Search Results (1,435)

Game-based learning (GBL) has increasingly been recognized as a valuable approach for supporting student engagement, motivation, and skill development in educational settings. However, comparatively little research has examined analog gameplay within informal, co-curricular higher education environments. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this exploratory study examined students’ perceptions of their experiences at a university’s Academic Skills Centre’s (ASC) Game Café (not course-based), with particular attention to motivation, social engagement, and perceived academic skill development. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 44 student participants through a researcher-developed survey consisting of Likert-scale and open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative responses were thematically coded. Internal consistency analyses demonstrated acceptable to strong reliability across survey scales (Q6 α = 0.70; Q7 α = 0.89). Findings indicated that students perceived a consistent association between the Game Café and positive emotional experiences, collaboration, peer interaction, and the perceived development of transferable skills such as communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Participants also described the café as a low-pressure and socially supportive environment that fostered motivation and informal learning beyond the classroom. Overall, the findings suggest that analog, co-curricular game-based environments may support students’ perceived engagement, belonging, and learning within higher education contexts. Full article

System models and artifacts continuously require validation and refinement to address imprecise specifications and early-stage requirements in order to derive executable simulations. We propose a multi-layer approach for the automated formalization and execution of partial generative specifications derived from high-level descriptions. The first layer processes model seeds—potentially produced by large language models—that capture coarse structural information such as node relations, ordering, and timing estimates. Rather than requiring fully specified executable models from generative sources, we restrict their role to producing partial specifications, which are then completed through formal synthesis. We implement a synthesis engine based on Boolean satisfiability that constructs executable control flow structures from these partial specifications while enforcing structural consistency and execution semantics. Satisfiability modulo theories are further used to verify temporal properties and establish simulation baselines. The resulting models are then transformed into a set-theoretic discrete event system specification, enabling executable simulation via generated code artifacts. This pipeline establishes a unified pathway from partial generative artifacts to formally validated and executable models. It enables reliable and interpretable exploration of design alternatives and experimentation under formally grounded structural and temporal constraints, while providing a foundation for integrating generative modeling with rigorous execution semantics. Full article

Algorithm development and its implementation by novice programmers in their first or second year of programming education can be difficult to teach because they often involve two-dimensional data structures, such as matrices. The use of these data structures requires both the ability to use nested iterations and the ability to coordinate row and column indices correctly. While algorithm visualization is commonly suggested as a method for externalizing intermediate program states and enhancing the understanding of algorithms, empirical studies have primarily focused on one-dimensional structures, such as sorting vectors using various algorithms. This study investigates the pedagogical potential of theory-informed, interactive, matrix-based algorithm visualizations implemented with the MatrixVis JavaScript library, a reusable web-based framework that provides step-by-step execution, visual highlighting of matrix operations, and synchronized source code display. The visualizations were demonstrated during introductory programming lectures and evaluated using a structured questionnaire (N = 48). Students evaluated the visualizations positively. The perceived usefulness of animations for understanding algorithms received a mean rating of M = 4.56, while the clarity of the visual presentation (M = 4.58), step-by-step execution (M = 4.54), and synchronized code highlighting (M = 4.69) were rated as particularly supportive. Visualizations of aggregation algorithms were perceived as the clearest (M = 4.58), whereas visualizations of structural transformations were slightly more difficult to follow (M = 4.08). These findings suggest that theoretically grounded, interactive visualizations of algorithms on matrices can provide meaningful pedagogical support in introductory programming education. Full article

