The influences of conceptions of mathematics and self‐directed learning skills on university students' achievement in mathematics

This study tested the mediating role of self‐directed learning skills (SDL) between students’ conceptions of mathematics and their achievement in mathematics using a structural equation model. Data were collected using the “Conceptions of Mathematics Questionnaire” and the “Self‐Rating Scale of Self‐Directed Learning”, together with students’ achievement in mathematics. A sample of 440 first year university students at King Saud University participated in the study. The findings confirm the moderating role of students’ self‐directed learning skills between their conceptions of mathematics and their achievement in mathematics. Students who have a highly fragmented conception of mathematics tended to have low SDL skills, and in turn low mathematics achievement (partial mediation), whereas students who have a highly cohesive conception of mathematics tended to have high self‐directed learning skills, and in turn high mathematics achievement (full mediation). Mathematics educators should be aware that students’ conceptions of mathematics may be influential, but not sufficient to predict achievement in mathematics. Equipping students with appropriate conceptions of mathematics and self‐directed learning skills is key to enhancing their performance in mathematics.     

Gender and higher education in different national spaces: Female Palestinian students attending Israeli and Jordanian universities

This study examines the higher education experience among Palestinian Arab females in two national spaces and seeks to determine whether studying at an Arab institution of higher learning in a nearby Arab country can alleviate the emotional and economic difficulties that affect Palestinian women at Israeli universities. What can institutions of higher learning in Israel learn or derive from the proposed model to relieve the alienation and exclusion that their female Palestinian students experience? The study will compare two geographically distinct groups of women students. The first is a group of Palestinian women who attend university in Jordan, while the second consists of Palestinian women of Bedouin origin from southern Israel who study in the Jewish Israeli cultural space. The study seeks to shed light on the experience of Muslim students in Western and Muslim universities.     

Mapping the literature structure of ‘quality in higher education’ using co-word analysis

Quality in higher education is an attractive and important field not only for higher education institutions but also for their stakeholders. However, the research field is very complex due to the overlapping and interlinking of its topics. Over the years, an enormous amount of studies has been devoted to exploring different topics. Nevertheless, few studies focus on exploring the main topics and assessing whether these topics are interlinked. Therefore, there is merit in reducing the complexity of this field by mapping, clustering and visualising the structure of publications’ topics. The research methodology is based on implementing the co-word analysis of keywords extracted from more than two thousand academic publications seeking to reveal the prominent topics and the connections among them from a static and dynamic point of view. Mapping the literature structure of the research field reveals four key areas in the research field where each contains topics that are very likely to be interrelated to each other rather than to topics from other different areas.     

Efficacy of a Preventive Counseling Program for Improving Psychological Hardiness and the Positive Use of Social Network Sites among Students at Risk

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a preventive counseling program for improving psychological hardiness (PsyH) and the positive use of social network sites (SNSs). The sample consisted of 30 students from Mu’tah University in Jordan who were randomly assigned into either an experimental group (15) or a control group (15). Two constructed scales - the PsyH scale and the Positive Use of SNSs scale - were administered to both groups pre-test and post-test, and a one-month follow-up measure was also administered to the experimental group. The findings revealed that the preventive counseling program significantly improved the level of PsyH and the positive use of SNSs and seemed to have sustained efficacy.     

Implementation of quality assurance standards in European higher education: does context matter?

The vast majority of studies concerning the implementation of quality assurance in higher education institutions have been conducted from a national perspective, with few cross-national studies. This study aimed to explore the implementation of quality assurance standards in Europe from a comparative perspective. A questionnaire based on Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area was developed to compare countries. The results indicate that higher education institutions mainly formulate their quality assurance systems according to national standards or based on their own needs. The main emphasis in quality assurance is on teaching and learning activities and curriculum development. The major contribution of the study lies in showing how different country settings affect the implementation of quality assurance standards through presenting the strengths and weaknesses for quality assurance implementation among several European countries.     

A Masters Programme in telecommunications management – demand-based curriculum design

This paper presents a curriculum design approach for a Masters Programme in Telecommunications Management based on demand data obtained from surveying the needs of potential students of the proposed programme. Through online surveys disseminated at telecom companies in Jordan, it was possible to measure the demand for such a programme and to determine the required programme contents and specifications. The curriculum design is based on definition of programme outcomes and on using a house of quality approach (HOQ) to determine the list of courses required in the programme. Surveyed competencies are mapped to a long list of proposed courses in a HOQ in order to determine the importance of each of these courses. A final list of core and elective courses is then developed considering the contribution to programme outcomes and the academic standards.     

Foreign affiliates,export success of local firms and host country innovation capability

The paper contributes to the empirical literature by investigating host country innovation capability and export success of local firms as main determinants of technology transfer spending by foreign affiliates. In addition, the paper succeeds to partially explains why previous studies show mixed support for the significance of the technology diffusion from foreign affiliates by estimating the innovation capability threshold level. Using data for majority-owned foreign affiliates of the US parent companies in 32 developed and developing countries during the period 1966–2000, the panel data models have two main results. The first result is that the host country innovation capability and export success of local firms have significant impact on the technology transfer spending by foreign affiliates. The second result is that many developing countries do not attain the innovation capability threshold level in order to obtain positive technology spillovers from foreign affiliates.     

Asynchronous event-triggered observation and control of linear systems via impulsive observers

In this paper we investigate the observation and stabilization problems of a linear plant subject to network constraints and partial state knowledge, making use of the event-triggered technique. In order to address these problems, an impulsive observer is designed. Sufficient conditions are given to ensure a milder version of separation principle for linear systems controlled via an event-triggered controller. The proposed observer ensures practical state estimation, while the corresponding dynamic controller ensures practical stabilization. The sampling and the transmission of the output and the input are done asynchronously. The dynamic controller is tested in simulation on the linearized inverted pendulum.     

The Impacts of System and Human Factors on Online Learning Systems Use and Learner Satisfaction

Success in an online learning environment is tied to both human and system factors. This study illuminates the unique contributions of human factors (comfort with online learning, self‐management of learning, and perceived Web self‐efficacy) to online learning system success, which is measured in terms of usage and satisfaction. The research model was tested employing SEM on a sample of 674 college students enrolled in at least one online course. The factors of comfort with online learning and perceived Web self‐efficacy were significant predictors of satisfaction. Comfort with online learning was significant in predicting usage. The impact of demographic variables was examined.     

Review and redesign of the curriculum of a Masters programme in telecommunications engineering – Towards an outcome-based approach

This article presents the methodology and results of the curriculum review of the Masters of Science programme in Wireless Communications offered by the Telecommunications Engineering Department at Yarmouk University in Jordan. The review is based on expert opinion collected through questionnaires and meetings about the programme and focuses on two main aspects: the first is relevance of the programme to the needs of local and regional telecommunications industry and the second is comparability to similar programmes in the EU.

Through an extensive analysis of the collected data, a set of recommendations for improvement of the existing curriculum was developed. These recommendations were then used to redesign the curriculum with regard to contents, teaching methodology and assessment.