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Given declining tuition funds and government grants, Kenyan universities need to develop strategies, including increased research grants and collaborations, to diversify their income sources. Well-managed doctoral students can boost a university’s teaching and research outputs. However, numbers of students enrolled in doctoral programmes at Kenyan universities are low, and graduation rates and time-to-graduate statistics are disturbing. Research undertaken elsewhere underline the important role played by supervisors and peers in facilitating students’ sense of belonging and their success. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence of supervisory and peer support on PhD students’ sense of belonging and their success at Kenyan universities.

In this cross-sectional study, data were gathered through an online questionnaire from 614 students admitted to doctoral programmes at Kenyan universities between 2010 and 2018. We used multi-item scales to collect data on PhD students’ self-efficacy, supervisory and peer support and a sense of belonging.

Structural equation modelling results revealed that PhD students’ modes of study and self-efficacy were significantly associated with the quality of supervision, peer support and a sense of belonging. However, only age, a sense of belonging and the quality of supervision were directly linked to their success.

This study contributes to the literature on doctoral-level education, responding to the need for research on the influence of relationships with supervisors and peers on PhD students’ sense of belonging and their success, especially in developing countries.

The aim of the paper is to analyze how actors in foodservice companies organize for inbound open innovation (OI).

This paper conducted a case analysis of a large and successful foodservice company operating in the Dutch market. Furthermore, drawing on 18 interviews and archive data, we identified the main organizational practices involved in the implementation of inbound innovation activities and the ways they are embraced are defined.

The results provide a holistic view of the main organizational practices a foodservice company implemented at different organizational levels, to exploit external knowledge coming from third parties and to promote the sharing and recombination of knowledge resources within the organization. The identified organizational practices reveal the main interaction patterns between relevant internal actors and other external parties in the company network, as well as between actors on different hierarchical organizational levels which allows processing relevant innovation information and make relevant decisions about it.

Implications are provided in terms of both theory and practice. This paper helps foodservice companies to create an internal organizational environment that supports the exploitation of customer knowledge.

There are few studies on how companies organize themselves for OI in general, and especially in the foodservice sector.

The purpose of this paper is to implement the generative design as an optimization technique to achieve a reasonable trade-off between weight and reliability for the control arm plate of a double-wishbone suspension assembly of a Formula Student race car.

The generative design methodology is applied to develop a low-weight design alternative to a standard control arm plate design. A static stress simulation and a fatigue life study are developed to assess the response of the plate against the loading criteria and to ensure that the plate sustains the theoretically determined number of loading cycles.

The approach implemented provides a justifiable outcome for a weight-factor of safety trade-off. In addition to optimal material distribution, the generative design methodology provides several design outcomes, for different materials and fabrication techniques. This enables the selection of the best possible outcome for several structural requirements.

This technique can be used for applications with pre-defined constraints, such as packaging and loading, usually observed in load-bearing components developed in the automotive and aerospace sectors of the manufacturing industry.

Using this technique can provide an alternative design solution to long periods spent in the design phase, because of its ability to generate several possible outcomes in just a fraction of time.

The proposed research provides a means of developing optimized designs and provides techniques in which the design developed and chosen can be structurally analyzed.

The ever-changing educational landscape, exacerbated by recent events surrounding COVID, political and cultural unrest, necessitates educators who are antifragile, able to withstand pressures and thrive amidst uncertainty. To this end, the pilot study reported here aims to examine mathematics educators’ initial reflections on what it means to be a risk-taker in the classroom, what prevents them from engaging in instructional risks and what would support their instructional risk-taking.

The pilot study utilized interviews with participants, including four pre-service teachers who were enrolled at the university and seven in-service teachers who were employed on active PDS campuses within the school district.

Preliminary findings suggest teacher beliefs concerning risk-taking, the barriers to engaging in such behaviors and the support needed to be able to take instructional risks. Results highlight the role of school–university partnerships in cultivating a culture of risk-taking through active collaboration and dialogue.

These findings have important implications for universities and PDS partners engaged in preparing teachers for an educational field that is unpredictable and continually changing. Additional research should be completed in varying PDS settings.

Findings highlight the role of school–university partnerships in cultivating a culture of risk-taking through active collaboration and dialogue.

Educators are currently faced with an unprecedented instructional landscape. Antifragile, risk-taking teachers are needed who are adaptable and innovative, thus better equipped to enter the challenging and uncertain realities of education.

This study aims to explore the relationship between principals’ performance on the Pennsylvania Framework for Leadership evaluation tool and the corresponding self-reported degree of self-efficacy and growth mindset.

The data analysis involved linear regression of principal performance on principals’ mindset, moral leadership self-efficacy and instructional self-efficacy scores. Additionally, correlation matrices identified the presence and direction of relationships between self-efficacy levels and the degree of growth mindset reported by principals.

The results demonstrated a positive association between principals’ instructional self-efficacy reports and their overall performance evaluation. Alternatively, both growth mindset and moral leadership self-efficacy evidenced a negative association. There was no association reflected between growth mindset and either the overall self-efficacy measure or the sub-scale self-efficacy measures. A secondary relationship revealed a negative association between school performance profile and growth mindset. This relationship held true in subsequent regression analyses.

The study adds to the limited research available on examining the relationship between principals’ self-efficacy levels and their performance ratings on a common tool.

