudya, I.

2018-03-01

There are many errors can be identified when students solving mathematics problems, particularly in solving the probabilistic problem. This present study aims to investigate students’ difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem. It focuses on analyzing and describing students errors during solving the problem. This research used the qualitative method with case study strategy. The subjects in this research involve ten students of 9th grade that were selected by purposive sampling. Data in this research involve students’ probabilistic problem-solving result and recorded interview regarding students’ difficulties in solving the problem. Those data were analyzed descriptively using Miles and Huberman steps. The results show that students have difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem and can be divided into three categories. First difficulties relate to students’ difficulties in understanding the probabilistic problem. Second, students’ difficulties in choosing and using appropriate strategies for solving the problem. Third, students’ difficulties with the computational process in solving the problem. Based on the result seems that students still have difficulties in solving the probabilistic problem. It means that students have not able to use their knowledge and ability for responding probabilistic problem yet. Therefore, it is important for mathematics teachers to plan probabilistic learning which could optimize students probabilistic thinking ability.

The development of tool manufacture in humans: what helps young children make innovative tools?

PubMed Central

Chappell, Jackie; Cutting, Nicola; Apperly, Ian A.; Beck, Sarah R.

2013-01-01

We know that even young children are proficient tool users, but until recently, little was known about how they make tools. Here, we will explore the concepts underlying tool making, and the kinds of information and putative cognitive abilities required for children to manufacture novel tools. We will review the evidence for novel tool manufacture from the comparative literature and present a growing body of data from children suggesting that innovation of the solution to a problem by making a tool is a much more challenging task than previously thought. Children's difficulty with these kinds of tasks does not seem to be explained by perseveration with unmodified tools, difficulty with switching to alternative strategies, task pragmatics or issues with permission. Rather, making novel tools (without having seen an example of the required tool within the context of the task) appears to be hard, because it is an example of an ‘ill-structured problem’. In this type of ill-structured problem, the starting conditions and end goal are known, but the transformations and/or actions required to get from one to the other are not specified. We will discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the development of problem-solving in humans and other animals. PMID:24101620

Patents for critical pharmaceuticals: the AZT case.

PubMed

Ackiron, E

1991-01-01

Patents and other statutory types of market protections are used in the United States to promote scientific research and innovation. This incentive is especially important in research intensive fields such as the pharmaceutical industry. Unfortunately, these same protections often result in higher monopoly pricing once a successful product is brought to market. Usually this consequence is viewed as the necessary evil of an incentive system that encourages costly research and development by promising large rewards to the successful inventor. However, in the case of the AIDS drug Zidovudine (AZT), the high prices charged by the pharmaceutical company owning the drug have led to public outcry and a re-examination of government incentive systems. This Note traces the evolution of these incentive programs--the patent system, and, to a lesser extent, the orphan drug program--and details the conflicting interests involved in their development. It then demonstrates how the AZT problem brings the interest of providing inventors with incentives for risky innovative efforts into a sharp collision with the ultimate goal of such systems: ensuring that the public has access to the resulting products at a reasonable price. Finally, the Note describes how Congress and the courts have attempted to resolve these problems in the past, and how they might best try to solve the AZT problem in the near future.

Development of a problem solving evaluation instrument; untangling of specific problem solving assets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Wendy Kristine

The purpose of my research was to produce a problem solving evaluation tool for physics. To do this it was necessary to gain a thorough understanding of how students solve problems. Although physics educators highly value problem solving and have put extensive effort into understanding successful problem solving, there is currently no efficient way to evaluate problem solving skill. Attempts have been made in the past; however, knowledge of the principles required to solve the subject problem are so absolutely critical that they completely overshadow any other skills students may use when solving a problem. The work presented here is unique because the evaluation tool removes the requirement that the student already have a grasp of physics concepts. It is also unique because I picked a wide range of people and picked a wide range of tasks for evaluation. This is an important design feature that helps make things emerge more clearly. This dissertation includes an extensive literature review of problem solving in physics, math, education and cognitive science as well as descriptions of studies involving student use of interactive computer simulations, the design and validation of a beliefs about physics survey and finally the design of the problem solving evaluation tool. I have successfully developed and validated a problem solving evaluation tool that identifies 44 separate assets (skills) necessary for solving problems. Rigorous validation studies, including work with an independent interviewer, show these assets identified by this content-free evaluation tool are the same assets that students use to solve problems in mechanics and quantum mechanics. Understanding this set of component assets will help teachers and researchers address problem solving within the classroom.

Mega-prizes in medicine: big cash awards may stimulate useful and rapid therapeutic innovation.

PubMed

Charlton, Bruce G

2007-01-01

Following Horrobin's suggestion of 1986, I argue that offering very large prizes (tens of millions of US dollars, or more) for solving specific therapeutic problems, would be an excellent strategy for promoting the rapid development of effective new treatments. The two mainstream ways of paying for medical research are funding the process with grants or funding the outcome via patent protection. When grants are used to fund the process of research the result tends to be 'pure' science, guided by intrinsic scientific objectives. Practical results, such as useful therapeutic advances, are a by-product. Patent-seeking research, by contrast, is more focused on technology than science. It seeks practical results; and aims to pay for itself (and make a profit) in the long term by generating a patentable product or procedure. Prize-seeking research is subject to different incentives and applicable to different situations than either process-funded or patent-seeking research. Prize seeking researchers have a strong incentive to solve the specified problem as rapidly as possible, but the problem may be solved using old ideas that are scientifically mundane or unpatentable technologies and methods. Prizes therefore seem to generate solutions which are incremental extensions, new applications or novel combinations of already-existing technologies. The main use of mega-prizes in medicine would be to accelerate therapeutic progress in stagnant fields of research and to address urgent problems. For example, medical charities focused on specific diseases should consider accumulating their resources until they can offer a mega-prize for solving a clinical problem of special concern to their patients. Prize money should be big enough to pay for the research and development, the evaluation of the new treatment in a clinical trial, and with a large profit left-over to compensate for the intrinsic risk of competing. Sufficiently large amounts of money, and the prestige and publicity derived from winning a mega-prize, could rapidly mobilize research efforts to discover a whole range of scientifically un-glamorous but clinically-useful therapeutic breakthroughs.

Age differences in everyday problem-solving effectiveness: older adults select more effective strategies for interpersonal problems.

PubMed

Blanchard-Fields, Fredda; Mienaltowski, Andrew; Seay, Renee Baldi

2007-01-01

Using the Everyday Problem Solving Inventory of Cornelius and Caspi, we examined differences in problem-solving strategy endorsement and effectiveness in two domains of everyday functioning (instrumental or interpersonal, and a mixture of the two domains) and for four strategies (avoidance-denial, passive dependence, planful problem solving, and cognitive analysis). Consistent with past research, our research showed that older adults were more problem focused than young adults in their approach to solving instrumental problems, whereas older adults selected more avoidant-denial strategies than young adults when solving interpersonal problems. Overall, older adults were also more effective than young adults when solving everyday problems, in particular for interpersonal problems.

Spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problem solving.

PubMed

Alibali, Martha W; Spencer, Robert C; Knox, Lucy; Kita, Sotaro

2011-09-01

Do gestures merely reflect problem-solving processes, or do they play a functional role in problem solving? We hypothesized that gestures highlight and structure perceptual-motor information, and thereby make such information more likely to be used in problem solving. Participants in two experiments solved problems requiring the prediction of gear movement, either with gesture allowed or with gesture prohibited. Such problems can be correctly solved using either a perceptual-motor strategy (simulation of gear movements) or an abstract strategy (the parity strategy). Participants in the gesture-allowed condition were more likely to use perceptual-motor strategies than were participants in the gesture-prohibited condition. Gesture promoted use of perceptual-motor strategies both for participants who talked aloud while solving the problems (Experiment 1) and for participants who solved the problems silently (Experiment 2). Thus, spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problem solving.

