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1 – 10 of over 61000Ricardo Colomo-Palacios, Cristina Casado-Lumbreras, José María Álvarez-Rodríguez and Murat Yilmaz
The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare emotions perceived while coding and presenting for software students, comparing three different countries and performing also a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare emotions perceived while coding and presenting for software students, comparing three different countries and performing also a gender analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data are gathered by means of the discrete emotions questionnaire, which was distributed to a group of students (n = 174) in three different countries: Norway, Spain and Turkey. All emotions are self-assessed by means of a Likert scale.
Findings
The results show that both tasks are emotionally different for the subjects of all countries: presentation is described as a task that produces mainly fear and anxiety; whereas coding tasks produce anger and rage, but also happiness and satisfaction. With regards to gender differences, men feel less scared in presentation tasks, whereas women report more desire in coding activities. It is concluded that it is important to be aware and take into account the different emotions perceived by students in their activities. Moreover, it is also important to note the different intensities in these emotions present in different cultures and genders.
Originality/value
This study is among the few to study emotions perceived in software work by means of a multicultural approach using quantitative research methods. The research results enrich computing literacy theory in human factors.
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Jugnu Agrawal, Dannette Allen-Bronaugh and Margo A. Mastropieri
This study compares two methods of data collection for students' social behaviors. One method employed time sampling procedures, while the other method used handheld computerized…
Abstract
This study compares two methods of data collection for students' social behaviors. One method employed time sampling procedures, while the other method used handheld computerized devices and the Multi-Option Observation System for Experimental Studies (MOOSES) system. Both coding systems were used to assess social behaviors of students with emotional disabilities during writing instruction. The middle-school-aged students, all classified as having EBD, were enrolled in classes to improve their written expression. Students were assessed for on-task, off-task, and multitask behaviors. Results revealed some surprising differences. When students were relatively consistent with attendance and on-task behaviors, the methods yielded comparable results; however, when students were more disruptive and demonstrated more inconsistent behaviors, different patterns emerged. Implications and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed.
Jamie N. Mikeska and Heather Howell
This paper aims to examine three distinct aspects of authenticity that pre-service teachers (PSTs) experience when they engage with virtual classroom environments to develop their…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine three distinct aspects of authenticity that pre-service teachers (PSTs) experience when they engage with virtual classroom environments to develop their content-intensive instructional practice – task authenticity, student avatar authenticity and performance authenticity – and their perceptions about the usefulness of the simulated teaching experience to support their learning.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper explored these conceptions of authenticity and usefulness within a larger research study whose goal was to develop virtual environment tools to help elementary PSTs learn how to engage in one ambitious teaching practice: facilitating discussions that engage students in argumentation. To examine these aspects of authenticity and usefulness, this paper used a general qualitative deductive analysis approach to examine data from 104 interviews with 26 case study teachers and examined patterns in PSTs’ perceptions within and across interviews and authenticity aspects.
Findings
While these PSTs strongly value the utility of these tools to support their learning, findings point to variation in their perceptions of authenticity. Findings showed that most PSTs perceived the tasks as an authentic representation of the work of teaching. However, their perceptions of task authenticity did not always align with their perceptions of avatar or performance authenticity.
Originality/value
This paper argues that these three aspects of authenticity relate to, but expand upon, the broader notions of presence and plausibility noted in the literature on virtual environments and should be taken up more directly in future studies of users’ perceptions of virtual environments both within and outside of educational contexts.
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People face barriers and failures in various kinds of information seeking experiences. These are often attributed to either the information seeker or the system/service they use…
Abstract
Purpose
People face barriers and failures in various kinds of information seeking experiences. These are often attributed to either the information seeker or the system/service they use. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why individuals fail to fulfill their information needs in all contexts and situations. It addresses the limitations of existing studies in examining the context of the task and information seeker’s strategy and seeks to gain a holistic understanding of information seeking barriers and failures.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary method used for this investigation is a qualitative survey, in which 63 participants provided 208 real life examples of failures in information seeking. After analyzing the survey data, ten semi-structured interviews with another group of participants were conducted to further examine the survey findings. Data were analyzed using various theoretical frameworks of tasks, strategies, and barriers.
Findings
A careful examination of aspects of tasks, barriers, and strategies identified from the examples revealed that a wide range of external and internal factors caused people’s failures. These factors were also caused or affected by multiple aspects of information seekers’ tasks and strategies. People’s information needs were often too contextual and specific to be fulfilled by the information retrieved. Other barriers, such as time constraint and institutional restrictions, also intensified the problem.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the importance of considering the information seeking episodes in which individuals fail to fulfill their needs in a holistic approach by analyzing their tasks, information needs, strategies, and obstacles. The modified theoretical frameworks and the coding methods used could also be instrumental for future research.
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Yingfeng Zhang, Pingyu Jiang and Guanghui Zhou
This paper is mainly concerned with studying the e‐manufacturing scheduling issue based on the bills of materials (BOM) flows of products. On the basis of e‐manufacturing…
Abstract
This paper is mainly concerned with studying the e‐manufacturing scheduling issue based on the bills of materials (BOM) flows of products. On the basis of e‐manufacturing philosophy, a genetic algorithm (GA)‐based scheduling model for physical e‐manufacturing cells is put forward. By means of building the mapping relationship and dynamic task association among physical e‐manufacturing cells, logic e‐manufacturing cells, e‐manufacturing systems and e‐manufacturing environment, high‐level scheduling issues can be transformed as an inductive procedure concerning the scheduling results to corresponding physical e‐manufacturing cells. As verification, finally, a case study is given to demonstrate the method mentioned above.
