Learner Characteristics and Learners’ Inclination towards Particular Learning Environments

In addition to a face-to-face classroom learning environment, today’s learners in higher education are likely to have also experienced a blended learning or an online learning environment. These learning environments not only differ in their delivery modes, but also learning activities, class interactions, assessment approaches, etc. Learners tend to have differing perceptions about the effectiveness of different learning environments. This study therefore investigates whether the reasons learners like or dislike a learning environment reveal learner characteristics that may explain why some learners are more inclined towards a particular learning environment. This study also examines whether learner demographics influence learner characteristics and their preference for a particular learning environment. Using an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design, this study first conducted several focus group discussions and then administered an online questionnaire survey to collect input from students at a local university. Analyses derived four learner characteristics (i.e. desire for direct support, digital readiness, learning independence, and online hesitancy) based on the reasons why the students liked or disliked face-to-face classroom learning, blended learning, or online learning environments. A cluster analysis further distinguished the students into three groups (i.e. classroom learners, insecure learners, and online learners) based on the four learner characteristics. Analyses also found that learners’ demographics largely had no effect on learners’ characteristics and their preference for a particular learning environment. The findings suggest that learner characteristics may provide a clue to why certain learners have a preference for a face-to-face classroom learning, a blended learning, or an online learning environment. A better understanding of the relationship between learner characteristics and learners’ inclination towards a particular learning environment can be helpful to educational institutions and academics to design a range of engaging learning activities for learners with different characteristics

Warranting value of information and tourists' trust in online booking websites

When tourists are planning to travel to places where they need to stay overnight, many would most likely visit some online booking websites to search for the right accommodation. Such websites as Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, etc. list accommodation vacancies and provide relevant information such as price, hotel star ratings, customer review ratings, reviewers' comments, hotel policies and facilities, and so on. This information is particularly useful for first-time tourists to a new place, helping them to reduce uncertainty in making choices. Thus, the question of which information adds more value to the decision-making process of these tourists is worth investigating. With reference to Walther and Parks's (2002) Warranting Theory and McKnight et al.'s (2002) Web Trust Model, this study develops a model to examine which information has high or low warranting value; how warranting value affects trusting intentions; and how trusting intentions affect trust-related behaviors (Willingness to depend and Subjective probability of depending as subconstructs). This study collected responses from people who have used online booking websites and analyzed the data using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The findings of this study can help online booking websites to first understand what information is considered valuable by their customers when making accommodation choices, and subsequently, to improve website functions and features to provide information of high warranting value

Warranting value of information and tourists' trust in online booking websites

When tourists are planning to travel to places where they need to stay overnight, many would most likely visit some online booking websites to search for the right accommodation. Such websites as Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, etc. list accommodation vacancies and provide relevant information such as price, hotel star ratings, customer review ratings, reviewers' comments, hotel policies and facilities, and so on. This information is particularly useful for first-time tourists to a new place, helping them to reduce uncertainty in making choices. Thus, the question of which information adds more value to the decision-making process of these tourists is worth investigating. With reference to Walther and Parks's (2002) Warranting Theory and McKnight et al.'s (2002) Web Trust Model, this study develops a model to examine which information has high or low warranting value; how warranting value affects trusting intentions; and how trusting intentions affect trust-related behaviors (Willingness to depend and Subjective probability of depending as subconstructs). This study collected responses from people who have used online booking websites and analyzed the data using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The findings of this study can help online booking websites to first understand what information is considered valuable by their customers when making accommodation choices, and subsequently, to improve website functions and features to provide information of high warranting value

AN EXPLORATION INTO FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH READING ANXIETY AMONG TAIWANESE EFL LEARNERS

The present study was an elaboration on factors influencing for- eign language (FL) reading anxiety in EFL learners (n = 202) in Taiwan. Data were collected from three measures, a background information questionnaire, the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and a semi-structured interview. The results showed that FL reading anxiety was associated with time spent on reading English, but not with gender and academic major. Moreover, FL reading anxiety was found to be positively correlated with text features and personal factors, but negatively correlated with reading strategy use, indicating that the more reading strategies a learner employs, the lower FL reading anxiety level he/she will experience. Unfamiliar vocabulary, unknown topics, long and complicated text structure as well as the fear of making mistakes were identified as the major factors of FL reading anxiety. This study contributes to extending our understanding of factors that might evoke EFL reading anxiety

Gold catalyzed divergent scaffold synthesis from oxindole derived 1,6-enynes

In chemical biology and drug discovery, the development of novel methods for efficient synthesis of structurally distinct molecular scaffolds holds an immense importance. Gold catalyzed enyne cycloisomerizations are a powerful tool to access a wide range of complex molecules owing to the tunable nature of gold complexes with ligand and reaction conditions. A number of reactions have disclosed the role of substrates, ligands of gold(I) catalyst and the nucleophiles to afford a variety of products with intriguing molecular frameworks. The development of a ”ligand directed divergent scaffold synthesis” (LDS) approach that aims to create structurally distinct molecular scaffolds by means of a single mode of catalysis on common substrates is presented in this work. In this strategy, when oxindole derived 1,6-enynes were treated with different gold complexes, the fate of the common bicyclic gold carbene intermediates could be steered by ligand variations in gold(I) complexes, and selectively led to three structurally distinct scaffolds, the spirooxindoles, quinolones, and the df-oxindoles. Biological investigation of the resulting compound collection in cell-based assays revealed bioactive small molecules based on three different scaffolds displaying orthogonal modulation in the activities of the hedgehog signaling pathway, autophagy and cellular proliferation.Die Entwicklung neuer Methoden zur effizienten Synthese strukturell verschiedener molekularer Gerüste ist von großer Wichtigkeit in der chemischen Biologie und der Entdeckung neuer Wirkstoffe. Die Gold katalysierte Enin-Cycloisomerisierung ist eine leistungsfähige Methode für den Zugang zu einer Vielzahl komplexer Moleküle, da die Natur der Goldkomplexe durch Änderung der Liganden und Reaktionsbedingungen einstellbar ist. Die genaue Erforschung der Substrate, Liganden des Gold(I)-Katalysators und der Nukleophile führt zu einer Vielfalt an Produkten mit interessanten molekularen Gerüsten. In dieser Arbeit wird die Entwicklung des Ansatzes einer divergierenden Gerüstsynthese, die durch Liganden dirigiert wird (engl. ligand directed divergent scaffold synthesis, LDS) präsentiert. Hierbei wird die Synthese strukturell verschiedener molekularer Gerüste durch nur einen Modus der Katalyse für gemeinsame Substrate angestrebt. Wenn die Oxindol-abgeleitete 1,6-Enine in der Gegenwart von Gold-Komplexen reagiert wurden, konnte der Reaktionsverlauf gängiger bicyclische Goldcarbenintermediate durch Variieren der Liganden des Gold(I)-Komplexes gesteuert werden. Als Resultat wurden selektiv zu drei verschiedener Gerüste erhalten: Spirooxindole, Chinolone und df-Oxindole. Die biologische Untersuchung der erhaltenen Substanzsammlung in Zell-basierten Experimenten ergab, dass die Moleküle, die auf drei verschiedenen Gerüsten basieren, die Aktivität des Hedgehog Signalwegs, Autophagie und Proliferation selektiv beeinflussen