Construction by dielectrophoresis of microbial aggregates for the study of bacterial cell dormancy

A study of the effect of aggregate size on the resuscitation of dormant M. smegmatis was conducted by constructing cell aggregates with defined sizes and shapes using dielectrophoresis and monitoring the resuscitation process under controlled laboratorial conditions in a long-term cell feeding system. Differently sized cell aggregates were created on the surface of indium tin oxide coated microelectrodes, their heights and shapes controlled by the strength of the induced electric field and the shape of the microelectrodes. Both two-dimensional (ring-patterned) and three-dimensional cell aggregates were produced. The cell aggregates were maintained under sterile conditions at 37 °C for up to 14 days by continuously flushing Sauton’s medium through the chamber. Resuscitation of dormant M. smegmatis was evaluated by the production of the fluorescent dye 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyltetrazolium chloride. The results confirm that the resuscitation of dormant M. smegmatis is triggered by the accumulation of a resuscitation promoting factor inside the aggregates by diffusion limitation.     

Applying the PEN-3 Cultural Model to Address HIV/AIDS Prevention in Rural Guatemala

Guatemala has an accelerating HIV rate, where prevalence is three times higher among indigenous than nonindigenous, comprising 21% of all cases. Vulnerability is exacerbated by high poverty, low literacy, and poor access to testing and treatment options. This study develops a community-engaged HIV prevention campaign plan for the Mayan town of Santiago Atitlán. The PEN-3 model of cultural sensitivity frames this formative research project. Assessment domains of the PEN-3 model (Cultural empowerment and Relationships & expectations) identify culturally relevant factors affecting HIV prevention behaviours. The Cultural identity domain is utilized to identify entry points enhancing cultural acceptance and efficacy.     

The Design of Stereotype and the Image

Our everyday life is influenced by an overproduction of images and by an iconogenic surplus that is connected to the proliferation of media. These contribute to both the quality and quantity of communication, but simultaneously amplify the knowledge gap between an audience that is able to critically process messages and another that is affected uncritically by prejudices and stereotypes. Bellino argues for a critical media education to address this gap by encouraging the development of students' critical thinking and social awareness. In this article we will discuss the results of a research‐driven design project in which visual communication design students engaged with theories of cultural stereotypes and critiqued the role of media in their perpetuation. We adopted Kolb's model of experiential learning as recent published research demonstrates that art and design students have difficulties in conventional academic approaches to learning theory. In this regard students learned theories of stereotype through doing and making and embodied this learning in their critical project outcomes.     

Making sense of learners making sense of written language: the selected works of Kenneth S. Goodman and Yetta M. Goodman

It is not an easy task to describe how an organization affects educational processes or events. First, the organization is a blend of multiple countries and changes dynamically; second, a segment of educational processes like the reforms of educational media are changing permanently as well. The changes are induced by institutional, legal, financial and other various factors as well. It is important to emphasize that the reforms in educational media were greatly influenced by the improvements in technology of the recent years. It is exciting and interesting to explore what actual and secondary effects an organization had in its field, that Hungary has been a member of for over 30 years. To analyse these effects, we have to give an overview of two things. First, we have to detail the role of educational media reform in the past, especially during a period when Hungary joined this international organization; second, we have to describe the curricula that was in effect during the implementation of the reforms. We also have to introduce the international organization and the changes in its goals, structure and function.

Die Wirkung von ICEM auf den Entwicklungsprozeß von Bildungsmedien in Ungarn

Es ist keine leichte Aufgabe, zu beschreiben, wie eine Organisation Bildungsprozesse oder ‐ereignisse beeinflußt. Erstens ist die Organisation eine Mischung der Einflüsse vieler Länder und ändert sich dynamisch, zweitens verändert sich ebenso durch die permanenten Reformen der Bildungsmedien ein Segment der Bildungsprozesse selbst. Die Änderungen werden aber ebenfalls von institutionellen, rechtlichen, finanziellen und anderen verschiedenen Faktoren herbeigeführt. Es ist wichtig, hervorzuheben, daß in den letzten Jahren die Reformen der Bildungsmedien sehr von Verbesserungen der Technologie beeinflußt wurden. Es ist aufregend und interessant, zu erkunden, welche tatsächlichen Effekte und Nebenwirkungen eine Organisation, der Ungarn seit über 30 Jahren angehört, in ihrem Feld hatte. Um diese Wirkungen analysieren zu können, müssen wir uns zwei Dinge genauer anschauen: Einmal die Rolle der Bildungsmedienreform in der Vergangenheit, insbesondere während der Zeit, als Ungarn sich dieser internationalen Organisation anschloss, zum anderen müssen wir die Lehrpläne beschreiben, die während der Durchführung der Reformen gültig waren. Wir müssen auch die internationale Organisation, die Änderungen in ihren Zielen, ihrer Struktur und ihrer Funktion vorstellen.     

Perceptions of Learning Environment and On‐Task Orientation Among Students Reporting Different Achievement Levels: A Study Conducted Among Norwegian Secondary School Students

The aim of this study was to explore students’ perceptions of their learning environment and on‐task orientation across different achievement levels. Data were gathered in two independent cross‐sectional studies of Norwegian students in grades 8, 9, and 10 (n = 3453 in 2001 and n = 2987 in 2004). Students within the middle achievement levels reported more positive perceptions of learning environments than the high and low achievers. The amount of variance in on‐task orientation that was accounted for by the learning environment was higher for low achievers than for the rest of the students. Furthermore, students in the 2004 sample gave a more positive report of their learning environment and their on‐task orientation than students in 2001. Finally, we found that the improvement in the perceptions of learning environment was stronger for those students who reported low and high achievement than for the rest of the students.     

Cognitive-motivational variables of beginner university students in the first year of adaptation to the European Higher Education Area / Variables cognitivo-motivacionales del alumnado de nuevo ingreso en el primer año de adaptación al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior

Abstract

Within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) the student is the main protagonist of the learning process. This means that teachers must be aware of the cognitive-motivational aspects that influence their learning. This study analyses the academic goals, learning strategies and levels of academic engagement shown by university students in their first year of adaptation to the European Higher Education Area, as well as the relationship between these variables. The results indicate that most students are averagely oriented towards learning goals and highly oriented towards achievement goals, regularly use a wide variety of learning strategies, and show average levels of academic engagement. The correlations between some of these variables are positive and significant. Further research needs to be carried out to understand the role played by different variables in constructing quality autonomous learning processes, not only in relation to students, as in the case of this study, but also in relation to teachers, tasks, contexts, and academic institutions, as well as the different interactions between them.     

Evaluating collaborative filtering recommendations inside large learning object repositories

Collaborative filtering (CF) algorithms are techniques used by recommender systems to predict the utility of items for users based on the similarity among their preferences and the preferences of other users. The enormous growth of learning objects on the internet and the availability of preferences of usage by the community of users in the existing learning object repositories (LORs) have opened the possibility of testing the efficiency of CF algorithms on recommending learning materials to the users of these communities. In this paper we evaluated recommendations of learning resources generated by different well known memory-based CF algorithms using two databases (with implicit and explicit ratings) gathered from the popular MERLOT repository. We have also contrasted the results of the generated recommendations with several existing endorsement mechanisms of the repository to explore possible relations among them. Finally, the recommendations generated by the different algorithms were compared in order to evaluate whether or not they were overlapping. The results found here can be used as a starting point for future studies that account for the specific context of learning object repositories and the different aspects of preference in learning resource selection.