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A usability comparison of PDA-based quizzes and paper-and-pencil quizzesSegall, Noa 17 July 2003 (has links)
In the last few years, many schools and universities have incorporated personal
digital assistants (PDAs) into their teaching curricula, in an attempt to enhance
students' learning experience and reduce instructors' workload. One of the
most common uses of PDAs in the classroom is as a test administrator. This
study compared the usability effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of a
PDA-based quiz application to that of standard paper-and-pencil quizzes in a
university course in order to determine whether it was advisable to invest time
and money in PDA-based testing. The effects of computer anxiety, age, gender,
and ethnicity on usability were also evaluated, to ascertain that these factors do
not discriminate against individuals taking PDA-based tests.
Five quizzes were administered to students participating in an engineering
introductory course. Of these, students took two PDA-based quizzes and three
paper-and-pencil quizzes. One PDA-based quiz and one paper-and-pencil quiz
were compared in terms of their effectiveness, measured as students' quiz
scores and through a mental workload questionnaire; their efficiency, which
was the time it took students to complete each quiz; and their satisfaction,
evaluated using a subjective user satisfaction questionnaire. Computer anxiety
was also measured, using an additional questionnaire.
It was hypothesized that the PDA-based quiz would be more effective and
efficient than the paper-and-pencil quiz and that students' satisfaction with the
PDA-based quiz would be greater. The study showed the PDA-based quiz to be
more efficient, that is, students completed it in less time than they needed to
complete the paper-and-pencil quiz. No differences in effectiveness and
satisfaction were found between the two quiz types.
It was also hypothesized that for PDA-based quizzes, as computer anxiety
increased, effectiveness and satisfaction would decrease; for paper-and-pencil
quizzes there would be no relationship between computer anxiety and
effectiveness and no relationship between computer anxiety and satisfaction.
Findings showed an increase in quiz score (increase in effectiveness) and an
increase in mental workload (decrease in effectiveness) as computer anxiety
increased for both quiz types. No relationship was found between computer
anxiety and satisfaction for either paper-and-pencil or PDA-based quizzes.
The final hypothesis suggested that user satisfaction would be positively
correlated with effectiveness (quiz score and mental workload) for both PDA-based
and paper-and-pencil quizzes. No relationship was found between quiz
score and satisfaction for either quiz type. User satisfaction was positively
correlated with mental workload, regardless of quiz type.
The usability comparison of paper-and-pencil and PDA-based quizzes found
the latter to be equal, if not superior, to the former. The effort students put into
taking the quiz was the same, regardless of administration method, and scores
were not affected. In addition, different demographic groups performed almost
equally well in both quiz types (white students' PDA-based quiz scores were
slightly lower than those of the other ethnic groups). Computer anxiety was not
affected by the quiz type. For these reasons, as well as other advantages to both
students (e.g. real-time scoring) and teachers (e.g. spending less time on
grading), PDAs are an attractive test administration option for schools and
universities. / Graduation date: 2004
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Examining equity in out-of-pocket expenditures and utilization of healthcare services in MalawiMwandira, Ruth 29 June 2011 (has links)
Best international health practice requires that all people benefit equally from health care
services regardless of their socio-economic status and that healthcare payments be based
on ability to pay. Although recent household surveys in Malawi show progress in a
number of health indicators population averages, many inequalities in health outcomes
still exist or are widening among households stratified by socioeconomic and
geographical location variables. Inequalities in out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPEs) for
healthcare and how they influence utilization of healthcare services are of particular
interest to policy makers as they ultimately affect overall health of households. The
rationale for this study is that analysis of inequities in healthcare between socioeconomic
groups can help to unmask intra-group and between groups' inequities hidden in national
population averages.
The study's three main papers examined equity in households' out-of-pocket healthcare
payments and utilization of medical care. The study adopted the widely used economic
frameworks and techniques developed by O'Donnell et al (2008) for analyzing health
equity using household data. These economic frameworks focus on the notion of equal
treatment for equal need and that payment for healthcare should be according to ability to
pay. The Malawi Integrated Household Survey 2(2005) (MIHS2) was the main dataset
used in the analysis. The MIHS2 is currently the only dataset that presents inequalities in
healthcare expenditures at the household level in Malawi. However, the MIHS2 report
does not examine the extent to which these inequalities are inequities.
