Business simulation games are a motivational and engaging tool for teaching business management. However, relatively little is known about what factors contribute to their success. This study ...explores the role of flow experienced while using business simulation games. Specifically, this research investigates the influence of challenge, skills, feedback, and goal clarity on students' flow experience. It also explores the impact of flow on generic skills development, perceived learning, and satisfaction. Based on a survey of 167 undergraduate students who used a classroom‐based business simulation game, the findings show that the challenge provided by the game, students' skills to meet the challenge, and instant feedback positively influenced students' flow. Conversely, goal clarity did not foster the optimal experience. Flow positively impacted generic skills development, perceived learning, and satisfaction.
Lay Description
What is already known about the subject matter:
Business simulation games (BSGs) are an engaging tool for teaching business management.
BSGs help students to develop valuable skills.
The concept of flow is particularly relevant in educational settings.
What this paper adds:
New light on what features of BSGs promote flow experiences.
A conceptual framework through which to explain why the use of BSGs can improve students' learning outcomes.
Empirical evidence on the effect of game‐designed elements and gaming experience.
Support for the combination of simulation‐ and game‐based learning to enhance the playing experience.
Implications for practitioners:
BSGs can be used to promote the flow experience in a business class.
Instructors should provide students with the correct level of challenge to meet their skills.
Immediate feedback enhances students' likelihood of engaging in the activity
Instructors should pay attention to debriefing sessions as they improve the potential of BSGs.
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Aims.
We present the results of an intensive six-month optical continuum reverberation mapping campaign of the Seyfert 1 galaxy PG 2130+099 at redshift
z
= 0.063. The ground-based photometric ...monitoring was conducted on a daily basis with the robotic 46 cm telescope of the WISE observatory located in Israel. Specially designed narrowband filters were used to observe the central engine of the active galactic nucleus (AGN), avoiding line contamination from the broad-line region (BLR). We aim to measure inter-band continuum time lags across the optical range and determine the size-wavelength relation for this system.
Methods.
We used two methods, the traditional point-spread function photometry and the recently developed proper image subtraction technique, to independently perform the extraction of the continuum light curves. The inter-band time lags are measured with several methods, including the interpolated cross-correlation function, the
z
-transformed discrete correlation function, a von Neumann estimator, JAVELIN (in spectroscopic mode), and MICA.
Results.
PG 2130+099 displays correlated variability across the optical range, and we successfully detect significant time lags of up to ∼3 days between the multiband light curves. We find that the wavelength-dependent lags,
τ
(
λ
), generally follow the relation
τ
(
λ
)∝
λ
4/3
, as expected for the temperature radial profile
T
∝
R
−3/4
of an optically thick, geometrically thin accretion disk. Despite that, the derived time lags can also be fitted by
τ
(
λ
)∝
λ
2
, implying the possibility of a slim, rather than thin, accretion disk. Using the flux variation gradient method, we determined the AGN’s host-galaxy-subtracted rest frame 5100 Å luminosity at the time of our monitoring campaign with an uncertainty of ∼18% (
λL
5100
= (2.40 ± 0.42)×10
44
erg s
−1
). While a continuum reprocessing model can fit the data reasonably well, our derived disk sizes are a factor of ∼2 − 6 larger than the theoretical disk sizes predicted from the AGN luminosity estimate of PG 2130+099. This result is in agreement with previous studies of AGN/quasars and suggests that the standard Shakura-Sunyaev disk theory has limitations in describing AGN accretion disks.
