A naive bayes approach for converging learning objects with open educational resources

Open educational resources (OER) are digitised material freely available to the students and self learners. Many institutions had initiated in incorporating these OERs in their higher educational system, to improve the quality of teaching and learning. These resources promotes individualised study, collaborative learning. If they are coupled with Learning Objects of Learning Management System (LMS), they can lead to opportunities for further pedagogical innovation. It has become increasingly important for educational institutions to support these resources, in a planned and systematic manner. Adapt, assemble and conceptualise existing OERs to respond to diverse learning needs of students and support a variety of learning approaches for a given learning goal is a challenge. In this work, convergence of OERs with Learning Objects is done through metadata using classification techniques. Localisation of these high quality learning materials with the learning content of LMS, delivered as a single instructional unit may help in greater knowledge delivery and this can satisfy the learning needs of diverse student.     

Oxidative stress, α-tocopherol, ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione status in schizophrenics

A disturbance in the antioxidant defense system including α-tocopherol, ascorbic acid and reduced glutahtione metabolism due to free radical induced oxidative injury has been implicated in various neuro-psychiatric disorders. The roles of these antioxidants, changes in their blood levels and correlation with oxidative stress were studied in a common psychiatric illness Schizophrenia. Fifty-eight subjects of either sex ranging in age from 18–60 years divided into two age groups (≤40 and >40 years) diagnosed for schizophrenia, and forty age and sex-matched normal subjects as controls were included in the study. Blood samples were analyzed for malondialdehyde (MDA), α-tocopherol, total ascorbic acid (TAA), dehydro ascorbic acid (DHAA), reduced ascorbic acid (RAA), leucocyte ascorbic acid (LAA) and reduced glutathione (GSH). A decrease in the levels of α-tocopherol, total ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione was found in schizophrenics compared to normal controls. Further a significant rise in oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant status was observed in the chronic stage of schizophrenia as compared to those in acute condition. A significant rise in dehydroascorbic acid with concomitant fall in reduced ascorbic acid suggests scavenging action of ascorbic acid and its utilization with increased oxidative stress as indicated by high blood malondialdehyde levels. Leucocyte ascorbic acid, a better index of ascorbic acid status was also found to be reduced in schizophrenics, suggesting depletion of body stores of ascorbic acid and the condition worsened with advancing age.     

Measuring Physical Activity in Preschoolers: Reliability and Validity of the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers (SOFIT-P)

The purpose of this study is describe the initial feasibility, reliability, and validity of an instrument to measure physical activity in preschoolers using direct observation. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers was developed and tested among 3- to 6-year-old children over fall 2008 for feasibility and reliability (Phase I, n = 67) and in fall 2009 for concurrent validity (Phase II, n = 27). Phase I showed that preschoolers spent >75% of their active time at preschool in light physical activity. The mean inter-observer agreements scores were ≥.75 for physical activity level and type. Correlation coefficients, measuring construct validity between the lesson context and physical activity types with and with the activity levels, were moderately strong. Phase II showed moderately strong correlations ranging from .50 to .54 between the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers and Actigraph accelerometers for physical activity levels. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers shows promising initial results as a new method for measuring physical activity among preschoolers.     

How is nature asymmetric?

This two-part article considers certain fundamental symmetries of nature, namely the discrete symmetries of parity (P), charge conjugation (C) and time reversal (T), and their possible violation. Recent experimental results are discussed in some depth. In this second part, we discussCP andT violation and arrive at a synthesis.     

Because the Night Belongs to Lovers: Occupying the Time of Precarity

While much of Occupy's political power is rooted in its spatial tactic, the movement's temporal realities are also key to understanding its complexities. This talk considers those realities, specifically turning to the night: a time when the spatial practice of occupying and the temporality of precarity find each other in a strange embrace. In the dark, new and unheard of demands emerge for the first time. At night, the fault lines of the movement rupture to the surface in new ways. It is also at night that those outside the camps, from the police, journalists, and the public, fix their gaze upon Occupy. Night also reflects the lived experience of precarity that Occupy and other activists and theorists have long mobilized against. This paper considers what new strategies of resistance loom in the realm of time.     

Circadian rhythms

Living organisms ranging from bacteria to human beings exhibit 24-h rhythms in various behaviours and physiological processes. Matching of the period of such rhythms with that of the daily environmental cycles gives an impression that they are mere passive responses to environmental changes. Here, we discuss the change in our perception about daily biological rhythms, from their identity as rhythmic phenomena occurring as passive response to environmental changes, to the biological clocks. This is the first article in a series of articles on circadian rhythms which will cover discussion on the genetic and molecular basis, circadian organization and its adaptive significance.     

Open learning in India: evolution,diversification and reaching out

Distance education has a history of over four decades in India. There has been a vast growth in the number of learners who need education and thus also the corresponding channels of providing education. Due to the constraints of the traditional educational sector, open and distance learning has been found to be a workable alternative strategy in India. This paper traces the evolution and diversification of open learning in India by examining various factors that led to the growth and success of open learning. This system, as other systems of education, is not free from problems and a critique is provided on the various factors affecting the smooth functioning of India’s open and distance learning system.     

Effects of Active Learning on Enhancing Student Critical Thinking in an Undergraduate General Science Course

To enhance students’ critical thinking in an undergraduate general science course, we designed and implemented active learning modules by incorporating group-based learning with authentic tasks, scaffolding, and individual reports. This study examined the levels of critical thinking students exhibited in individual reports and the students’ critical thinking level change over time. Findings indicated that students’ average critical thinking level fell in the category of “developing”, but students’ scores on individual reports revealed a statistically significant increase. The study suggested that the active learning strategies employed in the study were useful to promote student critical thinking.