Changing times in research? A speculative analysis of refereed contributions to distance education journal from 1980 to 2003

The paper observes a number of possible changes impacting on the field of distance education research and suggests that these are likely to have lead to an increasing interest in research on computer-based instructional design and delivery, and a concomitant decrease in interest in other areas of distance education research. A fairly simple analysis of contributions to Distance Education since 1980 bears out the suggestion. Some opportunities and some threats to distance education as a field are discussed as a consequence of the analysis.

Crossing boundaries between learning and research : doctoral programs at a distance

Australian distance education, from school to university contexts, typically concerns teaching people the knowledge, values and skills that constitute their chosen courses of study; whereas doctoral courses principally concern candidates learning how to produce – through producing – significant original new knowledge. This paper considers the history and contemporary practices of Australian off-campus doctoral education and argues that these are at the forefront internationally. It is argued that understanding the provision of quality doctoral education at a distance requires a form of conceptual boundary crossing by policymakers, distance educators, and (especially) doctoral education practitioners, in order to develop and/or enhance future practices.

Teaching for blended learning : how is ICT impacting on distance and on campus education?

The concept of blended learning, defined in a range of ways, has begun to change the nature of all teaching and learning in higher education. Information and communication technologies have impacted by providing a means of access to digital resources and interactive communication for all courses and the blending of pedagogy and technology has produced a range of approaches to teaching and learning. This paper will investigate reported studies from both research literature and from the writers' research, defining what they have concluded are teaching practices that use the concept of blended learning effectively.

Explaining retail offer adaptation through psychic distance

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine empirically the relationship between psychic distance and adaptation of the retail offer across a range of countries.

Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using a mail survey of randomly selected non-food retailers that operated stores in at least three foreign countries.

Findings – Findings of this study suggest that a substantial proportion of retail offer adaptation is explained by psychic distance. In particular, differences in market structure, business practices and language between the home and foreign market significantly increase the extent to which retailers adapt their offer.

Research limitations/implications – The research findings may be limited in terms of their generalisability across retail sectors, as the study focused on non-food retailers only.

Practical implications – These results have implications for researchers and managers in suggesting that we need to go beyond consumer behaviour differences to explain fully the degree to which international firms standardise or adapt their strategies in foreign markets.

Originality/value – Much of the existing research into standardisation and adaptation is limited in terms of geographic scope and a focus on the marketing strategies of manufacturing and export firms. Thus, this paper addresses a substantial gap in existing research by empirically examining the relationship between psychic distance and adaptation in a retail context and across a range of countries.

Teaching for blended learning: research perspectives from on-campus and distance students

The concept of blended learning has begun to change the nature of all teaching and learning in higher education. Information and communication technologies have impacted by providing a means of access to digital resources and interactive communication for all courses and the blending of pedagogy and technology has produced a range of approaches to teaching and learning. This paper discusses the research literature and the writers’ research, defining what they have concluded are teaching practices that use the concept of blended learning effectively. In investigating how ICT can add variation for student learning, they analyze this from two dominant modes of pedagogy, learning environment and pedagogy through both on-campus and distance education. In both modes, students acknowledged the power and effectiveness of blended learning.

Polyhedral studies for minimum-span graph labelling with integer distance constraints

This paper studies the polytope of the minimum-span graph labelling problems with integer distance constraints (DC-MSGL). We first introduce a few classes of new valid inequalities for the DC-MSGL defined on general graphs and briefly discuss the separation problems of some of these inequalities. These are the initial steps of a branch-and-cut algorithm for solving the DC-MSGL. Following that, we present our polyhedral results on the dimension of the DC-MSGL polytope, and that some of the inequalities are facet defining, under reasonable conditions, for the polytope of the DC-MSGL on triangular graphs.

