From Business Dining To Public Speaking: Tips For Acquiring Professional Presence And Its Role In The Business Curricula

In today’s dynamic business environment, organizations are beginning to realize the importance of teaching business etiquette, not only to enhance their corporate culture, but also to increase productivity and profitability.  Corporations are providing opportunities for executives of today and business leaders of tomorrow to acquire these vital skills.  It is just as important that colleges of business recognize the importance of this “hidden curriculum” and teach it as a vital component of their curricula.  Practical advice is proffered to assist in developing a positive, professional demeanor in students

Siting Wind Energy Projects in Virginia: Recommendations for Addressing National Security Concerns through State Permitting Processes

This white paper first explains the federal and state wind energy siting approval processes and the military’s current involvement in those processes. In particular, the paper focuses on permit-issuing agencies as opposed to policy-making agencies. Parts I and II outline the federal and state permitting process, respectively. In Part III, the paper discusses the military’s concerns regarding wind energy siting. Part IV moves to the current status of Virginia’s onshore and offshore wind industries. Part V analyzes two case studies: Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island and the Pantego Wind Energy Facility in North Carolina. Finally, Part VI synthesizes recommendations to better incorporate Department of Defense (DoD) input into offshore and onshore wind energy siting decisions in the Commonwealth. This abstract has been taken from the authors\u27 introduction

Anatomically Correct: Implementing and Evaluating an Educational Digital Game for Applied Sciences Students

Digital games are a common form of entertainment in modern society and are increasingly prevalent in health education. However, little research has been conducted into their use for delivering anatomy and histology education for health students. This is surprising considering the difficulty many health students have learning anatomy and histology. The study used a mixed methodology, consisting of a controlled trial and qualitative evaluation of learner attitudes towards the digital game. The trial stratified learners into two groups: a digital game group and a multiple-choice quiz group, for one semester. At the end of semester final examination results from the two groups were compared to see if the digital game was a comparable means of revising anatomy and histology subject matter. Additionally, an online survey and semi-structured interviews were used to explore student attitudes towards the digital game. Findings demonstrated that a digital game could be as effective as alternative methods to support revision of anatomy subject matter. Further, results post-intervention survey (n=10) and semi-structured interviews (n=6) showed that students were interested in the use of digital games to support revision and enjoyed their experiences using the digital game during their studies

Methods for managing uncertainly in material selection decisions : robustness of early stage life cycle assessment

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2009.On title page "[Allen]" penciled in.Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-79).Utilizing alternative materials is an important tactic to improve the environmental performance of products. Currently a growing array of materials candidates confronts today's product designer. While life-cycle assessment (LCA) methods provide quantitative input into this selection decision, their implementations are evolving and disparate. The goal of this paper is to explore several major analytical variations of LCA implementations and the implications of these variants across a range of application contexts. Specifically, this thesis examines analytical variations in valuation method and treatment of recycling by exploring allocation methods that affect product end-of-life. An abstracted case study across a range of materials is presented, including materials that exhibit a spectrum in variation of environmental performance and material degradation between primary and secondary applications. To date, research has shown that the amount of recycled material delivered by, or used in, the life cycle of a product will affect the environmental burdens of other product life cycles. However, explicit consideration has not been given to the question of whether end-of-life allocation methods can lead to different materials selection decisions in early stage product development cycles. Similarly stemming from this question is the issue of, if so, how do these allocation methods differentially favor certain material classes? Results indicate that the choice of analytical method as well as its underlying parameters can have substantial impact on individual metrics that determine environmentally preferred material and that there are sets of analytical variation over which strategic results are strongly affected.by Anna L. Nicholson.S.M.S.M.in Technology and Polic

The Predictive Validity of a Text-Based Situational Judgment Test in Undergraduate Medical and Dental School Admissions

PROBLEM: Situational judgment tests (SJTs) can be used to assess the nonacademic attributes necessary for medical and dental trainees to become successful practitioners. Evidence for SJTs' predictive validity, however, relates predominantly to selection in postgraduate settings or using video-based SJTs at the undergraduate level; it may not be directly transferable to text-based SJTs in undergraduate medical and dental school selection. This preliminary study aimed to address these gaps by assessing the validity of the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) text-based SJT. APPROACH: Study participants were 218 first-year medical and dental students from four UK undergraduate schools who completed the first UKCAT text-based SJT in 2013. Outcome measures were educational supervisor ratings of in-role performance in problem-based learning tutorial sessions-mean rating across the three domains measured by the SJT (integrity, perspective taking, and team involvement) and an overall judgment of performance-collected in 2015. OUTCOMES: There were significant correlations between SJT scores and both mean supervisor ratings (uncorrected r = 0.24, P < .001; corrected r = 0.34) and overall judgments (uncorrected rs = 0.16, P < .05; corrected rs = 0.20). SJT scores predicted 6% of variance in mean supervisor ratings across the three nonacademic domains. NEXT STEPS: The results provide evidence that a well-designed text-based SJT can be appropriately integrated, and add value to, the selection process for undergraduate medical and dental school. More evidence is needed regarding the longitudinal predictive validity of SJTs throughout medical and dental training pathways, with appropriate outcome criteria

Observations of shallow methane bubble emissions from Cascadia Margin

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Michel, A. P. M., Preston, V. L., Fauria, K. E., & Nicholson, D. P. Observations of shallow methane bubble emissions from Cascadia Margin. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, (2021): 613234, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.613234.Open questions exist about whether methane emitted from active seafloor seeps reaches the surface ocean to be subsequently ventilated to the atmosphere. Water depth variability, coupled with the transient nature of methane bubble plumes, adds complexity to examining these questions. Little data exist which trace methane transport from release at a seep into the water column. Here, we demonstrate a coupled technological approach for examining methane transport, combining multibeam sonar, a field-portable laser-based spectrometer, and the ChemYak, a robotic surface kayak, at two shallow (<75 m depth) seep sites on the Cascadia Margin. We demonstrate the presence of elevated methane (above the methane equilibration concentration with the atmosphere) throughout the water column. We observe areas of elevated dissolved methane at the surface, suggesting that at these shallow seep sites, methane is reaching the air-sea interface and is being emitted to the atmosphere.Funding for VP was provided by an NDSEG Fellowship. Funding for KF was provided by a WHOI Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship. Ship time on the R/V Falkor was provided by the Schmidt Ocean Institute (FK180824)