Too upset to think: the interplay of borderline personality features, negative emotions, and social problem solving in the laboratory.

PubMed

Dixon-Gordon, Katherine L; Chapman, Alexander L; Lovasz, Nathalie; Walters, Kris

2011-10-01

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with poor social problem solving and problems with emotion regulation. In this study, the social problem-solving performance of undergraduates with high (n = 26), mid (n = 32), or low (n = 29) levels of BPD features was assessed with the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised and using the means-ends problem-solving procedure before and after a social rejection stressor. The high-BP group, but not the low-BP group, showed a significant reduction in relevant solutions to social problems and more inappropriate solutions following the negative emotion induction. Increases in self-reported negative emotions during the emotion induction mediated the relationship between BP features and reductions in social problem-solving performance. In addition, the high-BP group demonstrated trait deficits in social problem solving on the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised. These findings suggest that future research must examine social problem solving under differing emotional conditions, and that clinical interventions to improve social problem solving among persons with BP features should focus on responses to emotional contexts.

An Investigation of Secondary Teachers’ Understanding and Belief on Mathematical Problem Solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuli Eko Siswono, Tatag; Wachidul Kohar, Ahmad; Kurniasari, Ika; Puji Astuti, Yuliani

2016-02-01

Weaknesses on problem solving of Indonesian students as reported by recent international surveys give rise to questions on how Indonesian teachers bring out idea of problem solving in mathematics lesson. An explorative study was undertaken to investigate how secondary teachers who teach mathematics at junior high school level understand and show belief toward mathematical problem solving. Participants were teachers from four cities in East Java province comprising 45 state teachers and 25 private teachers. Data was obtained through questionnaires and written test. The results of this study point out that the teachers understand pedagogical problem solving knowledge well as indicated by high score of observed teachers‘ responses showing understanding on problem solving as instruction as well as implementation of problem solving in teaching practice. However, they less understand on problem solving content knowledge such as problem solving strategies and meaning of problem itself. Regarding teacher's difficulties, teachers admitted to most frequently fail in (1) determining a precise mathematical model or strategies when carrying out problem solving steps which is supported by data of test result that revealed transformation error as the most frequently observed errors in teachers’ work and (2) choosing suitable real situation when designing context-based problem solving task. Meanwhile, analysis of teacher's beliefs on problem solving shows that teachers tend to view both mathematics and how students should learn mathematics as body static perspective, while they tend to believe to apply idea of problem solving as dynamic approach when teaching mathematics.

The Impact of Teacher Training on Creative Writing and Problem-Solving Using Futuristic Scenarios for Creative Problem Solving and Creative Problem Solving Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayel Al-Srour, Nadia; Al-Ali, Safa M.; Al-Oweidi, Alia

2016-01-01

The present study aims to detect the impact of teacher training on creative writing and problem-solving using both Futuristic scenarios program to solve problems creatively, and creative problem solving. To achieve the objectives of the study, the sample was divided into two groups, the first consist of 20 teachers, and 23 teachers to second…

The Citizen Cyberscience Lectures - 1) Mobile phones and Africa: a success story 2) Citizen Problem Solving

ScienceCinema

Ibrahim, Mo

2018-05-25

Mobile phones and Africa: a success story Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation Citizen Problem Solving Dr. Alpheus Bingham, InnoCentive The Citizen Cyberscience Lectures are hosted by the partners of the Citizen Cyberscience Centre, CERN, The UN Institute of Training and Research and the University of Geneva. The goal of the Lectures is to provide an inspirational forum for participants from the various international organizations and academic institutions in Geneva to explore how information technology is enabling greater citizen participation in tackling global development challenges as well as global scientific research. The first Citizen Cyberscience Lectures will welcome two speakers who have both made major innovative contributions in this area. Dr. Mo Ibrahim, founder of Celtel International, one of Africa’s most successful mobile network operators, will talk about “Mobile phones and Africa: a success story”. Dr. Alpheus Bingham, founder of InnoCentive, a Web-based community that solves industrial R&D; challenges, will discuss “Citizen Problem Solving”. The Citizen Cyberscience Lectures are open and free of charge. Participants from outside CERN must register by sending an email to Yasemin.Hauser@cern.ch BEFORE the 23rd october to be able to access CERN. THE LECTURES Mobile phones and Africa: a success story Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation Abstract The introduction of mobile phones into Africa changed the continent, enabling business and the commercial sector, creating directly and indirectly, millions of jobs. It enriched the social lives of many people. Surprisingly, it supported the emerging civil society and advanced the course of democracy Bio Dr Mo Ibrahim is a global expert in mobile communications with a distinguished academic and business career. In 1998, Dr Ibrahim founded Celtel International to build and operate mobile networks in Africa. Celtel became one of Africa’s most successful companies with operations in 15 countries, covering more than a third of the continent’s population and investing more than US 750 millionin Africa.The company was sold to MTC Kuwaitin 2005 for 3.4billion. In 2006 Dr Ibrahim established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to support great African leadership. The Foundation focuses on two major initiatives to stimulate debate around, and improve the quality of, governance in Africa. The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership recognises and celebrates excellence; and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance provides civil society with a comprehensive and quantifiable tool to promote government accountability. Dr Ibrahim is also Founding Chairman of Satya Capital Ltd, an investment company focused on opportunities in Africa. Dr Ibrahim has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of Birmingham and De Montfort University, Leicester as well as an Honorary Fellowship Award from the London Business School. He has also received the Chairman’s Award for Lifetime Achievement from the GSM Association in 2007 and the Economists Innovation Award 2007 for Social & Economic Innovation. In 2008 Dr Ibrahim was presented with the BNP Paribas Prize for Philanthropy, and also listed by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Citizen Problem Solving Dr. Alpheus Bingham, InnoCentive Abstract American playwright Damien Runyon (Guys and Dolls) once remarked, "the race is not always to the swift, nor the victory to the strong -- but that IS how you bet." Not only does a system of race handicapping follow from this logic, but the whole notion of expertise and technical qualifications. Such 'credentials' allow one to 'bet' on who might most likely solve a difficult challenge, whether as consultant, contractor or employee. Of course, the approach would differ if one were allowed to bet AFTER the race. When such systems came into broad use, i.e., chat rooms, usenets, innocentive, etc., and were subsequently studied, it was often found that the greatest probability of solution lies in the "long tail" of the function rather than in the head representing formally vetted 'experts.' Insight into a problem is often the intersection of training, experience, metaphor and provocation (think Archimedes). Examples of "citizens" outside a targeted field of expertise providing uniques solutions will illustrate the principles involved. Bio Dr. Alph Bingham is a pioneer in the field of open innovation and an advocate of collaborative approaches to research and development. He is co-founder, and former president and chief executive officer of InnoCentive Inc., a Web-based community that matches companies facing R&D; challenges with scientists who propose solutions. Through InnoCentive, a platform that leverages the ability to connect to a whole planet of people through the Internet, organizations can access individuals – problem solvers – who might never have been found. Alph spent more than 25 years with Eli Lilly and Company, and offers deep experience in pharmaceutical research and development, research acquisitions and collaborations, and R&D; strategic planning. During his career he was instrumental in creating and developing Eli Lilly's portfolio management process as well as establishing the divisions of Research Acquisitions, the Office of Alliance Management and e.Lilly, a business innovation unit, from which various other ventures were spun out that create the advantages of open and networked organizational structures, including: InnoCentive, YourEncore, Inc., Coalesix, Inc., Maaguzi, Inc., Indigo Biosystems, Seriosity, Chorus and Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of InnoCentive, Inc., and Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc.; the advisory boards of the Center for Collective Intelligence (MIT), and the Business Innovation Factory, as well as a member of the board of trustees of the Bankinter Foundation for Innovation in Madrid. He has lectured extensively at both national and international events and serves as a Visiting Scholar at the National Center for Supercomputing Application at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He is also the former chairman of the Board of Editors of the Research Technology Management Journal. Dr. Bingham was the recipient of the Economist's Fourth Annual Innovation Summit "Business Process Award" for InnoCentive. He was also named as one of Project Management Institute's "Power 50" leaders in October 2005. Dr. Bingham received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Stanford University.

