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1 – 10 of 17Óscar Martín Rodríguez, Francisco González-Gómez and Jorge Guardiola
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the relationship between student assessment method and e-learning satisfaction. Which e-learning assessment method do students prefer? The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the relationship between student assessment method and e-learning satisfaction. Which e-learning assessment method do students prefer? The assessment method is an additional determinant of the effectiveness and quality that affects user satisfaction with online courses.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs data from 1,114 students. The first set of data was obtained from a questionnaire on the online platform. The second set of information was obtained from the external assessment reports by e-learning specialists. The satisfaction revealed by the students in their responses to the questionnaire is the dependent variable in the multivariate technique. In order to estimate the influence of the independent variables on the global satisfaction, we use the ordinary least squares technic. This method is the most appropriate for dependent discrete variables whose categories are ordered but have multiple categories, as is the case for the dependent variable.
Findings
The method influences e-learning satisfaction, even though only slightly. The students are reluctant to be assessed by a final exam. Students prefer systems that award more importance to the assessment of coursework as part of the final mark.
Practical implications
Knowing the level of student satisfaction and the factors that influence it is helpful to the teachers for improving their courses.
Originality/value
In online education, student satisfaction is an indicator of the quality of the education system. Although previous research has analyzed the factors that influence e-student satisfaction, to the best of authors’ knowledge, no previous research has specifically analyzed the relationship between assessment systems and general student satisfaction with the course.
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Francisco González‐Gómez, Andrés J. Picazo‐Tadeo and Miguel Á. García‐Rubio
This paper aims to evaluate the impact of a mid‐season change of manager on the sporting performance of professional football teams in the First Division of the Spanish Football…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the impact of a mid‐season change of manager on the sporting performance of professional football teams in the First Division of the Spanish Football League.
Design/methodology/approach
In team sports, the manager takes important decisions that affect the sporting performance of the team. Although the manager is normally hired for a period of at least one season, clubs frequently change managers halfway through that period. Before taking that decision, the Board of Directors probably ask themselves: “Do we sack the manager … or is it better not to?” Data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques are used to compare the performance of a group of teams that have changed their manager mid‐season to that of teams that have stuck with the same manager for the entire season.
Findings
The main result is that a mid‐season change of manager improves sporting performance, but it does not allow to perform as well as teams that have not changed managers halfway through the season.
Practical implications
Changing managers can be a good move when a football team is not performing well. However, club executives would be recommended to plan the season well beforehand to avoid finding themselves in a situation where they must change managers halfway through.
Originality/value
The foremost contribution of this paper to the existing literature in this field of research is the computation of programme efficiency scores with DEA techniques to deal with the analysis of the effect of a change of manager on the performance of football teams.
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Sonia M. Ospina, Nuria Cunill-Grau and Claudia Maldonado
This chapter describes an institutional choice that most Latin American countries have taken in the past 25 years: the creation of national Public Performance Monitoring and…
Abstract
This chapter describes an institutional choice that most Latin American countries have taken in the past 25 years: the creation of national Public Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) systems. We summarize research assessing their institutionalization, identify their shortcomings, and discuss trends demonstrating a potential – not yet realized – to fulfill their vocation as instruments of political and democratic accountability. Despite remarkable progress in their institutionalization, the evidence suggests that the systems fall short in producing strong results-oriented democratic accountability. Key factors hindering this aspiration include the systems' low credibility, problems associated to their diversification, low institutional coherence, and lack of effective coordination mechanisms to improve information legibility, its quality, its usefulness, and thus its use by both public managers and citizens. We suggest that PPME systems depend on environmental conditions beyond government structures and processes and argue that citizen-oriented mechanisms and entry points for social participation around the systems are required to fulfill their accountability function.
Weiyi Chen, Xinmei Liu and Xiaojie Zhang
The authors investigate when and why a subordinate's expressive suppression facilitates workplace creativity, building on the conservation of resources theory and considering the…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors investigate when and why a subordinate's expressive suppression facilitates workplace creativity, building on the conservation of resources theory and considering the effect of the supervisor's expressive suppression and time pressure as boundary conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
Multisource data were collected from 132 teams in northwestern China, including 132 supervisors and 648 subordinates. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the effects.
Findings
The subordinate’s expressive suppression was positively related to their workplace creativity. Challenge time pressure was positively related to workplace creativity, and the subordinate’s expressive suppression was positively related to workplace creativity when challenge time pressure was lower and the supervisor's expressive suppression was higher. Hindrance time pressure was negatively related to workplace creativity, and a positive relationship between a subordinate's expressive suppression and workplace creativity was also found with less hindrance time pressure and greater expressive suppression by their supervisor.
Originality/value
By examining the role of the supervisor as a source of downward spillovers in various time pressure contexts, the study explains why a subordinate’s suppression facilitates workplace creativity from the conservation of resources perspective.
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Dennis Krupke, Florens Wasserfall, Norman Hendrich and Jianwei Zhang
– This paper aims to present the design of a modular robot with 3D-printing technology.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the design of a modular robot with 3D-printing technology.
Design/methodology/approach
The robot consists of a number of autonomous modules coupled by magnetic interfaces. Each module combines 3D-printed mechanical parts with widely available standard electronic components, including a microcontroller and a single servo actuator. The mechanical and electrical connection is provided by a single set of magnets which apply the physical force between the modules and at the same time serve as wires for power and communication.
