Model of Academics Professional Development Factors for Higher Education Institutions

This paper presents a study on developing a structural equation model of factors affecting UAE Academics Professional Development (APD) programs. Data used to develop the model was collected from questionnaire survey amongst three of UAE Higher Education Institutions. The model which comprised of seven independent constructs and one dependent construct was developed and assessed using AMOS SEM software. At the initial stage, eight measurement models (which is the eight constructs altogether) were developed and assessed individually using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the software until it achieves goodness of fit. Then these eight measurement models are tied up into structural model which also assessed using CFA to find the goodness of fit. Once the structural model has achieved the goodness of fit, the path analysis or known as hypotheses testing was conducted on the model. The hypotheses testing found that five constructs have significant effect to academic’s professional development (APD) which are the i) design of teaching plan, ii) teaching skills, iii) communication skills, iv) expertise skill in the lesson content, and v) technology. While, two constructs which are i) individual and occupational identity and ii) policy and strategy do not have significant relationship with quality academic professional development. This model contributed to the body of knowledge and also to the related parties that involved in developing academic professional activitie

Gamification in management: Positive and negative aspects

The phenomenon of gamification is analysed, identifying positive aspects of gamification, risks and problems. The paper adopts a method of systematic critical literature analysis in English, German, and Russian. We provide the most relevant gamification definitions classified into two main groups, fundamental and practical. The confusion of these groups or ignorance of one causes particular problems in understanding gamification. We face two levels of gamification in different areas of business management. It is the so-called meta- or macro-level and applied or micro-level. The paper aims to demonstrate the broader context of gamification in management by revealing the phenomenon’s positive and negative aspects. To reach the aim, five objectives were defined: i) to show the broader context of gamification in management; ii) to reveal the problems, risks, or even negative aspects of gamification in management; iii) to appeal to the practical issues how and in what areas to use gamification; iv) to show a broader cultural and philosophical context behind the manager interpretation of gamification; v) to introduce the discourse of gamification as an integrated theoretical approach that could reveal essential aspects of management. Gamification has both positive and negative aspects in all areas of management. On the one hand, gamification increases productivity and improves service, contributes to innovative participatory thinking and action, improves internal control, coordination, communication, collaboration, and creativity, increases motivation and pleasure at work, develops the soft skills of employees and reduces costs, as well as contributes to better acclimatisation. On the other hand, gamification commercialises human relations, causes novelty effects, elicits desired behaviour and predicts job performance, transforms organisational culture in unpredictable and counterintuitive ways, results in stress and anxiety, lowers self-esteem, causes exhaustion,

Ocean literacy gamified: A systematic evaluation of the effect of game elements on students’ learning experience

Low levels of concern about anthropogenic climate change have been attributed to a range of factors, some of which relate to education. These include people’s lack of understanding and engagement with the multifaceted nature and extent of the problem that it presents to current and future generations. Limited knowledge is also known to be an obstacle to individual behaviour change, with important implications for young people’s perceptions of the urgency to act and awareness of the consequences of their own behaviours. In this study, we explored ways to address low levels of understanding about ocean science dimensions to climate change phenomena, cognisant of a growing awareness that formal education curricula do not adequately engage young people with developing ocean literacy. Participants were a sample of secondary school students (11 to 14 years) in Portugal and the UK. Using a gamified mobile application, it was examined relationships between the use of different game elements such as points, badges and leaderboards, and learning outcomes. Systematic evaluation of each element shows how different game features affected the participants’ learning experience and learning outcomes. Implications for formal and informal marine education, climate education, and how to improve ocean literacy efforts, are also discussed