Quality Frameworks for MOOCs

The hype surrounding MOOCs has been tempered by scepticism about the quality of MOOCs. The possible flaws of MOOCs include the quality of the pedagogies employed, low completion rates and a failure to deliver on the promise of inclusive and equitable quality education for all. On the other hand, MOOCs that have given a boost to open and online education have become a symbol of a larger modernisation agenda for universities, and are perceived as tools for universities to improve the quality of blended and online education—both in degree education and Continuous Professional Development. MOOC provision is also much more open to external scrutiny as part of a stronger globalising higher education market. This has important consequences for quality frameworks and quality processes that go beyond the individual MOOC. In this context, different quality approaches are discussed including possible measures at different levels and the tension between product and process models. Two case studies are described: one at the institutional level (The Open University) and one at a MOOC platform level (FutureLearn) and how they intertwine is discussed. The importance of a national or international quality framework which carries with it a certification or label is illustrated with the OpenupEd Quality label. Both the label itself and its practical use are described in detail. The examples will illustrate that MOOCs require quality assurance processes tailored to e-learning and open education, embedded in institutional frameworks. The increasing unbundling of educational services may require additional quality processes

Impact of Information Technology on Employee Attitudes: A Longitudinal Field Study

This longitudinal study examined the impact of an information technology system on the job and employee attitudes in a parts distribution center for a Fortune 500 company. Data were collected prior to, during, and following the implementation of an automated information technology system. Results of both the within subjects (N=24) and between subjects (N=58) analyses indicated that the automated technology reduced motivational and increased mechanistic aspects of the job as well as reduced employee attitudes

Student teachers and Microsoft Word's Equation Editor

Published ArticleMathematics teachers need an uncomplicated yet effective programme that they can use to type documents that contain mathematical symbols and notation. Many such programmes exist on the market, but are costly and in most cases, difficult to use. Microsoft Word's Equation Editor provides a solution to this problem in that it is easy to use and readily available in the Microsoft package. An investigation into how third-year education students respond to the presentation and use of this programme was made. The research was executed in the form of a case study, as only third-year mathematics students from the School of Teacher Education at the Central University of Technology, Free State, participated. It was found that these students grasped the concepts needed to use the Equation Editor quite easily, although the level of application by the academically stronger group of students was much higher than the level reached by the weaker academic group

A value based approach to leach optimization at Rössing Uranium Limited

Includes bibliographical references.This thesis describes the development and execution of an experimental leach programme and the use of a techno-economic model to determine improved operating set-points for a uraninite/uranophane ore body, for plant-scale implementation, that consistently maximise value delivery. A mineralogical investigation of Rössing leach samples indicated that liberated uraninite remains in the leach residue, providing evidence of non-optimal leach conditions such as prevailing redox potential, incomplete leaching within the normal residence time or galvanic hindrance. Specific focus was, therefore, placed on the effect of oxidation reduction potential (ORP) on uranium extraction and reagent consumption and the determination of an improved ORP set-point as a function of ore type, residence time and the economic environment

Листи Чернігівського архієпископа Філарета (Гумілевського) до О.М. Бодянського

Публікація містить листи відомого історика Церкви Чернігівського архієпископа Філарета (Гумілевського) до О. М. Бодянського, які висвітлюють їхню співпрацю на ґрунті дослідження слов’янських старожитностей.Публикуются письма известного историка Церкви Черниговского архиепископа Филарета (Гумилевского) к О. М. Бодянскому, которые освещают их сотрудничество на ниве исследования славянских древностей.The published article contains the letters of the famous historian of the Church – the Archbishop of Chernihiv Filaret (Humilevskyi) to O.M. Bodyanskyi covering their collaboration on the basis of Slavic antiquities research

Building Future Research Capacity In Student Healthcare Practitioners Through Research-Informed-Teaching

