Working with student expectations of tutor support in distance education: testing an expectations‐led quality assurance model

Action research studies in the United Kingdom with Open University students have shown that students come to distance education courses with variable expectations of the levels of service and support they will receive from their tutors. It has been further suggested that a specific expectations-led quality assurance process that enables the sharing of these expectations before a course starts could be of mutual benefit to the student and the tutor, as well as generally improving the overall quality of tutor support provided by the distance learning organisation. This process, it is argued, would be appreciated by the students, have beneficial effects on student satisfaction with tutor support, reducing student drop-out and increasing course completion rates. Could such a process that asks tutors to collect student expectations before a course begins be instituted effectively into a distance learning organisation and how would students and tutors respond to it? This paper reports on a large-scale project carried out by Oscail (the Irish National Distance Education Centre) aimed at developing and testing how students and tutors valued being involved in just such an Open and Distance Learning expectations-led quality assurance process. In the study reported here, all 96 tutors on an Oscail B.A. distance learning programme were asked two weeks before their course began to circulate the student expectations questionnaire to the 950 students on their tutorial lists. Tutors were asked to collect the questionnaires, reflect on the expectations of the students and consider how their tutorial practice and student support might change as a result of the exercise. Tutor and student views on the effectiveness of the exercise were also gathered through questionnaires and focus group meetings. The findings suggested that the majority of students and tutors involved in the study did see the value of the process and that it did help tutors (especially newly appointed ones) consider and respond to the type of support students hoped to receive. The practice of issuing student expectation questionnaires has now been embedded in Oscail introductory courses

Interaction of Nucleosides and Related Compounds with Nucleic Acids as Indicated by the Change of Helix-Coil Transition Temperature

A series of compounds has been tested for effectiveness in lowering the melting temperature of poly A and of thymus DNA. The order of increasing activity was found to be: adonitol, methyl riboside (both negligible) < cyclohexanol < phenol, pyrimidine, uridine < cytidine, thymidine < purine, adenosine, inosine, deoxyguanosine < caffeine, coumarin, 2,6-dichloro-7-methylpurine. Urea was ineffective with poly A and only slightly effective with DNA. At a concentration of 0.3 M, purine lowered the Tm of DNA about 9°

Focused Immersion: When Do Information Technology Affordances Disrupt It?

The rise of the use of Information Technology (IT) in many activities throughout people’s lives has led to questions about the impact on our attention. While most studies in this area have examined the role of task-specific technology, we still know little about the broader role of IT in people’s environments. In this study, we examine how and when exposure to technology affordances, such as having a smartphone at hand, affects focused immersion in a task. Based on theory on construal levels, and confirmed by our study, we posit that higher level, abstract ways of thinking protect against the negative impact of IT affordances on focused immersion. This insight can potentially help individuals tailor their IT environments to their needs for a deeper engagement in their activities. Further, by connecting strands of literature on focused immersion, this work can facilitate the development of a more comprehensive theory of focused immersion

Valid Construct Measurement Using Multiple Models

Invalid measurement of constructs in survey research often remains undetected and can lead to false conclusions. An important determinant of a construct’s measurement validity is how it is modeled. A construct can often be modeled in different ways, such as the sum of its parts or the cause of its effects. Since each of these models is associated with a unique set of errors, the common practice of specifying only a single model undermines validity. Current guidelines on measurement have not focused on how better validity can be achieved by comparing and combining multiple models. In this paper we provide a framework for the development and use of multiple models. This, we hope, would lead researchers view their construct of interest from different perspectives and thus measure it more validly

How to Tie a Construct to Indicators: Guidelines for Valid Measurement

Invalid measurement of constructs in information systems research often remains un-detected and can lead to false conclusions. The prescriptive literature on measurement has led to a better understanding of the sources of error in various areas, including con-ceptual modeling, common method bias, and estimation procedures. It has also called for heterogeneity in indicators to overcome sources of error associated with each indicator specifically. It has not led, however, to widespread measurement practice that takes these separate insights into account. This paper aims to facilitate this by integrating insights from the literature. It complements extant guidelines on the development of measurement with a typology of the ways to tie a construct to its indicators. It demonstrates the recommendations with an empirical illustration. This, I hope, will lead researchers adopt more heterogeneous indicators, allowing them to measure their constructs with better confidence in validity

Towards a Synthesis of the Guidelines for the Development of Measurement

The emergence of FinTech companies has drawn much speculation about their potential to disrupt incumbent financial institutions and take as much as 20% of their earnings by 2020. While time will tell about these predications, one emerging reality is that FinTech is creating a new ecosystem where the structure has incumbents, start-ups and tech firms forming alliances, partnerships, and investments. This paper investigates how Australian banks are assessing and developing initiatives within the FinTech ecosystem. We draw from the concepts of sensing and responding to analyse more than 3000 news articles, reports, and press releases covering the period 2008-2014 from four Australian Banks. Within the limitations of the method, our findings indicate that Australian Banks are actively embracing FinTech by creating mechanisms for inbound FinTech knowledge flows, monitoring and facilitating FinTech activities of start-ups, crowd-sourcing FinTech ideas, launching hubs to encourage internal FinTech innovations, modernizing their platforms with the adoption of technologies commonly associated with startups and investing in Fintech start-ups. These findings indicate banks’ continuous adaptive behaviour and open avenue for future research

Information Technology Addiction: Construct Development and Effects on Work Performance

IT addiction is a growing threat to quality of life and work performance. Online social networks, computer games and email are among the main culprits of such addiction. Surprisingly, the MIS literature has paid scant attention to this important area of research. An important limitation of past research is a focus that is too narrow to study the overall dynamics of IT addiction. My dissertation aims to elucidate these dynamics by incorporating multiple technologies and using a multi-method approach. Based on theories of reward and self-control, I will first define IT addiction and develop an instrument to measure it. I will then employ an experiment to validate the scale and to examine the effects of IT addiction on work performance. The results should pave the way for further academic inquiry into the nature of this ever-important construct, and should suggest practical measures to overcome its deleterious effects in the workplace

Participatory Surveillance and Mathematical Models in Epidemiologic Research: Successes and Challenges

Theoretical epidemiology aims to understand the dynamics of diseases in populations and communities. Biological and behavioral processes are abstracted into mathematical formulations which aim to reproduce epidemiological observations. In this thesis a new system for the self-reporting of syndromic data — Influenzanet — is introduced and assessed. The system is currently being extended to address greater challenges of monitoring the health and well-being of tropical communities.(...

Explaining variation in nascent entrepreneurship

This paper aims at explaining cross-country variation in nascent entrepreneurship. Regression analysis is applied using various explanatory variables derived from three different approaches. We make use of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor database, including nascent entrepreneurship rates for 36 countries in 2002 as well as variables from standardized national statistics. The first approach relates the level of entrepreneurship of a country to its level of economic development. We find evidence for a U-shaped relationship. The second approach deals with a regime switch where the innovative advantage moves from large, established enterprises to small and new firms, because new technologies have reduced the importance of scale economies in many sectors. The third approach assumes that nascent entrepreneurship partly depends upon various non-economic conditions in the domains technology, demography, culture and institutions, influencing opportunities, resources, skills and preferences. Several indicators of these aggregate conditions are found to influence nascent entrepreneurship.