Objective: To compare disability-inclusion strategies and programmes in higher education institutions in Mexico and Colombia and identify organisational conditions associated with gaps between policy intentions and implementation. Methods: A qualitative comparative multi-case design used a documentary corpus of 15 materials and eight semi-structured interviews with adult professional key informants, one per case university. A criterion-based purposive sample of eight universities (four per country) balanced public and private institutions and prioritised cases with disability-support units or inclusive education programmes. Data were analysed through grounded theory-informed axial and selective coding, with triangulation across documents and interviews; informed consent was obtained. Results: Five categories structured the findings: inclusive cultures, inclusive policies, inclusive practices, educational trajectories and progress/challenges. Within this case set, Mexican universities showed stronger institutionalisation through protocols, structured support routes and more visible technological accessibility. Colombian universities showed more fragmented implementation, often dependent on local initiatives, with persistent attitudinal barriers and weaker systematisation. In both contexts, misalignment between normative discourse and implementation capacity constrained staff training and impact evaluation. Conclusions: Sustainable inclusion was most evident where institutional culture, policy and practice were aligned. Monitoring mechanisms, stable resourcing and longitudinal support pathways are needed to secure equitable student trajectories from admission to graduation. Full article

This paper proposes a robust controller combined with extension theory (ET) and applies it to the speed control of a brushless DC motor (BLDCM) drive system. The controller uses the motor’s speed error and its rate of change as characteristic values to establish ET classical domain and neighborhood domain models. Appropriate weights are set, and then the real-time speed error and its rate of change are used as input to calculate their correlation function with the ET model. The system can automatically determine the optimal proportional–integral (P-I) parameters, enabling the controller to perform real-time adaptive adjustments in response to the system’s nonlinear and time-varying characteristics. This overcomes the shortcomings of traditional fixed-gain P-I controllers with insufficient response during speed tracking and load changes. Furthermore, the system is equipped with a synchronous reference frame-based sliding mode observer (SRF-SMO) to achieve speed sensorless control. A power factor correction (PFC) circuit and over-voltage and over-current protection circuits are added to the drive system to improve the power quality at the power source and the operational safety of the drive system. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller, this paper implements the control algorithm on a 32-bit floating-point digital signal processor (DSP) TMS320F28335 using PSIM SimCoder’s automatic code generation technology. The experimental results show that compared to three different sliding mode controllers (SMCs) designed with constant speed reaching law (CSRL), exponential reaching law (ERL), and extension theory combined with exponential reaching law (ETERL), the proposed extension theory robust speed controller exhibits superior control performance in speed command tracking and load regulation response. This demonstrates that the proposed robust controller not only possesses stronger anti-disturbance capability, smaller speed drop, and shorter recovery time but additionally, the power factor of the drive system under rated load can reach above 0.98, and the protection mechanism can be activated under both over-voltage and over-current conditions, allowing the drive system to operate safely. Full article

Eventfulness is a core dimension of soundscape perception, reflecting cues of activity, social interaction, and dynamic change in the built environment. Although previous studies have examined variables related to eventfulness, evidence remains fragmented across contexts, terminology, and analytical levels, limiting its use in soundscape evaluation and design. This study aims to synthesize and structure the influencing factors of eventfulness perception in built-environment soundscapes. A systematic review was conducted using Web of Science and Scopus, and 79 relevant studies were selected following the PRISMA procedure. Variables, terms, and findings related to eventfulness were extracted and analyzed through grounded theory coding. The results indicate that eventfulness perception is shaped by four core categories: context, sound sources, acoustic environment, and auditory sensation. Over time, research has shifted from sound-related factors toward a broader contextualized understanding, with sound sources remaining the most recurrent explanatory basis and contextual factors expanding markedly but remaining dispersed in evidence. Although variation in contextual definitions, terminology, and measurement protocols limits direct cross-study comparison, the proposed four-category framework provides a coherent structure for organizing existing evidence and highlights the need for more systematic empirical research across diverse built-environment settings. Full article

