Technological barriers to learning : designing hybrid pedagogy to minimise cognitive load and maximise understanding

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) provide great promise for the future of education. In the Asia-Pacific region, many nations have started working towards the comprehensive development of infrastructure to enable the development of strong networked educational systems. In Queensland there have been significant initiatives in the past decade to support the integration of technology in classrooms and to set the conditions for the enhancement of teaching and learning with technology. One of the great challenges is to develop our classrooms to make the most of these technologies for the benefit of student learning. Recent research and theory into cognitive load, suggests that complex information environments may well impose a barrier on student learning. Further, it suggests that teachers have the capacity to mitigate against cognitive load through the way they prepare and support students engaging with complex information environments. This chapter compares student learning at different levels of cognitive load to show that learning is enhanced when integrating pedagogies are employed to mitigate against high-load information environments. This suggests that a mature policy framework for ICTs in education needs to consider carefully the development of professional capacities to effectively design and integrate technologies for learning.

Impact of cognitive load and frustration on drivers’ speech [Abstract]

Secondary tasks such as cell phone calls or interaction with automated speech dialog systems (SDSs) increase the driver’s cognitive load as well as the probability of driving errors. This study analyzes speech production variations due to cognitive load and emotional state of drivers in real driving conditions. Speech samples were acquired from 24 female and 17 male subjects (approximately 8.5 h of data) while talking to a co-driver and communicating with two automated call centers, with emotional states (neutral, negative) and the number of necessary SDS query repetitions also labeled. A consistent shift in a number of speech production parameters (pitch, first format center frequency, spectral center of gravity, spectral energy spread, and duration of voiced segments) was observed when comparing SDS interaction against co-driver interaction; further increases were observed when considering negative emotion segments and the number of requested SDS query repetitions. A mel frequency cepstral coefficient based Gaussian mixture classifier trained on 10 male and 10 female sessions provided 91% accuracy in the open test set task of distinguishing co-driver interactions from SDS interactions, suggesting—together with the acoustic analysis—that it is possible to monitor the level of driver distraction directly from their speech.

Multi-output buck-boost converter with enhanced dynamic response to load and input voltage changes

This paper presents a new multi-output DC/DC converter topology that has step-up and step-down conversion capabilities. In this topology, several output voltages can be generated which can be used in different applications such as multilevel converters with diode-clamped topology or power supplies with several voltage levels. Steady state and dynamic equations of the proposed multi-output converter have been developed, that can be used for steady state and transient analysis. Two control techniques have been proposed for this topology based on constant and dynamic hysteresis band height control to address different applications. Simulations have been performed for different operating modes and load conditions to verify the proposed topology and its control technique. Additionally, a laboratory prototype is designed and implemented to verify the simulation results.

Analysis and detection of cognitive load and frustration in drivers' speech

Non-driving related cognitive load and variations of emotional state may impact a driver’s capability to control a vehicle and introduces driving errors. Availability of reliable cognitive load and emotion detection in drivers would benefit the design of active safety systems and other intelligent in-vehicle interfaces. In this study, speech produced by 68 subjects while driving in urban areas is analyzed. A particular focus is on speech production differences in two secondary cognitive tasks, interactions with a co-driver and calls to automated spoken dialog systems (SDS), and two emotional states during the SDS interactions - neutral/negative. A number of speech parameters are found to vary across the cognitive/emotion classes. Suitability of selected cepstral- and production-based features for automatic cognitive task/emotion classification is investigated. A fusion of GMM/SVM classifiers yields an accuracy of 94.3% in cognitive task and 81.3% in emotion classification.

Processing load and the use of concrete representations and strategies for solving linear equations

This paper is a report of students' responses to instruction which was based on the use of concrete representations to solve linear equations. The sample consisted of 21 Grade 8 students from a middle-class suburban state secondary school with a reputation for high academic standards and innovative mathematics teaching. The students were interviewed before and after instruction. Interviews and classroom interactions were observed and videotaped. A qualitative analysis of the responses revealed that students did not use the materials in solving problems. The increased processing load caused by concrete representations is hypothesised as a reason.

