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1 – 10 of over 126000The purpose of this paper is to explore the assessment methods used in higher education to assess students' learning, and to investigate the effects of college and grading system…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the assessment methods used in higher education to assess students' learning, and to investigate the effects of college and grading system on the used assessment methods.
Design/methodology/approach
This descriptive study investigates the assessment methods used by teachers in higher education to assess their students' learning outcomes. An instrument consisting of 15 items (each item is an assessment method) was distributed to 736 undergraduate students from four public universities in Jordan.
Findings
Findings show that traditional paper‐pencil test is the most common method that is used to assess learning in higher education. Results also show that teachers in colleges of science and engineering and colleges of nursing use different assessment methods to assess learning, besides traditional testing such as: real life tasks (authentic assessment), papers, and projects. Also, the results show that teachers use the same assessment methods to assess learning, despite the grading systems (letter or numbers) used at their institutes.
Research limitations/implications
The sample of the study was limited to undergraduate students and teachers' points of views about the frequent use of assessment methods were not studied.
Practical implications
Higher education institutes should encourage teachers to use new and modern assessment methods as well as traditional paper‐pencil testing, and study the reasons for not using these new methods.
Originality/value
The paper should alert the higher education institutes about the important of developing the assessment process, through knowing their students' points of view about the assessment methods. This will help to get students involved in the learning process.
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A risk assessment method is used to carry out a risk assessment for an organization’s information security. Currently, there are many risk assessment methods from which to choose…
Abstract
A risk assessment method is used to carry out a risk assessment for an organization’s information security. Currently, there are many risk assessment methods from which to choose, each exhibiting a variety of problems. For example, methods may take a long time to perform, may rely on subjective estimates for the security input data, may rely heavily on quantification of financial loss due to vulnerability, or may be costly to purchase and use. Discusses requirements for an ideal risk assessment method, and develops and evaluates factors to be considered in the selection method. Empirical research was carried out at two large, Australian organizations, in order to determine and validate factors. These factors should be of use to organizations in the evaluation, selection or development of a risk assessment method. Interesting conclusions are drawn about decision making in organizational information security.
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C.K. Kwong, W.H. Ip and J.W.K. Chan
Very often, manufacturing companies have been faced with the problem of assessment and selection of suppliers for their product development. Some methods and techniques have been…
Abstract
Very often, manufacturing companies have been faced with the problem of assessment and selection of suppliers for their product development. Some methods and techniques have been developed to assist these companies in performing the assessment. However, these methods and techniques lack tge capability to deal with the instrumental and conceptual uncertainties that are involved in the supplier assessment and selection. Fuzzy expert system is an alternative approach from which the heuristics and knowledge of supplier assessment can be captured and the impreciseness and uncertainties due to the human subjectivity, that are common in the process of the supplier assessment, can be handled. In this paper, a combined scoring method with fuzzy expert systems approach is introduced to perform the supplier assessment. With the use of the fuzzy concept, the error due to human judgement in the scoring method could be minimized. First, current methods and techniques of supplier assessment are reviewed in this paper. There follows the description of a case study of combined scoring method and fuzzy expert systems approach to supplier assessment. Some results of the prototype system trial‐run are discussed in the final part of this paper.
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Luciano Costa Santos, Lívia Maria Albuquerque Reul and Cláudia Fabiana Gohr
Developing a lean supply chain is a continuous improvement effort, so it requires tracking the implementation progress by assessing the achieved level of leanness. However, lean…
Abstract
Purpose
Developing a lean supply chain is a continuous improvement effort, so it requires tracking the implementation progress by assessing the achieved level of leanness. However, lean supply chain practices depend on firm-to-firm relationships and an assessment method should consider these network interactions. Given the absence of such a method, this study aims to propose an alternative approach for assessing the leanness level of supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors extracted 18 typical lean supply chain practices from the literature, constituting the leanness assessment parameters. Then, the authors developed an assessment method based on the graph-theoretic approach due to its properties of capturing the interdependencies between elements of a system. The authors tested the proposed method in an automotive supply chain, selecting the focal firm and three of its first-tier suppliers.
