In Search of Staff Development: A study of academic staff appraisal

The academic award restructuring of 1991 established a trial period for academic staff appraisal for the purposes of staff development. The trend in Australia towards more formal performance management for academics has occurred during a period of substantial change to the structure of higher education and institutional management, and brought debate on whether appraisal, for either summative purposes (where performance assessment is for remuneration or promotion purposes) or formative purposes (where the emphasis is on planning personal development), is appropriate for academic staff. Arguments have been put forward for the benefits of appraisal processes with primarily developmental intent. Thus far there have been reports of the characteristics and processes of appraisal schemes, but less data on outcomes; in particular, little evidence to indicate the extent to which schemes lead to worthwhile staff development. This paper reports selected findings of a study of the evolving appraisal scheme of The University of Melbourne. The study was conducted after the scheme's second year of operation by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education which played an advisory role in an internal review of the scheme. The findings reveal some uncertainty among staff about the intentions of the scheme, and tensions between summative and formative purposes, perhaps not surprising given the contentious issue which staff appraisal has been in higher education. Nevertheless, positive outcomes were identified, but possibly too few to claim that the scheme was fully achieving a developmental objective. These findings raise questions about the effectiveness of academic staff appraisal nationally and suggest that it is time to reconsider the policy linkage between appraisal and staff development.     

A dynamic decision model for portfolio investment and assets management

This paper addresses a dynamic portfolio investment problem. It discusses how we can dynamically choose candidate assets, achieve the possible maximum revenue and reduce the risk to the minimum level. The paper generalizes Markowitz's portfolio selection theory and Sharpe's rule for investment decision. An analytical solution is presented to show how an institutional or individual investor can combine Markowitz's portfolio selection theory, generalized Sharpe's rule and Value-at-Risk(VaR) to find candidate assets and optimal level of position sizes for investment (dis-investment). The result shows that the generalized Markowitz's portfolio selection theory and generalized Sharpe's rule improve decision making for investment.     

Design of technology-based information-referenced grouping systems for use in large urban schools

There are many subtle but extremely important differences between grouping students and tracking students for purposes of designing appropriate instructional interventions. Unfortunately, in many inner-city urban settings, the policy of grouping students eventually becomes a policy ofde facto tracking of students. While grouping students seems to be an educationally justifiable policy in many school situations, tracking students raises serious concerns with regard to its educational value, social desirability, and complicity with the legal notions of due process and equal protection. This study examines the use of a specific form ofshort-term grouping of students that is based on an information-referenced criterion for selection. Using a large sample of ninth- and eleventh-grade students, an information-referenced grouping procedure was designed for the areas of language arts and mathematics. The study finds that grouping selections, using an information-referenced criterion, are strongly associated with teachers perceptions of these students' actual educational and information needs. In addition, the information-referenced grouping design provides important specific educational feedback to both students and teachers to help low-attaining students move to mainstream classes. Finally, many of the due process concerns raised by educational researchers with regard to abuses and shortcomings of presently used ability or standardized test-driven grouping efforts are addressed.     

The university brand and social media: using data analytics to assess brand authenticity

Recent economic pressures have demanded higher education institutions respond with strong, authentic brand promises. This mixed method multi-case study explored the authenticity of common brand promises at three Universities in Canada through Twitter and Facebook postings from February to April 2016 using a cloud-based text and network analytic tool. Our study revealed the content shared on social media channels, while largely trustworthy, was fraught with shades of gray and revealed that sometimes brand promises were used against the university when they appeared disingenuous or threatened institutional norms around equity and social justice. Further, social media strategies are still largely limited to push notification suggesting universities are missing opportunities to strengthen their brand and counter negative messaging. For marketing managers it reinforces investments should be directed toward creating engaging and authentic content that can be expressed through multiple touch-points including social media and this can be monitored through low-cost analytic tools.     

The influence of discussion groups in a case-based learning environment

The common practice of using discussion groups during case-based learning makes the role of discussion important in these learning environments. However, little empirical research has been done to investigate the influence of discussion on performance and motivation in case-based learning. The purpose of this article is to present the results of a study conducted to examine the role of discussion groups in a case-based environment. College students completed two cases either individually or in small discussion groups. Measures included two case analyses, an attitude survey, time on task, and document analysis. Results revealed significant performance and time differences between instructional methods on the first case, but not on the second case. In addition, results indicated significant differences in student attitudes between treatments. Overall, participants who worked in groups liked their method significantly better than those who worked alone, felt they learned more working in a group than they would have working alone, and expressed a preference for working in a group if they had to do the class over again. Implications for implementing case-based learning and future research are discussed. Anna E. Flynn is Vice President and NAPM Associate Professor with the National Association of Purchasing Management.     

Characteristics of students who benefit from high-quality mathematics instruction

The present study examined characteristics of students who took advantage of the opportunity to learn Algebra II from a highly skilled teacher. In particular, student information was gathered concerning: (a) the amount of mathematics students knew prior to the class, (b) their motivation for learning mathematics, (c) the number and types of interactions they had with the teacher during class, (d) degree of self-regulation, and (e) general aptitude. A model for achievement was used that suggests both opportunity and propensity are important (i.e., students must be willing and able to take advantage of opportunity). Support for the model was found. Propensity to take advantage of a highly favorable opportunity accounted for almost sixty percent of the variance in achievement. In particular, students who were self-regulated, had strong mathematics backgrounds, and had low levels of frustration benefited more from high-quality instruction.