European tests on materials outgassing

With a view to international coordination of spacecraft materials, a number of European firms and institutes performed outgassing tests on identical materials at 125 C in high vacuum. The outgassing data obtained with the different types of equipment is presented and both the results and the critical parameters are discussed

Assessment for problem-based learning

When designing a new educational unit on organisational behaviour, special attention was paid to the constructive alignment of the assessment procedure with the learning outcomes and educational concept. In order to optimise the fit with the principles and philosophy of problem-based learning, the assessment was designed to support the process of constructive, collaborative, contextual and self-directed learning. In a final two-hour session, each problembased learning team is required to analyse a case study and report their diagnosis and suggested interventions in a case study paper with an accompanying set of PowerPoint™ slides. Design and delivery of this innovative approach to summative team performance assessment are reported and results show that students appreciate the educational value of the approach and consider it enhances their conceptual skills and competence in contributing to constructive teamwork.Keywords: assessment design, assessment for learning, assessment mix, assessment session, constructive alignment, problem-based learning (PBL

Problem-based learning in the first or second language: Does it make a difference?

Problem-based learning (PBL) is the key didactic approach in the curriculum of the Stenden Hotel Management School. Real-world problems are used to activate prior knowledge and to trigger a learning process aimed at expanding and elaborating students’ understanding and competences. Since the hotel school accommodates an international student population, the entire programme uses English as the medium for communication. For approximately 90% of our students, English is a second language. This paper reports on the effectiveness of using the mother tongue (language 1) in collaborative learning, as opposed to using the student’s second language. We did so by asking a group of 12 students, who all have Dutch as their first language to perform all PBL activities in English as they usually do. At a later stage, the same group was asked to do a similar task in Dutch. PBL sessions were videotaped in our PBL lab, transcribed and analysed. Utterances of students were divided into the following categories: (1) statements, (2) constructive statements, (3) arguments, (4) questions, (5) confirmations, (6) negations, and (7) source utterances. The utterance analysis was limited to the first five steps in a seven-step approach. The findings in this small-scale pilot show – in line with earlier research – that students mainly communicate factual statements, hardly ask questions, and seldom confirm each other’s contributions when using their second language. However, when the first language was used, scores were more positive. Further research should show whether or not this is a structural finding. It was a surprise to notice that the English session contained nine minutes of “reading from paper” out of 32 minutes of reporting. In the Dutch session “reading from paper/tablet/phone” was absent.Keywords: problem-based learning, second language, collaborative learning, verbal interactions, utterance analysis, Englishmedium educatio

A review of research about the psychology of hospitality management in three leading hospitality journals

This article reviewed research articles published in three leading hospitality journals — Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, International Journal of Hospitality Management and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. Sixty published issues (20 issues per journal) with a total of 539 articles were reviewed. The key objective of this review was to identify articles which dealt with the psychology of hospitality management and to analyse key features of those articles. Findings of a content analysis show that approximately 40% of published articles dealt with psychological topics. The most frequently researched psychological issues were clustered into three main categories: customer behaviour, employee behaviour and managerial behaviour. For the analysed psychological articles, most were authored by two or three authors, mostly academics. The most common type of research approach was testing causal models. The majority of articles employed quantitative research designs and analyses. Key implications of this study include the call for stronger diversity in hospitality psychological research and methodological approaches, better linkages between research and practice, as well as the incorporation of hospitality psychology in hospitality management curricula

THE ATTITUDE OF HOTEL SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARD HOSPITALITY FINANCE

This study uses survey research to examine the attitudes of undergraduate hotel management students toward hospitality finance. A sample of 103 students enrolled in a four year undergraduate hotel management program was surveyed. The questionnaire measured both students’ attitudes toward hospitality finance and their knowledge about hospitality finance as a subject. The attitude statements were designed to address cognitive, affective, as well as behavioral components. Results showed a significant positive correlation between students’ attitudes and their test results. The statements related to cognition were most strongly related to test results. As such, the perception of undergraduate students with regard to the subject of hospitality finance and its importance in the hospitality education curriculum is better understood

From on-site to online collaborative learning

This study aims to determine the impact of switching from on-site to an online education on the collaborative learning experience of third-year students in Hospitality Management. An online survey containing seventeen questions was answered by 90 students. The results show that the students perceive more disadvantages than advantages of the switch from on-site to online education, resulting in 74% qualifying it as a negative experience. Furthermore, overall appreciation was significantly related with impact on study behaviour, like time spent on study, attending classes or asking questions. In order to get a more complete view on how all students perceive and practise online education, further research is recommended on design and delivery of online collaborative learning