Health technopole: innovation applied to clinical engineering & health technology management education.

PubMed

Vilcahuaman, L; Rivas, R

2010-01-01

In the Peruvian Health System, Clinical Engineering does not exist as a topic of intervention. 59% of biomedical equipment is officially classified as operational, however next to apply the correct classification methodology and include security issues, only 10% of the equipment are suitable for use in patients. The serious consequences for patients, is opposite to the increased public investment in the health sector. Reversing this context leads to structural changes at all levels of the organization and they will be achievable only through an appropriate educational program. A strategy focused on joint of capacities called Health Technopole has managed to implement an innovative Model of Education in Healthcare Technology Management HTM and Clinical Engineering CE aimed at solving this problem. The proposal focused on strategies to strengthen the educational goals such as creating HTM & CE Units in hospitals, the implementation of the methodology: Problem Based Learning and Project Management in HTM & CE in classroom and on line courses. The process includes an effective interaction with global organizations through teleconferences, Internships, Workshops and Seminars. A key component was the sustained multidisciplinary approach. Health Technopole CENGETS is an expert adviser for the Ministry of Health and is called for trainings, design training programs for regional governments and also supports global organizations such as PAHO / WHO and ORAS / CONHU. The proposal of innovation applied to HTM & CE Education is effective and is a benchmark for similar countries.

Ethical Concerns of and Risk Mitigation Strategies for Crowdsourcing Contests and Innovation Challenges: Scoping Review

PubMed Central

Pan, Stephen W; Mathews, Allison; Stein, Gabriella; Bayus, Barry; Rennie, Stuart

2018-01-01

Background Crowdsourcing contests (also called innovation challenges, innovation contests, and inducement prize contests) can be used to solicit multisectoral feedback on health programs and design public health campaigns. They consist of organizing a steering committee, soliciting contributions, engaging the community, judging contributions, recognizing a subset of contributors, and sharing with the community. Objective This scoping review describes crowdsourcing contests by stage, examines ethical problems at each stage, and proposes potential ways of mitigating risk. Methods Our analysis was anchored in the specific example of a crowdsourcing contest that our team organized to solicit videos promoting condom use in China. The purpose of this contest was to create compelling 1-min videos to promote condom use. We used a scoping review to examine the existing ethical literature on crowdsourcing to help identify and frame ethical concerns at each stage. Results Crowdsourcing has a group of individuals solve a problem and then share the solution with the public. Crowdsourcing contests provide an opportunity for community engagement at each stage: organizing, soliciting, promoting, judging, recognizing, and sharing. Crowdsourcing poses several ethical concerns: organizing—potential for excluding community voices; soliciting—potential for overly narrow participation; promoting—potential for divulging confidential information; judging—potential for biased evaluation; recognizing—potential for insufficient recognition of the finalist; and sharing—potential for the solution to not be implemented or widely disseminated. Conclusions Crowdsourcing contests can be effective and engaging public health tools but also introduce potential ethical problems. We present methods for the responsible conduct of crowdsourcing contests. PMID:29523500

Problem-solving skills in high school biology: The effectiveness of the IMMEX problem-solving assessment software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palacio-Cayetano, Joycelin

"Problem-solving through reflective thinking should be both the method and valuable outcome of science instruction in America's schools" proclaimed John Dewey (Gabel, 1995). If the development of problem-solving is a primary goal of science education, more problem-solving opportunities must be an integral part of K-16 education. To examine the effective use of technology in developing and assessing problem-solving skills, a problem-solving authoring, learning, and assessment software, the UCLA IMMEX Program-Interactive Multimedia Exercises-was investigated. This study was a twenty-week quasi-experimental study that was implemented as a control-group time series design among 120 tenth grade students. Both the experimental group (n = 60) and the control group (n = 60) participated in a problem-based learning curriculum; however, the experimental group received regular intensive experiences with IMMEX problem-solving and the control group did not. Problem-solving pretest and posttest were administered to all students. The instruments used were a 35-item Processes of Biological Inquiry Test and an IMMEX problem-solving assessment test, True Roots. Students who participated in the IMMEX Program achieved significant (p <.05) gains in problem-solving skills on both problem-solving assessment instruments. This study provided evidence that IMMEX software is highly efficient in evaluating salient elements of problem-solving. Outputs of students' problem-solving strategies revealed that unsuccessful problem solvers primarily used the following four strategies: (1) no data search strategy, students simply guessed; (2) limited data search strategy leading to insufficient data and premature closing; (3) irrelevant data search strategy, students focus in areas bearing no substantive data; and (4) extensive data search strategy with inadequate integration and analysis. On the contrary, successful problem solvers used the following strategies; (1) focused search strategy coupled with the ability to fill in knowledge gaps by accessing the appropriate resources; (2) targeted search strategy coupled with high level of analytical and integration skills; and (3) focused search strategy coupled with superior discrimination, analytical, and integration skills. The strategies of students who were successful and unsuccessful solving IMMEX problems were consistent with those of expert and novice problem solvers identified in the literature on problem-solving.

Use of EPA collaborative problem-solving model to obtain environmental justice in North Carolina.

PubMed

Wilson, Sacoby M; Wilson, Omega R; Heaney, Christopher D; Cooper, John

2007-01-01

The West End Revitalization Association (WERA), a community-based organization (CBO) in Mebane, North Carolina, was awarded a Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Justice (EPA OEJ). The purpose of this paper is to highlight WERA's efforts to bring stakeholders in three low-income African-American communities where environmental hazards created public health risks together for collaboration rather than litigation. WERA's board and staff organized nine working groups with specific areas of expertise that would facilitate research, identify lack of basic amenities, and encourage funding for corrective action and participation in progress reporting workshops. WERA used consensus building, dispute resolution, and resource mobilization as part of the CPS model to address noncompliance with environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and Solid Waste Disposal Act. WERA's CPS "Right to Basic Amenities" project produced a framework for (1) grassroots management and ownership of a collaborative problem-solving process; (2) bringing stakeholders together with diverse and conflicting viewpoints; (3) implementation of an innovative community-owned and managed (COMR) research model; and (4) leveraging millions of dollars to fund installation of first-time municipal water/sewer services, street paving, and relocation of the 119-bypass to advance environmental health solutions. The structure and successes of WERA's Right to Basic Amenities project have been discussed at demonstration and training sessions to help others replicate the model in comparable low-income communities of color in North Carolina and across the United States.

Pre-Service Class Teacher' Ability in Solving Mathematical Problems and Skills in Solving Daily Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aljaberi, Nahil M.; Gheith, Eman

2016-01-01

This study aims to investigate the ability of pre-service class teacher at University of Petrain solving mathematical problems using Polya's Techniques, their level of problem solving skills in daily-life issues. The study also investigates the correlation between their ability to solve mathematical problems and their level of problem solving…

The Association between Motivation, Affect, and Self-regulated Learning When Solving Problems.

PubMed

Baars, Martine; Wijnia, Lisette; Paas, Fred

2017-01-01

Self-regulated learning (SRL) skills are essential for learning during school years, particularly in complex problem-solving domains, such as biology and math. Although a lot of studies have focused on the cognitive resources that are needed for learning to solve problems in a self-regulated way, affective and motivational resources have received much less research attention. The current study investigated the relation between affect (i.e., Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale), motivation (i.e., autonomous and controlled motivation), mental effort, SRL skills, and problem-solving performance when learning to solve biology problems in a self-regulated online learning environment. In the learning phase, secondary education students studied video-modeling examples of how to solve hereditary problems, solved hereditary problems which they chose themselves from a set of problems with different complexity levels (i.e., five levels). In the posttest, students solved hereditary problems, self-assessed their performance, and chose a next problem from the set of problems but did not solve these problems. The results from this study showed that negative affect, inaccurate self-assessments during the posttest, and higher perceptions of mental effort during the posttest were negatively associated with problem-solving performance after learning in a self-regulated way.

