The purposes of this study were to integrate imagination and STEAM education to construct a special topic course on wearable devices for pets for technology senior high school students studying electronic science; to explore the impacts of the learning process on students’ imagination, STEAM competences and satisfaction with learning effectiveness; and to investigate the integration of imagination into STEAM education. This study adopted the design research method and took 40 students in the third year of a special topic course in electronic science at a technology senior high school as the research subjects. The students were randomly divided into 8 groups, and teaching activities were carried out for 18 weeks. This study used questionnaire and documentary analysis methods to carry out peer evaluation, pretests, posttests and student self-report surveys to collect qualitative and quantitative data for statistical analysis and cross-validation. In this study, a new integration model of imagination and STEAM is proposed. The design research method was employed to plan the iSTEAM course and design special topic activities about real-life issues so that the degree of integration of imagination into the STEAM special topic course and the quality of the students’ work were moderately positively correlated and highly positively correlated, respectively, with students’ application of their learning from various aspects of iSTEAM, which can significantly enhance their imagination, STEAM competences, and satisfaction with their learning effectiveness. The iSTEAM teaching model can help engineering educators develop and evaluate iSTEAM courses and learning activities and provides new contributions to and research directions for STEAM education.

No studies have discussed machine learning algorithms to predict recurrence within 10 years after breast cancer surgery. This study purposed to compare the accuracy of forecasting models to predict recurrence within 10 years after breast cancer surgery and to identify significant predictors of recurrence. Registry data for breast cancer surgery patients were allocated to a training dataset (n = 798) for model development, a testing dataset (n = 171) for internal validation, and a validating dataset (n = 171) for external validation. Global sensitivity analysis was then performed to evaluate the significance of the selected predictors. Demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, quality of care, and preoperative quality of life were significantly associated with recurrence within 10 years after breast cancer surgery (p < 0.05). Artificial neural networks had the highest prediction performance indices. Additionally, the surgeon volume was the best predictor of recurrence within 10 years after breast cancer surgery, followed by hospital volume and tumor stage. Accurate recurrence within 10 years prediction by machine learning algorithms may improve precision in managing patients after breast cancer surgery and improve understanding of risk factors for recurrence within 10 years after breast cancer surgery.

In this study, experimental teaching was conducted through the artificial intelligence of things (AIOT) practical course, and the 4D (discover, define, develop, deliver) double diamond shape was used to design the course and plan the teaching content to observe the students’ self-efficacy and learning anxiety. The technology acceptance model (TAM) concept was used to explore learning effectiveness and satisfaction. A total of 36 Senior One students from a senior high school in Kaohsiung were selected as the research subjects in two classes per week for 13 weeks. Questionnaires and qualitative interviews were used to understand the correlation between students’ self-efficacy, anxiety, outcomes, and learning satisfaction with the AIOT course during the flipped learning process. The study used SmartPLS3 to analyze the measurement model and structural model, and bootstrapping to conduct the path analysis and validate the research hypotheses. Because this research provides students with relevant online teaching videos for linking and browsing in the textbooks, and the video time should not be too long, in the teaching process, small-scale online learning courses are adopted for flipped teaching, which promptly arouses students’ interest and enhances their learning participation. Through the sharing of homework with each other, its content deficiencies were modified, students’ anxiety in learning was reduced, and the effect of learning and thinking together was achieved; in the teaching mode, theoretical content was combined with physical and practical courses to implement cross-disciplinary. To learn, the principle of 4D double diamond design to make “reciprocal corrections” between curriculum planning and teaching implementation as the teaching model framework was used. The results of this study show ”self-efficacy” has a significant positive effect on the “perceived usefulness” and “perceived ease of use” of users. “Learning anxiety” does not significantly predict the “perceived ease of use” or “perceived usefulness” of flipped learning using online e-learning. The “perceived ease of use” and “perceived usefulness” have positive impacts on the prediction of “behavioral intention” in flipped teaching using online digital teaching materials. The “perceived ease of use” has a positive and high impact on “perceived usefulness”. “Learning engagement” positively affects students’ actual “behavioral intention” towards learning. Students are highly receptive to learning new knowledge about science and technology.

