26 research outputs found

    Strategic Steps Towards The Open University Graduates Development Of The Competitiveness Of A Solution To Face Industrial Revolution 4.0 Era

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    Demanding needs of today's workforce and the future has begun to see the changes as a result of the industrial revolution to four (i4.0). The industrial revolution to 4 have the characteristics that blend technology with society and the human body, robotics, quantum computing, biotechnology, 3D printing, vehicle automation, internet, virtual and physical systems cooperate globally. Currently, UT intensify the use of information technology (IT) to improve the academic quality of support services mainly in the study and evaluation of learning outcomes. It also carried out an increase in the accessibility of students to UT teaching materials online through a digital library and ebookstore. Therefore, in 2008, UT to improve service by offering face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, e-book store to all students and provide free catalogs to all students who register with an online exam at UPBJJ-UT. From UT diverse range of services and has been based IT are expected to be directly proportional to the competitiveness that has been generated mainly located in this i4.0 era, but in fact the competitiveness of some of the alumni still not optimally adapted to the development of science and technology, especially alumni UPBJJ corners. These challenges must be anticipated quickly is by taking a strategic step towards the construction of an open university graduates competitiveness, namely: 1. Revise the curriculum to understand the needs of people in the digital era, 2. Stay focused on innovation in teaching and learning, 3. Keywords: strategic, competitiveness, industrial revolutio

    Instructor formative assessment practices in virtual learning environments : a posthumanist sociomaterial perspective

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    The importance of undergraduate science learning for the workforce and scientific literacy is consistently emphasized by prominent organizations and influential publications such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (1993, 2013), the National Research Council (NRC) (2010, 2011, 2012a, 2012b, 2013) and the Coalition for Reform of Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education (CRUSE) (2014). Moreover, important undergraduate and K-12 reform policy documents including the National Research Council (NRC) (2012) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve Inc., 2013) set lofty goals aimed at improving science education. At the same time, science curricula content and assessment are shifting to virtual formats (Smetana & Bell, 2012), and enabling learning and assessment to be depicted in more dynamic and interactive ways. Furthermore, assessment scholarship offers opportunities to make instructional decisions with the aim to aid student learning (e.g. Bell, 2007; Black & Wiliam, 1998, NRC, 2012; Shepard, 2000). Nonetheless, harnessing the full potential of virtual formats to reach these goals for science learning and assessment has proven challenging. Therefore, in this research study, I explored how the technology in one online undergraduate biological science course can impact how an instructor can aid student learning. ... The findings have implications for instruction and research and suggest that learning communities may want to consider that student centered learning theories and student-centered course design for online education could be incomplete. The primary implication includes ways to support formative assessment practices for science instructors in virtual environments by looping instructor formative assessment opportunities throughout a course. Finally, these findings can help others develop assessments that fully support student learning by including the instructor's assessment needs and abilities. The conclusions I present cannot be considered a solution to all courses. However, I encourage other researchers to consider alternative explanation(s) by thinking with theory.Includes bibliographical reference

    Brand management y tribu consumidora: un estudio de marcas de surf.