Graphs $D(n,q)$ and their connected components $CD(n,q)$ were defined 30 years ago. We briefly review their applications to Extremal Graph Theory, Spectral Graph Theory, Algebraic Graph Theory, Symmetric Cryptography, and Theory of Low Density Parity Check Codes. We introduce several new algorithms of Noncommutative Cryptography based on these graphs of large girth. In particular we propose a modification of the Diffie–Hellman protocol in terms of the semigroup of walks of even length on the forest obtained as the projective limit of $D(n,q)$ and the homomorphic image of this monoid, acting on the vector space ${\left(F_q\right)}^n$ as the transformation group $G(n,q)$ of cubic polynomial transformations. The protocol allows users to compute a collision vector from ${\left(F_q\right)}^n$ in time $O\left(n^2\right)$. The security of these schemes rests on the complexity of the Conjugacy Power Problem for the affine Cremona semigroup of automorphisms of $F_q[x_1,x_2,\dots ,x_n]$. An inverse protocol of El Gamal type allows one to use this scheme for encryption or the creation of digital signatures. Several obfuscations of these algorithms are given. Full article

Commercial age-friendly modes are increasingly embedded in smartphone applications, yet their task-performance implications for older adults remain uncertain. This two-stage study used a cognitively informed ecological-to-controlled strategy linking evaluation of commercial age-friendly versions with controlled testing of specified interface components while modeling older adults’ task-relevant cognitive ability. In Experiment 1 (n = 22), older adults completed ten tasks in standard and age-friendly versions of WeChat and Pinduoduo. The age-friendly versions showed no overall advantage in clicks, completion time, or erroneous clicks (all ps ≥ 0.548). Activity Theory-informed video coding identified recurrent task-to-interface mismatches, including insufficiently salient feedback. The exploratory Task 8 product-search observations, together with these coded interaction problems, indicated that product search was a relevant context in which menu configuration, action confirmation, and cognitive demands could be examined together. Because the commercial app versions differed across content and interface features, Experiment 2 (n = 30) used a custom Android product-search task to manipulate menu configuration and vibration feedback while modeling delayed recall continuously as an indicator of task-relevant cognitive ability. Relative to the flat configuration, the two-level menu was associated with 56.7% fewer clicks and 30.7% shorter completion time, whereas vibration feedback was associated with 20.2% fewer ineffective clicks. Delayed recall was associated with completion time in the primary model, but this association was attenuated after adjustment for age and sex. Together, the findings show that a commercial age-friendly label should not be treated as evidence of performance benefit. By separating ecological diagnosis from controlled component testing, the study provides an evidence pathway for translating real-world human–computer interaction problems into testable, task-specific interface components and supports a cognitively informed, information-structure-prioritized, and multisensory approach to smartphone-based product-search design for older adults. Full article

Joint statistical learning enables interacting individuals to form shared representations, but prior research has primarily focused on homogeneous dyads with equivalent expertise. Real-world interactions often involve knowledge asymmetries, yet it remains unclear how novices implicitly acquire statistical regularities from expert partners via sensorimotor signals. This study investigated whether novices can implicitly extract sequence regularities to enhance joint statistical learning and compared two candidate mechanisms, action feedback versus action visibility. Using a modified serial reaction time task across three experiments, we found that novices paired with trained experts exhibited significantly steeper declines in reaction time compared to those paired with pseudo-experts. Moreover, expert-paired novices demonstrated a pronounced quadratic trajectory, indicating sequence-specific learning. Experiment 2 revealed that the absence of immediate action feedback eliminated this sequence-specific interference effect in novices, highlighting the critical role of shared perceptual outcomes in the implicit transmission of task regularities. Conversely, Experiment 3 showed that the absence of visual access to the expert’s physical movements attenuated neither the novices’ general sequence acquisition nor their sequence-specific interference effect. These findings extend the Theory of Event Coding framework to asymmetric social contexts by demonstrating that effect-based coding, rather than direct kinematic observation, drives implicit behavioral facilitation in joint action. Full article