Mobile Devices: A Distraction, or a Useful Tool to Engage Nursing Students?

PubMed

Gallegos, Cara; Nakashima, Hannah

2018-03-01

Engaging nursing students in theoretical courses, such as research, can be challenging. Innovative instructional strategies are essential to engage nursing students in theoretical nursing courses. This article describes an educational innovation using technology as a tool in an undergraduate nursing research class. All students in the course received iPads for the semester. Lecture material was presented in class using Nearpod, an interactive presentation embedded with slides, multimedia components, and learning activities. Students reported that using the mobile technology helped them minimize off-task activities, interact more with each other and the instructor, solve problems in the class, and develop skills and confidence related to their career. Allowing device use in the classroom, such as iPads and interactive mobile applications, can be a useful learning tool. Intentional use of technology and pedagogy can increase engagement and interaction with students. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(3):170-173.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

[Individuals and changes in health organizations: a psychosociological approach].

PubMed

Azevedo, Creuza da Silva; Braga Neto, Francisco Campos; Sá, Marilene de Castilho

2002-01-01

The Brazilian health sector has undergone a severe crisis, affecting the case-resolving capacity, efficiency and governability of the health system as a whole and health organizations in particular. Although innovative management systems and tools have been encouraged, such innovations are limited in their ability to spawn organizational change, especially with regard to the challenge of enabling individual adherence to institutional projects and relations involving individuals and organizations. This paper focuses on the French psychosociological approach for analyzing and intervening in organizations, one of whose main thinkers is Eugène Enriquez. In its view of contemporary organizations, this approach focuses on the conflict between reproduction and creation as the main problem to be solved by management processes. While an organization is essentially seen as a place of order and repetition, organizational change implies the challenge of bringing creative individuals into the organization's project, avoiding the trap of controlling their minds and behavior.

Neuroart: picturing the neuroscience of intentional actions in art and science.

PubMed

Siler, Todd

2015-01-01

Intentional actions cover a broad spectrum of human behaviors involving consciousness, creativity, innovative thinking, problem-solving, critical thinking, and other related cognitive processes self-evident in the arts and sciences. The author discusses the brain activity associated with action intentions, connecting this activity with the creative process. Focusing on one seminal artwork created and exhibited over a period of three decades, Thought Assemblies (1979-82, 2014), he describes how this symbolic art interprets the neuropsychological processes of intuition and analytical reasoning. It explores numerous basic questions concerning observed interactions between artistic and scientific inquiries, conceptions, perceptions, and representations connecting mind and nature. Pointing to some key neural mechanisms responsible for forming and implementing intentions, he considers why and how we create, discover, invent, and innovate. He suggests ways of metaphorical thinking and symbolic modeling that can help integrate the neuroscience of intentional actions with the neuroscience of creativity, art and neuroaesthetics.

Neuroart: picturing the neuroscience of intentional actions in art and science

PubMed Central

Siler, Todd

2015-01-01

Intentional actions cover a broad spectrum of human behaviors involving consciousness, creativity, innovative thinking, problem-solving, critical thinking, and other related cognitive processes self-evident in the arts and sciences. The author discusses the brain activity associated with action intentions, connecting this activity with the creative process. Focusing on one seminal artwork created and exhibited over a period of three decades, Thought Assemblies (1979–82, 2014), he describes how this symbolic art interprets the neuropsychological processes of intuition and analytical reasoning. It explores numerous basic questions concerning observed interactions between artistic and scientific inquiries, conceptions, perceptions, and representations connecting mind and nature. Pointing to some key neural mechanisms responsible for forming and implementing intentions, he considers why and how we create, discover, invent, and innovate. He suggests ways of metaphorical thinking and symbolic modeling that can help integrate the neuroscience of intentional actions with the neuroscience of creativity, art and neuroaesthetics. PMID:26257629

Crowd Sourcing for Challenging Technical Problems and Business Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Crowd sourcing may be defined as the act of outsourcing tasks that are traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to an undefined, generally large group of people or community (a crowd) in the form of an open call. The open call may be issued by an organization wishing to find a solution to a particular problem or complete a task, or by an open innovation service provider on behalf of that organization. In 2008, the Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD), with the support of Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering, established and implemented pilot projects in open innovation (crowd sourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical challenges. These unsolved technical problems were converted to problem statements, also called "Challenges" or "Technical Needs" by the various open innovation service providers, and were then posted externally to seek solutions. In addition, an open call was issued internally to NASA employees Agency wide (10 Field Centers and NASA HQ) using an open innovation service provider crowd sourcing platform to post NASA challenges from each Center for the others to propose solutions). From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external problems or challenges were posted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, Yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive crowd sourcing platform designed for internal use by an organization. This platform was customized for NASA use and promoted as NASA@Work. The results were significant. Of the seven InnoCentive external challenges, two full and five partial awards were made in complex technical areas such as predicting solar flares and long-duration food packaging. Similarly, the TopCoder challenge yielded an optimization algorithm for designing a lunar medical kit. The Yet2.com challenges yielded many new industry and academic contacts in bone imaging, microbial detection and even the use of pharmaceuticals for radiation protection. The internal challenges through NASA@Work drew over 6000 participants across all NASA centers. Challenges conducted by each NASA center elicited ideas and solutions from several other NASA centers and demonstrated rapid and efficient participation from employees at multiple centers to contribute to problem solving. Finally, on January 19, 2011, the SLSD conducted a workshop on open collaboration and innovation strategies and best practices through the newly established NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC). Initial projects will be described leading to a new business model for SLSD.

Open Technology Approaches to Geospatial Interface Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crevensten, B.; Simmons, D.; Alaska Satellite Facility

2011-12-01

What problems do you not want your software developers to be solving? Choosing open technologies across the entire stack of software development-from low-level shared libraries to high-level user interaction implementations-is a way to help ensure that customized software yields innovative and valuable tools for Earth Scientists. This demonstration will review developments in web application technologies and the recurring patterns of interaction design regarding exploration and discovery of geospatial data through the Vertex: ASF's Dataportal interface, a project utilizing current open web application standards and technologies including HTML5, jQueryUI, Backbone.js and the Jasmine unit testing framework.

Framework Resources Multiply Computing Power

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2010-01-01

As an early proponent of grid computing, Ames Research Center awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to 3DGeo Development Inc., of Santa Clara, California, (now FusionGeo Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas) to demonstrate a virtual computer environment that linked geographically dispersed computer systems over the Internet to help solve large computational problems. By adding to an existing product, FusionGeo enabled access to resources for calculation- or data-intensive applications whenever and wherever they were needed. Commercially available as Accelerated Imaging and Modeling, the product is used by oil companies and seismic service companies, which require large processing and data storage capacities.

KSC-2011-2253

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-11

ORLANDO, Fla. – NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana talks to high school students taking part in the "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," or FIRST, competition at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. FIRST, founded in 1989, is a non-profit organization that designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue academic opportunities. The robotics competition challenges teams of high school students and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard kit of parts and a common set of rules. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

KSC-2011-2254

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-11

ORLANDO, Fla. – NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana talks to high school students taking part in the "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," or FIRST, competition at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. FIRST, founded in 1989, is a non-profit organization that designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue academic opportunities. The robotics competition challenges teams of high school students and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard kit of parts and a common set of rules. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

Algorithmic tools for interpreting vital signs.

PubMed

Rathbun, Melina C; Ruth-Sahd, Lisa A

2009-07-01

Today's complex world of nursing practice challenges nurse educators to develop teaching methods that promote critical thinking skills and foster quick problem solving in the novice nurse. Traditional pedagogies previously used in the classroom and clinical setting are no longer adequate to prepare nursing students for entry into practice. In addition, educators have expressed frustration when encouraging students to apply newly learned theoretical content to direct the care of assigned patients in the clinical setting. This article presents algorithms as an innovative teaching strategy to guide novice student nurses in the interpretation and decision making related to vital sign assessment in an acute care setting.

