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The purpose of this study was to examine any differences in test scores between three different online versions of the Mental Cutting Test (MCT). The MCT was developed to quantify a rotational and proportion construct of spatial ability and has been used extensively to assess spatial ability. This test was developed in 1938 as a paper-and-pencil test, where examinees are presented with a two-dimensional drawing of a 3D object containing a cutting plane passing through the object. The examinee must then determine the cross-sectional shape that would result from cutting along the imaginary cutting plane. This work explored three versions of this test (the original and two adapted versions), administered online, to see if there were any differences on the versions regarding student performance. Versions differed in the linework quality displayed as well as shading shown on the surfaces. This study analyzed statics students' scores on the three online versions of the MCT and on the original paper version of the MCT to identify which version of the test may be most optimal for administering to engineering students. Results showed that there was a statistically significant difference in students' scores between multiple versions. Understanding which representations of the MCT items are most clear to students will provide insights for educators looking to improve and understand the spatial ability of their students.

Complexity and uncertainty are long-standing challenges for global development projects. Coping with both requires flexibility and adaptation, the ability to identify unexpected circumstances, seize opportunities, and respond to threats. Vigilance is critical; it resides within the domains of monitoring, evaluation, and learning. In practice, maintaining vigilance is difficult, partly because effective vigilance has a dual nature. Normal, Type 1 vigilance, is anchored in knowing what to look for. It demands focus and attention to designated indicators. Type 2 vigilance looks for what project preparations failed to anticipate. It demands defocusing and openness; it sits outside contemporary design of monitoring and evaluation as it must question the assumptions in project design and implementation. We consider the role of both types of vigilance in global development and difficulties in maintaining both simultaneously. We identify pathways for improving the practice of vigilance and suggest practical steps in a template for pilot efforts.

Tail biting is a multifactorial behavior that causes welfare and economic challenges in swine production. As of 2024, research exploring the influence of pig social structure on the development of tail biting is limited. The objective of this study was to explore whether social structures of pigs from different litter origins can impact tail biting and, ultimately, tail damage. Pigs (n = 96) were grouped (eight pigs/pen) based on their litter origin: non-littermates (NLM), half-littermates, and littermates (LM). Tail injury scores were assessed twice weekly from 10 to 24 weeks of age, with a maximal tail injury score (MTS) over the study period being used to evaluate victimization by tail biting. Pig behavior was video-recorded at 15, 19, and 23 weeks of age. Association networks based on lying behavior and tail biting interaction networks were evaluated at penand pig-levels using social network analysis. Pigs in LM pens experienced higher median MTS compared to pigs in NLM pens (Median = 1.5; Interquartile range = 1-2; p = 0.009). Within association networks, NLM pens had lower degree centralization measures than other pens at both 15 (Estimated marginal mean [EMM] = 0.07; 95% CI = 0.02-0.12; p = 0.003) and 23 weeks (EMM = 0.09; 95% CI = 0.04-0.14; p = 0.01) and pigs in NLM pens had higher weighted degree centrality than those in other pens (EMM = 1.00; 95% CI = 0.90-1.11; p = 0.002), suggesting pigs in NLM pens had more uniform, stronger, and more connections with their pen-mates. In tail biting networks, increased weighted in-degree centrality was associated with increased odds of pigs receiving a more severe MTS (OR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.08-2.27; p = 0.02). Pigs with increased weighted out-degree centrality tended to have increased odds of receiving a more severe MTS (OR = 1.19; 95% CI = 0.97-1.48; p = 0.09). These preliminary data suggest a potential relationship between social structures and tail biting in growing-finishing pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thispaperexplores blockchain technology'spotential to altercontractingbothinthemarket and within organizations. We identify and discuss how blockchain reduces certain types of transaction costs while introducing additional costs that have not been present in traditional contracts. Blockchain technology also presents a new method to mitigate or avoid certain types of agency costs that stem from contracting with agents inside the firm. Through this theoretical discussion, our paper proposes several avenues for future research on howblockchain may alter contracting and corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Film as a tool for learning offers considerable opportunity for enhancing student understanding. This paper reflects on the experiences of a project that required students to make a short film demonstrating their practical understanding of qualitative methods. In the psychogeographical tradition, students were asked to "drift" across the urban environment and record their own experiences of the places encountered. The findings suggest this "drift-film" strategy can be successful in sensitizing individuals to the benefits of qualitative methods, can enhance students' ability to story-board and structure their arguments, and develop key editing skills which can be transferred to future employability. (Contains 3 figures and 6 notes.)

