An Empirical Examination of Factors Affecting Group Effectiveness in Information Systems Projects

Although group project concepts and skills have become a major component in most information systems (IS) academic programs, very little research has attempted to examine factors that may improve or undermine effectiveness of IS group projects. Accordingly, based on relevant literatures, this study develops and empirically tests a model of factors affecting IS group project effectiveness. The research model posits that group cohesion and group efficacy will have positive effects on group effectiveness (project success and expected impact), whereas perceived loafing is expected to have a negative effect on IS group effectiveness. Data collected from 104 students working in 29 groups to complete semester‐long projects in two IS courses revealed that group efficacy had positive impact on group effectiveness and perceived loafing demonstrated a partial effect. Contrary to expectations, the impact of group cohesion was nonsignificant. These results could be useful in evaluating groups' potential for success and creating conditions conducive to enhancing effectiveness and success of IS student group projects.     

How Future Goals Enhance Motivation and Learning in Multicultural Classrooms

This review examines the impact of future goals on motivation and learning in multicultural classrooms. Across cultures, schooling is a future-oriented investment. Studies of minority students' school achievement have advanced future goals as a crucial protective factor in the face of frequent school failure. At the same time, cultural discontinuities and limited opportunities in minority students' school careers may weaken the motivational force of the future. Our review of the seemingly contradictory evidence on the role of the future in minority students' school achievement calls for a more fine-grained motivational theory of the future. Specifically, converging findings support conceptual distinctions (a) between positive and negative perceptions of the instrumentality of school tasks for future goals, and (b) between internal and external regulation of classroom behaviour by future goals. Thus, positive instrumentality and internal regulation enhance intrinsic motivation and adaptive learning in multicultural classrooms. We conclude that the motivational force of future goals can be generalized to minority students and that it depends crucially on perceived instrumentality and internal regulation.     

移动学习平台用户使用意愿影响因素研究——基于移动情境和心流体验的技术接受模型

移动计算技术与各类信息终端的进步,极大促进了基于“互联网+”的移动学习平台的发展。当前,纷繁的在线学习平台面临着用户不易接受、满意度和使用率低等诸多问题。基于信息系统技术接受和使用统一整合理论(UTUAT),结合移动情境和心流体验理论,针对当前用户群较为广泛的英语在线学习平台,通过问卷调查数据,对用户在线学习的情境和技术接受感知行为进行深入研究,构建了移动学习平台的用户使用行为模型。数据分析显示,心流体验、感知移动性和服务质量对学习用户的持续使用意愿均有显著影响,在线学习的内容质量通过心流体验对用户行为产生间接影响;感知成本因素方面,付费的移动学习平台对用户行为的影响比免费平台相对显著,但均未通过显著性检验。上述研究方法和结论,对各类移动学习平台的用户行为研究具有一定的参考价值。     

Student Predispositions as Predictors of Dissent Behaviors in Supply Chain Courses*

This study investigates how student dissent behaviors are affected by student predispositions (i.e., math anxiety and self‐efficacy) in supply chain related courses. The data support a model in which students’ vengeful dissent behaviors are indirectly induced by these predispositions through the mediation of perceived immediacy. It is critical for instructors to understand the relationship between these variables to help improve the classroom environment for students, which this study helps to accomplish. Instructors of quantitative courses may need to engage students with predispositions in communication outside of the classroom to foster effective relationship building away from an environment that triggers students’ anxiety.     

民族精神视角下的新诗——对20世纪中国诗歌的一种解读

中国20世纪诗歌与民族精神交织得十分紧密。它的萌发、发展与成熟直接导源于民族精神现代化的发生、发展与完成。与民族精神的这种特殊关系,便促成了中国新诗的“四性”特征：工具性、现代性、创新性和民间性。四性特征标识了20世纪诗歌的个性,同时又是对民族精神现代化的绝好印证。这是它区别于两千年古诗的本质所在。从民族精神视角解读新诗,能够更加准确地把握它的发展历程,总结出其独特的文化意义和艺术价值。     

