The present article deals with the problem of combined harvesting of a Michaelis-Menten-type ratio-dependent predator-prey system. The problem of determining the optimal harvest policy is solved by invoking Pontryagin's Maximum Principle. Dynamic optimization of the harvest policy is studied by taking the combined harvest effort as a dynamic…

There exists an increasingly attractive lure of using virtual reality applications for teaching in all areas of education, but perhaps the largest detriment to its use is the intimidating nature of VR technology for non-technical instructors. What are the challenges to using VR technology for the design and development of VR-based instructional…

Difficulties in understanding symbolism have been documented as characteristic of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). In general, virtual reality (VR) environments offer a set of potential advantages for educational intervention in ASD. In particular, VR offers the advantage, for teaching pretend play and for understanding imagination, of it being…

A refined computer paradigm for assessing sexual harassment is presented, validated, and used for testing substantive hypotheses. Male participants were given an opportunity to send sexist jokes to a computer-simulated female chat partner. In Study 1 (N = 44), the harassment measure (number of sexist jokes sent) correlated positively with…

New users of virtual environments face a steep learning curve, requiring persistence and determination to overcome challenges experienced while acclimatizing to the demands of avatar-mediated behavior. Concurrent structured self-reports can be used to monitor the personal affective and cognitive struggles involved in virtual world adaptation to…

To design a series of assessments that could be used to compare the learning gains of high school students studying the cardiopulmonary system using traditional methods to those who used a collaborative computer simulation, called "Mr. Vetro". Five teachers and 264 HS biology students participated in the study. The students were in…

This paper presents findings of a study that evaluated the instructional effectiveness of a problem-based learning module constructed around a computer simulation, "Making Change Happen"[TM]. The "Leading Organizational Change" (LOC) course sought to enable students in a graduate management program in Thailand to learn to lead…

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a computer-assisted emergency preparedness course for school nurses. Participants from a convenience sample (52) of school nurses from New Mexico were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups in an experimental after-only posttest design. Intervention group participants…

This paper describes a study intended to demonstrate how an emerging skill, problem solving with technology, might be measured in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Two computer-delivered assessment scenarios were designed, one on solving science-related problems through electronic information search and the other on solving…

There is a "reality" to being online which we know to be false. We are simultaneously "there" but "not there" as we talk, work and play with others in online spaces. We move between physical and virtual spaces in ways that realise the predictions made for computers in the mid-20th Century and enact scenarios from science fiction. We are left…

"Second Life" (SL) is a three-dimensional (3D) virtual world, and educational institutions are adopting SL to support their teaching and learning. Although the question of how 3D learning spaces should be designed to support student learning and engagement has been raised among SL educators and designers, there is hardly any guidance or…

The practical work component offers unique challenges for university science courses. This is even more pertinent in an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) environment like the Bindura University of Science Education's Virtual and Open Distance Learning (VODL) programme. Effective ODL education should be flexible enough to accommodate science…

This paper presents an overview of the research conducted within a funded Comenius project which aims at developing a virtual European CLIL Resource Centre for Web 2.0 Education. E-CLIL focuses on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), creativity and multiculturalism through digital resources. In this sense, our prior research on CLIL…

Digital educational games (DEGs) possess the potential of providing an appealing and intrinsically motivating learning context. Usually this potential is either taken for granted or examined through questionnaires or interviews in the course of evaluation studies. However, an "adaptive" game would increase the probability of a DEG being…

The inability to navigate independently and interact with the wider world is one of the most significant handicaps that can be caused by blindness, second only to the inability to communicate through reading and writing. Many difficulties are encountered when visually impaired people (VIP) need to visit new and unknown places. Current speech or…