Cognitive load and assembly tasks : effect of instructional formats on learning assembly procedures

The study investigated the effect on learning of four different instructional formats used to teach assembly procedures. Cognitive load and spatial information processing theories were used to generate the instructional material. The first group received a physical model to study, the second an isometric drawing, the third an isometric drawing plus a model and the fourth an orthographic drawing. Forty secondary school students were presented with the four different instructional formats and subsequently tested on an assembly task. The findings indicated that there may be evidence to argue that the model format which only required encoding of an already constructed three dimensional representation, caused less extraneous cognitive load compared to the isometric and the orthographic formats. No significant difference was found between the model and the isometric-plus-model formats on all measures because 80% of the students in the isometric-plus-model format chose to use the model format only. The model format also did not differ significantly from other groups in total time taken to complete the assembly, in number of correctly assembled pieces and in time spent on studying the tasks. However, the model group had significantly more correctly completed models and required fewer extra looks than the other groups.

Cognitive load and mental rotation : structuring orthographic projection for learning and problem solving

Cognitive load theory was used to generate a series of three experiments to investigate the effects of various worked example formats on learning orthographic projection. Experiments 1 and 2 investigated the benefits of presenting problems, conventional worked examples incorporating the final 2-D and 3-D representations only, and modified worked examples with several intermediate stages of rotation between the 2-D and 3-D representations. Modified worked examples proved superior to conventional worked examples without intermediate stages while conventional worked examples were, in turn, superior to problems. Experiment 3 investigated the consequences of varying the number and location of intermediate stages in the rotation trajectory and found three stages to be superior to one. A single intermediate stage was superior when nearer the 2-D than the 3-D end of the trajectory. It was concluded that (a) orthographic projection is learned best using worked examples with several intermediate stages and that (b) a linear relation between angle of rotation and problem difficulty did not hold for orthographic projection material. Cognitive load theory could be used to suggest the ideal location of the intermediate stages.

Human herpesvirus 8 load and progression of AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma lesions

Introduction—Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is necessary for Kaposi sarcoma (KS) to develop, but whether peripheral blood viral load is a marker of KS burden (total number of KS lesions), KS progression (the rate of eruption of new KS lesions), or both is unclear. We investigated these relationships in persons with AIDS. Methods—Newly diagnosed patients with AIDS-related KS attending Mulago Hospital, in Kampala, Uganda, were assessed for KS burden and progression by questionnaire and medical examination. Venous blood samples were taken for HHV8 load measurements by PCR. Associations were examined with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from logistic regression models and with t-tests. Results—Among 74 patients (59% men), median age was 34.5 years (interquartile range [IQR], 28.5-41). HHV8 DNA was detected in 93% and quantified in 77% patients. Median virus load was 3.8 logs10/106 peripheral blood cells (IQR 3.4-5.0) and was higher in men than women (4.4 vs. 3.8 logs; p=0.04), in patients with faster (>20 lesions per year) than slower rate of KS lesion eruption (4.5 vs. 3.6 logs; p<0.001), and higher, but not significantly, among patients with more (>median [20] KS lesions) than fewer KS lesions (4.4 vs. 4.0 logs; p=0.16). HHV8 load was unrelated to CD4 lymphocyte count (p=0.23). Conclusions—We show significant association of HHV8 load in peripheral blood with rate of eruption of KS lesions, but not with total lesion count. Our results suggest that viral load increases concurrently with development of new KS lesions.

An update and extension of the Canadian evidence on gender wage differentials

The paper utilizes the 1989 Labour Market Activity Survey to examine the gender wage differential in Canada. The aim is to update previous studies and extend earlier analysis in two significant ways. First, occupation is treated as endogenously determined. Secondly,the Zabalza and Arrufat(1985) imputation method is utilized to estimate the level of female labour market experience. The results suggest that the level of estimated gender discrimination is sensitive to the measure of labour market experience. The paper also concludes that intra-occupation wage effects explain most of gender wage gap.