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Kangning Wei, Kevin Crowston and U. Yeliz Eseryel
This paper explores how task characteristics in terms of trigger type and task topic influence individual participation in community-based free/libre open source software (FLOSS…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores how task characteristics in terms of trigger type and task topic influence individual participation in community-based free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development by considering participation in individual tasks rather than entire projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was designed using choose tasks that were carried out via the email discourse on the developers' email fora in five FLOSS projects. Choice process episodes were selected as the unit of analysis and were coded for the task trigger and topic. The impact of these factors on participation (i.e. the numbers of participants and messages) was assessed by regression.
Findings
The results reveal differences in participation related to different task triggers and task topics. Further, the results suggest the mediating role of the number of participants in the relationships between task characteristics and the number of messages. The authors also speculate that project type serves as a boundary condition restricting the impacts of task characteristics on the number of participants and propose this relationship for future research.
Research limitations/implications
Empirical support was provided to the important effects of different task characteristics on individual participation behaviors in FLOSS development tasks.
Practical implications
The findings can help FLOSS participants understand participation patterns in different tasks and choose the types of tasks to attend to.
Originality/value
This research explores the impact of task characteristics on participation in FLOSS development at the task level, while prior research on participation in FLOSS development has focused mainly on factors at the individual and/or project levels.
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Yuxin Chen, Christopher D. Andrews, Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver and Cynthia D'Angelo
Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is widely used in different levels of education across disciplines and domains. Researchers in the field have proposed various…
Abstract
Purpose
Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is widely used in different levels of education across disciplines and domains. Researchers in the field have proposed various conceptual frameworks toward a comprehensive understanding of CSCL. However, as the definition of CSCL is varied and contextualized, it is critical to develop a shared understanding of collaboration and common definitions for the metrics that are used. The purpose of this research is to present a synthesis that focuses explicitly on the types and features of coding schemes that are used as analytic tools for CSCL.
Design/methodology/approach
This research collected coding schemes from researchers with diverse backgrounds who participated in a series of workshops on collaborative learning and adaptive support in CSCL, as well as coding schemes from recent volumes of the International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative learning (ijCSCL). Each original coding scheme was reviewed to generate an empirically grounded framework that reflects collaborative learning models.
Findings
The analysis generated 13 categories, which were further classified into three domains: cognitive, social and integrated. Most coding schemes contained categories in the cognitive and integrated domains.
Practical implications
This synthesized coding scheme could be used as a toolkit for researchers to pay attention to the multiple and complex dimensions of collaborative learning and for developing a shared language of collaborative learning.
Originality/value
By analyzing a set of coding schemes, the authors highlight what CSCL researchers find important by making these implicit understandings of collaborative learning visible and by proposing a common language for researchers across disciplines to communicate by referencing a synthesized framework.
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Blair P. Lloyd and Joseph H. Wehby
In the field of behavioral disabilities, systematic direct observation (SDO) has been an integral tool for describing and explaining relationships between student and teacher…
Abstract
In the field of behavioral disabilities, systematic direct observation (SDO) has been an integral tool for describing and explaining relationships between student and teacher behavior in authentic classroom settings. However, this method of measurement can be resource-intensive and presents a series of complex decisions for investigators. The purpose of this chapter is to review a series of critical decisions investigators must make when developing SDO protocols to address their research questions. After describing each decision point and its relevance to the measurement system, we identify trends and special considerations in the field of behavioral disabilities with respect to each decision. We organize content according to deciding what to measure, deciding how to measure it, and critical steps to prevent system breakdowns. Finally, we identify avenues for research to further the impact of SDO in the field of behavioral disabilities.
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Jon Martin Denstadli, Rune Lines and Juan de Dios Ortúzar
This paper investigates how respondents to conjoint experiments process information and choose among product profiles, and how this varies with their knowledge about the product…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates how respondents to conjoint experiments process information and choose among product profiles, and how this varies with their knowledge about the product. Models for estimating conjoint attribute weights are almost exclusively based on principles of compensatory decision making. The paper aims to explore to what extent and in what way these basic principles of conjoint modelling are violated.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from a verbal protocol study where 18 undergraduate students each performed a total of 28 stated choice tasks while “thinking aloud”.
Findings
Results show that cognitive operations consistent with compensatory decision rules constitute a majority of the total number of operations performed across tasks and respondents. However, few respondents exhibited a consistent use of compensatory‐type processes throughout their choice sets. Results suggest that individual preferences interact with characteristics of the choice sets to instigate changes in information processing. It also appears that complete strategies are seldom used. Finally, respondents' knowledge about the product influences the cognitive operations that respondents use in solving conjoint tasks.
Research limitations/implications
Results are based on responses from 18 undergraduate students, which makes generalizations hard.
Practical implications
One implication of this work is that one should apply a more flexible model framework to allow detecting the existence of non‐compensatory strategies.
Originality/value
This paper is one of few which aim to implement findings in behavvioral decision research within the context of conjoint analysis.
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Libraries, like other organizations, are bodies trying to achieve certain objectives within set financial constraints and it is desirable that they operate as effectively as…
Abstract
Libraries, like other organizations, are bodies trying to achieve certain objectives within set financial constraints and it is desirable that they operate as effectively as possible trying to achieve their objectives. Many libraries and information services have been developed on the understanding that they are ‘a good thing’ and this offers considerable scope for confusion about operating objectives and justification of the library's existence. It is therefore essential that the overall objectives of the library and information service are defined as far as possible and that progress towards these objectives is measured and monitored. The definition of objectives need not be difficult and indeed consideration of a ‘Management by Objectives’ approach could be of use in helping to define meaningful objectives. The hard core of any system that aims at measuring and monitoring progress towards stated objectives is costing. It is therefore essential that libraries are familiar with problems of costing and with the handling of financial information because it is of use in controlling day‐to‐day operations, in improving overall effectiveness, in ensuring an adequate and effective case is made out for the library or information budget and in planning for the future.