Predictors of Enrolling in Online Courses: An Exploratory Study of Students in Undergraduate Marketing Courses

An exploratory study of undergraduate students enrolled in marketing courses at a Southeastern regional university was conducted to determine the motivations and characteristics of marketing students who plan to be online learners and examined for differences between those who have taken and those who have not taken online classes. An online survey of Likert scales, openended questions and demographic questions was sent via class learning management websites. A total of 165 students of the 438 invited to participate completed the survey. A structural model was developed using SMART-PLS to estimate the relationships of constructs that predict taking online courses. Results of the study showed differences in predictors of those that have taken online courses compared to those who plan on taking online courses. A significant predictor of those planning on taking online courses is quality of learning while a significant predictor of those who have taken online courses is scheduling and timing. The results can be used to examine ways to improve/enhance the student’s educational experience, as well as an institution’s effectiveness in attracting the growing body of online learners

Fish Structure in Channel Networks of a Large Anabranching Floodplain: Effect of Isolation/Connection Processes

Channel networks of floodplain rivers are the main routes for water, sediment, organic matter, and aquatic organisms between main channels and lakes, playing a substantial role in floodplain dynamics. Despite their importance most investigations in large floodplain rivers focus on main channels and lentic water bodies. This research deals with fish assemblage variations in different lotic sites (scour holes and straight reaches) of one of the many channels which shape the wide anabranching floodplain of the middle reach of the Paraná River. We considered the influence of environmental factors, such as hydro-geomorphological features and water quality of the channel, connections with surrounding lentic water bodies, seasonality, and interannual flow variations. The results showed two main ecological patterns closely related to floodplain connectivity. In-channel habitat heterogeneity has low influence on fish assemblages when minor channels are connected to significant flooded areas (sampling period 2013–2016). Spatial or temporal predictions of fish structure during these stages are not easy due to the interaction of several environmental factors. However, during very low water levels (winter of 2018) most lentic areas become isolated from the nearby channel network, and floodplain fish are forced to move into the numerous scour holes of the floodplain channels where water conditions resemble those in lentic habitats. Our work highlights the importance of in-channel characteristics of floodplain river networks and their crucial role for fish conservation, particularly during very low water stages.Fil: Abrial, Elie. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Espínola, Luis Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Amsler, Mario Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Rabuffetti, Ana Pia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Latosinski, Francisco Guillermo. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Departamento de Hidráulica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Szupiany, Ricardo Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Departamento de Hidráulica; ArgentinaFil: Eurich, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Blettler, Martin Cesar Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; Argentin

Aphasia and Spirituality: the feasibility of assessment and intervention using WELLHEAD and SHALOM

Background: Spiritual aspects of aphasia rehabilitation are poorly understood, though identified within adjustment. Existing spiritual health assessments have not been used with people with aphasia, and no structured program to facilitate intervention has been documented, despite acknowledgments that spirituality is important in health and wellbeing and distinct from quality of life and mental health. Aims: Mixed methods were used to investigate the accessibility and acceptability of a spiritual health assessment (SHALOM) and WELLHEAD, a toolkit originated by Mumby for spiritual health assessment and intervention, using the religiously neutral dimensions of ‘WIDE, LONG, HIGH and DEEP’. Method: A Steering group (five people with aphasia) shaped the feasibility study cyclically, agreeing that ‘Meaning and purpose’ defined spirituality, and selecting SHALOM. WELLHEAD was modified collaboratively with the Steering group and Hospital Chaplain. A convenience sample of 10 people with aphasia (discharged from therapy) represented diverse aphasia histories, ages and religious backgrounds. Participants completed a two-hour session using SHALOM, the WELLHEAD toolkit and a feedback questionnaire within video-recorded interviews. Quantitative results from all three components were integrated with a qualitative thematic analysis in NVivo 11 including numerical and descriptive summaries verified by the participants, feedback interview transcripts and field notes with reflections. The thematic analysis was systematically and independently verified by a co-researcher. Feedback from participants was further verified by incorporating their comments from reviewing the overall findings. Results: Quantitative and qualitative feedback evaluated the materials positively. Thematic analysis provided evidence of the accessibility, acceptability and positive impact of WELLHEAD irrespective of aphasia severity or aetiology, and religious background. ‘Belief’, ‘Faith’ and ‘Religion’ were disambiguated. SHALOM was also linguistically and cognitively accessible with communication support even for those with severe aphasia. Scores from WELLHEAD and SHALOM were compared and set into the context of wider standardisation of SHALOM, providing the first evidence of spiritual health measures in participants with aphasia. Conclusions: This preliminary work lays foundations for spiritual assessment and intervention in aphasia. Establishing the psychometric properties of SHALOM and WELLHEAD in people with aphasia requires a larger sample. Additional study of intervention is proposed, with clear potential for wider application of WELLHEAD in diverse settings and populations

