Evaluating use of the SimVenture computer-based business simulation

Objectives The paper evaluates the impact of one of the market-leading computer-based start-up business simulations – SimVenture – using a version of the Rugby Team Impact Framework (RTIF; e.g. Bromley et al., 2012) adapted by the authors for use within an enterprise education context. Four case studies of the use of SimVenture in non-Business School subjects in Higher Education in the UK are described and analysed using the RTIF. Prior Work A survey of entrepreneurship education programmes conducted in 2006 by McKeown et al. concluded that delivery methods proved to be more traditional than anticipated, with few instances of action learning or the use of technology to support learning. Serious games, including business computer-based business simulations, have the potential to support learning by doing (Williams 2011, QAA 2012, Lopes et al. 2013), and have been shown to develop a range of skills including those described as necessary for the 21st Century (Romero et al., 2015). There are, however, few examples in the literature evaluating student-focused impact of business simulations in non-Business School subjects. With increasing calls to spread enterprise and entrepreneurship education to all (Anderson et al, 2014; Young, 2014), can serious games and business simulations such as SimVenture provide an effective solution? Approach Four undergraduate programmes in a range of non-Business subject areas (including computing and information systems; fashion and textiles; and veterinary practice) were selected for in-depth interviews following a literature review and web-based desk exercise to identify examples of practice. Case studies were produced exploring why SimVenture was chosen for use with students; how it was used (make-up of student cohort; size of working groups; number of sessions and over what time period, etc.); how learning was assessed; evaluation of learning and process; and lessons learned by the educator. The impact of SimVenture on student behaviour, learning, and longer term outcomes was analysed using the RTIF. Results The RTIF proved a useful tool for assessing the impact of SimVenture. All case studies reported positive outcomes for students with evidence of increased business and finance knowledge, skills development, and a wider appreciation of career options. Improved attendance and retention rates as a direct result of using SimVenture were also reported at one institution. Suggestions for practice are presented using the case study examples. Implications The results of the research suggest that serious games, in this case business simulations (using SimVenture as a specific example) can have positive outcomes on the student experience and business skills development through learning by doing. Value The paper contributes to the literature on use of computer-based business simulations, providing specific examples of practice that can be used by academics looking to embed enterprise and entrepreneurship education in non-Business subject-specific curricular. It also introduces an adapted framework which can be used to evaluate the impact of enterprise and entrepreneurship education programmes

Chaos and Thermal Noise in a Josephson Junction Coupled to a Resonant Tank

Selected dynamical modes are investigated for the autonomous system formed from a dc biased Josephson junction which is resistively coupled to a resonant tank. A hysteretic zone in the current-voltage characteristic is shown to result from coexisting chaotic and periodic states. The detailed features of these states, including the geometrical structure of the attractors and their basins of attraction, as well as thermally induced transitions between them, are explored

Study of arcuate structural trends in Utah and Nevada using ERTS-1 imagery

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Representing disease courses: An application of the Neurological Disease Ontology to Multiple Sclerosis Typology

The Neurological Disease Ontology (ND) is being developed to provide a comprehensive framework for the representation of neurological diseases (Diehl et al., 2013). ND utilizes the model established by the Ontology for General Medical Science (OGMS) for the representation of entities in medicine and disease (Scheuermann et al., 2009). The goal of ND is to include information for each disease concerning its molecular, genetic, and environmental origins, the processes involved in its etiology and realization, as well as its clinical presentation including signs and symptoms

Pressure Calculation in Polar and Charged Systems using Ewald Summation: Results for the Extended Simple Point Charge Model of Water

Ewald summation and physically equivalent methods such as particle-mesh Ewald, kubic-harmonic expansions, or Lekner sums are commonly used to calculate long-range electrostatic interactions in computer simulations of polar and charged substances. The calculation of pressures in such systems is investigated. We find that the virial and thermodynamic pressures differ because of the explicit volume dependence of the effective, resummed Ewald potential. The thermodynamic pressure, obtained from the volume derivative of the Helmholtz free energy, can be expressed easily for both ionic and rigid molecular systems. For a system of rigid molecules, the electrostatic energy and the forces at the atom positions are required, both of which are readily available in molecular dynamics codes. We then calculate the virial and thermodynamic pressures for the extended simple point charge (SPC/E) water model at standard conditions. We find that the thermodynamic pressure exhibits considerably less system size dependence than the virial pressure. From an analysis of the cross correlation between the virial and thermodynamic pressure, we conclude that the thermodynamic pressure should be used to drive volume fluctuations in constant-pressure simulations.Comment: RevTeX, 19 pages, 2 EPS figures; in press: Journal of Chemical Physics, 15-August-199

Bis (2-pyrimidinyl) disulfide dihydrate: a redetermination

The crystal structure of bis(2-pyrimidinyl) disul®de dihydrate, C8H6N4S22H2O, has been redetermined using CCD diffractometer data. This has allowed for a more precise location of the water H atoms and shows the water molecules forming unusual spiral hydrogen-bonded aqua columns, as well as giving inter-column crosslinks through the pyrimidine N-atom acceptors of the disul®de molecules. The structural chemistry of aromatic disul®des has also been reviewed

An Assessment of Factors Important to Legislators in Budget Decisions; How Much Impact Can Agencies Have?

