On the benefits of philosophy as a way of life in a general introductory course

Philosophy as a way of life (PWOL) places investigations of value, meaning, and the good life at the center of philosophical investigation, especially of one’s own life. I argue PWOL is compatible with general introductory philosophy courses, further arguing that PWOL-based general introductions have several philosophical and pedagogical benefits. These include the ease with which high impact practices, situated skill development, and students’ ability to ‘think like a disciplinarian’ may be incorporated into such courses, relative to more traditional introductory courses, as well as the demonstration of philosophy’s value to students by explicitly tying philosophical investigation to students own lives

Front and Center

Newsletter providing "a lighter, human interest side of the news" from the Boston University Medical Campus

Anwendung der Choice-Based-Conjoint-Analyse zur Prognose von Kaufentscheidungen im ÖPNV

In dem vorliegenden Beitrag beschreiben wir die exemplarische Anwendung der Choice-Based-Conjoint-Analyse (CBCA) in der ÖPNV-Kaufverhaltensforschung. Ausgehend von den Ergebnissen einer Befragung von mehr als 1000 Abo-Kunden eines deutschen Verkehrsraumes, welche uns von PROBST & CONSORTEN Marketing-Beratung zur Verfügung gestellt wurde, untersuchen wir, ob eine Produktdifferenzierung des derzeitigen Monatskartenabo-Angebotes dazu geeignet ist, den Kundennutzen und die Abo-Fahrgelderlöse zu steigern. Im Rahmen eines Preisexperiments werden hierbei drei Auswahlalternativen berücksichtigt: eine günstige Basisvariante, eine preisintensivere und zugleich mit zusätzlichen Leistungseigenschaften versehene Premiumvariante sowie eine Nicht-Wahl-Alternative. Für die sich anschließende Analyse der Auswahlentscheidungen verwenden wir ein Multinomiales Logit-Modell. Unter Einbeziehung der individualspezifischen Parameter Einkommen, PKW-Verfügbarkeit, derzeit zu entrichtender Abopreis, Geschlecht, Alter, Anzahl Kinder im Haushalt, Anzahl Erwachsene im Haushalt, Fahrten, Mitnahme-und Übertragungshäufigkeit schlussfolgern wir, dass eine Produktdifferenzierung zu einer Steigerung der Fahrgeldeinnahmen im bereits vorhandenen Kundenbestand führt

Anwendung der Choice-Based-Conjoint-Analyse zur Prognose von Kaufentscheidungen im ÖPNV

In dem vorliegenden Beitrag beschreiben wir die exemplarische Anwendung der Choice-Based-Conjoint-Analyse (CBCA) in der ÖPNV-Kaufverhaltensforschung. Ausgehend von den Ergebnissen einer Befragung von mehr als 1000 Abo-Kunden eines deutschen Verkehrsraumes, welche uns von PROBST & CONSORTEN Marketing-Beratung zur Verfügung gestellt wurde, untersuchen wir, ob eine Produktdifferenzierung des derzeitigen Monatskartenabo-Angebotes dazu geeignet ist, den Kundennutzen und die Abo-Fahrgelderlöse zu steigern. Im Rahmen eines Preisexperiments werden hierbei drei Auswahlalternativen berücksichtigt: eine günstige Basisvariante, eine preisintensivere und zugleich mit zusätzlichen Leistungseigenschaften versehene Premiumvariante sowie eine Nicht-Wahl-Alternative. Für die sich anschließende Analyse der Auswahlentscheidungen verwenden wir ein Multinomiales Logit-Modell. Unter Einbeziehung der individualspezifischen Parameter Einkommen, PKW-Verfügbarkeit, derzeit zu entrichtender Abopreis, Geschlecht, Alter, Anzahl Kinder im Haushalt, Anzahl Erwachsene im Haushalt, Fahrten, Mitnahme-und Übertragungshäufigkeit schlussfolgern wir, dass eine Produktdifferenzierung zu einer Steigerung der Fahrgeldeinnahmen im bereits vorhandenen Kundenbestand führt. --

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 34

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Educating Pharmacy Students to Improve Quality (EPIQ) in Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy

Objective. To assess course instructors’ and students’ perceptions of the Educating Pharmacy Students and Pharmacists to Improve Quality (EPIQ) curriculum. Methods. Seven colleges and schools of pharmacy that were using the EPIQ program in their curricula agreed to participate in the study. Five of the 7 collected student retrospective pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Changes in students’ perceptions were evaluated to assess their relationships with demographics and course variables. Instructors who implemented the EPIQ program at each of the 7 colleges and schools were also asked to complete a questionnaire. Results. Scores on all questionnaire items indicated improvement in students’ perceived knowledge of quality improvement. The university the students attended, completion of a class project, and length of coverage of material were significantly related to improvement in the students’ scores. Instructors at all colleges and schools felt the EPIQ curriculum was a strong program that fulfilled the criteria for quality improvement and medication error reduction education. Conclusion. The EPIQ program is a viable, turnkey option for colleges and schools of pharmacy to use in teaching students about quality improvement

A large-scale magnetic shield with 10^6 damping at mHz frequencies

We present a magnetically shielded environment with a damping factor larger than one million at the mHz frequency regime and an extremely low field and gradient over an extended volume. This extraordinary shielding performance represents an improvement of the state of the art in damping the difficult regime of very low-frequency distortions by more than an order of magnitude. This technology enables a new generation of high precision measurements in fundamental physics and metrology, including searches for new physics far beyond the reach of accelerator-based experiments. We discuss the technical realization of the shield with its improvements in design.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Centerscope

Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.

Institutional Connectedness and Social Support Among College Students: Links to Campus Involvement

Background. College is a pivotal period in the lives of students, and an important aspect of the experience is involvement within the campus. College student wellness is also a growing area of interest in higher education, with increased attention on ways to help students thrive. This study explores which aspects of campus involvement contribute to students’ feelings of connectedness and social support. This study aims to 1) assess the association between campus involvement and social support among college students, 2) assess the association between campus involvement and institutional connectedness among college students, and 3) examine whether the association between campus involvement and wellness differs by grade classification. Methods. This cross-sectional study used a self-administered online survey. The participants were undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Mississippi who were 18 years or older. Demographic information, including age, race/ethnicity, sex, class standing, and other sample characteristics were collected. To assess campus involvement, students selected from a list of activities across three different categories representing academic, social, and health-related activities during the previous semester. Institutional connectedness was measured using the Campus Connectedness Scale (CCS), and social support was measured using the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List – Shortened Version (ISEL-SV). Linear regression models were run to assess the associations between campus involvement and both institutional connectedness and social support. Furthermore, to investigate potential variations in the associations by grade classification, the sample was stratified and linear regression models were run again. Results. A final sample of n=152 college students, with a mean age of 20.0, was analyzed. The sample was mostly white (88%) and female (73%). The mean number of activities was 1.5, 1.8, and 1.0 in academic, social, and health-related activities, respectively. The mean scores were 62.4 and 25.8 for the CCS and IPEL-SV, respectively. Significant associations were found between social involvement and both institutional connectedness and social support. No other associations were found in the overall sample. When stratified by grade classification, only upperclassmen had significant associations between social involvement and both institutional connectedness and social support. Another association emerged among upperclassmen between health involvement and both institutional connectedness and social support. Conclusion. This study suggests that social involvement has strong links to campus connectedness and social support among college students, especially among upperclassmen. Future research should investigate which aspects of social involvement have the greatest effect on student feelings of connectedness. This information can be used by school administrators to support student retention, achievement, and wellness