Keeping a learner interested-and therefore engaged-in content to be mastered generally improves learning. One way to keep a learner interested is using seductive augmentation, which refers to the addition of entertaining text, graphics, sound, music, video or animation that is either irrelevant or only tangentially relevant to the learning objectives. Learner cognitive styles impact how individuals approach learning and problem-solving situations. With recent advances in technology, there has been an increased interest in the way such individual differences influence performance while learning. Research on the effects of cognitive styles has mainly focused on the role of field-dependence/independence. One of the recent advances in technology is the availability of virtual worlds as learning environments. This study investigated whether seductive augmentation in Second Life, a commonly used virtual world, affects the learning performance of field-dependent and field-independent education majors in an undergraduate class unit. A second focus of this study was to examine whether the computer self-efficacy of these learners changed after their two-month experience with the virtual world of Second Life. To determine if seductive augmentation in Second Life affects the achievement of field-dependent and field-independent learners differently, two different settings were designed in two different regions of Second Life. One setting was free of seductive augmentation, but the other setting included seductive augmentation in the forms of music, animation, text, videos and games. Thirty-six participants self-selected to the seductive setting and 48 to the non-seductive setting. The participants were pre- and post-tested on the instructional content presented both in Second Life and in real life classes; furthermore, to examine the influence on learners' computer self-efficacy, pre- and post-computer self-efficacy surveys were administered. The results of the study were obtained through two independent mixed-model factorial analyses of variance with repeats on the third factor (time) for achievement and computer self-efficacy scores. For the main effects, results indicated no significance for the between-group factors of field-dependency and seductiveness or for their interaction with either achievement scores or computer self-efficacy scores. The only significant factor was time as the main within-group factor for achievement scores. Therefore, the study did not find seductive augmentation effect in Second Life. In addition, there was no detectable change in the participants' computer self-efficacy as a result of their experience in this virtual world. The results of the present study contradict the findings of some previous research and support others.

We present techniques for joint modeling of binomial and rank response data using the Bayesian paradigm for inference. The motivating application consists of results from a series of assessments on several primate species. Among 20 assessments representing 6 paradigms, 6 assessments are considered to produce a rank response and the remaining 14 are considered to have a binomial response. In order to model each of the 20 assessments simultaneously, we use the popular technique of data augmentation so that the observed responses are based on latent variables. The modeling uses Bayesian techniques for modeling the latent variables using random effects models. Competing models are specified in a consistent fashion which easily allows comparisons across assessments and across models. Non-local priors are readily admitted to enable more effective testing of random effects should Bayes factors be used for model comparison. The model is also extended to allow assessment-specific conditional error variances for the latent variables. Due to potential difficulties in calculating Bayes factors, discrepancy measures based on pivotal quantities are adapted to test for the presence of random effects and for the need to allow assessment-specific conditional error variances. In order to facilitate implementation, we describe in detail the joint prior distribution and a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm for posterior sampling. Results from the primate intelligence data are presented to illustrate the methodology. The results indicate substantial paradigm-specific differences between species. These differences are supported by the discrepancy measures as well as model posterior summaries. Furthermore, the results suggest that meaningful and parsimonious inferences can be made using the proposed techniques and that the discrepancy measures can effectively differentiate between necessary and unnecessary random effects. The contributions should be particularly useful when binomial and rank data are to be jointly analyzed in a parsimonious fashion.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1962.

Thesis (Doctoral)--Umeå University, Sweden, 1995. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1962.

Thesis (Doctoral)--Umeå University, Sweden, 1995. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-03T11:52:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-02-03Bitstream added on 2015-03-03T12:06:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000800427.pdf: 8452943 bytes, checksum: c40ffd64f5262a9010864dacab63d5d7 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A proposta deste estudo foi avaliar a capacidade osteocondutora da forma sólida do copolímero de PLA/PGA em um modelo experimental de enxerto em seio maxilar . Vinte coelhos machos, branco, da raça Nova Zelândia, cada um pesando cerca de 3,0 kg, foram utilizados e foram divididos em dois grupos de acordo com o material de preenchimento do seio, como segue: ósseo autógeno particulado e copolímero PLA/PGA . A área aumentada diferiu entre os grupos após 3, 7 e 15 dias (p = 0,004) . No entanto, os valores tornaram-se semelhante aos 40 dias (p = 0,458). Depois de 3 e 7 dias, a porcentagem óssea foi estatisticamente significativa entre osso autógeno e PLA / PGA copolímero (P = 0,004 e P = 0,004). Após 15 e 40 dias os valores foram semelhantes nos dois períodos (P = 0,087 e P = 0,087 ). Imunohistoquímica confirma os resultados sobre os dados histomorfométricos. Em conclusão, o copolímero de PLA/PGA parece ser adequado como material reabsorvível capaz de induzir o crescimento do osso em defeitos ósseos. Esta observação sugere que o material tem propriedades osteocondutoras também apropriado para aplicação em cirurgia maxilo-facial / The proposition of this study was evaluate the osteoconductive capability of the solid form of PLA/PGA copolymer in an experimental model of maxillary sinus grafting. Twenty male white New Zealand rabbits, each weighing about 3.0kg, were used and were divided into two groups, according to the sinus filling material, as follows: autogenous bone chips and PLA/PGA copolymers. Augmented area differ between the groups after 3, 7 and 15 days (P=0.004). However, the values became similar on day 40 (P=0.458). After 3 and 7 days the percentage of bone was statistically significant between autogenous bone and PLA/PGA copolymer (P=0.004 and P=0.004). After 15 and 40 days the values were comparable in the two periods (P=0.087 and P=0.087). Immunohistochemistry confirms the results on the histomorphometric data. In conclusion, PLA/PGA copolymer seems to be suitable as resorbable material able to induce bone growth in bone defects. This observation suggests that the material have osteoconductive properties also suitable for application in maxillofacial surgery

