Blended and online learning : student perceptions and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve educator knowledge of the antecedents and consequences of blended learning in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal case study approach is adopted. Three case studies each involve tracking a student evaluations of teaching (SET) measure (willingness to recommend) and grade point average for three subjects from the same business discipline over six years. The cases involve comparison of: a business subject taught solely online; a business subject where experimentation in the blend of face-to-face teaching and learning is involved; and a business subject where face-to-face teaching is primarily used, and where in the most recent iteration online content supplements the learners' experiences.

Findings – The findings suggest that there are situations where integrated use of blended learning involving face-to-face teaching, digital media and digital communication with simple navigation between the content items leads to positive student perceptions. This is in contrast to negative student perceptions in the situation where learners must navigate in online learning, and where there is little or no face-to-face instruction. While not examined in detail, nor part of the research question, it is not surprising to find no relationship between learning mode and grade point averages is evidenced.

Research limitations/implications – The effects of prior computer literacy and language proficiency across the students used in this study, and potential demographic and experiential differences between on-campus and off-campus students are not controlled for. Additionally, only three business subjects are investigated and it is recognised that there is a need for a broader study. Finally, with response levels to the university-controlled SET that typically range between 20-43 per cent for these large subjects, there is possible non-response bias that it was not possible to counter over the six years involved.

Practical implications – The findings in this study suggest that while blended learning offers many benefits to higher education institutions and learners alike, care needs to be taken in the manner in which such approaches are implemented in light of possible negative learner perceptions where a less traditional approach is taken.

Originality/value – A major contribution of this study is the fact that experimentation has taken place in terms of the degree of face-to-face and online learning that have been blended in at least one subject (case study two), and the fact that the SET for this subject are compared, longitudinally, with two other subjects which lie on either side of this subject in terms of the extent of online and face-to-face teaching and learning employed – 100 per cent online in case study one and almost 100 per cent face-to-face in case study three.

Child protection practitioners and decision-making tools : observations and reflections from the front line

Decision-making tools, particularly risk-assessment tools, have been implemented by governments around the world, perhaps most notably in the field of child protection, though little attention has been paid to how practitioners use them. This article presents the findings from ethnographic research that explored how child protection practitioners in the Department of Child Safety, Queensland, Australia, used four Structured Decision Making tools developed by the Children's Research Centre in Wisconsin in their daily practice in the intake and investigation stages of a case. The findings that the tools were not being used as intended by their designers and, in fact, tended to undermine the development of expertise by child protection workers has profound implications for the future development of technological approaches to child protection and, more broadly, human services practice.

Mating effort and female receptivity : how do male guppies decide when to invest in sex?

Males vary in the degree to which they invest in mating. Several factors can explain this variation, including differences in males’ individual condition and the fact that males allocate their energy depending on the context they face in each mating attempt. Particularly, female quality affects male reproductive success. Here, we studied whether male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) strategically allocated more mating effort, in terms of mating behaviour and male–male competition, when they were matched with a receptive (R) female than a non-receptive one. In accordance with our prediction, we found that males increased their mating behaviour when they were with a receptive female. Even though male guppies can inseminate non-receptive females, we only found high levels of courtship between males that were with a receptive female rather than a non-receptive one. Although there was little affect of female receptivity on male–male competition, we found that males chased and interrupted courtships more with receptive females than with non-receptive females regardless of odour. Finally, we also studied whether the sexual pheromone produced by receptive female guppies is a cue that males use in order to increase their mating effort. We found that males were more attracted to a female when they perceived the sexual pheromone, but only increased their mating and aggressive behaviours when females showed receptive behaviour. This strategic increase in mating effort could result in higher male reproductive success because mating attempts towards receptive females are likely to be less costly and males could have a greater probability of fertilisation.