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    La presente tesis doctoral tiene como principal objetivo conocer las implicaciones que las tribus consumidoras constituyen para las marcas en general, y para el brand management en particular. Concretamente este trabajo toma como objeto de estudio los surfistas españoles y sus posibles implicaciones respecto a las marcas relacionadas con el deporte del surf que consumen. Con ello se persigue examinar si la existencia de las tribus consumidoras afecta verdaderamente a las marcas, a su conceptualización y a su gestión y, en ese caso, describir qué tipo de consecuencias y relaciones se establecen entre las marcas y las tribus. Para ello, además de revisar la literatura académica disponible acerca de brand management, branding tribal y surf, se han combinado diferentes métodos de investigación de carácter cualitativo con objeto de contrastar las hipótesis planteadas y dar respuesta a las preguntas de investigación. Por un lado, se han llevado a cabo 11 entrevistas en profundidad a expertos en la gestión de marcas de surf que operan en el mercado español, y, por otro, se han celebrado 4 focus groups con un total de 29 participantes procedentes de aquellas zonas españolas donde la práctica del surf tiene mayor presencia, esto es, la zona de la costa norte española. No obstante, y con objeto de ofrecer un estudio lo más representativo posible, se escogió la zona norte occidental de España en La Coruña, la zona norte central del cantábrico en Asturias y la zona norte más oriental del cantábrico en el País Vasco. Asimismo, se ha contemplado la representatividad de Andalucía con un grupo celebrado en la playa de El Palmar (Cádiz), que, debido a su amplia exposición al océano atlántico, supone la playa que recibe mayor oleaje favorable para la práctica del surf al año de todo el sur de la península ibérica. Los resultados indican que el estudio de los consumidores surfistas españoles bajo la perspectiva conceptual de la tribu consumidora resulta inadecuada. El principal motivo de esta inadecuación es que los surfistas españoles no se configuran en torno a un vínculo emocional que ponga de manifiesto la existencia de un linking value. En este sentido, es posible que los surfistas españoles puedan estudiarse bajo un enfoque sociológico cercano a su configuración como tribu urbana, al manifestar características propias de este concepto como un estilo propio presentado a través de unos rasgos identificativos concretos, y un sentido de lo ritual evidenciado en las acciones rutinarias de los individuos a la hora de practicar surf.The main objective of this doctoral thesis is to understand the implications that consumer tribes constitute for brands in general, and for brand management in particular. Specifically, this project studies the Spanish surfers and their possible implications regarding the brands related to the surfing sport that they consume. The aim is to examine whether the existence of consumer tribes truly affects brands, their conceptualization and their management and, in that case, describing what kind of consequences and relationships are established between brands and tribes. To this end, in addition to reviewing the academic literature available on brand management, tribal branding and surfing, different research methods of a qualitative nature have been combined in order to contrast the hypotheses and answer the research questions. On the one hand, 11 indepth interviews were conducted with experts in the management of surf brands operating in the Spanish market, and, on the other hand, 4 focus groups were held with a total of 29 participants from those Spanish areas where the practice of surfing has a greater presence, that is, the area of the north coast of Spain. However, and in order to offer a study as representative as possible, we have chosen the north western area of Spain in La Coruña, the north central area of the Cantabrian in Asturias and the northernmost eastern part of the Cantabrian in the Basque Country. Likewise, the representativeness of Andalusia has been contemplated with a group held on the beach of El Palmar (Cádiz), which, due to its wide exposure to the Atlantic Ocean, is the beach that receives the most favorable waves for surfing in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. The results indicate that the study of Spanish surfing consumers under the conceptual perspective of the consumer tribe is inadequate. The main reason for this inadequacy is that Spanish surfers do not configure themselves around an emotional bond that reveals the existence of a linking value. In this sense, it is possible that Spanish surfers can be studied under a sociological approach close to their configuration as an urban tribe, to manifest characteristics of this concept as their own style presented through specific identifying features, and a sense of ritual evidenced in the routine actions of individuals when it comes to surfing

    Building men's health shoulder to shoulder : an exploration into the influence of men's sheds on men's health

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    Men in Western society have poorer health outcomes on a range of measures and are shown to have poor health knowledge and lower engagement in preventive health than women. Numerous social determinants of health increase men's health risks. Feminist theories of masculinity describe the influence of culture, environment and social interaction on perceptions of being a man. Hegemonic masculinity in today's culture constructs the ideal man as tough, self-reliant, independent and dominant to females and subordinate or invisible masculinities. Although not attainable to all men, this hegemonic masculinity is positioned as the ideal, and men either seek to attain it, or actively reject it through their masculine acts. Significantly, how a man views and acts out his masculine role can influence his health. Notwithstanding global and local culture, the culture of a specific place in which the man is embedded has a strong influence on portrayal of masculinity, including through health behaviours. Men's sheds emerged in rural South Australia in the 1990s as a community initiative with a common purpose of providing men with a "backyard shed" environment in which to undertake meaningful work and socially engage with other men in a safe and familiar space. Men's sheds are promoted as providing social support, education and psychological benefits for Australian men. Although the men's shed movement has attained recognition within the Australian National Male Health Policy, there is limited research on the impact of men's sheds on men's health and the way men engage with their health. This qualitative research aimed to fill this gap by providing an in-depth investigation into the influence of men's sheds on men's health. Set in four Australian men's sheds in rural and urban locations, this research explored how men's social networks are utilised to make sense of and manage health, and how the man's 'doing' of gender mediates both his social interaction and his health behaviour. Using a mixed methodology, qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and social network analysis undertaken with 32 men attending men's sheds, the thesis unravels their experiences of masculinity, of engaging in the men's shed space and the influence of these experiences on health behaviour. The findings suggest that men attending workshops actively rejected the hegemonic notion that older men embody a subordinate masculinity. These men actively take on meaningful roles as helpers in the community. In older age, some men reconstruct the ideal masculinity to incorporate more attainable characteristics and control of and responsibility for their health. Storytelling is often used to portray masculine characteristics of physical toughness and risky behaviour that are no longer directly attainable. Engagement in one's health was found to be normalised through attending a men's shed. As a space, the men's shed promoted health through providing tangible support in the way of education and health screening, as well as social networks through which health responsibility was modelled

    Facing The Challenge of Industrial Revolution 4.0 By Taking a Preliminary Phase Concerning With Management Issues