Rural communities face persistent economic challenges, and universities increasingly serve as catalysts for regional entrepreneurial development. This study evaluates the RISE29 program, a consulting-based internship initiative placing interdisciplinary undergraduate teams as paid interns with small businesses in economically distressed counties of Eastern North Carolina, examining what students across disciplines learned. Drawing on Cope’s entrepreneurial learning framework as a sensitizing theoretical lens, the study asks: (1) What themes characterize the entrepreneurial learning experiences described by RISE29 interns across cohorts and disciplines? (2) How do reflective depth, student agency, and program satisfaction vary across cohort periods, disciplinary affiliations, and program structures? A multi-layered qualitative analysis of 158 written reflection papers submitted across ten cohorts (Spring 2019–Summer 2022) was integrated with deductive qualitative analysis guided by Cope’s entrepreneurial learning framework, constructivist grounded theory coding, reflexive thematic analysis, reflective depth coding, sentiment and tone analysis, and cross-group comparison. Seven themes emerged: communication as the central axis of learning; collaborative identity development; leadership identity formation; encounter with Eastern North Carolina’s rural communities; professional identity and career clarity; real-world learning and classroom transfer; and program satisfaction with constructive critique. All four dimensions of Cope’s framework were present across disciplines, and non-Business students, in several cases, demonstrated a high degree of analytical depth warranting further investigation. Reflective depth increased in cohorts using an expanded prompt, though overlapping structural changes across the study period preclude single-factor attribution. Place-based, consulting-driven experiential programs generate substantive entrepreneurial learning across disciplinary lines, though findings reflect students’ perceived learning rather than verified competency acquisition. These results support investment in client vetting, structured reflection, cross-disciplinary teaming, and in-person community engagement. Full article

Background: Effective nurse–patient communication is fundamental to quality care delivery, yet language barriers pose significant challenges in multicultural healthcare environments. In Saudi Arabia’s diverse healthcare landscape, nurses frequently encounter patients who do not speak Arabic, potentially compromising care quality and patient safety. Objective: To explore multilevel factors influencing communication between Saudi nurses and non-Arabic-speaking patients, using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as a conceptual framework. Design: A qualitative descriptive study employing semi-structured interviews analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Setting: Four healthcare facilities (two governmental and two private hospitals) across Saudi Arabia. Participants: Eighteen Saudi registered nurses with experience caring for non-Arabic-speaking patients, recruited through purposive sampling. Methods: Semi-structured interviews (n = 18) were conducted in Arabic or English between November 2025 and February 2026. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis, organized within Bronfenbrenner’s ecological levels. Collaborative reflexive coding and member-checking with six participants supported analytical rigor. Results: Five main themes emerged: (1) Individual-level competencies and preparedness (microsystem), (2) Interpersonal dynamics and cultural sensitivity (microsystem), (3) Unit-level resources and organizational support (mesosystem), (4) Institutional policies and language services (exosystem), and (5) Healthcare system and societal influences (macrosystem). Participants identified language proficiency gaps, cultural misunderstandings, inadequate interpreter services, and systemic barriers as primary challenges affecting communication quality. Conclusions: Communication between Saudi nurses and non-Arabic-speaking patients is influenced by complex, interconnected factors across multiple ecological levels. Interventions should address individual competency development, organizational support systems, and policy-level changes to ensure equitable, safe, and effective communication for all patients. Full article

This study synthesises evidence on whether, why, and under what conditions digital technologies improve resource efficiency across multi-tier global value chains (GVCs) and examines the theoretical adequacy of dominant explanatory lenses. Following the PRISMA 2020 protocol, we searched Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, and ProQuest, retaining 150 articles for qualitative synthesis and 137 for bibliometric science-mapping; themes were developed via multi-cycle coding and triangulated with co-citation and keyword co-occurrence networks. Reported efficiency gains are strongest when firms deploy integrated digital stacks combining IoT sensing, AI analytics, blockchain traceability, and digital twins that jointly enable visibility, verification, and simulation-based optimisation, a pattern based predominantly on observational and cross-sectional evidence. Outcomes are contingent on cross-firm capability complementarities, data-governance arrangements, regulatory congruence, and cyber-risk maturity. A key structural finding is the digital-regionalisation paradox: stringent data-compliance demands can re-anchor sourcing within regulatory blocs, concentrating rather than extending GVC geography. Building on these findings, we propose three theoretical extensions, namely ecosystemic capability bundling, digital-sustainability spillovers, and distributed eco-innovation, that advance Transaction Cost Economics, the Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities, and GVC governance theories to better account for the sustainability and platform dimensions of contemporary digitalised value chains. Full article

To address the stringent demands of intelligent connected vehicles for high bandwidth, low latency, and highly reliable communication, this paper systematically summarizes the semantic communication technology of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) based on information “meaning” transmission, covering basic theory, key technologies, application practice and challenge and trends. First, the paper expounds the knowledge driven and task oriented paradigm characteristics of semantic communication and its efficiency advantages in the IoV. Second, in terms of key technologies, semantic extraction achieves efficient feature compression through multimodal fusion and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI); semantic coding employs hierarchical codebooks and adaptive strategies to optimize transmission efficiency; semantic transmission leverages deep reinforcement learning for the joint scheduling of resources such as spectrum and power; and semantic decoding utilizes reconstruction networks and GAI to enhance resilience against impairments. Application practices demonstrate that semantic communication can significantly compress image data transmission volume for autonomous driving collaborative perception while maintaining high-fidelity reconstruction under adverse channel conditions. It significantly reduces the communication load and improves the system utility in vehicle-to-infrastructure coordination and in-vehicle service. Despite facing technical challenges such as semantic consistency, dynamic adaptability, and security trustworthiness, future semantic communication will evolve towards deep integration with distributed collaborative knowledge networks, lightweight real-time decision-making agents, and integrated “communication, sensing, and computing” architectures, positioning itself as a key enabling technology for empowering Sixth Generation mobile communication (6G) of intelligent vehicular networks. Full article

As video-based influencer marketing becomes central to digital brand communication, understanding what drives consumer engagement on interactive platforms is increasingly critical. This study examines how content and contextual features influence engagement behavior in influencer-sponsored videos on Bilibili. Drawing on the theory of conversation and the customer-perceived-value framework, we propose a four-part framework—Who (influencer characteristics), What (message content), How (presentation strategy), and When (timin g)—to explain engagement variation. Using a manually coded dataset of 457 sponsored videos, we find that hedonic appeal, comparative messaging, and message sidedness significantly enhance engagement, while signals of brand control, promotional incentives, and technical features (e.g., plug-ins, progress bars) have no significant effect. Notably, perceived expertise and posting during the platform’s “golden period” also do not affect engagement, underscoring the importance of relatability and content salience over authority or timing. By integrating message strategy with interactive design, this study advances marketing communication theory in digital contexts and offers practical insights for optimizing content strategy on social video platforms. Full article

We propose a mathematical framework for domain generalization in medical image segmentation built on dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) and variational information theory. The core premise is that, under adequate spatial normalization and acquisition-style shifts, DTCWT phase components are more closely associated with anatomical structure, whereas amplitude components are more sensitive to domain-specific intensity and style variations. We formulate this as a local phase–magnitude complementarity premise and construct an information bottleneck that operates on structured subband representations. The framework provides several key theoretical results under explicit structural assumptions: an information bound showing when DTCWT amplitude subbands better isolate domain-related information than global Fourier representations; a variational information bottleneck encoder that compresses domain-specific amplitude information into low-dimensional latent codes; a triple constraint mechanism (domain supervision, KL compression, and orthogonality) that controls domain–task information leakage; and a predictive feature modulation scheme with $O\left(1\right)$ spatial complexity. We further analyze test-time adaptation via calibrated uncertainty, deriving a sufficient condition under which a two-pass inference strategy reduces the expected generalization gap. Finally, we include illustrative public-dataset checks on FeTS 2022 and BraTS 2023 to test the central phase–amplitude premise and the feasibility of DTCWT-front-end segmentation. All theorems are stated with their assumptions and verifiable conditions, offering a physically motivated approach to domain generalization in medical imaging. Full article