Assessment method difference : comparisons between international and domestic students within a first year undergraduate management course

This paper investigates the assessment methods and student results within a first year undergraduate management course offered within the business faculty of an Australian university. This course is compulsory for those studying for a commerce or management degree. The assessment results of full fee paying international students were compared with those of domestic students, during four teaching semesters in 2009 and 2010. Analysis compares 2,682 students’ numerical results for two constructed response assignments to their results for an examination comprising both multiple choice questions and constructed response questions. It also compares the results of international and domestic students across metropolitan, regional and rural campuses. However due to little comparison data for multiple campuses, findings are consolidated by domestic and international students, university-wide. International students were found to achieve lower results than domestic students for constructed response assessment tasks, but higher results than domestic students for multiple choice question assessments. These findings have implications for instructors eager to provide a level assessment playing field for both domestic and international students, enabling both groupings to take advantage of existing strengths but also to improve their weaknesses. This research led to a restructuring and rescheduling of assessment tasks for the 2012 academic year.

Using the theory of planned behaviour and implementation intentions to predict and facilitate upward family communication about mammography

Regular mammography facilitates early detection of breast cancer, and thus increases the chances of survival from this disease. Daughter-initiated (i.e. upward) communication about mammography within mother–daughter dyads may promote mammography to women of screening age. The current study examined this communication behaviour within the context of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and aimed to bridge the intention-behaviour gap by trialling an implementation intention (II) intervention that aimed to facilitate upward family communication about mammography. Young women aged 18–39 (N = 116) were assigned to either a control or experimental condition, and the latter group formed IIs about initiating a conversation with an older female family member about mammography. Overall, those who formed IIs were more likely to engage in the target communication behaviour, however the intervention was most effective for those who reported low levels of intention at baseline. Perceived behavioural control emerged as the most important variable in predicting the target behaviour. The altruistic nature of this behaviour, and the fact that it is not wholly under volitional control, may have contributed to this finding. Future studies that systematically explore the relative roles of intention and perceived behavioural control in behaviours of this nature are warranted.

Conspecific attraction and nest site selection in a nomadic species, the zebra finch

Conspecific nesting density affects many aspects of breeding biology, as well as habitat selection decisions. However, the large variations in breeding density observed in many species are yet to be fully explained. Here, we investigated the settlement patterns in a colonial species with variable breeding density and where resource distribution could be manipulated. The zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, is a classic avian model in evolutionary biology but we know surprisingly very little about nest site selection strategies and nesting densities in this species, and in fact, in nomadic species in general. Yet, important determinants of habitat selection strategies, including temporal predictability and breeding synchrony, are likely to be different in nomadic species than in the non-nomadic species studied to date. Here, we manipulated the distribution of nesting sites (by providing nest boxes) and food patches (feeders) to test four non-exclusive habitat selection hypotheses that could lead to nest aggregation: 1) attraction to resources, 2) attraction to breeding conspecifics, and 3) attraction to successful conspecifics and 4) use of private information (i.e. own reproductive success on a site). We found that wild zebra finches used conspecific presence and possibly reproductive success, to make decisions over where to locate their nests, but did not aggregate around water or food within the study areas. Moreover, there was a high degree of inter-individual variation in nesting density preference. We discuss the significance of our results for habitat selection strategy in nomadic species and with respect to the differential selection pressures that individuals breeding at different densities may experience.

Costly monitoring, dynamic incentives, and default

We study dynamic contracts between a lender and a borrower in the presence of costly state verification and hidden effort. We prove three results. Costly monitoring is employed by the lender to optimally limit history dependence and prevent future inefficient termination of the relationship. Due to interaction between costly monitoring and dynamic incentives, the probability of monitoring may fail to be monotone in the borrower's reservation utility. Finally, following the interpretation of the costly state verification literature, we distinguish two levels of bankruptcy: one associated with restructuring and the other with liquidation.

Service industries and service economy

The study analyses the role of services in modern and less-developed economies. It shows the different meanings of the value, definition and classification of service activities found in economic literature. It discusses the relation between service production growth and economic development observing the role of these activities in the dynamics of economic restructuring. Further, it also examines the differences between private and public sector service restructuring and the consequences of internationalization of services. It concludes that economic restructuring also caused by changes in the nature of goods and services has important regional effects.

