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Critical thinking (CT) skills are essential to academic and professional success. Instruments to assess CT often rely on multiple-choice formats with inherent problems. This research presents two instruments for assessing CT, an essay and open-ended group-discussion format, which were implemented in an undergraduate business course at a large public university. The topics were intentionally chosen to be digitally-related (internet access and social media) since they raise complex issues, are applicable in many disciplines, and students are avid users, thereby making these instruments relevant, multidisciplinary, engaging, and multifaceted. These instruments may be adapted to enable educators to effectively assess undergraduate students' ability to think critically. Qualitative analysis of the verbatim data with NVivo helps demonstrate the instruments' efficacy in assessing CT, with (1) high-quality responses receiving high grades, and (2) overarching themes identified by content analysis, that coalesce into the three dimensions of social justice theory (distributive, procedural, and interactional), thus illustrating students' consideration of complex fairness norms and societal needs. Excerpts of student responses are provided as illustrations of the indicators/evidence of critical thinking. Educators can use these instruments to first assess students' CT skills, and then devise targeted interventions to improve the quality of students' thought processes.

Conjugated block copolymers provide a pathway to achieve thermally stable nanostructured thin films for organic solar cells. We characterized the structural evolution of poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole-terthiophene) (P3HT-b-DPPT-T) from solution to nanostructured thin films. Aggregation of the DPPT-T block of P3HT-b-DPPT-T was found in solution by small-angle X-ray scattering with the P3HT block remaining well-solvated. The nanostructure in thin films was determined using a combination of wide and small-angle X-ray scattering techniques as a function of processing conditions. The structure in solution controlled the initial nanostructure in spin-cast thin films, allowing subsequent thermal annealing processes to further improve the ordering. In contrast to the results for thin films, nanostructural ordering was not observed in the bulk samples by small-angle X-ray scattering. These results suggest the importance of controlling solvent induced aggregation in forming nanostructured thin films of conjugated block copolymers.

The authors examined the publications and impact of highly productive business and management education (BME) scholars across the business disciplines of accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management, marketing, and operations management. Results from a hierarchical cluster analysis revealed five clusters of scholars: leading BME Scholars, leading discipline-focused BME scholars, high-profile BME scholars, focused BME scholars, and recognized BME scholars. The article includes a discussion of findings and their implications for BME scholarship, future BME scholars, and business schools.

Critical thinking (CT) skills are essential to academic and professional success. Instruments to assess CT often rely on multiple‐choice formats with inherent problems. This research presents two instruments for assessing CT, an essay and open‐ended group‐discussion format, which were implemented in an undergraduate business course at a large public university. The topics were intentionally chosen to be digitally‐related (internet access and social media) since they raise complex issues, are applicable in many disciplines, and students are avid users, thereby making these instruments relevant, multidisciplinary, engaging, and multifaceted. These instruments may be adapted to enable educators to effectively assess undergraduate students' ability to think critically. Qualitative analysis of the verbatim data with NVivo helps demonstrate the instruments' efficacy in assessing CT, with (1) high‐quality responses receiving high grades, and (2) overarching themes identified by content analysis, that coalesce into the three dimensions of social justice theory (distributive, procedural, and interactional), thus illustrating students' consideration of complex fairness norms and societal needs. Excerpts of student responses are provided as illustrations of the indicators/evidence of critical thinking. Educators can use these instruments to first assess students' CT skills, and then devise targeted interventions to improve the quality of students' thought processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the continued issue of student retention for online classes, past research has suggested several "retention strategies" focused on engaging students as a way to reduce their withdrawal rate from these classes. However, a recent study testing the effects of these strategies on retention in online undergraduate business courses (Leeds et al., "Int J Manage Educ" 7(1/2), 2013) did not show empirical support for the effectiveness of such strategies. Taking an alternative approach that focuses on individual characteristics of students, this study takes a broader view and examines previous research literature on traditional face-to-face classes to determine how individual characteristics of students may be associated with the likelihood of withdrawal from online classes. Using a sample of undergraduate students (n = 2,314) from a large state university, results from this study identified prior performance in college classes (cumulative GPA) and class standing (senior vs. non-senior) as significant student characteristics related to student retention in online classes for all students. Other factors significantly related to retention rates for students with certain characteristics or within certain majors include previous withdrawal from online courses, gender, and receipt of academic loans.