Findings
The PMR is a full-featured robotic device, well integrated into a simulation framework, capable to execute common locomotion patterns but still extremely affordable (approximately 25/module). Furthermore, the design is easy to extend and replicate for other research and education groups.
Originality/value
This paper explores a novel approach of connecting devices in a complex way by utilizing very simple magnetic parts. A second focus lies on the concept of closely integrating simulation and hardware development, blurring the edge between digital and physical word.
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Rico Moeckel, Cyril Jaquier, Kevin Drapel, Elmar Dittrich, Andres Upegui and Auke Jan Ijspeert
This paper aims to present a novel modular robot that provides a flexible framework for exploring adaptive locomotion.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a novel modular robot that provides a flexible framework for exploring adaptive locomotion.
Design/methodology/approach
A new modular robot is presented called YaMoR (for “Yet another Modular Robot”). Each YaMoR module contains an FPGA and a microcontroller supporting a wide range of control strategies and high computational power. The Bluetooth interface included in each YaMoR module allows wireless communication between the modules and controlling the robot from a PC. A control software called Bluemove was developed and implemented that allows easy testing of the capabilities for locomotion of a large variety of robot configurations.
Findings
With the help of the control software called Bluemove, different configurations of the YaMoR modules were tested like a wheel, caterpillar or configurations with limbs and their capabilities for locomotion.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates that modular robots can act as a powerful framework for exploring locomotion of a large variety of different types of robots. Although present research is limited to exploring locomotion, YaMoR modules are designed to be general purpose and support a variety of applications.
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James E. Austin, Gabriel Berger, Rosa Amelia González, Roberto Gutiérrez, Iván D. Lobo and Alfred Vernis
Purpose: Provide insights on how social entrepreneurship (SE) knowledge can be more effectively generated by universities through the entrepreneurial creation and effective…
Abstract
Purpose: Provide insights on how social entrepreneurship (SE) knowledge can be more effectively generated by universities through the entrepreneurial creation and effective management of a knowledge network centered on international collaborative research; illuminate how one such network has enabled Latin American researchers to advance the knowledge and practice frontiers in the hemisphere and globally. Methodology/Approach: Retrospective analysis of the two-decade evolution of the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network, a pioneering international research collaboration (IRC) of Ibero-American management schools. Findings: Documents factors and dynamics enabling the successful creation and operation of international knowledge networks. Analyzes the key mechanisms for capturing synergies in collaborative research. Identifies specific effectiveness determinants for successfully operating an international social enterprise knowledge generation network. Identifies multiple impacts of a knowledge generation network. Research Implications: Advances understanding of IRCs. Provides a model for assessing knowledge network multiple impacts. Identifies a series of future research opportunities and needs. Practical Implications: Provides operational guidance for researchers developing or operating collaborative international knowledge networks. Social Implications: Reveals the value of collaboration in international research and factors that contribute to effective collaboration. Originality/Value: Provides unique retrospective study of an IRC network operated by developing country schools of management. Expands the scope of recent comparative research on SE education to include a set of countries in Ibero-America. Documents an approach to assessing the impacts of a knowledge network. Identifies important areas for advancing future social enterprise research and teaching.
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José María Martín Martín, Juan F. Prados-Castillo, Mónica de Castro-Pardo and Juan De Dios Jimenez Aguilera
The expansion of online platforms for renting tourist accommodations has given rise to a great deal of controversy in society. Likewise, the arrival of tourists in residential…
Abstract
Purpose
The expansion of online platforms for renting tourist accommodations has given rise to a great deal of controversy in society. Likewise, the arrival of tourists in residential settings has led to a wide range of positive and negative impacts, resulting in conflicts between different stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether there is variation in the perception of the impacts associated with peer-to-peer accommodation platforms among different stakeholders? Additionally, it also seeks to investigate what kind of impacts generate the highest level of conflict among stakeholders?
Design/methodology/approach
Given the relative novelty of the problem, this paper proposes an exploratory study that sheds light on some of the main issues with the purpose of supporting further research in the future. The aim is to analyze which impacts are perceived as more positive or negative by each group and to create indexes of conflict for these groups regarding their perception of the impacts. This study is based on fieldwork carried out in April 2020, which consists of 600 online surveys of local residents in the city of Granada. This city, one of Spain’s main tourist spots, suffers the highest tourist pressure in the country.
Findings
The exploratory study suggests that the greatest consensus is generated in the assessment of economic impacts, either negative or positive. The greatest conflicts are related to the assessment of the effect of this activity on housing preservation. The group comprising accommodation owners of tourist flats is the one that shows a more dissenting opinion from the rest, confronting especially the group formed by citizens whose income depends on tourism.
Originality/value
There is a lack of studies on the perception of tourism impacts associated with online tourism rental platforms. This is the first study to analyze both, how the main stakeholders associated with this activity assess the different impacts derived from this form of tourist accommodation as a whole and the conflicts derived from such an assessment. An additional innovation is that the analysis investigates the potential fear of disease transmission caused by tourists. It would be interesting to continue this research by applying the same questionnaire in different environments, such as rural areas or societies with different structures from the one analyzed here. Likewise, future in-depth analysis of some of the conflicts is recommended so as to ascertain their origin.
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