Uma análise empírica sobre o processo de recuperação econômica pela via judicial adotado pelas sociedades empresárias: a experiência no Tribunal de Justiça do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Este estudo objetiva analisar os processos de recuperação judicial iniciados, desde a vigência da Lei de Recuperação de Empresas (fevereiro de 2005) até 31/06/2011 nas varas empresarias da comarca da capital do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Além da aferição do tempo médio de cada uma das etapas previstas na Lei de Recuperação de Empresas (deferimento do processamento da recuperação judicial, concessão da recuperação judicial e encerramento do processo após cumprimento de todas as obrigações previstas no plano que se vencerem até dois anos depois da concessão da recuperação judicial), busco também verificar se, de fato, alguma sociedade requerente conseguiu se recuperar. Para tanto, considerarei recuperada a sociedade que, após o encerramento do processo, estiver cumprindo plenamente o seu plano de recuperação, sem que tenha havido qualquer requerimento posterior de falência. Considerando que a Lei de Recuperação de Empresas já está no seu sétimo ano de vigência, bem como o fato de o legislador ter idealizado o processo para que dure no máximo 3 anos, entendo não haver óbices à adoção do conceito supra, tendo em vista que já haver tempo suficiente para o início e encerramento desse tipo de processo. Diante disso, o presente estudo observou que o tempo médio para cumprimento das etapas ultrapassa o limite do razoável, bem como que nenhuma sociedade conseguiu se recuperar até o desfecho da pesquisa, havendo casos, inclusive, de convolação da recuperação judicial em falência.

Barriers to entry and development

This paper analyzes the effect of an accountability system in the Brazilian college market. For each discipline, colleges were assigned a grade that depended on the scores of their students on the ENC, an annual mandatory exam. Those grades were then disclosed to the public, giving applicants information about college quality. The system also established rewards and penalties based on the colleges’ grades. I find that the ENC had a substantial effect on different measures of college quality, such as faculty education and the proportion of full-time faculty. The detailed information from this unique dataset and the fact that the ENC started being required for different disciplines in different years allow me to control for time-specific effects, thus minimizing the bias caused by policy endogeneity. Indeed, I find strong evidence on the importance of controlling for time-specific effects: estimates of the impact of the ENC on college quality more than double when I do not take those effects into account. The ENC also affects positively the ratio between applicants and vacancies, and it decreases the faculty and the entering class sizes. The results suggest that its introduction fostered competition and favored colleges entering the market.

Prevalence and antifungal susceptibility of Candida parapsilosis complex isolates collected from oral cavities of HIV-infected individuals

At present, few data are available on the prevalence and antifungal susceptibility of Candida parapsilosis complex isolates from HIV-infected individuals. The C. parapsilosis complex comprises three species, C. parapsilosis sensu stricto, C. metapsilosis and C. orthopsilosis. Fifteen of 318 Candida isolates were identified as members of the C. parapsilosis complex by PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The prevalence of C. parapsilosis complex isolates was 4.7 %, 2.2 % being identified as C. parapsilosis sensu stricto and 2.5% as C. metapsilosis, while no C. orthopsilosis was isolated. This is believed to be the first study that has identified isolates of C. metapsilosis obtained from the oral cavity of HIV-infected individuals. Antifungal susceptibility tests indicated that all the isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B (AMB), fluconazole (FLC), ketoconazole (KTC), itraconazole (ITC), voriconazole (VRC) and caspofungin (CASPO). Although isolates of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto and C. metapsilosis were susceptible to FLC, isolates of C. metapsilosis showed a tendency for higher MICs (>= 1.0 mu g ml(-1)). Based upon the frequency of candidiasis and the fact that certain isolates of the C. parapsilosis complex respond differently to FLC therapy, our data may be of therapeutic relevance with respect to susceptibility and potential resistance to specific antifungal agents. Our data suggest that C. metapsilosis can be a human commensal; its importance as a pathogen has yet to be confirmed.

