The influence of individual cognitive style on performance in management education

This paper reports the outcomes of an empirical study undertaken to explore the possibility that cognitive style may be an important factor influencing performance on certain types of task in management education. Four hundred and twelve final-year undergraduate degree students studying management and business administration were tested using the Allinson-Hayes Cognitive Style Index. Their cognitive styles were then compared with assessment grades achieved for academic modules, the task categories of which were deemed to be consonant with either the wholist/intuitive or the analytic style of working. Overall ability defined by final degree grades was also tested against individuals’ cognitive styles. As expected, students whose dominant cognitive styles were analytic attained higher grades for long term solitary tasks involving careful planning and analysis of information. However, contrary to expectations, performance on tasks believed to be more suited to the wholist/intuitive style was also higher for analytic individuals, as was overall ability defined by final degree grades. The results were discussed in terms of the nature of the tasks and the need for methods of performance assessment that are independent of an orientation bias. Without this, it is argued, employment selection criteria may favour the wrong type of candidate in some circumstances

Ultrasonographic assessment of the rate of solid-phase gastric emptying in dogs

Twelve healthy dogs were used in an ultrasonographic assessment of the effect of the composition of a solid meal on the rate of gastric emptying. The dogs were fasted for nine hours before they were fed either a standard or a high energy density test meal, in a cross-over study design. The gastric antrum was visualised with a 6.5 MHz microconvex transducer, and the area inside the elliptical shape defined by the craniocaudal and ventrodorsal diameters of the stomach was measured. Antral images were acquired at regular intervals for six hours after the ingestion of the test meal. Three indices to describe the rate of gastric emptying were computed: the gastric half-emptying time (t1/2), the time to 50 per cent maximal antral area (t50%), and the time of maximal antral area (tmax). The values of t50% and t1/2 calculated for the high energy density meals were significantly longer than for the standard meals, but there was no significant difference between the tmax value

Características quantitativas da carcaça de cordeiros deslanados Morada Nova em função da relação volumoso:concentrado na dieta Quantitative characteristics of the carcass of Morada Nova lambs fed different dietary ratios of forage and concentrate

Com o objetivo de avaliar a influência da relação volumoso:concentrado sobre a composição tecidual e os rendimentos de carcaça e de cortes comerciais de cordeiros Morada Nova em confinamento, utilizaram-se 18 cordeiros com peso vivo (PV) inicial de 15 kg, distribuídos em seis grupos de três animais (um em cada dieta), de acordo com a relação volumoso(V):concentrado(C): 40:60, 55:45 e 70:30. Foram avaliados os pesos de corpo vazio (PCV), de carcaça quente (PCQ) e de carcaça fria (PCF), a partir dos quais foram calculados os rendimentos biológico (RB), de carcaça quente (RCQ) e de carcaça fria (RCF) e a perda de peso por resfriamento (PPR). A carcaça foi dividida em cinco cortes cárneos (perna, lombo, costelas, paleta e pescoço), os quais foram pesados para cálculo de seus rendimentos em relação ao peso da meia-carcaça. A perna foi dissecada em músculo, osso e gordura e os pesos desses tecidos foram expressos em peso absoluto e em porcentagem da perna. Calcularam-se as relações músculo:osso e músculo:gordura, o índice de musculosidade da perna (IMP) e a área de olho-de-lombo (AOL). O aumento de 30 para 60% de concentrado na dieta elevou os rendimentos de carcaça quente e carcaça fria, assim como o rendimento biológico. Os crescentes teores de concentrado na dieta não afetaram a porcentagem de músculo na perna, mas proporcionaram maior deposição de gordura e maior área de olho-de-lombo.<br>Eighteen lambs averaging initial body weight (BW) of 15 kg were allotted to six groups of three animals (one lamb per diet) and were fed diets with following forage:concentrate ratios (F:C): 1) 40F:60C; 2) 55F:45C; or 3) 70F:30C. Lambs of each group were slaughtered when the animal fed the diet with the highest concentrate level reached 25 kg of BW. Animals were slaughtered after 16 h of fasting (feed and water). After obtaining the slaughter body weight (SBW), animals were anesthetized by electric discharge and killed by bleeding of the carotid arteries and jugular veins. Blood was then collected and weigthed. Soon after evisceration, skin, head and extremities of the fore and rear members were removed. The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was emptied, weighted and the value added to that of blood to obtain the empty body weight (EBW), which was calculated by subtracting SBW from GIT + blood weights. The carcasses were weighted and stored at 4&deg;C within a 24-hours period. The empty body (EBW), hot carcass (HCW) and cold carcass weights (CCW) were all used to calculate the biological (BY), hot carcass (HCY) and cold carcass yields (CCY) as well as the weight loss by cooling process (CWL). The carcass was divided in five cuts (leg, loin, ribs, shoulder clod and neck) that were weighted for calculation of cut yields. The leg was dissected in muscle, bone and fat, and weights of these tissues were expressed in absolute weight and in percentage of leg weight. The muscle:bone and muscle:fat ratios, index of leg muscularity (ILM) and the loin eye area (LEA) were also calculated. Increasing dietary concentrate from 30 to 60% increased not only hot and cold carcass yields but also biological yield. The increasing levels of concentrate in the diet showed no effect on the percentage of leg muscle. However, it was observed an increase in both fat deposition and rib eye area

