What Drives Students' Loyalty-Formation in Social Media Learning Within a Personal Learning Environment Approach? The Moderating Role of Need for Cognition

Our study analyzes an educational experience based on the integrated use of social media within a higher education course under a personal learning environment approach and investigates the factors that determine students' loyalty to social media learning. We examined the moderating role of need for cognition (NFC) in students' formation of attitudes, satisfaction, and loyalty toward this learning experience. The results indicate that NFC has an influence on these variables, significantly moderating how loyalty toward social media learning is formed. For high-NFC students, satisfaction with the learning experience is the most important variable to explain loyalty; whereas for low-NFC students, attitudes have a stronger effect. Different strategies are suggested, according to the learners' NFC levels, for increasing the use of social media in personal learning environments. Practical implications for improving the integration of such informal resources into formal education are discussed.Junta de Andalucía – Programa Andaluz de I + D P12 SEJ 259

Modelling museum efficiency in producing inter-reliant outputs

The aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of a homogeneous state-run network of museums. Nonparametric models are used to measure relative efficiency in these institutions, and we employ a complex production function embracing a number of inputs and outputs adapted to the various functions which museums fulfil: preservation, research, communication, and exhibition. Our approach considers that managers drive certain outputs, but that others escape their control since they are co-produced by visitors and determined by demand conditions and external factors. Based on this, a network two-stage data envelopment analysis approach is applied to evaluate museums’ overall performance and to distinguish between efficiency in two stages: internal management and external outcomes. The low levels of performance and gaps in the scores from the first to the second stage suggest there are external factors that might determine museum performance. We therefore apply truncated regression models to analyse how and how much certain environmental variables might shape levels of museum efficiency. In this case, we consider indicators such as accessibility, tourism capacity, cultural appeal, museum age and the institutional management model. The application is performed on a sample taken from a Spanish state-run network of museums. Results show that, in general, good levels of efficiency in terms of management do not guarantee success when attracting visitors, and there seems to be a trade-off between the two goals. Variables such as tourism capacity and heritage endowments in the surrounding area, as well as the museum’s management model, may determine museums’ efficiency levels. The research findings may prove useful for running these cultural institutions and for those responsible for public resource allocation in cultural policies as well as for scholars, who may find a fresh approach for modelling museum efficiency and for discussing drivers of museum management success.This research was financed by the Regional Ministry of Education of the Regional Government of Castilla y León (Spain) (Project Ref. VA012G19

Analysing productivity and technical change in museums: A dynamic network approach

Producción CientíficaThe efficiency evaluation of cultural institutions is proving to be a highly fertile area for theoretical and applied research. Nevertheless, few studies have thus far focused on the dynamic analysis of efficiency and on estimating productivity to gauge how receptive these institutions are to technological progress. The present work provides an approach to these two goals for a sample of public museums in Spain by applying a non-parametric technique, the dynamic-network DEA model, and by calculating the corresponding dynamic Malmquist indices. This involves positing a production function broken down into production activities and time intervals, with inputs that are inter-related horizontally (production links) and vertically (time carry-overs). Results show that museum productivity remains practically stable over a long period of time, thus partly confirming the hypothesis of Baumol's cost disease adapted to these activities. Nevertheless, breaking down the indices into catch-up and shift-frontier effects reveals substantial growth in productivity at the stage involving the creation of the cultural supply, due to a displacement of the results frontier as well as significant improvements in museum efficiency at the stage involving the provision of services geared towards attracting visitors. This also reflects a change in museums’ functional priorities, where the goals related to visibility and activities involving dissemination and social impact prove to be particularly important.Junta de Castilla y León (project VA012G19

Personal Learning Environments Acceptance Model: The Role of Need for Cognition, e-Learning Satisfaction and Students' Perceptions

As long as students use Web 2.0 tools extensively for social purposes, there is an opportunity to improve students' engagement in Higher Education by using these tools for academic purposes under a Personal Learning Environment approach (PLE 2.0). The success of these attempts depends upon the reactions and acceptance of users towards e-learning using Web 2.0. This paper aims to analyse the factors (e-learning satisfaction and students’ perceptions, among others) that determine the intention of use of a PLE 2.0 initiative. The study in addition analyses the moderating role of the Need for Cognition (NFC) in the model. The results indicate that the model proposed has a high explanatory power of the intention to use a PLE 2.0 and gives support to the moderating role of NFC. The study discusses how this analysis can help to improve course designs by teachers

Exploring how student motivation relates to acceptance and participation in MOOCs

In recent years, MOOCs have become firmly established as valid e-learning environments and, as such, have been developed by many universities using different types of platform. Given the voluntary nature of MOOC enrolment, motivation is crucial to our understanding of why students register for and complete these courses. The present study explores the motivations that characterize MOOC participants and how they relate to technology acceptance variables (data collected via questionnaires) and participation variables (observational data collected via the platform). Our results indicate that students show exceptionally high levels of intrinsic motivation. However, extrinsic motivation also plays a relevant role, suggesting that the two are not mutually exclusive. Although only intrinsic motivation appears to be systematically associated with differences in technology acceptance, both are associated with differences in participation, but in contrasting ways. Our results provide insights that will enable us to improve MOOC design in order to enhance participant satisfaction, particularly when different sources of motivation are involved. Future research based on the modeling of technology acceptance and participation will also benefit from this study

