Making sense of higher education: students as consumers and the value of the university experience

In the global university sector competitive funding models are progressively becoming the norm, and institutions/courses are frequently now subject to the same kind of consumerist pressures typical of a highly marketised environment. In the United Kingdom, for example, students are increasingly demonstrating customer-like behaviour and are now demanding even more ‘value’ from institutions. Value, though, is a slippery concept and has proven problematic both in terms of its conceptualisation and measurement. This article explores the relationship between student value and higher education and, via study in one United Kingdom business school, suggests how this might be better understood and operationalised. Adopting a combined qualitative/quantitative approach, this article also looks to identify which of the key value drivers has most practical meaning and, coincidentally, identifies a value-related difference between home and international students

Exploring the UK high street retail experience: is the service encounter still valued?

Purpose: The relationship between service quality, the service encounter and the retail experience is explored within a changing UK retail environment. Design: Data was gathered from forty customers and twenty staff of an established UK health and beauty retailer with a long standing reputation for personal customer service. A qualitative analysis was applied using both a service quality and a customer value template. Findings: Customers focused more on the utilitarian features of the service experience and less on ‘extraordinary’ aspects, but service staff still perceived that the customer encounter remained a key requisite for successful service delivery. Research implications: Recent environmental developments - involving customers, markets and retail platform structures - are challenging traditional service expectations. Practical Implications: Retailers may need to reassess the role of the service encounter as part of their on-going value proposition. Originality/value: There has been limited research to date on the perception of shoppers to the service encounter in a changing retail environment and to the evolving notions of effort and convenience

Reasons for female neonaticide in India

Invited commentary on ‘Neonaticide in India and the stigma of female gender: report of two cases’, Mishra et al

Learning Design: reflections on a snapshot of the current landscape

The mounting wealth of open and readily available information and the swift evolution of social, mobile and creative technologies warrant a re-conceptualisation of the role of educators: from providers of knowledge to designers of learning. This need is being addressed by a growing trend of research in Learning Design. Responding to this trend, the Art and Science of Learning Design workshop brought together leading voices in the field and provided a forum for discussing its key issues. It focused on three thematic axes: practices and methods, tools and resources, and theoretical frameworks. This paper reviews some definitions of Learning Design and then summarises the main contributions to the workshop. Drawing upon these, we identify three key challenges for Learning Design that suggest directions for future research

Activity Rates with Very Heavy Tails

Activity Rates with Very Heavy Tail

Discussion-Case Analysis for Facilitating Pre-Service Teachers\u27 Exploration of Play in the Early Childhood Classroom

This study sought to examine the experience of early childhood pre-service teachers participating in facilitated research analysis with discussion-case application. Specifically, we were interested in the impact on teachers’ knowledge of and attitude towards the role and value of play in the classroom. This study describes the qualitative phase of a sequential explanatory mixed method research project. Eight participants were interviewed after participating in an in-class activity of analyzing a piece of research on play and applying it to a hypothetical discussion-case in a small group Four key findings emerged from this study: participants viewed play as inextricably connected to learning; participants were committed to the incorporation of play in their future classrooms, many articulating a resolve to become agents of change; participants found that working in small collaborative groups to be advantageous, creating a community of practice; finally, participants found that the process of applying research to a discussion-case to be beneficial due to its feasibility. The findings from this study are encouraging because they demonstrate the potential of facilitated research analysis with discussion-case application as a strategy for fostering a deep understanding of the purpose and importance of play in the early-childhood classroom, as well as potentially cultivating a commitment to preserving play in the early childhood classroom. Discussion-cases may also serve as a tool for exploring other key concepts with prospective teachers. The findings have implications for teacher-educators as they prepare early childhood pre-service teachers

Guidelines for the performance of fusion procedures for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine. Part 2: assessment of functional outcome

Journal ArticleStandards. It is recommended that functional outcome be measured in patients treated for low-back pain due to degenerative disease of the lumbar spine by using reliable, valid, and responsive scales. Examples of these scales in the low-back pain population include the following: The Spinal Stenosis Survey of Stucki, Waddell-Main Questionnaire, RMDQ, DPQ, QPDS, SIP, Million Scale, LBPR Scale, ODI, the Short Form-12, the JOA system, the CBSQ, and the North American Spine Society Lumbar Spine Outcome Assessment Instrument. Guidelines. There is insufficient evidence to recommend a guideline for assessment of functional outcome following fusion for lumbar degenerative disease. Options. Patient satisfaction scales are recommended for use as outcome measures in retrospective case series, where better alternatives are not available. Patient satisfaction scales are not reliable for the assessment of outcome following intervention for low-back pain

Guidelines for the performance of fusion procedures for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine. Part 1: introduction and methodology

Journal ArticleAs scientific understanding of the pathophysiology of degenerative disease of the lumbar spine has increased, the possibilities for correcting the underlying problem and the resulting improvement in clinical function have expanded exponentially. Fueled by advances in material technology and surgical technique, treatment of greater numbers of individuals suffering from lumbar spinal disease has proliferated. Using data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, Deyo and colleagues4 described a 200% increase in the frequency of lumbar fusion procedures in the 1980s. Davis3 observed that the age-adjusted rate of hospitalization for lumbar surgery and lumbar fusion increased greater than 33% and greater than 60%, respectively, from 1979 to 1990. Lumbar fusion has been described as a treatment of symptomatic degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and degenerative scoliosis. Lumbar fusion has been performed to treat acute and chronic lowback pain, radiculopathy, and spinal instability

Guidelines for the performance of fusion procedures for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine. Part 3: assessment of economic outcome

Journal ArticleStandards. There is insufficient evidence to recommend a standard for assessment of economic outcome following lumbar fusion for degenerative disease. Guidelines. There is insufficient evidence to recommend a guideline for assessment of economic outcome following lumbar fusion for degenerative disease. Options. It is recommended that valid and responsive economic outcome measures be included in the assessment of outcomes following lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative disease. Return-to-work rates and termination of disability compensation are two such measures. It is recommended that cost analyses related to lumbar spinal fusion include perioperative expenses as well as expenses associated with long-term care, including those incurred in both the operative and nonoperative settings