EPIC: a framework for using video games in ethics education

Ethics education can potentially be supplemented through the use of video games. This article proposes a novel framework (Ethics Practice and Implementation Categorization [EPIC] Framework), which helps educators choose games to be used for ethics education purposes. The EPIC Framework is derived from a number of classic moral development, learning, and ethical decision-making models, including frameworks and theories associated with games and ethics, as well as prior empirical and theoretical research literature. The EPIC Framework consists of seven ethics education goals (e.g., building ethical awareness, practicing reflection, and enhancing character), and 12 strategies associated with ethics education, which are also present in video games (e.g., role-play, modeling, and simulation). Each of the framework’s categories is described in detail, and the limitations of the framework are also discussed.     

Thermal and stress analysis of early age concrete for spread footing

The early age performance of spread footing, especially the growth of cracks, is deeply influenced by the heat of hydration of cement. In this paper, 3D finite element method(FEM)models are set up to analyze the temperature distribution and thermal stresses of the spread footing during the first seven days after concrete placement. The mechanical properties of early age concrete are calculated, which are further used in the FEM models. The possibilities of crack growth are estimated by the method of crack index. The crack indexes of quite a number of points are very close to the allowable limit of 1.0 during the last three days. It is also indicated that the influence of foundation ring on the thermal stresses of concrete can be neglected.     

Effects of concentration and freeze-thaw on the first hydration shell structure of Zn2+ ions

To investigate the effects of salt concentration and freeze-thaw （FT） on the first hydration shell of Zn2+ ions in Zn（NO₃）₂ aqueous solutions, extended X-ray absorption fine structure （EXAFS） spectroscopy was used to examine Zn K-edge EXAFS spectra of Zn（NO₃）₂ aqueous solutions with various concentrations before and after FT treatment. The influences of salt concentration and freeze-thaw on the structural parameters of the first hydration shell of Zn2+ ions, including hydration number, Zn-O distance and thermal disorder, were analyzed. The results show that Zn2+ ions have 3.2―6.8 nearest oxygen neighbors with the Zn-O distance being 0.202―0.207 nm. In highly concen-trated solutions, Zn2+ ions are hydrated with four water molecules in a tetrahedral form. The dilution of Zn（NO₃）₂ aqueous solutions increases the number of water molecules in the first hydration shell of Zn2+ ions to six with their octahedral arrangement. Both the hydration number in the first hydration shell of Zn2+ ions and the degree of thermal disorder increase when the FT treatment is operated in Zn（NO₃）₂ aqueous solutions.     

Very long instruction word processors

Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing (EPIC) is an instruction processing paradigm that has been in the spotlight due to its adoption by the next generation of Intel Processors starting with the IA-64. The EPIC processing paradigm is an evolution of the Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) paradigm. This article gives an overview of VLIW processor architecture.     

Friluftsliv and adventure: Models,heroes and idols in a Nansen perspective

Abstract

With the ambition of penetrating into the very core of the Norwegian and Nordic friluftsliv: An ecologically responsible life in the open air-in nature, people will have to become acquainted with Fridtjof Nansen—with the thinker as well as the practitioner. Outdoor life with natural and strong links to the national friluftsliv—tradition was his ideal, and quite a lot of people in the years after him have been fired with his enthusiasm for the wonderful experiential and health—giving meetings with nature. Obviously, he has been a hero and an idol for generations of people. His reputation as an arctic explorer, as scientist and sportsman, as an internationalist and a humanitarian, have been emphasized by a great many books and articles about him. The main purpose of this article is to shed more light upon his thinking about friluftsliv, to show and explain its focus, its models and paragons.     

Random Permutation Testing Applied to Measurement Invariance Testing with Ordered-Categorical Indicators

We describe and evaluate a random permutation test of measurement invariance with ordered-categorical data. To calculate a p-value for the observed (?)χ², an empirical reference distribution is built by repeatedly shuffling the grouping variable, then saving the χ² from a configural model, or the ?χ² between configural and scalar-invariance models, fitted to each permuted dataset. The current gold standard in this context is a robust mean- and variance-adjusted ?χ² test proposed by Satorra (2000), which yields inflated Type I errors, particularly when thresholds are asymmetric, unless samples sizes are quite large (Bandalos, 2014; Sass et al., 2014). In a Monte Carlo simulation, we compare permutation to three implementations of Satorra’s robust χ² across a variety of conditions evaluating configural and scalar invariance. Results suggest permutation can better control Type I error rates while providing comparable power under conditions that the standard robust test yields inflated errors.     

