The role of virtual reality in built environment education

This study builds upon previous research on the integration of Virtual Reality (VR) within the built environment curriculum and aims to investigate the role of VR and three-dimensional (3D) computer modelling on learning and teaching in a school of the built environment. In order to achieve this aim, a number of academic experiences were analysed to explore the applicability and viability of 3D computer modelling and VR into built environment subject areas. Although two-dimensional (2D) representations have been greatly accepted by built environment professions and education, 3D computer representations and VR applications, offering interactivity and immersiveness, are not yet widely accepted. The study attempts to understand the values and challenges of integrating visualisation technologies into built environment teaching and investigates tutors’ perceptions, opinions and concerns with respect to these technologies. The study reports on the integration process and considers how 3D computer modelling and VR technologies can combine with, and extend, the existing range of learning and teaching methods appropriate to different disciplines and programme areas

A Cross-Case Analysis of Gender Issues in Desktop Virtual Reality Learning Environments

This study examined gender-related issues in using new desktop virtual reality (VR) technology as a learning tool in career and technical education (CTE). Using relevant literature, theory, and cross-case analysis of data and findings, the study compared and analyzed the outcomes of two recent studies conducted by a research team at Oklahoma State University that addressed gender issues in VR-based training. This cross-case analysis synthesized the results of these two studies to draw conclusions and implications for CTE educators that may assist in developing or implementing successful virtual learning environments for occupational training. The cross-study findings suggested that males and females may be differently affected by VR and that females may be less comfortable, confident, and capable in virtual learning environments, particularly when the environments are highly technical and visually complex. The findings indicate caution in the use of VR in mixed-gender CTE programs, particularly in programs that are heavily female-gendered

Effects of Desktop Virtual Reality on Learner Performance and Confidence in Environment Mastery: Opening a Line of Inquiry

Virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated effectiveness as an instructional technology in many technical fields. However, VR research has generally lacked a sound theory base to provide explanatory or predictive strength. Further, research into the effectiveness of new desktop technologies that place VR within the reach of schools and teachers is currently embryonic. The study reported here is a pilot and is highly exploratory. It is a first step in developing a theory-based line of inquiry into desktop VR as an instructional technology with potential for Career and Technical Education. Grounded in several theory and research strands, this study compared the effects of presenting a complex scene via desktop VR and a set of still photographic images. The two treatments were given to groups drawn from the general population with equal representation by both genders and two age groups. Two performance measures and a confidence measure were analyzed using 2-way ANOVAs. Statistically significant main effects for treatment were found for all three measures, all in favor of the VR treatment. These findings were consistent with predictions based on the study’s theory base. Several main effects for age and gender, and trends for interactions of age and gender with treatment, were also identified that may provide impetus for further research

Controls on the composition of saline formation waters from coastal and offshore Louisiana

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source that can contribute to the U.S. energy mix. As such, new technologies are being explored for lower temperature systems which would open new areas for exploration in Louisiana. Unlike concepts proposed in the early 1980s, in which heat would have been extracted at the land surface from produced overpressured waters, methods currently being proposed would involve engineered down-hole heat exchangers with zero-mass-fluid withdrawal. A re-examination has been made of the controls on the composition of formation waters in south central and offshore Louisiana in the context of providing insight into water-rock reactions that might be expected as a result of lowering reservoir temperatures and mixing native formation waters associated with in situ heat extraction. An evaluation was made of produced waters from several fields in the south-central coastal area of Louisiana, the Weeks Island field, the Bullwinkle offshore field, and a proprietary offshore field called Bellatrix. Thermodynamic analysis suggests that the chemical composition of these waters is being buffered in part by the mineral assemblage albite, illite, smectite, chalcedony, calcite, dolomite, and barite. The waters are highly undersaturated with respect to gypsum, anhydrite, and halite. Thus it should be possible to predict reactions in the subsurface which could occur as a result of removing heat and lowering temperature. Data from Weeks Island, Bullwinkle, and Bellatrix establish the existence of significant spatial variations in formation water compositions within individual reservoir sands or fault blocks. Of most significance, in terms of the potential for precipitation of mineral cements or scale, are the inverse relations of the concentrations of dissolved barium and sulfate and of dissolved calcium and alkalinity. Mixing of waters within these sands could cause the precipitation of barite and/or calcite within a down-hole heat exchanger and/or conventional production tubing

Learning Strategy Patterns and Instructional Preferences of Career and Technical Education Students

In an effort to individualize instruction and improve the effectiveness of instructor-learner transactions, education and instructional research has addressed a wide assortment of learner variables and assessed their relationships to instructional methods and environments. Frequently included in this research are analyses of how information is obtained and processed. Identified in the literature alternatively as learning style, cognitive style, or cognitive control, these variables are learner classifications that describe how a student approaches, acquires, processes, and uses information in addressing learning tasks. An individual’s specific learning classification conveys his or her preferred approach to learning tasks and charts his or her particular instructional needs. Adult education has recently seen the development by Conti and Kolody (2004) of a new model for the study and classification of learning preferences, which they call learning strategies. To accompany their model, they created a new assessment instrument named Assessing the Learning Strategies of Adults, or ATLAS. Although learning strategy research using the ATLAS test has appeared in dissertations and other, less formal, research, it has not yet developed a sizeable base in peer-reviewed, published literature. Nevertheless, the ATLAS learning strategies are grounded historically and theoretically in concepts of psychological types and learner differences, and their wider use may provide means for educators to identify learning preferences and may suggest methods for instructors to individualize and strengthen their students ’ learning experiences

