Science Letters: Efficient page layout analysis on small devices

Previously we have designed and implemented new image browsing facilities to support effective offline image contents on mobile devices with limited capabilities: low bandwidth, small display, and slow processing. In this letter, we fulfill the automatic production of cartoon contents fitting small-screen display, and introduce a clustering method useful for various types of cartoon images as a prerequisite stage for preserving semantic meaning. The usage of neural networks is to properly cut the various forms of pages. Texture information that is useful for grayscale image segmentation gives us a good clue for page layout analysis using the multilayer perceptron (MLP) based x-y recursive algorithm. We also automatically frame the segment MLP using agglomerative segmentation. Our experimental results show that the combined approaches yield good results of segmentation for several cartoons.     

Science Letters: Human-centered modeling for style-based adaptive games

This letter proposes a categorization matrix to analyze the playing style of a computer game player for a shooting game genre. Our aim is to use human-centered modeling as a strategy for adaptive games based on entertainment measure to evaluate the playing experience. We utilized a self-organizing map (SOM) to cluster the player's style with the data obtained while playing the game. We further argued that style-based adaptation contributes to higher enjoyment, and this is reflected in our experiment using a supervised multilayered perceptron (MLP) network.     

The effect of an intermittent,high-intensity warm-up on supramaximal kayak ergometer performance

It has previously been shown that the metabolic acidaemia induced by a continuous warm-up at the 'lactate threshold' is associated with a reduced accumulated oxygen deficit and decreased supramaximal performance. The aim of this study was to determine if an intermittent, high-intensity warm-up could increase oxygen uptake (V02) without reducing the accumulated oxygen deficit, and thus improve supramaximal performance. Seven male 500 m kayak paddlers, who had represented their state, volunteered for this study. Each performed a graded exercise test to determine V02max and threshold parameters. On subsequent days and in a random, counterbalanced order, the participants then performed a continuous or intermittent, high-intensity warm-up followed by a 2 min, all-out kayak ergometer test. The continuous warm-up consisted of 15 min of exercise at approximately 65% V02max. The intermittent, high-intensity warm-up was similar, except that the last 5 min was replaced with five 10 s sprints at 200% V02max, separated by 50 s of recovery at ~55% V02max. Significantly greater (P<0.05) peak power (intermittent vs continuous: 629 ± 199 vs 601 ± 204W) and average power (intermittent vs continuous: 328±39.0 vs 321 ±42.4 W) were recorded after the intermittent warm-up. There was no significant difference between conditions for peak V02, total V02 or the accumulated oxygen deficit. The results of this study indicate that 2 min all-out kayak ergometer performance is significantly better after an intermittent rather than a continuous warm-up.     

Why was the QAA Approach to Teaching Quality Assessment Rejected by Academics in UK HE?

This article will review and evaluate the response of academics working in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK to the experience of teaching quality review. It will do so by gathering the viewpoints and opinions of academics from a particular source over a specific time period: the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) between January and August of 2001. Before presenting and then evaluating these viewpoints, the paper will discuss the development of teaching quality assessment methodologies in UK HE within the context of the increasing importance and embededness of quality assurance and enhancement values and processes within the practices of HEIs. It is argued that this is both a recent and contested phenomenon. The article finds that the concerns of academics with the teaching quality review exercise fall under a number of headings: (1) administrative/cost burden; (2) grade inflation/gamesmanship/ organisational learning; (3) elitist bias within the system; (4) system impact of quality review; (5) reliability of the system; and (6) philosophical objections to the system. The implications of these concerns are discussed. The article's conclusion is that if academics are not convinced of, or do not actively support, the values and methodologies associated with teaching quality review, then there is little chance that these will either produce accurate or meaningful assessments of teaching quality, or act as a spur to the quality enhancement of this aspect of individual and institutional activity. This is an important point within the context of the recent review of the Quality Assurance Agency's Subject Review methodology, and the new institutional audit methodology.     

Perception of Counselor Behavior and Current Intergenerational Family Relationships

In this study, significant relationships were found between several dimensions of intergenerational family relationships and supervisor ratings of counselor behavior.     

Unsettling the State — How 'Demand' Challenges the Education System in the US

'Demand' in the education system has traditionally been articulated almost entirely in terms of access to more, better, and higher-status opportunities within the traditional public school system, rather than for alternatives to the standardised, highly-regulated opportunities provided by the state. This is changing, in the U.S. and elsewhere, as households and groups increasingly articulate demands that cannot easily be accommodated by the existing system. These new demands include calls for schooling that more fully reflects the linguistic, religious, or cultural preferences of specific communities. They represent a fundamental challenge to the assumption of collective interests pursued through public institutions that underlie contemporary public school systems. This article explores the character of this challenge and presents an assessment of the ways in which the U.S. education system is changing in its response.     

COMPUTERIZED DIAGNOSTIC TESTING

Efforts to use computers for diagnostic testing in education require appropriate psychometric and technological strategies and, equally important, good theoretical foundations as to what constitutes a diagnosis and how it is to be discerned in an examinee's performance. Although at present this combination is infrequent in education, for some years it has been in evidence in computer-managed diagnosis in medicine. For comparable success in the field of education, it is argued that artificial intelligence algorithms may provide a suitable avenue for developing diagnostic testing further.     

Differences among Male A,B, and C Master's Degree Candidates in a Counseling Practicum

Little or no research has been done on the counseling practicum grade as a measure of counseling effectiveness. This study explored the intellective and nonintellective differences among males with A, B, and C grades in the counseling practicum. Significant differences among grade categories were observed on 7 of 17 variables. The nature and direction of the differences among males with grades of A, B, or C suggested that practicum grades tend to make valid discriminations between candidates with high and low potential as counselors.     

The Why of Learning

Alexander, Schallert, and Reynolds's (2009 Alexander, P. A., Schallert, D. L. and Reynolds, R. E. 2009. What is learning anyway? A topological perspective considered. Educational Psychologist, 44: 176–192. this issue[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]/this issue) what, where, who, and when framework situates different perspectives on learning in different places in this multidimensional space and by doing so helps us to better understand seemingly disparate approaches to learning. The framework is in need of a fifth, why dimension. The why dimension helps to place learning within an evolutionary and cultural perspective and to better understand students' motivation to learn and their preferences for what, where, and how to learn.     

传统数学评价之"缺憾"——以一个租船问题为例

传统评价未能正确地反映数学的本质，传统的数学评价系统希望贴近常模分布．传统的数学评价是“片段”和“缩水”的评价．评价的标准间接规定了学生的问题解决模式，被评价的指标体系影响了学习的发生方式，评价的标准也不断加剧僵化数学观的塑造．数学开放题为思维方式和过程提供了更多空间．开放题的质化评价弥补了传统的数学评价存在的某些缺陷，但这种评价与传统评价相比，确实耗费更多时间．利用开放题的质化评价是未来数学评价的方向．