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The increase in education data and advance in technology are bringing about enhanced teaching and learning methodology. The emerging field of Learning Analytics (LA) continues to seek ways to improve the different methods of gathering, analysing, managing and presenting learners' data with the sole aim of using it to improve the student learning experience and the study environment. In this paper, we try to explore the concept and salient features of LA potential in higher education and suggest strategies on how this emerging field can make use of data mining techniques alongside learners' data to produce useful and informed decision making. Using the Technology-Organisation-Human frameworks, the paper investigates the roadmap for successful implementation of LA in higher Educational Institutions.

Rattlesnake Cave is located on the western shore of Lake Abert in the northern Great Basin of southeast Oregon, one of hundreds of archaeological sites in the Lake Abert/Chewaucan Basin. The site was dug by collectors in the 1950s, and recovered materials were donated to the Fort Rock Valley Historical Society and Homestead Museum in the early 1990s. We analyze 77 artifacts in the assemblage, which includes cordage, basketry, moccasins, as well as wood, bone, and stone tools. We report new radiocarbon (14C) dates for the site, and the results of energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) on one basalt and nine obsidian bifaces, matching their chemical signatures to regional geologic sources. We discuss the place of Rattlesnake Cave in the broader context of the northern Great Basin while demonstrating how museum collections may contribute to addressing anthropological research questions.

This paper explores a number of key issues that have been identified as being important in the identification and evaluation of best practice within the context of e-learning and virtual campuses. The "Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses" (PBP-VC) project is a two year European Commission Education Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) co-financed project that is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and success factors underlying the implementation and sustainability of virtual campuses. The PBP-VC project team have been working with stakeholders from a number of large virtual campus projects across Europe in identifying and exploring key issues relating to best practice and sustainability. The importance of developing a practical framework for identifying, evaluating and promoting best practice in virtual campuses and e-learning can be demonstrated by the significant number of high profile e-learning and virtual campus failures both within Europe and globally. In many cases their failure has been quite spectacular with millions of dollars being wasted as a result some quite basic errors in overlooking key best practice issues that have occurred across several large-scale projects. This paper will provide a description of the different issues relating to models for best practice and sustainability that has been developed by the PBP-VC project. (Contains 7 figures.)

The study of database systems is typically core in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes related to computer science and information systems. However, one component of this curriculum that many learners have difficulty with is database analysis and design, an area that is critical to the development of modern information systems. This paper proposes a set of principles for the design of a games-based learning environment to help the learner develop the skills necessary to understand and perform database analysis and design effectively. The paper also presents some preliminary results on the use of this environment.

Adovasio et al. (1986) described Early Holocene basketry from the northern Great Basin as "simple twined and undecorated." Cressman (1986) reported the presence of decorated basketry during the Early Holocene, which he characterized as a "climax of cultural development" in the Fort Rock Basin in Oregon. These contrasting interpretations are the product of relatively small basketry assemblages reliably dated to the Early Holocene from this area, as well as the questionable recovery context of some critical specimens. We report on the direct AMS dating of a number of basketry specimens central to this issue. Early Holocene basketry from the northern Great Basin does include decorated and complex structures; however, since most of the dated specimens fall toward the end of the Early Holocene, the evidence presented here does not provide definitive closure to the issue.

The source direction of obsidian artifacts from archaeological contexts in Drews Valley, located on the northwestern Great Basin perimeter, provides evidence for an east-to-west shift in procurement or interaction spheres from Middle to Late Holocene times. For Elko and earlier periods, sources located to the northeast, in Oregon 's Chewaucan Basin, are predominant, and most of the remaining exotic obsidian is from other Great Basin sources, primarily from the Goose Lake basin to the southeast. Within the last ca. 1,300 years, sources on the Modoc Plateau to the southwest predominate, while sources in the Chewaucan and other easterly basins are rare. This shift, precipitated by a combination of factors that may have included environmental stress, conflict, and changing economic opportunities, may mark the initiation of the ethnographic pattern.

Newer approaches such as games-based learning (GBL) and games-based construction are being adopted to motivate and engage students within the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) in Scotland. GBL and games-based construction suffer from a dearth of empirical evidence supporting their validity as teaching and learning approaches. To address this issue this paper will present the findings of observational research at PE level using Scratch as a tool to construct computer games. A list of criteria will be compiled for reviewing the implementation of each participant to gauge programming proficiency. The study will review 29 games from Primary 4 to Primary 7 level and will present the overall results and results for each individual year. This study will contribute to the empirical evidence in games-based construction by providing the results of observational research across different levels of PE and will provide pedagogical guidelines for assessing programming ability using a games-based construction approach.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure remains a global health burden, and patients hospitalized are particularly at risk, but genetic associates for subsequent death or rehospitalization are still lacking. METHODS: The genetic substudy of the ASCEND-HF trial (Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide in Decompensated Heart Failure) was used to perform genome-wide association study and transethnic meta-analysis. The overall trial included the patients of self-reported European ancestry (n=2173) and African ancestry (n=507). The end point was death or heart failure rehospitalization within 180 days. Cox models adjusted for 11 a priori predictors of rehospitalization and 5 genetic principal components were used to test the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms and outcome. Summary statistics from the 2 populations were combined via meta-analysis with the significance threshold considered P<5×10-8. RESULTS: Common variants (rs2342882 and rs35850039 in complete linkage disequilibrium) located in FGD5 were significantly associated with the primary outcome in both ancestry groups (European Americans: hazard ratio [HR], 1.38; P=2.42×10-6; African ancestry: HR, 1.51; P=4.43×10-3; HR in meta-analysis, 1.41; P=4.25×10-8). FGD5 encodes a regulator of VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)-mediated angiogenesis, and in silico investigation revealed several previous genome-wide association study hits in this gene, among which rs748431 was associated with our outcome (HR, 1.20; meta P<0.01). Sensitivity analysis proved FGD5 common variants survival association did not appear to operate via coronary artery disease or nesiritide treatment (P>0.05); and the signal was still significant when changing the censoring time from 180 to 30 days (HR, 1.39; P=1.59×10-5). CONCLUSIONS: In this multiethnic genome-wide association study of ASCEND-HF, single-nucleotide polymorphisms in FGD5 were associated with increased risk of death or rehospitalization. Additional investigation is required to examine biological mechanisms and whether FGD5 could be a therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radical reform in education has happened in Scotland by introducing a new curriculum known as the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). This new curriculum promotes active learning, including use of digital games-based learning (DGBL) technology. This paper presents the findings from a survey which aimed to gauge the use of DGBL in Scottish primary schools and to assess how such an approach fits within the CfE from the teachers' perspective. The trends identified from this survey are discussed in relation to the teachers' views and motivation to DGBL. Despite obtaining positive responses on many aspects of DGBL, the survey shows that the application of this approach is still limited and requires an in-depth study on how to make it more popular and effective for primary school teachers. The findings from this research will make an important contribution to the empirical evidence of games-based learning particularly with regard to its application in primary school education.

This paper reports on the work of a European Commission DG Education and Culture co-financed project PBP-VC, Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses, which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and critical success factors underlying the implementation of virtual campuses. The paper outlines a tentative model of issues underpinning best practice in virtual campuses derived from an initial literature-based investigation of existing virtual campus initiatives within the European Union. It is proposed that the tentative model will build upon key principles that have been identified for the development of an online constructivist learning environment based on problem-based learning and on a suitable model for knowledge construction and evolution. The tentative model comprises five main areas that can be viewed as being interrelated: (1) Organizational issues; (2) Technological issues; (3) Pedagogical Issues; (4) Financial Issues; and (5) Consolidation Issues. At a meta level the authors hypothesize the presence of the sustainability issue. The project is working towards developing a practical framework to help guide the process of creating best practice in virtual campuses, as well as raising awareness of issues and approaches to creating sustainable virtual campuses. In addition to the investigation of European Union virtual campus projects, the paper will consider virtual campus projects outside the European Union (e.g. North America, Asia, Africa) in order to identify best practices and explore the use of constructivist learning environments. The last phase of the PBP-VC project will be to conduct in depth face-to-face research with specific virtual campus projects and initiatives in order to learn more about the issues that underpin best practice, as well as sending out detailed questionnaires to virtual campus projects and initiatives throughout the European Union, as well as beyond. The detailed framework for best practices built upon the principles for the development of an online constructivist learning environment based on problem-based learning highlighted in this paper will be at last developed and refined. (Contains 2 figures, 2 tables, and 1 note.

The contributions of this research center on two major areas: delineation of a new model of distance education in which the authors identify three generations of eLearning; and examination of how eLearning and games-based eLearning technologies can be used to enrich the Information Systems (IS) learning experiences of students with different learning styles. Before considering these contributions, some background material on eLearning is useful. eLearning has profoundly changed many aspects of society and, inevitably, it is having a significant impact on Higher Education, where it has now evolved from a marginal form of education to a commonly accepted alternative to traditional face-to-face education. The term can cover different delivery models ranging from courses that are delivered fully online (no face-to-face meetings) to courses that provide some face-to-face interaction and some online provision (sometimes called "blended learning"). Within this continuum interactive technologies can play a significant role in engaging the learner and providing a rich learning experience. The authors highlight some key educational merits of eLearning and games-based eLearning and highlight a number of examples where games-based eLearning has been applied elsewhere in the areas of management and administration, and business. This paper provides a new model for distance education in which the authors identify three generations of eLearning. The first generation was concerned mainly with the passive use of the Internet. The second generation was characterized by more advanced technologies such as eAssessment and Virtual Learning Environments. The current third generation of eLearning is focused more on collaborative learning environments based on areas such as reflective practice through tools like ePortfolios, blogs, wikis and interactive technologies such as games and simulations, as well as mLearning technologies. This paper also examines how eLearning and games-based eLearning technologies can be used to enrich the Information Systems (IS) learning experiences of students with different learning styles. The field of IS is a diverse and evolving area of study which draws upon a wide range of disciplines and skills. IS can be considered to be a "wicked problem", characterized by in- complete, contradictory, and changing requirements, with solutions that are difficult to recognize. As a result, teaching IS presents many difficulties and challenges since students often have problems and difficulty in handling ambiguity and vagueness often characterized with IS problem situations. In addition, students often have considerable difficulty in analysing problems where there is no single, simple well-known correct solution. As a result of these difficulties, the authors have utilised eLearning technologies and concepts and more latterly games-based eLearning as a means of overcoming these types of difficulties in teaching IS to students in a postgraduate MSc Management of eBusiness course. This is an area that does not appear to have looked into in much detail elsewhere in the IS and education literature. The authors consider that computer games have highly desirable qualities and build on theories such as motivation, constructivism, situated learning and problem-based learning. In this paper, the authors describe the development of the eLearning and games-based eLearning applications as applied to the MSc students and highlight the contribution that such technologies can make to overcome the difficulties in teaching IS such as: (1) providing a challenging and complex real-world environment within which to apply their theoretical knowledge; (2) overcoming difficulties in dealing with ambiguity and vagueness; (3) developing and applying transferable analytical and problem-solving skills; (4) developing self confidence and increased motivation; and (5) allowing students time to reflect upon their practice and develop metacognitive strategies capable of adapting to new and evolving situations. The final section of paper identifies areas of further direction such as developing a less sophisticated virtual games environment that is easier to adapt and is less resource intensive and thus better able to meet the needs and financial constraints found in higher education. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Within many educational institutions across the world, the delivery of undergraduate and post-graduate courses is facilitated by online learning technologies. The development and transformation of traditional academic courses for online learning delivery provides a number of opportunities for both the academic institution and prospective students. However, there are a number of important issues that need to be addressed if online learning is to contribute to the educational experience. Over the past four years, two online Masters Degree programmes, namely "Management of eBusiness" and "IT with Web Technology", have been developed and delivered at the University of Paisley in Scotland. Much of the content of these two programmes have also been delivered using more traditional, face-to-face methods, thus enabling the authors to compare both modes of learning and delivery over a number of years. The authors identified a number of factors related to enhancing student performance among online learners. These factors are both educational and social in nature and include experienced learners studying strategically, self-sufficient learners, flexibility of access to learning materials, learner control over the pace of study and assessments aimed at developing greater learner reflection. This paper explores these factors, highlighting a number of lessons learnt, as well as putting forward some recommendations that will be of interest to readers who are themselves involved in the development and delivery of online learning programmes. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)