Teaching Introductory Statistics to Graduate Students in the Social Sciences: A Mixed Method Investigation of the Effectiveness of Simulations in Statistics Education

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of using simulations as an instructional tool in an introductory doctoral level statistics course. The study focuses on the impacts of simulations on students’ attitudes and understanding of statistical concepts, as well as how the simulations could inspire students’ positive attitudes and improve statistics performance or would fail to help. In addition, since the statistics anxiety has been a primary obstacle to students’ statistics education, and “statistics anxiety” is experienced by as many as 80% of graduate students (Onwuegbuzie, 2004). The researcher is interested to explore the details of the statistics anxiety related attitudes of this group of students, including examining their anxiety levels before and after taking the introductory statistics course. If the anxiety levels were not the same, what factors led to the release or acceleration of the statistics anxiety related attitudes after students complete the introductory statistics course. Moreover, the course has a hybrid online or flipped structure, and the target population for this study is social sciences adult learners, with limited background in statistics or mathematics. Given the prevalence of the online course, especially considering the constraints and background of this target population, the researcher is interested to determine the preferred statistics learning style of the social sciences adult learners, whether in-class or online, as well as the factors leading to the particular preference. The mixed method research approach is used in this study, combing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. A total of twenty-two social sciences adult learners is involved in this study, five of which are from the Spring semester, while seventeen of the remaining are from the Fall semester. The quantitative method of Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis test, together with the qualitative method of thematical analysis, produce some impressive findings. The use of simulations could inspire social sciences adult learners’ positive attitudes toward statistics, develop a high self-efficacy, and improve the understanding of the statistical concept of Central Limit Theorem (CLT), even though not significant. In addition, the social sciences adult students’ anxiety levels diminish after they complete the introductory statistics course. Moreover, the online learning style is presently inappropriate for the introductory statistics course for adult learners from social sciences

Ověření aplikovatelnosti pravidel technické analýzy

Technical analysis refers to predicting price trends and strategies for determining investments by studying information from past financial markets, now technical analysis is more and more important for the investors, it can help them to choose the right trading time. The goal of the thesis is to make the verification of the technical analysis based on the historical data, we select six stocks to analyze from Hang Seng Index. In this thesis, we make the verification of technical analysis based on the historical data. We do the verification of technical analysis by using the moving average, Bollinger band, RSI and CR indicator. Then we make the conclusion whether the technical analysis works or not based on the application of those indicators.Technická analýza odkazuje na předvídání cenových trendů a strategií pro určování investic studiem informací z minulých informací finančních trhů. V dnešní době je pro investory stále důležitější technická analýza, která jim může pomoci vybrat si ten správný obchodní čas. Cílem práce je provést ověření technické analýzy na základě historických údajů, vybereme šest akcií, které budeme analyzovat z indexu Hang Seng. V této práci provedeme ověření technické analýzy na základě historických dat. Prověřujeme technickou analýzu pomocí klouzavého průměru, indikátoru Bollingerova pásma, RSI a CR. Nakonec učiníme závěr, zda technická analýza funguje či nikoliv, v závislosti na získanývh výsledcích.154 - Katedra financívelmi dobř

Pengaruh minat beli pelanggan, kualitas layanan, dan harga terhadap keputusan pembelian dengan menggunakan metode pembayaran Shopeepay : studi kasus pada mahasiswa pengguna Shopeepay UIN Walisongo Semarang

Terdapat presentase 16,7% kendala proses top up ShopeePay yang rumit, 40% gangguan pada server ShopeePay, dan sisanya memiliki masalah dalam penanganan keluhan pengguna. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji apakah minat beli, kualitas layanan dan harga berpengaruh terhadap keputusan pembelian. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu penelitian kuantitatif. Populasi penelitian ini adalah seluruh mahasiswa UIN Walisongo Semarang. Metode pengumpulan datanya menggunakan kuisioner dengan sampel 100 orang responden pengguna metode pembayaran ShopeePay pada Mahasiswa UIN Walisongo Semarang. Analisis data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini menggunakan anaisis regresi linear berganda dengan program SPSS. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa variabel minat beli, dan harga berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap keputusan pembelian dengan menggunakan metode pembayaran ShopeePay. Sedangan, kualitas layanan tidak berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap keputusan pembelian dengan menggunakan metode pembayaran ShopeePay pada mahasiswa UIN Walisonge Semaran

