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In higher education, blended learning is already strongly established. The e-courses vary in their structure, assignments, prompt examinations, interaction between students and teachers, etc. Such aspects may influence the students’ perception of usefulness of blended learning. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors which influence that feeling and to look for possible differences in perception by different subgroups of students.

Students in the survey evaluated 13 aspects of e-courses in which they were enrolled. From enrolment documents, additional demographic data were collected (gender, high-school grade, study programme, etc.). A multiple linear regression was used with perceived usefulness as the response variable and the 12 other e-course aspects as predictors. Further, the same regression analysis was performed on different subgroups of students based on demographical data.

The empirical results showed that the general impression regarding the e-courses, their consistency with the face-to-face teaching and the teachers’ responsiveness had a significant influence on the students’ perception of the usefulness of e-courses. Further analysis based on demographic data revealed several subgroups of students where the perception of usefulness was influenced by different aspects. The teachers’ feedback and supplementing the tutorial play an important role in higher years of study, while the general impression loses its influence.

The paper is the first to explore the importance of demographic determinants of perceived usefulness of e-learning tools in EAPAA (European Association of Public Administration Accreditation)-accredited undergraduate public administration programmes.

Scholars in major us research universities were surveyed to explore the normative bases of acknowledgement behaviour. Measures of agreement and divergence were established in respect of five issue sets pertaining to acknowledgement practice: expectations, etiquette, ethics, equity and evaluation. The results confirm the substantive role played by acknowledgements in the primary communication process. Although few formal rules exist, it is clear that many scholars subscribe to the idea of a governing etiquette. The findings also suggest that acknowledgement data could be mined to lay bare the rules of engagement that define the dynamics of collaboration and inter‐dependence among scholars.

This research explores perceptions of knowledge management processes held by managers and employees in a service industry. To date, empirical research on knowledge management in the service industry is sparse. This research seeks to examine absorptive capacity and its four capabilities of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation and their impact on effective knowledge management. All of these capabilities are strategies that enable external knowledge to be recognized, imported and integrated into, and further developed within the organization effectively. The research tests the relationships between absorptive capacity and effective knowledge management through analysis of quantitative data (n = 549) drawn from managers and employees in 35 residential aged care organizations in Western Australia. Responses were analysed using Partial Least Square-based Structural Equation Modelling. Additional analysis was conducted to assess if the job role (of manager or employee) and three industry context variables of profit motive, size of business and length of time the organization has been in business, impacted on the hypothesized relationships.

Structural model analysis examines the relationships between variables as hypothesized in the research framework. Analysis found that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities correlated significantly with effective knowledge management, with absorptive capacity explaining 56% of the total variability for effective knowledge management. Findings from this research also show that absorptive capacity and the four capabilities provide a useful framework for examining knowledge management in the service industry. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the perceptions held between managers and employees, nor between respondents in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Furthermore, the size of the organization and length of time the organization has been in business did not impact on absorptive capacity, the four capabilities and effective knowledge management.

The research considers implications for business in light of these findings. The role of managers in providing leadership across the knowledge management process was confirmed, as well as the importance of guiding routines and knowledge sharing throughout the organization. Further, the results indicate that within the participating organizations there are discernible differences in the way that some organizations manage their knowledge, compared to others. To achieve effective knowledge management, managers need to provide a supportive workplace culture, facilitate strong employee relationships, encourage employees to seek out new knowledge, continually engage in two-way communication with employees and provide up-to-date policies and procedures that guide employees in doing their work. The implementation of knowledge management strategies has also been shown in this research to enhance the delivery and quality of residential aged care.

This paper aims to gauge developers’ perspectives regarding the participation of the public and anonymous crowd testers worldwide, with a range of varied experiences. It also aims to gather their needs that could reduce their concerns of dealing with the public crowd testers and increase the opportunity of using the crowdtesting platforms.

An online exploratory survey was conducted to gather information from the participants, which included 50 mobile application developers from various countries with diverse experiences across Android and iOS mobile platforms.

The findings revealed that a significant proportion (90%) of developers is potentially willing to perform testing via the public crowd testers worldwide. This on condition that several fundamental features were available, which enable them to achieve more realistic tests without artificial environments on large numbers of devices. The results also demonstrated that a group of developers does not consider testing as a serious job that they have to pay for, which can affect the gig-economy and global market.

This paper provides new insights for future research in the study of how acceptable it is to work with public and anonymous crowd workers, with varying levels of experience, to perform tasks in different domains and not only in software testing. In addition, it will assist individual or small development teams who have limited resources or who do not have thousands of testers in their private testing community, to perform large-scale testing of their products.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Arab deputy-principals’ perceptions of their role in Arab schools in Israel, relating to their expectations regarding principal-deputy relations and their aspirations for promotion.

A two-stage qualitative study included an open-ended questionnaire completed by 27 Arab deputy-principals, studying in a deputy-principals’ training program for the “New Horizons” reform. The questionnaire related to their perceptions of their professional role. Data from the open questionnaires were supplemented by data from in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with eight of the deputy-principals.

The deputy-principals perceived their role as arduous and complex, indicating that this was the result of vague role definitions. They mostly dealt with administration though they longed to devote themselves to pedagogy, shaping education policy and the school vision. Most did not aspire to attain principalship.

A clearer role definition is required for the deputy-principal. Principal-deputy cooperation should be enhanced. Deputy-principals need better role-related training and supervision that considers the requirements of the school settings and culture.

This is the first study to examine the role of deputy-principals in Arab society in Israel.

In recent years, investment management education has become increasingly relevant. As a result of this development, it is essential that various role players should be consulted to ensure that investment management is taught in line with practitioners’ requirements. The South African Qualifications Authority also specifies that educators and practitioners should collaborate to maintain relevance in all fields of education. The importance of various areas in investment management was investigated. This article compares the ranking of these areas in terms of their importance as perceived by academics and practitioners. The study being reported also aimed to determine whether gaps exist between the areas that academics regard to be important and the areas that practitioners regard as such. Areas that are generally regarded to be most important include asset allocation, fundamental analysis and the measurement of risk and return. Areas that are regarded to be least important include arts, antiques and other hard assets; rights and capitalisation issues; and real estate. Areas in need of research include the measurement of risk and return; asset allocation; derivatives; and global markets and instruments. The findings of this study could have a significant impact on the provision of relevant training for South African investment specialists.

In this chapter the authors identified and discussed the most significant barriers faced by cooperative movements in Malta, providing recommendations for potential solutions. Primary data for this research were collected through the use of semi-structured interviews with a selection of 18 representatives of the small current Maltese cooperative movement, most of whom are active either in individual cooperatives (16) and/or in the cooperative institutions (five).

Findings indicated that the most significant problems are the lack of education and awareness regarding the cooperative movement. These are closely followed by the divide within the movement itself, which is also hindering further development of Maltese cooperatives. Therefore, for the movement to grow and develop, one must first tackle the lack of education and awareness of this business model. Furthermore, in order for the movement to reach its full potential there must be cooperation amongst cooperatives, leading to the appropriate environment for growth.

Through the identification of these significant barriers, targeted action may be recommended and taken so as to reduce, if not eliminate, these barriers and thereby help the Maltese cooperative movement flourish.

The purpose of this study is to explore factors influencing customers’ purchasing behavior toward home-based small and medium enterprise (SME) products. Moreover, this study explores customer perception of home-based SME products and services, as assesses their satisfaction with the parking area layouts and delivery service systems of home-based SMEs.

Relevant variables were drawn from the literature review. A well-structured, internet-based customer questionnaire was developed for this empirical study and sent to a targeted sample of 117 respondents. The statistical methodologies such as ranking scale analysis, analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation were used to assess the gathered data using SPSS software.