Online education is becoming increasingly popular among both traditional and nontraditional students. Students gravitate to the flexibility of online courses, which allows them to work around jobs, family, and other responsibilities. While online program growth continues, these programs present several new challenges to educational institutions and their successful implementation requires a clear understanding of several factors that are at the root of these challenges. We propose 2 intuitive relational diagrams featuring roles and interaction among faculty, student, technology, and institution that could serve as a conceptual framework for developing successful online education programs.

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company, a subsidiary of Southern Company, has found itself at a decision point. Vogtle depends on their natural draft cooling towers to remove heat from the power cycle. Depending on the efficiency of the towers, the cycle can realize more or less power output. The efficiency of the cooling tower is loosely defined by Vogtle personnel as how well the tower's actual performance compares to its original design performance. The primary goal here is to have the cooling tower produce the coolest water possible to re-enter the condenser. The performance, therefore, can be described as how close the temperature of this water gets to the expected (predicted) temperature of the original tower design. A one or two degree decrease in the cold water temperature can have a very significant impact on the company's ability to compete in the deregulated market. When Plant Vogtle began producing power in 1989, the cooling tower only performed at 76% of expected efficiency. The original design was modified by the manufacturer in 1990 and resulted in an increased efficiency of 91%. In an effort to improve the efficiency of the towers from 91% to 100%, two modifications to the nozzle sizes and distribution pattern had been suggested by a cooling tower consultant, John Cooper, but had resulted in a decreased efficiency of 86% after the first modification and 79% following the second modification. To control the distribution of the water in the tower, over 10,000 nozzles were used and nozzle sizes vary in diameter, allowing more or less water to fall in certain areas of the tower. The figures show the placement of nozzles of different diameter during 1989-1998. The outlet water temperature from the cooling tower can be affected by the spray nozzle configuration inside the tower. The diameter of the nozzles can be changed to affect where water is released in the tower and plays a vital part in the performance of the tower. Selection of the appropriate nozzle sizes and their placement in the tower, or distribution pattern, for maximum performance is at the center of Southern Company's dilemma. Calculations indicate restoring the tower to 100% capability has a present worth value of $10.2 to $11.9 million (in 1989 dollars) from 80% of design capability. During Sept. 1999, John Cooper made a new recommendation for a further modification of the nozzle sizes in this tower, but it was unclear how effective the change would be. Therefore, the Southern Company had to make a decision: either choose to revert to the previous nozzle configuration of the tower with guaranteed 91% efficiency, or try the new modification in an attempt to reach the tower's expected capability of 100%. [For "In Hot Water: A Cooling Tower Case Study, see EJ1063377.]

Problem Statement: Vogtle Electric Generating Plant operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company, a subsidiary of Southern Company, has found itself at a decision point. Vogtle depends on their natural draft cooling towers to remove heat from the power cycle. Depending on the efficiency of the towers, the cycle can realize more or less power output. The efficiency of the cooling tower is loosely defined by Vogtle personnel as how well the tower's actual performance compares to its original design performance. The primary goal here is to have the cooling tower produce the coolest water possible to re-enter the condenser. The performance, therefore, can be described as how close the temperature of this water gets to the expected (predicted) temperature of the original tower design. A one or two degree decrease in the cold water temperature can have a very significant impact on the company's ability to compete in the deregulated market. When Plant Vogtle began producing power in 1989, the cooling tower only performed at 76% of expected efficiency. The original design was modified by the manufacturer in 1990 and resulted in an increased efficiency of 91%. In an effort to improve the efficiency of the towers from 91% to 100%, two modifications to the nozzle sizes and distribution pattern had been suggested by a cooling tower consultant, John Cooper, but had resulted in a decreased efficiency of 86% after the first modification and 79% following the second modification. To control the distribution of the water in the tower, over 10,000 nozzles were used and nozzle sizes vary in diameter, allowing more or less water to fall in certain areas of the tower. The figures at right show the placement of nozzles of different diameter during 1989-1998. The outlet water temperature from the cooling tower can be affected by the spray nozzle configuration inside the tower. The diameter of the nozzles can be changed to affect where water is released in the tower and plays a vital part in the performance of the tower. Selection of the appropriate nozzle sizes and their placement in the tower, or distribution pattern, for maximum performance is at the center of Southern Company's dilemma. Calculations indicate restoring the tower to 100% capability has a present worth value of $10.2 to $11.9 million (in 1989 dollars) from 80% of design capability. During Sept. 1999, John Cooper made a new recommendation for a further modification of the nozzle sizes in this tower, but it was unclear how effective the change would be. Therefore, the Southern Company had to make a decision: either choose to revert to the previous nozzle configuration of the tower with guaranteed 91% efficiency, or try the new modification in an attempt to reach the tower's expected capability of 100%. [A glossary and bibliography are included. For "In Hot Water: A Cooling Tower Case Study. Instructor's Manual" see EJ1063391.]