A New Method of Multiattribute Decision-Making Based on Interval-Valued Hesitant Fuzzy Soft Sets and Its Application

Combining interval-valued hesitant fuzzy soft sets (IVHFSSs) and a new comparative law, we propose a new method, which can effectively solve multiattribute decision-making (MADM) problems. Firstly, a characteristic function of two interval values and a new comparative law of interval-valued hesitant fuzzy elements (IVHFEs) based on the possibility degree are proposed. Then, we define two important definitions of IVHFSSs including the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy soft quasi subset and soft quasi equal based on the new comparative law. Finally, an algorithm is presented to solve MADM problems. We also use the method proposed in this paper to evaluate the importance of major components of the well drilling mud pump

Unraveling the role of VLDL in the relationship between type 2 diabetes and coronary atherosclerosis: a Mendelian randomization analysis

BackgroundThe causal link between Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary atherosclerosis has been established through wet lab experiments; however, its analysis with Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data remains unexplored. This study aims to validate this relationship using Mendelian randomization analysis and explore the potential mediation of VLDL in this mechanism.MethodsEmploying Mendelian randomization analysis, we investigated the causal connection between T2D and coronary atherosclerosis. We utilized GWAS summary statistics from European ancestry cohorts, comprising 23,363 coronary atherosclerosis patients and 195,429 controls, along with 32,469 T2D patients and 183,185 controls. VLDL levels, linked to SNPs, were considered as a potential mediating causal factor that might contribute to coronary atherosclerosis in the presence of T2D. We employed the inverse variance weighted (IVW), Egger regression (MR-Egger), weighted median, and weighted model methods for causal effect estimation. A leave-one-out sensitivity analysis was conducted to ensure robustness.ResultsOur Mendelian randomization analysis demonstrated a genetic association between T2D and an increased coronary atherosclerosis risk, with the IVW estimate at 1.13 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07–1.20]. Additionally, we observed a suggestive causal link between T2D and VLDL levels, as evidenced by the IVW estimate of 1.02 (95% CI: 0.98–1.07). Further supporting lipid involvement in coronary atherosclerosis pathogenesis, the IVW-Egger estimate was 1.30 (95% CI: 1.06–1.58).ConclusionIn conclusion, this study highlights the autonomous contributions of T2D and VLDL levels to coronary atherosclerosis development. T2D is linked to a 13.35% elevated risk of coronary atherosclerosis, and within T2D patients, VLDL concentration rises by 2.49%. Notably, each standard deviation increase in VLDL raises the likelihood of heart disease by 29.6%. This underscores the significant role of lipid regulation, particularly VLDL, as a mediating pathway in coronary atherosclerosis progression

Investigation on Social Anxiety of Secondary Vocational Students

Objective: To investigate the status quo of social anxiety among secondary vocational students and the differences in demographic variables through the Communication Anxiety Scale (IAS) survey. Methods: A total of 890 students from a secondary vocational school in Changshou District of Chongqing were surveyed with the Communication Anxiety Scale (IAS) to understand the social anxiety of secondary vocational students. Results: The mean score of social anxiety of secondary vocational students was 45.25±9.32. The gender difference of social anxiety in secondary vocational students was significant (P0.05); The social anxiety of secondary vocational students was significantly different in household registration type (P0.05). The difference of social anxiety in family income of secondary vocational students was very significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: The level of social anxiety of secondary vocational students is above the middle level. From the perspective of gender variables, there is a significant difference in the level of social anxiety between male and female students, and the level of social anxiety of male students is significantly lower than that of female students. In terms of grade variables, there was no significant difference in social anxiety in grade variables. From the perspective of the variable of residence type, social anxiety is significantly different between rural students and urban students. The level of social anxiety of rural students is higher than that of urban students. There is no significant difference between only-child and non-only-child in social anxiety. From the perspective of family income level, social anxiety is significantly different among different income families. Students from families with wages higher than the average social level had the lowest level of social anxiety, students from families with wages comparable to the average social level had higher levels of social anxiety, and students from families with wages lower than the average social level had the highest level of social anxiety.