Detection and Prevention of Overinflation of the Tracheal Tube Cuff During Surgery at a Tertiary Care Hospital

The 63rd Annual Medical Student Research Forum at UT Southwestern Medical Center (Tuesday, January 28, 2025; 3-6 p.m.; D1.700 Lecture Hall)BACKGROUND: Excessive pressures (>30 cm H2O) in the cuff of an endotracheal tube can restrict blood flow and damage the tracheal mucosa, leading to short-term adverse events such as sore throat, hoarseness, and bloody cough, as well as long-term complications, including tracheal stenosis, ulceration, necrosis, and rupture [1]. Clinical studies indicate that tracheal cuff pressures are frequently outside the recommended range (20-30 cm H2O), with reported rates of deviation from this range in 60-80% of cases [2]. HYPOTHESIS: This study aims to decrease tracheal cuff overinflation in non-cardiac surgery patients under general anesthesia at Parkland Hospital while simultaneously enhancing anesthesia providers' knowledge of accurate cuff pressure measurement and associated risks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study was conducted in three phases using data collected in the operating rooms of Parkland hospital. In Phase 1, baseline tracheal cuff pressure data were collected from 100 intubated patients. Phase 2 consisted of educational sessions given to anesthesia providers at Parkland that presented our baseline pressure readings and then demonstrated optimal cuff pressure measurement techniques. In phase 3, manometers were placed in the operating rooms and tracheal cuff pressures were measured in a subsequent sample of 63 patients to assess the intervention's impact 4-16 weeks after its presentation. RESULTS: The incidence of over-inflation decreased by approximately 50%, from 90% pre-intervention to 44% post-intervention (P<0.0001). The mean cuff pressure decreased from 76.8 Cm H2O to 37.6 Cm H2O (p<.0001). The variability in cuff pressures also decreased after intervention (standard deviation 45.3 Cm H2O and 23.5 Cm H2O pre- and post-intervention, respectively). A manometer was used in 59% of the cases after the intervention, compared to 1% of the cases before the presentation. CONCLUSION: Our intervention successfully reduced the incidence of tracheal cuff overinflation in patients undergoing general anesthesia at Parkland Hospital.Southwestern Medical Foundatio

Professional Services Provided By Texas Education Service Centers To Promote Improvement In Texas Public Schools-A Descriptive Study

This descriptive study of the twenty regional Education Service Centers in Texas is an exploratory analysis of programs and services that promote school improvement. Data collected from each service center website enabled the researcher to determine which programs and services are available to school districts and also allowed the researcher to analyze the similarities and differences of the programs and services among the twenty ESCs. The study also compared the numbers of programs provided by each service center along with the number of school districts, schools, and students served by Education Service Centers. The data revealed that Education Service Centers serve different numbers of students and districts and they assist schools through a variety of special program support, state and federal funding issues, educator certification programs, and professional development training that are designed to support the teaching and learning process in school districts. Although the number of programs and services vary among the twenty Education Service Centers, they do provide similar programs and services that are effective and provide sustainable systemic support for school improvement throughout their region particularly when it comes to statewide initiatives and areas of federal and state compliance issues and the improvement of student achievement. Throughout the state, Education Service Centers prove to be a valuable resource to school districts seeking solutions from knowledgeable and experienced educational professionals. In conclusion, Education Service centers provide a variety of professional services that can assist superintendents, principals, teachers, paraprofessionals, and other district staff in assisting students throughout their district in achieving the highest possible levels of success in every aspect of the school day. However, it is highly critical that both school leaders and Education Service Centers communicate effectively with each other about the needs of the districts and the services that are available to promote school improvement

Neural correlates of indicators of sound change in Cantonese: evidence from cortical and subcortical processes

Across time, languages undergo changes in phonetic, syntactic and semantic dimensions. Social, cognitive and cultural factors contribute to sound change, a phenomenon in which the phonetics of a language undergo changes over time. Individuals who misperceive and produce speech in a slightly divergent manner (called innovators) contribute to variability in the society, eventually leading to sound change. However, the cause of variability in these individuals is still unknown. In this study, we examined whether such misperceptions are represented in neural processes of the auditory system. We investigated behavioral, subcortical (via FFR), and cortical (via P300) manifestations of sound change processing in Cantonese, a Chinese language in which several lexical tones are merging. Across the merging categories, we observed a similar gradation of speech perception abilities in both behavior and the brain (subcortical and cortical processes). Further, we also found that behavioral evidence of tone merging correlated with subjects’ encoding at the subcortical and cortical levels. These findings indicate that tone-merger categories, that are indicators of sound change in Cantonese, are represented neurophysiologically with high fidelity. Using our results, we speculate that innovators encode speech in a slightly deviant neurophysiological manner, and thus produce speech divergently that eventually spreads across the community and contributes to sound change