Functional reading difficulties in Denmark

In this first Danish study of adult reading skills, 1124 adults between 18 and 67 years of age participated in an interview about reading habits and skills, and 445 were tested individually at home using six common texts. Great care was taken to ascertain that subjects were representative of the whole adult population and that the texts covered most types of everyday reading. Three percent of the participants were found to have severe functional reading difficulties and a further 9 percent to have moderate difficulties. Regression analyses found several unique predictors of reading difficulties: age (adults over 45 years reading more poorly than younger adults), limited basic education, no vocational training nor higher education, and a small amount of reading needed at work. The rate of poor readers was about four times higher among persons with low income than among others. Men and women read equally well although men tended to rate themselves lower as readers than women did. Methodological issues and some educational implications are discussed.     

Caregivers’ cortisol levels and perceived stress in home-based and center-based childcare

The current study examined professional caregivers’ perceived and physiological stress, and associations with the quality of care they provide. Participants were 55 female caregivers from childcare homes and 46 female caregivers from childcare centers in the Netherlands. In both types of settings, equivalent measures and procedures were used. On non-work days, caregivers’ salivary cortisol levels decreased between 11 am and 3 pm, whereas on work days, caregivers’ cortisol levels remained at the same level during this period. Caregivers’ cortisol levels and perceived stress did not differ across the two types of settings. In home-based childcare, caregivers offered higher-quality caregiving, compared to caregivers in center-based childcare. In home-based childcare - but not in center care - caregivers’ negative appraisal was associated with less positive caregiver behavior. These findings suggest that work at childcare influences cortisol secretion in professional caregivers, and that perceived stress but not cortisol is associated with quality of care.     

Measuring perceived competence and social acceptance in children with cerebral palsy

The Dutch Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Children with Cerebral Palsy was translated and administered to an English sample. This scale was developed to assess the child's perception on cognitive, physical and social domains. Thirty-two children, aged 4 to 9 years, were tested twice. The results indicate good test/retest reliability and good internal consistency. The results on the intercorrelations between the four sub-scales supported internal validity of the pictorial scale. It is concluded that the pictorial scale for young children with cerebral palsy is a reliable and valid instrument for determining the perception of children with cerebral palsy, and application in clinical and class settings is discussed.     

移动端到PC端的微信跨渠道使用行为研究

[目的/意义]探究微信用户从移动端到PC端的跨渠道使用行为影响因素,丰富多渠道环境下用户渠道扩展行为研究,为相关企业更好地发挥多渠道优势提升服务品质提供参考和建议。[研究设计/方法]通过日记研究追踪30位用户三天内不同渠道的微信使用情况,发现微信用户从移动端到PC端的跨渠道使用行为与使用情景和感知差异的关系;构建使用情景、感知差异、感知整体性以及使用意愿的结构方程模型,探索微信用户从移动端向PC端扩展的内在机理。[结论/发现]多渠道环境下,使用情景、感知差异和感知整体性都显著影响微信跨渠道使用,其中使用情景通过感知差异发挥作用,感知差异比感知整体性更为强烈,且性能差异和硬件差异是感知差异四个维度中影响力较强的两个。[创新/价值]同时从探索性角度和验证性角度对微信用户从移动渠道扩展到PC渠道的影响因素展开研究,可为之后的研究提供方法借鉴。     

感知价值对电子书阅读客户端用户满意度和忠诚度的影响研究

近年来,各种电子书阅读客户端日益成为用户重要的阅读工具,对人们的阅读习惯和阅读行为产生了重要影响,但针对这类客户端开展的用户使用和评价的研究成果却很少。本文在感知价值四维度模型的基础上,结合电子书阅读客户端的主题特性,将感知价值划分为社会价值、价格价值、内容价值、互动价值和界面设计价值。利用问卷调查法,考察这些不同维度的感知价值变量对用户电子书阅读客户端的满意度和忠诚度的影响。研究结果表明:①用户对电子书阅读客户端的满意度显著影响其忠诚度;②互动价值、界面设计价值和价格价值均显著影响满意度,但互动价值与满意度的关系是负向的;③内容价值不仅通过满意度正向显著影响忠诚度,而且也直接作用于忠诚度;④社会价值对满意度和忠诚度均不存在显著影响。图3。表2。参考文献68。