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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the attitudes of staff and students towards adopting the use of e-portfolios for the purposes of supporting the concept of personal development planning (PDP). The study compares and contrasts the views and opinions of staff and students at one UK Higher Education Institution (HEI) about whether e-portfolios can support PDP.

Adopting a case study approach, this study presents empirical data gathered from two surveys involving 460 students and 182 lecturers from one UK HEI, collected from four different campuses across the West of Scotland.

The results of the surveys showed that the framework the authors used in the research to collect information about students and staffs attitudes was effective and that further research is merited for a more extensive investigation into PDP e-portfolio usage within HEI.

The research was conducted at only one UK HEI so at this stage of the research, it is difficult to assess how generalisable the findings are.

This study provides useful empirical evidence to educators who may be considering employing e-portfolios within an educational context. For example, the views of students and staff identified in this paper can aid towards informing educators about some of the issues that might impact on using e-portfolios for supporting PDP in higher education.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work that presents survey data on both students’ and lecturers’ attitudes towards e-portfolio use to support and facilitate PDP.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a semi-experimental study conducted over a period of two years of five degree programmes using a web-based personal tutoring system to enhance learner engagement and students’ self-efficacy, towards using personal development planning (PDP) e-portfolios.

The study adopts a semi-experimental approach using quantitative methods utilising a pre- and post-test design in the form of a general self-efficacy questionnaire inventory.

The study investigated the extent to which using a virtual learning environment web-based personal tutoring system (VLE WBPTS) can impact positively on the learners’ self-efficacy of the students’ undertaking a degree programme which promotes engagement with PDP e-portfolios.

More empirical research is required to establish whether PDP and e-portfolios have a positive effect on students’ perceived self-efficacy. Further testing is required to establish whether the VLE WBPTS can have a positive effect on other beneficial elements associated with PDP and e-portfolio usage such as students: learning styles, learner conscientiousness, reflective thinking and effective learner skills.

The introduction of interventions that involve the utilisation of a VLE WBPTS may have a more significant impact and yield positive results when the period of usage is extended beyond the initial period of six weeks to a minimum period of 12 weeks.

This study was one of few studies to use a pre/post-test design to collect and analyse empirical data about whether a VLE WBPTS can have a positive effect on students’ self-efficacy towards using PDP e-portfolios.

Outlines UK law and practice relating to the responsibilities of directors of insolvent companies with particular reference to small firms: and explains the changes introduced by the 1985 and 1986 Insolvency Acts and the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. Considers the practical effects of the new law, referring to relevant cases; and stresses the psychological barriers which directors erect against facing the risk of failure and taking action to avoid it. Notes that the Insolvency Act 2000 allows directors to be disqualified without the need for costly court proceedings and makes practical suggestions on how they can protect themselves. Describes four stages of organizational crisis from denial to collapse, pointing out how managerial decision making becomes impaired in this situation and referring to relevant research. Calls for further research to “inform future legislation”.

Colloquium in Oxford. A wide‐ranging debate about the impact of the new technologies of connectivity on Higher Education, libraries, and the publishing industry took place in the ‘parliamentary’ debating chamber of the Oxford Union on Thursday 23rd April. The event was organized by the Oxford University Computing Services Humanities Computing Unit, and was entitled ‘Beyond the Hype’. The one‐day colloquium, which was attended by about one hundred and twenty people, was the fourth in a series of colloquia hosted by the Humanities Computing Unit. In 1995 the Unit kicked the series off with the first event, entitled ‘Beyond the Book’, which appeared, paradoxically enough, in printed form (eds. Chernaik, Deegan, and Gibson, Oxford: OHC, 7, 1996). They followed this up with a look at teaching in ‘Beyond the Classroom’ (a report of which can be found on the Web at http://info.ox.ac.uk/oucs/humanities/events/beyond/). In 1997 the Unit targeted the library sector with ‘Beyond the Library’ (again a report of which can be found on the Web at http://info.ox.ac.uk/oucs/humanities/events/beyond/).