Distance-driven fusion of gait and face for human identification in video

Gait and face are two important biometrics for human identification. Complementary properties of these two biometrics suggest fusion of them. The relationship between gait and face in the fusion is affected by the subject-to-camera distance. On the one hand, gait is a suitable biometric trait for human recognition at a distance. On the other hand, face recognition is more reliable when the subject is close to the camera. This paper proposes an adaptive fusion method called distance-driven fusion to combine gait and face for human identification in video. Rather than predefined fixed fusion rules, distance-driven fusion dynamically adjusts its rule according to the subject-to-camera distance in real time. Experimental results show that distance-driven fusion performs better than not only single biometric, but also the conventional
static fusion rules including MEAN, PRODUCT, MIN, and MAX.

Use of an auditory looming task to test infants' sensitivity to sound pressure level as an auditory distance cue

This study describes how an auditory looming technique was used to investigate 4-to 6-month-old infants' sensitivity to sound pressure level (SPL) as an auditory distance cue. Thirty-two infants were tested in complete darkness and presented with auditory stimuli that underwent unidirectional variations in SPL (40–70dB). The rate at which SPL was varied during the course of trials (past vs. slow) was manipulated by varying trial length (5s vs. 10s).

1-Naphthyl- and mesityltellurium(IV,II) derivatives of small bite chelating organic ligands: effect of steric bulk and intramolecular secondary bonding interaction on molecular geometry and supramolecular association

The synthesis and characterization of unsymmetric diorganotellurium compounds containing a sterically demanding I-naphthyl or
mesitylligand and a small bite chelating organic ligand capable of 1,4-Te···N(O) intramolecular interaction is described. The reaction
of ArTeCl₃ (Ar = I-C_lOH₇, Np; 2,4,6-Me₃C₆H_2' Mes) with (SB)HgCI [SB = the Schiff base, 2-(4,4'-N0₂C₆H₄CH=NC₆H₃-Me)] or a methyl ketone (RCOCH₃) afforded the corresponding dichlorides (SB)ArTeCI₂ (Ar = Np, 1Aa; Mes, 1Ba) or (RCOCH₂)ArTeCl₂ (Ar = Np; R = Ph (2Aa), Me (3Aa), Np (4Aa); Ar = Mes, R = Ph (2Ba)). Reduction of 1Aa and 1Ba by Na₂S₂0₅ readily gave the tellurides (SB)ArTe (Ar = Np (1A), Mes, (1B) but that of dichlorides derived from methylketones was complicated due to partial decomposition to tellurium powder and diarylditelluride (Ar₂Te₂), resulting in poor yields of the corresponding tellurides 2A, 2B and 3A. Oxidation of the isolated tellurides with S0₂Cl₂, Br₂ and I₂ yielded the corresponding dihalides. All the synthesized compounds have been characterized with the help of IR, ¹H, ^l3C, and ¹²⁵Te NMR and in the case of 2Aa, and 2Ba by X-ray crystallography. Appearance of only one ¹²⁵Te signal indicated that the unsymmetric derivatives were stable to disproportionation to symmetric species. Intramolecular 1,4-Te· . ·0 secondary bonding interactions (SBIs) are exhibited in the crystal structures of both the tellurium(IV) dichlorides, 2Aa, and 2Ba. Steric repulsion of the mesityl group in the latter dominates over lone pair-bond pair repulsion, resulting in significant widening of the equatorial C-Te-C angle. This appears to be responsible for the lack of Te· . ·CI involved supramolecular associations in the crystal structure of 2Ba.

Breaking the boundaries : improving the assessibility, extent and responsiveness of support services for distance education students

Massey University, in common with other tertiary distance education providers, faces the challenge of improving the accessibility, extent and responsiveness of the support services it provides to extramural students. In particular, the university is challenged by the need to develop and deliver support services responsive to the changing needs of an increasingly diverse student population. This paper outlines the key findings of a comprehensive review of Massey’s support policy and services for extramural students. It describes how the review findings, and material from the body of literature on the provision of support for distance students, were used to inform the development of a new support policy for extramural students. How this policy is being made operational in practice, through the design, development and implementation of an extensive range of new student support services, including a range of services provided online, is outlined. A summary of progress made so far is provided. The paper concludes with some guidelines that may be useful in informing the practice of colleagues working to break the boundaries to student participation in support services.