Performance of cultural heritage institutions: A regional perspective

Producción CientíficaMost studies on performance evaluation in the cultural sector are based on the efficiency assessment of a network of institutions. Nevertheless, very few works take territorial divisions as the case study. Under this approach, we design a spatial production function which merges several cultural resources in order to optimize the impact of a regional system of cultural institutions in terms of cultural production and use of services provided. The aim of this paper is therefore to evaluate the efficiency of cultural heritage institutions in Spain from a regional perspective. We take regional networks of museums and libraries as emblematic case studies over a long period, from 2002 to 2020. We first apply a dynamic-network DEA model to measure efficiency, which allows the production function to be divided into stages and time intervals, considering inter-reliant inputs between production phases and time lapses. We also apply truncated regression models to study the effect of external variables on regional cultural efficiency, especially those related to socioeconomic conditions in regions, the scope of the cultural and tourist sector, and institutional indicators. Results show that regional cultural efficiency depends on the level of training and on the demographic structure rather than on economic wealth. Differences are also found between the goals of cultural production and cultural consumption (visitor impact). These findings might prove useful for policy implications regarding resource allocation vis-à-vis defining and accomplishing cultural purposes at a regional scale, and also for revealing causes of inefficiency with a view to improving quality in institutions –which ultimately drives economic development

Practices of leadership in Andalusian schools moderated by dimension

Es conocido el papel fundamental del liderazgo en el impulso de la innovación educativa para atender al reto de una sociedad global y cambiante. El Modelo de Liderazgo d Ontario (MLO) es un enfoque comprensivo que propone prácticas de liderazgo adaptables a los cambios. Sin embargo, los resultados heterogéneos del modelo según el tipo de centro escolar hacen necesarios los estudios que muestren su funcionamiento controlando el contexto organizativo. Se utilizó una muestra de representantes de los equipos directivos de centros escolares de Andalucía, se buscó comprender las relaciones entre los componentes del MLO como estructura útil para el desarrollo de "buenas prácticas docentes”, controlando el tipo de centro. Se realizó un modelaje de ecuaciones estructurales multigrupo y se comprobó que la dimensión organizativa modera la estructura de las relaciones del modelo. Este estudio aporta evidencias empíricas que pueden ser útiles para el desarrollo del modelo en distintos contextos escolares.The role of organizational leadership in driving innovative processes that respond to the challenges to our global and society is widely acknowledged. The Ontario Leadership Framework (OLF) is a comprehensive approach that provides leadership practices adaptable to changes. Nonetheless, given the heterogeneous results arising from the framework according to different educational establishments, it is necessary the conduct of studies that show the framework performance in a controlled organizational context. This study sought to comprehend the relationships among OLF components as a worthy structure to develop good teaching practices while controlling the type of educational establishment; effect, a sample of representatives from Andalusian School Leadership Teams was examined. Multigroup structural equation modelling was performed considering. Consequently, it was ascertained that the organizational dimension influences the structure of the relationships of the model. This study provides empirical evidence that might prove valuable for the development of the model in different schools

Giant reversible barocaloric response of (MnNiSi)(1-x)(FeCoGe)(x) (x=0.39, 0.40, 0.41)

MnNiSi-based alloys and isostructural systems have traditionally demonstrated impressive magnetocaloric properties near room temperature associated with a highly tunable first-order magnetostructural transition that involves large latent heat. However, these materials are limited by a small field-sensitivity of the transition, preventing significant reversible effects usable for cooling applications. Instead, the concomitant large transition volume changes prompt a high pressure-sensitivity, and therefore, promise substantial barocaloric performances, but they have been sparsely studied in these materials. Here, we study the barocaloric response in a series of composition-related (MnNiSi)1-x(FeCoGe)x (x = 0.39, 0.40, 0.41) alloys that span continuously over a wide temperature range around ambient. We report on giant reversible effects of ~40 J K-1 kg-1 and up to ~4 K upon application of ~2 kbar and find a degradation of the first-order transition properties with pressure that limits the barocaloric effects at high pressures. Our results confirm the potential of this type of alloys for barocaloric applications, where multicaloric and composite possibilities, along with the high density and relatively high thermal conductivity, constructively add to the magnitude of the caloric effects.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Crystal structure of polymorph II and the pressure-temperature phase diagram of the dimorphic anesthetic butamben

The crystal structure of the low-temperature form II of butamben has been solved in a P21/c space group very similar to that of form I. Form II possesses virtually the same packing as that of the high-temperature form I, and the dimorphism is mainly represented by a small discontinuous change in the size of the unit cell and by a difference in the enthalpy. Because of the small enthalpy difference between the two polymorphs of 375 J·mol–1, it will be difficult to predict the change in the stability hierarchy by computer-aided methods. The pressure–temperature phase diagram, constructed using volume and enthalpy differences between the two phases at ordinary pressure, corresponds to a case of overall enantiotropy, as the I–II and I–L equilibrium lines diverge with increasing pressure. This conclusion is confirmed by the experimental pressure–temperature phase diagram obtained with differential thermal analysis measurements under pressurePeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft