Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-151). Also available online in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Due to fast-paced technological disruptions and diversifying users, user experience (UX) professionals are experiencing a flood of new UX methods and a need for continuous learning. Literature has shown that with a lack of understanding, UX practice research has designed too abstract UX methods making them hard to understand and to apply. With a thematic analysis of an interview with 13 UX professionals, this study presents results on how UX professionals choose UX methods and insights into their lifelong learning. The results from the thematic analysis agree that UX methods are hard to integrate into Agile, too complicated, take too much time to learn, and colleagues have shown to be an essential component for learning. These findings indicate that UX methods might work better if they are designed less complicated and deliver results quicker following the design of Scrum. Also, companies could use novel ideas to ease the access to users and to learn, e.g., lunch lectures.

Regression analysis refers to techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables in statistical learning. There are various types of regression models. In our study, we analyzed Generalized Partial Linear Models (GPLMs), which decomposes input variables into two sets, and additively combines classical linear models with nonlinear model part. By separating linear models from nonlinear ones, an inverse problem method Tikhonov regularization was applied for the nonlinear submodels separately, within the entire GPLM. Such a particular representation of submodels provides both a better accuracy and a better stability (regularity) under noise in the data. We aim to smooth the nonparametric part of GPLM by using a modified form of Multiple Adaptive Regression Spline (MARS) which is very useful for high-dimensional problems and does not impose any specific relationship between the predictor and dependent variables. Instead, it can estimate the contribution of the basis functions so that both the additive and interaction effects of the predictors are allowed to determine the dependent variable. The MARS algorithm has two steps: the forward and backward stepwise algorithms. In the rst one, the model is built by adding basis functions until a maximum level of complexity is reached. On the other hand, the backward stepwise algorithm starts with removing the least significant basis functions from the model. In this study, we propose to use a penalized residual sum of squares (PRSS) instead of the backward stepwise algorithm and construct PRSS for MARS as a Tikhonov regularization problem. Besides, we provide numeric example with two data sets / one has interaction and the other one does not have. As well as studying the regularization of the nonparametric part, we also mention theoretically the regularization of the parametric part. Furthermore, we make a comparison between Infinite Kernel Learning (IKL) and Tikhonov regularization by using two data sets, with the difference consisting in the (non-)homogeneity of the data set. The thesis concludes with an outlook on future research.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo propor um modelo para o uso de ferramentas tecnológicas (em especial simuladores de casos clínicos) como mediadoras do processo de implementação de métodos ativos de aprendizagem no ensino de medicina. A metodologia empregada é a pesquisa-ação, onde o pesquisador é membro ativo da ação e, ao mesmo tempo, a partir da realidade observada, busca na pesquisa soluções para os problemas encontrados. Um estudo teórico sobre métodos ativos de aprendizagem, com ênfase em aprendizagem baseada em problemas e problematização, é apresentado no decorrer do trabalho, seguido de uma revisão sistemática sobre o uso de simuladores no ensino de medicina. O modelo proposto é composto de quatro pilares que lhe dão suporte: metodológicos, organizacionais, tecnológicos e estruturantes. Os pilares metodológicos foram obtidos por meio do estudo teórico sobre métodos ativos de aprendizagem. Os pilares organizacionais são provenientes da revisão sistemática. Quanto aos aspectos tecnológicos, esses foram desenvolvidos abarcando simuladores (SIACC e SimDeCS), banco de imagens médicas, banco de dados e plataformas. Os simuladores foram validados em duas oficinas de formação de professores, e os resultados de um questionário aplicado foram analisados, comparando os dois sistemas e demonstrando os aspectos positivos e os que devem ser melhorados para que possam ser utilizados em sala de aula. Os aspectos estruturantes provêm do estudo de diversas plataformas para disponibilizar os simuladores de paciente virtual. O modelo foi concluído e validado em suas partes no decorrer da pesquisaação e deverá ser validado na sua completude junto a uma faculdade de Medicina. / This work has as its objective proposing a model for the use of technological tools (especially simulators of clinical cases) as mediators of the implementing process of active methods of learning in the Medicine Teaching. The applied methodology is the research-action one, where the researcher is an active member of the action and at