The purpose of this study is to follow up on the structural and fatigue analysis of car wheel rims with carbon fibre composites in order to ensure the vehicular safety. The wheel is an essential element of the vehicle suspension system that supports the static and dynamic loads encountered during its motion. The rim provides a firm base to hold the tire and supports the wheel, and it is also one of the load-bearing elements in the entire automobile as the car's weight and occupants' weight act upon it. The wheel rim should be strong enough to withstand the load with such a background, ensuring vehicle safety, comfort and performance. The dimensions, shape, structure and material of the rim are crucial factors for studying vehicle handling characteristics that demand automobile designers' concern.

In the present study, solid models of three different wheel rims, namely, R-1, R-2 and R-3, designed for three different cars, are modelled in SOLIDWORKS. Different carbon composite materials of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), namely, PEEK 90 HMF 40, PEEK 450 CA 30, PEEK 450 GL 40 and carbon fibre reinforced polymer-unidirectional (CFRP-UD) are used as rim materials for conducting the structural and fatigue analysis using ANSYS Workbench.

The results thus obtained in the analyses are used to identify the better carbon fibre composite material for the wheel rim such that it gives better structural properties and less fatigue. The R-3 model rim has shown better structural properties and less fatigue with PEEK 90 HMF 40 material.

The carbon composite materials used in this study have shown promissory results that can be used as an alternative for aluminium, steel and other regular materials.

Based on the general formula, which depends on the length and difficulty of the test, the number of respondents and the number of ability levels, this study aims to provide a closed formula for the adaptive tests with medium difficulty (probability of solution is p = 1/2) to determine the accuracy of the parameters for each item and in the case of calibrated items, determine the required test length given number of respondents.

Empirical results have been obtained on computerized or multistage adaptive implementation. Simulation studies and classroom/experimental results show that adaptive tests can measure test subjects’ ability to the same quality over half the test length compared to linear versions. Due to the complexity of the problem, the authors discuss a closed mathematical formula: the relationship between the length of the tests, the difficulty of solving the items, the number of respondents and the levels of ability.

The authors present a closed formula that provides a lower bound for the minimum test length in the case of adaptive tests. The authors also present example calculations using the formula, based on the assessment framework of some student assessments to show the similarity between the theoretical calculations and the empirical results.

With this formula, we can form a connection between theoretical and simulation results.

Communication apprehension (CA) is the fear or anxiety about communicating. In addition, self-perceived communication competence (SPCC) refers to the learners' perception of their competence. CA hampers individuals' ability to communicate effectively in various communication contexts, which has an impact on their employability. Confident communicators with effective communication skills are important issues for graduation as well as desirable attributes for recruiting agencies. Given that employers value graduates who can communicate effectively in the workplace without any apprehension, this study was designed to determine the levels of CA and SPCC among final-year non-English major undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia and the extent to which SPCC could affect their CA when speaking in English with implications for their employability as the next generation of workers.

Two survey questionnaires were administered to 70 non-English major undergraduate students in their final year employing probability random sampling to measure their CA level and to assess their SPCC in different English as foreign language (EFL) contexts. Pearson's correlation and linear regression analysis were used to investigate the relationship between CA and SPCC. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics in SPSS 21.

The findings indicated a medium level of SPCC and CA. Moreover, the correlation formula revealed that there was a moderately significant association between learners' SPCC and their CA (r (70) = −0.524, p < 0.01). Through regression analysis, it was found that their SPCC could predict 27% of the variance in their CA. The moderate effect of SPCC on CA implied that students could be prepared to cope and perform in the workplace.

Without communication, the establishment and evolution of the human community are unattainable. This aspect is more evident and crucial in the list of graduate objectives and needed outcomes for future career endeavors. The findings encourage instructors and course designers to provide many learning opportunities in pleasurable learning environments to raise students' perceptions of their competence, in turn enhancing their confidence to speak in English and ensuring a smooth transition from academia to the workplace. Based on the findings, several suggestions for future studies in the EFL context are presented.

Team teaching in higher education requires a great deal of coordination and commitment from both the professors teaching together, as well as administrators coordinating courses. Given the difficulties in logistics, it is not surprising that many teams give up on team teaching after only one or two semesters. The literature and lived experience by the authors verify the benefits that come from team teaching: multiple perspectives on the course material, more than one-course delivery method, greater attention from students used to just one instructor, and a greater level of energy in the room and on-line when more than one presenter shares the lecture time. Team teaching (or co-teaching as it is also referred to), in the Service Management Specialization at the Gustavson School of Business in Victoria, Canada, is sharing a cohort of students across three classes, and while each professor is responsible for separate course topics, each makes the time to integrate topics and share time in the classroom together multiple times during the semester.

The authors have been part of a team delivering curriculum this way for over 20 years, and this chapter examines how the material is organized and delivered to team teaching success. Critical elements include funding to support team teaching, commitment from professors to coordinate together, willingness to share materials, and building bridges from class to class to enable students to follow and integrate learnings. Team teaching has resulted in greater cohesiveness among faculty teaching in the program, higher teaching evaluations than professors experienced in solo teaching, and students who feel better prepared to tackle complex business problems that cross the interdisciplinary boundaries of marketing, operations, and talent management.