Use of sugarcane bagasse and grass hydrolysates as carbon sources for xylanase production by Bacillus circulans D1 in submerged fermentation

The use of sugarcane bagasse and grass as low cost raw material for xylanase production by Bacillus circulans D1 in submerged fermentation was investigated. The microorganism was cultivated in a mineral medium containing hydrolysate of bagasse or grass as carbon source. High production of enzyme was obtained during growth in media with bagasse hydrolysates (8.4 U/mL) and in media with grass hydrolysates (7.5 U/mL). Xylanase production in media with hydrolysates was very close to that obtained in xylan containing media (7.0 U/ mL) and this fact confirm the feasibility of using this agro-industrial byproducts by B. circulans D1 as an alternative to save costs on the enzyme production process. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SiO2-PbF2-CdF2 glasses and glass ceramics

Lead-Cadmium fluorosilicate stable glasses were prepared and the vitreous domain region determined in the composition diagram. Characteristic temperatures were obtained from thermal analysis and the structural studies performed illustrate clearly the role played by lead atoms in the glasses crystallization behavior and the glass-forming ability of cadmium atoms. The occurrence of either a cubic lead fluoride or a lead-cadmium fluoride solid solution in crystallizing samples was found to be dependent on Er3+ doping. The optically active ions were found to concentrate in the crystalline phase and in fact play the role of nucleating agent as suggested from X-ray diffraction and EXAFS measurements. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biotic interaction between spionid polychaetes and bouchardiid brachiopods: Paleoecological, taphonomic and evolutionary implications

Shells of Bouchardia rosea (Brachiopoda, Rhynchonelliformea) are abundant in Late Holocene death assemblages of the Ubatuba Bight, Brazil, SW Atlantic. This genus is also known from multiple localities in the Cenozoic fossil record of South America. A total of 1211 valves of B. rosea, 2086 shells of sympatric bivalve mollusks (14 nearshore localities ranging in depth from 0 to 30 m), 80 shells of Bouchardia zitteli, San Julián Formation, Paleogene, Argentina, and 135 shells of Bouchardia transplatina, Camacho Formation, Neogene, Uruguay were examined for bioerosion traces. All examined bouchardiid shells represent shallow-water, subtropical marine settings. Out of 1211 brachiopod shells of B. rosea, 1201 represent dead individuals. A total of 149 dead specimens displayed polychaete traces (Caulostrepsis). Live polychaetes were found inside Caulostrepsis borings in 10 life-collected brachiopods, indicating a syn-vivo interaction (Caulostrepsis traces in dead shells of B. rosea were always empty). The long and coiled peristomial palps, large chaetae on both sides of the 5th segment, and flanged pygidium found in the polychaetes are characteristic of the polychaete genus Polydora (Spionidae). The fact that 100% of the Caulostrepsis found in living brachiopods were still inhabited by the trace-making spionids, whereas none was found in dead hosts, implies active biotic interaction between the two living organisms rather than colonization of dead brachiopod shells. The absence of blisters, the lack of valve/site stereotypy, and the fact that tubes open only externally are all suggestive of a commensal relationship. These data document a new host group (bouchardiid rhynchonelliform brachiopods) with which spionids can interact (interestingly, spionid-infested sympatric bivalves have not been found in the study area despite extensive sampling). The syn-vivo interaction indicates that substantial bioerosion may occur when the host is alive. Thus, the presence of such bioerosion traces on fossil shells need not imply a prolonged post-mortem exposure of shells on the sea floor. Also, none of the Paleogene and Neogene Bouchardia species included any ichnological evidence for spionid infestation. This indicates that the Spionidae/ Bouchardia association may be geologically young, although the lack of older records may also reflect limited sampling and/or taphonomic biases.

A decade of light and shadow: Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1990s

Includes bibliography