The authors examined the publications and impact of highly productive business and management education (BME) scholars across the business disciplines of accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management, marketing, and operations management. Results from a hierarchical cluster analysis revealed five clusters of scholars: leading BME Scholars, leading discipline-focused BME scholars, high-profile BME scholars, focused BME scholars, and recognized BME scholars. The article includes a discussion of findings and their implications for BME scholarship, future BME scholars, and business schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of organic semiconductors for use in thermoelectrics requires the optimization of both their thermopower and electrical conductivity. Here two fundamentally different doping mechanisms are used to investigate the thermoelectric properties of known high hole mobility polymers: poly 3-hexylthiophene (P3HT), poly(2,5 -bis(3-tetradecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT-C14), and poly(2,5-bis(thiphen-2-yl)-(3,7-diheptadecantyltetrathienoacene)) (P2TDC17-FT4). The small molecule tetrafluorotetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ) is known to effectively dope these polymers, and the thermoelectric properties are studied as a function of the ratio of dopant to polymer repeat unit. Higher electrical conductivity and values of the thermoelectric power factor are achieved by doping with vapor-deposited fluoroalkyl trichlorosilanes. The combination of these data reveals a striking relationship between thermopower and conductivity in thiophene-based polymers over a large range of electrical conductivity that is independent of the means of electrical doping. This relationship is not predicted by commonly used transport models for semiconducting polymers and is demonstrated to hold for other semiconducting polymers as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying how small molecular acceptorspack with polymer donorsin thin and thick (bulk) films is critical to understanding the natureof electrical doping by charge transfer. In this study, the packingstructure of the molecular acceptor tetrafluorotetracyanoquinodimethane(F4TCNQ) with the semiconducting polymer poly(2,5-bis(3-tetradecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT-C14) is examined. A combinationof solid-state NMR, synchrotron X-ray scattering, and optical spectroscopywas used to determine the packing motif for blends of PBTTT-C14and F4TCNQ in thin and bulk films. These resultsindicate that F4TCNQ and PBTTT-C14order ina cofacial arrangement where charge transfer is near 100% efficientin the solid state. These results provide crucial insights into thestructures and compositions of ordered domains in doped semiconductingpolymers and suggest a model for the microstructure where the locationof the molecular acceptors are correlated rather than randomly dispersed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online education is becoming increasingly popular among both traditional and nontraditional students. Students gravitate to the flexibility of online courses, which allows them to work around jobs, family, and other responsibilities. While online program growth continues, these programs present several new challenges to educational institutions and their successful implementation requires a clear understanding of several factors that are at the root of these challenges. We propose 2 intuitive relational diagrams featuring roles and interaction among faculty, student, technology, and institution that could serve as a conceptual framework for developing successful online education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alkylated semiconducting polymer comprising alternating bithiophene-[all]- S, S-dioxide and aromatic monothiophene units in the polymer backbone was synthesized with the intent of modifying the energy gap and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital for use as a stable n-type semiconductor. Films spun from this semiconducting polymer were characterized utilizing X-ray scattering, near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and thin-film field effect transistors to determine how oxidation of the thiophene ring systems impacts the structural and electronic properties of the polymer. The thiophene- S,S-dioxide polymers have lower optical and electrical band gaps than corresponding thiophene polymers. X-ray scattering results indicate that the polymers are well ordered with the π-π stacking distances increased by 0.4 Å relative to analogous thiophene polymers. The electrical stability of these polymers is poor in transistors with a drop in the field effect mobility by approximately one order of magnitude upon addition of just 5% of the thiophene- S, S-dioxide unit in a copolymer with thiophene. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a case study on the modifications made by engineers and managers at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant to develop a cooling tower that can produce the coolest water to re-enter the condenser. The educational objectives of this case study is to bring cooling tower design issues to classrooms. It would also integrate thermodynamics, heat transfer and cooling tower design topics with business topics such as decision making, financial assessment and project management.