Do Students Not Care about Extra Credit Opportunities? Investigating Student Perceptions of Extra Credit Value vs. Effort

Giving ���extra credit��� work to students has been a controversial and hotly debated pedagogical issue for the last 20 years (Blood et al. 1993; Groves 2000; Muztaba Fuad and Jones 2012; Norcross et al. 1989; Weimer 2011). Previous work has focused on the faculty perspective discussing benefits and drawbacks associated with extra credit work (e.g. Hill et al. 1993; Norcross et al. 1989). Other scholars have investigated the use and effects of pop quizzes and other extra credit assignments on students��� final grades (Thorne 2000; Oley 1993). Some authors have criticized that the empirical exploration of understanding students��� motivational and performance efforts remains scarce and ���rarely appears in the literature��� (Mays and Bower 2005, p. 1). Besides a gap of empirical work it further appears that most existing studies stem from Psychology or Information Science. Yet it is surprising that, even though the topic of extra credit is considered a common practice in marketing education (Ackerman and Kiesler 2007), there is a wide gap within the marketing education literature. For example, a quick search in the Journal of Marketing Education for the keyword ���extra credit��� shows only 25 search results; yet none of those papers address motivational or performance effects of extra credit. A further search in Marketing Education Review yielded no results at all. To the authors��� knowledge, the topic has only been addressed once by Ackerman and Kiesler in the 2007 MEA Proceedings who conclude that for ���such a common part of the marketing education curriculum, we know surprisingly little about its impact on students��� (p. 123).

eResearch Archive: reaching global agricultural communities

Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Library achieved a significant breakthrough in the provision of Open Access to Australian publicly funded research with the launch of its eResearch Archive (eRA). With more than one thousand publication records, journal articles, conferences papers and research reports now available to farmers, industry representatives, academics, researchers, students and members of the public throughout the world, the archive is the first web accessible multidisciplinary science institutional repository produced by an Australian government department.

Looking at the other side: Families, public health and anti-vaccination

The choice to vaccinate or not to vaccinate a child is usually an ���informed decision���, however, it is how this decision is informed which is of most importance. More frequently, families are turning to the Internet, in particular social media, as a data source to support their decisions. However, much of the online information may be unscientific or biased. While issues such as vaccination will always see dissenting voices, engaging with that ���other side��� is difficult in the public policy debate which is informed by evidence based science. This chapter investigates the other side in light of the growing adoption and reliance on social media as a source of anti-vaccine information. The study adopts a qualitative approach to data collection and is based on a critical discourse analysis of online social media discourse. The findings demonstrate the valuable contribution this approach can make to public policy work in vaccination.

The paradigm of relevance: Is it time to kill the sacred cow?

Prior to embarking on further study into the subject of relevance it is essential to consider why the concept of relevance has remained inconclusive, despite extensive research and its centrality to the discipline of information science. The approach taken in this paper is to reconstruct the science of information retrieval from first principles including the problem statement, role, scope and objective. This framework for document selection is put forward as a straw man for comparison with the historical relevance models. The paper examines five influential relevance models over the past 50 years. Each is examined with respect to its treatment of relevance and compared with the first principles model to identify contributions and deficiencies. The major conclusion drawn is that relevance is a significantly overloaded concept which is both confusing and detrimental to the science.

Mesh Processing for Computerized Facial Anthropometry

Understanding of the shape and size of different features of the human body from scanned data is necessary for automated design and evaluation of product ergonomics. In this paper, a computational framework is presented for automatic detection and recognition of important facial feature regions, from scanned head and shoulder polyhedral models. A noise tolerant methodology is proposed using discrete curvature computations, band-pass filtering, and morphological operations for isolation of the primary feature regions of the face, namely, the eyes, nose, and mouth. Spatial disposition of the critical points of these isolated feature regions is analyzed for the recognition of these critical points as the standard landmarks associated with the primary facial features. A number of clinically identified landmarks lie on the facial midline. An efficient algorithm for detection and processing of the midline, using a point sampling technique, is also presented. The results obtained using data of more than 20 subjects are verified through visualization and physical measurements. A color based and triangle skewness based schemes for isolation of geometrically nonprominent features and ear region are also presented. [DOI: 10.1115/1.3330420]

Understanding the Knowledge Needs of Designers During Design Process in Industry

Product success is substantially influenced by satisfaction of knowledge needs of designers, and many tools and methods have been proposed to support these needs. However, adoption of these methods in industry is minimal. This may be due to an inadequate understanding of the knowledge needs of designers in industry. This research attempts to develop a better understanding of these needs by undertaking descriptive studies in an industry. We propose a taxonomy of knowledge, and evaluate this by analyzing the questions asked by the designers involved in the study during their interactions. Using the taxonomy, we converted the questions asked into a generic form. The generic questions provide an understanding about what knowledge must be captured during design, and what its structure should be.

An Integrated Model of Designing

Current design models and frameworks describe various overlapping fragments of designing. However, little effort exists in consolidating these fragments into an integrated model. We propose a model of designing that integrates product and process facets of designing by combining activities, outcomes, requirements, and solutions. Validation of the model using video protocols of design sessions demonstrates that all the constructs are used naturally by designers but often not to the expected level, which hinders the variety and resulting novelty of the concepts developed in these sessions. To resolve this, a prescriptive framework for supporting design for variety and novelty is proposed and plans for its implementation are created. DOI: 10.1115/1.3467011]

HFST���Framework for Compiling and Applying Morphologies

HFST���Helsinki Finite-State Technology ( hfst.sf.net ) is a framework for compiling and applying linguistic descriptions with finite-state methods. HFST currently connects some of the most important finite-state tools for creating morphologies and spellers into one open-source platform and supports extending and improving the descriptions with weights to accommodate the modeling of statistical information. HFST offers a path from language descriptions to efficient language applications in key environments and operating systems. HFST also provides an opportunity to exchange transducers between different software providers in order to get the best out of each finite-state library.

Computer-Based Design Synthesis Research: An Overview

One of the hallmarks of engineering design is the design synthesis phase where the creativity of the designer most prominently comes into play as solutions are generated to meet underlying needs. Over the past decades, methodologies for generating concepts and design solutions have matured to the point that computation-based synthesis provides a means to explore a wider variety of solutions and take over more tedious design tasks. This paper reviews advances in function-based, grammar-based, and analogy-based synthesis approaches and their contributions to computational design synthesis research in the last decade. DOI: 10.1115/1.3593409]

Solving Dynamic Constraint Single Objective Functions using a Nature Inspired Technique

We present in this paper a new algorithm based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) for solving Dynamic Single Objective Constrained Optimization (DCOP) problems. We have modified several different parameters of the original particle swarm optimization algorithm by introducing new types of particles for local search and to detect changes in the search space. The algorithm is tested with a known benchmark set and compare with the results with other contemporary works. We demonstrate the convergence properties by using convergence graphs and also the illustrate the changes in the current benchmark problems for more realistic correspondence to practical real world problems.

Gest��o do conhecimento estrat��gico : uma proposta de modelo integrado

Pesquisa focada na defini����o de um modelo te��rico-sist��mico de Gest��o do Conhecimento Estrat��gico (GCE), estando inserida nos estudos da Gest��o do Conhecimento (GC) e da Gest��o da Informa����o (GI), considerando conceitos relacionados ao conhecimento (t��cito e expl��cito), a estrat��gias (perspectivas e abordagens) e aos agentes envolvidos (decisores e estrategistas; novatos e experientes). A constru����o do modelo se vale de vis��es da Ci��ncia da Informa����o, da Administra����o e da Psicologia Cognitiva. A metodologia empregada utiliza o m��todo abdutivo de pesquisa (uso concomitante dos m��todos indutivo e dedutivo), valendo-se da an��lise bibliogr��fica (para sustenta����o te��rica do modelo), do estudo comparado (para a avalia����o de diferentes modelos de GC e de abordagens e perspectivas estrat��gicas) e da pesquisa descritiva ou de campo (para valida����o do modelo junto a profissionais da ��rea em estudo). Os resultados indicam que �� poss��vel definir-se um modelo de Gest��o do Conhecimento estrat��gico e que muitos trabalhos podem ser desenvolvidos, derivados da proposta apresentada nesta tese.

A lei de acesso �� informa����o e a sua influ��ncia nos processos de atendimento ��s demandas da sociedade : estudo do caso do Centro de Documenta����o e Informa����o da C��mara dos Deputados

Examina a aplica����o da Lei n�� 12.527, de 18 de novembro de 2011 ��� a Lei de Acesso �� Informa����o (LAI) ��� tendo como locus a C��mara dos Deputados e o seu ��rg��o de gest��o da informa����o, de relacionamento e de atendimento ao p��blico usu��rio, o Centro de Documenta����o e Informa����o (Cedi) e, em particular, a Coordena����o de Relacionamento, Pesquisa e Informa����o (Corpi). Analisa-se, �� luz da Ci��ncia da Informa����o, o impacto causado pela LAI no processo de provimento de informa����o e na disponibilidade da informa����o institucional para a sociedade, no contexto do amplo acesso ��s informa����es p��blicas, desej��vel na C��mara. A pesquisa, de car��ter documental, firma-se em documentos e na legisla����o produzidos na esfera da C��mara dos Deputados. Para o estudo do caso, utilizou-se entrevista com servidores da Corpi, onde se colheram impress��es sobre o impacto da LAI na din��mica do trabalho de atendimento e pesquisa, identificaram-se os principais problemas percebidos e as suas sugest��es de melhoria. Discorre-se, tamb��m, subsidiariamente, sobre a gest��o da informa����o como parte do ciclo informacional e condi����o para o acesso �� informa����o, t��pico central desta pesquisa. Aborda-se a quest��o da cidadania e do controle social, bem o direito �� informa����o e transpar��ncia governamental que subjazem �� proposta de amplo acesso �� informa����o p��blica preconizada pela LAI, em raz��o da mudan��a de paradigma e do regime de informa����o a que a LAI conduz. O estudo dos efeitos da LAI no ��mbito da C��mara teve como marco temporal o per��odo de maio a dezembro de 2012. Estima-se que os indicadores desta pesquisa possam contribuir com estudos futuros relacionados com a governan��a da informa����o na C��mara.