Using VoiceThread to Promote Active Learning and Learner Engagement in an Online Business Course

This position paper explored the use of a Web 2.0 technology, VoiceThread, to enhance student engagement and active learning in one business course. The platform was integrated into various learner centered activities together with learner reflections, and relationships to key concepts of an online course as part of a course improvement plan. The researchers found that the use of VoiceThread provided the much-needed momentum by enabling a learning community and encouraging students to become more involved, thereby contributing to their success

A Phenomenological Study: A Pre-departure Study Abroad Course Interrupted by the COVID-19 Outbreak

The original plan of this research was to collect multiple sets of data from business students in a 2020 spring study abroad program including the pre-departure course, the experiential learning in Thailand and post experience. When the World Health Organization (2020c) categorized the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, the predeparture course was interrupted, resulting in the remaining sections of the program to be cancelled. To date, since no previous research was available on a pre-departure course interrupted by a pandemic of this kind, the experiences of the two faculty members teaching the course became central to the research making this study phenomenological. The experiences were captured by daily notes with reflections leading to four key findings: 1. The course lacked skills training and needed to be redesigned as it would be offered in spring 2021. Adding practical applications to the comprehensive collection of materials would lead students to start shifting their mindsets prior to the trip rather than during the trip resulting in maximized experiences. 2. The COVID-19 outbreak was unprecedented in that it was not a short-lived occurrence but an on-going crisis. The uniqueness of the situation brought futuristic thinking and scenario planning to the forefront when developing and implementing such global programs. 3. Faculty were not prepared for an on-going crisis. To be able to cope with similar uncertainties and act decisively, faculty leading such experiences needed training in futuristic thinking and scenario planning. 4. Faculty country-expertise strengthened student trust when teaching the course. Developing, teaching such courses, and leading such experiences need to be backed up by location-expertise to foster confidence for optimal benefits

A Case Study: Developing a Study Abroad Program in Thailand

This paper presents the phase one findings of a two-phased action research study which led to the development of a plan to design a study abroad program for both undergraduate students and students of DECA, a business organization, at the college of business and entrepreneurship of a state university set in a rural area in the Midwest of the United States. The question which guided the research was: How can a study abroad program, promoting career enhancement, be designed to meet the needs of the students from rural agricultural communities? Exploratory data were collected both on campus and in Thailand over two years, and included reflections, observations, informal interviews and conversations, peer reviews, documents and artifacts. Based on the findings, a plan emerged with three sections: 1) making instructional decisions, 2) creating learning by experience, and 3) updating logistics. The instructional decision section was further categorized into three areas: 1) career enhancement, 2) personal growth and management and 3) community collaboration. These categories led to the design of a course promoting learning by experience by directly engaging students with another culture in Thailand. The conclusion is that such programs, when based on needs analysis, become an indispensable part of higher education, workforce and the economic prosperity of the state/regio

Chapter 15 - Digitization and Equity: Digital Inequities in Education and Strategies to Improve Digital Inclusion

COVID-19 exposed a wide range of challenges hidden unnoticed in the promise of digital education. Digital education was once promised as the grand equalizer of access and inclusion in education. However, the massive deployment of digital tools in the educational realm during COVID-19 provided significant counterevidence to this promise. If education is a fundamental right and if digital technologies are the only way to gain access to education, it is important that these technologies be made available to everyone for effective use. However, as COVID-19 would demonstrate to us, this has not been the case. There have been stark and widespread inequities in the availability and quality of digital technologies for education, and the need for purposeful efforts to bridge the gap was felt prominently. In the backdrop of COVID-19, this chapter identifies some of the key equity issues and proposes solutions to address them

A Preliminary Study: Application of Quality Matters Standard 5 (Course Activities and Learner Interaction) to Development of an Online Business Management Course

Quality Matters (Quality Matters [QM] Higher Education Rubric Workbook, 2014) is a national benchmark for online course design, and serves as a continuous improvement model for assuring quality of online courses through a faculty review process. QM is also described as “a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online and blended course” (QM Higher Education Rubric Workbook, para 1). QM has eight research based rubric areas: “1) Course Overview and Introductions; 2) Learning Objectives or Competencies; 3) Assessment and Measurement; 4) Instructional Materials; 5) Course Activities and Learner Interaction; 6) Courses Technology; 7) Learner Support; 8) Accessibility and Usability” (QM Higher Education Rubric Workbook, p. 1). The purpose of this preliminary study was to develop a sample model course demonstrating the use of QM General Standard 5, Course Activities and Learner Interaction

Superior Performance Competencies Achieved Through Destination Imagination Experiences

