IDENTIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY CURIOSITY AND KNOWLEDGE ABSORPTIVE CAPABILITY IN AN AUGMENTED REALITY SMART CLASS

Augmented reality (AR) is changing today’s education landscaping by bringing an innovative immersive experience to actively engage learners and unlocking their knowledge absorptive capabilities (KAC) for innovation. Through the theoretical lens of technology curiosity (TC) and KAC, this research attempts to identify the relationship between TC and KAC in an AR-enabled smart class, and thereafter how this relationship impacts learning performance. Accordingly, we designed a two-phase research study, and recruited 93 participants for the first pilot study. The study is currently ongoing, and we expect this study will provide some useful insights to the adoption of AR technologies for both research and practice in this area

A mixed methods examination of the influence of social culture on perceptions of culturally adaptive behaviours and trustworthiness in work settings

A mixed-methods approach was used to assess the role of trustworthiness in cross-cultural business partnerships. In Study One, qualitative responses from 100 undergraduate students (50 Canadian, 50 Taiwanese) were analyzed to identify cultural similarities and differences in their perceptions of a trustworthy person, employee, and supervisor/employer. Respondents from both countries used descriptors that fit the ability, benevolence, and integrity framework to describe trustworthy individuals. However, comparison between countries and between targets (i.e., person, employee, supervisor/employer) revealed differences in the frequency with which certain types of descriptors were used. Additionally, dimensions of trustworthiness not included in the ability, benevolence, and integrity framework were identified, some of which were unique to a specific culture. In Study Two, quantitative analyses (i.e., multiple and hierarchical regression analyses) were conducted to examine the relationship between perceptions of trustworthiness and power dynamics within a partnership (antecedent), engagement in cultural adaptive behaviours (mediator), self-construals (moderator), and willingness to negotiate (outcome variable). 185 respondents (111 from Canada and 74 from Taiwan) experienced in cross-cultural business interactions completed an online survey. Results demonstrated that power directly influenced perceptions of trustworthiness, and engagement in culturally adaptive behaviours partially mediated the relationship between power (mediated and non-mediated) and perceptions of trustworthiness. Similarly, level of interdependent self-construal was found to moderate the relationship between respondents’ engagement in culturally adaptive behaviours and perceptions of their own trustworthiness. A positive relationship was found between perceptions of partner trustworthiness and respondents’ willingness to engage in negotiations with that partner. Findings are discussed

Breaking Constraint: Axial Patterning in Trichechus (Mammalia: Sirenia)

Meristic variation is often limited in serially homologous systems with high internal differentiation and high developmental modularity. The mammalian neck, an extreme example, has a fixed (at seven) count of diversely specialized segments. Imposition of the mammalian cervical constraint has been tentatively linked to the origin of the diaphragm, which is muscularized by cells that migrate from cervical somites during development. With six cervical vertebrae, the genus Trichechus (manatee) has apparently broken this constraint, although the mechanism of constraint escape is unknown. Hypotheses for the developmental origin of Trichechus cervical morphology include cervical rib 7 repatterning, a primaxial/abaxial patterning shift, and local homeosis at the cervical/thoracic boundary. We tested predictions of these hypotheses by documenting vertebral morphology, axial ossification patterns, regionalization of the postcranial skeleton, and the relationship of thoracic ribs to sternal subunits in a large data set of fetal and adult Trichechus and Dugong specimens. These observations forced rejection of all three hypotheses. We propose alternatively that a global slowing of the rate of somitogenesis reduced somite count and disrupted alignment of Hox-generated anatomical markers relative to somite (and vertebral) boundaries throughout the Trichechus column. This hypothesis is consistent with observations of the full range of traditional cervical morphologies in the six cervical vertebrae, conserved postcranial proportions, and column-wide reduction in count relative to its sister taxon, Dugong. It also suggests that the origin of the mammalian cervical constraint lies in patterning, not in count, and that Trichechus and the tree sloths have broken the constraint using different developmental mechanisms

Direct measurement of neutrons induced in lead by cosmic muons at a shallow underground site

