Partners with clinical practice: Evaluating the student and staff experiences of on-line continuing professional development for qualified nephrology practitioners

The inclusion of online learning technologies into the higher education (HE) curriculum is frequently associated with the design and development of new models of learning. One could argue that e-learning even demands a reconfiguration of traditional methods of learning and teaching. However, this transformation in pedagogic methodology does not just impact on lecturers and teachers alone. Online learning has ‘pervasive impacts and changes in other HE functions’ (HEFCE, p.2). Thus, e-learning is a transformational process that posits new challenges for staff and students, both in educational methods and support. Many political, clinical, financial and social influences impact on registered health professionals’ ability to continue their professional development. This is particularly pertinent in the delivery of nephrology care. In order to evaluate the programme that has now run for 2 years in the context of this institution, evaluative research methodology sought to explore the experiences of the staff and students involved. Qualitative data was collected from the students and a reflective framework was used to form the basis of a focus group for the staff. This paper will present how a virtual learning environment (VLE) was developed utilising the pedagogic framework of solution-focused learning. It will demonstrate evaluation of the students’ experiences compared to their traditional classroom-learning counterparts, and highlight the reflections of staff developers as they moved into new roles and developed different aspects of their present roles within a traditional HE context

Doc 1 Research Forum Abstracts

This document provides titles and abstracts of doctoral students critical engagement projects (dissertations) held at a Research Forum April 10, 1999 in Chicago. These students are in Cohort 1 in the Adult and Continuing Education Doctoral Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at National Louis University

Motives, frequency and attitudes toward emoji and emoticon use

Electronic Mediated Communication (EMC) has become highly prevalent in our daily lives. Many of the communication formats used in EMC are text-based (e.g., instant messaging), and users often include visual paralinguistic cues in their messages. In the current study, we examined the usage of two of such cues - emoji and emoticons. Specifically, we compared self-reported frequency of use, as well as attitudes (6 bipolar items, e.g., “fun” vs. “boring”) and motives for their usage (9 motives, e.g., “express how I feel to others”). We also examined these indicators according to age and gender. Overall, participants (N = 474, 72.6% women; Mage = 30.71, SD = 12.58) reported using emoji (vs. emoticons) more often, revealed more positive attitudes toward emoji usage, and identified more with motives to use them. Moreover, all the ratings were higher among younger (vs. older) participants. Results also showed that women reported to use emoji (but not emoticons) more often and expressed more positive attitudes toward their usage than men. However, these gender differences were particularly evident for younger participants. No gender differences were found for emoticons usage. These findings add to the emerging body of literature by showing the relevance of considering age and gender, and their interplay, when examining patterns of emoji and emoticons use.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The Impact of Degree of Virtualness on Performance Appraisal Scores and Organizational Justice in the U.S. Navy Reserves

With advances in information and communication technology, many organizations no longer require employees to work in the same location as their leader. This results in employees having different amounts of face-to-face and electronic-mediated communication, or different degrees of virtualness, with the leader. While virtualness can provide benefits to organizations, virtual workers’ contributions may not be properly recognized. This dissertation investigated the relationship between the degree of virtualness and both performance-appraisal scores and subordinates’ perceptions of the fairness of the performance appraisals in the Navy Reserve. The study also examined the mediating effects of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), a measure of relationship quality between the leader and subordinate. Finally, the study investigated leader inclusiveness as a moderator between the degree of virtualness and LMX, performance appraisal scores, and perceptions of organizational justice, suggesting that leaders who foster inclusiveness may mitigate the potentially harmful effects of virtualness. Results show that the degree of virtualness is, in fact, negatively related to performance appraisal scores and organizational justice through the mediation of LMX. Control variables showed that women were rated lower than men and supervisors were more likely to communicate performance evaluations in person when scores were higher. Interestingly, tenure with supervisors had a negative effect but tenure in the unit had a positive effect. This study contributes to the literature degree of virtualness, performance appraisals, organizational justice, and leader inclusiveness. Managerial implications and future research opportunities are also discussed. Findings suggest the Navy Reserve should consider evaluating virtual workers as a separate category

The Logico-Semantic Relation of Students’ Final Assignment Essay in English in Academic Discourse (EAD) Class