An intermediary's perspective of online databases for local governments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jack, R. F.

1984-01-01

Numerous public administration studies have indicated that local government agencies for a variety of reasons lack access to comprehensive information resources; furthermore, such entities are often unwilling or unable to share information regarding their own problem-solving innovations. The NASA/University of Kentucky Technology Applications Program devotes a considerable effort to providing scientific and technical information and assistance to local agencies, relying on its access to over 500 distinct online databases offered by 20 hosts. The author presents a subjective assessment, based on his own experiences, of several databases which may prove useful in obtaining information for this particular end-user community.

Assembling Appliances Standards from a Basket of Functions

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

Siderious, Hans-Paul; Meier, Alan

2014-08-11

Rapid innovation in product design challenges the current methodology for setting standards and labels, especially for electronics, software and networking. Major problems include defining the product, measuring its energy consumption, and choosing the appropriate metric and level for the standard. Most governments have tried to solve these problems by defining ever more specific product subcategories, along with their corresponding test methods and metrics. An alternative approach would treat each energy-using product as something that delivers a basket of functions. Then separate standards would be constructed for the individual functions that can be defined, tested, and evaluated. Case studies of thermostats,more » displays and network equipment are presented to illustrate the problems with the classical approach for setting standards and indicate the merits and drawbacks of the alternative. The functional approach appears best suited to products whose primary purpose is processing information and that have multiple functions.« less

An innovative method for nondestructive analysis of cast iron artifacts at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sloto, Ronald A.; Martin f. Helmke,

2014-01-01

Sampling cast iron produced by the furnace posed two problems. First, verification that the iron was actually cast at Hopewell Furnace was necessary, as some iron objects found at Hopewell may not have originated there. This was accomplished by using artifacts on display at the Hopewell visitor center (fig. 2). All artifacts on display have been positively attributed to the furnace, and stoves produced by the furnace are easily recognized by the name “Hopewell” cast into them. The second problem was the analysis of the trace metal content of the cast iron, because it was not possible to break off part of a historically important artifact and send it to a laboratory for analysis. This problem was solved when the USGS collaborated with West Chester University, which owns a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer.

The impact of effective patents on future innovations in nanomedicine.

PubMed

Bosetti, Rita; Vereeck, Lode

2012-03-01

The success of nanomedicine is dependent upon an effective protection of IP rights. Unfortunately, the US nanomedicine patent system is dysfunctional because long R&D procedures as well as the patent pendency are insufficiently taken into account. This could be solved by changing the patent-protection starting point and increasing the capacity of the US PTO. The nanotechnology industry also suffers from overlapping patents. This could be avoided by improving the expertise of the PTO, using a more accurate definition of nanotechnology and devising a generally accepted nomenclature that enhances prior-art searches. To avoid disputes, inference practices and strategic patenting can be used. In the case of a dispute, parties can fall back on re-examination, cross-licensing and patent litigation. Cross-licensing agreements are recommended since they allows parties to access technology, create synergies and exclude third-party competitors. Solving the patent problems in the nanotechnology industry is a necessary step for future success.

The Citizen Cyberscience Lectures - 1) Mobile phones and Africa: a success story 2) Citizen Problem Solving

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

Ibrahim, Mo

2009-10-28

Mobile phones and Africa: a success story Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation Citizen Problem Solving Dr. Alpheus Bingham, InnoCentive The Citizen Cyberscience Lectures are hosted by the partners of the Citizen Cyberscience Centre, CERN, The UN Institute of Training and Research and the University of Geneva. The goal of the Lectures is to provide an inspirational forum for participants from the various international organizations and academic institutions in Geneva to explore how information technology is enabling greater citizen participation in tackling global development challenges as well as global scientific research. The first Citizen Cyberscience Lectures will welcome two speakersmore » who have both made major innovative contributions in this area. Dr. Mo Ibrahim, founder of Celtel International, one of Africa’s most successful mobile network operators, will talk about “Mobile phones and Africa: a success story”. Dr. Alpheus Bingham, founder of InnoCentive, a Web-based community that solves industrial R&D; challenges, will discuss “Citizen Problem Solving”. The Citizen Cyberscience Lectures are open and free of charge. Participants from outside CERN must register by sending an email to Yasemin.Hauser@cern.ch BEFORE the 23rd october to be able to access CERN. THE LECTURES Mobile phones and Africa: a success story Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation Abstract The introduction of mobile phones into Africa changed the continent, enabling business and the commercial sector, creating directly and indirectly, millions of jobs. It enriched the social lives of many people. Surprisingly, it supported the emerging civil society and advanced the course of democracy Bio Dr Mo Ibrahim is a global expert in mobile communications with a distinguished academic and business career. In 1998, Dr Ibrahim founded Celtel International to build and operate mobile networks in Africa. Celtel became one of Africa’s most successful companies with operations in 15 countries, covering more than a third of the continent’s population and investing more than US 750 millionin Africa.The company was sold to MTC Kuwaitin 2005 for 3.4billion. In 2006 Dr Ibrahim established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to support great African leadership. The Foundation focuses on two major initiatives to stimulate debate around, and improve the quality of, governance in Africa. The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership recognises and celebrates excellence; and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance provides civil society with a comprehensive and quantifiable tool to promote government accountability. Dr Ibrahim is also Founding Chairman of Satya Capital Ltd, an investment company focused on opportunities in Africa. Dr Ibrahim has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of Birmingham and De Montfort University, Leicester as well as an Honorary Fellowship Award from the London Business School. He has also received the Chairman’s Award for Lifetime Achievement from the GSM Association in 2007 and the Economists Innovation Award 2007 for Social & Economic Innovation. In 2008 Dr Ibrahim was presented with the BNP Paribas Prize for Philanthropy, and also listed by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Citizen Problem Solving Dr. Alpheus Bingham, InnoCentive Abstract American playwright Damien Runyon (Guys and Dolls) once remarked, "the race is not always to the swift, nor the victory to the strong -- but that IS how you bet." Not only does a system of race handicapping follow from this logic, but the whole notion of expertise and technical qualifications. Such 'credentials' allow one to 'bet' on who might most likely solve a difficult challenge, whether as consultant, contractor or employee. Of course, the approach would differ if one were allowed to bet AFTER the race. When such systems came into broad use, i.e., chat rooms, usenets, innocentive, etc., and were subsequently studied, it was often found that the greatest probability of solution lies in the "long tail" of the function rather than in the head representing formally vetted 'experts.' Insight into a problem is often the intersection of training, experience, metaphor and provocation (think Archimedes). Examples of "citizens" outside a targeted field of expertise providing uniques solutions will illustrate the principles involved. Bio Dr. Alph Bingham is a pioneer in the field of open innovation and an advocate of collaborative approaches to research and development. He is co-founder, and former president and chief executive officer of InnoCentive Inc., a Web-based community that matches companies facing R&D; challenges with scientists who propose solutions. Through InnoCentive, a platform that leverages the ability to connect to a whole planet of people through the Internet, organizations can access individuals – problem solvers – who might never have been found. Alph spent more than 25 years with Eli Lilly and Company, and offers deep experience in pharmaceutical research and development, research acquisitions and collaborations, and R&D; strategic planning. During his career he was instrumental in creating and developing Eli Lilly's portfolio management process as well as establishing the divisions of Research Acquisitions, the Office of Alliance Management and e.Lilly, a business innovation unit, from which various other ventures were spun out that create the advantages of open and networked organizational structures, including: InnoCentive, YourEncore, Inc., Coalesix, Inc., Maaguzi, Inc., Indigo Biosystems, Seriosity, Chorus and Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of InnoCentive, Inc., and Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc.; the advisory boards of the Center for Collective Intelligence (MIT), and the Business Innovation Factory, as well as a member of the board of trustees of the Bankinter Foundation for Innovation in Madrid. He has lectured extensively at both national and international events and serves as a Visiting Scholar at the National Center for Supercomputing Application at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He is also the former chairman of the Board of Editors of the Research Technology Management Journal. Dr. Bingham was the recipient of the Economist's Fourth Annual Innovation Summit "Business Process Award" for InnoCentive. He was also named as one of Project Management Institute's "Power 50" leaders in October 2005. Dr. Bingham received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Stanford University.« less

Extraction of a group-pair relation: problem-solving relation from web-board documents.

