Using 9-1-1 call data and the space–time permutation scan statistic for emergency event detection

During medium to large-scale emergency events such as fires or earthquakes, emergency response teams must be deployed to the location of the event in a timely fashion. Information gathered from 9-1-1 call makers is useful for this, but is not always accurate. In this paper, we show how the space–time permutation scan statistic can be used to detect the presence and location of such events by monitoring the overall spatiotemporal pattern of 9-1-1 emergency calls instead. In an analysis of collected 9-1-1 call data, top detected clusters were found to correlate with emergency events as reported on the news, showing the algorithm's usefulness for automatically estimating their location and temporal extent. We show how the detection procedure works in cases where the emergency event generates a small but statistically significant increase in the number of 9-1-1 calls, as well as cases where events must be detected against a large background activity of 9-1-1 calls. We discuss the possible adoption of the proposed algorithm within the next generation digital government framework.     

An integrative approach to counseling for the speech-impaired client

This paper discusses the possibility of providing effective counseling for speech-language impaired clients who, due to a communication breakdown, find themselves in a particularly serious predicament marked by isolation and dependency. Its purpose is to highlight the special needs of these clients and to suggest therapeutic strategies suitable for meeting their needs. To promote the idea of an integrative approach to counseling, it will be shown that the counselor, as the key figure in rehabilitation, can coordinate the work of several professionals and contribute in a unique way to the well-being of these individuals.     

Problem solving beyond the logic of things: contextual effects on understanding and solving word problems

Arguments are put forward in this paper that classroom word problem solving is more-and also less-than the urgent analysis of a factual structure, in the sense that it is essentially a species of a social-cognitive activity. Word-or story-problems, presented in classroom contexts, represent textual and pragmatic patterms of a certain grammaticality. To present a problem verbally to a student means to organize a fact in some way for the attention of a problem solver. There is not only the structure of the problem text itself by which situations are denoted, but there is also the stimulative nature of the social-pragmatic context which shapes the student's textbook-problem solving behavior over a long period of time.The present paper discusses the results of several studies showing, for example, that subject matter related attitudes towards a problem frequently do not play an important part in the problem solving efforts; that students often solve problems correctly without understanding them; and that false contextual expectations can lead to abstruse errors of understanding and to peculiar solution attempts.The studies indicate that students can become sensitive and skilful in perceiving and capitalizing on subtle textual and contextual signs pointing to the solution and anticipating its pattern. It seems that usual textbook problems let students get accustomed to certain courses of processing where a simple fact, like whether an equation works out evenly or does not, can stop the process or push it further. It is argued that the deeper reason for the observed textual and contextual influences on understanding and problem solving lies in a fundamental weakness of the student's epistemic control behavior. The psychological and instructional significance of the studies is discussed.     

Augmented Reality Simulations on Handheld Computers

Advancements in handheld computing, particularly its portability, social interactivity, context sensitivity, connectivity, and individuality, open new opportunities for immersive learning environments. This article articulates the pedagogical potential of augmented reality simulations in environmental engineering education by immersing students in the roles of scientists conducting investigations. This design experiment examined if augmented reality simulation games can be used to help students understand science as a social practice, whereby inquiry is a process of balancing and managing resources, combining multiple data sources, and forming and revising hypotheses in situ. We provide 4 case studies of secondary environmental science students participating in the program. Positioning students in virtual investigations made apparent their beliefs about science and confronted simplistic beliefs about the nature of science. Playing the game in “real” space also triggered students' preexisting knowledge, suggesting that a powerful potential of augmented reality simulation games can be in their ability to connect academic content and practices with students' physical, lived worlds. The game structure provided students a narrative to think with, although students differed in their ability to create a coherent narrative of events. We argue that Environmental Detectives is 1 model for helping students understand the socially situated nature of scientific practice.