Findings
The authors positioned partial and overall results in a visual classification scale and the supply chain presented a moderate leanness level. After empirical testing, the proposed method demonstrated its practical feasibility.
Research limitations/implications
This paper contributes to the literature with a novel approach for supply chain leanness assessment. However, to increase its generalizability, it would be beneficial to test the method in non-automotive supply chains, extending the assessment scope to downstream firms and second-tier customers and suppliers.
Practical implications
For practitioners, this paper provides a self-assessment tool to monitor the supply chain leanness and set priorities for improvement.
Originality/value
Besides tackling the interrelationships between firms, the proposed method considers the interdependencies between lean practices, providing partial and overall feedback to enable a systemic assessment.
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Miha Tomšič and Marjana Šijanec Zavrl
The paper aims to present the core part of the research work done within the FP7 OPEN HOUSE project, aiming to merge existing methodologies for sustainability assessment of…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to present the core part of the research work done within the FP7 OPEN HOUSE project, aiming to merge existing methodologies for sustainability assessment of buildings towards a common view, applicable as an open access assessment method across European Union (EU). One of the principle tasks was to evaluate the applicability of proposed indicators in EU countries with different legal frameworks, climate conditions, status and condition of the building stock and construction tradition.
Design/methodology/approach
To reach the goal, it had to be established first whether the pre-selected indicators suit the purpose in countries different from each other regarding various influential factors. A questionnaire survey based on close-ended quantitative thematic questions was performed to evaluate the acceptability and relevance of each indicator in national contexts, thus defining the path for the final protocol of selection criteria for the OPEN HOUSE method.
Findings
The responses enabled and justified necessary minor corrections and regrouping to define the full (56 indicators) and core (30 indicators) indicator sets, demonstrating that the system is applicable in EU countries. This task made ground for finalisation of the OPEN HOUSE method: definition of evaluation procedures and sustainability performance levels and testing of the approach on demo cases.
Originality/value
This paper shows how the research team tackled the problem of limited use of building sustainability assessment methods due to specific boundary conditions by determining a widely applicable set of categories and related indicators based upon an extensive analysis of existing assessment methods, standardisation development, formal guidelines and strategic (inter)national frameworks.
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Lokke Gennissen, Lorette Stammen, Jolien Bueno-de-Mesquita, Sietse Wieringa and Jamiu Busari
It is assumed that the use of valid and reliable assessment methods can facilitate the development of medical residents’ management and leadership competencies. To justify this…
Abstract
Purpose
It is assumed that the use of valid and reliable assessment methods can facilitate the development of medical residents’ management and leadership competencies. To justify this assertion, the perceptions of an expert panel of health care leaders were explored on assessment methods used for evaluating care management (CM) development in Dutch residency programs. This paper aims to investigate how assessors and trainees value these methods and examine for any inherent benefits or shortcomings when they are applied in practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A Delphi survey was conducted among members of the platform for medical leadership in The Netherlands. This panel of experts was made up of clinical educators, practitioners and residents interested in CM education.
Findings
Of the respondents, 40 (55.6 per cent) and 31 (43 per cent) participated in the first and second rounds of the Delphi survey, respectively. The respondents agreed that assessment methods currently being used to measure residents’ CM competencies were weak, though feasible for use in many residency programs. Multi-source feedback (MSF, 92.1 per cent), portfolio/e-portfolio (86.8 per cent) and knowledge testing (76.3 per cent) were identified as the most commonly known assessment methods with familiarity rates exceeding 75 per cent.
Practical implications
The findings suggested that an “assessment framework” comprising MSF, portfolios, individual process improvement projects or self-reflections and observations in clinical practice should be used to measure CM competencies in residents.
Originality/value
This study reaffirms the need for objective methods to assess CM skills in post-graduate medical education, as there was not a single assessment method that stood out as the best instrument.
