The Project ‘Art for Learning Art’ in Contemporary Art Museums

Projection‐based augmented reality and virtual reality are used in a visual arts‐based educational project in contemporary art museums from an a/r/tographic perspective. The project ‘Art for Learning Art’ (in Spanish, Arte para aprender arte), at the Museo CajaGRANADA in Granada (Spain) has been developed in collaboration with the University of Granada since 2013. We have employed creative, educational and research methodologies inspired by exhibited works in art museums to encourage visual feedback of visitors participating in collaborative installations. Two such experiences also were produced at the Tate Liverpool Gallery and Museum in March 2018; utilising the methodology of mediation through projection‐based augmented reality and virtual reality, which introduces facets of visual and physical experience that alter the whole experience for the museum's public. By putting on virtual reality headsets, and playing with physical movements, we generate images and change the projections in the museum using projection‐based augmented reality to disrupt the way the public typically moves in the museum. The purpose of the developed interrelations with artworks in the Museo CajaGRANADA and the Tate Liverpool Gallery and Museum was to create collaborative digital images by playing with select artworks exhibited in the museums’ collections. We use this kind of mediation in art museums to develop a visual understanding to provoke learning about art through art creation in a contemporary way. The results are extraordinary as images; they are collaborative artworks, which connect visually with the artworks in the exhibition.     

A conceptual framework to understand student volunteerism

Tertiary Education and Management - This paper develops a conceptual framework to understand the value of an increasing number of university study programmes that send students to the global south...     

Identifying Temporary and Permanent Gaps in Universal Service

This article examines the nature of the gap in household telephone penetration among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. By analyzing historic and current penetration levels of the radio, television, and telephone, it suggests that most information technology gaps are amalgamations of smaller socioeconomic trends and can be discerned and reduced only with careful historical analysis of both technology choices and living patterns. It proposes localized universal service strategies, since the penetration gaps are affected by a complex array of factors more particular to localities than to the country as a whole and as such must be investigated with rigor and caution if progress toward the elimination of penetration gaps is to occur.     

Influence of different sports on bone mass in growing girls

The aim of this study was to analyse whether there are differences in bone mass in girls playing different sports. Two hundred girls (10.6 ± 1.5 years old, Tanner stages I–III) participated in the study and were divided into groups of 40 (swimmers, soccer players, basketball players, handball players and controls). Bone mineral content and bone mineral density (BMD) (whole body and hip) were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The degree of sexual development was determined using Tanner test, and physical activity habits were recorded through a questionnaire designed ad hoc for this research. Girls were divided by pubertal stage and the type of sport. In the prepubertal group, intertrochanteric BMD was significantly higher in both handball and soccer players compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, in the pubertal group, total BMD, mean arms BMD, pelvis BMD, femoral neck BMD, intertrochanteric BMD and Ward’s triangle BMD were significantly higher in soccer and handball players compared with the control group (P < 0.05), and the swimmers showed significantly higher values in the mean arms BMD compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Our data suggest that sport practice during puberty, especially in activities that support the body weight, may be an important factor in achieving a high peak bone mass and improving bone health in girls.     

随机扩增多态性DNA技术研究发现二氧化钛纳米颗粒对西葫芦具有基因毒性

研究目的：二氧化钛（TiO2）纳米颗粒已经广泛应用于化妆品、防晒霜、涂料和牙膏等。这些纳米颗粒性质非常稳定,能在废水和生物固体中转移和分散。现有研究表明,TiO2纳米颗粒对动物正常生理活动具有毒性等负面作用。但是,它们对植物是否具有毒性特别是是否会产生植物基因毒性至今尚不清楚。因此,本文使用随机扩增多态性DNA技术研究TiO2纳米颗粒是否对西葫芦具有基因毒性,为TiO2纳米颗粒排放进入环境后的潜在植物毒性风险评价提供依据。 创新要点：首次发现了TiO2纳米颗粒对西葫芦具有基因毒性。 重要结论：采用随机扩增多态性DNA技术,发现TiO2纳米颗粒污染处理的西葫芦样品与未处理样品的基因组DNA图谱相比,不仅在谱带强度有明显差异,而且存在谱带消失和新谱带产生现象,表明TiO2纳米颗粒对西葫芦具有基因毒性。     

An empirical investigation of mobile government adoption in rural China: A case study in Zhejiang province

This study is among the first attempts to empirically investigate the adoption of mobile government by rural populations in developing economies. Based on 409 validated questionnaires collected from families living in rural China, the study examines the interdependences among rural inhabitants' demographic attributes, their access to and perceptions of mobile government, and quantifies how their intention to use mobile government is influenced by technology attributes, social factors and trust beliefs. The results indicate that young males, who live far from a village center or market, and have some knowledge of recent government policies, tend to have a more positive perception of mobile government, and therefore become potential adopters of the service. Perceived ease of use, near-term usefulness, long-term usefulness, integrity, benevolence, image and social influence have significant and positive influences on the intention to use mobile government. Specifically, perceived ease of use, long-term usefulness and social influence have a direct influence on intention to use, while perceived near-term usefulness, integrity, benevolence and image have an indirect influence.     

Discrete-time modeling and control of a boost converter by means of a variational integrator and sliding modes

This work deals with the discrete-time modeling of a boost DC-to-DC power converter by means of a discrete Lagrangian formulation based on the midpoint rule integration method. Then in the basis of this model, a discrete-time sliding mode regulator is designed in order to force the boost circuit to track a DC-biased sinusoidal signal. Simulations and experimental tests are carried on where the great performance of the proposed methodology is verified.     

An improved robust stabilization method for discrete-time fuzzy systems with time-varying delays

This note focuses on the robust stabilization of discrete-time fuzzy uncertain systems with time-varying delays under a delayed nonparallel distributed compensation scheme. The key idea is twofold: first, the linear matrix inequalities (LMI) proposed here are shown to generalize some previous similar results available in recent literature, and second, the design of control parameters is decoupled from the proposed fuzzy-basis dependent Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (FBDLKF) by means of Finsler?s lemma. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of this method.     

A pictorial view of the physical activity socialization of young adolescents outside of school

Childhood obesity prevention has fallen short of anticipated impact. Therefore, intervention programs need to be redirected to other potential settings to increase youth physical activity. This qualitative study, using autodriven interview techniques, was conducted to identify out-of-school settings that youth perceive as important for physical activity. Sixty-six children took photographs involving their physical activity involvement. A subsample completed follow-up focus groups. Salient themes included types of physical activities related to free play, fitness, organized sports, and chores. Most photographs included multiple children of similar age and were taken outdoors. Data suggest children associate chores with physical activity and engage in fitness-related activities. In addition, friends and family, the outdoors, and importantly, the home emerged as natural intervention components that may prove useful towards decreasing the physical inactivity and obesity of youth.     

Comparison of anxiety levels of students in introductory earth science and geology courses

Students in geology and earth science courses were not anxious about taking these courses as measured by the State-Triat Anxiety Inventory. Students in each course were split into two grade groups. It was shown that students whose grades were in the higher group had low anxiety, which continued to be reduced during the course. Students in the lower grade group had high anxiety, which increased during the course. There was no difference between anxiety scores of males and females. In general, students who planned to elect additional courses had lower state anxiety and higher grades than students who did not plan to elect additional courses in geology and earth science.