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Our experience with business and economic students indicates limited understanding and confidence when working with macroeconomic data such as unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, business cycles, and price indexes. To close this gap, the authors have developed and evaluated a college classroom experiential activity defined as the Storytelling Project (SP) conducted in nine principles of economics courses in a mid-size private university over a period of two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the SP, students wrote personal stories that assisted them in connecting with their audience and then visually presented complex economic data. A workbook supplemented the SP with learning objectives, tasks, multiple examples of data analysis, storytelling techniques, and videos. Participants completed a self-efficacy and attitude survey of perceived cognition, confidence, and motivation and took an assessment to evaluate cognitive competencies. The survey and assessment results were compared against students who did not complete the SP. Our results indicate that the SP and the workbook are effective experiential learning activities that improve data analysis and communication skills among college students. Students show more confidence and motivation in macroeconomics and data analysis at the end of the semester. Knowledge or cognitive competency is ranked higher among those completing the SP.
RESUMO
Background and Aim: Several Ecuadorian farms use human test strips (cheaper than veterinary strips) to diagnose bovine ketosis; however, their reliability is unknown. This study aimed to determine the confidence level of human strips for the detection of ketosis in bovines by comparing two diagnostic methods for ketosis: one used in bovines (gold standard) to analyze blood samples and the other used in humans to analyze urine samples. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on an Ecuadorian farm using 50 animals, ten from each of five categories: heifers, 4 months pregnant (4MP), 15 days prepartum (15DPRE), 15 days postpartum (15DPOST), and 42 days postpartum (42DPOST). Blood samples were collected through coccygeal venipuncture and urine samples were collected during spontaneous urination. BHBCheck™ assay was used to measure b-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in the blood, whereas Combur10Test® was used to measure acetoacetate (AcAc) in urine for the determination of ketosis. Results: BHB was detected in all animals. Based on a ketosis cutoff point of 0.8-1.2 mmol/L, 13 animals from the 15DPOST and 42DPOST categories had ketosis; AcAc was detected in the urine from nine animals originated from the two same categories. Metabolites, either BHB or AcAc, were not detected in heifers, 4MP, or 15DPRE individuals. Finally, the BHBCheck™ assay had better efficiency in detecting ketosis in animals (p<0.05) than the Combur10Test®. Conclusion: Combur10Test® urine strips reached 92% reliability for the detection of ketosis in dairy cattle, compared to BHBCheck™ assays.