Today’s workforce not only requires specific content-area knowledge and skills achieved through formal education but also, and most critically, superior performance competencies including distinguishable behaviors. While formal education prioritizes easily detectable and measurable content-specific knowledge and skills, superior performance competencies such as cognitive, affective, and motivational skills remain secondary unless students engage in extracurricular activities in real-world settings. This qualitative study investigated the phenomenon of achieving an array of superior performance competencies through learning by doing, at one of the 2023 Destination Imagination events. This study marked the first fieldwork in which the principal researcher directly observed the event in its natural setting. Data were collected, analyzed, and interpreted concurrently during the event by means of observations, ordinary conversations, and an informal interview. The inductive data analysis included analytic memos, and midway hypothesis coding which confirmed the significance of immersing in such activities and resulted in two major findings: 1) participating in such meaningful real-world activities cultivates distinctive behaviors that drive exceptional performance, positioning participants to stand out among their peers; and 2) this involvement also equips students with the capabilities to excel upon entering the workforce, ensuring superior employee performance in their roles

LEED CERTIFICATION AS A NORTETIVE TOOL FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN CIVIL CONSTRUCTION

Dada a crescente preocupação com o esgotamento dos recursos renováveis e não renováveis do planeta, e a conscientização sobre as questões ligadas ao meio ambiente, se fez necessário o estudo de meios alternativos de desenvolvimento de um dos setores que mais cresce no mundo, a construção civil. Desta forma, objetivando o crescimento econômico, juntamente com a preservação ambiental, a gradativa inserção de edifícios denominados Green Buildings, que visam o aproveitamento energético, hídrico e natural de forma sustentável, ofereceram uma nova realidade para o setor construtivo. Este trabalho visa apresenta a Certificação LEED (Lidership in Energy and Environmental Design) a qual não só avalia o desempenho de novos empreendimentos, como também encoraja a utilização de práticas mais sustentáveis e menos impactantes ao meio ambiente, promovendo a implantação de projetos inovadores do ponto de vista tecnológico, bem como a valorização dos empreendimentos certificados. Para avaliar se uma construção é ou não sustentável surgiram às certificações ambientais, que através de sistemas de pontuação ou conceitos permitem avaliar qualitativamente o desempenho sustentável de uma edificação. O presente trabalho observou a importância do certificado LEED, em um entendimento amplo sob uma perspectiva de construções sustentáveis.Given the growing concern about the depletion of the planet's renewable and nonrenewable resources and awareness of environmental issues, it became necessary to study alternative ways of developing one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, . Thus, with the objective of economic growth, together with environmental preservation, the gradual insertion of buildings called Green Buildings, which aim at sustainable energy, water and natural use, offered a new reality for the construction sector. This paper aims to present the LEED (Lidership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification which not only evaluates the performance of new projects, but also encourages the use of more sustainable practices and less impact to the environment, promoting the implementation of innovative projects of the point of technology, as well as the valuation of certified enterprises. In order to assess whether a construction is sustainable or not, environmental certifications have emerged, which through scoring systems or concepts allow a qualitative evaluation of the sustainable performance of a building. The present study noted the importance of the LEED certificate, in a broad understanding from the perspective of sustainable constructions

Arcabouço estrutural da porção sul da Bacia do Bananal e reativações transbrasilianas

