Interactive learning in an urban environmental education online course

Online courses play an increasing role in professional development of environmental educators, yet little information is available on the interactive processes involved in online learning. We examined the relationship of three types of interactions in an urban environmental education online course – participant–participant, participant–instructor, and participant–content – to four course outcomes: participants’ motivation to learn, intent to adapt ideas and information learned through the course in their practice, actual adaptation of ideas in their practice, and development of professional networks. Content analysis was used to characterize participants’ and instructors’ weekly online posts and comments, and generalized estimation equation modeling was used to explore the relationships between interactions and outcomes. The results showed that participant–content interaction had significant positive relationships with participants’ motivation to learn, intent to adapt ideas, and adaptation of ideas. Participant–participant interaction had significant positive relationships with participants’ motivation to learn, and development of professional networks with each other. Finally, participant–instructor interaction had a significant positive relationship with participants’ development of professional networks. The results of this study can be used to improve professional development online courses for environmental educators.     

Better beware: comparing metacognition for phishing and legitimate emails

Metacognition and Learning - Every electronic message poses some threat of being a phishing attack. If recipients underestimate that threat, they expose themselves, and those connected to them, to...     

Exploring Factors That Promote Online Learning Experiences and Academic Self-Concept of Minority High School Students

The rapid growth of online education at the K-12 level in recent years presents the need to explore issues that influence the academic experiences of students choosing this method of learning. In this study, we examined factors that promote/hinder the learning experiences and academic self-concept of minority students attending an online high school. Qualitative interviews were conducted with twenty-four African American, and sixteen Hispanic high school students. The results showed that collaborative learning activities, access to resources, time convenience, student-teacher interactions, student-student interactions, improved academic behavior, and parental support helped to enhance online learning experiences and academic self-concept of the minority students. On the contrary, the lack of social presence, and the lack of cultural inclusion in course content constrain online learning experiences and academic self-concept of the students. The findings revealed some similarities between factors that influence minority students learning experiences online, and in face-to-face setting. The study also highlighted the need for teachers of online courses to understand the cultural backgrounds of minority students, and to use their knowledge to improve the learning experiences and academic self-concept of these students. Implications for teaching minority high school students in an online environment, as well as suggestions for future research are provided. (Keywords: minority students, K-12 online school, factors, online learning, self-concept)     

University autonomy and public policies: A system theory perspective

This article addresses problems facing universities because of external pressures for changes in their teaching, research, and governance and management policies and practices to align them with public policies. The view is put that governments are introducing public policies in times of economic recession to achieve rationalisation of human, physical and financial resources in higher education and to foster initiatives that shape university teaching and research to serve the needs of society and assist in national economic recovery. Examples of these external pressures, which have resulted in intrusions into the autonomy of university governance and management, are provided in the context of general system theory. It is assumed that the pressure of public policies on universities will continue and that each university should have a development plan for its present and future teaching and research activities, which has the endorsement of the government higher education advisory agency so that university management can function on a secure basis. The effectiveness and efficiency of functioning at the various levels of the university system should be assessed by periodic evaluative reviews. The quality of management by academic leaders should be fostered by the establishment of national centres for the study of higher education management and policy. The relationship between government higher education advisory agencies and universities should be renegotiated so that, as interdependent and interrelated parts of the higher education system, they work in joint co-operation to ensure the most effective and appropriate development of each institution. Nevertheless, a state of equilibrium between the university system and the supra (social) system within which it exists will never fully be achieved. The fundamental role and functions of a university require that it be concerned with teaching and researching both ageless and current phenomena. Hence, a perfect equilibrium state cannot exist if external social pressures are for the main weight of university activities to be shifted to providing service for the current needs of society.     