Budget deliberations represent a dynamic interaction between many actors, including agency officials and legislators. There may be opposing perceptions about the relative importance of various types of information and there are likely many priority items that legislators base their decisions on, which budget officials may, or may not, have the ability to impact or control. Through a survey of state legislators, we first determined the relative importance of 27 items in approving budget proposals. Agency officials were surveyed and asked to rate the degree that they can impact each of the 27 items. We considered how the difference in party affiliation of legislators relates to the type of information they view as important in budget decisions. We then compared the importance ratings of legislators with the impact ratings of budget officials, which led to some recommendations aimed at agency officials

Critical review of the United Kingdoms "gold standard" survey of public attitudes to science

Since 2000, the UK government has funded surveys aimed at understanding the UK public’s attitudes toward science, scientists, and science policy. Known as the Public Attitudes to Science series, these surveys and their predecessors have long been used in UK science communication policy, practice, and scholarship as a source of authoritative knowledge about science-related attitudes and behaviors. Given their importance and the significant public funding investment they represent, detailed academic scrutiny of the studies is needed. In this essay, we critically review the most recently published Public Attitudes to Science survey (2014), assessing the robustness of its methods and claims. The review casts doubt on the quality of key elements of the Public Attitudes to Science 2014 survey data and analysis while highlighting the importance of robust quantitative social research methodology. Our analysis comparing the main sample and booster sample for young people demonstrates that quota sampling cannot be assumed equivalent to probability-based sampling techniques

Lateral Wall Protein Content Mediates Alterations in Cochlear Outer Hair Cell Mechanics Before and After Hearing Onset

Specialized outer hair cells (OHCs) housed within the mammalian cochlea exhibit active, nonlinear, mechanical responses to auditory stimulation termed electromotility. The extraordinary frequency resolution capacity of the cochlea requires an exquisitely equilibrated mechanical system of sensory and supporting cells. OHC electromotile length change, stiffness, and force generation are responsible for a 100-fold increase in hearing sensitivity by augmenting vibrational input to non-motile sensory inner hair cells. Characterization of OHC mechanics is crucial for understanding and ultimately preventing permanent functional deficits due to overstimulation or as a consequence of various cochlear pathologies. The OHCs\u27 major structural assembly is a highly-specialized lateral wall. The lateral wall consists of three structures; a plasma membrane highly-enriched with the motor-protein prestin, an actin-spectrin cortical lattice, and one or more layers of subsurface cisternae. Technical difficulties in independently manipulating each lateral wall constituent have constrained previous attempts to analyze the determinants of OHCs\u27 mechanical properties. Temporal separations in the accumulation of each lateral wall constituent during postnatal development permit associations between lateral wall structure and OHC mechanics. We compared developing and adult gerbil OHC axial stiffness using calibrated glass fibers. Alterations in each lateral wall component and OHC stiffness were correlated as a function of age. Reduced F-actin labeling was correlated with reduced OHC stiffness before hearing onset. Prestin incorporation into the PM was correlated with increased OHC stiffness at hearing onset. Our data indicate lateral wall F-actin and prestin are the primary determinants of OHC mechanical properties before and after hearing onset, respectively

Ontologies for the study of neurological disease

We have begun work on two separate but related ontologies for the study of neurological diseases. The first, the Neurological Disease Ontology (ND), is intended to provide a set of controlled, logically connected classes to describe the range of neurological diseases and their associated signs and symptoms, assessments, diagnoses, and interventions that are encountered in the course of clinical practice. ND is built as an extension of the Ontology for General Medical Sciences — a high-level candidate OBO Foundry ontology that provides a set of general classes that can be used to describe general aspects of medical science. ND is being built with classes utilizing both textual and axiomatized definitions that describe and formalize the relations between instances of other classes within the ontology itself as well as to external ontologies such as the Gene Ontology, Cell Ontology, Protein Ontology, and Chemical Entities of Biological Interest. In addition, references to similar or associated terms in external ontologies, vocabularies and terminologies are included when possible. Initial work on ND is focused on the areas of Alzheimer’s and other diseases associated with dementia, multiple sclerosis, and stroke and cerebrovascular disease. Extensions to additional groups of neurological diseases are planned. The second ontology, the Neuro-Psychological Testing Ontology (NPT), is intended to provide a set of classes for the annotation of neuropsychological testing data. The intention of this ontology is to allow for the integration of results from a variety of neuropsychological tests that assay similar measures of cognitive functioning. Neuro-psychological testing is an important component in developing the clinical picture used in the diagnosis of patients with a range of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, and following stroke or traumatic brain injury. NPT is being developed as an extension to the Ontology for Biomedical Investigations