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Geociências, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências Aplicadas, 2017.O desenvolvimento e o arcabouço estrutural do interior do continente Sulamericano estão intimamente associados aos aspectos tectônicos de formação do supercontinente Gondwana. Grande parte desse arcabouço é coberto pelas bacias fanerozóicas que se instalaram nas descontinuidades e heterogeneidades crustais herdadas do embasamento pré-cambriano. A porção sul da Bacia do Bananal cobre importantes porções da Província Tocantins, mais especificamente a região limite entre as Faixas Araguaia, Brasília e Paraguai, influenciadas tectonicamente pelo Lineamento Transbrasiliano, uma das maiores zonas de cisalhamento da Terra. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é a caracterização do Lineamento Transbrasiliano nessa região e a sua influência na evolução tectônica da Província Tocantins. A investigação foi realizada com a utilização de análises de dados de sensoriamento remoto, mapeamento litoestrutural e interpretação de dados aerogeofísicos. A integração dos dados revelou a existência de descontinuidades crustais com trend NE relacionadas ao Lineamento Transbrasiliano, que limita parcialmente as três faixas quem compõem a Província Tocantins. Foi possível o reconhecimento de estruturas para a análise cinemática das reativações, como deslocamentos e reorientação dos lineamentos magnéticos, retrabalhamento nas bordas de corpos pós brasilianos. A organização das estruturas magnéticas do Lineamento Transbrasiliano nessa região sugerem tectônica de cisalhamento do tipo Rabo de Cavalo com o Lineamento Serra Negra como plano de falha principal. O alinhamento das estruturas morfotectônicas e estruturas magnéticas do embasamento indicam que a porção sul da Bacia do Bananal é controlada pelo Lineamento Transbrasiliano.The development and structural framework of the interior of the South American continent are closely associated with the tectonic aspects of the formation of the supercontinent Gondwana. The most part of this framework is covered by the phanerozoic basins that settled in the crustal discontinuities and heterogeneities inherited from the pre-Cambrian basement. The southern portion of the Bananal Basin covers important portions of the Tocantins Province, more specifically the boundary region between the Araguaia, Brasilia and Paraguay Belts, both truncated by the Transbrasilian Lineament, one of the Earth's largest shear zones. The main objective of this work is the characterization of the Transbrasilian Lineament in this region and its influence on the tectonic evolution of the Tocantins Province. The research was carried out with the use of remote sensing data analysis, geologic and structural mapping and airbourne magnetic data interpretation. The integration of the data revealed the existence of crustal discontinuities with NE trend related to the Transbrasilian Lineament, partially limiting the three orogenic belts of the Tocantins Province. It was possible to recognize structures for the kinematic analysis of reactivations, such as displacements and reorientation of magnetic lines, reworking on the borders of post-orogenic granites. The organization of the magnetic structures of the Transbrasilian Lineament in this region suggest shear tectonics of the Horsetail Splay type with the Serra Negra Lineament as the main fault. The correspondence between of the morphotectonic structures and magnetic structures of the basement indicate that the southern portion of the Bananal Basin is controlled by the Transbrasilian Lineament

Potencial Evocado Visual e uso da Rivaroxabana na Neurite Óptica Isquêmica não Arterítica por COVID-19 / Visual Evoked Potential and use of Rivaroxaban in not Arteritic Ischemic Optical Neuritis by COVID-19

Objetivo: Mostrar a importância do Potencial Evocado Visual (PEV), no controle clínico da melhora da lesão isquêmica após uso da Rivaroxabana. Relado de Caso: Paciente do sexo feminino de 58 anos, que apresentou um quadro de Neurite Óptica Isquêmica Não Arterítica (NOIA-NA), após infecção pela Síndrome Respiratória Aguda Severa Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (COVID-19), devido a eventos trombóticos, que foram confirmados através de exames oftalmológicos e feito controle clínico evolutivo com PEV. Foi feito tratamento medicamentoso com Rivaroxabana, durante 100 dias, sendo que após 40 dias, foi relatado recuperação completa do campo visual pela paciente. Foram realizados exames oftalmológicos, neurofisiológicos (PEV). Para definir a dose terapêutica eficaz, assim como o tempo de tratamento, é necessário estudos populacionais maiores. O PEV pode ser empregado como método de avaliação da evolução da melhora da lesão, antes, durante e após o tratamento medicamentoso. Conclusão: A NOIA-NA secundária ao COVID-19, sendo diagnosticada em tempo hábil, com exames neurofisiológicos e oftalmológicos direcionados, é possível de recuperação completa com uso de anticoagulantes orais, neste caso a Rivaroxabana, acompanhado pelo PEV. Esses desfechos foram observados no presente caso

¿Drug Trafficking as An Economic Source of The Country?

Las drogas son un problema para el país desde los años 3000 a.c, que son utilizadas normalmente como un relajante para salir y olvidarse del estrés o algunos casos simplemente por moda. En la mayoría de los casos las drogas se vuelven adicciones que al tiempo daña tu salud tanto física, emocional y mental. Las drogas son una fuga de dinero que no es compensada de ninguna manera, ya que la lucha contra las drogas no ha servido de nada a lo largo del tiempo, aunque existan muchas campañas de ayuda para las personas que son adictas o que apenas empiezan con esta mentalidad, no el 100% de los adictos son ayudados por que ellos no se consideran ser “adictos” ya que su mente no está en condiciones de aceptar lo que les está pasando.Drugs have been a problem for the country since 3000 BC, which are normally used as a relaxant to go out and forget about stress or in some cases simply for fashion. In most cases, drugs become addictions that at the same time damage your physical, emotional and mental health. Drugs are a drain of money that is not compensated in any way, since the fights against drugs have been of no use over time, since although there are many help campaigns for people who are addicted or who are just starting with this mentality, not 100% of addicts are helped because they do not consider themselves "addicted" since their mind is not in a position to accept what is happening to them