Neutron production in lead by cosmic muons has been studied with a Gadolinium doped liquid scintillator detector. The detector was installed next to the Muon-Induced Neutron Indirect Detection EXperiment (MINIDEX), permanently located in the T\"ubingen shallow underground laboratory where the mean muon energy is approximately 7 GeV. The MINIDEX plastic scintillators were used to tag muons; the neutrons were detected through neutron capture and neutron-induced nuclear recoil signals in the liquid scintillator detector. Results on the rates of observed neutron captures and nuclear recoils are presented and compared to predictions from GEANT4-9.6 and GEANT4-10.3. The predicted rates are significantly too low for both versions of GEANT4. For neutron capture events, the observation exceeds the predictions by factors of $1.65\,\pm\,0.02\,\textrm{(stat.)}\,\pm\,0.07\,\textrm{(syst.)}$ and $2.58\,\pm\,0.03\,\textrm{(stat.)}\,\pm\,0.11\,\textrm{(syst.)}$ for GEANT4-9.6 and GEANT4-10.3, respectively. For neutron nuclear recoil events, which require neutron energies above approximately 5 MeV, the factors are even larger, $2.22\,\pm\,0.05\,\textrm{(stat.)}\,\pm\,0.25\,\textrm{(syst.)}$ and $3.76\,\pm\,0.09\,\textrm{(stat.)}\,\pm\,0.41\,\textrm{(syst.)}$, respectively. Also presented is the first statistically significant measurement of the spectrum of neutrons induced by cosmic muons in lead between 5 and 40 MeV. It was obtained by unfolding the nuclear recoil spectrum. The observed neutron spectrum is harder than predicted by GEANT4. An investigation of the distribution of the time difference between muon tags and nuclear recoil signals confirms the validity of the unfolding procedure and shows that GEANT4 cannot properly describe the time distribution of nuclear recoil events. In general, the description of the data is worse for GEANT4-10.3 than for GEANT4-9.6.Comment: 29 pages, 22 figures, 4 table

Understanding teacher learning in lesson study through a cultural–historical activity theory lens

Although lesson study (LS) is widely considered a promising approach to teachers' professional development, the variation in teacher learning in LS is not yet well understood. Using a cultural–historical activity theory lens, we identify aspects of LS as a learning activity of significance for teacher learning. Using mixed-methods analysis of questionnaire and interview data drawn from 17 secondary school teachers, we find multiple variables of relevance in relation to teacher learning. This study clearly shows that participants’ understanding of and attitude toward LS are at least as important as how LS is conducted

Impact of Atrial Fibrillation on Stroke‐Related Healthcare Costs

Background: Limited data exist on the economic implications of stroke among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This study assesses the impact of AF on healthcare costs associated with ischemic stroke (IS), hemorrhagic stroke (HS), or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Methods and Results: A retrospective analysis of MarketScan claims data (2005‐2011) for AF patients ≥18 years old with ≥1 inpatient claim for stroke, or ≥1 ED or inpatient claim for TIA as identified by ICD‐9‐CM codes who had ≥12 months continuous enrollment prior to initial stroke. Initial event‐ and stroke‐related costs 12 months post‐index were compared among patients with AF and without AF. Adjusted costs were estimated, controlling for demographics, comorbidities, anticoagulant use, and baseline resource use. Data from 23 807 AF patients and 136 649 patients without AF were analyzed. Unadjusted mean cost of the index event was $20 933 for IS,$59 054 for HS, $8616 for TIA hospitalization, and$3395 for TIA ED visit. After controlling for potential confounders, adjusted mean incremental costs (index plus 12‐month post‐index) for AF patients were higher than those for non‐AF patients by: $4726,$7824, and $1890 for index IS, HS, TIA (identified by hospitalization), respectively, and$1700 for TIA (identified by ED) (all P<0.01). In multivariate regression analysis, AF was associated with a 20% (IS), 13% (HS), and 18% (TIA) increase in total stroke‐related costs. Conclusion: Stroke‐related care for IS, HS, and TIA is costly, especially among individuals with AF. Reducing the risk of AF‐related stroke is important from both clinical and economic standpoints