Search results for " environments"
showing 10 items of 216 documents
Experimental evolution of evolutionary potential in fluctuating environments
2023
Variation is the raw material for evolution. Evolutionary potential is determined by the amount of genetic variation, but evolution can also alter the visibility of genetic variation to natural selection. Fluctuating environments are suggested to maintain genetic variation but they can also affect environmental variance, and thus, the visibility of genetic variation to natural selection. However, experimental studies testing these ideas are relatively scarce. In order to determine differences in evolutionary potential we quantified variance attributable to population, genotype and environment for populations of the bacterium Serratia marcescens. These populations had been experimentally evo…
Intraguild interactions between egg parasitoids: window of opportunity and fitness costs for a facultative hyperparasitoid.
2013
We investigated intraguild interactions between two egg parasitoids of Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), Ooencyrtus telenomicida (Vassiliev) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), as the former has the potential to be a facultative hyperparasitoid of the latter. We assessed the suitability of N. viridula eggs for the development of O. telenomicida as a function of egg age when they were unparasitized, or had been attacked by T. basalis at different times prior to exposure to O. telenomicida females. Ooencyrtus telenomicida can exploit healthy N. viridula host eggs up to 5 days of age, just prior to the emergence of N. viri…
New cropping systems in semi-arid Mediterranean environments: potential role of medicinal and aromatic plants
2005
The semi-arid Mediterranean environments represent somehow “fragile” ecosystems, whose correct management needs some special attention. It is crucial therefore to study and point out some innovative farming systems able to deal with an income for workers, but in the meantime environmentally friendly and requiring the minimum energetic and technical inputs. In such sense, the cultivation of some selected medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) could be an important strategy. In our work we made an attempt to to sketch a comprehensive evaluation of the input levels required by 23 selected herbaceous MAPs, taking into consideration the indicative average levels of the energetic (including manpowe…
Involving students in the redesign of learning environments conducive to learning and wellbeing
2014
Increased understanding of the interrelations between overall wellbeing and learning calls for a holistic and multidisciplinary learning environment (LE) design. Considering learners’ perception in the design of LE supportive to learning and wellbeing is expected to positively influence (a) the design quality, (b) participatory organizational culture, and (c) learning. The nature of this process creates contradictions and difficulties, however. Stand-alone co-design efforts may convert into pseudo-consultation without actual effects; neither is it easy to consider various stakeholders’ perceptions in a balanced manner. And if not planned carefully, instead of experiencing learning benefits,…
Life's Learning Path Towards Cross-disciplinary Competencies : An Assessment
2016
At the moment, the changes affecting school and education are topics of discussion more than ever before. The new core curriculum for basic education (2014) and digitalization of learning tools serve as major ignitors of discussion: nowadays information and communication technology reach the teacher and the pupil elsewhere, not just in the ICT class of the school - it moves wirelessly everywhere, backpacks and pockets too. The change in school and in education is not only the new introduction of premises, places or tools but also above all the updating of the teachers' professionality to correspond with today's ideas of good learning and of realizing the curriculum as a part of the pupil's …
DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING A BIG OPEN ONLINE COURSE BY USING A 3D VIRTUAL IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENT – LESSONS LEARNED
2017
Open Education (OE) is a distance learning approach that was strategically chosen by the European Commission (EC) to encourage cost-effective training, upskilling and reskilling of large population groups and workforce with speed and flexibility. Institutions and businesses design and offer Open Online Courses (OOCs) to address skill gaps, organizational and societal needs. OOCs and especially Massive OOCs (MOOCs) are suffering from high rates of attrition, which is attributed to various factors such as learner isolation and lack of motivation to complete the course. Recommendations to address the retention gap in MOOCs include adopting a participation-driven approach, using game design tec…
Recovering quantum correlations in classical environments without backaction: observation and interpretation
2014
Quantum correlations (entanglement, discord, nonlo-cality) present in a composite quantum system are essential resources for quantum information processing [1, 2]. However, the exploitation of these quantum resources is jeopardized by the detrimental effects of the environment surrounding the quantum system. For instance under Markovian noise, they decay asymptotically or disappear at a finite time [3, 4]. This drawback leads one to look for conditions where quantum correlations can be recovered during the evolution. To this aim non-Markovian noise, arising from strong couplings or structured environments, has been shown to be fundamental because of its memory effects. In fact, in the case …
Design framework and principles for learning environment co-design: Synthesis from literature and three empirical studies
2021
Funding Information: The research was funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation through the Indoor Environment Program (2011?2014), the Finnish Cultural Foundation?s Central Finland Regional Fund (2013?2018), and the Finnish Foundation for Municipal Development (2020?22). Funding Information: Funding: The research was funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation through the Indoor Environment Program (2011–2014), the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Central Finland Regional Fund (2013–2018), and the Finnish Foundation for Municipal Development (2020–22). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The need for en…
Comparing Guidance via Implicit and Explicit Model Progressions in a Collaborative Inquiry-Based Learning Environment with Different-Aged Learners
2022
There is a need for research on the effect of different types of model progressions and learner age on learning and engagement in inquiry-based science settings. This study builds on the Scientific Discovery as Dual Search model to introduce less specific implicit model progression and compares them to the traditional explicit model progression. The data come from Finnish 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds collaboratively using two different configurations of an inquiry-based learning environment about balance. Balance scale tasks were used to assess learning. Students also rated their situation-specific engagement. Both types of model progressions were beneficial for learning but there was no diffe…
Development of pedagogical design in technology-rich environments for language teaching and learning
2015
This study explores the development of pedagogical design for language teaching and learning in increasingly technology-rich environments. More specifically, it focuses on the process of design, enactment and analysis of language and literacy pedagogies in technology-rich environments. Two substudies are reported in five articles, each of which approaches pedagogical design from a different perspective. The first substudy examined (a) what pedagogical choices language students make in regard to learning objectives, working modes, materials and assessment, and (b) what kind of experiences, attitudes and perceptions were behind these choices. The second substudy focused on developing a design…