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David Bamford, Katri Karjalainen and Ernest Jenavs
The aim of this paper is to respond to calls for in‐depth studies of production and operations management (OM) teaching by providing an analysis of the relative effectiveness of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to respond to calls for in‐depth studies of production and operations management (OM) teaching by providing an analysis of the relative effectiveness of a continuous problem‐based assessment and a traditional final exam assessment in OM.
Design/methodology/approach
An undergraduate OM module is used to assess how well a problem‐based assessment method performs against a more traditional final exam in terms of impact on student learning, student classification and feasibility. Quantitative data on student performance, feedback and satisfaction are used.
Findings
The analysis shows that the problem‐based assessment provides a better learning experience for the students, but is a worse classificatory of student results than the conventional exam. In terms of feasibility, problem‐based assessment can be a cost‐effective assessment method.
Research limitations/implications
This study analyses the assessment method used on one module for nine years; to increase the generalizability of the findings further research is needed with different modules and contexts.
Practical implications
This paper gives guidance to OM educators on how to improve assessment methods to achieve both improved learning effects as well as an accurate classification of student performance.
Originality/value
This study extends the literature on problem‐based learning to assessments and provides an empirical analysis of one such method. This study also provides detailed analysis of different assessment methods in OM based on longitudinal data.
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Tao Wei, Sijin Zhao, Zongzhan Gao, Ke Zhang, Wenxuan Gou and Yangfan Dang
Fatigue and creep are the key factors for the failure of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) in the engineering structure, so a great of quantity attention is focused on the life…
Abstract
Purpose
Fatigue and creep are the key factors for the failure of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) in the engineering structure, so a great of quantity attention is focused on the life prediction under the creep and fatigue conditions. This paper aims to mainly summarize the traditional life assessment method (S–N curve), life assessment method based on crazing density and life assessment method based on transmittance. S–N curve and classical creep curve are introduced on the traditional life assessment method; the variation of the craze density with the logarithm of cyclic numbers is given in different fatigue load. A linear relationship is obtained, and a higher stress leads to a higher slope, suggesting a faster growth of craze. Furthermore, a craze density model is purposed to describe this relationship; the variation of craze density with the time at different creep load is given. The craze density has two obvious stages. At the first stage, craze density ranged from approximately 0.02 to 0.17, and a linear relationship is obtained. In the following stage, a nonlinear relationship appears till specimen rupture, a new creep life model is proposed to depict two stages. The relationship between transmission and time under creep load is shown. With increasing of time, the transmittance shows a nonlinear decrease. Through polynomial nonlinear fitting, a relationship between the transmittance and residual life can be obtained. To provide reference for the life assessment of transparent materials, the paper compares three life assessment methods of PMMA.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the traditional life assessment method (S–N curve), life assessment method based on crazing density, life assessment method based on transmittance.
Findings
The variation of the craze density with the logarithm of cyclic numbers is given in different fatigue loads. A linear relationship is obtained, and a higher stress leads to a higher slope, suggesting a faster growth of craze. Furthermore, a craze density model is proposed to describe this relationship, and the variation of craze density with the time at different creep loads is given. The craze density has two obvious stages. The relationship between transmission and time under creep load is shown. With increasing of time, the transmittance shows a nonlinear decrease. Through polynomial nonlinear fitting, a relationship between the transmittance and residual life can be obtained.
Originality/value
Fatigue and creep are the key factors for the failure of PMMA in the engineering structure, so a great of quantity attention is focused on the life prediction under the conditions of creep and fatigue. This paper mainly summarizes traditional life assessment method (S–N curve), life assessment method based on crazing density and life assessment method based on transmittance.