A discipline is bound by some combination of a shared subject matter, shared theory, and shared technique. Yet modern economics is seemingly without limit to its domain. As a discipline without a shared subject matter, what is the binding force of economics today? The authors combine topic modeling and text analysis to analyze different approaches to inquiry within the discipline of economics. The authors find that the importance of theory has declined as economics has increasingly become defined by its empirical techniques. The authors question whether this trajectory is stable in the long run as the binding force of the discipline.

Substance abuse is a major public health concern, with over millions of people suffering from it worldwide. Although there is an abundance of treatment options, many of these rehabilitative trajectories are subject to “drop-out”. In addition, “drop-out” is a significant risk factor for relapse. There is an urgent demand for effective treatment, which would enable patients to reduce abuse and prevent relapse. Takiwasi is an addiction treatment centre that combines traditional Amazonian plant medicine with conventional western medicine and psychotherapy. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether socio-demographics factors, such as education level and occupation, psychiatric comorbidities and primary drug use, are associated with treatment non-completion of Ayahuasca (AYA)-assisted addiction therapy.

Data on the first treatment episode of 121 patients were collected from the patient database from the years 2012 to 2017. To determine whether there is an association between the variables of interest and treatment non-completion, a χ² analysis and a logistic regression analysis were performed.

Of the 121 patients analysed, 48.2 per cent completed their treatment, whilst 51.8 per cent did not. Students compared to those who are employed showed significantly higher odds for treatment non-completion (p=0.006; OR=3.7; 95% CI=1.5–9.6). Other variables in the multivariable analysis showed no significant relationship with treatment non-completion. While several limitations restricted the study, the findings suggest that the AYA-assisted treatment in Takiwasi may benefit from additional support for patients who are students. Moreover, it is advised to conduct more long-term follow-up of patients in order to gain better insight into the outcome of treatment at an AYA-assisted treatment centre.

It appears that AYA-assisted therapy in a therapeutic community is a feasible type of treatment for addiction, for which further studies should elucidate the role of motivation in relation to socio-demographic factors and type of addiction in the risk of treatment non-completion.

The proliferation of social networking sites (SNSs) has drawn attention to different parties in realising their goals. Advertisers utilise SNSs to promote new products and services; politics optimise SNSs to gather support from the public, while ordinary users use SNSs as a unique platform to practice self-disclosure, develop networks, and sustain relationships. This study explores how social anxiety affects self-disclosure on SNSs and well-being. It also examines the moderating effects of two contextual factors, namely, online disinhibition and psychological stress. Two hundred and thirty-four valid responses were collected via an online survey. A positive relationship between social anxiety and self-disclosure, and self-disclosure and well-being was found. Furthermore, a positive moderation effect among social anxiety, online disinhibition, and self-disclosure was revealed. This research contributes to the development of social networking literature. It also enhances the understanding of disclosure patterns on SNSs among socially anxious individuals, thereby providing important insights for practitioners, educators, and clinicians.

According to a survey of professionals in agricultural education, The Journal of Leadership Education (JOLE) is a new and primary outlet of leadership education research and professional scholarship. The purpose of this study was to assess five years of JOLE’s primary and secondary research theme areas, frequent primary and secondary research themes by year, prolific authorship, and research methods and types using a mixed-methods design. A compilation of the research results is reported. Research themes appear cyclic and add little to improving an apparent lack of research continuity. Research must continue to determine cycle depth and the influence on research in leadership education as an integrated specialization area of agricultural education. This research may be used comparatively with the National Research Agenda to determine where future research should be focused.

The purpose of this paper is to present a competency-based curriculum design model based on a set of ten foundational professional competencies (PCs) that prepare college graduates to meet the needs of global businesses now and in the future.

This phenomenological single-case study reviews literature on the foundational principles of competency-based education (CBE) and comparatively analyzes the results of qualitative interviews to create a set of ten PCs linking employee and business success.

This study presents a theoretical competency-based curriculum model (competency-based learning, performance and behavior (CBLPB)) designed for online education programs to enable a twenty-first century workforce to succeed. The curriculum design model is tested as applied by the researchers in various courses taught at an online university.

This is a conceptual model for testing in academic research settings in colleges and universities.

The study suggests that higher education business curriculum should be designed using a CBE model to develop graduates with the foundational PCs that employers need and desire in educated working professionals.

From the faculty perspective, the CBLPB curriculum design model can enhance the design and implementation of CBE in business programs.