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    For this book, we particularly highlight the issue of collaborative innovation in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0: Accounting and Finance Review. The book is resulted from The International Seminar on Business, Economics, Social Sciences and Technology (ISBEST) 2018 hosted by The Faculty of Economics Universitas Terbuka. The theme is an adaptation of the technology disruption that has shifted as a result of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The era is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres, which then affects almost every industry globally. The disruption heralds a transformation of the entire systems of production, management, and governance, hence, forcing the economic society to reexamine the way they do business that leads up to continuous innovations. Disruptive innovation refers to an innovation that creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network, displacing established market leaders. Across all industries, there is clear evidence that technologies that underpin Industry 4.0 have a major impact on businesses, customer expectations, product enhancement, and collaborative innovations. In other words, it is all about how new technologies are transforming products and services and increase their value. Based on these reasons, this book aims to share ideas in the area of management business, particularly on how facing the challenge of industrial revolution 4.0 in the economic society could be strengthened to sustain the competitive advantage in the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Through this book, we would like to encourage collaborative innovation in the area of management business

    Quantitative prediction of stratigraphic architecture in fluvial overbank successions

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    Most outcrop-based studies of fluvial successions predominantly focus on sand-prone channel complexes; less attention has been directed towards fluvial overbank successions. Crevasse-splay deposits represent an important component of the stratigraphic record of fluvial overbank systems and yield information about the size, form and behaviour of formative fluvial systems. Quantitative facies and architectural-element analysis was undertaken on outcrop successions from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) and the Castlegate and Nelsen formations, Mesaverde Group (Upper Cretaceous), this was then supported by analysis of 10 modern fluvial systems to better constrain the planform variations in overbank areas. Lithofacies arrangements are used to establish the following: (i) recognition criteria for splay elements; (ii) criteria for the differentiation between distal parts of splay bodies and flood plain fines; and (iii) empirical relationships with which to establish the extent (ca. 280-500 m long by 180-1000 m wide) and planform shape of splay bodies in the Morrison Formation (teardrop) and Castlegate and Neslen formations(semi-elliptical). A nested, hierarchical stacking of the deposits of fluvial overbank successions are recognized and records accumulation of the following components: (i) lithofacies; (ii) individual event beds comprising an association of lithofacies; (iii) splay elements comprising genetically related beds that stack vertically and laterally and represent the deposits of individual flood events; (iv) splay complexes comprising one or more genetically related elements that have a common breakout point and represent the deposits of multiple flood events. Splay accumulations occur as parts of larger successions in which floodplain-dominated intervals accumulate and become preserved in response to longer-term autogenic controls, such as rate of lateral migration and avulsion frequency of parent channels, and allogenic controls, such as changes in subsidence, climate, base-level and sediment supply. Sandy splays contribute ‘hidden’ volume to fluvial reservoirs and may form significant connectors that link otherwise isolated primary channel bodies, thereby contributing to reservoir connectivity

    Advertising greenness in China: a critical discourse analysis of the corporate online advertising discourse

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    A growing number of companies, both multinationals and local firms, have begun to adopt the idea of sustainability development, and develop and market their green products/services with green advertising in developing countries. However, in the context of China where the idea of commercial environmentalism or green consumption is emerging and transported from the West, it is not clear that how the green consumption is advocated and how consumption practices are connected to environmental protection, and how the meaning of green consumption is constructed by firms operating in China. This study explores the Internet as a rich text for environmental marketing by analyzing the ways firms showcase details of their green products/services, production methods, business philosophy and other facets of their environmental practices and values. The online promotional information can be seen as corporate green advertising. Focused on the advertisings from corporate websites, and through the analytical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (e.g., Faircloug, 1992; 1995(a) (b); Wodak and Chilton, 2005), this study presents how a number of environmental conscious firms in China are portraying and promoting their environmental responsible image and green products/services, and aims to examine what firms are really telling and how they are discursively constructing corporate “greenness”. Based on the analyses of green advertisements from websites of four case companies (two MNCs in China: General Electric in China, Unilever in China, and two Chinese local firms: BYD automobile, and Landsea Real Estate), the study suggests that corporate green advertising discourse plays an active role in defining “reality” of greenness and imbuing meanings of consumption into environmentalism, as well as in achieving the hegemonic construction of corporate greenness. In addition, the corporate greenness is anthropocentric and embraces consumerist and post-materialist values. Instead of endorsing the environmentalism which appeals for a change of the current over-consumption lifestyle in capitalist development, the corporate green advertising strategically integrates lineages from green discourse of ecological modernization and political discourse of neoliberalism. In addition to similarities, dissimilarities existing between discourses from MNCs’ and Chinese local firms are identified in two aspects: greenness integration and greenness level. The differences in advertising discourses derive from both organizational resources and firms’ embedded economic, historical, and social-cultural contexts. Such differences prove the mutual constitutive or dialectical relationship between language and society and develop the argument that although firms play active role in constructing discourse, and green advertising discourse can be seen as corporations’ discursive approach to achieve environmental governance, their discourse is nevertheless constrained by both organizational internal and external influences
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