It is in this context that the first study focused on assessing, first, the progressivity of
OOPEs for healthcare and second, the redistributive effect of OOPEs for healthcare as a
source of finance in the Malawi health system. The progressivity results indicate that
OOPEs for healthcare are relatively regressive in Malawi with the poor shouldering the
highest financial burden relative to their ability to pay. The study found no evidence of
redistributive effect of OOPEs on income inequalities in Malawi. The second study
focused on linking OOPEs to use of healthcare using the recommended two-part model
(Probit and OLS). The concentration indices were decomposed into contributing factors
after standardizing for health need factors, which include age, sex, self-assessed health,
chronic illness and disabilities. Probability of use of healthcare and OOPEs were both
found to be concentrated among the non-poor while the poor who have higher health
need have less use of healthcare. The last study assessed the socioeconomic factors
associated with horizontal equity in use of medical facilities and predicted use using
logistic regression. General medical facilities use was found to be more concentrated
among the non-poor despite the poor having a higher health need. The results showed no
significant inequalities in use of public medical facilities and self-treatment between the
poor and the non-poor.
Overall, inequalities in healthcare utilization and out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures in
Malawi are mainly influenced by socioeconomic factors, which are non-need factors than
health need factors. Inequalities due to non-need factors suggest presence of inequities,
which are avoidable and unjust. This study can help policy makers have a better
understanding of the possible effects of OOPEs and help in explaining the factors
contributing to inequities in medical care utilization in Malawi. Such information is
necessary so that highest priority should be given to the health problems or challenges
disproportionately affecting households with varying levels of socioeconomic privilege. / Graduation date: 2012
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Advertising strategy and anthropology : a focused look at consumers and their organizing devicesWhiddon, Jeremiah J. 02 August 2002 (has links)
This thesis was designed and written with advertising stakeholders in mind.
The aim of my thesis is to illustrate how listening to and understanding the
behavior and voices of consumers from the perspective of a trained anthropologist
can improve advertising strategies. My instruments for conducting this research
include an in-depth investigation of 28 consumers who use organizing devices (e.g.
personal digital assistants and paper-based organizers) and a qualitative analysis of
two print ads from Palm, Inc.
In the first phase of my research, I employed ethnographic techniques and
analyses to shed light on the usage-based benefits consumers realize by using
organizers. In the second part of my research, I reveal my analysis and
interpretations of print ads from Palm, one of the world's largest producers of
organizers.
My research culminates with the placement of the Palm advertisers'
decisions in a critical framework. I do this by illuminating the consonance and
contradiction between the ways in which I found consumers using organizers and
the ways in which they are promoted in the advertising.
Among other things, my research found informants using their organizers as
a means to escape the tedium of commuting to and from work; I also found
informants using their organizers to extend their memory capacity and create
solutions to problems. In the end, my interpretations lead to pragmatic conclusions
that potentially make advertising strategy more efficacious: Palm advertising
should create scenes in which people are actively using their organizers to achieve
benefits (e.g. memory, entertainment, etc.) they seek. / Graduation date: 2003
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A sketch interface for understanding hand-drawn route maps /Bailey, Craig, January 2003 (has links)
Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-146). Also available on the Internet.
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Human robot interaction using a personal digital assistant interface : a study of feedback modes /Dill, Byron. January 2003 (has links)
Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). Also available on the Internet.
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A sketch interface for understanding hand-drawn route mapsBailey, Craig, January 2003 (has links)
Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-146). Also available on the Internet.
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Human robot interaction using a personal digital assistant interface a study of feedback modes /Dill, Byron. January 2003 (has links)
Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). Also available on the Internet.
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Performance analysis of packet-switched networks with tree topologyJahromi, Payam Torab 12 1900 (has links)
No description available.
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Population Genetic Analyses of the Baird's Pocket Gopher, Geomys brevicepsWelborn, Sarah 2012 August 1900 (has links)
The Baird’s pocket gopher (Geomys breviceps) is a solitary, fossorial rodent found throughout areas of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Research focusing on the population genetics of pocket gophers and other species with limited vagility and isolated populations is lacking. Through the use of mitochondrial and microsatellite data, a series of population genetic analyses were completed to better understand the population structure and gene flow among a series of G. breviceps localities. Pocket gophers were captured from five localities in the Brazos Valley and used in this study. Due to the lack of microsatellite loci available for G. breviceps, 10 loci were created for use in this study. Overall estimates from the population genetic analyses showed high levels of gene flow amongst nearby localities with decreasing levels as distance between localities increased. Findings suggest that 2-3 localities located within 2 km of each other function as one genetic cluster thus showing 3-4 total genetic clusters total in this study. Results also suggest that the Baird’s pocket gopher is capable of moving at least 2 km, but further analyses should be completed to better understand dispersal distance.
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Mucoperiosteal flaps with and without removal of the pocket epithelium a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment ... in periodontics ... /Echeverri, Mauricio. January 1983 (has links)
Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1983.
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