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We present high time resolution SDSS-g' and SDSS-z' light curves of the primary eclipse in SDSS J141126.20+200911.1, together with time-resolved X-Shooter spectroscopy and near-infrared (NIR) JHK... ...photometry. Our observations confirm the substellar nature of the companion, making SDSS J141126.20+200911.1 the first eclipsing white dwarf/brown dwarf binary known. We measure a (white dwarf model dependent) mass and radius for the brown dwarf companion of M... = 0.050 plus or minus 0.002 M... and R... = 0.072 plus or minus 0.004 M..., respectively. The lack of a robust detection of the companion light in the z'-band eclipse constrains the spectral type of the companion to be later than L5. Comparing the NIR photometry to the expected white dwarf flux reveals a clear K...-band excess, suggesting a spectral type in the range L7-T1. The radius measurement is consistent with the predictions of evolutionary models, and suggests a system age in excess of 3 Gyr. The low companion mass is inconsistent with the inferred spectral type of L7-T1, instead predicting a spectral type nearer T5. This indicates that irradiation of the companion in SDSS J141126.20+200911.1 could be causing a significant temperature increase, at least on one hemisphere. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
Cohort studies have consistently shown underground miners exposed to high levels of radon to be at excess risk of lung cancer, and extrapolations based on those results indicate that residential ...radon may be responsible for nearly 10-15% of all lung cancer deaths per year in the United States. However, case-control studies of residential radon and lung cancer have provided ambiguous evidence of radon lung cancer risks. Regardless, alpha-particle emissions from the short-lived radioactive radon decay products can damage cellular DNA. The possibility that a demonstrated lung carcinogen may be present in large numbers of homes raises a serious public health concern. Thus, a systematic analysis of pooled data from all North American residential radon studies was undertaken to provide a more direct characterization of the public health risk posed by prolonged radon exposure. To evaluate the risk associated with prolonged residential radon exposure, a combined analysis of the primary data from seven large scale case-control studies of residential radon and lung cancer risk was conducted. The combined data set included a total of 4081 cases and 5281 controls, representing the largest aggregation of data on residential radon and lung cancer conducted to date. Residential radon concentrations were determined primarily by α-track detectors placed in the living areas of homes of the study subjects in order to obtain an integrated 1-yr average radon concentration in indoor air. Conditional likelihood regression was used to estimate the excess risk of lung cancer due to residential radon exposure, with adjustment for attained age, sex, study, smoking factors, residential mobility, and completeness of radon measurements. Although the main analyses were based on the combined data set as a whole, we also considered subsets of the data considered to have more accurate radon dosimetry. This included a subset of the data involving 3662 cases and 4966 controls with α-track radon measurements within the exposure time window (ETW) 5-30 yr prior to the index date considered previously by
Krewski et al. (2005)
. Additional restrictions focused on subjects for which a greater proportion of the ETW was covered by measured rather than imputed radon concentrations, and on subjects who occupied at most two residences. The estimated odds ratio (OR) of lung cancer generally increased with radon concentration. The OR trend was consistent with linearity (p = .10), and the excess OR (EOR) was 0.10 per Bq/m
3
with 95% confidence limits (−0.01, 0.26). For the subset of the data considered previously by
Krewski et al. (2005)
, the EOR was 0.11 (0.00, 0.28). Further limiting subjects based on our criteria (residential stability and completeness of radon monitoring) expected to improve radon dosimetry led to increased estimates of the EOR. For example, for subjects who had resided in only one or two houses in the 5-30 ETW and who had α-track radon measurements for at least 20 yr of this 25-yr period, the EOR was 0.18 (0.02, 0.43) per 100 Bq/m
3
. Both estimates are compatible with the EOR of 0.12 (0.02, 0.25) per 100 Bq/m
3
predicted by downward extrapolation of the miner data. Collectively, these results provide direct evidence of an association between residential radon and lung cancer risk, a finding predicted by extrapolation of results from occupational studies of radon-exposed underground miners.
E. G. Létourneau and J. B. Schoenberg have retired; J. A. Stolwijk holds an emeritus position.
We acknowledge the helpful input of the following individuals who served on the International Steering Committee for the North American combined analysis: Ken Chadwick (CEC Radiation Protection Program), Susan Conrath (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Sarah Darby (Oxford University), Evan Douple (U.S. National Academy of Sciences), Colin Muirhead (UK National Radiation Protection Board), and Susan Rose (U.S. Department of Energy). Salary support for Drs. Field, Lynch, and Steck was provided in part by grant numbers R01 ES05653 and P30 ES05605 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH and grant number R01 CA85942 from the National Cancer Institute, NIH. This research was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (formerly the Medical Research Council of Canada) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to D. Krewski, who currently holds the NSERC/SSHRC/McLaughlin Chair in Population Health Risk Assessment at the University of Ottawa. Financial support for the meetings of the Analysis Team and the Steering Committee was also provided by Health Canada and the U.S. Department of Energy. We are grateful to Dr. Huixia Jiang for assistance with the combined analysis, and to Jackie Monaghan for technical assistance in preparing this report.
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In this work, we use Joule-effect thermal evaporation to produce hybrid structures made of Ga and In nanoparticles (NPs) on Si (100) substrates. Taking advantage of the protective oxide shell, In NPs ...can be used as a template for a second deposition step without structural changes, enabling the hybridization of NPs of materials. These complex structures of mixed NPs present a spectrally broad plasmonic absorption that can be optically tuned with a wide range of photon energies from UV to IR regions with a full width at half maximum range of ∼400 to 800 nm. The results suggest that the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the hybrid NPs is mainly due to the plasmonic coupling of the in-plane modes. Furthermore, different scenarios studied by discrete dipole approximation simulations show that the interconnection between NPs is extremely sensitive to the size and the local arrangement of the nanostructures. This kind of broadening and tunable LSPR may have interest for energy transfer applications, biosensing platforms and solar cells.
