Evaluating business simulation software: approach, tools and pedagogy

Purpose - To identify a business simulation appropriate for MEng Engineering students. The selection was based on the following factors; exploring methods for evaluating potential software and enhancing the learner experience. Design/methodology/approach - An interdisciplinary project team was formed to try and resolve the pedagogic, technical and business aspects that would need to be addressed in order to implement such software within the programme. Tools included a questionnaire to assess the potential enhancement of employability skills and a usability questionnaire on ease of use. These were supplemented with discourse on technical and pedagogic issues. Findings - After the initial scoping study, our findings indicated that two business simulation software packages had potential. These were ‘Marketplace - Venture Strategy’ and ‘SimVenture’. Marketplace proved to be the most suitable in terms of the pedagogic and technical requirements. Research limitations / implications - We were not able to fully trial each simulation over the recommended duration of play because of practical time constraints and we did not have any student contribution to the process. Findings will need to be verified with the piloting cohort of students. Further pedagogic research could be carried out to evidence the enhancement to the student learning experience. Originality/value - This study is valuable because it purposefully uses an interdisciplinary team comprising expertise in; teaching and learning, technology, business and sector knowledge. This was vital in the decision making process. Development of generic methods and tools to measure and evaluate software suitability in relation to usability and employability skills

Evaluation of students’ experiences of developing transferable skills and business skills using a business simulation game

Developing the business and transferable skills of students is a challenge in the higher education environment. The issue is how to simulate a business environment to give students a realistic experience. If it is possible to give a realistic experience, the next challenge is what are the best ways to measure if the students have actually developed their skills? This paper is about introducing a practice by creating an environment for students to develop their transferable and business skills using a computer simulated environment. The research aspect of this paper is about finding or not finding empirical evidence of students’ development of these skills. Finally this research also evaluates the course from students’ point of views based on their experience. The research uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate students’ development of these skills and their experience of the module

An evaluation of business simulation games for the Management module of the MEng Aeronautical Engineering degree at Loughborough University

There is a drive within engineering disciplines at Loughborough University to develop the employability skills of undergraduate students. The engCETL (Engineering Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning) has a broad remit to enhance links with industry and to underpin developments in learning and teaching with pedagogic research and technology development. The Centre does this through research and development projects that are proposed by academics within the engineering related departments and carried out in conjunction with specialists from the engCETL team. Prof Rob Thring, Head of the Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering Department proposed a project to the engCETL. His requirement was for some form of business simulation software for the undergraduates to use as part of the Management module on the MEng programme. Currently the students come up with an idea for a new business, create a business plan for the venture and take part in a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style presentation at the end of the project to representatives from the department and industry. However, the department would like to take this project a step further and provide the students with the opportunity to take part in a simulated business environment where they could explore the idea of setting up or running a business as close to the real world as possible. The intention would be to enliven and enrich the student’s learning experience with skills development such as; enterprise, leadership, management, teamwork, fiscal sense, business judgement and inventiveness amongst others. An interdisciplinary project team was formed to try and resolve the pedagogic, technical and business aspects that would need to be addressed in order to implement such software within the MEng programme. The approach taken has been to form a set of criteria based on certain curriculum requirements but keep the brief broad and carry out a scoping study of existing software (commercial and open source) and take account of the academic literature in this area. After the initial scoping study, our findings indicate two commercial business simulations that have potential for use on the course. These were; ‘Marketplace Simulation’ (http://www.marketplace-simulation.co.uk) and SimVenture (http://www.simventure.co.uk). An in-depth evaluation was then carried out for the two simulations. This evaluation comprised two teams made up of academics, industrial representatives and engCETL staff. The software was thoroughly examined in terms of what each application could offer to the learning experience of the students, resources to support staff and the costs involved, for example, staff time in embedding the software into the curriculum.This paper will highlight the approach taken, findings and recommendations from the evaluation of the two business simulations. The recommendations will be presented in the context of all engineering disciplines and will cover; appropriateness of the chosen software for the programme level, plans for embedding into the curriculum, potential learning outcomes and assessment methods. It will benefit all those interested in methods for evaluating potential simulation games for suitability within the curriculum and the development of enterprise and employability skills

Wobegonian Modesty and Garrison Keilor’s Lake Wobegon Days

<p>The humble Midwestern town also survives on modesty and a range of satellite sentiments and postures, depending very much on them in Garrison Keillor’s 1985 book <i>Lake Wobegon Days. </i>It is, firmly, a work of pastoral—a literary representation of social, emotional, and aesthetic dualities and tensions in the frame, or in mind, of rural or regional place. Its vital and interesting connection to this mode depends, critically, on its <i>not </i>being the work of blandly sentimentalist affirmation or sugared “nostalgia for the simple life” that mode is commonly seen as. Structurally, too, it is more complicatedly a somewhat loose or meandering assemblage than a novel, organised—such as it is—variously by the seasons, the growth of its narrating figures, and progression through the town’s semi-factual history.</p

Industrial placements for engineering students: a guide for academics

This guide is aimed at academics and other staff involved with the provision of placements for engineering students. It provides practical advice about developing links with industry and setting up appropriate placement opportunities for students. Students will gain more from their placement if properly prepared and advice is given about how they can be supported both before and during the placement. Health and safety issues are addressed briefly, with links to further information and checklists. The guide discusses issues relating to the assessment of placements and provides some examples of approaches taken by universities

MOESM2 of The occurrence of a titanium dioxide/silica white pigment on wooden Andean qeros: a cultural and chronological marker

Additional file 2. Selected listings of XRD results

Discovery of Novel Allosteric Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase (MEK) 1,2 Inhibitors Possessing Bidentate Ser212 Interactions

Using structure-based design, two novel series of highly potent biaryl amine mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitors have been discovered. These series contain an H-bond acceptor, in a shifted position compared with previously disclosed compounds, and an adjacent H-bond donor, resulting in a bidentate interaction with the Ser212 residue of MEK1. The most potent compound identified, <b>1</b> (G-894), is orally active in in vivo pharmacodynamic and tumor xenograft models