Category: research

Summary
Autism (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interaction and communication, often impairing individuals for a lifetime. In our study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive brain imaging technique, to identify possible biomarkers for ASD. We hypothesized that there would be significant differences in brain connectivity patterns between the ASD group and the controls. We recorded the brain activity of individuals looking at a stationary colorful image while in the resting state. The resting state refers to the brain activity of a subject when he or she is not engaged in any particular task. We found the ASD group had a high concentration of coherent brain activity in the frontal lobe, while the control group had a high level of coherence in the occipital lobe. Areas of high coherence indicate that the brain is well connected and communicating with many other areas of the brain. In controls, we expected high coherent activity in the occipital cortex, since they were looking at a colorful picture. In the ASD group, we found that the frontal lobe was unusually active. This area is typically used in higher-level cognition. These regions of abnormally high coherent brain activity indicate possible biomarkers for autism. Additionally, the ASD group had a significantly lower overall level of coherence than controls.

 

Frank Wang, Jordan Zhu, Annette E. Richard, Renee R. Lajiness-O’Neill, Susan M. Bowyer

Summary
With the rise of the older adult population worldwide and the rapid advancements in technology, it is becoming more important that senior citizens learn to use new technologies to remain active in society. To facilitate learning, technology-training programs should strive to capture and maintain a high level of engagement among older adults. In order to understand how to design effective technology-training programs, we examined the factors that affect the engagement of older adults as they learn to use technology. The first part of our study consisted of a survey that collected information about their preferences on various factors relating to learning engagement. Responders frequently indicated preferences for morning lessons in a familiar environment, often by teenage or older (over 50 years old) instructors, with a guided hands-on method. The second part of our study recorded the behavior of a group of older adults as they responded to different teaching delivery methods. The results indicated that an interactive lesson style was associated with a significantly higher level of engagement by participants. Older adults in interactive lessons asked more questions and retained course material at a higher rate than those subjected to video and written methods. In summary, these results suggest that many older adults prefer learning in the morning, in a familiar environment, by teenage or 50+ instructors, and with a guided hands-on method. Furthermore, an interactive learning method may increase engagement.

Josh Seides and Tracy Mitzner

 

Factors influencing luxury-product purchase behavior of young Indian and Chinese consumers

Luxury products have enjoyed huge sales growth in Asia in recent decades, particularly due to economic growth in India and China. Although luxury product sales represent a strong indicator of economic confidence among consumers, few studies have focused on this topic in an Asian context. In other words, most studies of luxury-brand purchase behavior have focused on Western cultural contexts, and therefore the applicability of their findings to Asian contexts may be limited. To close this important research gap, this study focuses on cultural differences between young Chinese and Indian consumers in terms of their purchase behaviors toward luxury products because India and China continue to be two major markets for luxury products in Asia. Previous findings show that Chinese consumers’ perceptions are increasingly reflecting those of Western consumers. That is, studies have found Chinese consumers to be more individualistic and hedonistic than Indian consumers. Based on these insights, this study assesses whether these findings can be extended to young consumers’ purchase of luxury products in India and China. According to the results, young Indian and Chinese consumers favorably view luxury products, and there was no significant difference. Both young Indian and Chinese consumers highlighted their self-satisfaction as the most important factor influencing their decision to purchase luxury products, and there was no significant difference between these two groups.

Shuilin Wang, Yuwen Lin, Xiaolin Qi, Zihan Lin

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The perception of online education: A cross-cultural analysis of U.S. and Chinese students

by

S.Wang
J.Du

Abstract

The last decade has seen online degree programs playing an increasingly important role in the field of education, suggesting the potential of online education to become a key solution to limitations of the traditional education system. This suggests a need for a better understanding of how people perceive online education to determine whether online education is a viable option in the field of education and how it can be better facilitated. The respondents generally had favorable attitudes toward online education. The respondents emphasized accessibility as the most important advantage of online education. No respondent reported teacher quality. In terms of the most important disadvantages of online education, U.S. students were most likely to indicate interaction, whereas Chinese students indicated initial stage as the most important disadvantage. Some limitations and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords: Cross-Cultural Analysis, Students, Perception, Online Education, China, U.S.

Summary
Photons from sunlight with energy slightly higher than that of the band gap of silicon create electric current within a photovoltaic (PV) cell. However, many photons from sunlight have either insufficient or excess energy. This study was conducted to find the effect of different photon transmission mediums on the temperature and voltage output of photovoltaic cells. Two different photovoltaic cells were tested under a 20-watt halogen lamp with 6 transmission mediums: 5% NaCl solution, 5% sugar solution, deionized (DI) water, canola oil, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), and the control (air). It was hypothesized that the mediums with higher specific heats would result in relatively lower temperature increases, maintain higher voltages and have increased efficiencies compared to the mediums with lower specific heats. The voltage drop for EVOO, canola oil and air were higher than that of the aqueous solutions such as 5% sugar solution, 5% NaCl, or DI water. The results show an estimated increase of 5-6% in the performance of conventional photovoltaic cells by simply placing a layer of aqueous solution above the PV cell.

Syamantak Payra and Susan Long