We have searched the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer first data release for widely separated (≤10 000 au) late T dwarf companions to Hipparcos and Gliese stars. We have discovered a new binary ...system containing a K-band suppressed T8p dwarf WISEP J142320.86+011638.1 and the mildly metal poor (Fe/H =−0.38 ± 0.06) primary BD +01° 2920 (HIP 70319), a G1 dwarf at a distance of 17.2 pc. This new benchmark has T
eff= 680 ± 55 K and a mass of 20-50M
Jup. Its spectral properties are well modelled except for known discrepancies in the Y and K bands. Based on the well-determined metallicity of its companion, the properties of BD +01° 2920B imply that the currently known T dwarfs are dominated by young low-mass objects. We also present an accurate proper motion for the T8.5 dwarf WISEP J075003.84+272544.8.
We present the intensive spectroscopic follow up of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2014J in the starburst galaxy M82. Twenty-seven optical spectra have been acquired from 2014 January 22 to September ...1 with the Isaac Newton and William Herschel Telescopes. After correcting the observations for the recession velocity of M82 and for Milky Way and host galaxy extinction, we measured expansion velocities from spectral line blueshifts and pseudo-equivalent width of the strongest features in the spectra, which gives an idea on how elements are distributed within the ejecta. We position SN 2014J in the Benetti, Branch et al. and Wang et al. diagrams. These diagrams are based on properties of the Si ii features and provide dynamical and chemical information about the SN ejecta. The nearby SN 2011fe, which showed little evidence for reddening in its host galaxy, is shown as a reference for comparisons. SN 2014J is a border-line object between the Core-normal and Broad-line groups, which corresponds to an intermediate position between low-velocity gradient and high-velocity gradient objects. SN 2014J follows the $R({\rm Si\,{\small {II}}})$–Δm15 correlation, which confirms its classification as a relatively normal SN Ia. Our description of the SN Ia in terms of the evolution of the pseudo-equivalent width of various ions as well as the position in the various diagrams put this specific SN Ia into the overall sample of SN Ia.
We analyse a time series of optical spectra of SN 2014J from almost two weeks prior to maximum to nearly four months after maximum. We perform our analysis using the synow code, which is well suited ...to track the distribution of the ions with velocity in the ejecta. We show that almost all of the spectral features during the entire epoch can be identified with permitted transitions of the common ions found in normal supernovae (SNe) Ia in agreement with previous studies. We show that 2014J is a relatively normal SN Ia. At early times the spectral features are dominated by Si ii, S ii, Mg ii, and Ca ii. These ions persist to maximum light with the appearance of Na i
and Mg i. At later times iron-group elements also appear, as expected in the stratified abundance model of the formation of normal Type Ia SNe. We do not find significant spectroscopic evidence for oxygen, until 100 d after maximum light. The +100 d identification of oxygen is tentative, and would imply significant mixing of unburned or only slight processed elements down to a velocity of 6000 kms−1. Our results are in relatively good agreement with other analyses in the infrared. We briefly compare SN 2011fe to SN 2014J and conclude that the differences could be due to different central densities at ignition or differences in the C/O ratio of the progenitors.
Purpose. To compare the characteristics of asymmetric keratoconic eyes and normal eyes by Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) corneal mapping. Methods. Retrospective corneal and ...epithelial thickness OCT data for 74 patients were compared in three groups of eyes: keratoconic ( n = 22 ) and normal fellow eyes ( n = 22 ) in patients with asymmetric keratoconus and normal eyes ( n = 104 ) in healthy subjects. Areas under the curve (AUC) of receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves for each variable were compared across groups to indicate their discrimination capacity. Results. Three variables were found to differ significantly between fellow eyes and normal eyes (all p < 0.05 ): minimum corneal thickness, thinnest corneal point, and central corneal thickness. These variables combined showed a high discrimination power to differentiate fellow eyes from normal eyes indicated by an AUC of 0.840 (95% CI: 0.762–0.918). Conclusions. Our findings indicate that topographically normal fellow eyes in patients with very asymmetric keratoconus differ from the eyes of healthy individuals in terms of their corneal epithelial and pachymetry maps. This type of information could be useful for an early diagnosis of keratoconus in topographically normal eyes.
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