PubMed

Pechsiri, Chaveevan; Piriyakul, Rapepun

2016-01-01

This paper aims to extract a group-pair relation as a Problem-Solving relation, for example a DiseaseSymptom-Treatment relation and a CarProblem-Repair relation, between two event-explanation groups, a problem-concept group as a symptom/CarProblem-concept group and a solving-concept group as a treatment-concept/repair concept group from hospital-web-board and car-repair-guru-web-board documents. The Problem-Solving relation (particularly Symptom-Treatment relation) including the graphical representation benefits non-professional persons by supporting knowledge of primarily solving problems. The research contains three problems: how to identify an EDU (an Elementary Discourse Unit, which is a simple sentence) with the event concept of either a problem or a solution; how to determine a problem-concept EDU boundary and a solving-concept EDU boundary as two event-explanation groups, and how to determine the Problem-Solving relation between these two event-explanation groups. Therefore, we apply word co-occurrence to identify a problem-concept EDU and a solving-concept EDU, and machine-learning techniques to solve a problem-concept EDU boundary and a solving-concept EDU boundary. We propose using k-mean and Naïve Bayes to determine the Problem-Solving relation between the two event-explanation groups involved with clustering features. In contrast to previous works, the proposed approach enables group-pair relation extraction with high accuracy.

Students’ Mathematical Problem-Solving Abilities Through The Application of Learning Models Problem Based Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasution, M. L.; Yerizon, Y.; Gusmiyanti, R.

2018-04-01

One of the purpose mathematic learning is to develop problem solving abilities. Problem solving is obtained through experience in questioning non-routine. Improving students’ mathematical problem-solving abilities required an appropriate strategy in learning activities one of them is models problem based learning (PBL). Thus, the purpose of this research is to determine whether the problem solving abilities of mathematical students’ who learn to use PBL better than on the ability of students’ mathematical problem solving by applying conventional learning. This research included quasi experiment with static group design and population is students class XI MIA SMAN 1 Lubuk Alung. Class experiment in the class XI MIA 5 and class control in the class XI MIA 6. The instrument of final test students’ mathematical problem solving used essay form. The result of data final test in analyzed with t-test. The result is students’ mathematical problem solving abilities with PBL better then on the ability of students’ mathematical problem solving by applying conventional learning. It’s seen from the high percentage achieved by the group of students who learn to use PBL for each indicator of students’ mathematical problem solving.

Using a general problem-solving strategy to promote transfer.

PubMed

Youssef-Shalala, Amina; Ayres, Paul; Schubert, Carina; Sweller, John

2014-09-01

Cognitive load theory was used to hypothesize that a general problem-solving strategy based on a make-as-many-moves-as-possible heuristic could facilitate problem solutions for transfer problems. In four experiments, school students were required to learn about a topic through practice with a general problem-solving strategy, through a conventional problem solving strategy or by studying worked examples. In Experiments 1 and 2 using junior high school students learning geometry, low knowledge students in the general problem-solving group scored significantly higher on near or far transfer tests than the conventional problem-solving group. In Experiment 3, an advantage for a general problem-solving group over a group presented worked examples was obtained on far transfer tests using the same curriculum materials, again presented to junior high school students. No differences between conditions were found in Experiments 1, 2, or 3 using test problems similar to the acquisition problems. Experiment 4 used senior high school students studying economics and found the general problem-solving group scored significantly higher than the conventional problem-solving group on both similar and transfer tests. It was concluded that the general problem-solving strategy was helpful for novices, but not for students that had access to domain-specific knowledge. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Revising explanatory models to accommodate anomalous genetic phenomena: Problem solving in the context of discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hafner, Robert; Stewart, Jim

Past problem-solving research has provided a basis for helping students structure their knowledge and apply appropriate problem-solving strategies to solve problems for which their knowledge (or mental models) of scientific phenomena is adequate (model-using problem solving). This research examines how problem solving in the domain of Mendelian genetics proceeds in situations where solvers' mental models are insufficient to solve problems at hand (model-revising problem solving). Such situations require solvers to use existing models to recognize anomalous data and to revise those models to accommodate the data. The study was conducted in the context of 9-week high school genetics course and addressed: the heuristics charactenstic of successful model-revising problem solving: the nature of the model revisions, made by students as well as the nature of model development across problem types; and the basis upon which solvers decide that a revised model is sufficient (that t has both predictive and explanatory power).

Parent-Teacher Communication about Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Examination of Collaborative Problem-Solving

PubMed Central

Azad, Gazi F.; Kim, Mina; Marcus, Steven C.; Mandell, David S.; Sheridan, Susan M.

2016-01-01

Effective parent-teacher communication involves problem-solving concerns about students. Few studies have examined problem solving interactions between parents and teachers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a particular focus on identifying communication barriers and strategies for improving them. This study examined the problem-solving behaviors of parents and teachers of children with ASD. Participants included 18 teachers and 39 parents of children with ASD. Parent-teacher dyads were prompted to discuss and provide a solution for a problem that a student experienced at home and at school. Parents and teachers also reported on their problem-solving behaviors. Results showed that parents and teachers displayed limited use of the core elements of problem-solving. Teachers displayed more problem-solving behaviors than parents. Both groups reported engaging in more problem-solving behaviors than they were observed to display during their discussions. Our findings suggest that teacher and parent training programs should include collaborative approaches to problem-solving. PMID:28392604

Parent-Teacher Communication about Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Examination of Collaborative Problem-Solving.

PubMed

Azad, Gazi F; Kim, Mina; Marcus, Steven C; Mandell, David S; Sheridan, Susan M

2016-12-01

Effective parent-teacher communication involves problem-solving concerns about students. Few studies have examined problem solving interactions between parents and teachers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a particular focus on identifying communication barriers and strategies for improving them. This study examined the problem-solving behaviors of parents and teachers of children with ASD. Participants included 18 teachers and 39 parents of children with ASD. Parent-teacher dyads were prompted to discuss and provide a solution for a problem that a student experienced at home and at school. Parents and teachers also reported on their problem-solving behaviors. Results showed that parents and teachers displayed limited use of the core elements of problem-solving. Teachers displayed more problem-solving behaviors than parents. Both groups reported engaging in more problem-solving behaviors than they were observed to display during their discussions. Our findings suggest that teacher and parent training programs should include collaborative approaches to problem-solving.

Errors analysis of problem solving using the Newman stage after applying cooperative learning of TTW type

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rr Chusnul, C.; Mardiyana, S., Dewi Retno

2017-12-01

Problem solving is the basis of mathematics learning. Problem solving teaches us to clarify an issue coherently in order to avoid misunderstanding information. Sometimes there may be mistakes in problem solving due to misunderstanding the issue, choosing a wrong concept or misapplied concept. The problem-solving test was carried out after students were given treatment on learning by using cooperative learning of TTW type. The purpose of this study was to elucidate student problem regarding to problem solving errors after learning by using cooperative learning of TTW type. Newman stages were used to identify problem solving errors in this study. The new research used a descriptive method to find out problem solving errors in students. The subject in this study were students of Vocational Senior High School (SMK) in 10th grade. Test and interview was conducted for data collection. Thus, the results of this study suggested problem solving errors in students after learning by using cooperative learning of TTW type for Newman stages.

