Search

Background Constructing knowledge through collaborative practical work is a complex process and involves the use of multiple modalities by group members. In practical work sessions, students often manipulate visual objects or textual materials but do not develop their scientific ideas. Purpose This study illustrates (a) the challenges that science students face when they create thematic patterns in a laboratory class and (b) characterises the processes of how students make meaning of practical work activities. Sample Drawing from a video database, we chose to investigate an 80-min chemistry lesson with eight Year 10 students who were unpacking the complex ideas behind practical work. This lesson episode was transcribed multimodally, with snapshots of the pictures of students’ actions and gestures. Methods This study adopts a case-study approach. A multimodal discourse analysis approach was taken to examine the classroom discourse of the students when they were determining the strength of acids and alkalis through electroconductivity. Results We identified various challenges when students integrated gestures, pictures and verbal discourse during the practical work section. These challenges include those when students realise textual and visual modes and those when students associate components of apparatus into a system of functional set-up. Moreover, students cannot construct thematic patterns because they reorient their focus from the domain of ideas to the domain of objects and observables. The study recorded a number of strategies that students use to overcome these challenges that impede their meaning-making. Conclusion The findings of this study contribute to the literature by identifying the challenges and strategies faced by students when they were connecting the scientific ideas with the practical work. When science education researchers advocate an inquiry-oriented approach, they should provide ample scaffolds for these multimodal challenges.

Attention can be oriented in both space and time in response to trial-variant cues when, say, their colour predicts the spatial location and their shape predicts cue-to-target stimulus onset asynch...

In modern scientific research, data are often collected from multiple modalities. Since different modalities could provide complementary information, statistical prediction methods using multi-modality data could deliver better prediction performance than using single modality data. However, one special challenge for using multi-modality data is related to block-missing data. In practice, due to dropouts or the high cost of measures, the observations of a certain modality can be missing completely for some subjects. In this paper, we propose a new DIrect Sparse regression procedure using COvariance from Multi-modality data (DISCOM). Our proposed DISCOM method includes two steps to find the optimal linear prediction of a continuous response variable using block-missing multi-modality predictors. In the first step, rather than deleting or imputing missing data, we make use of all available information to estimate the covariance matrix of the predictors and the cross-covariance vector between the predictors and the response variable. The proposed new estimate of the covariance matrix is a linear combination of the identity matrix, the estimates of the intra-modality covariance matrix and the cross-modality covariance matrix. Flexible estimates for both the sub-Gaussian and heavy-tailed cases are considered. In the second step, based on the estimated covariance matrix and the estimated cross-covariance vector, an extended Lasso-type estimator is used to deliver a sparse estimate of the coefficients in the optimal linear prediction. The number of samples that are effectively used by DISCOM is the minimum number of samples with available observations from two modalities, which can be much larger than the number of samples with complete observations from all modalities. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by theoretical studies, simulated examples, and a real application from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The comparison between DISCOM and some existing methods also indicates the advantages of our proposed method.

The paper documents the final project in an undergraduate seminar on multilingualism at the University of Toronto from a pedagogical perspective. The multimodal and multimedia project – centered on...

The purpose of this study is to identify factors influencing patient preferences for communication from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during natural disasters. The 37-question, probability-based survey collected data from 2,264 VA users living in the Northeast US logistic regression analyses were conducted for top four modalities, and age was identified as the most important predictor of communication preferences. The findings suggest that the use of multiple modalities, such as telephone, television, radio, text, and email is necessary to successfully disseminate information and effectively reach all VA patients in the event of large-scale emergencies.

A 44-year-old COVID-19 positive patient was transferred to our hospital with worsening acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. She was admitted to ICU and was started on high flow oxygen. Her CXR showed worsening bilateral infiltrates. In order to prevent her progression from severe to critical disease, we adopted a multiple modality treatment approach, utilizing clinical judgment and most recent publications. She was treated with antibiotics, convalescent plasma, steroids, hydroxychloroquine and self-proning. After 43 hours, her CXR showed rapid clearing of infiltrates and we could discharge her on day three of hospitalization. Previously reported case series on convalescent plasma showed the number of days taken for significant improvement in chest x-ray varied from 4 to 7 days. The rapidity of improvement in this patient is remarkable and could be due to the multiple modality treatment approach.

Five responses to Raskin and Debany's (this issue) original target article on a constructivist model of ethical meaning making are discussed. The authors responding to the article raise many important issues about constructivist approaches to ethics. Differences between social constructionism and constructivism, the importance of multiple modalities of knowing, and a continuing hope for rapprochement between constructivist and realist perspectives are briefly explored.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) initiates a hypercoagulable state and causes thrombotic complications. A presentation of multiple thromboembolic events without an underlying source should raise suspicion for COVID-19 hypercoagulability. We describe a patient with an ascending aortic thrombus resulting in multiple emboli treated by multiple modalities.