Is the Whole Worth More than the Sum of the Parts? Studies of Examiners' Grading of Individual Papers and Candidates' Whole A-level Examination Performances

Typically, students are assessed on elements of their performance, and it is assumed that the sum of marks for these elements will be just as impressive as the students' whole performances. Examiners might expect more for a particular grade if they only see parts of the students' work separately. Two experiments were carried out comparing examiners' judgements of the grade-worthiness of candidates' A-level examination work at question paper level and at subject level. The results of both studies suggested that examiners may have compensated to some extent for the different aspects of the subject tested in different question papers when they made holistic judgements, but did not make this compensation when they made question paper judgements. Tunnel vision effects are likely to be greater in the AS/A2 examinations than those found here, because the examinations will be broken into smaller parts.     

Learned suppression of photopositive tendencies in<Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

A task was designed to teach individual flies to avoid a lighted area after they had displayed an initial preference for it. The flies walked in a T-maze and chose between a lighted and a darkened alley leading, respectively, to a lighted and a darkened vial. Flies that were photopositive on a first trial were subjected to an aversive stimulus (a filter paper inserted into the lighted vial and wetted with a quinine solution), and they performed 16 training trials; they learned to avoid the lighted vial. The flies trained with water instead of quinine in the lighted vial still displayed avoidance of the lighted vial, but to a lesser extent. The flies trained with a dry filter paper in the lighted vial did not show any increase in avoidance during training. Like the flies trained with no quinine at all, those trained to avoid the lighted vial under a partial reinforcement condition (one half of the trials with quinine, the other half with a dry vial) did not master the task. Finally, removal of the quinine after an avoidance acquisition criterion was reached resulted in an extinction process.     

Income and Social Rank Influence UK Children's Behavioral Problems: A Longitudinal Analysis

Children living in low‐income households face elevated risks of behavioral problems, but the impact of absolute and relative income to this risk remains unexplored. Using the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study data, longitudinal associations between Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores and absolute household income, distance from the regional median and mean income, and regional income rank were examined in 3‐ to 12‐year‐olds (n = 16,532). Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems, while higher income rank was associated with lower behavioral problems only at the highest absolute incomes. Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems among children in working households, indicating compounding effects of income and socioeconomic advantages. Both absolute and relative incomes therefore appear to influence behavioral problems.     

Knowledge transfer in post-merger integration management: case study of a multinational healthcare company in Greece

Faced with demanding time constraints and the need to compete and communicate across a global market, firms have engaged in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to accomplish various objectives, including, but not limited to, increasing growth potential and expanding product lines. Given the vital role of knowledge in the M&A context, the aim of this case study is to explore the literature in the area of M&As from a knowledge perspective and to investigate the knowledge variable in the local Hellenic Post-Merger Integration (PMI) of the Roche Consumer Health division acquired by Bayer, both leading multinational pharmaceutical companies. The study focuses on whether the stakeholders think that one specific factor, namely knowledge transfer, has helped them develop towards one high-performance body, and, if so, what were the most significant experiences leading to this development. We followed a number of employees from both. The results of the study provide a better understanding of the key drivers of the knowledge transfer in a PMI. The critical factors (macro and micro) encourage or discourage knowledge transfer in integrating organizations. The assessment took place approximately six months after the contractual completion of the acquisition and was based on the management and co-workers’ perception of how integration at the Greek Bayer company had progressed. The Orton case study was developed as a complement to the theoretical framework on intangible synergies in the M&A context. It provides a practical perspective regarding the complexities and peculiarities involved in each M&A operation by confronting the conceptual framework with field realities.     

Knowledge governance within clusters: the case of small firms

Despite the vast literature on knowledge management, little research has addressed the specificities of knowledge integration at the cluster level. Moreover, the literature on clusters has not focused on the role that governance may play in knowledge management. Anchored in a knowledge-based perspective, this paper aims at bridging the two fields, filling the gap by analysing the role of cluster governance in knowledge management. An empirical study of two small French firm clusters was carried out based on 29 interviews. The data analysis consisted essentially in content analysis. The clusters studied were characterized by distinct knowledge management processes. In both cases, governance was necessary in order to support knowledge integration by member firms. Our results suggest that establishing an initial common knowledge base seems to be a prerequisite in order for the external knowledge identification and acquisition processes to take place. The activist role played by governance also seems more efficient than that of a broker. We discuss these results and their implications for policy-makers and cluster members.