Rejection Sensitivity and Depression: Indirect Effects Through Problem Solving.

PubMed

Kraines, Morganne A; Wells, Tony T

2017-01-01

Rejection sensitivity (RS) and deficits in social problem solving are risk factors for depression. Despite their relationship to depression and the potential connection between them, no studies have examined RS and social problem solving together in the context of depression. As such, we examined RS, five facets of social problem solving, and symptoms of depression in a young adult sample. A total of 180 participants completed measures of RS, social problem solving, and depressive symptoms. We used bootstrapping to examine the indirect effect of RS on depressive symptoms through problem solving. RS was positively associated with depressive symptoms. A negative problem orientation, impulsive/careless style, and avoidance style of social problem solving were positively associated with depressive symptoms, and a positive problem orientation was negatively associated with depressive symptoms. RS demonstrated an indirect effect on depressive symptoms through two social problem-solving facets: the tendency to view problems as threats to one's well-being and an avoidance problem-solving style characterized by procrastination, passivity, or overdependence on others. These results are consistent with prior research that found a positive association between RS and depression symptoms, but this is the first study to implicate specific problem-solving deficits in the relationship between RS and depression. Our results suggest that depressive symptoms in high RS individuals may result from viewing problems as threats and taking an avoidant, rather than proactive, approach to dealing with problems. These findings may have implications for problem-solving interventions for rejection sensitive individuals.

The Cyclic Nature of Problem Solving: An Emergent Multidimensional Problem-Solving Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Marilyn P.; Bloom, Irene

2005-01-01

This paper describes the problem-solving behaviors of 12 mathematicians as they completed four mathematical tasks. The emergent problem-solving framework draws on the large body of research, as grounded by and modified in response to our close observations of these mathematicians. The resulting "Multidimensional Problem-Solving Framework" has four…

Mathematical Problem Solving: A Review of the Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Funkhouser, Charles

The major perspectives on problem solving of the twentieth century are reviewed--associationism, Gestalt psychology, and cognitive science. The results of the review on teaching problem solving and the uses of computers to teach problem solving are included. Four major issues related to the teaching of problem solving are discussed: (1)…

Teaching Problem Solving Skills to Elementary Age Students with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cote, Debra L.; Jones, Vita L.; Barnett, Crystal; Pavelek, Karin; Nguyen, Hoang; Sparks, Shannon L.

2014-01-01

Students with disabilities need problem-solving skills to promote their success in solving the problems of daily life. The research into problem-solving instruction has been limited for students with autism. Using a problem-solving intervention and the Self Determined Learning Model of Instruction, three elementary age students with autism were…

Learning problem-solving skills in a distance education physics course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rampho, G. J.; Ramorola, M. Z.

2017-10-01

In this paper we present the results of a study on the effectiveness of combinations of delivery modes of distance education in learning problem-solving skills in a distance education introductory physics course. A problem-solving instruction with the explicit teaching of a problem-solving strategy and worked-out examples were implemented in the course. The study used the ex post facto research design with stratified sampling to investigate the effect of the learning of a problem-solving strategy on the problem-solving performance. The number of problems attempted and the mean frequency of using a strategy in solving problems in the three course presentation modes were compared. The finding of the study indicated that combining the different course presentation modes had no statistically significant effect in the learning of problem-solving skills in the distance education course.

Cell transplantation and genetic engineering: new approaches to cardiac pathology.

PubMed

Leor, Jonathan; Barbash, Israel M

2003-10-01

The remarkable progress in experimental cell transplantation, stem cell biology and genetic engineering promise new therapy and hopefully a cure for patients with end stage heart failure. Engineering of viable cardiac grafts with the potential to grow and remodel will provide new solutions to the serious problems of heart donor shortage. The ability to replace the injured heart muscle will have a dramatic influence on medicine, especially with the increasing number of patients with heart failure. This innovative research, now tested in human patients, still faces significant problems that need to be solved before it can be considered as an established therapeutic tool. The present review will focus on selected topics related to the promise and obstacles associated with cell transplantation, with and without genetic manipulation, for myocardial repair.

A first experience with a Smart bus for improving public transportation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tostado, R.; Rovirosa, A.; Velázquez, J. L.; Castillo, E.; Cervantes, O.

2017-09-01

An alternative to optimize transportation services in the city of Puebla is presented. Main problems tackled to provide advanced transport applications in a Smart City, are described and some available solutions in other countries are analyzed. As a case of study, the challenges for designing and developing a mobile application oriented to users of the buses provided by Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP) are presented. Users include students, as well as faculty members and administrative employees. The application provides an innovative way of tracking, in real time, movements of the UDLAP transportation buses through the city of Puebla in Mexico. Modeling and technical implementation solved problems are presented and future steps for extending those services to the city of Puebla are also suggested.

Distributed and parallel approach for handle and perform huge datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konopko, Joanna

2015-12-01

Big Data refers to the dynamic, large and disparate volumes of data comes from many different sources (tools, machines, sensors, mobile devices) uncorrelated with each others. It requires new, innovative and scalable technology to collect, host and analytically process the vast amount of data. Proper architecture of the system that perform huge data sets is needed. In this paper, the comparison of distributed and parallel system architecture is presented on the example of MapReduce (MR) Hadoop platform and parallel database platform (DBMS). This paper also analyzes the problem of performing and handling valuable information from petabytes of data. The both paradigms: MapReduce and parallel DBMS are described and compared. The hybrid architecture approach is also proposed and could be used to solve the analyzed problem of storing and processing Big Data.

Skills for Innovation and Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OECD Publishing (NJ3), 2011

2011-01-01

Innovation holds the key to ongoing improvements in living standards, as well as to solving pressing social challenges. Skilled people play a crucial role in innovation through the new knowledge they generate, how they adopt and develop existing ideas, and through their ability to learn new competencies and adapt to a changing environment. This…

The Association between Motivation, Affect, and Self-regulated Learning When Solving Problems

PubMed Central

Baars, Martine; Wijnia, Lisette; Paas, Fred

2017-01-01

Self-regulated learning (SRL) skills are essential for learning during school years, particularly in complex problem-solving domains, such as biology and math. Although a lot of studies have focused on the cognitive resources that are needed for learning to solve problems in a self-regulated way, affective and motivational resources have received much less research attention. The current study investigated the relation between affect (i.e., Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale), motivation (i.e., autonomous and controlled motivation), mental effort, SRL skills, and problem-solving performance when learning to solve biology problems in a self-regulated online learning environment. In the learning phase, secondary education students studied video-modeling examples of how to solve hereditary problems, solved hereditary problems which they chose themselves from a set of problems with different complexity levels (i.e., five levels). In the posttest, students solved hereditary problems, self-assessed their performance, and chose a next problem from the set of problems but did not solve these problems. The results from this study showed that negative affect, inaccurate self-assessments during the posttest, and higher perceptions of mental effort during the posttest were negatively associated with problem-solving performance after learning in a self-regulated way. PMID:28848467

An experience sampling study of learning, affect, and the demands control support model.

PubMed

Daniels, Kevin; Boocock, Grahame; Glover, Jane; Holland, Julie; Hartley, Ruth

2009-07-01

The demands control support model (R. A. Karasek & T. Theorell, 1990) indicates that job control and social support enable workers to engage in problem solving. In turn, problem solving is thought to influence learning and well-being (e.g., anxious affect, activated pleasant affect). Two samples (N = 78, N = 106) provided data up to 4 times per day for up to 5 working days. The extent to which job control was used for problem solving was assessed by measuring the extent to which participants changed aspects of their work activities to solve problems. The extent to which social support was used to solve problems was assessed by measuring the extent to which participants discussed problems to solve problems. Learning mediated the relationship between changing aspects of work activities to solve problems and activated pleasant affect. Learning also mediated the relationship between discussing problems to solve problems and activated pleasant affect. The findings indicated that how individuals use control and support to respond to problem-solving demands is associated with organizational and individual phenomena, such as learning and affective well-being.