This paper presents an effective integration method of multiple modalities such as depth, color, and reflectance for place categorization. To achieve better performance with integrated multi-modalities, we introduce a novel descriptor, local N-ary patterns (LTP), which can perform robust discrimination of place categorization. In this paper, the LNP descriptor is applied to a combination of two modalities, i.e. depth and reflectance, provided by a laser range finder. However, the LNP descriptor can be easily extended to a larger number of modalities. The proposed LNP describes relationships between the multi-modal values of pixels and their neighboring pixels. Since we consider the multi-modal relationship, our proposed method clearly demonstrates more effective classification results than using individual modalities. We carried out experiments with the Kyushu University Indoor Semantic Place Dataset, which is publicly available. This data-set is composed of five indoor categories: corridors, kitchens, la...

Background: Clinicians often teach persons with aphasia (PWA) non-verbal strategies to compensate for reduced verbal communication. The manner in which they teach the strategies may have an impact on how well PWA generalise and use the strategies. Previously, multimodal communication treatment (MCT) taught multiple modalities simultaneously. While participants demonstrated some increase in the flexible use of strategies, many communication breakdowns continued to occur. Recent research suggests that intensive treatment protocols result in the greatest increase in skills.Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine whether intensive (2–3 hours/day, 5 days/week, for 2 weeks) multimodality communication training for aphasia resulted in increased successful use of verbal and non-verbal communication modalities as well as increased successful communicative repairs during structured communication tasks.Methods & Procedures: Three participants with chronic aphasia completed four baseline sessions, 10 treatme...

Based on the assumption that providing information using multiple modalities improves learners' performance, the teaching of computer-aided design (CAD) in the built environment is increasingly shifting from printed material to a multimedia approach. Yet, the evidence base suggests that presenting information by using multiple modalities does not always enhance learning. This paper reports on an empirically based study that sought to determine under which conditions architectural engineering students benefit most from multimedia CAD learning. It investigated the effects of multimedia on novice CAD learners' practice performance (time and accuracy). One hundred and one students were randomly assigned to four groups to undertake specific CAD learning tasks, with different treatments; media mode (printed-text vs. audio) and the visual mode (static-illustration vs. animation). The results indicated that the audio mode shortened learning time much more than the text mode. Conversely, the text mode enhanced CAD...

Studies of aphasia treatment have shown that intensive speech-language therapy is associated with significant improvements. However, there is no standard definition of intensity and the simplistic notion that "more is better" is not necessarily supported by the research. First, current evidence regarding intensity and aphasia treatment was briefly summarized. Second, studies that directly compare conditions of higher- and lower-intensity treatment for aphasia were reviewed with regard to the inclusion of parameters that contribute to a definition of intensity. In addition to five parameters proposed by Warren, Fey, and Yoder (2007) and highlighted by Baker (2012) , total number of sessions was also often documented. The review illustrated the complexity of quantifying the dose of comprehensive treatments that target multiple modalities and utilize a variety of different strategies. Third, data from a study reporting a relationship between intensive computer-based script training and outcomes in aphasia were examined. Results serve to illustrate Baker's contention that intensity alone is insufficient without also considering the active ingredients of the teaching episode. Information about dose, therapeutic inputs, and client acts can lead to better optimization of an intervention.

This research compares two competing views – the integration view and the interference view – to see whether presenting a brand placement in multiple modalities can enhance its effectiveness. Our results first show that majority of the children can not recall a brand placement embedded in a video game. Our results further demonstrate that presenting a brand placement in a single modality makes children more likely to choose the target brand at test than presenting it in multiple modalities. These results have important implications for both public policy makers and marketing managers.

We have an improved understanding of the pathophysiology and impact of perioperative pain. Targeted interventions to prevent and manage nociception are effective in improving patient satisfaction and surgical outcome. There are many alternatives, each with its own profile of benefits, risks and side-effects. A logical, stepwise, balanced approach utilising multiple modalities is effective, scales easily to the type of surgery, can adapt to changing requirements and resources, and promotes a seamless transition from theatre care to the ward and patient self-reliance.

Besides the internet and the various opportunities it provides for language learning, the multimedia CD-ROM, with its potential for integrating and offering different media in one storage medium, has created quite a stir amongst language teaching professionals in the 90s. The benefits of multiple modalities, online support tools, and instant feedback are believed to have the potential of increasing learner control, motivation, and autonomy. However, a closer look at what is actually available on the market, in this instance the sub-market of Business English multimedia programmes, reveals that many such learning tools fall short of the claims that have been made for them, at least in the eyes of pedagogues. As teachers and students do not always see eye-to-eye as far as the usefulness of particular learning tools and activities is concerned, it seems paramount to let the final user and ultimate target group have their say, as well. The present study focuses on the reactions and comments of 30 students of ...

An interactive treatment planning program for the computation of dose distributions for 125I and 192Ir seed implants of up to 300 sources is described. The seed coordinates are entered using either the keyboard or a sonic digitizer from either orthogonal or stereo films. The program produces a dose matrix which can be displayed and plotted directly or combined with the putput of other treatment planning programs to provide composite plans for treatments using multiple modalities. Seeds of different activities can be combined within a single plan. The program uses two-letter mnemonics for specifying the available options, among which are commands for choosing standard antero-posterior, lateral, and transverse plans.