the same time, from the observed reality, searches in the research, solutions to the problems found. A theoretical study about active methods of learning, with emphasis on the learning based on problems and problematization, it is presented throughout the work, followed with a systematic review about the using of simulators in the Medicine Teaching. The proposed model is composed by four pillar bases: methodological, organizational, technological and structural. The methodological pillars were obtained by means of theoretical study about active methods of learning. The organizational pillars come from the systematical review. As for the technological aspects, these ones were developed embracing simulators (SIACC and SimDeCS), medical images bank, data bank and platforms. The simulators were validated in two workshops of teachers’ formation and the results of an applied questionnaire were analyzed, comparing the two systems, displaying the positive aspects and the ones that must be improved to be used in the classroom. The structural aspects come from the study of several platforms to release the simulators of virtual patient. The model was concluded and validated in parts throughout the research-action and it must be validated in its complete in a Medicine Faculty.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo propor um modelo para o uso de ferramentas tecnológicas (em especial simuladores de casos clínicos) como mediadoras do processo de implementação de métodos ativos de aprendizagem no ensino de medicina. A metodologia empregada é a pesquisa-ação, onde o pesquisador é membro ativo da ação e, ao mesmo tempo, a partir da realidade observada, busca na pesquisa soluções para os problemas encontrados. Um estudo teórico sobre métodos ativos de aprendizagem, com ênfase em aprendizagem baseada em problemas e problematização, é apresentado no decorrer do trabalho, seguido de uma revisão sistemática sobre o uso de simuladores no ensino de medicina. O modelo proposto é composto de quatro pilares que lhe dão suporte: metodológicos, organizacionais, tecnológicos e estruturantes. Os pilares metodológicos foram obtidos por meio do estudo teórico sobre métodos ativos de aprendizagem. Os pilares organizacionais são provenientes da revisão sistemática. Quanto aos aspectos tecnológicos, esses foram desenvolvidos abarcando simuladores (SIACC e SimDeCS), banco de imagens médicas, banco de dados e plataformas. Os simuladores foram validados em duas oficinas de formação de professores, e os resultados de um questionário aplicado foram analisados, comparando os dois sistemas e demonstrando os aspectos positivos e os que devem ser melhorados para que possam ser utilizados em sala de aula. Os aspectos estruturantes provêm do estudo de diversas plataformas para disponibilizar os simuladores de paciente virtual. O modelo foi concluído e validado em suas partes no decorrer da pesquisaação e deverá ser validado na sua completude junto a uma faculdade de Medicina. / This work has as its objective proposing a model for the use of technological tools (especially simulators of clinical cases) as mediators of the implementing process of active methods of learning in the Medicine Teaching. The applied methodology is the research-action one, where the researcher is an active member of the action and at the same time, from the observed reality, searches in the research, solutions to the problems found. A theoretical study about active methods of learning, with emphasis on the learning based on problems and problematization, it is presented throughout the work, followed with a systematic review about the using of simulators in the Medicine Teaching. The proposed model is composed by four pillar bases: methodological, organizational, technological and structural. The methodological pillars were obtained by means of theoretical study about active methods of learning. The organizational pillars come from the systematical review. As for the technological aspects, these ones were developed embracing simulators (SIACC and SimDeCS), medical images bank, data bank and platforms. The simulators were validated in two workshops of teachers’ formation and the results of an applied questionnaire were analyzed, comparing the two systems, displaying the positive aspects and the ones that must be improved to be used in the classroom. The structural aspects come from the study of several platforms to release the simulators of virtual patient. The model was concluded and validated in parts throughout the research-action and it must be validated in its complete in a Medicine Faculty.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo propor um modelo para o uso de ferramentas tecnológicas (em especial simuladores de casos clínicos) como mediadoras do processo de implementação de métodos ativos de aprendizagem no ensino de medicina. A metodologia empregada é a pesquisa-ação, onde o pesquisador é membro ativo da ação e, ao mesmo tempo, a partir da realidade observada, busca na pesquisa soluções para os problemas encontrados. Um estudo teórico sobre métodos ativos de aprendizagem, com ênfase em aprendizagem baseada em problemas e problematização, é apresentado no decorrer do trabalho, seguido de uma revisão sistemática sobre o uso de simuladores no ensino de medicina. O modelo proposto é composto de quatro pilares que lhe dão suporte: metodológicos, organizacionais, tecnológicos e estruturantes. Os pilares metodológicos foram obtidos por meio do estudo teórico sobre métodos ativos de aprendizagem. Os pilares organizacionais são provenientes da revisão sistemática. Quanto aos aspectos tecnológicos, esses foram desenvolvidos abarcando simuladores (SIACC e SimDeCS), banco de imagens médicas, banco de dados e plataformas. Os simuladores foram validados em duas oficinas de formação de professores, e os resultados de um questionário aplicado foram analisados, comparando os dois sistemas e demonstrando os aspectos positivos e os que devem ser melhorados para que possam ser utilizados em sala de aula. Os aspectos estruturantes provêm do estudo de diversas plataformas para disponibilizar os simuladores de paciente virtual. O modelo foi concluído e validado em suas partes no decorrer da pesquisaação e deverá ser validado na sua completude junto a uma faculdade de Medicina. / This work has as its objective proposing a model for the use of technological tools (especially simulators of clinical cases) as mediators of the implementing process of active methods of learning in the Medicine Teaching. The applied methodology is the research-action one, where the researcher is an active member of the action and at the same time, from the observed reality, searches in the research, solutions to the problems found. A theoretical study about active methods of learning, with emphasis on the learning based on problems and problematization, it is presented throughout the work, followed with a systematic review about the using of simulators in the Medicine Teaching. The proposed model is composed by four pillar bases: methodological, organizational, technological and structural. The methodological pillars were obtained by means of theoretical study about active methods of learning. The organizational pillars come from the systematical review. As for the technological aspects, these ones were developed embracing simulators (SIACC and SimDeCS), medical images bank, data bank and platforms. The simulators were validated in two workshops of teachers’ formation and the results of an applied questionnaire were analyzed, comparing the two systems, displaying the positive aspects and the ones that must be improved to be used in the classroom. The structural aspects come from the study of several platforms to release the simulators of virtual patient. The model was concluded and validated in parts throughout the research-action and it must be validated in its complete in a Medicine Faculty.

Arbetets intention är att undersöka ett urval av lärares inställning till användning av flerspråkiga elevers modersmål i den reguljära klassrumsundervisningen, vilka metoder som används och hur lärarna motiverar användningen av modersmålet i klassrummet samt hur de känner att det påverkar inlärningen och språkutvecklingen av andraspråket hos flerspråkiga elever.Arbetet vilar på sociokulturell grund och är genomfört genom kvalitativ analys av intervjusvar givna av fem lärare på lågstadiet i Västsverige. Intervjuerna bestod av frågor som lärarna haft tillgång till innan intervjun och svaren har sedan transkriberats från inspelningar och analyserats kvalitativt med fokus på likheter och skillnader som beskrivs i hur modersmålet används och vilka metoder som lärarna i så fall använder för att integrera användningen av det i klassrummet.Slutsatsen är att alla intervjuade lärare både ser nyttan av att arbeta med modersmålet som resurs i den reguljära undervisningen men att graden av användning av modersmålet är avhängigt det stöd som skolledningen ger för att inkludera andra modersmål integrerade i den reguljära undervisningen. / The intention of this study is to examine the views of a selected group of teachers and their attitudes towards the use of multilingual pupils’ native language in the context of everyday teaching, what methods are being used in such cases, how the teachers motivate the use of a pupils’ use of native language in the classroom and how they feel it affects the learning and language development of multilingual pupils.Sociocultural theory forms the base for the study and qualitative interviews has been used as the chosen method through which interviews with five teachers working in primary school years 1-3 have been analyzed. The teachers work in different schools situated in the western part of Sweden. The interviews were made up of a series of questions which the teachers were given access to prior to their interviews and their answers were transcribed from recordings of the interviews. The transcribed answers were then analyzed with a focus on similarities and differences of the way the native language is used in regular classroom teaching and which methods are used to teach second language learners and integrate the different native languages on an everyday basis.The conclusion made in this study is that all the interviewed teachers see the benefit of including the pupils’ native languages in the classroom on an everyday basis but that only the teachers who have who have the full support of the headmaster use it to an extent that exceeds a varying degree of casual use.

Systems pathology attempts to introduce more holistic approaches towards pathology and attempts to integrate clinicopathological information with “-omics” technology. This doctorate researches two examples of a systems approach for pathology: (1) a personalized patient output prediction for ovarian cancer and (2) an analytical approach differentiates between individual and collective tumour invasion. During the personalized patient output prediction for ovarian cancer study, clinicopathological measurements and proteomic biomarkers are analysed with a set of newly engineered bioinformatic tools. These tools are based upon feature selection, survival analysis with Cox proportional hazards regression, and a novel Monte Carlo approach. Clinical and pathological data proves to have highly significant information content, as expected; however, molecular data has little information content alone, and is only significant when selected most-informative variables are placed in the context of the patient's clinical and pathological measures. Furthermore, classifiers based on support vector machines (SVMs) that predict one-year PFS and three-year OS with high accuracy, show how the addition of carefully selected molecular measures to clinical and pathological knowledge can enable personalized prognosis predictions. Finally, the high-performance of these classifiers are validated on an additional data set. A second study, an analytical approach differentiates between individual and collective tumour invasion, analyses a set of morphological measures. These morphological measurements are collected with a newly developed process using automated imaging analysis for data collection in combination with a Bayesian network analysis to probabilistically connect morphological variables with tumour invasion modes. Between an individual and collective invasion mode, cell-cell contact is the most discriminating morphological feature. Smaller invading groups were typified by smoother cellular surfaces than those invading collectively in larger groups. Interestingly, elongation was evident in all invading cell groups and was not a specific feature of single cell invasion as a surrogate of epithelialmesenchymal transition. In conclusion, the combination of automated imaging analysis and Bayesian network analysis provides an insight into morphological variables associated with transition of cancer cells between invasion modes. We show that only two morphologically distinct modes of invasion exist. The two studies performed in this thesis illustrate the potential of a systems approach for pathology and illustrate the need of quantitative approaches in order to reveal the system behind pathology.

This study intented to investigate the effects of activities based on role-play on ninth grade students&rsquo / achievement and attitudes at simple electric circuits. In this study, Physics Achievement Test was developed to evaluate students&rsquo / achievement on simple electric circuits and role-play activities about simple electric circuits were prepared. In addition, Physics Attitude Scale was administered to explore students&rsquo / attitude towards physics. The present study was conducted at one of the high schools in Acipayam during 2003-2004 Spring Semester with a total number of 104 (51 female and 53 male) 9th students from four classes of two physics teachers. One class of each physics teacher was assigned as experimental and instructed by role-play activities on the other hand the other classes of each physics teacher was as control group and instructed by traditional method. The teachers were trained for how to implement role-play activities in the class before the study began. Physics Attitude Scale and Physics Achievement Tests were applied twice as a pre-test and after a three-week treatment period as a post-test to both groups to assess and compare the effectiveness of two different types of teaching / role-play versus traditional teaching method. Data were collected utilizing Physics Achievement Test and Physics Attitude Scale. Data of this study were analyzed utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. The scores of the post-tests were analyzed by statistical techniques of Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA). Experimental group compared to control group tended to favor a significant difference in the achievement. However the statistical analysis failed to show any significant differences between the experimental and control groups&rsquo / attitude towards physics at simple electric circuits.

This thesis deals with the possible benefits of using conceptual diagrams in teaching physics at elementary school level. It describes specific methodologies for incorporating conceptual diagrams into the individual phases of the teaching process. The author formulates the benefits and disadvantages of this activating method from the perspective of students as well as teachers. The thesis draws on theoretical knowledge acquired from literature and also from the author´s own pedagogical experience.