Rendimento, composição tecidual e musculosidade da carcaça de cordeiros Santa Inês alimentados com diferentes níveis de feno de flor-de-seda na dieta Yield, tissue composition and carcass muscularity of Santa Inês lambs fed diets with different ratios of forage sorghum hay to silk flower hay

Foi avaliada a inclusão de níveis crescentes de feno de flor-de-seda (Calotropis procera SW) (FFS) em substituição ao feno de sorgo forrageiro (Sorghum bicolor, L.) (FSF) na dieta e seus possíveis efeitos sobre os rendimentos verdadeiro, biológico e comercial, a perda ao resfriamento, o rendimento dos cortes, a composição tecidual e a musculosidade da carcaça de cordeiros Santa Inês. Foram utilizados 24 cordeiros (machos não-castrados) distribuídos em um delineamento inteiramente casualisado, com quatro tratamentos (relações FSF:FFS: 100:0, 66:33, 33:66 e 0:100). Os animais foram abatidos com 30,0 (±0,4) kg ou aos 70 dias de experimento. Não houve efeito das relações FSF:FFS na dieta sobre os rendimentos biológico, verdadeiro e comercial, sendo obtidos valores médios de 53,17; 45,97 e 44,34%, respectivamente. Foram observadas diferenças significativas no peso vivo ao abate, no peso de corpo vazio, nos pesos de carcaça quente e de carcaça fria, no rendimento dos cortes, na composição tecidual e na musculosidade da carcaça. À exceção dos cortes paleta e perna, as variáveis apresentaram valores mais elevados quando fornecidos os menores níveis de FFS na dieta. O feno de flor-de-seda pode ser utilizado na alimentação de cordeiros para produção de carne em proporções de até 16,5% da dieta (33% da fração volumosa), pois não ocasiona prejuízo à qualidade da carcaça.<br>This study evaluated the effects of different dietary ratios of forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L) hay (FSH) to silk flower hay (Calotropis procera SW) (SFH) on true, biological, and retail carcass yields, carcass cooling losses, retail cut yields, tissue composition and carcass muscularity of Santa Inês lambs. Twenty-four intact male lambs were assigned to one of the following four treatments: 100:0 FSH:SFH, 66:33 FSH:SFH , 33:66 FSH:SFH, or 0:100 FSH:SFH in a completely randomized design (six animals/treatment). Animals were slaughtered at 30.0±0.4 kg of body weight or at 70 days of experiment. There was no effect of treatments on the biological, true, and retail carcass yields, which averaged, respectively 53.17, 45.97%, and 44.34%. Except for shoulder clod and leg cuts, increasing the dietary levels of SFH significantly reduced the slaughter body weight, empty body weight, hot and cold carcass weights, retail cut yields, tissue composition, and carcass muscularity. It can be concluded that the inclusion of up to 16.5% of the diet DM (33% of the dietary forage) as SFH had no detrimental effect on carcass quality