Govedarska proizvodnja - NR Kina i Republika Srbija

The paper presents data on the cattle industry in the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Serbia. China is the third largest dairy producing country and the third largest beef producing country in the world. In 2011, the dairy cow population in China was 14.4 million. Chinese dairy breed is mainly obtained by grading hybridization from Holstein, Simmental, etc. which were introduced from foreign countries, and local cattle breeds for long time to form the offspring with stable genetic characteristics. Currently, the dairy breeds cultured in China mainly include Chinese Holstein, Chinese Simmental, dairy buffalo, Brown cattle, Sanhe cattle, etc. Chinese Holstein accounts for about 80% of the total dairy cattle. From 2000 to 2007, Chinese beef production has always been in a rapid growth phase, with an increase from 5.054 million tons to 6.134 million tons, reached a historical highest level of 6.355 million tons in 2009, but rapidly declined since 2009, and dropped to 5 million tons in 2011. In addition, the amounts of reproduction cow and beef cattle in stock were also declined. In 2011, there were about 32.7 million beef cattle slaughtered, and the beef cattle population was about 80 million at the end of 2011, the beef carcass yield was about 5.5 million tons, the national average carcass weight was 201.5kg/cow, and the production value of beef cattle was about 200.75 billion Yuan. Currently, the amount of reproduction cow in stock declined sharply; the contradiction between the lack of cattle resource and the continued growth of beef consumption is more and more serious. Chinese dairy farming is mainly concentrated in the North, Northeast and Northwest of China, the dairy cows population in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang and Hebei account for 60% of the total population in China; the beef cattle is mainly concentrated in rural areas as Henan, Shandong and Hebei provinces, accounting for 80% of the national amount of slaughtered beef cattle. In recent years, the superior regions of beef cattle breeding have been gradually shifted towards north and southwest. The beef cattle industry in Heilongjiang Province, Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province and Guizhou Province has been developed rapidly. The beef cattle breeding in pastoral areas are mainly concentrated in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Gansu province. Cattle production is important branch of livestock production in Republic of Serbia. Current situation in cattle production is not satisfactory in regard to the production per head and number of heads which has been constantly decreasing in recent years. Based on official statistical data, current situation in cattle production is considered as unfavourable (Bureau of Statistics of Republic of Serbia). Number of cattle in 2011 was 936.000 heads and constantly decreasing over the last 11 years. In this period, number of cattle is reduced by 18%, and number of cows and pregnant heifers by 14%. Data on number and categories of cattle also indicate considerable reduction, so category of cattle at the age of 1 to 2 years has been reduced by 24.5%, and number of calves by 29.2%. Production of cow milk is relatively steady. In 2011 milk production was 1.434.000liters. This can be explained by increased production of milk per cow. Genetic progress in milk traits was achieved by utilization of progeny tested bulls on milk and increased scope of artificial insemination of cows and heifers. Production of meat is in constant decrease which is consequence of reduction of total number of cattle as well as insufficient number of slaughterhouses with EU certificate. Meat production in 2011 was 81.000 t. Our country, although without developed cattle breeding, has been traditional exporter of beef, meat products and fattening young cattle into many countries, even the most developed ones, for instance Italy and Greece. Export of beef was in expansion prior to Italy (1974) and Greece (1980) entering the EEC. For instance, in year 1974, we exported 50.500 t/annually on Italian market, i.e. in 1980 51.310 t and there were 24 registered slaughterhouses with EEC certificate. Today, there are only a few slaughterhouses with EU certificate, and approved export quota of close to 8.000 t of beef we cannot realize. Total production of milk is 