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Keywords
Farman Afzal, Shao Yunfei, Mubasher Nazir and Saad Mahmood Bhatti
In the past decades, artificial intelligence (AI)-based hybrid methods have been increasingly applied in construction risk management practices. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
In the past decades, artificial intelligence (AI)-based hybrid methods have been increasingly applied in construction risk management practices. The purpose of this paper is to review and compile the current AI methods used for cost-risk assessment in the construction management domain in order to capture complexity and risk interdependencies under high uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper makes a content analysis, based on a comprehensive literature review of articles published in high-quality journals from the years 2008 to 2018. Fuzzy hybrid methods, such as fuzzy-analytical network processing, fuzzy-artificial neural network and fuzzy-simulation, have been widely used and dominated in the literature due to their ability to measure the complexity and uncertainty of the system.
Findings
The findings of this review article suggest that due to the limitation of subjective risk data and complex computation, the applications of these AI methods are limited in order to address cost overrun issues under high uncertainty. It is suggested that a hybrid approach of fuzzy logic and extended form of Bayesian belief network (BBN) can be applied in cost-risk assessment to better capture complexity-risk interdependencies under uncertainty.
Research limitations/implications
This study only focuses on the subjective risk assessment methods applied in construction management to overcome cost overrun problem. Therefore, future research can be extended to interpret the input data required to deal with uncertainties, rather than relying solely on subjective judgments in risk assessment analysis.
Practical implications
These results may assist in the management of cost overrun while addressing complexity and uncertainty to avoid chaos in a project. In addition, project managers, experts and practitioners should address the interrelationship between key complexity and risk factors in order to plan risk impact on project cost. The proposed hybrid method of fuzzy logic and BBN can better support the management implications in recent construction risk management practice.
Originality/value
This study addresses the applications of AI-based methods in complex construction projects. A proposed hybrid approach could better address the complexity-risk interdependencies which increase cost uncertainty in project.
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Zhengbiao Han, Shuiqing Huang, Huan Li and Ni Ren
This paper uses the GB/T20984-2007 multiplicative method to assess the information security risk of a typical digital library in compliance with the principle and thought of ISO…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper uses the GB/T20984-2007 multiplicative method to assess the information security risk of a typical digital library in compliance with the principle and thought of ISO 27000. The purpose of this paper is to testify the feasibility of this method and provide suggestions for improving information security of the digital library.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts convenience sampling to select respondents. The assessment of assets is through analyzing digital library-related business and function through a questionnaire which collects data to determine asset types and the importance of asset attributes. The five-point Likert scale questionnaire method is used to identify the threat possibility and its influence on the assets. The 12 respondents include directors and senior network technicians from the editorial department, comic library, children’s library, counseling department and the learning promotion centre. Three different Guttman scale questionnaires, tool testing and on-site inspection are combined to identify and assess vulnerabilities. There were different Guttman scale questionnaires for management personnel, technical personnel and general librarian. In all, 15 management librarians, 7 technical librarians and 72 ordinary librarians answered the vulnerability questionnaire. On-site inspection was conducted on the basis of 11 control domains of ISO 27002. Vulnerabilities were scanned using remote security evaluation system NSFOCUS. The scanning covered ten IP sections and a total of 81 hosts.
Findings
Overall, 2,792 risk scores were obtained. Among them, 282 items (accounting for 10.1 per cent of the total) reached the high risk level; 2 (0.1 per cent) reached the very high risk level. High-risk items involved 26 threat types (accounting for 44.1 per cent of all threat types) and 13 vulnerability types (accounting for 22.1 per cent of all vulnerability types). The evaluation revealed that this digital library faces seven major hidden dangers in information security. The assessment results were well accepted by staff members of this digital library, which testified to the applicability of this method to a Chinese digital library.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is only a case study of a typical Chinese digital library using a digital library information security assessment method. More case-based explorations are necessary to prove the feasibility of the assessing strategy proposed in this study.
Originality/value
Based on the findings of recent literature, the authors found that very few researchers have made efforts to develop methods for calculating the indicators for digital library information security risk assessment. On the basis of ISO 27000 and other related information security standards, this case study proposed an operable method of digital library information security risk assessment and used it to assess a the information security of a typical Chinese digital library. This study can offer insights for formulating a digital library information security risk assessment scale.
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