The Research-Informed-Teaching (RIT) agenda aims to broaden the scope of learning and teaching within higher education (Jenkins, Healey and Zetter, 2007). This may encompass raising students’ awareness of the research environment and knowledge base relevant to their discipline, developing advanced skills in critical appraisal of published research, engaging active researchers in the delivery of teaching, plus facilitating students’ direct experience of research processes and conduct. It may be anticipated that that RIT is already intrinsic to the nature of professional education in healthcare, where Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is a now a fundamental requirement of professional regulation (Health and Care Professions’ Council (2014). However frameworks of RIT are not necessarily sufficiently defined to promote the required depth of critical reflection on clinical practice (Dey, Downe, Milston, Roddam and Hart, 2009)

Risk as affect:the affect heuristic in cybersecurity

Risk perception is an important driver of netizens’ (Internet users’) cybersecurity behaviours, with a number of factors influencing its formation. It has been argued that the affect heuristic can be a source of variation in generic risk perception. However, a major shortcoming of the supporting research evidence for this assertion is that the central construct, affect, has not been measured or analysed. Moreover, its influence in the cybersecurity domain has not yet been tested. The contribution of the research reported in this paper is thus, firstly, to test the affect heuristic while measuring its three constructs: affect, perceived risk and perceived benefit and, secondly, to test its impact in the cybersecurity domain. By means of two carefully designed studies (N = 63 and N = 233), we provide evidence for the influence of the affect heuristic on risk perception in the cybersecurity domain. We conclude by identifying directions for future research into the role of affect and its impact on cybersecurity risk perception

Prevalence of suicide risk and comorbidities in postpartum women in Pelotas

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate the prevalence of suicide risk and comorbidities in postpartum women.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study of postpartum women. The sample comprised mothers who have received prenatal care from the Brazilian National System of Public Heath in the city of Pelotas. Suicide risk and other mental disorders were evaluated using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). A yes answer on one of the six interview questions was considered a sign of suicide risk.ResultsThe sample consisted of 919 postpartum women. The 11.5% suicide prevalence was 4.62 (CI 2.45, 8.73) times higher in women with low educational levels. Women with comorbid depression or an anxiety disorder showed a 17.04 (CI 2.27; 19.96) times greater risk of suicide than those who did not suffer from any mood disorder.ConclusionLower education levels and psychiatric disorders are associated with suicide risk. Bipolar disorder is the psychiatric disorder with the highest impact on suicide risk

Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Children with Asthma and Short-Term PM(2.5) Exposure in Seattle

The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between short-term (hourly) exposures to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters < 2.5 μm (PM(2.5)) and the fractional concentration of nitric oxide in exhaled breath (Fe(NO)) in children with asthma participating in an intensive panel study in Seattle, Washington. The exposure data were collected with tapered element oscillation microbalance (TEOM) PM(2.5) monitors operated by the local air agency at three sites in the Seattle area. Fe(NO) is a marker of airway inflammation and is elevated in individuals with asthma. Previously, we reported that offline measurements of Fe(NO) are associated with 24-hr average PM(2.5) in a panel of 19 children with asthma in Seattle. In the present study using the same children, we used a polynomial distributed lag model to assess the association between hourly lags in PM(2.5) exposure and Fe(NO) levels. Our model controlled for age, ambient NO levels, temperature, relative humidity, and modification by use of inhaled corticosteroids. We found that Fe(NO) was associated with hourly averages of PM(2.5) up to 10–12 hr after exposure. The sum of the coefficients for the lag times associated with PM(2.5) in the distributed lag model was 7.0 ppm Fe(NO). The single-lag-model Fe(NO) effect was 6.9 [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.4 to 10.6 ppb] for a 1-hr lag, 6.3 (95% CI, 2.6 to 9.9 ppb ) for a 4-hr lag, and 0.5 (95% CI, −1.1 to 2.1 ppb) for an 8-hr lag. These data provide new information concerning the lag structure between PM(2.5) exposure and a respiratory health outcome in children with asthma