Combining Principal Component Regression and Artificial Neural Network to Predict Chlorophyll-a Concentration of Yuqiao Reservoir’s Outflow

In order to investigate the eutrophication degree of Yuqiao Reservoir, a hybrid method, combining principal component regression (PCR) and artificial neural network (ANN), was adopted to predict chlorophyll-a concentration of Yuqiao Reservoir’s outflow. The data were obtained from two sampling sites, site 1 in the reservoir, and site 2 near the dam. Seven water variables, namely chlorophyll-a concentration of site 2 at time t and that of both sites 10 days before t, total phosphorus(TP), total nitrogen(TN), dissolved oxygen(DO), and temperature from January 2000 to September 2002, were utilized to develop models. To remove the collinearity between the variables, principal components extracted by principal component analysis were employed as predictors for models. The performance of models was assessed by the square of correlation coefficient, mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE) and average absolute relative error (AARE). Results show that the hybrid method has achieved more accurate prediction than PCR or ANN model. Finally, the three models were applied to predicting the chlorophyll-a concentration in 2003. The predictions of the hybrid method were found to be consistent with the observed values all year round, while the results of PCR and ANN models did not fit quite well from July to October.     

冰表面上硝酸溴与水反应的理论研究

采用量子化学中的密度泛函理论计算方法B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,3pd)对反应B rONO2+H2O=HNO3+HOB r进行了研究.研究发现该反应随着水团簇中分子数目的增加反应的势垒逐渐减小,当水分子数为2时,该反应已经是一个快反应了.计算结果表明在冰表面上在平流层条件下标题反应是通过结构催化和水催化进行反应的.其反应条件即使在南极的夏季和北极极低的温度下也极易满足.研究结果与现阶段已有的实地观察和实验结果相一致.     

Foundations for an Intercultural Philosophy of Christian Education

This article proposes a number of fundamental principles that seek to establish a solid platform for a philosophy of Christian Education that is culturally responsive and responsible. In this theological-practical reflection the author affirms that the context where most processes of Christian Education take place in the United States today is one profoundly marked by cultural diversity. Consequently, the locus, the subject, and the methodological questions concerning Christian Education must develop an intercultural perspective. There is an urgent need for effective intercultural models of Christian Education. The article provides a horizon to envision and ground such models.     

Ratings of usability of didactic models: a comparative case study in Croatia and Germany

The study refers to the unfavourable reputation and status of general didactics as well as its decreasing importance in teacher education. This is a result of poor performance achieved in international tests by students. They score low on knowledge and arguments, and empirical studies indicate that didactic models are useless. In view of the above problem, the aim of this article is to examine the validity of the argument that didactic models are useless. It is necessary to examine if general didactics are being in an unfavourable position along with its possible successors in the international context. In order to achieve that, we conducted an empirical study into the usability of didactic models for lesson planning in Croatia and compared it with the results obtained in previous research in Germany. The term usability means the advantages of theory in practice. On the basis of the results of the empirical study, we concluded that didactic models are not generally unusable. Additionally, they are different according to their usability. These results open a path for further research on this topic in the international context.     

Science teacher candidates’ perceptions about roles and nature of scientific models

Background: Scientific models have important roles in science and science education. For scientists, they provide a means for generating new knowledge or function as an accessible summary of scientific studies. In science education, on the other hand, they are accessible representations of abstract concepts, and are also organizational frameworks to teach and learn inaccessible facts. As being indispensable parts of learning and doing science, use of scientific models in science classes should be reinforced. At this point, uncovering pre-service science teachers’ (PSTs) understandings of scientific models are of great importance since they will design and conduct teaching situations for their students. Purpose: The study aimed to provide an answer to the research question: What understandings do PSTs possess about scientific models? Sample: The sample of the study consisted of 14 PSTs enrolled in an Elementary Science Education program in a public university in Ankara, Turkey. Design and methods: Data were collected by using an open-item instrument and semi-structured interviews, and were analyzed by using qualitative data analysis methods. Results: Findings showed that PSTs held fragmented views of models by having informed views in some aspects while having naïve views on others. That is, although they displayed a constructivist orientation by acknowledging the presence of multiple models for the same phenomenon depending on scientists’ perspectives or creativity involved in the production of scientific knowledge, PSTs also expressed logical positivist views by believing that models should be close to the real phenomena that they represent. Findings further revealed that PSTs generally conceptualized models’ materialistic uses, yet they did not think much about their theoretical and conceptual uses. It was observed that roles like reifying and visualizing were overestimated and models were dominantly characterized as three-dimensional representations. Conclusions: It is clear that PSTs, having difficulties in grasping the concept of models, would possibly have problems in planning their lessons effectively and would not develop accurate concepts in their students. These findings apparently support the need for appropriate pedagogic training of PSTs to scientifically reflect on and professionally make use of models in science classes.     

新自由主义常识与全球性大学：高等教育中的知识商品化

知识是组织高等教育活动的基本材料和学术生活的基础。传统上作为公共产品的知识正在发生转向,其商品属性和交换价值趋于增强,成为兼具公共产品与私人产品性质的一种混合型产品。在高等教育领域,知识商品化具有多种表征形式,侵蚀了高等教育的公共性。本文结合哈贝马斯和布迪厄的理论框架,阐述了以下观点:知识的公共产品性质是高等教育的公益性、高校的公共形象和学术人的公共身份的基础,也是基础研究的核心价值观之一。坚持知识的公共产品性质,抵制知识商品化的消极影响,既是知识的内在要求也是高等教育的内在要求。     

双核超分子化合物[C_8H_（22）Cd_2Cl_4N_2O_8]_n的晶体结构与荧光性

将L-苏氨酸与氯化镉在水溶液中反应,合成了[C8H22Cd2Cl4N2O8]n双核超分子化合物,用X射线单晶衍射测定了该化合物的晶体结构,该化合物属于单斜晶系,P21空间群,晶胞参数：a=0.7672（4）nm,b=0.9166（5）nm,c=1.3787（7）nm,β=96.453（7）°,V=0.9634（8）nm3,Dc=2.188 g.cm-3,Z=2.单胞组成由二个镉（Ⅱ）离子、四个氯离子、二分子苏氨酸内盐、二个配位水分子组成双核结构单元.单胞之间通过氯桥键连接成一维连状结构,链与链之间通过氢键连接,构成三维网状超分子结构.荧光测试表明,该化合物具有较好的光致发光性能.     

Teaching Modern Chemistry through ‘Recurrent Historical Teaching Models’

Today there are little more of 3 million chemist all over the world producing about 800,000 papers a year. They produce new substances – from some hundreds in 1800 to about 20 million now – the vast majority artificial. This rate is growing quite fast. Once the majority of chemistry teachers all over the world used textbooks as the main (sometimes the only) source of information, we became, without wanting to... history teachers! If ‘scientific literacy’ is the aim of science lessons in school, it is much more than the literacy now developed in science classrooms. It must include an understanding of the nature and process by which scientific activities are carried out. Recognition of the exponentially chemistry knowledge growth and the incompleteness of the current chemistry textbooks are thus intimately related to recognition of the need for recurrent historical teaching models.     

杯芳烃的配位热力学研究进展

杯芳烃作为第三代超分子主体化合物,近20年来引起了广泛的研究.由于杯芳烃的研究领域十分广泛,为更深入全面地理解杯芳烃的结构、选择性的关系和起源,为合成更为有效的杯芳烃受体,本文仅就杯芳烃母体、上下缘修饰杯芳烃和阴阳离子、中性有机分子的配位作用的热力学行为及应用的相关技术进行述评.     

链状配合物[Sm_2(tsglyO)_6(H_2O)_4]·3H_2O的合成与晶体结构

利用N-对甲苯磺酰甘氨酸与钐(Ⅲ)盐反应合成了一种新型链状配合物[Sm2(tsglyO)6(H2O)4]·3H2O(tsglyO=N-对甲苯磺酰甘氨酸),通过X-射线单晶衍射测定了晶体结构.配合物中,两个Sm(Ⅲ)原子[Sm1、Sm2]分别与N-对甲苯磺酰甘氨酸的羧基氧原子及水分子配位,形成双核单元结构.N-对甲苯磺酰甘氨酸采用双单齿和双齿鳌合桥联配位模式将双核单元连接在一起形成一维聚合链.链间通过氢键作用力组装为3D超分子体系.     

On Latent Change Model Choice in Longitudinal Studies

An interval estimation procedure for proportion of explained observed variance in latent curve analysis is discussed, which can be used as an aid in the process of choosing between linear and nonlinear models. The method allows obtaining confidence intervals for the R ² indexes associated with repeatedly followed measures in longitudinal studies. In addition to facilitating evaluation of local model fit, the approach is helpful for purposes of differentiating between plausible models stipulating different patterns of change over time, and in particular in empirical situations characterized by large samples and high statistical power. The procedure is also applicable in cross-sectional studies, as well as with general structural equation models. The method is illustrated using data from a nationally representative study of older adults.     

Beyond labels: what are the salient features of lesson study and learning study?

ABSTRACT

Lesson Study and Learning Study are popular teacher professional development models across the world. Drawing on an extensive review of research and literature, this paper aims to identify the features of the two models to contrast and establish their similarities and differences particularly with regard to their application in practice. The paper focuses on their impact on teaching and learning as well as the rationale behind the process of Lesson Study and Learning Study. Four major distinctions between the two models are revealed: ways of identifying a topic for teaching, views and methods for understanding student learning, the focus of teacher collaboration on lesson design and implementation, and the overall instructional design. The paper concludes that the two models appeal to different practitioners depending on their aims and objectives in teaching and learning as well as their broader perspectives on education. In addition, this paper suggests that the two models could complement each other to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning in different contexts.