Social media and students’ behavioral intentions to enroll in postgraduate studies in Kenya: a moderated mediation model of brand personality and attitude

ABSTRACT

Using cross-sectional data from 504 students from four Kenyan universities, this study evaluates the indirect effect of brand personality on the relationship between social media and students’ behavioral intentions to enroll in postgraduate studies. Additionally, the study examines the moderating effect of attitude on the relationship between social media and brand personality, social media and students’ behavioral intentions, brand personality and students’ behavioral intentions. Finally, it investigates the moderating effect of attitude on the indirect process of brand personality on the relationship between social media and students’ behavioral intentions. The study is guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, Technology Acceptance Model and Self Congruity Theory. Process Macro is used to analyze data. Results indicate that social media significantly predicts students’ behavioral intentions and this relationship is partially mediated by brand personality. Besides, attitude moderates the relationship between social media and students’ behavioral intentions and also the relationship between brand personality and students’ behavioral intentions. Finally, attitude has a conditional effect on the indirect relationship between social media and student’s behavioral intentions via brand personality and this effect is much stronger with a higher level of attitude. These findings contribute new knowledge to literature and theory.     

Measuring the Impact of Gold and Green Open Access

Using data from Web of Science, this research investigates how physical science researchers funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research complied with its open access policy, and compares the citation counts of articles published through gold and green models.It was found that, for articles published between 2008 and 2015, 9% were available through gold open access routes and 13% were available through green routes; most were not openly accessible. Citation rates were comparable for green open access and non-open access articles, but citation rates for gold open access articles were lower. After controlling for publication year, citation rates of gold, green, and non-open access articles were comparable. Among gold open access articles, citation rates were highest for open access journals with article processing charges, but after controlling for publication year, articles published in hybrid journals, followed by those in open access journals with article processing charges, achieved the highest citation rates. Articles published in free open access journals had the lowest citation rates. The results suggest that green open access is the most economical approach to comply with open access policies, and that it provides researchers with at least as much research impact as gold open access.     

Stereotype reduction through humor and accommodation during imagined communication with older adults

Ageism can generate conflict and harm well-being. Our paper integrates the Aging Stereotypes in Interaction model with intergroup contact theory to predict how communicative elements mediate the effect of intergenerational contact on warmth and competence stereotypes of older adults as a group. Students (N?=?288) were randomly assigned to imagine having a conversation with an older adult in one of six experimentally manipulated contact conditions: a competent/incompetent older woman, a sociable/unsociable older woman, or a moral/immoral older woman. Participants’ stereotypes of older adults were affected by the characteristics of their communication partner, and this effect was mediated by specific communication behaviors imagined by the participant for two of the three trait dimensions. For perceptions of competence, overaccommodation was the key mediator. For perceptions of sociability, the key mediator was humorous communication. These mediators represent an expansion in how we understand not just the outcomes of intergroup contact, but also the communicative mechanisms through which it occurs.     

Sample, Random and Variation: The Vocabulary of Statistical Literacy

This paper considers the development of school students’ ability to define three terms that are fundamental to statistical literacy: sample, random, and variation. A total of 738 students in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9 were asked in a survey to define and give an example for the word “sample.” Of these, 379 students in grades 7 and 9 were also asked about the words “random” and “variation.” Responses were used to describe developmental levels overall and to document differences across grades on the understanding of these terms. Changes in performance were also monitored after lessons on chance and data, emphasizing variation for 335 students. After 2 years, 132 of these students and a further 209 students who were surveyed originally but did not take part in specialized lessons, were surveyed again. The difference after 2 years between the performance of students who experienced the specialized lessons and those who did not was considered, revealing no differences in performance longitudinally. For students in grades 7 and 9, the association of performance on the three terms was explored. Implications for mathematics and literacy educators are discussed.     

The influence of the information value provided by prior-cuing treatment on the reactivation of memory in preweanling rats

In two experiments, the influence of exposure to a CS? on the acquisition and retention of a conditioned odor aversion was examined. Preweanling rats were given exposure to the CS? either prior to (CS?/CS+) or following (CS + /CS?) the pairing of a second odor (the CS+) with footshock. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that subjects in both of the treatment conditions acquired aversions of comparable strength to the odor paired with footshock and that retention of the odor aversion was not affected by order of stimulus presentation during conditioning. Experiment 2 indicated, however, that the effectiveness of pretest exposure to various elements of the conditioning episode in reactivation of the memory for conditioningwas dependent on the order of stimulus presentation during conditioning. This differential effectiveness of the various reactivation treatments is discussed in terms of their relationship to the associative “status” of the stimuli present during conditioning and in terms of the information provided to the animal by the reactivation treatment.     

Assessment of Students’ Understanding of Variation

Several tasks used in research studies are presented with assessment rubrics and examples of the development of student understanding. The tasks focus on students’ appreciation of variation in several contexts and illustrate the need to discuss variation in the classroom and to ask students specifically about it during assessment.     

The interactive effect of language and question format on accounting students' performance

This article reports the results of research to determine if a significant interactive effect exists between students' lingual background (English as a primary language [EPL] versus English as a secondary language [ESL]) and question format on students' examination scores. Students were administered examinations made up of four subtests covering the same subject matter. The subtests were composed of four question formats: multiple choice quantitative, multiple choice theoretical, open-ended quantitative, and open-ended essay questions. Based on analysis of variance and analysis of covariance, significant differences were observed between EPL and ESL students depending on the type of question on the examination.