This study aims to establish a green supplier selection and guidance mechanism by integrating the features of an ANP (Analytic Network Process) and an IPA (Importance–Performance Analysis) to achieve sustainable management for green supply chains. Using an expert survey, this study developed green supplier selection criteria. It adopted an ANP, which allows for interdependencies and feedback between the various criteria, to select competitive green suppliers. Then, it used an IPA, which can analyze the criteria’s significance and performance levels, to provide green suppliers with direction for guidance and improvements. The green supplier selection and guidance mechanism featuring an ANP and IPA is thus established and validated through case studies. The research results showed the following: (1) the green supplier selection criteria comprise a total of 11 performance evaluation criteria from the three dimensions of operation, competence, and environmental consciousness; (2) as shown by the APN evaluation results, environmental benefits, environmental regulations, finance, technological competence, and delivery time are the top five among the overall green criteria of the company; the performance of the various suppliers is thus arranged in order, and the most competitive supplier is selected; (3) an IPA is used to analyze the criteria’s significance and supplier performance levels and to provide the suppliers with suggestions on priority improvements, including implementing the requirements in the environmental regulations, establishing comprehensive financial management procedures, improving corporate technological competence, and consolidating customer service; (4) it is suggested that an ANP and IPA should be integrated in the applications, which could simplify the green supplier selection and guidance mechanisms and increase the efficiency of supplier management, thus creating a three-win situation for the clients, the company, and the suppliers.

This study developed a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math)-6E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, Enrich, Evaluate; 6E Learning by Design) special course based on the theme of creative design of IoT (Internet of Things) assistant devices for the elderly and investigated the impact of this course on students’ learning effectiveness. It invited eight experts and scholars for focus interviews, jointly developed the STEAM-6E special course, designed teaching activities around the theme of creative design of IoT assistant devices for the elderly, and created a learning effectiveness scale. Furthermore, it selected 46 students majoring in nursing in a vocational and technological college as its subjects and distributed copies of a questionnaire among them to explore learning effectiveness. This study reached the following conclusions. The STEAM-6E special course on the creative design of IoT assistant devices for the elderly included three dimensions, that is, the STEAM course, 6E teaching, and the acquisition of professional knowledge, as well as 17 competence indicators. The nursing students affirmed the learning outcome in the STEAM-6E course, the 6E teaching model, and thematic knowledge after attending the STEAM-6E course. The hands-on activities of the STEAM-6E special course could guide students to learn key points step by step. The STEAM-6E special course can strengthen students’ abilities to integrate STEAM knowledge and improve their learning effectiveness in each discipline. The STEAM-6E special course for the elderly improved the cooperative learning, professional knowledge, and confidence of the students. In light of these conclusions, this study developed a teaching model for the STEAM-6E special course on the creative design of IoT assistant devices for the elderly and proposed several suggestions for curriculum planning and the implementation of a STEAM-6E special course.

The purpose of this study is to explore the application of VR (virtual reality) technology to assist the development of VR welding courses in welding practice teaching, and to implement experimental teaching to verify its effectiveness. The preliminary VR welding curriculum structure was developed by this study according to the results of literature review and focus group interviews, the student-based “VR welding course” was developed, and 34 first-year students of the electric welding practice course were taken as the research subjects to implement experimental teaching and case study. The qualitative and quantitative research and analysis results are as follows. (1) The results of the final test of the welding practice of most students are significantly higher than the results of the mid-term test. (2) Most students expressed significant positive affirmation of the learning effect of the VR-assisted welding course. (3) Most students were very significantly positive regarding their learning satisfaction with the VR-assisted welding teaching course. (4) The four major implementation priorities of VR welding courses were planned. This study develops a “teaching mode of a welding implementation course assisted by virtual reality technology”, which can provide students with a safe, low-cost, repeatable, and sustainable welding skills learning environment, and has been positively affirmed by most students. In the future, the results of this study can provide reference for the introduction of virtual-reality-assisted teaching of welding related courses in various universities of science and technology, in order to strengthen teachers’ teaching ability in VR assisted implementation courses and provide students with more diversified learning stimuli.