This study contributes to the debate over the potential of film as a pedagogical aid. It argues that integrating film production into the assessment of undergraduate modules secures advantages for student learning: students connect their ideas more explicitly to "real world" examples; new voices and understandings are introduced to communication, and broader skills in storyboarding, narration and digital technologies are developed. The use of film also emphasizes the need for a holistic marking strategy to capture the creativity encouraged by this medium. The study suggests that integrating film into assessment offers a "eureka" moment in the student learning experience.

This paper critically evaluates the use of journals as a pedagogic tool to encourage reflection, critique and self-analysis by students. Based within a postgraduate teaching module that has operated annually since 2008 and was awarded the Royal Town Planning Institute's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2009, reflexive journals were employed as a method of assessment which, supplemented by conventional lectures and student focus groups, sought to explore the relations, opportunities and obstacles for sustainable development at the individual level. (Contains 6 notes.)

Media and technological advances over the past decade have significantly influenced teaching--its design, delivery, and interactivity. At the same time, social media now dominates the ways in which most of the students encounter and engage the world. The implications of these developments present a number of critical questions about teaching methods, student learning, and pedagogy. From the author's perspective as a dance media technologist and dance musician, this article investigates innovations in music and video technology and provides teaching applications for dance educators. (Contains 1 figure.)

Although the technological methods in which dance artists create, develop, document and present their work have grown significantly over the past two decades, technology education in undergraduate dance curricula in the US often remains peripheral. Some dance programs in higher education, especially those with graduate programs, now include a general course in dance technology that often functions as an overview of documentation methods and basic dance production. Given the technological advances and their creative applications in dance over the past decade (computer-mediated choreography, musical scores, and sound environments; interdisciplinary and mixed media; Internet2 live telematic rehearsal and performance), this curriculum development project sought to design and implement a comprehensive technology curriculum for undergraduate dance students in bachelors degree programs in the US. Four developmental design problems were confronted in this pilot project, including how to provide: (1) integrated delivery of technology in required, rather than elective dance coursework, throughout four-year undergraduate degree programs; (2) student-centred design and relevance, capitalising on students' own technology capital and interest; (3) balanced content in both creative application, as well as practical technological aspects; and (4) completion of digital e-portfolio in the undergraduate senior year. From these guiding research problems, the Digital Dance Literacy (DDL) pilot program at Wayne State University seeks to produce a comprehensive, user-friendly curriculum for integrating advanced technologies into undergraduate dance curricula. This paper gives an overview of this project's development and implementation, description and content of the DDL curriculum and coursework, the project's current status, as well as student, faculty and administrative perspectives. Additional problems in the research and development are also discussed. (Contains 4 notes.)

This letter presents a hardware demonstrator of an all‐SiC three‐level T‐type (3LTT) inverter with the common‐mode (CM) EMI filter stages placed on the DC input instead of the AC output side, targeting, for example, high‐efficiency PV applications. The extensive experimental characterization shows that state‐of‐the‐art SiC transistors and a DC‐side CM filter enable an unprecedented peak/full‐load efficiency of 99.4% (calorimetric measurement) at 12.5 kW and a power density of 2.4 kW/dm3 (39 W/in3). The demonstrator fulfills CISPR 11 Class A EMI regulations as well as upcoming EMI standards for the frequency range of 9–150 kHz. Compared to other high‐efficiency converters, which often employ bridge legs with more output voltage levels, the described 3LTT concept thus offers a very favorable trade‐off between complexity and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: A range of treatments are available for pilonidal sinus disease (PSD), each of which has a different risk/benefit profile. The aim of this study was to collect patient views on which interventions they would rather avoid and which outcomes they most value for PSD. Method: We conducted an online survey using the discrete choice experiment (DCE) method. The DCE task involved participants choosing the best treatment option when presented with a set of competing hypothetical treatment profiles. Participants with symptomatic PSD referred for elective surgery were recruited from 33 National Health Service trusts between 2020 and 2022. Collected DCE data were analysed using regression analyses. Results: In all, 111 participants completed the survey. In the overall group, low risk of infection/persistence was the most important characteristic when making a treatment decision (attribute importance score 70%), followed by treatments with shorter recovery time with an attribute importance score of 30%. The results demonstrated that patients are willing to accept trade‐offs between treatment recovery time and risk of infection/persistence. Patients above 30 years old are willing to accept a higher chance of treatment failure in exchange for rapid treatment recovery (risk tolerance between 22.35 and 34.67 percentage points). Conversely, patients in the younger age groups were risk averse and were only willing to accept a small risk of 1.51–2.15 in exchange for a treatment with faster recovery time. All patient groups appear to the reject the excision and leave open technique due to the need for protracted nursing care. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for shared decision making when it comes to surgery for PSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]