The main findings revealed that 83% of the customers perceived the quality of home-based SME products and services as “at least good,” and that convenience was ranked as 21.1% with the most crucial factor for customers, which includes easy access, effective delivery and quicker processes. Moreover, the study reveals that approximately 50.4% of customers rated the parking area layouts as “at least good,” while 33.9% considered it dissatisfactory. The evidence from the correlation analysis indicates that consumers’ purchasing behavior correlates significantly with accessibility, ease of finding online shopping sites and availability of parking areas at a 95% significance level.

The research findings will bring insights to SME owners and entrepreneurs to infer and fulfill customer expectations and achieve brand loyalty. However, research limitations include the relatively small sample size, as well as the study, focuses on home-based SMEs’ consumer behavior which cannot be generalized to other firm types.

This study provides useful information on the factors and issues influencing the purchasing behavior of customers toward home-based SME products in the UAE. Understanding of SMEs owners of customer experience would facilitate planning adequate strategies addressing customers’ needs, behaviors, expectations and future opportunities. Also, logistic and delivery companies can further support SME’s growth by providing an efficient delivery experience taking into consideration the quality of product condition and duration of the delivery cycle.

Home-based SMEs are emerging as intrinsic to the economic diversification process, especially in fast-growing and ambitious countries such as the UAE. The research objectives have drawn a better understanding of consumers’ preferences, perceptions and purchasing behavior which would better facilitate the growth and sustainability of home-based SMEs based on the UAE context.

This study aims to validate the money management intention screening questionnaire under the framework of theory of planned behavior, which includes attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and intention.

A total of 919 undergraduate students with loans were randomly selected and grouped into four sub-studies to address the psychometric properties of the imposed structure. The item–object congruence, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), test–retest reliability method and other statistical tests were carried out for item selection and confirmation. Two self-reported measures, namely, Saving Behavior Scale and Short Dark Triad (SD3-Thai version), were applied for the measure concurrent validation.

The final 12 items with four-component structures were deemed reliable and generally valid in university students with loans, with CFA results indicating good fit indices (χ² = 96.44, df = 43; CFI = 0.96; GFI = 0.94; RMSEA = 0.06). The test–retest method indicated values between 0.66 (subjective norm) and 0.71 (attitude). Machiavellianism from SD3-TH and saving attitude from the Saving Behavior Scale showed the strongest significant relation among the items. The abbreviation of the 12-item structure was labeled in the Money Management Intention Questionnaire (MMIQ-TPB).

This study provided a reliable and valid substantial structure for identifying money management intention. However, there was a consideration that MMIQ-TPB questions referred to cognitive influences through intention; thus, it was designed to cover the intended preparation and not in the action stage.

Great money management practically predicts a lower likelihood of being in debt. Attentive educators or loan providers can thus benefit from this alternative structure as a screening scale for identifying risky cognitive mismanagement.

The evidence provided in this study highlights the possibility of identifying students who necessarily need a program to improve their monetary management skills during their studying periods. Policymakers could address this problem at the first stage of the general mode in the loan providing operation.

This study bridges the gap in the literature on financial behavioral changes for establishing money management intention among undergraduate students with loans. Furthermore, it confirms the advantages and disadvantages of having certain dark personality traits in a financial context.

In this paper a systematic and well-defined student participation assessment scheme for college courses is proposed. The scheme supports the involvement of students in a variety of areas of participation within and outside the classroom with the aim of improving their learning. The scheme addresses mostly the challenges related to the practicality of the structure and design of the assessment. It also addresses the subjectivity of grading student participations. Areas of participation are widened to allow the faculty more accurate information about the conduct of each individual student towards more objective assessment. In addition, it provides the faculty with the flexibility to select areas that best fit the learning outcomes, nature of the course, availability of time and resources, and class atmosphere. The proposed scheme is initiated and developed using feedback from the teaching staff of Nizwa College of Technology, (NCT) through a survey and open discussion. The results indicate that over two thirds of the surveyed staff show agreement with the concept of assessing participation and find the scheme design clear and systematic, while 82% of them perceive the scheme as effective in improving the motivation and learning of students.