试析高职院校教师社会实践的有效性

从高职教育的"高等性"与"职业性"两个属性出发,分析教师社会实践的功能定位和目标导向。针对价值认同和文化自觉缺失带来的教师社会实践诸多问题,基于教师专业成长需求定位教师社会实践目标,基于校企利益共同体创建教师社会实践平台,基于团队协作丰富教师社会实践内涵,基于文化自觉构建教师社会实践评价体系,是提高高职院校教师社会实践有效性的路径选择。     

The effects of relationship quality and switching barriers on customer loyalty

Because the cost of attracting new customers is much higher than the cost of retaining old customers, keeping customers loyal is a crucial issue for service firms. This research explores how relationship quality and switching barriers influence customer loyalty. Relationship quality consists of two aspects: satisfaction and trust. Antecedents of satisfaction and trust are explored. To test the proposed research model, a survey research methodology was used. Paper survey was distributed to mobile phone users in Taiwan. A total of 311 valid questionnaires were returned. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses. Satisfaction, trust, and switching barriers have positive effects on loyalty. In terms of antecedents, it was found that playfulness and service quality impact satisfaction while service quality and intimacy affect trust. From a managerial perspective, this research suggests that practitioner should not only keep improving service quality, but also provide playfulness to ensure customer satisfaction. Service providers should also build relationship quality and switching barriers to reduce the possibility of defection and enhance customer loyalty.     

Sense through the wall system development and design considerations

This paper presents system design challenges and issues with sensing through walls at different standoff distances and wall types. Efforts for developing sense through the wall (STTW) systems, such as those undertaken by the US Army Technology Objective (ATO) program, aim at providing the soldier with situational awareness information before breaching a building in a military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) environment. STTW capabilities also support law enforcement and search and rescue applications. Since 2002, extensive evaluations of STTW technologies, most notably those performed by the Communications Electronics, Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate (I2WD), have been made to determine which technology could be the most viable solution. After conducting comprehensive studies, I2WD initiated several Phase I efforts and Phase II efforts. The purpose behind both efforts was to develop various STTW technology demonstrators under a 5 year ATO. Many lessons learned during the development of Phase I systems were incorporated into the considerations for Phase II developments. This paper discusses design challenges and issues with sensing through walls at different standoff distances and wall types through lessons learned and results from modeling and simulations performed by the Army Research Laboratory.     

Evaluation of the Agricultural Information Service (AIS) in Lesotho

This paper presents findings of a study conducted to evaluate the extent to which the Agricultural Information Service (AIS) is providing agricultural information services to farmers in Maseru district, Lesotho.     

Exemplary mentors' perspectives towards mentoring across mentoring contexts: Lessons from collective case studies

Framed as collective case studies, this study examined the perspectives that mentors, who are considered exemplary in the field, exhibit towards mentoring in different mentoring contexts in the Israeli school system from a variety of view points: The mentors themselves, their mentees, supervisors, school principals, and project leaders. Mentoring contexts are distinguished by their organisational, instructional and professional orientations towards teaching and mentoring. Perspectives towards mentoring are reflected in the language that the mentor uses in order to describe his/her work and the behavior that the mentor exhibits as it plays out in his/her actions. The findings of the study reveal that, despite the different contexts of practice, star mentors shared common perspectives towards mentoring in terms of educational ideologies and envisioned roles and practices, exhibited through the use of a similar professional language. We also learned that these attributed meanings were highly congruent with their mentees, principals, supervisors and colleagues' perceptions of the mentors' practice. The common emergent themes that surfaced in mentors and their respective participants' characterizations of their practice were: Organisational skills, interpersonal relationships, integration of theory and practice, knowledge and expertise, challenge, modelling and reflexivity. Mentors also acted upon some of these characterizations in unique, idiosyncratic ways, guided by the distinctiveness of their organisational and educational mentoring context. Thus, alongside similar ideologies and beliefs across contexts we also identified differences as to the emphasis that each mentor gave to a particular aspect of organisation, knowledge and relationships.     

学院的理念

本文简要阐述了学院理念的内容、演变过程和当前的困境.通过回顾美国高等教育的发展历程,作者指出学院和大学在宗旨上的差别,突出人文科学和本科生教育面临的威胁,强调人文科学在增长知识塑造性格方面的重要功能.     

Through the kaleidoscope: Perspectives on cultural change within an integrated information systems environment

The study of information systems and their influence on organisational culture is a complex and highly contested area of research which has been the subject of much theorising. This paper intends to add to the debate through a longitudinal case study of an integrated information system implementation undertaken within a large UK university. The system known as SITS (Strategic Information Technology Services) was introduced into the university in 2006 and the focus of the research has been on culture change within the SITS environment. Document analysis, interviews and participant observation were used to collect the data for this study. What has emerged from this study is that current approaches are unable to account for the complexity of cultural studies within an integrated information systems environment and therefore we have developed the concept of the ‘cultural kaleidoscope’ as a heuristic to better understand the nature of cultural change within these circumstances.     

Teaching without the teacher? Building a learning environment through computer simulations

This article analyzes the impact of a computer simulation (business game) on the users’ perceived learning. The theoretical model developed in this paper is derived from collaborative learning and human–computer interaction assumptions. The hypotheses relating to group dynamics and the user–computer interface design with the users’ perceived learning are tested using the business game “FirmReality” on a sample of 173 respondents. Multiple regression and qualitative results show that, in a computer-based simulation context, perceived learning is influenced more by human–computer interaction factors than by group dynamics. Furthermore, results point out a negative effect of interaction with the instructor on individual perceived learning. These results support the possibility to automate the interaction between teacher and students.     

A usability analysis of municipal government website home pages in Alabama

This study uses e-government and corporate usability benchmarks to compare municipal government websites in Alabama and examine correlations between usability scores and population, as well as usability scores and per capita income. E-government in Alabama is on the rise. At the state level, in 2008, Alabama ranked in the top 10 states in e-government after three years of being in the bottom three. Improvements in state-level e-government have not, however, necessarily trickled down to the municipal level, and this study found no correlation between usability and a municipality's population or per capita income. Indeed, the study reveals substantial problems with municipal website usability, including accessibility; such problems could erode the web credibility of municipalities trying to engage citizens, to create or strengthen sustainable practices, and to attract companies that can bring new jobs and improve the local economy.