Q-Learning-Based Teaching-Learning Optimization for Distributed Two-Stage Hybrid Flow Shop Scheduling with Fuzzy Processing Time

Two-stage hybrid flow shop scheduling has been extensively considered in single-factory settings.However,the distributed two-stage hybrid flow shop scheduling problem(DTHFSP)with fuzzy processing time is seldom investigated in multiple factories.Furthermore,the integration of reinforcement learning and metaheuristic is seldom applied to solve DTHFSP.In the current study,DTHFSP with fuzzy processing time was investigated,and a novel Q-learning-based teaching-learning based optimization(QTLBO)was constructed to minimize makespan.Several teachers were recruited for this study.The teacher phase,learner phase,teacher’s self-learning phase,and learner’s self-learning phase were designed.The Q-learning algorithm was implemented by 9 states,4 actions defined as combinations of the above phases,a reward,and an adaptive action selection,which were applied to dynamically adjust the algorithm structure.A number of experiments were conducted.The computational results demonstrate that the new strategies of QTLBO are effective;furthermore,it presents promising results on the considered DTHFSP.

WHAT DO TEACHERS BRING TO THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS?

This article, from the point of view of psychology, considers ways in which teachers seek to make sense of the learning process and suggests that their beliefs about learning and learners will have a profound influence on their teaching no matter what syllabus or course book they use. However, an understanding of what makes an effective teacher is inevitably more complex than this.

Engagement in clinical learning environment among nursing students: Role of nurse educators

Student engagement in a clinical learning environment is a vital component in the curricula of pre-licensure nursing students, providing an opportunity to combine cognitive, psychomotor, and affective skills. This paper is significant in Arab world as there is a lack of knowledge, attitude and practice of student involvement in the new clinical learning environment. The purpose of this review article is to describe the experiences and perspectives of the nurse educator in facilitating pre-licensure nursing students’ engagement in the new clinical learning environment. The review suggests that novice students prefer actual engagement in clinical learning facilitated through diversity experiences, shared learning opportunities, student-faculty interaction and active learning. They expressed continuous supervision, ongoing feedback, interpersonal relationship and personal support from nurse educators useful in the clinical practice. However, the value of this review lies in a better understanding of what constitutes quality clinical learning environment from the students’ perspective of engagement in evidence-based nursing, reflective practice, e-learning and simulated case scenarios facilitated by the nurse educators. This review is valuable in planning and implementing innovative clinical and educational experiences for improving the quality of the clinical teaching-learning environment.

Teacher's Roles in Making Harmonious Class

The present study will focus on teacher's roles, while providing a description of the current "state of the art," as regards the difficulties and problems encountered. In other words, an attempt will be made to trace some of the intrinsic factors that, either positively or negatively, affect teaching and learning habits, with a view to fostering a holistic approach to education and forging constructive, interpersonal relationships in the classroom which can facilitate the educational process.

Hybrid Teaching Learning Approach for Improving Network Lifetime in Wireless Sensor Networks

In a wireless sensor network(WSN),data gathering is more effectually done with the clustering process.Clustering is a critical strategy for improving energy efficiency and extending the longevity of a network.Hierarchical modeling-based clustering is proposed to enhance energy efficiency where nodes that hold higher residual energy may be clustered to collect data and broadcast it to the base station.Moreover,existing approaches may not consider data redundancy while collecting data from adjacent nodes or overlapping nodes.Here,an improved clustering approach is anticipated to attain energy efficiency by implementingMapReduction for regulatingmapping and reducing complexity in routing mechanisms for eliminating redundancy and overlapping.In order to optimize the network performance,this work considers intelligent behaviors’to adapt with network changes and to introduce computational intelligence ability.In the proposed research,improved teaching learning based optimization is used to evaluate the coordinates of target nodes and nodes upgradation for determining energy consumption.Node upgradation is performed by integratingMap reduction to attain modification in Hop size of nodes.This variation reduces communication complexities.Therefore,network lifetime is increased,and redundancy is reduced.While comparingwith existing approaches here,sleep and wake-up nodes are considered for data transmission.The proposed algorithm clearly demonstrates 50%,16%&12%improvement in nodes lifetime,residual energy and throughput respectively compared to other models.Also it shows progressive improvement in reducing average waiting time,average queuing time and average energy utilization as 30%,20%and 46%respectively.Simulation has been done in NS-2 environment for distributed heterogeneous networks.

Online Case Based Self-Study Modules as an Adjunct Learning Tool in Otorhinolaryngology: A Pilot Study

Background/Need for innovation: Undergraduate students in Otolaryngology are on the lookout for easy modes of learning which can help them understand concepts better as well as score more in examinations. A need was hence felt to introduce a new learning resource to supplement traditional teaching-learning methods. Methods: Digital, case based self–study modules were prepared using all open source technology and validated by experts in the specialty. The modules were uploaded on a website specifically created for the purpose. They were pilot tested on twenty consenting third year undergraduate (MBBS) students using a crossover design. Post test comprising of multiple choice questions was administered to the students after a period of two weeks. Feedback was obtained from faculty and students. Results: Test scores were found to be significantly higher amongst students who used the learning modules as a supplement to regular bedside teaching (p < 0.001;Wilcoxon signed rank test). Majority of students agreed that the modules helped them gain confidence during internal assessment examinations and would help revision. Conclusions: Online, case based, self-study modules helped students to perform better when used as a supplement to traditional teaching methods. Students agreed that it enabled easy understanding of subject and helped them gain confidence.

Hybrid algorithms for handling the numerical noise in topology optimization

This paper presents new hybrid methods for the identification of optimal topologies by combining the teaching-learning based optimization(TLBO)and the method of moving asymptotes(MMA).The topology optimization problem is parameterizing with a low dimensional explicit method called moving morphable components(MMC),to make the use of evolutionary algorithms more efficient.Gradient-based solvers have good performance in solving large-scale topology optimization problems.However,in unconventional cases same as crashworthiness design in which there is numerical noise in the gradient information,the uses of these algorithms are unsuitable.The standard evolutionary algorithms can solve such problems since they don’t need gradient information.However,they have a high computational cost.This paper is based upon the idea of combining metaheuristics with mathematical programming to handle the probable noises and have faster convergence speed.Due to the ease of computations,the compliance minimization problem is considered as the case study and the artificial noise is added in gradient information.