1,434.000 l. Cattle production is expected to provide high quality products for export, primarily beef and quality cheeses with defined origin and quality.U radu su predstavljeni podaci o govedarskoj proizvodnji u narodnoj Republici Kini i Republici Srbiji. Kina je treća zemlja na svetu po proizvodnji mleka i treća zemlja na svetu po proizvodnji goveđeg mesa. 2011. Godine, populacija mlečnih goveda u kini je iznosila 14,4 miliona grla. Kineska mlečna rasa govedase uglavnom dobija hibridizacijom grlima holštajn, simentalske i drugih rasa, koje su uvežene iz inostranstva, i lokalnih rasa goveda kako bi se dobio podmladak stabilnih genetskih karakteristika. Trenutno se u Kini gaje grla rase kineski holštajn, kineski simentalac, mlečni bivoli, grla smeđe rase, goveda rase sahne, itd. U periodu od 2000 do 2007 godine, proizvodnja goveđeg mesa u Kini je bila u brzom usponu i porastu, sa povećanjem sa 5.054 miliona tona na 6.134 miliona tona, da bi dostigla istorijski najviši nivo od 6.355 miliona tona 2009. Godine, ali od tada je u drastičnom padu gde se 2011. godine beleži s proizvodnja od 5 miliona tona. Takođe, dolazi do smanjenja broja reproduktivnih/priplodnih krava i tovnih goveda u zapatu. Godine 2011., zaklano je oko 32.7 miliona tovnih goveda, a populacija tovnih grla goveda je na kraju 2011. godine iznosila 80 miliona, prinos mesa je bio oko 5.5 miliona tona, a prosečna težina trupa na nacionalnom nivou 201.5kg/kravi, a proizvodna vrednost tovnih goveda je bila oko 200.75 milijardi juana. Trenutno, broj reproduktivnih/priplodnih krava u zapatu je u drastičnom padu; kontradikcija između nedostatka resursa goveda i stalno rastuće potrošnje goveđeg mesa je sve ozbiljnija. Kinesko mlečno govedarstvo je koncentrovano u severnom, severno-istočnom i severno-zapadnom delu Kine, populacija mlečnih goveda u unutrašnjosti Mongolije, Xinjiangu, Heilongjiangu i Hebeiu i predstavlja 60% ukupne populacije mlečnih goveda u Kini; tovna goveda se uglavnom gaje u ruralnim regionima - provincijama Henan, Šandong i Hebei, i predstavljaju 80% ukupno zaklanih grla goveda na nacionalnom nivou. Zadnjih godina, regioni koji su nadmoćni sa stanovišta proizvodnje tovnih junadi se postepeno pomeraju ka severu i jugo-zapadu. Proizvodnja tovnih junadi u provincijama Heilongjiang, Sičuan, Junan i Guizhou se razvija velika brzinom. Proizvodnja tovnih junadi u pašnjačkim regionima je koncentrisana u unutrašnjoj Mongoliji, provincijama Xinjiang i Gansu. Govedarstvo je važna grana stočarstva u Republici Srbiji. Trenutno stanje u govedarstvu nije zadovoljavajuće sa stanovišta proizvodnje po grlu i broju grla koji je u stalnom padu zadnjih godina. Na osnovu zvaničnih statističkih podataka, trenutno stanje u govedarstvu se smatra veoma nepovoljnim (Zavod za Statistiku Republike Srbije). Broj goveda u 2011 je bio 936.000 grla sa trendom kontinuiranog pada zadnjih 11 godina. Tokom ovog perioda, broj grla goveda se smanjio za 18% a broj krava i steonih junica za 14%. Podaci o broju i kategorijama goveda takođe ukazuju na značajno smanjenje, pa je tako kategorija goveda uzrasta od 1 do 2 godine smanjenja za 24.5%, a broj teladi za 29.2%. Proizvodnja mleka je relativno stabilna. Godine 2011, proizvodnja mleka je bila 1.434.000 litara. To se može objasniti povećanjem proizvodnje mleka po grlu. Genetski progres osobina mlečnosti je postignut korišćenjem progeno testiranih bikova na osobine mlečnosti i povećanjem obima veštačkog osemenjavanja krava i junica. Proizvodnja mesa je u konstantnom padu, što je posledica smanjenja ukupnog broja goveda kao i nedovoljnog broja klanica sa EU sertifikatom. Proizvodnja mesa u 2011. godini je bila 81.000 t. Srbija, iako bez razvijenog govedarstva, je bila tradicionalni izvoznik goveđeg odn. junećeg mesa, proizvoda od mesa i tovne junadi u mnoge zemlje, čak i najrazvijenije, npr. Italiju i Grčku. Eksport junetine je bio u ekspanziji pre ulaska Italije (1974) i Grčke (1980) u EEZ. Na primer, 1974. godine, godišnje je izvoženo 50.500 t na italijansko tržište, odn 1980. godine, 51.310 t i u Srbiji je bilo 24 registrovane klanice sa EEC sertifikatom. Danas, postoji samo nekoliko klanica sa EU sertifikatom, a odobrena kvota za izvoz mesa od 8.000 t junetine ne može da se realizuje. Ukupna proizvodnja mleka je 1.434.000 l. Očekuje se da govedarska proizvodnja obezbedi kvalitetne proizvode za izvoz, na prvom mestu juneće meso i kvalitetne sireve definisanog porekla i kvaliteta