What Does (and Doesn't) Make Analogical Problem Solving Easy? A Complexity-Theoretic Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wareham, Todd; Evans, Patricia; van Rooij, Iris

2011-01-01

Solving new problems can be made easier if one can build on experiences with other problems one has already successfully solved. The ability to exploit earlier problem-solving experiences in solving new problems seems to require several cognitive sub-abilities. Minimally, one needs to be able to retrieve relevant knowledge of earlier solved…

Synthesizing Huber's Problem Solving and Kolb's Learning Cycle: A Balanced Approach to Technical Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamis, Arnold; Khan, Beverly K.

2009-01-01

How do we model and improve technical problem solving, such as network subnetting? This paper reports an experimental study that tested several hypotheses derived from Kolb's experiential learning cycle and Huber's problem solving model. As subjects solved a network subnetting problem, they mapped their mental processes according to Huber's…

Generalization of Social Skills: Strategies and Results of a Training Program in Problem Solving Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paraschiv, Irina; Olley, J. Gregory

This paper describes the "Problem Solving for Life" training program which trains adolescents and adults with mental retardation in skills for solving social problems. The program requires group participants to solve social problems by practicing two prerequisite skills (relaxation and positive self-statements) and four problem solving steps: (1)…

Young Children's Analogical Problem Solving: Gaining Insights from Video Displays

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Zhe; Siegler, Robert S.

2013-01-01

This study examined how toddlers gain insights from source video displays and use the insights to solve analogous problems. Two- to 2.5-year-olds viewed a source video illustrating a problem-solving strategy and then attempted to solve analogous problems. Older but not younger toddlers extracted the problem-solving strategy depicted in the video…

Investigating Problem-Solving Perseverance Using Lesson Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bieda, Kristen N.; Huhn, Craig

2017-01-01

Problem solving has long been a focus of research and curriculum reform (Kilpatrick 1985; Lester 1994; NCTM 1989, 2000; CCSSI 2010). The importance of problem solving is not new, but the Common Core introduced the idea of making sense of problems and persevering in solving them (CCSSI 2010, p. 6) as an aspect of problem solving. Perseverance is…

The Modularized Software Package ASKI - Full Waveform Inversion Based on Waveform Sensitivity Kernels Utilizing External Seismic Wave Propagation Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumacher, F.; Friederich, W.

2015-12-01

We present the modularized software package ASKI which is a flexible and extendable toolbox for seismic full waveform inversion (FWI) as well as sensitivity or resolution analysis operating on the sensitivity matrix. It utilizes established wave propagation codes for solving the forward problem and offers an alternative to the monolithic, unflexible and hard-to-modify codes that have typically been written for solving inverse problems. It is available under the GPL at www.rub.de/aski. The Gauss-Newton FWI method for 3D-heterogeneous elastic earth models is based on waveform sensitivity kernels and can be applied to inverse problems at various spatial scales in both Cartesian and spherical geometries. The kernels are derived in the frequency domain from Born scattering theory as the Fréchet derivatives of linearized full waveform data functionals, quantifying the influence of elastic earth model parameters on the particular waveform data values. As an important innovation, we keep two independent spatial descriptions of the earth model - one for solving the forward problem and one representing the inverted model updates. Thereby we account for the independent needs of spatial model resolution of forward and inverse problem, respectively. Due to pre-integration of the kernels over the (in general much coarser) inversion grid, storage requirements for the sensitivity kernels are dramatically reduced.ASKI can be flexibly extended to other forward codes by providing it with specific interface routines that contain knowledge about forward code-specific file formats and auxiliary information provided by the new forward code. In order to sustain flexibility, the ASKI tools must communicate via file output/input, thus large storage capacities need to be accessible in a convenient way. Storing the complete sensitivity matrix to file, however, permits the scientist full manual control over each step in a customized procedure of sensitivity/resolution analysis and full waveform inversion.

Problem-solving deficits in Iranian people with borderline personality disorder.

PubMed

Akbari Dehaghi, Ashraf; Kaviani, Hossein; Tamanaeefar, Shima

2014-01-01

Interventions for people suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD), such as dialectical behavior therapy, often include a problem-solving component. However, there is an absence of published studies examining the problem-solving abilities of this client group in Iran. The study compared inpatients and outpatients with BPD and a control group on problem-solving capabilities in an Iranian sample. It was hypothesized that patients with BPD would have more deficiencies in this area. Fifteen patients with BPD were compared to 15 healthy participants. Means-ends problem-solving task (MEPS) was used to measure problem-solving skills in both groups. BPD group reported less effective strategies in solving problems as opposed to the healthy group. Compared to the control group, participants with BPD provided empirical support for the use of problem-solving interventions with people suffering from BPD. The findings supported the idea that a problem-solving intervention can be efficiently applied either as a stand-alone therapy or in conjunction with other available psychotherapies to treat people with BPD.

Impulsivity as a mediator in the relationship between problem solving and suicidal ideation.

PubMed

Gonzalez, Vivian M; Neander, Lucía L

2018-03-15

This study examined whether three facets of impulsivity previously shown to be associated with suicidal ideation and attempts (negative urgency, lack of premeditation, and lack of perseverance) help to account for the established association between problem solving deficits and suicidal ideation. Emerging adult college student drinkers with a history of at least passive suicidal ideation (N = 387) completed measures of problem solving, impulsivity, and suicidal ideation. A path analysis was conducted to examine the mediating role of impulsivity variables in the association between problem solving (rational problem solving, positive and negative problem orientation, and avoidance style) and suicidal ideation. Direct and indirect associations through impulsivity, particularly negative urgency, were found between problem solving and severity of suicidal ideation. Interventions aimed at teaching problem solving skills, as well as self-efficacy and optimism for solving life problems, may help to reduce impulsivity and suicidal ideation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Preliminary Evaluation of BIM-based Approaches for Schedule Delay Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chou, Hui-Yu; Yang, Jyh-Bin

2017-10-01

The problem of schedule delay commonly occurs in construction projects. The quality of delay analysis depends on the availability of schedule-related information and delay evidence. More information used in delay analysis usually produces more accurate and fair analytical results. How to use innovative techniques to improve the quality of schedule delay analysis results have received much attention recently. As Building Information Modeling (BIM) technique has been quickly developed, using BIM and 4D simulation techniques have been proposed and implemented. Obvious benefits have been achieved especially in identifying and solving construction consequence problems in advance of construction. This study preforms an intensive literature review to discuss the problems encountered in schedule delay analysis and the possibility of using BIM as a tool in developing a BIM-based approach for schedule delay analysis. This study believes that most of the identified problems can be dealt with by BIM technique. Research results could be a fundamental of developing new approaches for resolving schedule delay disputes.

Improving mathematical problem solving skills through visual media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widodo, S. A.; Darhim; Ikhwanudin, T.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this article was to find out the enhancement of students’ mathematical problem solving by using visual learning media. The ability to solve mathematical problems is the ability possessed by students to solve problems encountered, one of the problem-solving model of Polya. This preliminary study was not to make a model, but it only took a conceptual approach by comparing the various literature of problem-solving skills by linking visual learning media. The results of the study indicated that the use of learning media had not been appropriated so that the ability to solve mathematical problems was not optimal. The inappropriateness of media use was due to the instructional media that was not adapted to the characteristics of the learners. Suggestions that can be given is the need to develop visual media to increase the ability to solve problems.

The Relationship between Students' Problem Posing and Problem Solving Abilities and Beliefs: A Small-Scale Study with Chinese Elementary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Limin, Chen; Van Dooren, Wim; Verschaffel, Lieven

2013-01-01

The goal of the present study is to investigate the relationship between pupils' problem posing and problem solving abilities, their beliefs about problem posing and problem solving, and their general mathematics abilities, in a Chinese context. Five instruments, i.e., a problem posing test, a problem solving test, a problem posing questionnaire,…