Logico-Semanticmerupakan sistem dasar yang menghubungkan klausa dan semantik yang terdapat di bahasa secara keseluruhan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi jenis taxisyang terdapat di dalam tugas akhir Essay mahasiswa dan hubungan logico-semantic yang dikembangkan taksis di dalam Essay mahasiswa berdasarkan konsep hubungan antara klausa yang diusulkan Halliday dan Mathiessen, (2014). Analisis ini diperlukanuntuk mendapatkan pola klausa yang digunakan mahasiswa dalam mengambangkan ide di dalam Essay-nya. Data dalam penelitian ini adalah 10 essay yang dihasilkan oleh mahasiswa. Konten analisa digunakan untuk menganalisa hubungantaxisdanlogico-semantic. Data dimasukkan ke dalamtabel analisadan dianalisis berdasarkan teoridari Halliday dan Matthiessen (2014). Hasil dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa jenis taxis yang paling banyak digunakan adalah hypotaxisdengan 136 dari 225hubungan, dan jenis hubungan logico-semanticyang dikembangkan oleh taxis,yang banyak digunakan adalah enhancement, dengan total 104 hubungan. Terkait fungsi yang terkandung di dalam logico-semantic, penelitian ini menemukan bahwa mahasiswa banyak menggunakan Addition dari extension untuk menghubungkan klause dengan menambahkan informasi baru atau menguatkan ide. Jenis dari taxisdan logico-semantic, terdapat di setiapstruktur essay; Pembukaan, Isi dan PenutupLogico-Semantic refers to the basic system of the relation between clauses and semantic motifs that run throughout the language as a whole. This study aims to define the type of taxis used in students’ final assignment essay and the kind of logico-semantic relation developed by taxis in students’ essay in EAD class based on the concept of the relationship between clauses suggested by Halliday & Matthiessen, (2014). The analysis of taxis and logico-semantic relation is necessary in order to catch a pattern of the clauses in developing their ideas in Essay. The data of this study were 10 essays produced by students. Content analysis method was used to analyze the taxis and logico-semantic relation. The data were insert into table analysis and analyze were based on the theory of Halliday and Matthiessen (2014). The result showed that the frequently type of taxis used is hypotaxis which reaches 136 out of 225 relation, and the kind of logico-semantic are developed by taxis that frequently used is enhancement with the total 104 relation. In terms of logico-semantic function, this study found that the students mostly used addition from extension to join the clause by adding the new information to support their ideas. The types of taxis and logico-semantic relation produced in every essay structure; Introduction, Main Body and Conclusion

Deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs

The purpose of this study was to describe what a sample of registered nurses in the state of Louisiana, who are members of the Louisiana State Nurses\u27 Association (LSNA), identify as deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs. Two hundred and eighty one RNs participated in the study. The 54 item four point Likert - type interval scale Deterrents to Participation in Web-Based Graduate Nursing Programs Survey Instrument was utilized to measure what LSNA member RNs identified as deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs. Eighteen items assessed demographic information about the respondents. A factor analysis revealed a three factor solution that explained 55.436 % of the total variance in deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs. The factors were labeled “concerns about quality, cost, and time,” “concerns about access to resources: technological and personal,” and “concerns about electronic mediated communication.” There were four significant findings when comparisons were made with the overall scale mean of the deterrents survey tool. A significant difference was found between computer literacy, current educational status, employment status, and annual household income and the overall scale mean. No significant differences were found between respondents’ age, ethnicity, gender, years of being a registered nurse, marital status, number of children, or parents’ educational status when compared to the overall scale mean of the deterrents survey tool. Multiple regression analysis revealed an overall model of three predictors of deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs: no computer literacy, annual household income between 20,000 and 50,000 dollars, and having the current educational status of graduating from a diploma RN program. This model accounted for 21% of the variance in the deterrents to participation scores

Using emoji in an e-commerce context: effects in brand perception, quality of service and intention to recommend

The increasing development of digital technologies has lead to business model disruption, transformation and developed new means of providing services and products (e.g., e-banking and e-commerce). In order to cope with, and benefit from these changes, people have changed their habits. Such is the case of Electronic Mediated Communication (EMC) that changed how and what people communicate (e.g., Skype, e-mail). Text-centric EMC (e.g., IM, e-mails) has itself evolved to allow the expression of emotion between sender and receiver, namely through the use of emoji. However how service providers and brands relate with their progressively more digital customer base in electronic contexts, and what may be the outcomes of that relationship is still an unexplored area of research. In the present work, we present two experiments that aimed to examine the influence of emoji use in brand-consumer communication during an online ticket selling transaction, on consumers perception of brand, quality of service and intention to recommend. Besides manipulating emoji presence (or absence), we additionally manipulated message valence (e-commerce transaction success or failure - Experiment 1) and product scarcity (Experiment 2). Overall, results suggest that guaranteeing service success is more determinant of brand and quality of service evaluation than the type of language used. Specifically, in Experiment 1, emoji use seems to have influenced the perception of language informality, while in Experiment 2, seems to have influenced the perception of brands social presence and warmth, language informality and funniness, as well as quality of service.A evolução das tecnologias digitais levou ao surgimento de novos modelos de negócio, e formas de fornecer serviços e produtos (e.g., e-commerce). Adaptando-se a estas mudanças, as pessoas alteraram parte dos seus hábitos. Um exemplo é o caso da Comunicação mediada por meio Eletrónicos (EMC), que mudou a forma e o conteúdo do que as pessoas comunicam (e.g., Skype, e-mail). A EMC em formato de texto (e.g., e-mails) evoluiu, permitindo a expressão da emoção entre emissor e recetor, nomeadamente através da utilização de emoji. No entanto, a forma como marcas e prestadores de serviço se relacionam com clientes em contextos eletrónicos, e quais os possíveis resultados desse relacionamento, é uma área de pesquisa pouco explorada. Neste trabalho apresentamos dois experimentos que examinam a influência do uso de emoji na comunicação da marca-consumidor durante uma venda de bilhetes on-line, na perceção da marca, qualidade do serviço e intenção de recomendar dos consumidores. Para além da presença (ausência) de emoji, manipulámos a valência da mensagem (sucesso ou insucesso da transação - Experimento 1) e a disponibilidade de produto (Experimento 2). Globalmente, os resultados sugerem que garantir o sucesso de serviço é mais determinante para a avaliação de marca e qualidade de serviço do que o tipo de linguagem utilizado. Especificamente, no Experimento 1, o uso de emoji parece influenciar a perceção de informalidade da linguagem, enquanto no Experimento 2, parece ter influenciado a perceção de presença social e calor da marca, de linguagem ser informal e divertida, assim como qualidade de serviço