Human papillomavirus prevalence, viral load and pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix in women initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy in South Africa : a cross-sectional study

Background Cervical cancer and infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are both important public health problems in South Africa (SA). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs), high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV), HPV viral load and HPV genotypes in HIV positive women initiating anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted at an anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment clinic in Cape Town, SA in 2007. Cervical specimens were taken for cytological analysis and HPV testing. The Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) test was used to detect HR-HPV. Relative light units (RLU) were used as a measure of HPV viral load. HPV types were determined using the Roche Linear Array HPV Genotyping test. Crude associations with abnormal cytology were tested and multiple logistic regression was used to determine independent risk factors for abnormal cytology. Results The median age of the 109 participants was 31 years, the median CD4 count was 125/mm3, 66.3% had an abnormal Pap smear, the HR-HPV prevalence was 78.9% (Digene), the median HPV viral load was 181.1 RLU (HC2 positive samples only) and 78.4% had multiple genotypes. Among women with abnormal smears the most prevalent HR-HPV types were HPV types 16, 58 and 51, all with a prevalence of 28.5%. On univariate analysis HR-HPV, multiple HPV types and HPV viral load were significantly associated with the presence of low and high-grade SILs (LSIL/HSIL). The multivariate logistic regression showed that HPV viral load was associated with an increased odds of LSIL/HSIL, odds ratio of 10.7 (95% CI 2.0 – 57.7) for those that were HC2 positive and had a viral load of ≤ 181.1 RLU (the median HPV viral load), and 33.8 (95% CI 6.4 – 178.9) for those that were HC2 positive with a HPV viral load > 181.1 RLU. Conclusion Women initiating ARVs have a high prevalence of abnormal Pap smears and HR-HPV. Our results underscore the need for locally relevant, rigorous screening protocols for the increasing numbers of women accessing ARV therapy so that the benefits of ARVs are not partially offset by an excess risk in cervical cancer.

How transit route passenger load and distance can together influence quality of service

This paper investigates: - correlation between transit route passenger loading and travel distance - its implications on quality of service (QoS) and resource productivity. It uses Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) data across a weekday on a premium bus line in Brisbane, Australia. A composite load-distance factor is proposed as a new measure for profiling transit route on-board passenger comfort QoS. Understanding these measures and their correlation is important for planning, design, and operational activities.

How transit route passenger load and distance can together influence quality of service

This paper investigates quality of service and resource productivity implications of transit route passenger loading and travel distance. Weekday Automatic Fare Collection data for a premium radial bus route in Brisbane, Australia, is used to investigate correlation between load factor and distance factor. Relationships between boardings and transit work indicate that distance factor generally increases with load factor. Time series analysis is then presented by examining each direction on an hour by hour basis. Inbound correlation is medium to strong across the entire span of service and strong for daytime services up to 19:30, while outbound correlation is strong across the entire span. Passengers tend to be making longer distance, peak direction commuter trips under the least comfortable conditions under stretched peak schedules than off-peak. Therefore productivity gains may be possible by adjusting fleet utilization during off-peak times. Weekday profiles by direction are established for a composite load-distance factor. A threshold corresponding to standing passengers on the Maximum Load Segment reveals that on-board loading and travel distance combined are more severe during the morning inbound peak than evening outbound peak, although the sharpness of the former suggests that encouraging shoulder peak travel during the morning would be more effective than evening peak. Further research suggested includes: consideration of travel duration factor, relating noise within hour to Peak Hour Factor, profiling load-distance factor across a range of case studies, and relating load-distance factor threshold to line length.

Keyword field-free conjunctive keyword searches on encrypted data and extension for dynamic groups

We consider the following problem: a user stores encrypted documents on an untrusted server, and wishes to retrieve all documents containing some keywords without any loss of data confidentiality. Conjunctive keyword searches on encrypted data have been studied by numerous researchers over the past few years, and all existing schemes use keyword fields as compulsory information. This however is impractical for many applications. In this paper, we propose a scheme of keyword field-free conjunctive keyword searches on encrypted data, which affirmatively answers an open problem asked by Golle et al. at ACNS 2004. Furthermore, the proposed scheme is extended to the dynamic group setting. Security analysis of our constructions is given in the paper.