Orientador: Idelmo Rangel Garcia Júnior / Banca: Wilson Roberto Poi / Banca: Ronaldo Célio Mariano / A dissertação foi escrita em inglês / Resumo: A proposta deste estudo foi avaliar a capacidade osteocondutora da forma sólida do copolímero de PLA/PGA em um modelo experimental de enxerto em seio maxilar . Vinte coelhos machos, branco, da raça Nova Zelândia, cada um pesando cerca de 3,0 kg, foram utilizados e foram divididos em dois grupos de acordo com o material de preenchimento do seio, como segue: ósseo autógeno particulado e copolímero PLA/PGA . A área aumentada diferiu entre os grupos após 3, 7 e 15 dias (p = 0,004) . No entanto, os valores tornaram-se semelhante aos 40 dias (p = 0,458). Depois de 3 e 7 dias, a porcentagem óssea foi estatisticamente significativa entre osso autógeno e PLA / PGA copolímero (P = 0,004 e P = 0,004). Após 15 e 40 dias os valores foram semelhantes nos dois períodos (P = 0,087 e P = 0,087 ). Imunohistoquímica confirma os resultados sobre os dados histomorfométricos. Em conclusão, o copolímero de PLA/PGA parece ser adequado como material reabsorvível capaz de induzir o crescimento do osso em defeitos ósseos. Esta observação sugere que o material tem propriedades osteocondutoras também apropriado para aplicação em cirurgia maxilo-facial / Abstract: The proposition of this study was evaluate the osteoconductive capability of the solid form of PLA/PGA copolymer in an experimental model of maxillary sinus grafting. Twenty male white New Zealand rabbits, each weighing about 3.0kg, were used and were divided into two groups, according to the sinus filling material, as follows: autogenous bone chips and PLA/PGA copolymers. Augmented area differ between the groups after 3, 7 and 15 days (P=0.004). However, the values became similar on day 40 (P=0.458). After 3 and 7 days the percentage of bone was statistically significant between autogenous bone and PLA/PGA copolymer (P=0.004 and P=0.004). After 15 and 40 days the values were comparable in the two periods (P=0.087 and P=0.087). Immunohistochemistry confirms the results on the histomorphometric data. In conclusion, PLA/PGA copolymer seems to be suitable as resorbable material able to induce bone growth in bone defects. This observation suggests that the material have osteoconductive properties also suitable for application in maxillofacial surgery / Mestre

La spectrométrie de masse MALDI est une technique devenue incontournable pour l’analyse des biomolécules et largement employée dans de nombreuses applications. Bien que les performances de cette source soient notoires, celles-ci restent encore limitées en particulier en termes de sensibilité ou encore de résolution spatiale pour des applications telles que l’imagerie MALDI MS. En effet, les rendements de production d’ions sont très faibles en MALDI et chutent encore lorsque la résolution spatiale est augmentée (diminution de l’aire irradiée). Ainsi, les objectifs de ces travaux de thèse ont été de développer et d’étudier deux systèmes permettant d’augmenter la sensibilité. La première partie de ces travaux a donc portée sur la réalisation d’un système permettant la désolvatation des agrégats formés dans le processus MALDI via l’utilisation d’un second faisceau laser interceptant la plume en expansion. Par utilisation d’un laser pulsé émettant à 1064 nm il a été ainsi possible de démontrer une augmentation d’un facteur 2 à 3 de l’intensité des signaux d’analyte. Dans une seconde partie, un système de masques de silicium permettant de réduire les dimensions de la zone irradiée (sans agir sur la focalisation du faisceau laser) a été développé. Les études réalisées pour différentes géométries de ces masques ont permis de démontrer d’une part l’efficacité de ces systèmes pour réduire l’aire de la zone irradiée en coupant le faisceau laser incident tout en maintenant l’intensité des signaux, et d’autre part que certaines géométries particulières permettaient d’obtenir un effet d’augmentation de la sensibilité et de la résolution spectrale. / MALDI Mass Spectrometry is an essential tool for biomolecules analysis and is largely employed in various applications. Albeit performances of this ion source are well known, there are still clear limitations in terms of sensitivity and spatial resolution for applications such as MALDI MS Imaging. Indeed, ion production yields are very low in MALDI and, moreover drop when spatial resolution is increased (decrease of irradiated area). Thus, objectives of this work were to develop and study two systems for improving sensitivity. First part of this work was dedicated to setup a system allowing desolvation of material clusters formed in the MALDI process by using a second laser to intercept the expanding plume. By using a pulsed laser emitting at 1064 nm, it was possible to demonstrate an increase of signal intensity by 2 to 3 folds. In a second part, Silicon mask systems allowing reduction of irradiated area (without involving any focusing of the laser beam) was developed. Studies of various geometries of the mask showed their efficiency to reduce irradiated area by cutting part of the laser beam while maintaining signal intensity. Moreover, for certain geometries it was demonstrated that masks could lead to an increase in sensitivity and spectral resolution.

We document how sampling from a conditional Student's t distribution is implemented in stochvol. Moreover, a simple example using EUR/CHF exchange rates illustrates how to use the augmented sampler. We conclude with results and implications. (author's abstract)