Partial Pole Placement in LMI Region

A new approach for pole placement of single-input system is proposed in this paper. Noncritical closed loop poles can be placed arbitrarily in a specified convex region when dominant poles are fixed in anticipant locations. The convex region is expressed in the form of linear matrix inequality (LMI), with which the partial pole placement problem can be solved via convex optimization tools. The validity and applicability of this approach are illustrated by two examples

Clinical application of spectral CT perfusion scanning in evaluating the blood supply source of portal vein tumor thrombus in hepatocellular carcinoma

PurposeTo evaluate the characteristic of blood supply of liver portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) using perfusion indexes and spectral parameters.MethodsBetween July 2020 and December 2022, the study enrolled 25 liver cancer patients completed with PVTT (male=20, female=5; age 41-74 years (59.48 ± 9.12)) from the Interventional Department of Jiangsu Cancer Hospital. There were 11 cases of type III PVTT, 12 of type II PVTT, and 2 of type I PVTT (Cheng’s classification). All patients underwent spectral perfusion scans through dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography. The PVTTs were divided into proximal and distal groups based on the distance between the tumor thrombus and the main portal vein. The perfusion analysis was performed on the 120-kVp conventional images to generate hepatic perfusion index (HPI). The spectral based images (SBIs) during the artery and venous peak phases were extracted from the perfusion data. The iodine map and 40&amp;100-keV virtual monoenergetic image (VMI) were generated from SBI data. HPI, iodine concentration (IC), CT value at 40 and 100-keV, and spectral slope (40-100keV) of the primary lesion, proximal and distal PVTT, and liver parenchyma were measured and compared. The correlation between the primary lesion and proximal and distal PVTT was analyzed.ResultsThe IC and spectral slope during the arterial and venous peak phases and HPI of the primary lesion, proximal PVTT, and distal PVTT were highly correlated (P&lt;0.001). The differences between the IC and spectral slope during the arterial and venous peak phases and HPI of the primary lesion, proximal PVTT were statistically significant (P&lt;0.001). The differences between the IC during venous peak phase and HPI of primary lesion, distal PVTT were statistically significant (P&lt;0.001), and there was no statistically significant difference in arterial phase IC, arterial and venous phase spectral slopes.ConclusionThe IC, slope, and HPI of the distal and proximal PVTT were highly correlated with the primary lesion, indicating that PVTT was similar to the primary lesion in the liver that they were both mainly supplied by the hepatic artery. However, there was still significant heterogeneity between the proximal PVTT and the primary lesion, while the difference in the distal PVTT was relatively small