The philosopher of ambiguity: exploring stories of spirituality of people with aphasia through the lens of Merleau-Ponty

Spirituality as a concept has only recently begun to be considered in speech and language therapy research and practice, and phenomenology as a research methodology is also not widely used in SLT research. Yet, concepts propounded by the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty arguably offer a useful theoretical framework from which to view certain aspects of SLT including the concept of spirituality and how this is expressed by people with a communication difficulty. In this project, eight people with aphasia were interviewed about their spirituality. The interviews were transcribed, themes identified and stories created. These stories were viewed using one of the concepts propounded by Merleau-Ponty, namely ambiguity

Quality of service in public transport based on customer satisfaction surveys: A review and assessment of methodological approaches

The growth of literature in the field of quality of service in the public transport (PT) sector shows increasing concern for a better understanding of the factors affecting service quality (SQ) in PT organizations and companies. A large variety of approaches to SQ has been developed in recent years owing to the complexity of the concept; the broad range of attributes required to evaluate SQ; and the imprecision, subjectivity and heterogeneous nature of the data used to analyse it. Most of these approaches are based on customer satisfaction surveys. This paper seeks to summarize the evolution of research and current thinking as it relates to the different methodological approaches for SQ evaluation in the PT sector over the years, and provides a discussion of future directions.This study is sponsored by the Conserjería de Innovación, Ciencia y Economía of the Junta de Andalucía (Spain) through the Excellence Research Project denominated “Q-METROBUS-Quality of service indicator for METROpolitan public BUS transport services”

Location of studies and evidence of effects of herbivory on Arctic vegetation : a systematic map

Background: Herbivores modify the structure and function of tundra ecosystems. Understanding their impacts is necessary to assess the responses of these ecosystems to ongoing environmental changes. However, the effects of herbivores on plants and ecosystem structure and function vary across the Arctic. Strong spatial variation in herbivore effects implies that the results of individual studies on herbivory depend on local conditions, i.e., their ecological context. An important first step in assessing whether generalizable conclusions can be produced is to identify the existing studies and assess how well they cover the underlying environmental conditions across the Arctic. This systematic map aims to identify the ecological contexts in which herbivore impacts on vegetation have been studied in the Arctic. Specifically, the primary question of the systematic map was: "What evidence exists on the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation?". Methods: We used a published systematic map protocol to identify studies addressing the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation. We conducted searches for relevant literature in online databases, search engines and specialist websites. Literature was screened to identify eligible studies, defined as reporting primary data on herbivore impacts on Arctic plants and plant communities. We extracted information on variables that describe the ecological context of the studies, from the studies themselves and from geospatial data. We synthesized the findings narratively and created a Shiny App where the coded data are searchable and variables can be visually explored. Review findings We identified 309 relevant articles with 662 studies (representing different ecological contexts or datasets within the same article). These studies addressed vertebrate herbivory seven times more often than invertebrate herbivory. Geographically, the largest cluster of studies was in Northern Fennoscandia. Warmer and wetter parts of the Arctic had the largest representation, as did coastal areas and areas where the increase in temperature has been moderate. In contrast, studies spanned the full range of ecological context variables describing Arctic vertebrate herbivore diversity and human population density and impact. Conclusions: The current evidence base might not be sufficient to understand the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation throughout the region, as we identified clear biases in the distribution of herbivore studies in the Arctic and a limited evidence base on invertebrate herbivory. In particular, the overrepresentation of studies in areas with moderate increases in temperature prevents robust generalizations about the effects of herbivores under different climatic scenarios.Peer reviewe